Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 687 - 686: Tactful

The repairs on the Iron Throne have been completed.

This news genuinely allowed Gawain to breathe a sigh of relief.

The armored train is currently the most powerful land combat force of the Cecil Empire—the special attributes of the armored train enable it to quickly move to areas covered by the railway and single-handedly sustain a formidable defense line without additional support. Its powerful firepower and barrier system are as effective as an additional border stronghold in this era, and what the empire needs most now is just such a border stronghold.

Various messages are being sent back from the Longwind Fortress every day, and Typhon Empire’s troop reinforcement actions have already become blatant. Although the peace agreement once signed between Anzu and Typhon remains unbroken, it’s clear to anyone that the constraint of that document on the two countries is no more effective than a few guns and swords. Just as Gawain predicted from the start: peace between nations is never maintained by some gentleman’s agreement.

In such circumstances, the value of the Iron Throne is self-evident.

"Where is the railway currently extended to?" He raised his head and looked at Aunt Heidi.

"It has already traversed the eastern territory, and is currently approaching the Kalong Valley area. A newly assembled engineering train is advancing forward with the railway, and the project will be completed within twenty days," Aunt Heidi nodded, "Once completed, the Iron Throne can be deployed to the Palamere Highlands near Longwind Fortress, with its artillery covering the entire Longwind Defense Line, and other military trains can quickly transport subsequent armored troops to the border."

While listening, Gawain nodded. After Aunt Heidi finished reporting on the Iron Throne and the eastern railway, he asked, "How is the cleanup operation in the Plains of the Holy Spirits pollution area proceeding?"

"The purification zone has currently advanced to the Fertile Woods, and the rate of advancement will further increase thereafter," Aunt Heidi smiled, "After the fall of the ’Artificial God,’ all the Crystal Cluster Giants have drastically weakened, not only losing strength but also greatly reducing mobility, and they no longer have the ability to actively spread plagues. Now, the purification teams are thoroughly inspecting the pollution zones in the Plains of the Holy Spirits, and no signs of pollution resurgence have been detected."

After the death of that monstrosity created by the Oblivion Association, the Crystal Cluster Giant Legion immediately fell into a state of decline—just as the military’s consultation group and the scholars in Cecil Castle had estimated.

The Crystal Cluster Giants possess a unique organizational structure, where their subordinate units are controlled by higher-level minds, and even the thinking abilities of the subordinate units are dependent on assignments from higher nodes. This structure grants them far greater operational efficiency and communication ability than contemporary human armies, providing even a certain degree of telepathy. However, this strength lies in the fact that once the higher-level node is destroyed, all subordinate nodes will immediately collapse—originally, the Crystal Cluster Legion was controlled by the multitude of bishops of the Oblivion Association, meaning that the destruction of one node only caused disruption in one branch legion, making this weakness not fatal. But after the "Artificial God" went out of control, all higher-level nodes were concentrated on the "God," making this weakness fatal.

The fall of the Artificial God turned the Crystal Cluster Legion into a group of weak and scattered beasts, significantly reducing the pressure of subsequent purification work on the Plains of the Holy Spirits. Otherwise, with nearly a million monsters still scattered throughout the plains, combined with the drastically reduced troop strength post-war, thoroughly cleaning them up would have been quite difficult.

"A rotten great tree has fallen, scattering dead branches and leaves all over... It will take some effort to clean up," Gawain sighed softly, then looked up at the three Grand Governors, "The Oblivion Association has a large structure and has been entrenched in this country for a long time. Even many small aristocrats, merchants, and clerics have been corrupted by it. Now, the core of this church has fallen, but its remaining branches surely still exist. What needs cleaning up is not just the monstrosities in the Plains of the Holy Spirits."

Victoria bowed her head deeply, her voice cold, "Yes, we understand."

"No, you only understand part of it," Gawain shook his head, "The remnants of the evil followers must be uprooted, but we must be vigilant that this process does not evolve into extreme violence like the Holy Light Church’s burning of heterodoxies—the Empire has just been established, and we are promoting a new order of justice and the rule of law. At this time, old practices cannot appear, we cannot besmirch our own name, nor can we incite panic and create chaos."

