Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 984: Chapter 983: Critical Equilibrium

"The defenders in the castle area of Winterwolf Fortress have surrendered?!"

Upon hearing this news, Sir Philip immediately stood up from his chair, his eyes wide open.

"Yes, General," a commander of the ground forces, with dust smeared on his face, stood in the holographic projection not far from the Magic Web Terminal, the background behind him filled with smoking and fiery ruins and bustling soldiers. In the distance, in the temporary lighting, disarmed Typhon soldiers could be seen being escorted, "Their highest commanding officer has given up resistance, and now the castle’s barrier has been shut down from the inside. We are taking over various areas of the castle."

Sir Philip frowned. Just as he couldn’t understand why the Typhon Empire would suddenly start a war a few days ago, he couldn’t now understand why they chose to surrender — this did not align with the intelligence predictions of the current behavior of Winterwolf Fortress’s highest officer, nor with the tendency of the War God to seek "as bloody and expanding a war as possible" after going out of control.

"Using the castle’s sturdy fortifications, they could have continued to resist for a while longer — they might even have hoped to hold on until reinforcements arrived to escape the predicament," a staff officer nearby said puzzled, "With only the outer city breached, and the inner castle almost intact... the Typhon Empire actually surrendered like this? General, what do you think of this matter..."

"The ’Wolf General’ of Typhon has never had a precedent of surrender, not to mention that this generation’s Wolf General seems to be a fairly hostile hardliner towards us. Honestly, I also don’t believe the other side would surrender so easily," Sir Philip shook his head, "But they have already shut down the castle’s barrier, and under the premise of our ground forces gradually taking over the entire Winterwolf Fortress, I really can’t think of any plan they have left to overturn the situation... In theory, if they really wanted to continue resisting, any plan would be better than surrender."

The staff officer curiously asked, "General, you mean..."

Sir Philip looked up, facing the direction of the Magic Web Terminal: "Have you contacted their highest commanding officer?"

"Yes, General," the commander on the other end of the communication channel nodded immediately, "We have already contacted her — but she said she ’wants to speak with someone of equal status.’ I think she wants to talk directly with you."

Sir Philip pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Understood, I will go over quickly. Continue to carry out the takeover and clearing work, and establish a forward camp on the spot, ready to deal with Typhon’s counterattack or continue advancing east at any time."

"Yes, General!"

...

Andresha was still lying on the bed; in truth, moving even slightly was still very difficult for her now. The buzzing noise in her ears had significantly reduced, as the powerful physical attributes of a powerful transcendent were rapidly repairing the damaged parts inside her body. As her hearing gradually recovered, she could hear the noisy and busy sounds outside.

Her last squad of guards was in the process of being disarmed, and the Cecil Clan had completely taken over this place.

They were right next to her.

Andresha struggled to shift her gaze. She could see those Cecil soldiers wearing strange armor standing upright at various places in the room, vigilantly "protecting" this place, while her trusted soldiers who had originally been caring for and watching over her were "invited" to another room after being disarmed. In theory, she probably wouldn’t be able to see them for a long time.

Not seeing them... maybe that’s for the best — thought the young Wolf General.

Because she really didn’t know how to face those soldiers of hers who had lived with her day and night, whether those affected by the War God or those completely sober. She knew her Winterwolf Knights; she knew each of them was ready to fight to the last moment, even prepared to use their flesh and blood to resist the Cecil Clan’s war machines. This castle could have continued to stand; it might even await reinforcements from behind... but all of that was no longer possible because their highest commanding officer had chosen to surrender after a bombardment.

And the entire Winterwolf Knights followed the order without any complaints... this brought Andresha an indescribable pressure.

As thoughts gradually scattered, a sudden pain from a wound on her body interrupted Andresha’s train of thought. She couldn’t help but groan softly, and a slight movement of her body brought about even greater pain.

"Try not to move, the new potion is taking effect," a voice from an unfamiliar soldier came from beside her, with a cold hardness mixed with a slight nervousness, "Hang in there, a medical priest is on the way."

Andresha looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young face; it was a Cecil soldier, or maybe a low-ranking officer—they were ordinary people without any Dark Wave, and at this moment Andresha couldn’t really tell if it was a soldier or an officer standing before her.

At least these Cecil people didn’t trouble the surrendering guards... which was not bad.

Just as Andresha thought this, she heard the sudden sound of military boots on the ground from the direction of the room’s door, simultaneously with the young man’s voice in her ear: "Oh, the priest is here—"

Medical priest? A priest?

Somewhat curious, Andresha opened her eyelids to look towards the source of the footsteps, and she saw a young-looking woman, wearing an outfit that resembled a nun’s habit, but with protective armor plates, a metal backpack, and magic symbol chains. This peculiarly dressed "nun lady" approached her, carrying a "Combat Staff" that seemed quite heavy, and if it was not her illusion, there even seemed to be bloodstains on the staff.

This "Cecil nun" came right to Andresha’s bedside, set the heavy combat staff down with a thud, and bent over towards Andresha. The latter noticed the other person wearing gloves with a mechanical structure—which no matter how it looked, seemed unrelated to prayer and healing.

This is the priest responsible for treating my injuries? Why does the Cecil nun look like this?

Instantly suspicious, Andresha couldn’t help but lowly murmur, despite now perhaps not being the time to worry about such details, "Wait a moment, I still..."

"Don’t move," the young nun immediately said, pressing down on Andresha’s shoulder, "Your left eye is already blind—I don’t want to accidentally damage your other eye."

Andresha fell silent, then tugged at her mouth, a bitter yet somewhat relieved expression: "... So it is indeed blind..."

