Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1088: Chapter 1087: The Day of the Grand Assembly

The emissaries from Typhon have left, and the reception hall of the Oak Hall has quieted down. Silver Empress Belsetia approached the wide floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out through the crystal-clear glass towards the town. The lush roadside plants were being tinted with a golden hue by the sunset’s afterglow. The pedestrians and vehicles on the main road gradually decreased, and the armored Ranger guards were forming ranks as they passed by the sentry at the main gate, while two Giant Eagle Knights skimmed over the northern city walls, casting shadows on the distant clock tower.

"The Typhon Empire seems eager to push for the opening of ports and trade projects around the Backflow Coast and the Grey-eyed Coast. Although they’ve been discussing these matters for the past half-year, they didn’t seem this urgent before," Valendian Gold Valley, dressed in a red robe with gold trim, tall and solemn, stood not far behind the Empress, respectfully with hands folded, spoke, "Although this matter is in our favor, is there something peculiar behind it?"

"The biggest peculiarity might lie in the two secret talks between Gawain Cecil and Emperor Rosetta Augustus," Belsetia said softly, without turning back, "I’m rather curious about what they discussed..."

Valendian immediately responded, "Understood, I’ll make arrangements right away."

"No need, Yilian will be back soon," said Belsetia, almost as soon as she finished speaking, a barely noticeable breeze suddenly swirled in the corner of the room, and a slender figure emerged near the vine-entwined corner of the room.

The powerful Elf handmaiden Yilian Vanna stepped out from the air and quickly came to stand behind the Silver Empress, "I have returned, Your Majesty."

"What’s the situation? Have you gathered any information?"

Yilian lowered her head, "As you suspected, the Cecil side has deliberately released a small amount of information – Typhon and Cecil will jointly restart the circum-continental route, and all continental nations can participate."

"Restart the circum-continental route? ’Jointly’ between Typhon and Cecil?" Belsetia finally turned around and stared at Yilian, "The information has been released... does that mean Emperor Rosetta Augustus agreed?"

"It appears so... yes," Yilian paused for a moment, continued to bow her head, "And besides, the consensus they reached seems to be more than just that."

"... The originally expected that Typhon and Cecil would carry out some kind of territorial or resource ’exchange’ during the course of forming an alliance," Valendian was equally surprised, but he quickly adjusted his expression and gazed at the Empress he served, "Your Majesty, our predictions were seriously off the mark; what Gawain Cecil seeks is more than we imagined."

"He actually chose this moment to forcibly push for restarting the circum-continental route...," Belsetia seemed not to hear Valendian’s words; she was just musing to herself in a quiet voice, "Is he worried about Typhon’s recovery speed...?"

"It may also be that he’s concerned the Silver Empire will fully side with the Typhon Settlement Area," Valendian added from the side, "Since the dispute over Blue Rock Hills was resolved, the Highmountain Kingdom has reconciled with Typhon, and our trade scale with Typhon has rapidly expanded. This matter might have already aroused Cecil’s vigilance. Given the high cost of land routes and the impracticality of widespread air transport, opening the eastern maritime route is their best way to prevent the Typhon Settlement Area from further maturing."

"Valendian, I think what he seeks is even more than that," the Silver Empress glanced at her Prime Minister and gently shook her head, "But this is not the main point for us. The main point is why the Typhon Emperor would agree to this matter... He should be well aware of his domestic situation. Agreeing to Cecil’s circum-continental route plan at this time, nominally a joint collaboration, is actually equivalent to relinquishing control of the entire route, and at least for several decades..."

"Perhaps facing an unassailable threat, or maybe an irresistible temptation, which is likely the part both Cecil and Typhon have not disclosed," Valendian’s expression turned serious, "Should we respond to the conditions those Typhon emissaries just proposed? Typhon clearly hopes to secure as much share and influence in the southeast segment of the route as possible before the circum-continental route agreement takes effect, which is very advantageous for us —but it might also cause dissatisfaction from the Cecil side."

The Silver Empress looked at her Prime Minister as if his question was completely unnecessary, "Is there a need to consider? Of course, we should respond. We’ve been waiting for the Typhon Empire’s concessions for over half a year —though we might still raise the stakes a bit. Trust me, the concession space Typhon has prepared is far from exhausted. As for any dissatisfaction from Cecil..."

