Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 261 - 260: New Discovery?

After discussing the most sensitive issues, the conversation between Gawain and Soldrin naturally became much more relaxed—they temporarily put aside the tense relations between Typhon and Anzu and did not discuss the decline of the Cecil Clan and the current chaotic domestic situation. The two of them talked freely like friends from seven hundred years ago.

At least, that’s how it seemed from Soldrin’s point of view.

”Actually, when I first heard about you establishing a new land in the south, I almost believed you were really back—after all, it sounds like something you would do,” Soldrin said with a smile. ”For someone out of touch with society for seven hundred years, trying to return to the aristocratic circles to scheme and plot is not your style. Opening up land in this wilderness is probably easier for you.”

”The main thing is that scheming and plotting are really uninteresting, especially against a bunch of juniors,” Gawain waved his hand dismissively. ”It’s too awkward to get along. Just thinking that those people are descendants of those old guys from back in the day feels weird.”

Gawain casually found an excuse to stay away from the aristocratic circle in the royal capital, but Soldrin seriously pondered. He remembered the astonishing prosperity he saw along the way in the Cecil territory, the weapons and equipment of the Cecil soldiers that could be described as black tech, and the unique aura he felt when facing the Cecil Combat Corps. It was a belief and momentum entirely different from ordinary aristocratic private soldiers, immature but enough to draw attention.

If it were only a small batch of personal guards, it would be understandable, but the fact that all soldiers in the Cecil territory were equally elite was worth pondering.

As an elf, especially one in the most observant Ranger profession, Soldrin could infer a lot from observing the details.

The ancestor awakened from the grave, took a look at the domestic situation, and declared disinterest in scheming with descendants, so he ran to a remote place beyond the King’s reach. In less than a year, he produced a force that could crush any conventional army of the time and was crazily expanding the military...

Just thinking about it is terrifying, like a father coming home to find his living room in chaos, then watching his muddy child with a faint smile and turning to the kitchen to fetch a rolling pin!

Soldrin mumbled to himself, but Gawain didn’t know what the elf Ranger fantasized about in less than half a minute. He just nonchalantly asked, ”What’s your specific position in the Typhon army?”

Soldrin’s expression turned a bit solemn, ”I can’t divulge my employer’s secrets casually, not even to you—you should know my principles.”

”I wasn’t asking you to reveal Typhon’s border defenses,” Gawain shrugged, thinking this bald elf was as principled as he remembered, but he didn’t show disappointment. It was just a casual question, ”Tell me whatever you can.”

”I serve under the command of Andresha Wendell, the commander of the Winterwolf Legion, but I hold no real power or rank,” Soldrin said. ”You know, being of another race, it’s impossible to wield significant authority in a human army—but Typhon’s pay is quite high and fair.”

”Andresha Wendell?” Gawain frowned, ”That young Wolf General?”

”You know her?” Soldrin was taken aback, then smiled, ”Yes, she’s a descendant of that Tilian fellow, a very talented girl, strong in both personal combat and command abilities, not disgracing her ancestors. But she’s somewhat single-minded, with an obsession for revenge against Anzu—her father, Bard Wendell, vanished on the border between Anzu and Typhon, and she always believed Anzu people killed her father.”

”Bard Wendell...” Gawain’s expression turned peculiar, unsure whether to tell Soldrin the truth about Bard having fallen into the Oblivion Association as an evil cult follower, but after considering, he decided to share it. After all, for the Cecil territory, the circulation of this news made no difference, ”In fact, I encountered an Oblivion Association believer this year, who most likely was Bard.”

Soldrin was dumbfounded, ”What?!”

Gawain calmly recounted what he knew, and Soldrin grew more shocked as he listened, ”To think such a thing... a former Wolf General missing for over a decade, how did he become an Oblivion Association Druid?!”

”Who knows what happened in between? Back then, I didn’t believe it either, but the Mithril Vault’s credibility is known worldwide, and their intelligence shouldn’t be wrong,” Gawain shook his head. ”Forget it, even if this news reaches that Andresha’s ears, she wouldn’t believe it—a stubborn avenger lacks judgment. Compared to these distant matters, I’m more interested in how many more troops from Typhon have infiltrated the Dark Mountain Range.”

The topic suddenly became sensitive again, and hesitation flickered on Soldrin’s face. Seeing this, Gawain continued, ”Soldrin, I know your principles, but sharing the intelligence of other infiltration squads with me is in everyone’s best interests—you should know I’ve already eliminated one infiltration squad, and as long as others remain active in the Dark Mountain Range, it’s only a matter of time before I capture them. You chose a seemingly safe path, but it’s actually a path leading to death—the only way to save them now is for you to tell me their routes, and I promise to capture as many as possible alive.”

