Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 532 - 531: Accident

Until the end, Gawain could not fathom Veronica Moen’s true intentions.

However, he was certain of one thing— the Saint Princess, who appeared exceedingly devout to everyone, might not be as pious as she seemed, or perhaps the object of her devotion was not the same Faith of Holy Light crafted by the Northern Church.

The visitors from the royal capital had departed, but a vast source of wealth had been opened up. The gateway to the Plains of the Holy Spirits would bring a flood of money and goods to the newly-born Cecil Principality. Meanwhile, the guests from the Duke of the East had departed earlier, and before the arrival of the Cold Month, the series of trade routes established by Kode in the Duke of the East would be poised to operate smoothly.

In the study of the feudal lord’s mansion, Gawain handed a document to the Minister of Commerce, Patrick: ”You are in charge of setting up the ’White Sand Mining Company.’ You can freely utilize the latest mining machinery and blasting materials. I have only one request: extract the maximum amount of ore in the shortest time and transport it back.”

”Yes.”

After Patrick left, Gawain quickly signed a second document, placing it under a metal plate below the Magic Web Terminal. Accompanied by a gentle humming sound, the document was transmitted and copied.

Above the Magic Web Terminal, a half-body projection of Wald Peric appeared. Gawain nodded to the old knight: ”Prepare a dedicated jetty in the Port District of rocky ridges City for merchant ships from the Plains of the Holy Spirits to dock. Just transport back the goods and all the Gold Coin mentioned in the attached list, and send the rest to the rocky ridges City Armory to be processed into swords and armor for them to take back.”

The old knight in the holographic projection performed a knight’s salute: ”Yes!”

The Magic Web Terminal closed, Gawain rubbed his brow, breathing softly, while Amber’s voice came from behind him: ”You’re really ruthless with your exploitation— it’s practically daylight robbery.”

Gawain did not turn his head: ”I didn’t ask Wald to process them in front of them, and what’s daylight robbery? Are the technological costs not a cost?”

”Well, your technological costs are certainly high.”

”I can’t let the Plains of the Holy Spirits take advantage of trade opportunities to infiltrate the southern borders with too many spies. They’ve already seen enough,” Gawain waved his hand and then moved past the topic, ”Compared to these matters, you should focus more on establishing the intelligence network in the Duke of the East. Kode has already opened up the trade routes there, and it’s time for the Intelligence Agency to shine.”

Amber immediately gestured confidently: ”Rest assured, the first batch of agents has already set out with Kode’s caravan.”

Gawain nodded, stood up to stretch his limbs, easing his somewhat stiff joints. However, just as he was about to sit back down, a distant explosion suddenly reached his ears—”Boom!!!”

Amber’s figure instantly vanished into the air, while Gawain sharply turned towards the direction of the explosion— it was the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute.

Did something happen?

”Come with me to take a look.” ”Oh my gosh?!”

Gawain casually reached over, grabbed the invisible Amber, and left the study. Meanwhile, he saw, through the study’s crystal glass window, that a plume of smoke was rising from the direction of the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute’s buildings...

By the time Gawain, with both running and charging, arrived, a large crowd had gathered around the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute. Soldiers maintaining order were keeping non-essential personnel outside the cordon. Inside, security personnel from the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute were assisting soldiers moving injured personnel to the front square of the research institute. Medical staff in short physician robes had already arrived and were providing emergency treatment to those with burn or blast injuries. Armored White Knights were on the scene, assisting the physicians in treating the injured.

One of the buildings on the flank of the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute had a large hole blown out, with thick smoke billowing from it.

Judging by the situation, was it an experimental accident? Or did Rebecca finally manage to whip up a big fireball in the laboratory?

The site now seemed to be under control— the continually enforced safety drill system had finally taken effect at this moment. Navigating through the tense and busy soldiers and medics, Gawain called out loudly: ”Where’s the responsible person? Give a report on the situation!”

Having been dragged along, Amber realized that an accident had occurred here and didn’t even bother to protest, obediently following behind Gawain. She then spotted a figure standing in the open space and quickly jabbed Gawain’s arm: ”Over there, over there— Rebecca is standing over there!”

Following Amber’s pointing, Gawain finally spotted Rebecca standing on the edge of the crowd, still looking somewhat shaken.

He immediately dashed over.

Rebecca’s face was blackened with soot, her clothing tattered from the explosion, but aside from a few noticeable scratches, she seemed relatively unscathed. On seeing Gawain, she immediately shouted loudly: ”Ancestor! The laboratory exploded!!”

”Are you okay?” Gawain first checked Rebecca quickly and, after confirming she wasn’t severely injured, continued, ”What exactly happened? What’s the casualty situation? How did the laboratory explode?”

Rebecca tilted her head as she continued shouting: ”Huh? The wind is too loud, I can’t hear!”

”She’s been dazed by the shock,” Pittman, who had arrived unnoticed, waved an oak staff beside Rebecca’s head. A faint green glow encircled her, swiftly mending various injuries on her body, ”This should do it.”

”Oh, the wind stopped.” Rebecca shook her head, a look of surprise on her face.

Pittman bowed slightly to Gawain: ”I was in the nearby laboratory testing a newly completed artificial nerve cord. Hearing the explosion, I immediately brought the apprentices and came over.”

Gawain nodded, realizing that Rebecca was already in shock from the explosion, and turned to Pittman for details about the accident: ”Casualty situation? How extensive is the damage?”

