Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 381 - 380: Stirring Restlessness

Dark Mountain Range, Mid-level Zone of "Defied Fortress", in front of the internal defense station doors.

The ancient fortress in this area was newly renovated, with the originally mottled and peeling walls repainted. The white wall paint and light gray floors made the hall look brand new. On the snow-white walls, every ten meters or so, a bright magic crystal lamp was embedded, illuminating the entire space as bright as day. Behind each lamp on the wall, there was a glowing band made up of small hexagonal contours, emitting a faint blue light, extending along the wall, and elegantly and simply forming geometric patterns near the ceiling, eventually connecting with it.

On the newly laid ceiling, the neat honeycomb-shaped hexagonal structure extended to the end of the hall, reaching into the distant darkness of the corridor...

These honeycomb structures were the new energy source used to replace the original energy core of the Defied Fortress after it failed — the Second-Generation Magic Net Device.

These Magic Nets have not been fully enclosed yet. According to the leader, the dense hexagons appear to trigger "trypophobia" in people, and must be covered with a ceiling, but in Soldrin’s view, it was precisely these unenclosed, faintly blue-glowing Magic Nets that gave the entire room an extraordinary and captivating beauty. This scene, composed of orderly geometric lines and advanced ancient magical devices, indeed resembled the treasures of the elven civilization, the Sacred Stars Temple hailed as the "incredible ancient technological miracle"...

Who would have thought, this ancient Gondor facility built during the Meteoric Era would be "revived" in such a way a thousand years later? Just outside this hall, adjacent large indoor spaces housed the noisy workshops and storage facilities for backup supplies. After Kamel repaired the access isolation system in this area, and the leader sent enough guardian Soldiers, the security of the mid-level zone of the fortress was ensured. Now, the number of people working and living in this area has reached over a thousand. Although far from matching the full glory of Defied Fortress in its heyday, it still made Kamel quite emotional for a while.

Feeling slightly emotional, Soldrin withdrew his gaze from observing the surroundings and looked at the dozen or so selected elite Soldiers — these Soldiers were dressed in the unique light armor of the Steel Cavalry, wearing helmets made with precise machine stamping, with full coverage. The detector lens at the front of the helmet emitted a faint red light, and they stood there silently awaiting orders. Although they were just a group of "mortals" without any magical talent, an indescribable aura emanated from them.

—So far, this aura could only be said to be a bluff, but as long as they experienced a few real battles, this aura would become tangible.

A subordinate serving as the deputy captain glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall not far away, and a slightly muffled voice came from under the helmet, "Sir, it’s time to depart."

"Wait five more minutes," Soldrin waved his hand, "The people sent by the leader should be arriving soon."

As he spoke, this High-Ranked Ranger showed a rather peculiar expression — that Miss Shadow Master, although usually appearing unreliable, had always been punctual. So much so that the leader had taken to using her as a mealtime alarm clock, why would she be late?

Just as he was wondering, suddenly Amber’s loud voice could be heard from the other end of the hall entrance, "Hey, I’m here, I’m here! You guys didn’t wait too long, did you? I ran into a little unexpected situation!"

Soldrin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned his head, "That’s fine, the time just passed by a few... hmm?"

The High-Ranked Ranger’s long, golden eyebrows slightly arched in surprise as he watched Amber hopping and skipping toward him... the figure behind her moving in small leaps and bounds.

He couldn’t resist inquiring with curiosity when Amber reached him, "And this... Miss Sea Demon is?"

Amber instantly rolled her eyes, "A last-minute addition to the team—just the day before yesterday, the old man... Gawain had only told me to come help you, and today, when it was time to leave, he suddenly added this sea caterpillar creature, saying I had to bring her along."

While speaking, the half-elf Miss looked slightly displeased at the sea demon beside her, "I originally was traveling fast alone, but bringing her along it’s been a slow journey here, you have no idea how slow this guy moves..."

Tiel immediately chimed in, "I had a faster way to get here — you just didn’t like it so what can I do?"

"Nonsense! Rolling yourself up into a ball and having me kick you from behind — you’re relaxed but it exhausts me?! And we’re traversing mountain paths! Aren’t you afraid I might kick you off a cliff?"

Soldrin’s gaze at Tiel immediately changed: rolling herself into a ball to be kicked along... this sea demon truly matched the rumors, laziness to the extent of near death...

Tiel seemed unfazed by Soldrin’s look and swung her long tail back and forth, curiously observing these strangely dressed Soldiers, then happily waved at everyone, "I heard! You’ve discovered a new area south of the fortress? So I volunteered to join — thinking I might come across some snacks or something..."

Soldrin looked baffled, "Snacks?"

"Ahaha, don’t mind her, creatures steeped in the sea, more or less waterlogged," Amber chuckled, deftly diverting Soldrin’s attention, "It’s getting late, let’s set off."

Tiel immediately glared at Amber, "Don’t think I don’t understand! ’Waterlogged’ is a word you learned from that leader — are you insulting me?"

Amber took all the blame with a thick skin, completely ignoring Tiel’s doubts. However, Soldrin, looking worried, leaned in and whispered, "Are you sure there’s no problem? I heard this sea demon Miss is notoriously lazy. What if she falls asleep halfway— we’re not going on a picnic, but exploring dangerous ancient ruins..."

