Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1003: Chapter 1002: Father and Daughter

It’s said that the plains outside are already in the time of heavy snow, with the western Red Maple City and The White City blanketed in white.

Andresha leaned on the terrace railing and slowly walked to the edge of the terrace. She stood at the heights of Sorin Castle, gazing into the distant horizon.

Winterwolf Fortress should have snow by now too, right? And Long Branch Manor... Scholars predicted that the entire northern continent would be colder this year, and this war... might bring an even colder winter.

She raised her head but couldn’t see snowflakes falling from the sky; all she could see was endless greenery, with towns and sentry posts scattered between the vines, tree canopies, blossoms, and lawn. Various artificial lights flickered on the earth like stars, while strange luminous plants covered the dim areas between the lights.

Unknown birds darted around within the canopies of the giant trees, occasionally flapping their wings across the sky or bravely landing on the top of tower turrets and mottled castle walls.

A rustling sound came from beside her. Andresha turned to see a small, wild creature with bright red fur, slightly bigger than a squirrel, climbing onto the terrace from somewhere unknown. The creature held a rose-red fruit in its mouth, and upon seeing Andresha, it surprisingly human-like held out the fruit with its front paws— even wiping it with its paw.

Andresha was dumbfounded for a moment, meeting the creature’s gaze for a few seconds before hesitantly reaching out to take the fruit. It was a type of fruit she had never seen anywhere else; the bright red skin shone like a gem, exuding a strange sweet aroma that seemed very enticing.

She recalled the name of the fruit: Sorin Tree Fruit. It’s the fruit born from the Sorin Giant Tree, a unique "crop" of this region and also a food source for many cities in the Eastern Region of the Spirit Plain. Perhaps it’s the most bizarre and wonderful specialty she’s heard of in her life, but under the miracle-like Sorin Tree, what other wonders are unimaginable?

Andresha picked up the fruit and took a bite, while a somewhat weak voice suddenly came from beside, "Hope you like it, after all, I don’t have much to offer guests here."

Startled and curious, Andresha searched for the source of the voice and finally noticed a small flower swaying in the wind near the wall bricks where the creature perched. The weak, somewhat distorted voice actually came from the flower bud.

"Madam Beltira," Andresha greeted the flower bud with a bit of an odd feeling, "Um... thank you for your hospitality."

This seeming fragile flower bud is actually an extension of the Sorin Giant Tree, with the voice from the bud being the will of the giant tree. Andresha didn’t know much about this powerful life form; she only knew that everyone here, including her father, referred to her as Madam Beltira— a formidable ancient Druid.

The Sorin Giant Tree is the final product of the divine disaster in Old Anzu, and as a Typhon Commander who has long been concerned about Anzu, Andresha certainly investigated this matter, but her investigation was bound to not know too many details.

What transformation must a human being with flesh and blood undergo to form this miracle that covers the entire region? What mysterious origins does this powerful Madam Beltira have? She is very curious about this, yet doesn’t know whom to inquire.

Perhaps father knows something, after all, everything is related to the dark sect that’s already faded into the long river of history...

The flower bud in the cracks of the wall bricks shook, and many small vines gradually gathered around it, eventually condensing into the silhouette of a female. Beltira stood there, seemingly scrutinizing Andresha’s appearance, even though her face lacked expression change and her eyes seemed dull and wooden, the manner of sizing up still made Andresha feel a bit uneasy.

"May I ask..." She couldn’t help but break the silence, "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Nothing, it’s just that I haven’t paid attention to Typhon people like you for a long time..." Beltira shook her head, "Especially since becoming a plant, it’s harder for me to move freely."

Andresha didn’t understand why this powerful ancient Druid suddenly sighed like this; she only found the other’s speech a bit strange and lowered her eyelids not knowing how to respond, "Is it... but I feel a bit embarrassed, letting you see a Typhon person as wretched as me."

"Wretched? Being wounded in battle isn’t wretched, compared to you, my form is what’s truly wretched," Beltira smiled slightly, speaking words that Andresha understood even less. Then just as Andresha was about to inquire something, she suddenly glanced at the direction of the terrace entry, "Ah, seems someone is visiting you... perhaps I should avoid this."

Andresha intended to call the other back but only managed to open her mouth as the figure before her suddenly transformed into scattering petals and vines, quickly leaving the terrace. Andresha could only furrow her brows and turned to look at the terrace entry—she saw her father appear there, pushing the door and walking toward her.

Once unimaginable even in her dreams, today such a scene naturally appeared before her eyes.

"Your body has only just improved a little, try not to be active for too long," Bard looked at his daughter, unable to hide his concern, "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better," Andresha replied, "I’ll move around according to my physical condition."

After a simple exchange, the father and daughter both fell into silence, the terrace maintaining an awkward quiet.

The fact proves that a separation of over a decade is ultimately not so easy to completely eliminate, especially as both of them have gone through so much in these years, each walking an unimaginable life trajectory. On the day of initial reunion, Andresha and Bard talked about many things, but since then, every meeting inadvertently fell into this awkwardness— not knowing what to say nor what to ask, the near information was thoroughly inquired on the first day, and after that... they were merely strangers.

But both father and daughter are making efforts to change this.

"I was just speaking with Madam Beltira," Andresha finally broke the silence after pondering for a long time, "She gave me this..."

She showed the fruit with half eaten, and Bard glanced at it and his face revealed a somewhat strange expression, "She recently started liking to give fruits again, hasn’t she... Oh well, it’s not a bad habit. But Andresha, you should still be careful, with Beltira... it’s best to remain cautious when interacting with her."

