Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1343: Chapter 1342: ”Bodyguards

Regarding the ”Barrier Wall Project” that Amon brought, Queen Belsetia is still unsure whether it can truly bring an end to the wasteland, but since this plan is personally proposed by Gawain Cecil and the former Goddess of Magic, it undeniably has sufficient theoretical backing and implementation necessity; on that point she has no doubts, but on the other hand, she is more aware than anyone of the difficulties in realizing this plan.

The Silver Empire certainly has the ability to produce enough purification devices, but the southern front is already beginning to deteriorate—originally the Silver-High Ridge Allied Forces could barely maintain the situation, yet as the aberration legion retreating from the western front begins to move south, the southern battlefront will inevitably become perilous. Although Amon mentioned that the alliance forces from the western front could also move south to support, Belsetia knows well the tribal country of Augari has large swathes of fallen land to reclaim, the mountains barriers needing large legions stationed to guard against the wasteland forces’ counterattack. Coupled with the long battle lines, supply and communication considerations, how many expeditionary forces from the Cecil Empire can reach the Highmountain front? It’s a question that cannot be ignored.

”At least until the situation on the southern front improves, it’s challenging for us to initiate the ’Barrier Wall’ plan,” Belsetia said gravely, ”But we can begin preparing now, producing purification devices and protective gear.”

”I understand your difficulties, the North understands too; I’ll report the situation here truthfully,” Amon lowered his head slightly, gently touching the Silver Empress on the top of her head with the tip of his nose, then continued gently, ”Furthermore... although I don’t know if this can aid you, I have brought a somewhat special guest today.”

”A special guest?” Belsetia looked around in surprise, it was her first time hearing the ”messenger” had actually brought someone along, ”Who is it?”

”Come out, little one,” Amon raised his head, calling into the shadows of the nearby forest, ”Be bold, don’t be so nervous—your Silver Empress won’t eat you.”

The shrubs within the forest rustled, and Belsetia and Yilian instinctively widened their eyes to look in the direction of the sound. The next moment, they saw a petite figure emerging from the shadows among the bushes and flowers—that was an elf.

But it was not any kind of elf Belsetia recognized.

She had golden hair like the silver elves, but the ears extending beneath her long hair seemed slightly shorter than those of the silver elves. Her skin color was so light it was almost transparent, with faintly glowing, vein-like lines visible beneath the thin skin. She was dressed in a light hunting attire styled after a forest ranger, exposing arms, neck, and legs that featured ambiguous symbols and lines—these were not the battle marks nor magical inscriptions typically found within silver elf culture.

She resembled a silver elf, but a true silver elf could immediately distinguish the differences between this girl and the tribe. Belsetia prided herself on being worldly and knowledgeable; she had seen all the elven subspecies in the world, yet had never seen such a peculiar ”branch,” she watched with curiosity as the elven girl, with a shy expression, walked forward, nervously glancing at her before finally summoning the courage to stride towards her.

”...Hello,” noticing the elf’s overly nervous demeanor, Belsetia decided to break the silence, ”May I ask who you are?”

The petite elven girl suddenly reacted, immediately speaking: ”I... I’m Belna Lightwind! I live at No. 17 Hui Liu District, White Stone City; my mentor is the Thornheart Master, profession is Ranger and Mage... previously, these past years I’ve been traveling outside, recently returned from the north, and my last registered location was at Sentinel Monitoring Station No. 112. Nice to meet you, esteemed Empress!”

Her self-introduction came out in a rapid burst, from the start, her words were somewhat stammering, but quickly became smooth; the string of statements seemed to have been rehearsed countless times, so much so that even after her words fell, Belsetia did not immediately react—for two seconds, the Silver Empress blinked, and looked at the elven girl before her with extreme astonishment.

At the side, Yilian could not help but speak: ”You mean... you are a silver elf? A silver elf traveling outside?”

