Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1126: Chapter 1125: Visiting Sorin

Queen Belsetia stared at the streak of green on the horizon for a long time before she finally realized it was a continuous canopy of leaves—or more precisely, the very edge of a branch pointing high into the sky, appearing as a border at the horizon’s edge when viewed from above.

The Silver Empress widened her eyes in astonishment.

"That is the Sorin Giant Tree, a part of the branch extending from its southern trunk," Gawain noticed Belsetia’s gaze and pointed with a smile to the holographic projection. "Actually, we’re still far away—the external cameras will zoom in on distant images, and once we approach the Sorin Region, the aircraft will slow down further."

"It’s so massive!?" Belsetia couldn’t help but exclaim. "Beltira... just how vast an area has she covered?"

"The entire Sorinburg, along with what used to be the whole Sorin territory—it wasn’t this large at first, but in nearly half a year after emerging from the ground, the Sorin Giant Tree experienced a rapid expansion phase. This expansion gradually ceased once the immense forces of nature achieved balance within it. In fact, Beltira mentioned she could grow even more, but she was concerned it might have unforeseeable impacts on the ecological cycle of other parts of the Plains of the Holy Spirits, so she stopped at this stage."

"...I have seen descriptions of the Sorin Giant Tree in reports from the north, but now it seems that what can be captured in written intel is too conservative compared to the real thing," Belsetia took a gentle breath, shaking her head with a hint of emotion. "I can hardly imagine... how powerful the forces of nature must be to foster such a miracle."

"The Oblivion Association once replicated a ’God.’ Although it wasn’t complete, that thing was indeed created using genuine divine factors, and the Sorin Giant Tree is what emerged from their ’incubation chamber’ for creating gods, so you might consider it a ’divine miracle,’" Gawain said. "Although the Oblivion Association failed, from another perspective, they did prove one thing with a real example: the power of gods can be controlled by mortals if the right method is found."

"Born from the God’s incubation chamber..." Belsetia whispered. As the nominal Supreme Priestess of the God of Nature, though she had already strayed from the ancient beliefs, her theological knowledge was genuine. Gawain’s description quickly led her to some ancient records. "So this tree symbolizes the ’Samsara’ Giant Tree described in the holy scriptures? Is this a manifestation of myth?"

Gawain pondered for a moment. "Some of our scholars think so, too, but beyond the religious symbolism, there’s a lack of solid theoretical support for this matter, so it can’t be considered a conclusion."

"Then... what does ’he’ think about this?" Belsetia couldn’t help but ask, "I mean..."

She was referring to the God of Nature, Amon, but she didn’t dare to say the name outright.

Gawain understood and showed a slightly odd expression: "He suggests we believe in science instead of messing around with religious symbols and mythological extrapolations..."

Belsetia: "..."

"Ahem," realizing the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Gawain cleared his throat and then changed the topic. "The Sorin Giant Tree is considered the last mark left by the Oblivion Association on this land. All their technological achievements have been taken over by the Cecil Clan and are being transformed into beneficial medical and biochemical products for the people. However, another group of cultists hiding in the wasteland remains a threat."

"Indeed," Belsetia’s expression quickly became serious, her tone turning severe. "After hearing your intel, I have commanded the Masters Mages of the Sacred Stars Temple to recheck the logs of all towers at every node of the great walls, especially monitoring records of energy flows within the wasteland. While we haven’t found concrete evidence of the cultists’ activities you mentioned, we have indeed discovered some... previously unseen suspicious traces."

"Specifically, we’ve noted in a few log entries small-scale energy concentrations and unnatural transfers within the wasteland, and in other logs, we’ve noticed certain sentinel towers experiencing communications reset and interruptions in seconds. When we first learned of cultists in the wasteland, we checked these parameters, but only thought they were trying to steal communication channels from the sentinel system. Now it seems... these traces might indicate they had been collecting free magic power in the wasteland, developing some technology for using chaotic energy."

