Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 775 - 774: Northern Plan

While Philem was still in a daze, Victoria was also carefully sizing up this blond young man who looked about the same age as her nephew.

So young, yet he created something as incredible as the "Magic Shadow Drama."

It wasn’t a technological invention, but an innovation on the level of thinking itself, and that made the duchess somewhat emotional: faced with these new things, the ones who truly possess creativity are indeed the young. Compared to the previous generation, they can integrate into this new era much faster.

Although she herself was not exactly old, she was after all a senior in terms of family, and had been tempered in the upper aristocratic circles for so many years that she sometimes felt her mindset was no longer young.

If this Philem’s character also proves trustworthy... then Fendil finding a friend like this is not a bad thing at all. As for that so-called gap in status and birth... the ancestor has already said he’s going to change the ancestral rules; it’s better to go along with the tide.

These tangled thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, yet Victoria’s expression did not change. In the eyes of outsiders she was still that cold-faced duchess. She merely nodded to Philem, just right in measure: "I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Philem."

"I... I’m very pleased as well, and honored," Philem hurriedly lowered his head, "I often hear Fendil mention you."

"Oh?" A trace of curiosity slipped into Victoria’s tone. "And how does he mention me?"

"He says you are..." In his nervousness Philem subconsciously began to speak, but after a few words he noticed the look Fendil was throwing him from the side—the kind of look that said "we’re friends, we’ve never had any grudges, and today we’re even partners, why panic in front of my aunt over a little authority"—so the rest of his words were promptly edited, "He says you are full of authority, strict yet worthy of respect, the Ice Duchess who commands the reverence of the entire northern mountain range."

"That does not sound like something he would say, but I still appreciate the compliment," Victoria nodded, then withdrew her gaze and turned toward Gawain. "Your Majesty, I’m sorry for having taken up your time."

"No, I’m happy to see my subjects getting along so harmoniously," Gawain tactfully expressed how much he had enjoyed watching the scene, a smile on his face. "Besides, since you arrived today, we can just as well discuss a few matters."

As he spoke, he rose to his feet and gave a slight nod to Philem and the others, who were still bowing their heads: "I’ll leave this place to you young people— the following screenings are just as important. I wish you all the best."

Several voices rang out at the same time: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

...

Leaving the theater that had been temporarily refitted for the Magic Shadow Drama, Gawain took Victoria straight onto the Magic-guided Vehicle waiting at the back door, while the other people who had come with Victoria were arranged into other cars.

Outside the car window, the street scenes of the imperial capital streamed backwards. Among the uneven mix of semi-classical, semi-modern buildings, citizens wrapped in warm winter clothes and children running and playing could be seen everywhere, while decorative flags and banners fluttered in the wind.

"I heard that after you arrived in rocky ridges Town you took the train from there?" In the backseat of the Magic-guided Vehicle, Gawain glanced at the "Ice Duchess" sitting opposite him and spoke casually.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Victoria nodded slightly. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision on my part—I wanted to personally experience what it feels like to ride the train, to see with my own eyes how the trains and the entire railway system behind them operate."

"And how did it look?"

"I did see the trains in operation, but it seems that understanding the railway system is not such a simple matter," Victoria said frankly. "It’s a complex and massive system that requires the participation of many people. It’s not like a Spell that can be mastered through personal insight and talent alone."

Watching this Ice Duchess describe her observations and impressions with a poker face, Gawain couldn’t help but show a trace of satisfaction and comfort in his smile.

This former ruler of the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range was paying attention to the concrete operation of the Magic-guided Train and the railway system and had even taken the initiative to experience it herself—that was heartening.

Because there were also plans to build railways in the northern parts of the mountain range, and this new thing—the Magic-guided Train—would eventually spread across the entire Empire.

As a traditionally bred old aristocrat and orthodox Mage, Victoria being able to set aside the shackles of status and old habits of thought, and seriously and actively seek to engage with new things, was already quite remarkable in itself.

After reflecting for a moment, Gawain casually asked again, "Tell me about the situation in St. Soniel, and the construction progress of the Magic Web main hubs in the central and northern regions."

