Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1125: Chapter 1124: Pointing Toward the Wasteland

Summer in Aldernon cleared away the gloom, with rare dazzling sunlight pouring down from the sky, its brilliance shining through the windows, casting intricate shadows against the silver lamp stands and exquisite carvings on the window frames, leaving a trail of mottled light on the ground. Emperor Rosetta Augustus sat behind his desk, his gaze drifting across those spots for a long time without speaking.

In those patches of light, he seemed to see the mortal nations at this moment—connected through shadows between the light, those intersecting isolated parts seemed inevitable, yet regardless of that, a brighter era had ultimately arrived. Bathed in sunlight, all the light and shadow still came together to form this flourishing summer.

"Are you really deciding not to intervene in this matter?" Diana, the Royal Head Maid in name but in essence the leader of the Wanderers, looked at her sovereign she was loyal to, and asked without a trace of emotion in her tone, "Bard Wendell was once the Imperial General holding Winterwolf Defense Line. While his father and daughter now hold significant influence in the Empire’s military system, currently he pledges allegiance to the Cecil Clan, this matter..."

"He was the Wolf General twenty years ago, and the Wolf General from twenty years ago is already dead," Rosetta looked at Diana calmly, "For this era that is undergoing intense transformation, a Wolf General who has been removed from the military system and deviated from normal society for many years has no significance. He cannot return to Typhon’s military system, nor can he find his place in other parts of the Empire. Moreover..."

He paused briefly, as if recalling fragments from his youth in the afternoon sunlight—but those fragments soon vanished into thin air, transformed into precise evaluations and judgments.

"Furthermore, more than Bard Wendell’s personal value, I care more about the loyalty of the Wendell clan—Bard has left Typhon, but Duke Ferdinand and Andresha are still here. Other members of the Wendell clan, those small and large military aristocrats connected with them are still here. During this period, when the upheaval has just settled, the Empire needs these people’s loyalty more than ever."

Diana lowered her head: "I understand, your judgment is indeed farsighted."

Rosetta merely shook his head and then suddenly sighed, displaying an odd expression: "But this way, one of the ancient ancestors of the Augustus clan turns into a tree on Cecil land, and Typhon’s most promising Wolf General from the past becomes a researcher under that tree... The direction this world is taking is indeed unexpected."

This imperial ruler spoke with a strange expression, yet internally he couldn’t help but consider what ’surprises’ Gawain Cecil might reveal during their next meeting—could it really be necessary to check the security of royal tombs and various aristocratic family graves? There were reports that after Gawain’s ’revival,’ many Anzu aristocrats strengthened their family tomb coffins, which he once thought to be a foolish laughable matter, but now could not help but consider its rationale...

He didn’t mind if some ancestor of the Augustus clan returned to the world, but them returning as a member of the Cecil Clan would be a different matter entirely...

"Your Majesty?" Diana noticed Rosetta suddenly fell silent and couldn’t help but speak up to inquire, "What are you thinking about?"

"No, it’s nothing, let’s not discuss this," Rosetta shook his head, retracting his gaze from the light and shadow on the floor, "Cecil has just sent a communication regarding the Gondor wasteland, you should already know about this matter."

"Yes," Diana nodded, the expression on the Iron Soldier’s face could hardly show much variation, yet her presence seemed more solemn than before, "I saw the brief transcribed early on; its contents are... astonishing."

"Inside the ruins of the Well of Deep Blue, there are still operational ancient Gondor legacies, including active Iron Soldier Corps. A faction of Oblivion Association believers, out of control, is operating deep in the wasteland, and possibly siphoned off a considerable amount of energy from the Well of Deep Blue..." Rosetta spoke gravely, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with a gemstone ring on his hand, "Such a disturbing threat... has surprisingly been active right under our noses for several centuries."

"The wasteland has always been right under our noses, but for a long time, everyone assumed it was ’dead’," Diana said calmly, "Even if aberrations breached the barriers to invade the human world in the past two years, many nations did not take it seriously—in essence, the wasteland has not shown explicit ’malice’ towards those in secure zones, so subconsciously everyone assumes it would always remain locked in this state of safe confinement."