Unexpectedly, Tiel’s hearing was better than Soldrin imagined. Before Amber could speak, the sea demon Miss waved her hand (and tail) carelessly, "Don’t worry, I’m somewhat a Tide Master and won’t drag you little ones back. Besides... if I really get too lazy to walk, I’ll just curl up in a ball and sleep. You can have someone push me from behind..."

Soldrin: "..."

He’s genuinely starting to feel that this exploration trip is looking perilous...

In the feudal lord’s mansion, Aunt Heidi came to Gawain’s study with a stack of documents. Upon seeing her, Gawain nodded slightly, "Amber and Tiel should be setting off with Soldrin’s exploration team by now."

"Considering the time... probably," Aunt Heidi pondered for a moment before saying. Then she slightly frowned, with a hint of doubt in her voice, "Ancestor, is it really alright to send those two to help?"

Gawain looked at this occasionally overly serious granddaughter with a half-smile, "You think it’s inappropriate?"

"You know Amber’s character. If no one oversees her, she’s unsuitable wherever she goes," Aunt Heidi sighed helplessly, "And as for the sea demon Miss Tiel... I can’t even analyze her from a personality standpoint. The last time I saw her awake was three days ago in the White River— she went for a swim and got caught by the fishermen in the East District, who ended up tearing their net."

"...She even has such glorious achievements?" Gawain was momentarily stunned before quickly shaking his head, "Ahem, these are all trivial matters; you’ve only noticed their unreliable aspects, but don’t forget their peerless abilities."

Gawain grew serious, looking into Aunt Heidi’s eyes, "Amber may not be reliable, but she’s an undisputed master of shadows. At least in the field of shadow manipulation, she’s as powerful as an elemental creature in its elemental world. The ’Shadow Testing Grounds’ that Soldrin discovered might be quite dangerous for ordinary people, hence needing Amber’s power. As for Tiel, she’s an expert in countering divine power, which not everyone knows, but you do— those sea demons each grew up eating gods raw and have terrifying resistance to divine power. The defied Fortress is a place for studying divine power, and the Shadow Testing Grounds might be related to the Goddess of Shadows. Tiel is an extra layer of insurance; if there’s truly a divine relic there, only Tiel can safely handle it."

"...Indeed, as you say," Aunt Heidi thought for a moment and could only concede that Gawain made sense, "I hope they don’t stir up any trouble."

"More importantly, do you have any significant matters to report?" Gawain observed Aunt Heidi’s expression, noticing a hint of seriousness on her face when she entered the study earlier, "Is there an issue with any of the factories?"

"The situation is likely more serious than that, Ancestor," Aunt Heidi said with a grave expression, "I just received a report from the Intelligence Agency— our spies in Count Hosman’s Territory and Viscount Carol’s Territory discovered unusual movements among the southern aristocrats lately. The various local nobles are holding frequent gatherings, led by Count Hosman, and there are rumors circulating among the knights..."

"What rumors?"

"...Duke Gawain Cecil is portrayed as greedy and insane, seizing the rights and territories of all knights to amass wealth and recklessly disrupting Anzu’s traditional order. Moreover, this disruption is spreading outward; the Kant territory is a sacrifice, and many ’illustrious and honorable surnames are tarnished on Cecil’s land’— these are the exact words circulating among the knights and lesser nobles in those territories, and the consistency in their narrative clearly indicates deliberate dissemination."

Gawain listened quietly, with a slightly playful smile curling at the corners of his mouth, "Interesting... someone finally accused me of disrupting Anzu’s tradition— I thought they’d at least wait until Francis II returned."

"Aren’t you angry?" Aunt Heidi looked at Gawain in surprise, "After all, you are the creator of Anzu’s traditions, and those people seem to have forgotten who their ancestor is!"

"Oh, they haven’t forgotten, nor are they foolish. They just see greater benefits," Gawain shook his head, "Is there anything more beyond this?"

"A group of Holy Light missionaries recently entered the southern borders from the northern Carol territory, frequently interacting with the senior members of the southern Holy Light church. These missionaries are heavily promoting the matter of Cecil’s acceptance of followers of an Otherworldly God among the knight class— of course, they haven’t used the neutral term ’followers of an Otherworldly God’, but instead claim we’re accepting heretic and Evil God followers."

Gawain lifted his eyes and asked the only question that mattered to him, "Did the local noble leaders acquiesce to the actions of these missionaries?"

"I’m afraid it’s more than just acquiescence," Aunt Heidi shook her head, "Without the covert assistance of the local noble leaders, it would be difficult for the missionaries to rally all the knights, who are themselves nobles, for such ’propaganda’. The knight class isn’t something you can easily muster just by ringing a bell at a church gate."

Gawain nodded slightly, "It seems the southern nobles have also roped in the Holy Light church— they’re willing to do anything for the chance of gain. But this is also good..."

Aunt Heidi looked at Gawain in surprise, "It’s good? How is this good?"

Gawain smiled faintly, "We only need to fight them once, rather than each separately."