Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 556 - 555: Tangled Threads

Listening to the information brought by the elven messenger named Sonia Frostleaf, Duchess Victoria Wilder’s expression became increasingly grim.

Those were certainly not good news.

Especially at this critical juncture.

"We know that Anzu is caught in a... chaos, and you have many urgent issues to resolve," the messenger named Sonia stated bluntly. This short-haired elf looked young and delicate, but she was likely an "elder" who had witnessed the rise and fall of human kingdoms for centuries. She calmly assessed Anzu’s civil war, yet left everyone present unable to refute, "The Silver Empire has no right to intervene in any internal issues of human kingdoms, but what we are facing now is a crisis that surpasses national concepts—in the face of this crisis, the survival of civilization as a whole should be prioritized."

"We certainly understand this," Duke Baldwin Franklin nodded from the side, "The great walls are there, and each of us can see that they are in an unusual condition—but this civil war is not something we can decide on."

"This is a problem you must solve on your own," Sonia Frostleaf said helplessly. "On issues beyond internal affairs, the Silver Empire will do its utmost to provide support to friends—technical data, technical personnel, we will send them over—but Anzu’s internal problems... can only be resolved by the Anzu people themselves."

Baldwin Franklin and Victoria Wilder deeply exchanged glances.

In each other’s eyes, they saw the same profound helplessness and exhaustion.

Did they not know about this crisis? Did the nobles of Anzu not know about this crisis? Yes, of course they knew, and they have known for a long time—even possibly earlier than the elves.

How many times did Duke Gawain Cecil warn them? Every aristocrat moving in and out of the Silver Castle is aware of this. From the day that resurrected founding hero emerged from his grave, he had been warning people to face the threat of the Gondor wasteland, but each of his warnings was ignored, misinterpreted, and even resisted and vilified as conspiracy theories. The aristocrats of the capital labeled it as "uncontrolled anxiety," as an "excuse for military aggression," and even suggested that the ancient hero was hallucinating, provoked by the monsters of the Dark Mountain Range—yet even so, as late as last month, Gawain Cecil Duke’s warning message was still sent to the Silver Castle.

The aristocrats of the capital went through the motions of discussing that warning letter for a full half-month, and it still hasn’t been concluded.

The Northern Duchess couldn’t help but glance at Prince Wales sitting at the head position, the crown prince sat there expressionless, but deep within his eyes, as calm as still water, there was a faint trace of mockery.

"We will do everything we can to communicate with the eastern borders—for the sake of Anzu... and the human being, the royal family will make the greatest effort," Victoria said calmly, "But this matter is very complex... we need a little time."

"Then do it as quickly as possible, Duchess Wilder," Sonia Frostleaf nodded slightly, "We will also provide the maximum assistance—if necessary, we can reach out to the eastern borders. In this chaos of Anzu, at least the elves’ stance is neutral."

...

Cecil Castle, inside the feudal lord’s mansion.

Gawain had not yet had the chance to continue investigating the secret connection between the dragons and the Mithril Vault when Amber delivered another intriguing intelligence report.

"According to reports from agents we dispatched to the Plains of the Holy Spirits, elven giant eagles have been spotted in the northern region—heading towards St. Soniel City."

Gawain set aside the planning papers in his hand—it was a detailed report on building the Southgate Fortress to the south of the defied Fortress—he raised his head and looked at Amber: "When did this occur?"

"Sighted three days ago—agents sent the report to the rocky ridges Fortress as quickly as possible, then relayed the information back via Magic Web Communication," Amber said, uncharacteristically serious, showing a bit more gravitas than usual only when reporting such intelligence, "Judging by the speed of the giant eagle... by now, the elven messenger should already be in the Silver Castle."

"They did indeed send someone..." Gawain said softly, "It seems the situation with the great walls is truly dire..."

Amber, having completed the report, transformed instantly from a serious and efficient Intelligence Agency director into a laid-back figure, swaying slightly by Gawain’s desk. Grabbing some nuts from the table and munching on them, she murmured, "Can you guess what those elves are here to do?"

"I can probably guess," Gawain, long used to Amber’s unregulated style, merely glanced at this half-elf, shook his head slightly, and said, "And I also know that soon, I will be busy—and I cannot avoid it either."

Amber was taken aback, curious: "Huh? You? You’re not busy enough already?"

"The elves sending envoys to the human kingdoms at this time are discussing nothing other than the issue with the great walls," Gawain explained to Amber as he looked at her, "Three days of overload has certainly caused severe damage to those sentinel towers. In the current situation, rebuilding a barrier like the one led by the Silver Empire with joint efforts from all countries, as was done seven hundred years ago, seems impossible. So the elves likely want assistance from human kingdoms in repairing or strengthening that barrier. If my assessment of the great walls’ current state is correct, they should have sent envoys to every human kingdom. The problem, therefore, arises... Anzu is in the middle of a civil war."

Amber thought about it and suddenly realized: "The issue of legitimacy?"

