Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 604 - 603: Daily Life on the Wasteland’s Edge

In the camp built by the Typhon Empire, in the reception hall of the palace molded with magic and decorated with tapestries, oil paintings, and murals, Gawain and Emperor Rosetta Augustus sat on either side of a golden oak table, jointly reviewing the documents placed before them, while the knights, who served as witnesses, solemnly stood behind their respective lords, observing everything with a dignified expression.

Gawain’s gaze briefly swept across Emperor Rosetta Augustus, seeing the Typhon monarch with thick black hair seriously focused on the document in hand. Then, he withdrew his gaze, with a subtle, unnoticed smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes slowly scanning over the documents in his hand.

Opening trade routes, establishing trade posts, the Cecil Clan promised to actively promote road construction in the eastern region of White Sand Dunes and lay railway tracks. If negotiations with the eastern region of Anzu Kingdom are unsuccessful, the road will be opened in the small plain on the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range—this area is recognized as a "no man’s land," compliant with the "permanent right of development" provision; thus, the additional costs would be borne by the Cecil Principality...

Jointly agreed low tax rates and encouragement policies for merchants...

The first phase cotton textile procurement plan initiated by Typhon, including undyed cotton cloth, medium-grade colored fabrics, and various high-grade materials...

Alchemy potions and man-made crystals procurement orders from Typhon...

Also from Typhon, the "magic-guided vehicle" procurement order, and the procurement intention for the "magic train"—official orders to be effective after Typhon dispatches observers to gain practical understanding of the train’s concept and actual samples, and Emperor Rosetta Augustus personally signs it...

Additionally, there are a series of long-term terms and agreements regarding trade and commerce, and an oath from both parties promising sincerity and commitment to not breach the contract.

Gawain’s gaze moved to the end of the document, he smiled and lifted his head to look across the table at the Typhon Emperor: "This will be a historical moment. Perhaps we are creating a brand new trade concept, fostering numerous new industries and professions. The prosperity of the nation and wealth of the people all will stem from this, and its beginning... lies in these few light and thin sheets of paper."

"Paper is light and thin, but the contract is heavy," Rosetta said with a saying from Typhon, showing a slight smile, "Honestly, I never thought we would sign such an agreement under these circumstances, at the border of the wasteland, during a temporary meeting... But I know Anzu has a saying: seize opportunity like seizing life, and I think we have timely seized an opportunity now."

The two leaders representing their forces shared a smile, then under the witness of observers, exchanged documents, each signing their names and imprinting their crests on both documents.

A powerful mage, dressed in a Starry Robe, approached the table. Before the mage, two smooth and flat Mithril plates floated, countless shining magic symbols moved and traversed between the Mithril plates, as if holding countless mysteries and knowledge.

According to the necessary protocols in the world of transcendents, when two transcendents, two representatives of forces, establish such a significant contract, it is imperative to use magical power for longer-lasting, more symbolically meaningful recording and backup. If necessary, they should also pray to their respective gods, seeking divine witnessing.

But typically, except for church saints who can truly evoke divine revelations, this kind of "divine witness" constraint is quite limited, more symbolic in nature.

"Do you want to request specific gods as witnesses?" Emperor Rosetta Augustus glanced at Gawain and calmly asked.

As he posed the question, relevant historical facts flashed through his mind: according to records, Gawain Cecil himself had no distinct faith.

"Gods are busy, there’s no need to trouble them with this," Gawain chuckled, countering with a question, "What do you think?"

"Gods indeed are busy..." Rosetta nodded slightly, showed a faint smile, "Then let our ancestors and Lady Milmina of Mystery witness this."

Lady Milmina of Mystery, also known as Goddess of Magic, Milmina, besides presiding over the realm of magic, is also regarded as the witness of all mysteries and hidden knowledge, in cases where the contract doesn’t rely on a specific divine witness, this "Mysterious Lady" is usually seen as a "natural witness." Of course, when signing purely commercial contracts, merchants often consider the god of trade "Paphal" as a "natural witness" too, but the god of trade’s powers are limited to the fairness and fulfillment of business terms, regarding contracts that include complex political terms and national situations like today, the god of trade is not as "applicable" as "Mysterious Lady."

This is knowledge in the theological domain, Gawain doesn’t believe in gods, but he understands it too.

The mage presiding over the ritual carved the symbolic mark of Lady Milmina of Mystery on the Mithril plates, then Rosetta Augustus placed his hand on the documents he just signed, swore in the name of the Augustus Clan’s ancestors, Gawain similarly placed his hand on his copy, requesting the witness of the ancestors of the Cecil Clan—those older than him.

Finally, propelled by the magical ritual, the contents of both documents were imprinted on the Mithril plates and infused with the blessings and solidification of elemental power.

To ordinary people and most not-so-powerful transcendents, contracts infused through such a ritual hold actual power, violators would undoubtedly suffer magical backlash, possibly even certain "Divine Punishment," but for individuals like Gawain and Emperor Rosetta Augustus, who possess immensely powerful capabilities, and since the "contract" is signed in the name of the nation, the binding force of ritual magic is usually merely a matter of appearances...

Even the peace agreement that Francis II and Emperor Rosetta Augustus signed in Winterhold Castle was the same.

Everyone was aware of this.

Putting away the original contracts and the "Mithril Oath" meant for preservation, Gawain and Rosetta clasped their hands together, their gaze locked on each other, both with similar smiles, saying in unison: "For peace and prosperity."

The knights and guards standing around the table all began to applaud, celebrating this memorable moment.

At this moment, a sudden urgent ringing of bells from outside the palace abruptly interrupted the pleasantries and formalities that should have followed the signing of documents.