"I now more deeply understand the vigilance and caution maintained by Gawain Cecil regarding the Gondor wasteland following his revival," Rosetta said gravely, "As long as that thing exists, this world will never truly be safe. It is laughable that until just before the alliance was formed, many still considered the Cecil Clan’s newly constructed outposts and fortresses south of the Dark Mountain Range as ’the nervous paranoia of an old man about ancient threats’..."

"...I don’t know how to assess the subtle inclinations in human psychology, but I agree with your judgment regarding Gawain Cecil and the Gondor wasteland," Diana contemplated slightly, and then asked, "So what do you think of Cecil’s proposed plans?"

"They propose a long-term plan to counterattack the wasteland, hoping the Cecil Clan, Typhon, and the Three Great Empires of Silver can rally forces within their influential areas, simultaneously advancing from both the north and south of the Gondor wasteland. Their first goal is to establish forward bases at the foot of the great walls, then set up purification zones and more forward bases within the barriers—just like the pioneers did seven hundred years ago," Rosetta recalled the details from the communication previously sent by the Cecil Clan, "Meanwhile, they also hope to establish some form of communication and transportation method directly spanning the wasteland, to replace the currently unstable sentinel data chain and ’Gondor Loop Corridor’... This matter likely already received backing from Silver Empire, at least tacit approval.

"Overall, it’s an ambitious plan, although I hate to admit it, only someone like Gawain, who has experienced the second pioneering, would dare propose something like this—we, living in comfortable environments, find it hard to make such decisions.

"As for my stance... I tend to support it, at least the first stage— we need to rebuild those bases and pioneering camps at the foot of the great walls. Whether or not we move further to counterattack the heart of the wasteland in the future, at least we cannot continue the current state of being completely ignorant of the occurrences within the wasteland."

Diana watched Rosetta’s expression, slowly nodding: "A sufficiently wise judgment, yet maintaining enough caution."

"I am now very curious about your view on this matter," Rosetta suddenly said, "Not from the standpoint of the so-called ’Head Maid’ or ’Wanderer Commander,’ but from your... as a Gondor Iron Man’s standpoint, what are your thoughts on this? After all, from a certain perspective, that place counts as your ’home,’ and furthermore, there might still be an entire operational Iron Soldier Corps deep in the wasteland."

"...I don’t know what view I should have, this isn’t within my list of duties," Diana seemed to ponder for a moment, feeling slightly perplexed by Rosetta’s question, "I indeed was born during the Gondor Empire, but the production facilities that created me and the creators who conducted my mental calibrations were all destroyed, scattered in the dust during the chaotic wave. I have no feelings akin to ’nostalgia’ for the polluted dust and toxic waters left behind after the chaos. As for the ’Iron Soldier Corps’ you mentioned... I do indeed have some interest, as it has been a long time since I last saw my kind—if they’re still operational, perhaps I could update some useful data from their minds to improve the potency of my core operations."

"Of course, if you’re asking for my views on the plan to ’retake the wasteland,’ then I am in great support of it—it’s a very wise and proactive plan. Rather than sealing a deadly threat within an energy barrier and pretending it doesn’t exist, bravely facing it and attempting to completely resolve this crisis is what’s truly meaningful."

Rosetta gazed at Diana for a while: "If—I’m saying if—you reconnect with that Iron Soldier Corps deep within the wasteland, and they or the individuals behind them authorized to command ask you to ’rejoin,’ what would you do? Does this order contradict your vow of ’allegiance to the Augustus Clan’? When two orders conflict, how do you prioritize them?"

"...Long, long ago, when your great-grandfather was still very young, he would often try to crash me with logic-conflicting questions to avoid midday classes or afternoon physical training," Diana said expressionlessly while looking at Rosetta, "Are you trying something similar now?"

Rosetta was also expressionless: "I’m just a bit curious."

"Iron Soldiers obey a logical system, but we are far more adaptable than the so-called ’magic artificial intelligence,’" Diana said. "If what you say were to actually happen, I would explain my situation to my superiors and seek their understanding. Furthermore, I would explain why I left the Iron Man Network seven hundred years ago. In any case, a longstanding Iron Soldier Corps won’t lack an outdated model like an Observatory guardian, whereas you definitely still need the experience I’ve accumulated over hundreds of years—I will never encounter the directive conflict scenario and crash that you hypothetically proposed."

