Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1016: Chapter 1015: The Frontline

Regardless of how much ”aesthetic” sense a Druid, who has studied biotechnology in the dark sects for hundreds of years, still possesses, there is one thing Selena Gerfen must admit: the ”brain” she sees is absolutely the most incredible and outstanding biochemical engineering creation she has ever seen in her life.

It looks like a single brain, but in essence, this ”brain” is almost an independent and complete organism. It has its own energy cycle, special organs for maintaining levitation and slight movement, all hidden deep within its bloated and bizarre ”body.” Its wriggling ”tentacles” are not just nerve cables used to establish connections with the Sorin Giant Tree (or other ”interactive targets”). When necessary, they also seem to be some sort of predatory organ...

This thing reminds her of certain entities on the other side of the Dark Mountain Range in the Black Forest, those that exist only in the superstitions of hunters and the drunken tales of bards, the darkest, most twisted, and closest to nightmare mutated creatures.

Ordinary people living peaceful daily lives know very little about these dark and terrifying creatures, but dark cultists who have lived for hundreds of years have more or less delved into these secrets beyond the boundaries of civilization.

Selena turned her head to look into Beltira’s eyes: ”To be honest, this brain’s original biological sample... is it the Skull of Nightmares from deep within the Black Forest?”

”I don’t remember... perhaps it is, or maybe it’s also the spirit-engulfing demons from Ancestral Peak?” Beltira thought for a moment, a self-mocking smile appearing on her stiff face, ”I can no longer recall how much I’ve devoured and assimilated. My body stores an unimaginable array of genetic samples to mortal wisdom — humans, elves, monsters... so no matter how terrifyingly twisted a monster is, I can summon it. Aren’t you the same, Selena Gerfen — how many lost souls has your portable lamp held captive?”

”...I’ve already released them all,” Selena shook her head after a brief silence, ”Alright, let’s get back to the main topic — are you sure this thing you’ve created is harmless?”

”You can be assured of that,” Beltira said calmly, ”These things have long undergone prolonged iterative evolution in my genetic sample library. All uncontrollable aspects have been pruned like unnecessary branches. The essence of what you see is merely an offspring of the Sorin Giant Tree. In a way, it’s no different than the Sorin Tree Fruit you had for lunch today...”

Speaking this, she suddenly gave Selena—a person in a psychological projection state—an appraising look: ”Oh, I forgot, you can’t eat anything right now.”

”...” Selena did not seem to mind this small tease; after a brief silence, she simply nodded, ”Alright, I trust your expertise in this field. So, shall we discuss the specific use of this... brain?”

Beltira raised her head, looking at the giant brain—or rather, a floating organism resembling a brain—hovering in the center of the square. Her mind remained connected to this ”brain,” and under her control, it slightly rose, making the neural structure beneath it more clearly visible to everyone.

”Simply put, I’ve adjusted its neural connection method so that its nerve cords can directly connect to the kind of brainwave amplifier used in immersion capsules. Then, via the amplifier as a hub, it can create a ’brain domain’ with a radius of several hundred meters. Within this range, Psychic Singers will receive enhanced computational power and magic power adaptability and can connect directly into a higher-level neural network through brain waves. This greatly reduces their stress during combat. So, evidently, we need to design a dedicated ’carrier’ for this ’brain,’ incorporating brainwave amplifiers and additional power units, among other things.”

Beltira paused, then continued, ”Also, if it’s possible, it’s best to have a biomass circulation system. Although the ’brain’ can operate independently for quite a long time without nutritional supplementation, and it has the capability for autonomous predation, considering the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield, the front-line units may not have the leeway for such supply opportunities, so directly using a biomass circulation system to provide nutrition to the ’brain’ would be very cost-effective.

”As for the specific biochemical technology, I have a ready-made plan here. I just need the Mage Technicians to help integrate it into the carrier, which should be easy.”

Wendy, standing nearby, interjected at this moment: ”Do you already have an idea for the carrier?”

”Yes,” Beltira nodded, her gaze directed towards the direction of Sorinburg. In the distance, several Dragon Cavalry Aircraft soared low between the canopy and the castle rooftops. A low hum came from afar, ”After careful consideration, I believe the chassis of the Dragon Cavalry is very suitable — its cabin doesn’t even need to be modified much; simply removing seats and a few partitions would suffice to accommodate the ’brain’. And since the brain itself can directly control magic mechanisms, removing the corresponding control consoles and magic symbol stacks inside the aircraft leaves the exact space needed for the brainwave amplifier and related equipment...”

