Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 256 - 255: Traces of a Clue

Gawain listened carefully to the reports from the patrol soldiers. From these reports, he learned that what the patrol had encountered was not just some simple bandits or exiled mercenaries, but a group of highly organized, professional soldiers with extensive experience.

The patrol’s reports couldn’t be wrong because their captain was a seasoned veteran who had served the Cecil Clan since the Old Cecil Era—all the veterans and outstanding soldiers who later grew up within the territory had been distributed among the new troops as "seeds." These people would not make major errors in battlefield judgment.

If it weren’t for the Cecil Clan warriors’ advanced technology, akin to zenith creations for the armies of this era; if it weren’t for the patrol captain timely detecting the enemy’s presence and responding accurately, it surely would have turned into a tough battle. But there are no "ifs" on the battlefield; facing weapons and combat methods completely beyond comprehension, these suspicious armed individuals trying to infiltrate Cecil suffered a crushing defeat, leaving only two survivors out of a ten-man team.

Gawain looked at the spoils brought back by the patrol—weapons and armor, packs and bags, many of which had scorch marks or molten spots from Scorching Rays, but many items were also well-preserved. However, all these things bore no identifiable markings, not even any distinct styles. Although each piece was of fine quality, evidently, their owners did not wish to reveal their identities through this equipment.

The tools for drawing maps that Amber mentioned and the sketches produced were placed on a separate table, along with some other items Amber found rather suspicious.

Gawain picked up the rough map showing the routes through the Dark Mountain Range, frowning as he examined it carefully. He noticed that it contained not only maps but also some undecipherable coded symbols—even though he couldn’t make sense of them, he could guess what they were likely indicating.

Although Amber was quite astute in her professional field, this situation clearly did not match her expertise. She looked at those tools in bewilderment, curiously asking Gawain, "Where do you think these people came from?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course it’s our ’good neighbors’," Gawain shrugged, casually tossing the sketches back onto the table. "Well-equipped, well-trained, infiltrating through the Dark Mountain Range, mapping as they go to gather intelligence—who else would engage in such activities?"

As he spoke, he glanced at those unmarked weapons and equipment, "They even specially prepared this blank gear to cover their tracks... Are they taking the Anzu people for fools?"

At this point, the door was pushed open, and Aunt Heidi came in. She heard Gawain’s words and couldn’t help shaking her head, "We can’t say that—although the border troops of Anzu would surely understand their origins once these people are captured, without evidence, capturing them amounts to nothing since the two countries haven’t officially declared war. It doesn’t matter whose spies are caught as long as no one admits it, really. Most aristocrats are both concerned with appearances and shameless creatures."

Amber glared at Aunt Heidi, "Hey, you’re an aristocrat too, your whole family are aristocrats!"

"But that doesn’t stop me from evaluating other aristocrats," Aunt Heidi, for once, refrained from rapping Amber on the head (probably because there were too many people, and she had to maintain elegance). She simply glanced at Amber and then walked to Gawain, "Ancestor, I have already assigned more personnel to the mines, and Sir Byron has gone there personally."

Gawain nodded approvingly, while Aunt Heidi showed a hint of worry, "Ancestor, do you think these imperial soldiers are a signal for war?"

"They’ve already entered the Dark Mountain Range; war is near," Gawain said bluntly, offering no comforting words. "The eastern defense line of the Anzu Empire is impregnable, and the Loland Clan is a tough nut to crack. Only from the Anzu territory extending into the Typhon borders, adjacent to the Gondor wasteland, is the Dark Mountain Range considered a weak point along the entire border—but this natural barrier does not allow large armies through. Typhon can only send small infiltration squads to cause disruptions, and only when they are truly ready for war would these infiltration squads be put to use."

At this point, Gawain closed his eyes slightly, and the satellite view of the entire Dark Mountain Range floated in his mind.

The Dark Mountain Range winds through Anzu territory, turning southward at the Typhon border to form a natural barrier, eventually leveling off between Typhon and the Gondor wasteland, merging into the land.

He could almost delineate these Typhon soldiers’ routes in his mind.

"I fear the infiltration squads are more than this one," Gawain opened his eyes, looking at the two Typhon prisoners lying on the mats who had regained some spirits. He walked over to them, leaning down to look, "Do you know who captured you?"

One of the prisoners fearlessly met Gawain’s gaze, his features twisted in pain but his voice still steady, "I’ve heard you’re Gawain Cecil."

"Do you have anything you’d like to confess?"

"Everything your men could ask has been asked; they found nothing," the Typhon soldier said, bracing his neck. "Even if you really are Gawain Cecil, we won’t say anything."