And then send them to the mountains to mine—Gawain silently added the second half of the sentence in his heart.

”It’s not that I’m unwilling to cooperate, but you probably can’t catch them now,” Soldrin spread his hands, revealing the truth. ”Before our departure, Andresha Wendell had already received intelligence and considered the possibility of you truly resurrecting and the infiltration squads falling into your hands—if the main team I led was in danger, or if more than two small squads lost contact, the others would immediately leave the Dark Mountain Range with the collected intelligence, retreating along the original route or circling back through the northern wilds to the border, and the retreat routes are entirely random to prevent anyone captured by you from revealing the whereabouts of others.”

Soldrin added: ”We confirm the location and safety of each squad every few hours using communication magic insects; by now everyone must be aware of the incident. I’ve observed your soldiers, and their speed and the condition of mountain roads make it impossible to catch up.”

”...As expected of the elite Winterwolf Legion, they truly leave no gaps,” Gawain shook his head helplessly, abandoning the idea of completely capturing the Typhon squad that had infiltrated the Dark Mountain Range this time. Despite the Cecil Clan soldiers having top-notch destructive capability with their high-tech weaponry, they don’t really have a significant advantage in pursuing enemies in deep mountains, at least not yet.

However, he still needed to take some actions—like writing a letter to Duke Silas Loland of the East, advising him to pay attention to the Typhon Empire’s winter infiltration operations.

The Dark Mountain Range is indeed a good breakthrough point for infiltration battles, but Gawain believed that the Typhon Empire couldn’t have conducted just a single infiltration. The entire Anzu-Typhon borderline is lengthy, with many complex terrains in between, which could easily be considered breaches by the enemy.

After a long conversation, Gawain arranged accommodation for Soldrin—given the complicated identity and position of this High-Ranked Ranger, Gawain had Soldrin temporarily stay in a residence not far from the feudal lord’s mansion, right next to Knight Street. In this way, it both gave the other the treatment appropriate to his powerful Order Supernatural status, and facilitated monitoring and control.

Even though he knew that this High-Ranked Ranger wouldn’t cause trouble, he still had to set an example for those beneath him.

After personally sending Soldrin off, Gawain returned to the study, only to find Amber waiting at the door for him.

”You’re still here guarding the door?” Gawain was surprised to see the half-elf, ”Why are you being so obedient today?”

”Guarding the door, your granddaughter and that electricity guy are waiting for you inside,” Amber rolled her eyes, ”As soon as you left, they came, and have been waiting for you for a long time.”

”Aunt Heidi and Kamel?” Gawain frowned, ”Then you didn’t have to stand at the door, they wouldn’t stop you from going in.”

”Don’t even mention it, those two inside are so excited about a piece of stone like crazy, chattering endlessly. I just tried to have a cup of tea beside them, and they kept dragging me to lecture me about the issue of magical power field dispersion—my head aches, it’s better to wait for you outside,” Amber complained with a wave of her hand, ”Go and see for yourself, I’m going to check on Andon and those gangsters’ training status.”

Saying that, Amber did a shadow travel and disappeared down the corridor, not even giving Gawain a chance to respond.

Gawain stared blankly at where Amber disappeared into the air, shook his head in confusion, and pushed open the study door.

Then he saw Aunt Heidi and Kamel excitedly discussing something, as well as the so-called ”stone” placed in the center of the study’s open space.

Amber’s ability to describe things was evidently faulty—this wasn’t just any stone, it was clearly a new and complex ancient magical device!

”Ancestor!” ”Leader!”

As soon as Gawain pushed the door open and entered, Aunt Heidi and Kamel, who were in a heated discussion about a technical issue, immediately looked up and spoke in unison: ”Look at this!” ”An incredible property!”

”Wait a minute, calm down, you two,” Gawain knew the state researchers would be in once they had a breakthrough, but he had to make Aunt Heidi and Kamel calm down to properly explain the situation to him, ”Aunt Heidi, tell me, what is this device?”

He pointed at the device in the open space—its main body was a crystal cut into an obelisk-like shape, about a meter high, with a deep blue-purple luster. This crystal was mounted on a silver-white metal base, which was roughly triangular, with a rise upward in its center that held the crystal body steadily. Its surface had numerous magical inscriptions and reserved bolt interfaces, clearly meant to be permanently installed on some surface. The top of the crystal also had a smaller metal device, resembling a smaller version of its base, with engraved magical patterns on its surface as well.

It definitely looked impressive.

”Its main body is a Holme Crystal that has been purified and recast,” Aunt Heidi said with a face glowing with excitement, ”and this device will solve the energy transmission of the Magic Web—it can diffuse magic power over quite a distance in the form of a magical power field!”