A familiar sensation welled up in his heart, Gawain lightly clenched his fist, while Rosetta listened to the rhythm of the bell, frowned slightly, and shook his head saying, "It seems even those creatures wandering in the wasteland want to witness this special moment — this wave came earlier than usual."

As they were speaking, a Typhon Knight clad in black armor rushed into the hall, loudly reporting: "Your Majesty! Aberrations are approaching the defense lines! Around two hundred in number, direction southwest!"

Emperor Rosetta Augustus nodded slightly: "I understand, respond as usual."

Then he glanced at Gawain: "If you are interested, we can go up to the city wall and take a look."

Gawain immediately nodded: "Of course."

In the safe inland of the kingdoms, the attacks of aberrations are horror stories told by bards, accompanied by exaggerated descriptions and romanticized plots, telling clichéd tales of knights saving princesses. However, beyond this Black Forest, on the only front line at the border with the wasteland, attacks from aberrations and similar monsters are a routine occurrence.

On the southwestern section of the Typhon Camp’s city wall, soldiers clad in black armor and combat Mages draped in magic robes were already prepared and waiting in formation.

Powerful crossbows were pushed between the battlements, while Rune Stones shimmering with magical brilliance were set up at the back of the city wall. The soldiers were adjusting the angles of the crossbows, and the Mages were communicating with the pre-stored magic power in the Rune Stones, adjusting their states. Heavy armored warriors encased in specially made sturdy steel armor formed a battle formation on the wall between the crossbows. They were organized into groups of three, with one person holding a shield at the front, another wielding a steel spear in the back ready to strike, and the remaining one holding a Longsword, ready to assist at any moment.

Gawain and the others, along with Emperor Rosetta Augustus, ascended the city wall. Amber gazed into the distance, seeing in the southeast direction, outside the great walls on the Rotting Plains, a group of red monsters enveloped in ominous dark clouds were accelerating towards them, the ground beneath them corroding even more severely.

Gawain noticed the well-prepared, orderly Typhon soldiers, the crossbows and combat Rune Stones they utilized, and their unique "three-person battle formation."

Faced with aberrations that were naturally far superior to ordinary humans, these Typhon soldiers and Mages appeared exceptionally calm, clearly having dealt with such scenarios more than once. In Gawain’s view, the unique "three-person battle formation" was an effective means of combating aberrations — by the standards of melee weapons.

The shield-bearing guards could withstand the aberrations’ attacks for a short time, giving the spearmen an opportunity to severely wound the obvious targets, while the Swordsmen could attack the aberrations’ weak points from behind when their comrades engaged the creatures or support the shield bearers in a tough fight. These three-person groups were distributed in a staggered manner, ensuring that even if a large number of aberrations climbed up the wall, they could be delayed, divided, surrounded, and gradually eliminated, with the ability to support each other at any time.

And every soldier carried spare crossbows, though these were of limited damage to the aberrations, but with sufficient numbers and combined with the large wall-mounted crossbows and the Mages’ magic, they still posed enough threat to those monsters using long-range magic.

Such an army would be equally effective against humans, and if their scale was large enough, supplemented by a City-level Shield, and with enough combat Mages, they would be a considerable threat when facing the magic corps of the Cecil Clan.

As Gawain observed and pondered, those aberrations entered the Typhon people’s attack range.

A commander’s order rang out from the wall, and the battle erupted instantaneously.

The city defense crossbows, already charged to the brim, emitted a deep sound of "thud, thud," the heavy and massive crossbow "arrows" capable of dealing critical damage to a powerful supernatural knight shot instantaneously into the distance, creating a mist of blood among the aberrations. Amid the continuous firing of the crossbow bolts, fireballs, lightning, ice, and other spells from the Mages intermingled. The Typhon Mages, clad in combat robes, stood by the Rune Stones behind the city wall, extracting additional magic power while continuously unleashing lethal attack effects, bombarding the heads of the distant monsters. If any Mage’s mental strength faltered, or their spell-casting efficiency declined, a reserve Spellcaster immediately filled the spot, maintaining the magical suppression on the wall.

On the distant plains, those completely crimson monsters, continuously roaring or babbling madly, began to fall one by one, yet some still continued to approach the city wall, relying on their formidable vitality. Some individuals among them raised their hands high, as clumps of energy arrows, containing dreadful corruptive power, formed and were launched towards the Typhon Camp with a short delay.

A shimmering magical barrier rose from the city wall, blocking the corruptive energy of the aberrations. As the barrier trembled slightly, the distance between attackers and defenders further closed, and the Typhon soldiers, using crossbows as secondary weapons, immediately set their crossbows, and bolts, enhanced with blessings like Holy Water, rained down like a storm on those remaining creatures.

It seemed these attackers might not even climb the city wall, the Typhon’s "three-person battle formation" didn’t even get the chance to raise their shields and draw their swords — after all, it was only a few hundred of them, and in this area extremely close to the Gondor Wasteland, this was already considered a very "easy and leisurely" attack.

Gawain and Emperor Rosetta Augustus stood silently on the city wall, watching those desecrated corrupt monsters turn into remnants on the plains, rapidly evaporating and dispersing. Neither had any intention of personally intervening, and the people around them appeared calm and indifferent.

This was merely a "routine" level attack, which occurred every few days on this land; both Typhon people and Anzu people had long grown accustomed to it.

While watching those monsters gradually being wiped out, Gawain’s intuition was suddenly touched, he raised his head, looking towards Emperor Rosetta Augustus standing beside him.

This Typhon Emperor was quietly watching the distance, his gaze surpassing the battlefield, surpassing those soon-to-be remnants of aberrations, as he gazed motionlessly towards the direction of the Gondor Wasteland.

His gaze was deep and reserved, his entire person respected like a solemn statue of obsidian.