Saying this, she instinctively examined the other again, but at such close distance, she became further certain the girl before her was not a silver elf, neither in physical traits nor the ”life aura” she emitted. The feeling it gave her was extremely peculiar, unlike any ”texture” she knew from any race, and upon careful observation, Yilian noticed something else:

The ”magic symbols” on the elven girl’s body were not decorative—it was part of her skin! Those runes were continuously operating like a real magic circle, constructing complex magical power flows beyond her understanding.

”Yes... I really am a silver elf, I...” Belna noticed Yilian’s gaze, instinctively shrinking back as if trying to hide somewhere, quietly said, ”These things on me are due to... because of some special experiences... but I really am a silver elf...”

Yilian blinked, seemingly wanting to say more, but she suddenly sensed subtle movements from the Silver Empress beside her, silently stopping immediately.

”...It seems like you’ve experienced a lot, that must have been an adventure unimaginable to others,” Belsetia smiled at the petite elf in front of her, ”Although your body appears to have undergone many changes, silver elves always welcome their wandering brothers and sisters—regardless, welcome back.”

Belna listened dazedly to the Silver Empress talking to her, appearing somewhat unable to react, and after two seconds quickly nodded: ”Ah, right, it’s truly unimaginable... I never thought I would be... uh, personally escorted back by Mr. Amon, and that we even crossed the shadow realm. Oh, I also brought some helpers—I heard you need help here, though I’m not sure how much they can assist...”

As she spoke, the little elf turned her head towards the depths of the forest, while Belsetia and Yilian were surprised to see the runes on the elven girl suddenly lighting up one after another, starting to emit far brighter radiant light like a breathing galaxy, dazzlingly complex ”casting process” completed in an instant. Belsetia perceived a vast ”signal” emanating from the elf and the next second, countless heavy footsteps echoed from the not-so-distant dense forest, accompanied by the sound of breaking branches and rustling leaves.

Moments later, she saw those towering figures—Treants, legion-sized Treants, but entirely different from the ”Guardian Ancient Trees” she was familiar with.

Those intelligent ”plants” stepped out of the forest, arranged in neatly trained formation, exuding the aura of professional soldiers, also clad in alloy forged armor and various auxiliary equipment adorning their trunks and branches, transforming them into a majestic yet strange sight. And at the ends of these obviously modified Treants’ arms, they were equipped with rail cannons that looked far from anything a soldier could carry in hand.

The thing appeared like the main cannon removed directly from a heavy tank, every segment of rail and rivet brimmed with a radiant blaze of ”Martial Virtue.”

Queen Belsetia gazed in astonishment at these ”tree people” clad in alloy armor, holding tank main cannons as they emerged from the forest, gathering silently behind Belna to form a legion. In a brief moment, all the shaking branches and rustling sounds ceased simultaneously. The petite Belna stood at the forefront of this legion, her smile radiant, with complex magic symbols shimmering on her body.

”This is...” Yilian looked at the scene in front of her in shock, finally managing to speak after a long pause, ”What are these?”

”These ’bodyguards’ were arranged for me by Sister Beltira when we set out... She said the south wasn’t safe, and a girl should have some help to protect herself when she goes out alone,” Belna said with a somewhat proud smile, but then rubbed her hands bashfully, ”Though I think she overreacted a bit... She practically assigned all the Sorin guards to me and even sent me a whole magic crystal cannon production line—which has been dismantled and carried on the backs of the last guards that emerged.”

”Bodyguards...” Queen Belsetia’s mouth twitched slightly, she didn’t even notice the mention of a production line, ”As bodyguards, this is indeed a bit exaggerated... But I must say, we urgently need these now!”

”That’s great if it can help,” Belna laughed, ”These guards are under my command, but I don’t really understand warfare, so you just tell me what to do when the time comes...”

”Alright,” Queen Belsetia nodded and said, but then she showed a worried expression, ”But speaking of Sorin guards... as far as I know, they should be the garrison troops of the Sorin Giant Tree itself? A huge number of guards were taken, is everything there still alright?”

