Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 985: Chapter 984: Controlled Reaction

Upon hearing Emperor Rosetta’s answer, Duke Ferdinand fell into deep thought, as if a long time had passed before he finally lifted his head, seeing the ruler of Typhon standing there with a calm expression, seemingly more tranquil than ever.

However, from beneath this calm exterior, Ferdinand sensed a latent power ready to be unleashed—a force that had been accumulating for years, and many believed it had vanished over time, yet now Ferdinand suddenly discovered it still existed, never having weakened in the slightest.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus was both a cautious strategist and a startling gambler—his boldness was still as great as it was years ago.

"This could turn into a high-stakes gamble," Ferdinand couldn’t help but say, though not to discourage, but just to express his view, "Your Majesty, once the balance is lost, both we and the entire Empire will face utter ruin."

"We are already on the path to ruin—it’s not that we’re pursuing a gamble; all hopes have already been placed within this gamble," Rosetta suddenly showed a slight smile, "This is a crisis destined to arrive, and since it has already happened, we should find ways to turn it into an opportunity."

"...Then I will do my utmost," Ferdinand, after a moment of contemplation, lowered his head, "also to make amends and wash away my disgrace this time."

"You know, none of this is your fault... but now it’s indeed what you would say."

At this moment, a knock suddenly came from not too far away, interrupting the conversation between Rosetta and Ferdinand.

Rosetta looked toward the door: "Come in."

The door of the magic laboratory opened, and the dignified president of the Royal Mage Association, Windsor Maple, appeared at the doorway. Seeing Duke Ferdinand speaking with Rosetta, she appeared somewhat surprised, nodded to him, then quickly approached Rosetta, her expression hesitant, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

Rosetta saw the expression of this legendary mage and seemed to have guessed what she wanted to say. He first glanced at Duke Ferdinand beside him, then turned back to Windsor Maple with a slight nod: "Speak what you have to say."

Windsor Maple instinctively glanced at Duke Ferdinand, hesitated briefly before finally speaking: "Your Majesty, the communication Tower just received news, Winterwolf Fortress... has fallen."

Duke Ferdinand’s breath suddenly faltered for a moment, his elderly body shaking slightly, fingers clenching and unclenching before he couldn’t help but speak: "What about General Andresha..."

"General Andresha is not dead," Windsor Maple hurriedly said, yet her expression grew even more peculiar and hesitant, "She... she was captured by the Cecil Clan."

Duke Ferdinand seemed to let out a slight sigh of relief, but his expression quickly turned complex: "She... was captured unexpectedly?"

"No, she surrendered—along with the entire Winterwolf Legion, Black Flag Mage Corps, and numerous surviving soldiers from the Regular Troop Corps," Windsor Maple gritted her teeth and said in one breath, "The news came from the mage outposts in the Winterhold Area. The Cecil Clan did not block the relevant information; now Winterwolf Fortress has raised the flag of swords and plows, and Cecil Empire’s army continues to build fortifications around it."

"Surrendered..." Duke Ferdinand’s eyes suddenly widened, as if more stunned than when he heard of Winterwolf Fortress’s fall. The expression on the old man’s face twisted, as if hearing the most unbelievable thing in the world, "Surrendered! And with two corps and countless Regular Troop Corps soldiers? She surrendered with the entire Winterwolf Fort Defense Line?!"

This old wolf’s voice finally started to rise, a surge of emotion from decades of life’s vigilance being struck head-on, his face turned red with anger and sorrow intertwined, as if the joy just now hadn’t even dissipated before being completely overwhelmed by the opposite emotion.

His emotions were so intense that even Windsor Maple, as the president of the Royal Mage Association, couldn’t help but step back a bit, then, as if trying to defend someone, she said: "It’s reported that the Cecil Clan used unprecedented warfare technology—they attacked from high altitude with astonishing power, quickly destroyed Winterwolf Fortress’s Great Shield and the Outer City District; only the castle survived under the protection of spare shields. In such a situation, holding the line would be pointless."

