Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 735 - 734: Dragon’s Shadow in Winter

Melita has departed.

The refractive field concealed the massive body of the dragon, and a sudden source-less gale swept through the skies of Cecil Castle. Amidst the clouds and daylight, distortion ripples briefly flashed past, yet except for a handful of strong individuals and sentinel towers specifically designed to detect magic stealth units, no one knew a dragon had visited this city.

Gawain stood in front of the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute’s gates, gazing up in the direction of Melita’s departure, and only after a long moment did he retract his sight.

The Inverted Tide Empire... Ultimate Tome... Knowledge stolen from satellite clusters...

He carefully reminisced on the newly gathered intelligence, sketching outlines of gods and ancient history in his mind. After prolonged contemplation, he shook his head with a smile and turned to look at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute behind him.

Hundreds of researchers were busily engaged within this facility, running dozens of various sized laboratories and project groups. Within the psychic network, hundreds of simulated experiments were conducted daily in the Origin Laboratory. In the mechanical manufacturing facility’s workshop, gears and levers collided nonstop day and night. In St. Soniel, in Lu’an city, in the Royal Mage Association, and Scholars Association, countless people full of wisdom and knowledge were gathering, reassembling the profound knowledge scattered across human society, re-drawing fragmented ancient technology...

All these are propelled by thousands and thousands, driven by the entire Cecil Clan. Originated from humans, meant for humans, not technology dug out from extraterrestrial relics, not a blueprint drawn out of the blue by anyone in the territory, not a miracle, not a gift.

...

A dragon flew across the expansive winter sky, the refractive field gradually dissipating, with clouds and sunlight intermingling to cast mottled shadows on azure scales. Scenic projections of plains and hills mirrored in crystal-like eyes, this powerful monarch of the sky circled twice in the air, then lowered her head, plunging towards the earth like a meteor.

After a nearly perilous glide and deceleration, the blue dragon collided with a giantwood tree of a century’s age, snapping the towering tree of hundreds of meters at the waist. Subsequently, the unbalanced body tumbled forward in a massive, earth-shaking impact and rolling, thunderous sounds incessantly roared, countless giant trees and solid rocks shattering in the impact, plowing a deep gully close to half a kilometer long.

The blue dragon finally stopped beneath a cliff, and after half a minute of gasping for breath, she laboriously raised her head. Countless earth, stones, and branches cascaded from her body, and hot, faintly luminous blood flowed from several terrifying wounds.

The implants and modified glands throughout the dragon’s body immediately began working, initiating repairs on this powerful and resilient frame. Melita raised her head, the scales around her neck opening like some heat dissipation device, revealing the metallic sheen of inner lining and glowing conduits and interfaces beneath. Jets of heated steam spewed from the gaps in these implants, causing the blue dragon to involuntarily let out a low groan.

"Damn... I don’t like the enhancer... but the auxiliary heart I’m using now is a limited edition..."

Melita grumbled, her voice rumbling. Yet she skillfully retrieved a massive gun-like syringe from somewhere. Holding the syringe with her forepaw, the front end was deeply pierced into the gap between the neck scales. Accompanied by the hissing of the syringe’s depressurization, a liter of a potent composite enhancer and an equal amount of regenerative agent were injected into her veins, and the two auxiliary hearts on the brink of rupture finally calmed down.

The additional three hearts and the biomimetic pumps below her scales could greatly enhance endurance and survival for dragons required to travel long distances. However, regardless of anything else, discussing the Black Trap with another race and subtly hinting at taboo knowledge concerning gods... It was indeed too thrilling.

Melita breathed heavily, settling the side effects brought by the excessive enhancer injection—although some dragons instead enjoy this sensation, even facing problems of enhancer addiction, she really isn’t accustomed to it.

After feeling slightly better, she concealed the implants around her neck back under her scales.

In the dragon society of Talronde, implants and enhancers have long been part of Dragonkin life; newborn dragonlings even undergo their first implant surgery within their first decade of life—embedding a Resonance Core within the skull. This Resonance Core establishes the user’s connection with "Omega", enabling young dragons to converse with that formidable artificial intelligence, which completes the knowledge education and behavioral guidance for young dragons—hence it could be said that any normal Dragon Citizen of Talronde has a body that is entirely implanted.

Some dragons simply choose to expose their implants, such as Speaker Andar. Some dragons, though, like concealed modifications, like Merita Ponia.

After resting for several more minutes, Melita stood up; her bleeding wounds quickly healed, and take-off was no issue—although she would like to rest a while longer, she knew her colleagues monitoring the situation behind her were likely in a frenzy by now.

The blue dragon ascended into the air, swiftly reaching an elevation capable of direct communication with Talronde.

Although contact with Talronde is possible on the surface, communication at that height will be heard by the Dragon God. Only at this sky-reaching height, closer to the legacy of the Voyager, can communication avoid being monitored by any God.

Even if the person on the other side of the communication were standing on the ground, standing at the entrance to the gods’ palace—it remains the same—millions of years have passed, and the residual power of the Voyager still persists.

A pale golden communication interface emerged before Melita as she maintained her flight altitude while calling out to the distant Mithril Vault headquarters: "Merita Ponia calling support group, Merita Ponia calling support group... Hurry up and answer! I’m dialing from the stratosphere with a level ten disability, can you hear me!!"

Finally, a somewhat tense and panicked voice came through the communication interface: "Melita! This is Noreta—what’s going on with you? Your implants suddenly reported that two of your four hearts exploded! And you’ve injected three times the usual amount of enhancer!"