"The situation in St. Soniel is now completely under control. The Administrative Office is managing city operations. The purification and reconstruction work on the small plain in the southeast of St. Soniel has also reached the expected targets. The nearby refugees have been taken into the city or dispersed to nearby towns. Grain from the West has arrived. At least this winter no one will starve to death," Victoria reported in an orderly manner. "As for the aristocrats who remained in the Old Capital, they have all been ’rectified.’ Each family has sent the required number of direct or collateral members, and they’ve been incorporated into the immigrants list. On that note, because navigation on the Gorgon River has been suspended, all immigrants heading to the southern borders now have to travel overland across the Plains of the Holy Spirits. The speed is slow and the cost is higher. I am preparing to apply for authorization for part of the construction teams to remain stationed in the reconstruction zone on the Plains of the Holy Spirits, to assist with rebuilding there while they wait for the thaw in early spring..."

Gawain nodded. "Your thinking makes sense. Prepare the relevant paperwork afterwards. If I don’t see any problems, we’ll do it that way."

"Thank you for your understanding," Victoria continued. "Additionally, regarding the Magic Web main hubs in the central and northern regions... the progress there is still tending toward stagnation, mainly in the northern parts of the mountain range. The mountainous terrain itself is difficult to build in, and in winter the mountains are sealed by ice, making it even harder to move large equipment into the mountains. We can only complete the node installations within the city areas first. As for linking them into a full network... that will have to wait at least until summer or autumn."

Gawain had already learned the general situation in this regard from Aunt Heidi, so he was not particularly surprised at this moment. But after Victoria finished this basic report, she immediately followed with a detail that had not been mentioned in previous written reports: "In addition... Your Majesty, there were some strange situations during the Magic Web installation in Bitter Winter Castle. The cause is still under investigation, but I felt I should inform you first."

"A strange situation?" Gawain frowned. "What happened?"

"On the night when the Magic Web of Bitter Winter Castle was completed and the city’s central Magic Obelisk was connected to it, all running Magic Web Terminals emitted a bizarre wailing sound that lasted more than ten seconds, and every terminal that was powered on projected a large amount of unidentifiable strange symbols and flickering light and shadows. No one could make sense of the wailing, or those symbols and shimmering images they projected."

It sounded like some kind of urban horror tale, which made Gawain instinctively knit his brows. "Not a hardware malfunction?"

Victoria shook her head. "No. The technicians checked again and again, including several experts sent from the imperial capital to the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range. I even returned early to Bitter Winter Castle from St. Soniel specifically for this, and confirmed that the Magic Web had not been attacked or polluted by high-level Magic."

All kinds of guesses and hypotheses surfaced in Gawain’s mind, but all lacked solid theoretical support. Frowning, he pondered over what could have caused such an uncanny phenomenon while looking into Victoria’s eyes. "Do you have any ideas yourself?"

"It’s only speculation on my part—perhaps the Arctic Mountains are close to the edge of the continent and are affected to some extent by the Magic Power surges of the Endless Sea. The local magic-pervasive environment differs from that of the inland, thus creating unexpected interference in the Magic Web. It could also be that Bitter Winter Castle itself is generating interference..."

At this point, Victoria added an explanation. "Bitter Winter Castle is not just a castle; it is also a massive Magic fortress—or rather... the ’Mage tower’ of our clan’s ancestor, Snow Wielder. The ancestor reshaped that mountain with Magic and turned part of its summit into the foundation of Bitter Winter Castle. He also set up an extremely powerful magic well in the depths of the castle and collected all kinds of powerful and bizarre magical things there. Later, on this basis, the Wilder Clan continuously expanded the castle and gathered more and more extraordinary items... Today, Bitter Winter Castle has become the strongest source of Magic Power interference in the northern parts of the mountain range. Although the castle itself has certain shielding and protective measures, there is no guarantee that this interference won’t affect the running of the Magic Web in the city at the foot of the mountain."

