Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 611 - 610: Turbulent Situation

Soldrin, who went to investigate the North, has returned with intelligence—using hidden relay devices set along the riverbank en route, the Steel Cavalry Vanguard Squadron maintained communications with the southern borders through the Magic Web. With convenient remote communication support, Gawain was the first to learn about the "Crystal Cluster Monsters" encountered by the High-Ranked Ranger.

To be honest, he wished this report would never reach him.

"...We encountered those monsters in the area of the Doran Hills to the northeast of the Pompeii Domain... They appear to be human forms fused with flesh and crystals, but stronger and larger than humans. They seem to have a strong physical constitution and certain spell-casting abilities, but their exact combat strength remains unclear—for now, we only know that Burners are very effective against them.

"Based on the remaining clues, those monsters probably wandered from further north... We found a village that had been attacked, but the villagers showed no signs of infection; the source of the contamination should not be nearby...

"...The local leader and his army responded to the royal family’s call to the front lines; it’s been a long time since any news has returned..."

In the holographic projection, Soldrin meticulously reported the situation in the North, with a backdrop of a temporary camp set at the foot of a wind-sheltered rock, where Steel Cavalry Warriors stood vigil nearby. Though the relay nodes were few, causing some distortion in the communication image, Gawain could still clearly see the worry etched on the face of the High-Ranked Ranger.

Large areas have lost contact, local leaders are missing, and bizarre blood-and-crystal monsters are roaming out from areas that have lost contact... No matter which characteristic one focuses on, it points to the worst possibility.

After the report was completed, the High-Ranked Ranger asked for the next step: "Do we continue advancing?"

"Continue advancing to the outskirts of the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance—but immediately return if you encounter an excessive number of ’Crystal Cluster Infectors’," Gawain instructed solemnly, "Pay attention to setting up relay devices and small-scale Magic Web along the way... Do you have enough Magic Web Units and small relay devices with you?"

"The relay devices are sufficient; as for the Magic Web... We can directly install some of the relay devices at the mills and manors of the local leader; the Magic Web prevalence is high in the central and eastern plains, energy here is not an issue."

Gawain nodded, then conducted some detailed inquiries and arrangements before hanging up the communication.

He raised his head, looking at the people gathered in the room.

Of course Heidi, Byron, Sir Philip, Amber, Rebecca, and others were present, and besides them, "technicians" like Kamel and Pittman were also convened here.

"Now it is certain that the Oblivion Association’s large-scale destruction has begun and the situation is possibly more severe than we imagined—even if the northern aristocrats are incompetent, they cannot possibly allow hordes of completely undisguised monsters to traverse their territory. Such a situation can only mean one thing—the aristocratic leaders in the Eastern Region of the Spirit Plain have already lost control of the situation," Gawain said solemnly, while his gaze turned to the precise map of Anzu hanging on the wall, marked in a large red circle indicating the Eastern Region of the Spirit Plain, "The biggest problem now is that we are not sure how large the uncontrollable region actually is, how many ’Crystal Cluster Infections’ there are, nor the status of the royal family and the Duke of the East."

As he spoke, it was not just the Anzu map drawn by hand that floated in Gawain’s mind, but the overhead view from satellites.

However, even with satellite assistance, what he could see this time was still limited.

From last week, the entire Gigantic Tree Path region has been enveloped in dense fog; though it has somewhat dissipated now, the clouds still affect the satellite’s overhead view while seriously interfering with and distorting the image. It seems as if the entire Eastern Spirit Plain is shrouded in a powerful energy field, a situation... which he has only encountered while observing the Gondor wasteland.

Of course, he could still see some things; in areas where distortion is not severe and cloud and smoke interference are relatively light, he could see traces of combat, see some chaotic battlefields—yet, due to insufficient clarity, he could not determine whether those battle traces were due to monster attacks or regular conflict between the kingdom’s military and the eastern forces.

"White Sand Mining reported the latest news: the eastern societal order remains relatively normal for the time being, but an unsettling atmosphere is indeed spreading," Heidi said at this moment, "Marquis of Belk Loren has not returned since leaving for Sorinburg; many aristocrats remaining in the eastern region frequently gather, visit each other, and dispatch messengers; it seems they too have lost communication with the front lines. Holme, in charge of the White Sand Region, believes the situation may further deteriorate—even without external enemies, the aristocrats who lost control in the east may fall into internal strife and threaten the safety of the mines."

At this point, she couldn’t help but add with a peculiar expression: "The local aristocrats near White Sand Hills seem... never to have been very fond of our mining methods."

"White Sand Hills... adjoining the Gran Region, it’s a gap," Gawain briefly pondered, then looked toward Rebecca, "Is the ’iron throne’ modification completed?"