Ferdinand couldn’t help but raise his voice: "Then she should have chosen to evacuate! At least the main forces of the corps could..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when Rosetta’s hand suddenly rested on his shoulder: "If the Cecil Clan really launched such an attack, I don’t think Andresha had a chance to safely evacuate with those trapped in the castle."

Ferdinand stopped speechless, looking at Emperor Rosetta, yet was shocked to see a smile on the ruler’s face.

"I understand why you are so emotional, Duke Ferdinand," Rosetta said with a smile, "but frankly, when I heard Andresha chose to surrender in such circumstances, I actually felt somewhat relieved."

Ferdinand seemed to not immediately comprehend the deeper meaning of the statement: "...What do you mean?"

"Andresha is sharper than you, perhaps because she’s at the deepest point of the vortex, she saw the essence of this matter more clearly," Rosetta’s smile grew more pronounced, "Duke Ferdinand, it appears you’ve become less perceptive than before."

Ferdinand cooled down from his emotional state, showing a thoughtful expression, and in his pondering, he heard Emperor Rosetta’s voice again: "Aren’t you glad for Andresha’s safety?"

"I..." Ferdinand opened his mouth, hesitated, and ultimately couldn’t help but lightly sigh, "Ah, of course I am glad for it..."

"Perhaps history will prove her to be a hero—abandoning honor might be more difficult for a Wolf General than abandoning life," Rosetta said softly, "yet we must also quickly respond, as Cecil’s Army’s offensive capability is stronger than I expected, and I suspect Gawain Cecil hasn’t yet returned to the Loren Continent, which might be the greatest variable... To be frank, I don’t trust anyone’s wisdom in the Cecil Empire’s ruling body other than Gawain Cecil."

Ferdinand nodded slightly.

Then he looked at Rosetta, hesitating for a few seconds. This former Wolf General seemed to be in a fierce struggle within his heart, and finally couldn’t help but speak: "Your Majesty, Andresha, she..."

Rosetta glanced at Duke Ferdinand and finally smiled: "Rest assured, I will spare no effort to bring her home safely—every Typhon soldier will return home safely."

...

The flag of Cecil Clan flies high above Winterwolf Fortress, the blue and gold sword and plow gleaming in the first ray of golden morning light, fluttering in the winter wind, while the former black and red flags of the Typhon Empire have been lowered—all kept properly under orders from the higher-ups, not discarded on the ground for people to trample, but packed up as part of the spoils and sent back to Longwind.

Sir Philip entered the fortress, and as he rode through the collapsed front entrance that had become a massive breach, this young general suddenly felt a sense of surrealism.

He never imagined himself entering Winterwolf Fortress in this manner, nor did he think this day would come so soon—the sturdy fortress standing on the Typhon border was a special "symbol" in the hearts of countless Cecil soldiers. From the Anzu Kingdom era to the current Empire era, generations of generals and soldiers were vigilant of this fortress, seeing the troops within it as their greatest opponent and threat. Yet today...this fortress was so easily captured.

Of course, saying "easily" is not accurate. Although the entire attack lasted only a single day and seemed smooth, Cecil’s mechanized corps encountered their toughest and most threatening counterattacks since formation before this fortress. Typhon’s strategic spells caused considerable casualties, and the brief yet fierce resistance by both the Winterwolf Legion and the Black Flag Mage Corps during the assault on the inner city surprised the frontline commanders greatly. To be honest, if not for the sudden decrease in combat strength of the fortress defenders and their unfamiliarity with Cecil’s "new tactics," this battle would hardly be this effortless.

But the battlefield does not entertain "ifs." Once the strongest warriors fall, they become mere corpses. On this stage where only results matter, the Cecil Clan came out on top.

The Outer City District was covered in debris, with smoke billowing everywhere. Air raids penetrated the barrier and achieved far more than expected. Areas bombed were nearly turned into ruins, and fires that engulfed various places remained unextinguished by sunrise. It’s said that some of these fires were started by the Typhon defenders themselves—to hinder the advancing Cecil soldiers. In hindsight, their actions were not entirely without effect.