"The barrier must be repaired, even if the nobles of Anzu are dull and foolish, they will not remain numb to this issue. But the key is who can represent Anzu to repair that barrier," Gawain smiled and shook his head, "In the eyes of ordinary people, repairing the barrier is merely about repairing it for the kingdom’s security and for human survival, with no hidden meanings in it. But for the rulers of this kingdom... this is a crucial symbol.

"At the critical juncture of the Anzu civil war, whoever can reach an agreement with the elves, and whoever can go to the borders of the wasteland to repair the sentinel towers, will represent Anzu."

Amber wasn’t someone who understood "aristocratic rules" very well, but after being by Gawain’s side for so long, she had come to understand some of the twists and turns involved. At this moment, she realized: "To send someone to repair the great walls, the Anzu civil war must pause, but as long as the royal family and the Duke of the East continue their dispute over ’legitimacy,’ the civil war can’t stop. So if Anzu ultimately has to send someone to repair the barrier, it must be someone who is not involved in the power struggle for the throne but is qualified to represent the kingdom... then they can only come to you?"

"Repairing the great walls is a large project. If the civil war doesn’t stop, neither the royal family nor the Duke of the East dares to allocate forces to repair the barrier, but if the barrier isn’t repaired, no one can survive. They have no choice," Gawain sighed, "I also have no choice—be prepared, it’s not just my responsibility, it might also be an opportunity."

Amber blinked, looking at Gawain’s always composed expression, she almost forgot to continue munching on the dried fruit in her hand.

"In this world, is everything that happens an opportunity to you?"

"Not exactly, but given the situation, I have no choice but to turn everything into an opportunity," Gawain shook his head, "Go inform Sir Philip and Byron, let them come—it’s time to make military preparations."

"Call them over?" Amber’s eyes widened slightly, "Are you planning to make a move on rocky ridges Fortress when the royal family and the Duke of the East are defenseless?"

"No, doing so would only undermine my own foundation and result in a kingdom that would be unstable for the next twenty years. I won’t do such things," Gawain shook his head, "But we must be prepared for the worst—I don’t believe this civil war will really stop, nor do I believe the southern borders will always remain uninvolved. Both the royal family and the Duke of the East are smart people, trying to find opportunities in this barrier crisis... it’s definitely not just me."

Amber sized Gawain up and down, then her figure gradually faded into the air: "Tsk tsk, one can’t really play with you old schemers. You continue your planning here, I’ll go get those two over."

Gawain watched Amber’s figure gradually disappear, then withdrew his gaze, letting his eyes fall on a blueprint on the desk.

It was a means of transportation, or rather... a weapon.

A land king assembled from engines, tracks, armor, and turrets.

Though the repair of the great walls was urgent, Gawain knew well the kingdom’s efficiency of the era; the so-called ’urgent’ was a world apart from the production plans of the southern borders. Given the efficiency of those aristocrats of the capital, they would at least bicker over this matter until summer. During this lengthy time, there were many things he could do.

"The blueprint tested by the Origin Laboratory... I hope it goes as smoothly as I expected."

Gawain muttered to himself, reaching out towards the corner of the desk for the food box.

He groped only to find it gone.

"...Why have they even taken the box now?!"

...

The situation in Anzu was a whirlpool, human society a tangled mess; these scary homos living on land, though short-lived and fragile, possessed a talent for disrupting their society that even impressed the sea demons. Miss Tiel deeply felt this.

On the first ship berth at the northern banks Shipyard, Sea Demon Tiel consciously curled herself into a ball, listening as the craftsmen discussed newspaper content while letting her thoughts drift aimlessly.

This human creature, even without a tail, can somehow still "tangle" themselves into a haphazard mess in a sense.

But these matters had little to do with sea demons, at least until humans gained the capability for oceanic voyages, these scary homos living on land had little to do with sea demons.

Tiel was most concerned with the project before her, ongoing since last summer, which was finally yielding results.

In front of the sea demon lady, a brand new, elegantly beautiful large ship, completely different from traditional ships of this world, lay silently in the giant dock beside the slipway, waiting for the moment to enter the water.

It was a massive vessel crafted from steel, with gracefully flowing curves in its shell and flat, broad two-tier decks. A total of three pairs of "Magic Energy Wingboards," resembling wings, were neatly folded on the sides and rear upper deck of the ship, while on the front, middle, and rear of the lower deck, six large turret groups quietly crouched on their mounts, with beams of sunlight filtering through the canopy, casting a dazzling glow on the cold metal.

Armed with two "Calibrator" grade Rainbow Light Generators, four specially modified "Truth" Large Orbital Cannons for use on naval platforms, and numerous small defensive rail cannons placed throughout the ship, this behemoth was turned into a fearsome beast of the sea.

It was a product of entirely new design, a blend of human shipbuilding style and sea demon technology, a truly advanced battleship—though in Sea Demon Tiel’s eyes, it still seemed backwards in many ways, but in the eyes of countless craftsmen at the shipyard, it was already a miracle.