Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 731 - 730: Winter

Winter had arrived.

The fog, which covered the entire central and northern regions, came as expected. The persistent haze and the increasingly cold air began to envelop Aldernon. In the pale gray mist, the magnificent capital of the Empire became blurry and hazy, as if the world was a watercolor painting soaked in water, everything no longer so distinct.

The Obsidian Palace stood tall in the mist, like a giant forged from stone, overlooking the capital of the Empire.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus unfolded the letter before him, reading each line of text with a calm expression.

Duke Ferdinand Wendell stood beside the Emperor’s desk; he noticed the emblem of the Cecil Empire, the sword and plow, adorning the top of the letter. The emblem itself and the lines on the paper were neat and exquisite.

The ruler of Typhon took a long time to finish reading the relatively short letter. He then pondered for a moment and softly said, "This tuition has finally become acceptable."

"This is a good start, Your Majesty," Ferdinand said in a deep voice.

Rosetta nodded slightly, "Gawain Cecil believes it necessary for both countries to establish more profound communication—the era of confrontation with swords and guns should end. A more prosperous and affluent society is what this era should truly pursue."

Ferdinand quietly observed his monarch, "Your Majesty, what is your opinion?"

"At the very least, I agree on one point, the old era has indeed ended," Rosetta seemed to have a slight smile, "We need to do something more suited to the new era...

"Lord Ferdinand, Gawain Cecil has always emphasized that his new Empire has a friendly and open new system. Do you think... they would welcome some visitors from Typhon?"

Ferdinand was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Only by trying will we know."

Rosetta, with a smile, reached out, took a piece of stationery, and wrote a line of strong text:

To the Emperor of Cecil:

Your vision impresses me, and your understanding of the era resonates with me. Perhaps it is time for us to discuss how, in this new era...

The pen tip moved over the paper, the slight rustling sound gently echoing in the quiet study. In this serene atmosphere, Ferdinand turned his gaze outwards, seeing the fog shrouding Aldernon gently surging under the sunlight, like a silent and gentle sea, with the golden sun slowly undulating across its surface.

Amid the mist was a certain unnatural odor that, upon encountering it, made Mary sneeze involuntarily.

The black-haired mage apprentice stood at the intersection in front of Viscount Hemir’s residence. She frowned, watching the wisps of fog slowly drift within her field of vision, the mixed odor affecting her mood.

This smell might not be unbearable, but Mary’s nose was rather sensitive. To her, it was like a harmful smoke, pungent with a hint of stench.

She looked up, seeing the fog thickening above, with the sunlight filtering through, diffused and weak. In the distance, the Obsidian Palace stood in the fog, perceivable only as a vague outline.

The fog enshrouding Aldernon felt like a repressive and profound sea, filled with unpleasant odors. This place was prosperous and wealthy, yet in winter, it seemed far less comfortable than her hometown’s winds and sunlight—at least there, there weren’t chimneys constantly emitting exhaust.

The mage apprentice waved her hand, summoning a layer of wind shield to block the components in the fog seemingly harmful to health. From beside her came a voice tinged with admiration and deference, "It’s amazing how someone like you, a spellcaster, can command even the air."

Mary turned her head, seeing it was an attendant dressed in a cloak who spoke—this was the attendant sent by Viscount Hemir, specifically to accompany her until her mentor returned. This humble man would follow her instructions.

But Mary wasn’t accustomed to this identity which allowed her to boss others around, nor was she comfortable with their flattery. She simply shook her head, speaking in an equal tone, "But if it weren’t for being here, I wouldn’t have had to create a barrier to filter the air—this should have been the time of year when the air is the freshest."

The attendant smiled helplessly, "...Sigh, this winter’s fog indeed has some peculiar smell."

"But I remember it wasn’t like this last year here," Mary recalled the time she first arrived in the imperial capital with her mentor, "and not the year before."

"If you had come to the imperial capital even earlier, you would be even more surprised by this year’s winter scene," the attendant spread his hands, "we locals understand the changes here better."

Mary looked at the attendant, casually repeating what she had heard from others, "I heard people say the strange smell in the fog is because of those chimneys—the smoke from the Pyrostone Acid Plant doesn’t dissipate and turns into an unpleasant fog."

The attendant shook his head with a bitter smile, "You can say that, but we dare not—the factories are run by the grown-ups, and they don’t like anyone discussing their machines and chimneys."

Mary’s mind stirred with thoughts, seeming like she had something to say, but not far away, the mansion doors had opened. The old mage, draped in a black robe and stooped, had already come out.

The young mage apprentice quickly left the attendant behind and went to greet her mentor.

"Mentor, are we going straight home?" Mary asked respectfully, supporting Daniel’s arm.

"No, we’re going to the Constructers’ Guild first to pick up a few things," Daniel looked at his apprentice, "You did well, knowing to open the wind shield. Otherwise, in such awful weather, you’d fall ill sooner or later—your brain always seems a bit slow."

Mary lowered her head but neither retorted nor felt dejected; instead, she carried a faint smile.

She could hardly remember how long it had been since her mentor critiqued her in such a casual manner.

Boarding the Empire’s limited-edition magic-guided vehicle, Mary and Daniel set off for the Imperial Construction Association. In the vehicle, Mary couldn’t help but mutter, "The winter here doesn’t compare to the countryside, it’s much colder and there’s this irritating fog."