Rebecca’s eyes glowed, her face full of excitement: "The armor plates have been welded, the rail cannon group, and burner systems installed! It’s currently undergoing control and balance testing at the factory—but if you think it’s necessary, you can directly drive it to Gran, and subsequent tests can be completed over there..."

After a brief thought, Gawain nodded: "Drive it to Gran, be ready at any time."

Then he paused for a moment, turning his head to Byron.

"Where are the Pioneer, Aurora, and Morningstar now?"

"They have reached rocky ridges Port."

"Immediately proceed; three days from now, whether Soldrin has new intelligence or not, set sail, bypass rocky ridges Fortress, and enter the Spirit Plain along the Duoergong river, ready to support the Cavalry Scouts Vanguard Squadron at any moment. Also, I have already instructed Sir Wald to prepare a batch of mechanical ships to assist refugees; they are still waiting at the port, and those ships are also under your command—if things really develop toward the worst, you will make use of those ships."

When the order was given, even the usual easy-going veteran knight showed a serious expression on his face.

If Intelligence Agency operatives are merely information personnel, if Steel Cavalry Warriors are just small squads on spy missions, then the significance changes entirely once three magic-conducting battleships bypass rocky ridges Fortress and enter the Duoergong river.

Since the end of the unification war in the southern borders, since rocky ridges Fortress bore the flag of the Cecil Principality, this land has closed its doors; the aristocrats of the Spirit Plain and further north have guessed what kind of power might be brewing on this mysterious land, wondered what lies behind the wall reinforced with steel. They have sent countless spies and made various efforts, but against the stringent social system of Cecil, all attempts to pry open this door have been futile—

Now, its door is finally about to open.

The curious plain aristocrats staring at the southern borders will, as they long wished, see what truly lies behind the door.

"Understood," Byron responded solemnly, but after a brief moment of seriousness, he couldn’t help but chuckle, "I bet the plain aristocrats along the Duoergong river will certainly panic—if they are still alive, of course. More likely, they won’t even recognize our advanced battleships..."

"This is a serious occasion," Sir Philip immediately interrupted Byron with a stern face before he turned to Gawain, "My Lord, what about the land-based Combat Corps?"

"Standby for now."

Currently, the intelligence remains insufficient; Gawain does not dare confirm the extent of contamination or "curse" in the eastern plains or understand how the strange "crystals" have spread, nor the situation of the kingdom’s military or eastern forces. In such severe lack of intelligence, rashly deploying ground troops is unwise.

On the other hand, mighty magic warships possess near-unsurpassable power in this era; they boast exceptional survivability, while ships navigating water can significantly evade the "plague" threat from land. Even if an incident arises, they possess the capability to rapidly retreat.

Considering both aspects, he decided to first let magic warships go up the Duoergong river, affirming the Spirit Plain’s situation while establishing reliable naval gun support along the river, preparing entry conditions for the ground troops. After that, once Soldrin gathers more intelligence, he will consider deploying tanks and infantry into potentially dangerous "contaminated areas"...

—The confrontation zone between the kingdom’s army and the eastern forces is located at the eastern edge of the Spirit Plain, near the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance; though part of the eastern plains, it’s very close to the central area, and the Duoergong river passes by this nearby area, allowing naval gunfire from the river to effectively support ground troops on the eastern shore.

The meeting was over, and most people left the meeting room, but Kamel and Pittman were kept behind by Gawain.

"Regarding the ’Crystal Cluster Infectors’ mentioned by Soldrin, what do you think?" Gawain’s gaze swept between the two masters (although one seemed to be rather dubious), finally landing on Kamel, "It does sound very much like the ’Divine Evils’ of the past, but there seem to be differences in detail?"

"That’s right, it’s not quite like what I remember of the Divine Evils," Kamel nodded, emitting a humming sound, "The Divine Evils we created back then, even the batch with the most severe crystal infection, only had crystals at the main joints, accompanied by body swelling and distortion. But according to Soldrin, the ’Infectors’ he saw had crystal coverage on their bodies exceeding fifty percent, almost becoming an organism made from a mix of crystal and organic matter..."

He paused here and then continued, "This gives me a very strange feeling. Our research on Divine Evils back then was focused on reducing the carrier’s tendency for ’alienation,’ making them more human while carrying the divine evils factor. But what Soldrin saw seems to have gone to the other extreme, striving to make humans... non-human."

"Perhaps this is what they call ’great evolution’—abandoning the human body, embracing a new form brought by mutation," Gawain shook his head, turning his gaze to Pittman, "Based on your understanding, how do you think this ’infection’ might be transmitted? Or, what preventive measures are most effective?"