Melita took a deep breath: "Phew... didn’t explode, I saved them with the regenerative agent, but the sensor likely broke... no worries, I can feel they’re still beating."

Upon hearing Melita’s rather spirited voice, Noreta in Talronde too finally breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing a little, with enough presence of mind to crack a joke: "How did things get so bad—did the client finally discover you embezzled their gifts? Did some legendary powerhouse pin you to the ground and give you a beating?"

"I chatted with Gawain Cecil about the Black Trap and the Inverted Tide Empire," Melita said lightly, "unintentionally spoke a bit more."

Predictably, she heard the sound of things dropping onto the ground and several startled cries over the communication.

This chaos, prompted by herself, made Melita’s lips involuntarily curl slightly.

A startled voice from her friend came through the pale golden communication interface: "Melita! Are you crazy!! Don’t you want your life?!"

"Isn’t life still here?"

"What on earth happened?" Noreta finally seemed to calm down a bit and sensed something unusual from Melita’s tone, "You can say safely—Omega has intervened, Speaker Andar is online."

"Gawain Cecil obtained an Ultimate Tome manufactured by the Inverted Tide Empire—don’t be alarmed, it’s damaged," Melita said unhurriedly, "furthermore, without my deliberate guidance, he summarized one of the core principles of ’defiance.’"

The other side of the communication was silent for a long time before a voice came through: "Which one?"

"Humans taking over divine right with human wisdom," said Merita, "the infant crawling out of the cradle must use their own hands and feet..."

The solemn and steady voice of Speaker Andar came through the communication channel: "Alright, no need to go on."

Even in this place close to the "Voyager" heritage, at this height far from the ears of the gods, some taboos still need to be cautiously approached.

Merita stopped this dangerous topic, and then, at the inquiries of Noletta and Speaker Andar, meticulously reported today’s meeting with Gawain Cecil.

After the report was finished, she heard Speaker Andar let out a long sigh.

A sigh as if a burden had been lifted.

The elder dragon who had lived through long ages asked in a deep voice: "Merita, in your view, to what extent have ordinary people of the Cecil Empire reached?"

Merita’s reply was very direct: "Most are still ignorant and backward, controlled by the old thoughts of royal and divine power, merely mechanically obedient to the directives of the Administrative Office rather than truly enlightening their minds and acting independently. Although Gawain Cecil has been desperately pushing for education, it’s clear that this is not a problem that can be solved in four or five years."

Speaker Andar’s voice seemed somewhat low: "...Yes, indeed, this isn’t something that can be resolved within a few years..."

"But we also cannot ignore the changes that have already occurred," Merita continued, "Indeed, the transformation of the majority will take time, but various kinds of seeds have indeed appeared on this land, or rather, the accumulation of this land itself had already reached a critical point. The emergence of Gawain Cecil merely advanced this process and effectively concentrated these seeds, preventing them from silently disappearing into the darkness—these seeds include the skepticism of divine power, the pursuit of reason, and the recognition of natural laws. Now, Gawain is using the right methods to bring their effects into play, hence the transformation of Cecil society might be faster than we anticipated."

After another brief silence, Speaker Andar’s deep voice resounded: "...You seem to have particular trust in Gawain Cecil and the order he has built."

Merita’s answer remained straightforward: "I see on this land a change unprecedented in a thousand years."

"...I hope your judgement is correct." Speaker Andar said solemnly.

After the Speaker’s words fell, Noletta’s voice interjected: "But still, leaving the relics of the Inverted Tide Empire in human society carries some risks. Merita, I think you should retrieve that book—it’s possible for Talronde to offer some compensation for this, and Gawain Cecil shouldn’t mind giving the dragons a favor, right?"

Merita shook her head, just about to speak, when Speaker Andar’s voice sounded again: "Noletta, let’s trust Merita’s judgement on this matter."

"But..."

"Noletta, young as you are, could you be more stubborn than I, an old man?"

Noletta paused for a moment: "...Understood, Mr. Speaker."

This matter finally came to an end, and Merita couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart.

She felt she had challenged the rules and dealt with shocking information one too many times today. Thinking back now, it felt like she had been on the edge of a breakdown for several hours.

Such a thrilling job... all that can be said is, dealing with Gawain Cecil isn’t very good for one’s heart.

Not very good in the physiological sense.

"Merita, return to Talronde once you finish your work," White Dragon Noletta’s voice came through the communicator again, "Your implants need maintenance, and the post-recoil physical condition needs to be thoroughly checked."

"I know, no need to tell me—I’m already in quite a bit of pain," Merita said through gritted teeth, "I’ll find a place to rest for a day or two, regain some strength, and then return to Talronde."

"Received—wish you all the best."

"Got your good wishes."

The communication ended, and the pale golden communication interface dissipated into luminescent particles, gradually fading into the air.

Merita took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold air of high altitude, and then slowly exhaled.

As her whole body ached faintly, she began to gradually lower her altitude.

The land of the Cecil Empire reflected more and more clearly in her vast pupils.

Mountains and rivers, forests and plains, cities and villages, and countless people living on this land.

"A change unprecedented in a thousand years... I hope I really haven’t misjudged..."

The refractive field spread over the scales as the dragon’s form faded into the magic-power-created illusion, the concealed dragon’s shadow gliding across the sky, and on the ground swept by the wind, fully loaded caravans were setting out, hopeful immigrants were settling in, and spirited teams were assembling...