”Three severely injured, over a dozen with minor injuries, but the good news is no fatalities,” Pittman reported quickly and seriously, without his usual playful demeanor. ”The lightly injured can be handled by the healers, while I’ve already dealt with the severely injured myself. Rest assured, they won’t die, though full recovery might take some time. As for the damage... it seems one laboratory is completely destroyed, with a neighboring lab and a small warehouse affected as well. I’m not sure about the cause of the explosion.”

Upon hearing that no lives were lost, Gawain slightly relaxed.

Luckily, in this world of extraordinary powers, healing spells have effects far beyond the medical technology on planet Earth. As long as someone doesn’t die on the spot, they can be saved.

With more White Knights arriving at the scene, order around the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute was quickly restored, and the severely injured were swiftly transferred to places more suitable for treatment.

Rebecca, after receiving treatment from Pittman, was entirely unscathed. She stood in front of Gawain with her head hung low, appearing ready to be scolded at any moment—a sight so practiced that Aunt Heidi might hesitate if she were here.

Of course, Gawain didn’t intend to scold her—at least not without first understanding the situation. He cleared his throat and asked Rebecca to lift her head: ”What exactly happened?”

”We were testing the engine,” Rebecca said, shrinking her neck, ”for the Magic Train... and then it exploded.”

”The Magic Train’s engine?” Gawain was shocked, ”You’ve already built the Magic Train’s engine?!”

”No,” Rebecca shook her head vigorously, ”if it was built, it wouldn’t have exploded—we just made a large amplifier and a high-power Magic Web, trying to see how much power would be needed to drive such a large engine, and it exploded.”

Rebecca continued to avoid eye contact, ”I know you said not to rush the train project, but I wanted to do some preliminary tests... Besides, I haven’t delayed any other projects! Though the laboratory certainly blew up...”

Seeing Rebecca looking like a frightened rabbit, Gawain was amused and concerned. While he wouldn’t punish her for conducting these tests, he still needed to thoroughly investigate the accident’s details and initiate a series of remedial actions.

An explosion at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute is not a trivial matter—it can’t be dismissed as a mere joke. Although people often say, ”A mage’s laboratory always explodes,” the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute has surpassed the traditional concept of a ”mage laboratory” of this era. Too many ordinary people are involved, and the institute’s operation is closely tied to the citizens’ lives—an explosion here can have considerable repercussions.

Furthermore, the project Rebecca described made Gawain vaguely aware of one thing: the Magic Train’s production might not proceed smoothly.

Just testing the amplification and power supply components for a high-power Magic Engine resulted in this accident...

In the next few minutes, Rebecca explained numerous details leading up to the explosion, including the laboratory environment at the time, testing data, and various technical methods used. The more Gawain learned, the more convinced he became of his thoughts.

Compared to the other magic guide technologies developed by the Cecil Clan so far, the Magic Train presents many unique challenges.

Gawain knew that early trains on planet Earth were structurally simple, with low technical requirements for transportation. But in this world, where low-tech steam engines couldn’t be made, the Magic Train had to start with rotor engines, making this world’s ”train” more technically demanding than automobiles.

Immature large-scale Magic Engines, complex amplification devices, and output efficiency influenced by the scale of magic symbols, which require rigid connections in Magic Web structures, all significantly heighten the difficulty of developing the Magic Train—and there’s an even larger issue: the technology is entirely new, meaning many old magic skills can’t be applied in this field.

The Cecil Clan has developed many ”advanced items” that outsiders find remarkable, such as the Magic Web Terminal capable of instant communication, holographic imaging, and file transmission, the Rainbow Cannon that uses energy beams for attack, heat-ray guns, and the White Knight’s reverse Holy Light device. These seem transcendent, but Gawain knows the truth: they are extensions and reorganizations of existing technology. Outsiders marvel at their rapid development, but those familiar with the truth recognize the world’s high technological level. Thanks to the solid foundation laid by existing magic skills, the Cecil Clan’s magical industry has progressed smoothly.

But the Magic Train has gone too far down the path of magical industry, making it difficult for existing magic skills to continue pushing it forward.

No existing magic can further optimize the Magic Web and Magic Engine; progress in these areas must rely on breakthroughs from Jenni’s Rune Research Center and other materials and engineering departments, and it appears Rebecca has indeed encountered difficulties here.

Fortunately, early on, when the Magic Train concept was introduced, Gawain was aware of its possible high difficulty level and had mentally prepared for it.

”Ancestor...” Seeing Gawain deep in thought, Rebecca cautiously touched her head, guessing she might escape punishment today, then carefully asked, ”So... should we halt this project temporarily?”

Gawain snapped out of his thoughts and saw Rebecca’s soot-covered face filled with hope, having already made up his mind.

”Continue. I will handle the aftereffects of this incident. But given this lesson, all Magic Train project tests must be conducted away from city areas. Also, experiment procedures need to be replanned, and safety measures revamped to ensure participants’ safety, separating them from test devices...”

Rebecca listened intently to each point, and Gawain explained meticulously.

Accidents are inevitably part of technological development; even during the initial construction of the territory, Aunt Heidi’s lab was once blown up by Rebecca Crystals, yet they weren’t shelved and eventually shone in military and engineering fields.

With the further development of magic guide technology, the scale of energy humans could control would inevitably increase. Today’s explosion will not be the last nor the most powerful, and even Rebecca is ready to forge ahead. Naturally, so is Gawain.

In order to keep moving forward, what they can do is exercise utmost caution to ensure safety—and then try once more.