"I will later have Pittman compile a booklet summarizing the methods to identify the activity patterns and magical characteristics of dark Druids, to be distributed to clerics and official Druids in various places. If cleric-level evil cult followers are found, they should be dealt with according to the law, but if they are just ordinary individuals who were beguiled or low-level adherents with weak faith, strive to handle them through labor and ideological reformation—acts of collective burning of heterodoxies must be prohibited."

Victoria blinked, "What if these gentle methods can’t effectively deter those followers? The thoughts of those beguiled by evil cults are often deeply rooted and difficult to correct in a short time..."

The Duchess, who once captured evil cult followers in the northern regions and dealt with many heterodox elements, was evidently quite familiar with those who had strayed onto the wrong path.

"First of all, you should have confidence in the Cecil-style labor + ideological reform project. We’ve already reformed many people using the same methods, and I’ve also prepared special mental sustenance for the followers of the Oblivion Association," Gawain smiled, speaking patiently, "I plan to repeatedly show them the footage of hunting the Artificial God—from the Braves’ entrapment, to the sea demons’ feast, all uncut, and have someone explain the knowledge about the Artificial God beside them, broadcasting it thrice daily in the morning, afternoon, and evening. On rest days, we can show documentaries about dissecting the fake god’s skeletal remains, processing the skull throne.

"Secondly, if there truly are those as stubborn as you mentioned—and I’m convinced there will be—that’s okay too. The Empire now has plenty of mines in need of workers. If they can’t be reformed in a year, then two years; if not ten years, then twenty years. If a lifetime isn’t enough, we will award them medals after their death to thank them for their outstanding contributions to the Empire’s industrial construction."

Duke Baldwin Franklin listened to Gawain’s words with some astonishment—his eyes widened at the first half, and he expressed an exaggerated admiration after hearing the latter half: "If you truly provide the ’mental sustenance’ you mentioned, I doubt anyone could endure more than two years, unless they’re not only blind but also foolish."

"Sometimes, those brainwashed by evil cults aren’t much different from fools," Victoria shook her head, "But I also believe His Majesty’s plan will be very effective."

Gawain smiled and looked at Aunt Heidi, "Aunt Heidi, is there any new development regarding the ’nest’ underground near Sorinburg?"

He referred to the Oblivion Association’s nest in the eastern Plains of the Holy Spirits—after the Artificial God was slain, search teams discovered a vast rift near Sorinburg. According to Pittman’s intelligence, that rift below should be the Oblivion Association’s main base. The base’s scale might approach that of the Defied Fortress, with part of its structure possibly extending into the eastern territory, hiding countless secrets.

"We’ve already cleared the surface and shallow caves and passages, but have not gone deeper," Aunt Heidi lightly shook her head, "The structure below is too complex. Currently, scholars are trying to decipher its magical traps and mechanisms; until then, the teams dare not proceed recklessly. Additionally, after Rebecca learned of this, she suggested throwing bombs underground to clear the traps, rest assured that has been taken care of."

Gawain: "..."

"Ahem, understood," after a few seconds, Gawain coughed dryly twice, "That’s certainly something Rebecca would do, but after all, the child is growing up, so when talking, we should still consider her feelings..."

"Yes, ancestor." Aunt Heidi nodded solemnly, while Victoria and Baldwin Franklin, the two Grand Governors, exchanged glances, a tacit understanding in their eyes.

Seeing even Victoria, who rarely showed any expression, smile, Gawain knew that Rebecca’s antics had likely already spread around St. Soniel... Indeed, if that girl hadn’t caused trouble time and again, even someone as composed as Aunt Heidi wouldn’t be reporting work with such veiled hints for the old ancestor to take note of the mischievous child’s misdeeds...

Actually, it was somewhat embarrassing to admit that when Aunt Heidi mentioned all the traps and mechanisms in that underground lair, Gawain’s mind also ventured into thoughts of deactivating them with explosions. However, he was imagining highly precise blasting techniques, while the fireball brewing in Rebecca’s mind was probably bigger than the castle gate...

"Rebecca..." Gawain couldn’t help but sigh with a helpless smile, then he turned his head towards the window.