"I know you have companions, divided into several teams lurking in the Dark Mountain Range, surveying maps while infiltrating Anzu territory. If I’m correct, you might even be planning to stay hidden within Anzu, waiting for orders to strike, right?" Gawain said calmly, with the experience and knowledge of Gawain Cecil and his own quick mind. He easily deduced what uses these infiltration squads would have once they successfully entered enemy territory, and as he spoke, the two prisoners’ faces darkened with each statement, "Your intelligence is evidently flawed—I guess how your commander described the Anzu southern border before you set off... barren, undeveloped, poorly defended, relying on the natural danger of the Dark Mountain Range for peace for a century, correct? That’s why he so confidently sent you over."

"No, we know of your existence, cough cough... and we also know about your developing new regions," another prisoner spoke up, "cough cough... Our intelligence is more informed than you imagine. If you are really that great hero from seven hundred years ago... you must know that times have changed..."

Gawain looked at the two captured soldiers with slight surprise. Their excellent psychological resilience and tolerance under pressure surprised him greatly, as not everyone could maintain a strong stance in front of a resurrected legend, even well-trained soldiers were no exception — most professional soldiers of this era had little sense of honor and ’patriotism’, but these two prisoners were clearly different. They were willing to face death, fully loyal.

How does Typhon train its army? Have they also realized the importance of indoctrinating soldiers with values?

Gawain subtly released the powerful pressure of a Transcendent. Even though his strength was discounted compared to the original "Gawain Cecil," such pressure was unbearable for ordinary people. Under the dual oppression of magic power erosion and mental force, the faces of the two prisoners quickly turned pale. Gawain spoke unhurriedly, "Don’t be too confident in your intelligence, ’soldiers of this era.’ Have you forgotten how you were defeated?"

The eyes of the two prisoners clearly wavered.

"The soldiers patrolling the mountains are just ordinary Cecil soldiers, the most ordinary kind — and they can easily destroy so-called ’elites’ like you. You might want to consider what the outcome would be if your comrades and an entire legion equipped the same encountered them — your intelligence is outdated, young men."

After finishing this sentence, Gawain directly withdrew the pressure. He didn’t continue trying to extract information from the prisoners but instead walked towards the door, leaving a word with Wright as he left: "Take care of these two people, try to heal them."

As they left the detention room, Aunt Heidi caught up with Gawain: "Ancestor, is your plan to intimidate those two and then have Priest Wright heal them, create an opportunity for them to escape, and finally have them run back to warn their comrades so we can track them and capture them all?"

Amber, who ran out with them, looked surprised upon hearing Aunt Heidi’s guess: "Can you really do that?"

Then she sighed, "You nobles have such dirty minds."

However, Gawain shook his head directly: "Don’t think about it; these specially trained soldiers have undergone conditioning. They won’t fall for such tricks."

Aunt Heidi was very puzzled to hear this: "Then what you said to those two prisoners at the end was..."

"Saying a couple of impressive lines before leaving makes one seem more formidable."

Aunt Heidi: "..."

She had no idea how to respond appropriately to an ancestor who casually said "seem more formidable," so she simply hypnotized herself to forget what Gawain had just said and continued the conversation: "Then are you going to interrogate those two prisoners later on?"

"No results will come from questioning them in the short term, but their comrades might have already infiltrated nearby. It’s hard to say whether those guys will cause major destruction soon," Gawain frowned, looking towards the direction of the Dark Mountain Range. He wasn’t worried about the defense of his territory — the sentries, walls, and magic traps and rune alarm devices on all sides were sufficient to ensure security, and a small infiltration squad wouldn’t have lost its mind to attack a developing town guarded by an army. However, he was very concerned about the isolated mines, logging sites, and developing outposts outside the territory. "I need to personally go into the mountains to take a look. Amber, come with me."

"Ah?" Amber froze for a moment instinctively, but then she remembered her identity as a personal guard, her ears drooping, "Oh..."

The battlefield in the mountains from the skirmish hadn’t been cleaned up yet, and the patrol squad had limited manpower, only taking prisoners and some captured items back to the territory to report. When Gawain and Amber arrived at the scene, the Cecil soldiers sent to clean up were transporting the bodies still blocking the mountain path. Gawain led Amber to check every body and the entire battle area until something suddenly caught his attention.

It was a piece of paper dropped by the side of the mountain path, seemingly an order from a superior to these soldiers. The piece of paper itself had been half-burned by a Scorching Ray, with only a few broken and fragmented words left on the remaining half.

But it was precisely these few fragmented words that made Gawain’s brow furrow slightly.

"What’s wrong?" Amber couldn’t help but curiously come over when she saw Gawain stop, "What’s written on this paper... I can’t understand it."

"The handwriting... looks a bit familiar to me," Gawain’s face carried an expression of disbelief, "Could it be... that guy?"