Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1105: Chapter 1104: After the Meeting

The meeting has ended.

As the magical runes from an ancient era gradually extinguished, the large-scale projection ritual that had persisted for ten days in the wilderness began its reversal process. Splendid curtains of light descended from the sky, dismantling the grand ancient stone pillars and stone furniture back into the magic dust dispersed between heaven and earth. Amidst ethereal and pleasant resonances, the image of the Oath Stone Circle slowly faded from everyone’s sight, while the massive square rune stone, once submerged in the earth, rose again, retracting the last remnants of brilliance.

Ultimately, the Oath Stone Circle returned to its rightful realm, and the elves began to organize and reclaim the rune stones and the surrounding facilities of the venue. The representatives from various countries stood solemnly with respectful expressions on an open ground outside the venue, observing this scene — each person felt somewhat touched within their hearts.

Camilla stood beside Venna Baizhi. The beastmen leader’s pointed ears twitched twice, with the tips’ fine fur quivering gently in the warm breeze. She watched as the Silver Empress performed a ceremonial ’salutation’ to the rune stone with a serious expression. Nearby, many individuals carrying magical machinery were recording every frame of the scene. She squinted slightly and whispered, ”We have witnessed history...”

”No, we have created history,” Venna shook her head, ”as Gawain Cecil said, history is created by people, endured by people, recorded by people, and inherited by people — the turning point is born here and will soon extend to everyone.”

”In just ten days, you seem to have suddenly become much more profound,” Camilla looked down at her long-time friend, her tone carrying a hint of teasing, ”I remember before this event, your mind was filled with plans on how to quickly make a big profit; now your pensive demeanor is much like Studeer, not quite like a gray elf.”

Venna rolled her eyes upward: ”There are prominent philosophers and poets among the gray elves too; you’re viewing us with a rigid perspective.”

Camilla shrugged, said no more, and continued to watch the concluding activities with curious eyes. Nearby, along the road leading to Outpost Number 112, new flags flew high in the wind at the edge of the wasteland — the flags bore a pure white background, with blue-threaded, gold-edged embroidery depicting an image differing from any national emblem; it depicted a planet, outlined with the known lands on its surface, surrounded by a conspicuous ring.

This is the flag of the Mortal Civilization Community Alliance, reportedly designed personally by Emperor Gawain Cecil — the planet symbolizes the world carrying the mortal nations and the mortal nations themselves. The ring represents the alliance’s principle: unity and mutual advance or retreat, with the fate of all countries globally interconnected. Yet many believe the ring could signify other meanings, such as symbolizing the pending world-altering continental ring route, or representing some ’cycle’ within this world... Of course, these subsequent speculations are not acknowledged by the three major empires.

Gawain withdrew his gaze from the alliance flag, wearing a faint smile. He was quite satisfied with the design he created, especially the circle which could hold various interpretations, though probably no one would guess it also symbolized a very tangible ’Star Ring’ floating in space. Gawain hoped to use it to metaphorically refer to the Firmament Orbit Space Station orbiting the planet, and he felt no worry about how to explain this ’coincidence’ should someday the mortal nations on earth truly launch a spacecraft into space and see the Star Ring — he never intended to explain it, for the meanings of the circle were aplenty, and if it was said to be a coincidence, then it simply was.

This could be seen as a bit of a mischievous amusement of his own, a kind of unsolvable ’easter egg’ he left for the world. Indeed, the Dragonkin might think of something upon seeing the circle... after all, they knew about the Voyagers’ existence, but that had little impact, as there were things... Gawain would eventually have to discuss with this ancient race that had experienced the ’Voyage Era’.

Amidst slightly scattered thoughts, a familiar presence approached from not far away; Gawain turned around and saw Rosetta arriving before him — this once ’cursed one’, shrouded perpetually in a somber, oppressive atmosphere, had completely rid himself of the Eye of the God’s curse. After a mentally exhausting ten-day meeting, not only did his spirit show no signs of fatigue, but he appeared even more full of vigor and energy. With a faint smile on his face, the black-haired Princess Matilda followed closely beside him.

”This is a victory,” Rosetta remarked, ”though it’s just a trivial initial skirmish in the grand ’campaign’.”