The autumn wind swept through the castle turrets, swirling and weaving through the intricate spires and battlements, bringing with it the fallen leaves of autumn and the chill from the northern regions. Before he knew it, this was already his fourth year of being awake as Gawain Cecil and his fourth year of knowing Rebecca and Aunt Heidi.

"Four years already... she should be learning to be a bit more stable by now, shouldn’t she?"

The autumn wind swept through the castle courtyard, blowing past the towering Dragon-leaf Trees and the neatly trimmed shrubs and flowerbeds. A withered leaf spiraled down from the sky, lightly caught by a slightly slender hand.

The black-haired maid Maji gazed at the withered leaf in her palm. The leaf had a unique asymmetry, its shape with one side narrow and the other wide, with jagged edges that inevitably reminded one of the wings of the legendary dragon. She vaguely remembered how in her homeland, every autumn, such leaves would cover the streets and alleys.

"Dragon-leaf Trees," which were quite rare in Anzu, were actually very common in the Sacred Dragon Kingdom.

Maji gently closed her fingers, and the withered leaf sparked a slight glow between her fingers. When she opened her hand again, the leaf had transformed into a small bird composed of ethereal dust, lightly flying into the sky.

"It flies so wonderfully..." she murmured softly.

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps came from behind. Maji immediately composed herself, returning to her usual sharp and capable demeanor. She turned around to see who was approaching.

It was the Princess of the Empire—Rebecca Cecil.

"Your Highness." As Rebecca came closer, Maji bent down with perfect timing, greeting her respectfully.

High society is full of intricate rules, and beyond the explicit codes of conduct, there are countless unwritten etiquettes, making even the precise timing of a bow part of a maid’s duties. While one doesn’t have to greet nobility coming toward them, one must promptly pay respect. Bowing too early can seem like rushing the other party for a response, while bowing too late is considered impolite and slow to react. The regulations are intricate beyond measure.

Although Victoria said these cumbersome rules would eventually fade or simplify with the old aristocracy, for Maji, these actions had already become a habit, no longer requiring intentional maintenance.

"Oh, there’s no need for such hassle, no need for such hassle," Rebecca quickly waved her hands. She didn’t grasp the nuances hidden within these customs. After all, the maid she interacted with most often was the somewhat silly Betty, who would take a moment of shock even when thunder struck from the sky. Consequently, Rebecca didn’t realize the complexity behind Maji’s bow. "I’m not quite used to this..."

Maji showed a gentle smile. "You are a member of the royal family, you’ll eventually have to get used to these things."

"Don’t mention it; I’m still a bit dizzy. How did my title change just because my ancestor went out to wage a war and came back..." Rebecca scratched her head, the confusion on her face was genuine. "But let’s not talk about that. I finally caught an opportunity to talk to you—I didn’t see you at the banquet before, and normally you don’t come out much. This time I even asked the guards to find out you were in the garden!"

Maji furrowed her brows slightly; she hadn’t had much interaction with Rebecca, so she couldn’t quite grasp the thoughts of this unconventional princess. "What do you need me for?"

Rebecca thought for a moment and then broke into a brilliant smile that naturally engendered goodwill, leaning in to say softly, "Well... I heard from the ancestor, you are actually a dragon, right?"

Maji was taken aback, her expression momentarily changing, but in the end, she quietly breathed out and slightly lowered her head. "Yes."

She didn’t want to flaunt her identity and had always kept her true form a secret. However, during the previous war, her true identity had been revealed to many in the Cecil Legion. Given that, until now, the Cecilians hadn’t shown any odd attitudes towards her special identity, and Rebecca was typically an endearingly lively girl, this human-shaped dragon let go of her inner conflict and frankly admitted it.

"Oh, that’s good, that’s good!" Rebecca nodded repeatedly, then opened her mouth, preparing her next words—

She remembered her ancestor advising her to remain polite and try not to offend Maji’s pride because there was something unmentionable in this Black Dragon Miss’ bloodline. Hence, when discussing this matter, she must be somewhat tactful.

So Rebecca, after a careful internal deliberation, beamed broadly and said, "Then can you transform and let me see?"