"Why do you say that? Are you not on good terms with Madam Beltira?" Andresha asked instinctively.

Bard quickly waved his hand, "No, not at all, at least we have a good relationship now—it’s just that she’s far more formidable than you think, a person with a very complicated past."

"...In my view, being able to grow into a giant tree that shades the plains is already formidable enough. Could there be experiences more complicated and bizarre than that?" Andresha laughed, noticing that her father seemed unwilling to delve into the secrets behind Madam Beltira, and so she quickly dismissed the topic with a joking attitude. "Compared to Madam Beltira’s life, I’m more curious about how you’ve been living these years."

The conversation continued, and at least this exchange didn’t seem so awkward, which was a good start—both Andresha and Bard thought so simultaneously.

"I thought after I told you about how I joined the dark sect, you wouldn’t want to hear more," Bard also chuckled, saying somewhat self-deprecatingly, "It’s not a pleasant story."

"Last time, I was just shocked to the point that I didn’t know what to ask, but anyway, all of that is now in the past," Andresha looked at her father, with a serious expression in her remaining eye, "Of course, if you’re reluctant to discuss it further, we don’t have to talk about these..."

"It’s not about being willing or not, as you said, it’s all in the past, now they’re just old stories," Bard waved his hand, appearing quite nonchalant, "And they’re all boring old stories... The initial years, I spent in the laboratory. I showed you the marks of transformation, artificial heart and stuff... These things extended my life and severed me completely from the War God Faith. And in the years after that... I mostly operated as a dark priest, primarily in Anzu. You know those sinful things associated with the dark sect, I’ve done almost all."

"I don’t intend to justify myself, nor do I believe doing some good deeds afterward would offset those horrible acts... Back then, I was guided by fanaticism. Now that I think of it, if every crime was to be judged, there’d probably be enough to hang me several times."

Listening to her father casually recount these matters, Andresha finally couldn’t help interrupting, "And after? After you left the dark sect and started working for the Cecil, how have you been living during this time?"

"...This period wasn’t actually long, very brief compared to the decades of darkness, but indeed quite miraculous," Bard smiled, "I became a researcher, sometimes participating in studies, sometimes serving as the only dark priest sample for research. Aside from that... I mainly spent my leisure time solving problems."

Andresha was greatly surprised, "Solving problems?"

"About mathematics, magic symbols, and magic-conducting machinery stuff—when people have nothing to do, they need to find something to engage in, and I developed an interest in them," Bard said, suddenly looking at Andresha, "Are you interested in them?"

Andresha suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, recalling the books Matilda brought her and some classic ’problems’ mentioned in correspondence, her gaze wavered, "I..."

"You should give it a try, Andresha, it isn’t just about interest for you," Bard continued, "You should understand that these things will be very useful in the coming era, even if not from a personal perspective, as a commander, you need sufficient knowledge to be competent—in the past, this knowledge might have just been about marching and warfare, combat experience, knowing how to organize troops and issue, execute various orders, but now you need to know more than that..."

Listening, Andresha couldn’t help but reveal a somewhat troubled expression; she indeed acknowledged her father’s current guidance. She’s neither ignorant nor dull, she clearly understands the challenges posed by the changes in the era and new weapons, new tactics to contemporary commanders, but not everyone is the same. She recalls once in her childhood, she challenged mathematical problems in extreme anger, spent a whole day without solving them, and got even angrier...

Thinking about it still makes her angry.

Bard seemed oblivious to the slight changes in his daughter’s expression, perhaps he finally found a topic that he could talk about extensively with her, hence immersed himself deeply. He began animatedly discussing knowledge about mathematics and magic symbols, recounting interesting problems he faced as a ’researcher’ there—of course, excluding confidential projects.

Andresha stood opposite him, from initial awkwardness and bewilderment, gradually becoming contemplative.

Looking at her father, memories initially faded and vague gradually overlapped with the present scene... Was her father originally so fond of lecturing?

She doesn’t remember.

Bard eventually finished his lecture prompted by a whim, awakening from his eloquent speech, somewhat awkwardly looking at his daughter, "I seem to have talked about things that you might find quite boring."

"Indeed boring," Andresha immediately said, not sparing any feelings, "But seeing that you are living well here, I am somewhat relieved."

"...Okay, okay." Bard said dryly, then looking at Andresha, his expression suddenly hesitated.

Andresha keenly noticed a change, "What do you want to tell me?"

"...I do have something to discuss with you today," Bard said while organizing his words, knowing what he was about to say might be difficult for his daughter to accept, "Listen, this may contradict your current principles, hence you can refuse right from the start—but I think you still need to seriously consider it because it’s crucial for both Typhon and Cecil."

Andresha seemed to anticipate something, and she looked at Bard with a serious gaze, "If you want me to completely lean towards Cecil, then there’s no need to speak out. I know your position today is the result of decades of endeavors, I understand, but for myself... I still want to return to Typhon."

"I knew you would say that," Bard shook his head, "Rest assured, no one will force you. Just that His Majesty Gawain Cecil wants me to convey something to you."

"Him?" Andresha frowned, "What does he want?"

"Cecil is attempting to train a type of special soldier capable of combating the gods’ spiritual contamination. These soldiers are crucial for the current disaster triggered by uncontrolled gods; for this... he hopes to obtain Typhon’s mass-produced superhuman technology."

A gust of wind happened to blow through, bringing a gentle rustling sound from the canopy of the Sorin Giant Tree. Amid the friction sound between leaves and branches, Andresha was stunned for a few seconds, then slightly opened her mouth, "Ah???"