”Typhon’s position is significant,” Gawain looked at him. Over the years, he had been a powerful competitor, and even now, the competition between Typhon and the Cecil Clan would not cease; yet, at least in fields where mutual interests existed, Gawain believed Typhon would be a reliable ally, or at least the only reliable ally he could find in the northern continent, ”Though we’ve formed an alliance, the roles each member can play are different, and in combating the gods and planning the counterattack against the wasteland, not many can stand alongside us.”

”I understand your point.” Rosetta replied faintly.

While Gawain’s words were tactful, the underlying meaning was clear: the alliance was established, and the unified front of mortals had taken shape. However, among the numerous mortal nations, the disparities in national power were astounding, with many nations shockingly underdeveloped. Despite the alliance’s principle of having each mortal nation serve as a ’partner’ on the front line, the reality was that many member nations acted mainly as suppliers or markets — at least for a considerable time. Conversely, countries capable of combating divine, natural, and dragon disasters would enjoy most of the benefits following the alliance’s establishment, also enduring for a long duration.

These benefits cannot be free — the unconditional plundering by the powerful of the weak doesn’t align with Gawain’s vision for the alliance nor the order set by the charter, much less with the overarching goal of ’survival together’.

”Starting next month, Typhon will open all our analytical results on the War God’s remains within the theocracy Authority Council, alongside all knowledge of the deities held by the Augustus Clan,” after a brief silence, Rosetta said to Gawain, ”Additionally, this includes the social data we discussed last time. I hope Cecil will provide parallel information sharing.”

”You can rest assured, the Cecil theological knowledge base will also open to all member nations next month, and the Silver Empire has already pledged to disclose their millennia of accumulated knowledge on theology, evolution of folk beliefs, and cult activities, allowing us to establish a vast knowledge repository to uncover the mysteries of deities from the vast sea of information.”

”...The data recorded over millennia by the Silver Empire?” Rosetta’s eyes inadvertently shifted, evidently unable to remain composed upon hearing this news despite his resolve, ”That indeed is... an unimaginable wealth.”

”Indeed, if it weren’t for the founding of the alliance and the theocracy Authority Council, who could have imagined having the chance to glimpse at the entire sacred legacy of Loren Continent’s oldest empire?” Gawain chuckled, ”I was as thrilled as you upon learning this.”

Rosetta quickly regained his calm, his gaze swept over the dragon banner fluttering not far away, a slight movement in his expression: ”And what about Talronde? As the world’s oldest civilization, from their side...”

”Now a member of the theocracy Authority Council, Talronde has pledged to share their theological secrets too,” Gawain nodded but then changed his tone, ”though they’ll provide only a portion, and it will be relatively late.”

Emperor Rosetta Augustus instinctively furrowed his brow, ”Why?”

”They need to organize those distant records in a wasteland. All the archives and data storage facilities in Talronde are now buried in ruins, and even if some can be dug out, who knows when that will be. At present, only a few Ancient Dragons who have personally experienced the Ancient Era can provide assistance in this regard. But organizing memories itself takes time, and these Ancient Dragons are now the leaders of Talronde; their energy is limited,” Gawain Cecil relayed the intelligence provided by Melita Ponia, ”Of course, the more important reason is that some information cannot be disclosed at will. This is not due to a lack of sincerity from the Dragonkin, but because that information...”

”Is dangerous?” Emperor Rosetta Augustus understood deeply, having dealt with the Eye of the God for decades, knowing all too well the numerous taboos associated with anything related to gods, ”Part of the knowledge’s ’origin’ isn’t safe?”

”Hmm,” Gawain nodded slightly, lowering his voice, ”You know, the Dragonkin have lasted far longer than our civilization’s records. Over the ages, they have maintained a long-term symbiosis with their gods. After falling into a peculiar lock-down state, they received many ’gifts’ from the gods. These gifts are harmless to them, but what consequences they may have when passed on to other races is difficult to determine. They need to slowly sift through their knowledge to find parts that can be safely shared... please understand, they indeed need time right now.”

”...Honestly, when I first heard that the dragons would join the alliance, I never imagined they would be in this current state,” Emperor Rosetta Augustus sighed, ”Right now, I just hope they can quickly recover some strength; we need some stronger allies.”

