Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 447 - 446: Broadcast

For the people of the Hosman Region, recently the events they’ve experienced are even more complex than all those their ancestors faced over generations combined.

The ruling Hosman Family of this land suddenly collapsed, and the castle’s owner was replaced by ”administrative officials” from the Cecil Clan. Brief yet rigorous decrees from the Administrative Office replaced the old laws of the leader. This was followed by significant events such as population migration and land distribution. The disciplined Cecil’s Army replaced those slack and greedy aristocratic private soldiers and strictly executed the orders of the new leader. Along with these developments came waves of engineering teams and numerous construction sites...

The new changes are so swift, naturally causing both positive and negative impacts.

Many people feel uneasy, appearing lost when faced with various new things. Some can’t comprehend the meaning behind the unheard-of ”Cecil Laws” and ”Cecil Order.” Having long been accustomed to a disordered and chaotic way of life, the Hosman people often gather to discuss the ”inconceivable” parts of the new laws, like the prohibition of urination and defecation in the streets and centralized waste disposal. Meanwhile, others noticed the positive aspects brought by the Cecil Clan’s arrival—

The Administrative Office officials are evidently more reasonable than the leader and knights, and the laws they enact are strictly enforced, not subject to the whims of the law enforcers. Cecil soldiers are more disciplined—they haven’t looted anything from the nearby civilians since occupying the castle and outposts, and even helped repair houses. The new leader’s promise of land distribution is not an empty word. At least the first batch of new residents migrating to the outskirts of the city obtained their own plots of land. Despite many worrying that the leader might reclaim these lands at any time, for now, they at least have land in hand...

For most people, they don’t care who their leader is or which banner flies over the castle. As long as basic necessities are met, a ruler can gain unimaginable support in this era. The new Administrative Office at least guarantees this point, so even though the new decrees are difficult to implement, the Hosman Government Hall is proceeding with the transformation and construction of this land according to schedule.

The old Hosman Castle—now the location of the Administrative Office—a group of Mage Technicians and soldiers are busy in the square in front of the castle.

These ”engineering teams” from the Cecil territory have been frequent visitors in recent times. As the situation in the entire Hosman Region stabilized, more and more Cecil construction teams entered the area, bringing incredible magical technology and using various magical machines to construct houses and facilities.

The Hosman people call those wearing cloth work clothes ”Cecil Magicians” because they often see the Mage Technicians using magical spells to build houses, yet the Mage Technicians themselves claim to be ordinary people, so the locals gave them this nickname.

Whenever the ”Cecil Magicians” work, there are always people watching nearby—Hosman people are getting accustomed to all the wonderful things the Cecil Clan brought to this land, and, through Administrative Office promotion, they are slowly coming into contact with unbelievable magical technology. However, the term ”Magic Era” is still new and peculiar to these locals, as the noble ”spells” that once belonged only to aristocrats are now so close to them, the vast majority of ordinary people cannot resist their curiosity.

Many are currently gathered around the square, speculating on what the Mage Technicians and soldiers are busy with, guessing the uses of those strange metal, crystal, and rune devices. Although some soldiers guard the construction site, they show no intention of driving the crowd away.

The Hosman people have roughly figured out the temperament of these imposing soldiers: they truly adhere to discipline; even ordinary soldiers are as self-disciplined as the most upright knights. As long as no laws are violated, these sword-bearing soldiers won’t trouble or extort the civilians.

”What do you think they are doing?” Someone in the crowd asked curiously beside him, ”You came early, do you know?”

The questioned person shook his head: ”How would I know—they were already busy when I arrived. But I guess it’s likely street lamps... haven’t they been building those all over the city recently?”

”There are already street lamps in the square, why more street lamps,” a third person refuted from the side, ”Anyway, the Administrative Office will eventually tell us—by the way, does anyone know what the announcements on the square say today?”

The first person shook his head: ”I can’t read. But it’s probably about those new decrees, like prohibiting urination and defecation on the streets, building toilets and garbage stations...”

An old man standing slightly behind the crowd heard this and couldn’t help but mutter: ”Forbidding you to defecate in the street, honestly, it’s just unreasonable.”

The topic of the onlooking crowd is like this, often veering completely elsewhere after a few exchanges. The discussion soon shifted to the peculiar ”Cecil Order;” someone shook their head, muttering: ”They even tell everyone to boil water before drinking—though I must say, the officials of the Administrative Office, while good people, impose too many rules...”