”There are still Commander Margarita’s troops guarding the giant tree, and it’s in the Cecil inland region, far from the front lines, since the enemy doesn’t fly very well, it shouldn’t be dangerous,” Belna nodded, speaking honestly, ”Plus, Sister Beltira said Sorin guards grow from the tree crown, and as long as there’s enough time they can regenerate. She also mentioned...”

As Belna scratched her head, seemingly recalling something, she continued after a few seconds: ”She also said it’s like lice in the hair, given some time, they’ll grow back again...”

Listening to the honest confession of the little elf, Yilian’s expression froze, raising her wooden gaze to the heavily armored and heavily armed tree people above.

These are definitely the largest ”lice” she’s ever seen – but considering the scale of the Sorin Giant Tree, it seems plausible?

No way, that’s too weird... Let’s take another look?

Queen Belsetia seemed unperturbed by Yilian’s sudden quirky behavior, she just looked thoughtfully at the ”bodyguards” behind Belna. Then she turned to look at the ”wooden door” she had just opened, and with a strange expression, turned to Amon who stood quietly beside them: ”I have a question, how is such a troop taken out? You can’t just have them squeeze through that door and walk directly into Fabuti Fortress, right?”

”I’ll lead them to the forest near Fabuti Fortress, then you can send someone to pick them up – externally, we’ll say they are reinforcements from the Cecil expeditionary force secretly coming from the west line,” Amon seemed to have already considered the matter, ”I trust no one will doubt the Silver Empress at this time, especially when... many have grown accustomed to the unexpected ’surprises’ from the Cecil Empire.”

”Well, this is indeed a surprise,” Queen Belsetia said with a complex expression and then softly sighed, her demeanor relaxed, ”Anyway... with such reinforcements, at least the Highmountain defense line won’t further deteriorate due to those descending aberration Legions, we might even consider reclaiming several strategic points north of the forest barrier. Although I still have doubts whether the southern line’s forces are adequate to initiate the ’Barrier Wall’ plan, at least now I have the confidence to present this plan.”

”Wishing for everything to proceed smoothly,” Amon softly lowered his head again, gently nudging the tops of Belsetia and Yilian with his nose, then slowly rising, ”Alright, I’ve lingered here long enough; even with an ’exotic’ layer obstructing, I’ve begun to be influenced by this land. Until we meet again.”

”Until next time.” Queen Belsetia nodded gently, then pulled Yilian along beside her as she stepped back, watching Amon slowly turn and stride towards the depths of the forest.

”See you later, Your Majesty~~ I’m heading to the forest east of Fabuti!” Belna also waved to the Silver Empress and her attendant, said with a radiant smile, then she lightly ran towards the nearest tree guard, skillfully climbed onto the ”shoulder” of the tree guard utilizing the rail cannon and various armor connectors on the trunk.

The heavy ”Sorin guards” let out a low rumble, timber structures twisting and turning as they, all together, turned to follow, carrying Belna—the command center—as they caught up with the already distant Amon.

...

At the same time, the neural network encrypted layer.

”So, you assigned all your ’guards’ to that little elf as ’bodyguards’?” In a garden surrounded by pure white flowers, Gawain sat at a small round table with light purple decorations, gazing with a wry expression at the green-gowned woman across from him, ”You even packed a military production line?”

”The Sorin Giant Tree’s body actually doesn’t need so many guards—for Margarita’s troops are enough, even without Margarita’s troops—it would not have much effect; I’m quite confident in my self-defense capabilities,” said the green-gowned woman opposite the round table, nonchalantly, a steaming cup of tea spontaneously appeared in her hand. As she stirred it, she continued to speak, ”Anyway, those guards are just ’little creatures’ growing from my tree crown; much like lice in hair, if nurtured for a while, a bunch will grow back... ”

”...Your peculiar metaphors are growing increasingly grotesque,” Gawain’s mouth twitched slightly, ”But... well, your reasoning is ample, and this indeed benefits the current situation.

”Moving on to serious matters, you mentioned... you’ve re-sensed the life signal of the dark priest named ’Bertrum’? And he’s actively approaching your distal roots?”