Gawain Cecil slightly nodded but did not respond further, he merely contemplated quietly for a moment, then redirected the topic elsewhere, ”Regarding the establishment of an efficient communication network within known civilized territories, what are your thoughts?”

Emperor Rosetta Augustus pondered briefly, nodded, ”I understand the significance of this. If there had been a more efficient and transparent communication line between Typhon and the Cecil Clan back then, allowing for more effective real-time conversations, then regarding the ’War God’ incident, neither side would need to incur so many extra costs...”

”Indeed, if we want the theocracy Authority Council to be effective, we must also establish a communication network covering all nations,” Gawain said, ”Currently, the Cecil Clan is researching a technology to combat godly corruption, which is based on the ’Neural Network’, a technology you’ve seen partially applied in the battle site at Bitter Winter Castle.”

Emperor Rosetta Augustus watched Gawain’s eyes intently. It was hard to discern the deep emotions fluctuating within him from his face until nearly ten seconds later when he withdrew his gaze and lightly sighed, ”Looks like I have to consider Cecil’s Magic Web Communication technology. But you should also understand, even if Typhon undergoes a Magic Web transformation domestically, no outsiders will be allowed to interfere.”

Gawain Cecil maintained an unchanged smile, ”Of course, I understand.”

After Emperor Rosetta Augustus and Princess Matilda left, Gawain Cecil gently exhaled, lifted his head looking for Rebecca, who had disappeared since earlier. After searching around, he finally saw the girl who was pestering several Elven Mages with questions, and couldn’t help but show a somewhat helpless smile, casually speaking to the air beside him, ”Call Rebecca here—tell her not to cause trouble, the mages are very busy now.”

Amber’s presence flickered momentarily in the air, followed by Rebecca’s face suddenly showing a stupid expression in the distance. The girl nervously craned her neck to look around, and the next second, her gaze met Gawain’s, she immediately hunched her shoulders and dashed over.

”Ancestor...” Rebecca came before Gawain Cecil, with a tense expression, ”I didn’t cause any trouble... I was just asking them how the sentinel towers operate.”

”...You should ask such questions in a formal setting later, where else would you stop a technician and question them halfway?” Gawain casually knocked Rebecca’s head, then diverted, ”Let’s talk about serious matters—you went with the elves to observe the communication system in Messenger Hall, what do you think, is elf communication technology compatible with the Neural Network?”

Rebecca touched the spot where Gawain knocked, confirming it wasn’t swollen, then nodded, ”I carefully studied, compared several magic circles provided by the Silver Empire during previous technical exchanges, and overall it should be feasible. Essentially speaking, the communication technology we use has the same roots, they’re all various communication spell variants, like a roadbed, and then we modulate it into Magic Web signals, into neural impulses that are compatible with Neural Thorn. This is paving different surfaces on the original road—yet the road remains a road...”

Finally reaching her expertise field, Rebecca’s usual simplicity immediately vanished, her eyes brightened, and she started talking incessantly. Although she doesn’t need to explain things so thoroughly since Gawain can fully understand, Gawain still patiently listened, neither interrupting nor making a sound, while wearing a slight smile—he enjoyed watching Rebecca in such high spirits.

Finally, as Rebecca’s enthusiastic explanation came to an end, Gawain Cecil had the chance to speak, ”Overall feasible, then what are the difficulties in terms of details?”

”Still a matter of encoding and forwarding,” Rebecca scratched her hair, ”Just like now between us and the Silver Empire, a conversion mechanism is needed to connect our Magic Web Communication with the elves’ sentinel data chain. Currently, communication between us and the Silver Empire is limited to high level, so a small magic symbol converter suffices, but if you want to establish a public network that can efficiently interconnect civilians and constantly expand in the future, then we’ll need to establish some larger... larger...”

”We need large servers...” Rebecca was still thinking of appropriate terms, but Gawain couldn’t help softly murmuring to himself, ”Integrating with Typhon will probably need similar things...”

”What server?” Rebecca blinked and asked curiously.

”Servers, for realizing the ’conversion’ function you mentioned,” Gawain replied, randomly pressing Rebecca’s already tousled head, ”No need to overthink the name, I have a rough plan here... just hope Beltira’s brain is capable enough.”

Rebecca: ”?”