"Regardless of how bizarre the Oblivion Association’s ’Plague Spells’ look, they’re fundamentally still plagues, and their transmission simply follows several pathways—water sources, food, air, and using cursed corpses for contamination. Airborne transmission is the most efficient, but it usually only spreads weaker plagues and can easily be dispelled by ritual spells. Next is water and food, which are the Oblivion Association’s favorite methods, but boiling water and thoroughly heating food can effectively counteract it. As for the final method... cursed corpses have the strongest contaminating power because flesh itself is excellent spellcasting material. That’s why our various Burners are particularly necessary: to burn all corpses, regardless of friend or foe, noble or common, into ashes as quickly as possible is the safest, and before incineration, minimize close or direct contact—even if contact is necessary, one must adopt isolation measures and confirm safety through detection spells."

Gawain stroked his chin, "It seems nothing special..."

"Perhaps for us, for the people of the southern borders, but on the Plains of the Holy Spirits, any of these transmission pathways can be fatal," Pittman set aside his usual unprofessional manner, stroking his beard with a low voice of lament, "The wood needed to boil a pot of water can be traded for half a loaf of bread, and because of this half loaf of bread... a waterborne plague can kill thousands."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Regarding those ’Crystal Cluster Infections,’ we still have too little information now, I can’t make an accurate analysis," after a brief silence, Kamel suddenly broke the quiet, "If there are more samples, I might make some progress."

"Soldrin will send a squad to bring back those crystal fragments—after confirming they don’t carry active magical properties and have no inclination to spread contamination," Gawain nodded, "I’ll specifically provide you a laboratory to research them, and until this incident calms down, they will be our primary focus."

...

After Kamel and Pittman also left, the room became completely silent.

Gawain sat in his armchair, quietly contemplating the plans and developments ahead.

This quiet lasted for an unknown time until Gawain was suddenly awakened by a subtle noise at the door.

He lifted his head, seeing the room’s door slightly ajar, and a guy almost forgotten was peeking halfway inside.

Tiel.

Gawain had left the territory since last autumn, busy around the wasteland with projects, and had really not seen this fellow for a long time.

But even if he stayed in the territory, he didn’t have much time to meet Tiel—since last autumn when the weather grew colder, this sea caterpillar openly went into hibernation, sleeping 20 hours a day in the pool, only occasionally crawling out to sunbathe on the balcony, rolling over like he’d forgotten where he came from and where he’s going... so why did this guy suddenly show up?

Gawain felt a burst of confusion inside, watching Tiel waddle in; this disgraceful sea demon looked around with bewilderment on his face: "Ah, wasn’t there supposed to be a meeting?"

Gawain: "..."

"It’s already over," Gawain exerted all his might to keep his expression intact, but still looked at this salty oddball with a strange face, "You... actually know about the meeting?"

"I know, Rebecca told me, but I took a nap," Tiel flicked his tail tip, looking helpless, "Then you all finished."

Only then did Gawain vaguely recall, Rebecca did mention informing Tiel to come over, since this bit of fish was somewhat a technical consultant in military engineering, but at the time, Gawain didn’t believe this fish would show up...

Even though Tiel didn’t help at all, watching this muddle-headed sea caterpillar bustling around the room still inexplicably lightened Gawain’s mood.

Perhaps this was the deep-sea heretic god’s power.

He slightly shook his head, removing thoughts of "deep-sea heretic god" from his mind, then stood to leave: "I’m leaving. If you have nothing else, you can go back to sleep."

"Hey—I’m rarely awake," Tiel stretched three to four meters long, then raised his upper body, looking with curiosity in a specific direction, "By the way... did something happen up north?"

Gawain’s motion to leave halted immediately.

Tiel’s gaze was directed slightly northeast: the frontline where Anzu Kingdom’s military and the Duke of the East were confronting.

Up till now, no one had explained the situation over there to Tiel, even if someone did, she couldn’t have remembered it due to her nature.

Why did she suddenly become interested in that direction?

Intuition told Gawain that this fish’s reaction likely sensed something!

"The battlefield there is worsening; we’re working on figuring it out," Gawain responded, "Did someone tell you that?"

"Not really, but I seem to feel... there’s a slight scent of food from that direction," Tiel blinked, then raised her body more to look north, "A bit like the Big squid..."

Gawain’s gaze slightly sharpened: his intuition was indeed correct; sea demons like Tiel, who frequently interact with the God of Storms’ divine corpses, possess sensing abilities that humans cannot comprehend, and the interference faced by his satellite view when overlooking Gigantic Tree Path Entrance indicated a region with a special energy field; Tiel’s sudden focus northward... suggests she sensed that energy field!

He promptly queried: "Food? Are you sure it’s food?"

"Kind of," Tiel grumbled her nose (though she didn’t actually use it to sense that ’scent’), uncertainly stating, "But it feels like the taste got mixed up..."

Gawain: "..."