Saying this, a faint smile appeared on the face of this former Oblivion Association Archbishop. Even though her ”incarnation” could hardly make expressions, at this moment, it radiated a sense of pride, clearly satisfied with her conception.

With limited time and heavy tasks, the originally gradual research plan had to undergo some changes. To ensure the Psychic Singers could be deployed to combat as soon as possible, she had to repurpose some readily available materials for the project. In the past few days, she worked with the Druids and Mage Technicians to explore one alternative plan after another, then alternatives to alternatives, and more alternatives... The result she proposed now was the aggregation of all these alternative plans.

A prototype that could be ”cobbled together” within a few days might not be particularly user-friendly, but it could be immediately deployed to the front lines.

Holding her portable lamp, Selena listened intently to the other’s concept. After thinking for just a moment following the explanation, she nodded: ”I trust you’ve discussed this plan with the Mage Technicians. We don’t know much about aircraft, but regarding brainwave amplifiers and neural network technology, the Empire’s most eminent experts are here—we can start anytime.”

Beltira nodded, her gaze sweeping over the peripheral faces of these former Eternal Sleepers Priests on the square — many of whom she was not unfamiliar with. Through many past years, she had collaborated with some of these people more than once, even as a dark priest, and now, at this moment, remnants of two dark sects found themselves on cooperative terms once again... Even having completely forsaken the gods, she felt compelled to marvel at the wonder of fate.

”This ’brain’ is now lent to you; bring out all your neural network and brainwave amplification technology. I’ll continue catalyzing the few other ’brains’ in the chamber, trying to get them operational within three days,” she said, looking at Selena Gerfen with a rather earnest tone, ”But while I lend it to you, please handle it with care if possible. I still have plans to use these brains for thinking after the war...”

Beltira’s comment made even the usually unruffled Selena show an odd expression, her eyebrow twitching slightly: ”I thought creating these ’brains’ would be easy for you... after all, you just said they’re not much different from Sorin Tree Fruit.”

”How could it be? Although they’re both offspring of the giant tree, brains are many times more complex than Sorin Tree Fruit, starting with the growth cycle...”

The conversation seemed to diverge into a strange direction. Yuri, who had been mostly silent, finally couldn’t help but whisper to Wendy, ”Damn it... I might never be able to eat Sorin Tree Fruit again...”

”...Please stop, I already have the image in my head...”

...

The towering Winterwolf Fortress looms over the border of Typhon, yet the flag flying above the castle is no longer the black and red Typhon emblem—the blue flag with the emblem of sword and plow embroidered in gold thread waves high in the cold wind. This border fortress has now become the front-line command center of the Cecil Legion, and after urgent repairs and expansions, it has been fortified as strong as a fortress of steel.

On a clear and cold day, Gawain arrived at this solid fortress located at the front line.

The dry and cold northern wilderness wind blew from the direction of the plains, howling into the walls of Winterwolf Fortress, within which traces from air raids and fires still remain visible in the fortress—some buildings in the Outer City District are still in ruins, and the walls that separate the outer city from the inner city were blackened by the fire on that day. However, aside from these, its Castle Area remains intact and has now been used as Sir Philip’s command center.

In an open corridor of the Castle Area, Amber raised her head to look at a tower not far away. She saw the blue flag with gold patterns waving in the wind atop the tower and couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional: ”This is Winterwolf Fortress... and we’ve just taken it down like that...”

Sir Philip, clad in military gear, stood beside her and showed a slight smile upon hearing her words: ”The Typhon Empire launched countless counterattacks attempting to reclaim this fortress, but as the defense works were completed and reinforcements arrived, their attacks have been completely dismantled. Now, the battle lines have even been pushed to the Bitter Winter Castle defense zone.”

Gawain came to the edge of the corridor, resting his hand on the railing, gazing toward the Typhon Control Zone, his expression appearing very serious: ”Does Winter Castle have any new movements? Since the last air battle, have their priest Clergy and Combat Mage Regiment made large-scale gatherings or maneuvers?”