She showed a slight smile, and the near-dusk sunlight streamed into the room from outside the window, draping over her like a cloak over her back and feet, "He’s Gawain Cecil; he won’t be dissatisfied."

...

The secret meeting between Gawain and Emperor Rosetta Augustus was only a fragment on the eve of Meeting Number 112. In fact, throughout this entire preparation phase of the conference, within this Outpost Number 112, similar meetings and secret talks were never ceasing and taking turns—

Almost all the delegates participating in the conference realized that the world structure would change within days. Countless intelligence personnel and think tank advisors busily gathered and compiled information from various sources like an ant colony beneath a bush, refining exploitable content from the vast information and presenting it to higher-level figures. These significant figures with sharp enough vision and accurate judgment (or those who perceive themselves as such) were stimulated by this information, continuously contacting their allies or competitors, and constantly preparing bargaining chips and gathering intelligence, hoping to gain more leverage in the forthcoming conference.

The reception rooms and meeting rooms in the Jade Hall became particularly busy, and certain rooms in various inns also became lively from dawn till dusk, with countless large and small meetings and negotiations transpiring in these rooms. In areas where some discussions were particularly "intense," such an awkward and subtle situation could occur—representatives, having completed one round of secret talks, would open the door to the hallway to see the King or Prime Minister of a neighboring country emerging from the next room over. After a possibly awkward and enthusiastic greeting, the representatives, having just caught their breath in the hallway, would regroup, turn around, and enter different rooms to continue the next round of discussions...

No one knows if any of the representatives, in these tense and busy preparatory days, walked into the wrong room and tangled up the alliances.

Meanwhile, as representatives of numerous minor and medium forces became busy, the three most influential powers, drawing everyone’s attention, suddenly became quiet—Cecil, Typhon, and the Silver Empire, after initial high-level contacts, quickly subsided. Only regular diplomatic personnel kept up normal exchanges privately; these three great empires appeared to be watching indifferently at other forces frantically scrambling, seemingly biding their time until the conference arrived.

Some representatives felt a slight unease about this, but most had no extra energy to monitor the movements of the three great empires—they became increasingly aware during these days of mutual contacts how powerful the new alliance would be: the paramount concern for representatives of small nations, without the power to influence the alignment of major nations, was evidently to secure a better "position" for themselves within this behemoth.

Time quickly passed amid these undercurrents, and the scheduled meeting date finally arrived.

The first rays of morning light illuminated the peak of the Crystal Tower at Outpost Number 112. The large pale green crystal burned with bright flames under the sunlight, and bells rang in the town simultaneously. Amidst the sound of the bells, elite Ranger soldiers in silver light armor and plumed helmets appeared at key intersections, while magic vehicles with flags of various kingdoms already hung gathered in front of the main venues. These vehicles were uniformly provided by the Cecil Clan, the initiators of the conference, and aside from the differing flags, all other standards were completely identical.

In fact, apart from these magic vehicles, most of the materials for the entire conference were uniformly supplied. The Silver Empire, as the host, bore the majority, while the rest was jointly managed by the Cecil Clan and the Typhon Empire. This "uniformity" was a deliberate arrangement by Gawain, with his own reasoning behind it—

All representatives adhere to a unified standard, seats are equivalent, and even if there are different languages and roles within the alliance, it should not be reflected in ostentatious displays or demonstrations of national power. This "uniformity" completely deviates from the old traditions where meetings equated to boasting strength, and it also reflects some fundamental concepts of the "community of destiny."

Of course, some representatives might find these arrangements novel and strange, and may not grasp Gawain’s intention, but before the conference ends... they will understand.

During the preparation days prior, the representatives attending the conference had already been notified and had some understanding of the reception process. So, they quickly boarded their respective vehicles. However, many representatives were surprised to find that these vehicles did not head to the largest meeting hall in the town, the "Jade Hall", or other large facilities, but drove straight outside the town.

Inside a magic vehicle bearing the emblem of the tribal country of Augari, the petite Venna Baizhi strained her neck to look out the window. She was surprised to see the direction of the convoy ahead and behind and could not help but glance at an Elf Affairs Officer sitting in the front passenger seat: "The venue is outside the town? Isn’t it in one of the halls in the town?"