"Unfortunately, all this intel is indirect. We still lack the means to directly monitor the wasteland’s interior. The main function of the sentinel towers is to maintain barrier operation, and they cannot move. In the past, we only had to worry about mindless aberrations, and the monitoring efficiency of the sentinel towers sufficed. But now dealing with cunning cultists makes those towers insufficient."

Gawain nodded slightly as he glanced around the cabin. "Over the past two years, we have also constructed a number of observation points and forward bases at the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range to enhance surveillance of the Gondor wasteland. However, this monitoring is very limited. Recently, we have been attempting to find breakthroughs from the air, which might allow us to better control changes within the great walls."

"From the air?" Belsetia frowned slightly but quickly realized the underlying factor was the anti-gravity aircraft she was on. "You mean... using this so-called ’Dragon Cavalry’ magical device to intrude into the great walls, conducting direct reconnaissance of the Gondor wasteland?"

"’Dragon Cavalry’ is just one model of anti-gravity aircraft; there are many models. For instance, the one we’re on, its official model name should be ’Cloud Bottom’—a transport machine exclusively for personnel," Gawain first explained and then nodded gently. "We are indeed attempting to create more efficient and safer aircraft to carry out direct reconnaissance missions over the wasteland. After all, any successful military operation requires reliable reconnaissance, and we must at least see the land we plan to step on before any counterattack on the wasteland."

"That would be difficult," Belsetia frowned, clearly not optimistic about the matter. "Aircraft are indeed the best reconnaissance means, but their vulnerability is a fatal weakness, and in the wasteland, the airborne environment has always been treacherous—there is constant magic turbulence; near the clouds, massive energy releases can occur at any time. Magic radiation from the Well of Deep Blue refracts between clouds and the ground multiple times, threatening anything airborne like a dense blade rain. Regular magical shields are inefficient against that environment, and while heavy armor is reliable... it can’t be mounted on agile aircraft."

"Indeed, the sky environment in the wasteland is vastly different from outside, where adequate protection is crucial for survival," Gawain said, suddenly inquiring, "Speaking of which, I’m curious, with the Sacred Stars Temple’s defensive capabilities... can it fly safely over the Gondor wasteland?"

Belsetia paused a moment and said with some uncertainty, "I’ve really never thought of this... Theoretically, I believe it’s possible. The Sacred Stars Temple has very high output and multi-layered magical shields, as well as strong ancient alloy armor and internal force-field stabilizers. If it’s just flying over the Gondor wasteland, it should be feasible. But that’s only theoretical—the Sacred Stars Temple is the treasure of the Silver Empire, it’s irreplaceable and difficult to repair. I don’t think anyone would risk it on a reconnaissance mission into the wasteland..."

Saying this, she couldn’t help but glance at Gawain, suddenly becoming a bit wary. "No matter what Uncle Gawain says, it definitely won’t be possible."

"Ahem, of course not. I was just making a comparison," Gawain hurriedly waved his hands, then adopted a thoughtful expression. "But this also means that something like a giant sky fortress is useful in such a special wasteland environment..."

Queen Belsetia seemed not to have heard Gawain’s words; her attention appeared to have returned to the aircraft based on Magic Guide Technology itself. The vehicle was steadily approaching the Sorin Giant Tree, and the majestic, vast treetop had already occupied a considerable area of the visual field in the holographic projection—this flight journey provided the Silver Empress with a very novel experience, something entirely different from the "flight" she felt in the Sovereignty Chair at the Sacred Stars Temple and the experience of riding a Giant Eagle.

In the Sovereignty Chair, she felt as if she were connected to countless ancient machines, her senses stripped away, encoded, shifted, and fed back; she herself seemed to become a component in that old Sky Fortress, only able to watch the cold data quickly slide through her mind. The machines hummed in languages humans could not understand, leaving her with almost no energy to feel the sensation of overlooking the land.

Riding a Giant Eagle was another experience: the eagle and the master were in sync, which didn’t consume as much energy as the Sacred Stars Temple. However, no matter how wide the eagle’s back was, it could hardly be called a comfortable seat. Regardless of how fine the saddle is used, riding a Giant Eagle was still a labor-intensive task, requiring the rider to also allocate some effort to control the Wind Shield to help resist high-altitude airflow and temperature changes, making the flight experience increasingly unpleasant.