"If you cooperate well enough, maybe one day in the future, it can even grow back—after all, Cecil’s technology is the best in the world." The nun seemed somewhat pleased as she spoke, her tone carrying an air of justified confidence.

Andresha listened to the other party’s words, but remained silent without responding.

...

Duke Ferdinand felt as if he had fallen into a lengthy, strange, gloomy, and oppressive nightmare, within which he seemed to have been replaced by another person, muddling through frightening acts in a dazed state. However, in the nightmare, he always felt he was awake—some power had twisted his understanding of the entire world; what he saw was not what he truly saw, what he did was not what he truly wanted to do. He was like a puppet clown swaying in front of flickering candlelight, desperately performing seemingly normal actions—yet casting grotesque and unrecognizable shadows on the ground.

And then, in a sudden moment, he woke up completely, and everything in the nightmare shed its disguise, presenting itself bloody and stark before him. He realized those nightmare events...seemed to have really occurred.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus looked at Duke Ferdinand, who had suddenly sat up from the center of the magic circle, and on his usually somber face, there seemed to be a hint of a smile: "Ferdinand, you’ve finally ’awakened.’"

Gasping heavily, as if trying to expel all the filth from his body with his hurried breaths, Ferdinand finally felt his heart and mind returning to stability, allowing him the strength to observe his surroundings—this was a closed room that looked very much like a magic laboratory, with no windows, only a small door. The bright magic crystal lamps illuminated the entire room, and every nearby wall was inscribed with twisting runes.

Duke Ferdinand found that besides the runes, there seemed to be no other furniture in the room, not even the surface on which he lay, which was a circular magic circle etched with runes.

"Your Majesty," the old Duke finally regained composure, his mind reeling with once-repressed memories and correct perceptions, realizing in seconds the terrifying events of the past few days. The seasoned Wolf General couldn’t help but feel a chill, "I might have been corrupted! Earlier I..."

"I know, I know, Duke Ferdinand, it’s already happened—you need to further calm down," Rosetta Augustus said with a calm expression, "The situation is indeed bad, but not too bad."

Duke Ferdinand took a deep breath and stood up from the magic circle, speaking rapidly: "We and the Cecil..."

"Have already entered into a state of war—it was us who declared it first, or rather, the War God declared it for us," Rosetta looked into Ferdinand’s eyes, "Duke Ferdinand, Malm Dunite used the power of mental manipulation to blind and twist your cognition, our message to Cecil was altered into a declaration of war, but this was not your fault."

At that moment, Ferdinand felt his heart skip a beat, but he halted the trend towards faintness, and upon realizing this matter was irreparable, he seemed to suddenly notice the oddities of this room—

This seemed to be a magic laboratory, with rune-like things everywhere, but after looking closely, he realized they were not magic symbols he recognized. Those winding lines were complex and exquisite, yet their style did not resemble any land race; as he gazed at them, Ferdinand felt his previously repressive mood quickly settled and cleared, lingering confusion rapidly transitioning to clarity.

Instinctively, the old Duke asked: "Your Majesty, this place is..."

"We are still in the Obsidian Palace, and this room is an experiment lab belonging to Lady Windsor Maple. If you mean those runes—they come from the deep sea, initially brought by the sea demons to Cecil, then gifted to us by Cecil. I believe you’ve seen a few samples of these runes before, but a large scale and complete composition like this ’Barrier House’ is indeed your first time seeing it."

"Runes from the deep sea..." Finally, some relevant information emerged in Ferdinand’s mind, reminding him of this matter, "So these runes are used to..."

"To cleanse the pollution you have received," Rosetta said blandly, "And in the forthcoming period, ensure you are not influenced again by the divine will—so far, the effect looks very good."

Duke Ferdinand, aware of his swiftly improving mental state, realized the other party’s claimed "effect" was indeed satisfactory, yet in the next second, he thought of something else entirely.

"Your Majesty, did you already know that I..."

"No, I do not have the ability to foresee," Rosetta interrupted Ferdinand, gesturing dismissively, "But I was certain the divine corruption would inevitably infiltrate the upper echelons of the Empire—I just didn’t expect the first person to be corrupted, and initially completely unnoticed, would be you, someone who consciously distanced himself from the church years ago. From this perspective, I underestimated the divine will’s infiltration ability over mortal minds, but on the flip side, we’ve now further established the ’pollution’ penetration and spread pattern, confirming the affected demographics. All these insights are significant."

Rosetta spoke very calmly, while Ferdinand quickly discerned another layer of meaning from this imperial ruler’s attitude and words—

The emperor indeed felt surprise, but it was merely those "details" that surprised him. As for the overall direction of matters... it seemed even now nothing deviated from his judgment.

Does this include the ongoing war?

"Your Majesty," after a few seconds of silence, Ferdinand spoke in a low voice, "What are we to do next?"

"War has erupted," Rosetta said, almost as if musing to himself, his gaze not falling on Ferdinand, "...thus the Empire must enter a state of emergency."

"Are you going to activate the emperor’s supreme adjudicating power?"

"A dozen years ago, we attempted to bring a new situation to this nation, and we did it and achieved many previously unthinkable feats, but looking back now, there are still many things left unfinished," Rosetta said calmly, "Some people who shouldn’t have survived are alive, and some things that shouldn’t have been preserved still exist... don’t you think it’s regrettable?"

"Indeed regrettable," Duke Ferdinand Wendell said, "Seems like we can finish what was left unfinished back then—but there is one more thing, Your Majesty, we are at all-out war with the Cecil."

"The mad God is the one at war with Cecil," Rosetta looked into Ferdinand’s eyes, "The out-of-control gods are the common enemy of all humankind—this time, we actually stand on the same side as the Cecil."