The magic-guided vehicles traversed the pockmarked Outer City District and entered the relatively intact Inner City District, heading towards the more well-preserved castle.

Through the vehicle window, Sir Philip saw many disarmed Typhon soldiers lined up for registration. After initial statistics and record taking, these Typhons would be dispersed and sent to several prisoner-of-war camps at the rear—the Cecil army was adept at quickly constructing holding facilities for large numbers of captives—and only upon entering the camps, would the process of "harmless treatment" for these Typhons truly begin.

Technicians would strive to identify the contamination on these soldiers and provide various solutions. These soldiers would also become invaluable research samples, with data collected from them surely benefiting the future of mortals.

The adjutant sat beside Sir Philip, also gazing outside the window. Observing the obediently queuing Typhon soldiers, this young officer from the southern borders couldn’t help but ask: "General, how many of them do you think are contaminated? How many are still clear-minded?"

"...I previously judged that the entire Winterwolf Fortress was thoroughly controlled by divine spirit contamination," Sir Philip said, gently shaking his head, "But after that ’Wolf General’ voluntarily surrendered, I suspect we got it wrong about both Typhon and Winterwolf Fortress... It might be too early to view Typhon as a Divine Disaster Contaminated Area. And regarding the extent of contamination among them...that I can’t say. It depends on the subsequent technical assessment results."

"Truly incredible," the adjutant said, looking out the window with some amazement, "These Typhons are so quiet, showing no signs of being contaminated mentally... If not for our random sampling of individuals using both Mind Protection Rune and ’Humanity’s Barrier’ for dual identification that truly found contamination, I’d find it hard to believe their psychological structures have actually mutated... Why are they so cooperative?"

"Not all mental contamination turns people into confused monsters. Sometimes clear, rational thinking can also be a result of mental contamination," Sir Philip explained, "For the War God, what He seeks now is merely war, and with regards to war...combat is part of war, surrender is part of war, charging into battle is part of war, becoming prisoners is part of war, starting a war is war, and even the ceasefire after starting a war is considered an ’elemental’ of war—in the absence of major conflict in these basic conditions, a quiet, cooperative demeanor among lightly contaminated individuals is quite normal."

"General, you really know a lot."

"You should read more during leisure time, encompassing various fields—it’ll benefit you."

During their conversation, the magic-guided vehicle had already passed through the front courtyard of the castle, and after crossing the well-preserved gate, Sir Philip finally arrived at the core area of the fortress.

After getting off the vehicle, he took only his most trusted attendants and under the guidance of escorting soldiers, finally met the highest commander of Winterwolf Fortress, the Wolf General who chose to surrender.

She leaned on a soft couch, and multiple places on her body were wrapped in bandages with blood stains oozing through, creating a shocking sight. Sir Philip noticed that even her left eye was wrapped with layers of bandages, with blood seeping through there too, contrasting sharply with her pale face, making those red stains even more striking.

His steps involuntarily paused.

He remembered having seen this Wolf General before, and back then she was valiant and spirited.

Fate really is a teasing thing.

Then he looked towards Andresha’s side—beside the soft couch was a chair, where a young lady dressed in Armed Nun attire with smooth, golden hair cascading over her shoulders sat. She seemed to be deeply engrossed in a book, while a combat "Magic Wand" with components of the Holy Light Impact Cannon rested quietly against the wall.

An Armed Nun... no, not an Armed Nun, Sir Philip noticed the golden patterns on the opponent’s gauntlets and alloy armor plates, discerning she was likely a higher-grade "War Nun."

She must be one of the accompanying priests, here to care for the severely wounded Wolf General.

Judging from the blood on the combat staff and the battered markings on her gauntlets, she was evidently a loyal and respectable sister.

Loyal beyond words, one who could punch a bull to death.