The ride experience of this aircraft, called "Cloud Bottom," was the most satisfying since she first touched the sky.

Is this thing for sale? Surely it is... If it can be verified that it has enough practical value in the southern part of the continent, perhaps considering an introduction of a batch... would be better than the limited practicality of the Giant Eagle or the already unreplicable "primordial Elven Technology."

In her contemplation, she noticed the nervous appearance of her handmaiden, Elaine, beside her, and couldn’t help but ask: "Elaine, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, I’m just... not used to it," Elaine smiled awkwardly. Although she did her best to disguise it, it seems her anxiety still caught the Empress’s attention, "After all, this is my first time on a Cecil Clan’s antigravity aircraft."

"You didn’t have this reaction when you worked at the Sacred Stars Temple," Belsetia couldn’t help but say, "Isn’t that also an antigravity aircraft?"

"Oh, that’s different," Elaine immediately said, "The Sacred Stars Temple is a flying city; as long as you don’t stand on the edge of its deck, working and living in the inner areas feels no different than standing on flat ground, but here... it’s buzzing everywhere."

As soon as she finished speaking, a sound of collision came from below the aircraft, coupled with a strong vibration that made the high-ranking elf handmaiden jump up in shock—only to be pulled back to her seat by the seatbelt: "Ah! Did we crash?!"

Gawain’s mouth twitched slightly; he really didn’t expect that Elaine, who ran around causing mischief with Belsetia seven hundred years ago, actually had mild acrophobia: "...We’ve landed."

So how did this acrophobic fellow manage to ride a Giant Eagle all the way with the whole Elven Delegation from the Silver Empire to the Northern Continent? Knock herself out, tie herself on the eagle’s back, and then be carried by other Giant Eagle Knights?

Elaine looked awkward, glancing at the Silver Empress, who sighed gently with a helpless expression. She looked forward at the holographic projection in the cockpit, only to find that the ancient magical device had shut down at some point, and the light-blocking barrier covering the cockpit was slowly dissipating. The dazzling sky light shone in from outside the hatch, accompanied by the slight clicking sound of mechanical locks opening at the edge of the hatch.

Gawain unfastened the seatbelt and rose from the seat: "Let’s go have a chat with Beltira."

Belsetia left the aircraft, but before stepping onto the ground, her first instinct was to gaze upwards—only to see a splendid, clear blue sky and sparse clouds, with no overarching treetop as she expected.

"What are you looking for?"

Gawain’s voice came from beside her, and Belsetia subconsciously replied: "Where’s the Sorin Giant Tree?"

The Gawain next to her laughed: "Look down, you’re on the treetop."

Belsetia paused, her attention turning to her feet, where she saw an expansive platform with faint wood grain extending in all directions, with a broader green land outside the platform—she had glimpsed this patch of green earlier but hadn’t realized that these extremely flat green areas were composed of precisely growing, layered leaves piled up. Further afield, she saw the antenna installations, energy towers, research facilities, and many things she couldn’t even guess at the names of, set atop the Sorin Treetop.

There was also a set of Treants armed with magical artillery patrolling the green land’s edge.

The Silver Empress hesitated for a moment before softly inhaling: "...Astonishing, it’s a miracle on par with the Sacred Stars Temple."

"Thank you for your praise," a voice came from not far away then, with a slight rasping quality akin to the friction of wooden structures. "It took me a long time to grow it into this form."

Belsetia immediately followed the voice, and in the next second, she saw the figure standing beside the aircraft—she had a graceful female upper body and a strangely structured lower body like plant structures, with numerous blooming vines extension like a cloak behind her, extending from her body to those layered and folded giant leaves in the distance. In the sunlight, these vines wriggled slightly, making rustling sounds.

Belsetia stopped, gazing at the vaguely familiar face and the strange, unhumanlike body.

Ultimately, none of this overlapped with her memory of Beltira.