Daniel glanced coldly at the complaining apprentice, uttering a few words, "Lack of maturity."

Mary quickly shrank her neck, pretending to respectfully listen to a lecture.

However, the mentor did not scold her as usual. Instead, he remained silent for the next few seconds. Mary couldn’t help but curiously raise her head, only to see the mentor quietly staring at her.

She was somewhat puzzled but dared not ask, until Daniel spoke up: "Mary, do you want to return to the countryside?"

"Me? No, I don’t," Mary was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands, "I just...just said it casually, Mentor, I didn’t mean..."

Daniel looked calmly at the somewhat flustered mage apprentice, shaking his head to interrupt as she was busy explaining: "I found your parents."

All of Mary’s actions and words suddenly came to a halt. She looked somewhat dazed at her mentor, spending a few seconds understanding his words and then a few more pondering what kind of expression she should have—she felt her expression must have been comical because she could feel her face stiffening, not even knowing whether to be happy or sad, as if listening to a strange concept, yet it happened to concern her.

Her parents.

Her parents whose appearances she had completely forgotten.

"They are in the countryside, not far from that town. They moved after you went missing, but as commoners, it’s hard for them to move far. As one of the Empire’s chief mages, it wasn’t hard for me to find them," Daniel continued calmly, "You have an older brother and an older sister, but your brother died of an illness during an epidemic a few years ago, and your sister is married but has no children yet."

Mary stared fixedly at her mentor, staring at this distorted, cold, brutal, fearsome old man from the past few years, hearing him calmly speak about things related to her. In those amber eyes, there was no longer any trace of cruelty or loss of control, but only a reflection of her bewildered face.

She mumbled, yet she didn’t even know what she wanted to say: "Mentor, I... I don’t know..."

Daniel interrupted her once more: "If you want to see them, I’ll bring them here. If you want to return home, just go back."

"...I don’t know."

This was a weak and unstructured response that would have earned a severe reprimand or even punishment in the past. However, today, Daniel merely nodded slightly: "I understand—I’ll give you time to consider."

Mary bowed her head. After a long silence, she finally spoke again: "Have they been doing well these years?"

"They haven’t gone hungry."

"That’s good."

Daniel observed Mary, and after a long pause, he murmured: "Not presentable."

After saying this, he withdrew his gaze as if he no longer cared about Mary’s movements, while his mind began to sink slowly. Maintaining basic attentiveness and reaction to the real world, the old mage silently connected to the secret mind network.

Within the mind network, the City of Dreams created by the Eternal Sleepers was sunny and the weather was clear.

A gentle breeze blew across the wide streets, swaying the perfectly placed golden leaves by the roadside. The drapes hanging from the palaces and towers fluttered in the wind, showcasing their luxurious texture. Daniel, disguised as a middle-aged, elegant mage, appeared on the street and walked forward with the passing crowd.

His mental tendrils spread out, secretly connecting to the thoughts of nearby Eternal Sleepers, extracting the latest useful information.

Most of the information was filtered out: In this increasingly vast network, too many boring Eternal Sleepers were posting meaningless content, making the priests responsible for managing the network grumble incessantly—the great master called these acts of posting meaningless content "water posts." Although Daniel couldn’t understand what the term created by the Wanderers from Outer Realm meant, from the master’s attitude, he could tell it wasn’t a compliment.

It is said that the priests responsible for managing information flow are researching how to control this overwhelming flood of meaningless information, in which Daniel had some interest. Yet, before that, his primary task was to complete the mission assigned by the master.

After eliminating those meaningless bits, he focused on the recent operations of the mind network and the current activities of the Eternal Sleepers.

He "heard" and "saw" some information:

The activities of the evil-cult within the Cecil Empire are becoming increasingly difficult, with ubiquitous magic monitoring towers and more sheriffs squeezing the survival space of illegal Transcendents;

A recent round of computational power requisition was conducted by the upper echelons of the Great Nightmare Bishops, suggesting a large project requiring more computational power to maintain. Some mid-to-low-level Eternal Sleepers discussed the matter, feeling that such requisitions for computational power have become increasingly frequent, expressing some complaints;

The Sons of the Storm contacted the mainland for the last time recently and then disappeared altogether;

Some Eternal Sleepers lamented the disintegration of the situation where the three major evil-cult stood side by side, marveling at the unpredictability of worldly changes;

Bits of information flashed across Daniel’s mind and vision as he walked calmly down the street, seemingly just an ordinary pedestrian.

A golden leaf wafted nearby, spinning before Daniel, turning pitch black mid-air, its edges revealing numerous jagged, trembling cracks, and then vanished.

However, it seemed no one noticed this "imperfect scene."

Yet another bout of meaningless information surfaced from some unknown node group. Daniel casually glanced at this "water post" information.

It appeared to be just some boring rumors, or rather, urban legends—

An unnamed member mentioned some eerie phenomena within the mind network lately, claiming that while wandering in the City of Dreams, they suddenly encountered anomalies, with people vanishing on the road suddenly— not due to disconnection, but as if swallowed by something out of nowhere. Moreover, other members believed they lost some memories of their connectivity period after leaving the network...