Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1063: Chapter 1062: Unveiling the Mist

The Dragonkin recognize sea demons.

On this planet, apart from some peculiar creatures hiding in the elemental world, only two intelligent beings have been able to maintain civilization through repeated chaotic waves—one is the dragons of Talronde, the other is the sea demons living in the deep sea. As ancient species that have survived a long time, even if communication is rare, there is at least a certain degree of mutual understanding between them—though such understanding is limited to a "certain degree" only.

Sea demons live in the deep sea far from land and rarely show interest in land-based affairs. They have established a mysterious, ancient kingdom around a crashed enormous starship, and dangerous relics of ancient gods are scattered around this kingdom, making it difficult for other races to approach. On the other hand, Dragonkin live in the secluded Talronde, bound by the taboos of the "Cradle Era." Under the gaze of the gods, dragons, although curious about sea demons and their starship, find it hard to get in touch with them.

No one expected that when Talronde’s cradle toppled, and the shackles of the gods were suddenly broken, the first group of deep-sea visitors would set foot on this land.

The water elements, now reduced to barely more than ten centimeters, quickly fled, and the surrounding Dragokin did not pursue it. Melita took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before continuing to approach the black-haired sea demon, who, as Melita approached, started curiously surveying the surroundings.

Cassandra realized her current situation—after discovering the presence of numerous Dragonkin around her while standing on a piece of land, she guessed what had transpired. Undeniably, the situation was a bit beyond expectations. The experienced deep-sea witch still couldn’t fathom how she "swam over," but it didn’t prevent her from quickly calming down and setting new goals and plans based on the original exploration tasks.

Investigating the Eternal Storm was her initial goal, but since she and her subordinates had directly bypassed the storm and arrived at the dragon’s realm, she could conveniently conduct a thorough investigation of Talronde.

She looked at the blue-haired woman, now transformed into human shape and walking towards her, with a smile on her face: "Hello—It seems our journey took an unexpected turn, accidentally bringing us to your land. I am Cassandra, from the Antawen, loyal to Her Majesty Queen Petia, the ruler of the deep sea—but this time, my subordinates and I embarked on an exploration mission commanded by His Majesty the Emperor of the Cecil Empire."

"Hello, welcome to Talronde—you can call me Melita Ponia, I’m the manager of this camp," Melita immediately responded with a fitting smile, realizing the politeness of the other party, and quickly noted the keywords mentioned by her counterpart, "Wait, did you say you were sent by His Majesty the Emperor of the Cecil Empire...?"

"Yes, we set out from Northport of the Cecil Empire," Cassandra nodded, while keeping an eye on the reactions of the surrounding Dragonkin. The current situation was very delicate; this "entry" was a sudden occurrence, and to avoid misunderstandings leading to unnecessary conflicts, it was a wise decision to quickly clarify the origins and mission of her party. Although Cassandra isn’t a professional diplomatic fish, she understands this fundamental rule, "We observed the sudden disappearance of the Eternal Storm over the northern ocean, thus came to investigate. Originally, our exploration was supposed to be near the storm’s nautical surroundings, but for some unknown reason, our orientation, along with the magnetic field and magic-pervasive environment of the deep sea, malfunctioned..."

"So you ’swam over,’ huh?" Melita maintained a friendly demeanor, though she had several sarcastic remarks she wanted to make, yet rationality kept her expressions in check as she began contemplating the causes of this group’s deviation from their destination, "I suppose it could be related to the recent... incidents in Talronde. The current environment of this continent and its surrounding large-scale ocean area has undergone significant changes, as you can see—even the coastline has turned into this."

Cassandra looked up, revealing a surprised expression: "Ah, I always thought these stones and islets were naturally floating in the sky—I have never been to this place before."

Melita sighed, "Many things have happened... In short, please relax, we can coexist peacefully—I happen to have a connection with the Emperor of Cecil, and I didn’t expect to see an envoy sent by him under such circumstances. Regardless, this is a good thing. Additionally, please allow me to extend my apologies—our fishing team is inexperienced, kindly forgive their offense."

She referred to the matter where the fishing party mistook Cassandra and her Naga subordinates for "strange fish" and fished them out, which on a grand scale, could even escalate into a severe diplomatic incident...