”I actually think there’s some sense to boiling water; at least it’s got no weird taste when boiled—”

The conversation sparked lively discussions of new topics as they drifted further away, but at this moment, the construction on the square was nearing completion: following the anxious work of Mage Technicians, a peculiar large device was secured on the stone platform at the square’s center.

It’s a peculiar device with a triangular base, its surface glowing with the light of runes, and a crystal embedded at the top.

The Mage Technicians began testing the device, lighting up each rune on its surface to confirm its status, while the surrounding curious crowd gradually stopped talking and refocused their attention on this strange contraption. Just as their curiosity was piqued, squads of mounted soldiers suddenly rushed out from the castle and headed towards the exits of the square.

Someone heard the soldiers shouting:

”Citizens of Hosman City! The great Duke Gawain Cecil wants to speak with you! Assemble at the square!”

Gawain Cecil? The leader?

Will the leader appear in the square? When did he arrive?

People looked at each other, bewilderment written all over their faces. They certainly knew the name of their new leader, but they never expected him to appear here. There had been no prior news, and no one had seen any carriages enter the city. How could the leader be arriving?

Moreover... wasn’t it said that the leader took the army to the north for war? Could he already be back? Did he return so quickly... did they win? Or maybe no battle was fought at all? Or... did they lose?

People were both surprised and confused. Those who were initially planning to head home after growing tired of watching the construction unexpectedly stopped, eagerly joining others in heated discussions about the ”leader’s sudden arrival,” an unbelievable event. During this discussion, they saw another group of soldiers emerge from the castle, forming ranks around the peculiar ”ancient magical device” that had just been set up in the center of the square.

The orderly marching soldiers seemed to confirm the leader’s impending arrival, but their stationing around a magical device puzzled the onlookers.

More and more people gathered in the square.

At this moment, Hosman City remained an old-fashioned town, with only a limited area of the city surrounding the castle. Soldiers notified only those residents who were nearby and could quickly reach the square, so before long, curious and tense residents crowded into the square. Those who arrived late couldn’t even find a place, resorting to climbing onto the rooftops of nearby buildings. Those closest to the center of the square couldn’t help but feel fortunate—

Fortunately, they had come early to see the spectacle, now occupying the best spots.

The residents of Hosman City gathered and watched, many filled with a tense apprehension: Gawain Cecil’s renown was known throughout Anzu, and this legendary hero had recently conquered Hosman, becoming their leader. Now he was about to speak to them, an extraordinary event; after all—opportunities like this had never happened in their lifetimes...

After all, even the heirs of the Cecil Clan could only catch a glimpse of Gawain Cecil’s tomb when visiting graves.

Yet the leader had not appeared; only a group of soldiers stood guard on the open ground in the square, while a dozen Mage Technicians busied themselves there.

Those on the outskirts of the square couldn’t even see what was happening inside, with people constantly shouting from the back to those in the front: ”Has the leader arrived? Has the leader arrived? What does he look like?”

”The leader hasn’t come yet—but I saw Governor Daedalus! Perhaps the leader will be here soon?”

After a while, the Mage Technicians finally completed all the adjustments and successfully concluded each test.

Governor Daedalus of Hosman City and a few colleagues arrived at the square. A Mage Technician approached him: ”Governor—the tests have been completed, and the signal is connected.”

The young governor took a mechanical watch from his pocket, checked the time, and then took a deep breath, calming his slightly nervous emotions. ”Let it begin—let us witness this together.”

The Mage Technician nodded, turned, and instructed his assistants: ”Adjust to broadcast mode, amplify sound and image to level three, connect!”

The device’s energy was connected.

In the gradually dimming twilight, with countless curious eyes on the square watching, a faint humming suddenly sounded. A moment later, a hazy and chaotic light suddenly appeared in the air in the square’s center.

That light floated high above, like a constantly trembling aurora curtain, instantly causing a wave of exclamations. Before the exclamation subsided, the image within the light curtain quivered and gradually stabilized.

Gawain Cecil’s figure appeared there, projected in a massive holographic display.

Even those at the farthest reaches of the square could clearly see their leader.

With the amplification spell’s effect, a deep and authoritative voice echoed across the entire square:

”Honorable Cecil Citizens, good afternoon, I am your leader.