Listening to Victoria’s explanation, Gawain could not help rubbing his forehead as assorted memories surfaced. "Snow... Back in the day, we always said he was related to hamsters. He liked to hoard everything. Even Charlie the First said he would die sooner or later buried in that pile of dangerous collectibles of his."

Victoria’s expression did not change, but inwardly she listened with some nervousness as Gawain exposed these secret tidbits about the founding ancestors, and she could not help thinking to herself—

If His Majesty Gawain Cecil hadn’t risen from his coffin, then their ancestor Snow Wielder would actually have been the one who lived the longest among the original four founding Dukes plus the founding King...

But that was something she absolutely could not say out loud; it would be far too disrespectful.

Gawain had no way of knowing what was going through the mind of Victoria, whose face was always frozen like ice. While sighing and making his quips, he continued mulling things over—

The bizarre phenomenon Victoria mentioned could not be dismissed casually as some "mysterious malfunction" or "horror story"!

The Magic Web was something new. Even though it had been operating for several years, many of its properties remained to be explored, and various improvements and optimizations were yet to be carried out. As the foundation of magical industry, any anomaly it exhibited had to be treated with caution. And even apart from that...

In this world where all kinds of extraordinary powers, mysterious phenomena, and uncanny things existed, any event that was strange enough and broad in impact had to be approached with heightened vigilance!

Was it really, as Victoria said, some kind of external interference affecting the operation of Bitter Winter Castle’s Magic Web? Or... was something trying to contaminate the Magic Web?

Would this influence spread to the Magic Web in other regions?

If that were the case, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Noticing Gawain’s expression suddenly grow abnormally serious, Victoria remained in silence for a few seconds before she could not help asking, "Your Majesty, what have you thought of?"

Gawain snapped out of his thoughts, yet in his mind there surfaced, involuntarily, some of the bold proposals Rebecca had raised a long time ago...

"Perhaps... some key nodes of the Magic Web should be equipped with a physical self-destruct function..."

Victoria was startled by the last few words Gawain uttered. "Ah?!"

"Don’t worry about it for now. It’s a technical issue from the early design phase of the Magic Web," Gawain waved his hand, setting the idea aside for the moment and planning to discuss the details with the technicians later. "In any case, the ’abnormal phenomenon’ you mentioned is very much worth paying attention to. After you return, you must investigate it thoroughly. Even if you really can’t find the cause, you still have to keep a close watch on the operation of the Magic Web afterward, see whether it manifests any other anomalies, and report to me in a timely manner."

Victoria lowered her head. "I understand."

Gawain exhaled softly and turned to the next topic. "Other than that, is there anything else in the North?"

"Yes." Victoria nodded, then immediately spoke of one of the reasons she had personally come to the imperial capital to report. "We have successfully opened the ’door’ of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. Archduke Balogar Knal of Dragonblood has agreed to the Empire’s request to formally establish diplomatic relations and has entrusted me to present his national letter to you in person and convey his intentions. Before spring, the Sacred Dragon Kingdom will send an official envoy group to make preparations for stationing a long-term ambassador, establishing an embassy, sending exchange students, and opening up commercial channels on both sides."

Gawain was taken aback for a moment, then showed his delight without the slightest attempt to hide it. "Ha! Now that is good news! We actually managed to knock on the hardest door to knock on in the North! This will tilt the situation even more in our favor!"

"Indeed. With that door opened, the Sacred Dragon Kingdom will lean more toward the Cecil Settlement." Even Victoria, who usually showed little expression, could not help letting a faint smile show. "After all, the Sacred Dragon Kingdom is not only adjacent to the Cecil Clan; it is also very close to Typhon. And Typhon has been trying to establish relations with the Sacred Dragon Kingdom over the past years, which has always been worrying. Now... we can worry a little less."

"We still can’t be blindly optimistic. Opening the door alone doesn’t mean we’ve brought the Sacred Dragon Kingdom fully into the Cecil Settlement. They can still choose to be allies with the Typhon Empire," Gawain said with a smile. "Besides, I’m very curious—what exactly managed to move those stubborn ’Dragonborn’ of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom?"