"Yes, it’s outside the town," the gold-haired elf with long eyebrows and beautiful eyes turned to Venna with a slight smile—the bond between the silver elves and gray elves may have been severed long ago, but at least as distant relatives within the "elf" race, this officer was particularly friendly towards Venna. "The procedure manual clearly states that the venue is at the ’Oath Stone Circle’. There is no place called the ’Oath Stone Circle’ in the town."

"But I didn’t see any location suitable for hosting a meeting outside the town," Venna’s curiosity and confusion did not wane in the slightest. She looked out the car window at the modest-sized town. The vehicle she was in was approaching the gate in the enclosing wall, and outside the energy shielded gate, all she could see was vast wilderness and, at the end of the wilderness, the dark wasteland. "I can only see this expanse of barren land—could it be that the ’Oath Stone Circle’ is hidden by some kind of barrier?"

"It’s not," the officer shook his head, "the Oath Stone Circle is not a pre-existing structure; it requires the power of our queen to appear in this world. I apologize for the confusion this might have caused, but due to the large number of participants, the facilities within Outpost Number 112 are limited in capacity, plus some additional considerations obliged us to make this arrangement. But rest assured, even outside the watch station, elite Ranger Corps and combat Druids can still ensure the safety of all representatives. Although this is the border of the civilized world, the wasteland is still quite far from habitable areas."

"We are not worried about any wasteland, at least I’m not," remarked Camilla, the chieftain of the beastmen sitting next to Venna. A slight gurgle came from her throat. "I just think you should have notified us earlier about such arrangements. Until this morning, I thought the meeting was going to be in town."

"Apologies, that was our oversight."

"Ah, no matter," Camilla waved dismissively, her fluffy long tail curling and resting on Venna’s shoulder. She leaned over to look out the window on the other side, her yellow-brown vertical pupils glowing with curiosity. "The wasteland... it’s the first time I’m seeing it at such close range."

"Control your curiosity; curiosity killed the cat—and the beastmen." Venna gently swatted the tail off her shoulder, casually speaking while looking ahead at the convoy. In her view, the open wilderness was already approaching.

...

Outside of Outpost Number 112, in the vast flat wilderness, the arriving vehicles gathered in a designated parking area. In a nearby open field, the Silver Empress Belsetia stood beside a giant stone under the protection of several powerful Druids and elite Rangers.

The surface of the roughly square giant stone had been intricately carved with complex Druid Runes ahead of time, and as the sun’s rays hit the stone, those runes glittered with magic lights.

It wasn’t only elves standing beside the stone.

Gawain stood with Amber and Rebecca beside Belsetia. Further away, one could see many Cecil Clan members dressed as technicians. These technical personnel were busily adjusting several magic devices, which included vehicular layered Magic Web Devices, mobile Magic Obelisks, and several differently modelled Magic Web Terminals. Their expressions were focused, and their actions even carried a sense of noble mission.

This conference would be broadcast through the equipment in their hands, transmitted to the neural network, sent back to the Cecil Empire, and eventually broadcast through the Magic Web to various parts of the Empire, even reaching parts of the tribal country of Augari and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom’s networked regions. Although this couldn’t be called a "worldwide broadcast," the scope of this event’s broadcast had set a record since the inception of Magic Web Communication. Everyone involved in each stage of this was undoubtedly graced with a sense of participating in history.

Gawain looked away from the broadcasting equipment and turned his gaze toward the various arriving representatives, before finally looking at Belsetia beside him, a smile on his face: "Does today’s atmosphere give you any sense of familiarity?"

"No," Belsetia replied with a soft smile, lowering her voice to whisper, "Seven-hundred years ago when that meeting was held, I was too busy sneaking food at the back, and all order was maintained by Valendian. Don’t you remember?"

"...I recall Valendian’s dark-faced appearance back then," Gawain recalled, unable to help but chuckle, "Later, he and I spent quite some time looking for you, finally pulling you out from under the dining table."

Discussing past events, they exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

Meanwhile, behind them, Valendian’s pointy ears twitched slightly, and his face seemed to darken a bit...