"Well, I did say it was only ’if,’" Rosetta spread his hands, suddenly a bit curious, "But you mentioned my great-grandfather when he was young... Did he really try to crash you with such logical questions? I never knew about this... How did you deal with it?"

"I rebooted faster than he could escape the room," Diana said quietly, her gaze shifting to behind Rosetta. In her high-precision, man-made crystal eyes, the arcane symbols for detecting Spiritual Bodies refreshed rapidly, "Additionally, I should remind you, your great-grandfather is present."

Rosetta was momentarily stunned, slightly turned his head to the side, and saw the ancestors of the Augustus line, standing expressionlessly behind him ever since the Eye of the God Curse descended two hundred years ago, with his great-grandfather closest, looking down at him.

Rosetta was silent for a few seconds, then turned back, regaining his proper, upright demeanor.

The curse that lasted two centuries was lifted, but the aftereffects... seem to persist for a while longer.

...

Above the Plains of the Holy Spirits, an anti-gravity aircraft much larger than conventional Dragon Cavalry flew under the sunlight, skimming the Cloud Bottom. Several Dragon Cavalry Fighters tasked with guarding and two fully armed Dragonborn warriors formed ranks on either side, flying escort formation. The bright sunlight pierced through the thin high-altitude clouds, illuminating the steel-and-crystal hull with a dazzling silver glow, simultaneously revealing the energy shields enveloping the aircraft and Dragonborn Soldiers.

Inside the central large aircraft, the cabin was much more spacious than that of a standard Dragon Cavalry, divided into a front and back section. The rear cabin was semi-circular, with several seats arranged along the edge of the curved wall, and in front of them was a Magic Web Terminal device—the shading barrier outside the cabin was already deployed, blocking the overly bright sky, leaving only the most comfortable lighting inside. Above the Magic Web Terminal, a live overhead view of the Plains of the Holy Spirits was projected from outside the cabin.

Silver Empress Belsetia sat in one of the seats, watching the holographic display with a curious and intrigued expression, occasionally examining the aircraft’s interior structure and the indistinguishable ancient magical devices. Her handmaiden, Elaine, however, appeared a bit tense, sometimes gripping the armrest of her seat, sometimes frowning as she carefully listened to the hum of the Anti-Gravity Ring from beneath the floor.

"I heard about these magical flying devices back at the Royal Court. My Grand Astrologer was full of praise for your pioneering advancements in anti-gravity and commended your optimization and enhancement techniques for magic symbols... To be honest, I once thought her reaction was a bit exaggerated because anti-gravity has always been the elves’ forte," Belsetia said to Gawain beside her, "But now I begin to believe in her appraisal of you... I can sense the energy flow near the Anti-Gravity Rings, and your efficiency in utilizing Magic Power is remarkably high, and it’s surprisingly stable..."

"Mathematics is the cornerstone of the world, and the greatest feature of a cornerstone is its stability," Gawain replied. "But compared to the Sacred Stars Temple of the Silver Empire, these small-scale anti-gravity devices might not be much in your eyes."

"It’s different, Uncle Gawain," Belsetia smiled. "The Sacred Stars Temple indeed is a magnificent legacy, but its biggest issue is that it is merely a ’legacy’—it wasn’t even created by us Silver Elves, but by the much older primordial elves. If we could build a second Sacred Stars Temple, that would truly count as the pride of the Silver Empire."

A legacy from the primordial elves...

Gawain couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, lamenting that miraculous creations like the Sacred Stars Temple had now become "singleton"—Rebecca had long coveted the "ancestral technology" of elves, even dreaming of building a Sky Fortress akin to the Sacred Stars Temple, in fact, it was also Gawain’s dream. However, regrettably... with the Cecil Clan’s current technical prowess, it remains a distant goal.

"How far are we from the Sorin Giant Tree?" Belsetia suddenly asked.

"About half an hour of flight time," Gawain said, "You can take this time to prepare what you want to say to Beltira—you haven’t seen each other for centuries."

Belsetia softly hummed a response, her mind surfacing with memories from several centuries ago, while in her peripheral vision, a distant tint of green suddenly appeared on the horizon in the holographic display ahead.