Beside him, Amber couldn’t help but blink: ”It hasn’t been long since the last air battle, even for Typhon, it shouldn’t be possible to perform another ’miracle’ so soon, right?”

”No, you don’t understand Typhon,” Sir Philip shook his head, ”only direct contact will give you a clear concept of the Typhon Empire’s ’Empire Corps’. In my view, although they were badly hurt last time, if necessary, they could still launch several similar ’miracles’ in a short time. However... they have indeed quieted down recently, with no signs of large-scale activities from the priest Clergy, Combat Mage Regiment, pioneering knights, or other Empire Corps.”

Sir Philip’s words didn’t make Gawain relax; rather, they made his expression even more serious than before.

”The front line of Winterwolf Fortress has become a ’war zone’, the Typhon Empire performed a ’miracle divine arts’ here, like setting fire to a pile of wood—once the fire starts, there’s no turning back or stopping...” he thought aloud as he spoke, ”when they suddenly quiet down now, it can only be in preparation for a more extensive formal action next time.”

”Was the last ’miracle’ some sort of experiment?” Amber pondered, ”Like probing the way before the formal action—Emperor Rosetta collected the data he wanted from that ’miracle’, so next he might indeed make a genuine move.”

Gawain glanced at the half-elf, couldn’t help but nod slightly—although she usually seemed overly animated, at critical moments, her intuitive judgment was fairly reliable.

After a moment, he looked at his young Army Commander: ”Sir Philip, have you ever been influenced by the War God afterwards?”

”I have always maintained mental fortification, and we have set up a lot of Magic Web Terminals on the front line to ensure that the soldiers are always under the coverage of the ’Humanity Barrier’, under these protective measures, neither I nor the soldiers have ever been polluted by the War God,” Sir Philip immediately replied, ”but we are certain that the War God’s pollution is everywhere and constantly tries to erode our mental defense lines.”

Gawain’s expression grew stern: ”Have you observed any phenomena?”

”Nariteer captured traces of an unknown ’wave of thought’ at the edges of the neural network; occasionally, mysterious interference appears in the Magic Web Terminals set in this area, manifested as suddenly emerging voices of prayer or grand, majestic proclamations. Additionally, soldiers who ventured too close to the Typhon Control Zone, with weakened mental protection, have seen illusions at the battlefield edge—illusions of mysterious radiance enticing those soldiers to devote themselves to the gods.”

Sir Philip spoke solemnly.

”These phenomena have heightened everyone’s vigilance, we have now ceased advancing further into the Typhon Control Zone, and every day we conduct collective activities to strengthen soldiers’ minds and unite team spirit, such as squad-based collective learning and entertainment... these methods are very effective, at least we can immediately detect soldiers who seem out of sorts.”

Gawain nodded slightly as he listened, while Amber couldn’t help but shrink her neck upon hearing the mention of those ”pollution phenomena”, feeling a chill rise behind her neck, realizing more acutely what kind of battlefield this truly was.

The forces at war here are not just the apparent Typhon and Cecil; it includes the power of the War God—an invisible force roaming this land like some ghost, infiltrating the entire battlefield, omnipresent, constantly attempting to stir up greater turmoil, even here, within Winterwolf Fortress... the War God’s power is ready to move.

Thinking of this, she instinctively lifted her head, looking toward a small terrace not far away.

At the center of the terrace, Sea Demon Tiel was coiled into a very standard pile, sound asleep without any distractions.

As an expert in divine perceptual domain and as a backup for emergency contact with the sea demon clans, this visitor from the deep sea had also followed Gawain to the front line of Winterwolf Fortress. Seeing her calmly sleeping on the terrace, seemingly oblivious to the presence of divine aura, Amber could slightly breathe a sigh of relief.

Gawain noticed Amber’s movement, glanced at the direction of the terrace, and saw Tiel sleeping soundly in the cold wind; after a brief assessment, he concluded that she must have frozen.

But this was nothing serious, that sea demon lady became frozen several times every winter, and would come back to life soon after being warmed up a bit.

He turned to Sir Philip, preparing to further understand Typhon’s recent movements, but at this moment, a communication officer suddenly ran over from the other side of the corridor, interrupting his intended speech.

”Your Majesty! Sir!” The communication officer quickly ran up to Gawain and Sir Philip, saluted, then loudly reported, ”Commander Soldrin has returned!”