But evidently, Cassandra didn’t mind. She flicked her tail tip, glancing at the Dragonkin nearby, "No worries, no worries, just a misunderstanding—I actually realized at the beginning that these dragon friends probably made a mistake, so I proactively ordered my subordinates to cooperate to prevent any accidental harm, you can count it as me voluntarily coming ashore..."

"Thank you for your tolerance and consideration, these impetuous young Dragokin learned a lesson today," Melita promptly took the cue, "Moreover, please follow me to the camp for a brief rest... Although our conditions are limited now, please forgive any shortcomings in hospitality."

Cassandra nodded, having already seen the shelters in the distance, which were clearly constructed using salvaged materials, as well as the precariously standing ruins outside the shelters. She casually asked, "Can I inquire—what exactly happened to Talronde that led to this state?"

"Well... it’s quite complex to explain," Melita withheld another urge to sigh before gesturing invitingly, "Please come along, we can discuss it slowly on the way."

...

Upon Melita’s invitation, sea demon Cassandra arrived at her abode on the fragmented coastline—though it was described as a residence, it was actually just one of many provisional shelters within this small camp.

Under the wind-shielding terrain by the shore, Dragonkin constructed square houses using alloy panels retrieved from the ruins and stones mined from near the coast. Compared to those palatial edifices of yesteryear, these dwellings were downright shabby and decrepit. Furthermore, to conserve materials and expedite construction, the houses are not spacious enough for Dragonkin in their dragon form to reside within, forcing them to live in human form inside. Even so, these dwellings remain the precious sanctuaries on the land of Talronde today: at least they are sturdy enough to withstand the cold and snow of the Arctic region, allowing inhabitants to momentarily forget the ravaged landscape outside the walls.

"Please come in—although it’s modest, compared to those comrades still trapped in the wilderness ruins awaiting rescue, we survivors with a roof over our heads are extremely fortunate," Melita mentioned as she led Cassandra into the house, while pointing towards the inner quarters, "My friend Noletta and I live here together—she was the white-haired one from earlier. She’s now leading a team to patrol the wilds on the west side of the camp and has already left."

"Standby outside," Cassandra instructed the Nagas as she followed Melita indoors.

After adjusting to the slightly dim lighting, she discerned some details of the house interior—the arrangements and the house itself exuded a strong style marked by contradictions. She noted that many pieces of alloy panels were crudely sliced and welded together to form walls. The lower half of the walls was constructed with primitive stacked stones, and in one corner of the house stood an advanced holographic projection device, seemingly salvaged from the ruins, working poorly while intermittently playing synthesized music from bygone eras and dizzying advertisement clips. In the center of the house was a heavy stone table, engraved with some magic symbols she couldn’t understand their function, a crystal hovered above the table, flickering slightly and projecting the scenery around the camp.

Primitive and advanced, rough and refined, a decayed splendid era and an uncertain future—all these contradictory elements combined here. Observing them, Cassandra merely felt a bit silent.

"This is our current state," Melita seemed to have misinterpreted Cassandra’s silence, "It undeniably doesn’t look appealing... but it’s practical for survival. At this stage, our priority is ensuring more comrades can survive and restoring some social order as much as possible. As for comfort and aesthetics... that has to be postponed."

"I understand," Cassandra raised her head, her gaze gentle as she looked at Melita Ponia, "we’ve been through it too."

Melita Ponia was somewhat taken aback: "You?"

"Many, many years ago—the Antawen Vessel crashed on this planet, all factories came to a halt, the engine core extinguished, and all sections from the Core Fusion Tower to the residential areas were filled with metal debris and lethal radiation. We could only escape from the ship, dig holes to survive on the primal seabeds and shallows, all while enduring terrifying bodily malfunctions and mental dislocation... To be honest, that situation might have been even worse than what you’re facing now. At least for you, the atmosphere of this planet isn’t poisonous."

"I’m sorry..." Melita Ponia wasn’t sure what expression to make, "we didn’t know about these..."

"Why apologize? We simply didn’t have the opportunity to establish communication," Cassandra laughed, "we all live on this planet, but we haven’t interacted all these years. Perhaps it’s fate’s arrangement—we can start understanding each other from today. His Majesty Cecil once said, the fate of mortals is interconnected, and lately, I’ve found that quite reasonable."

"He has many reasonable words," Melita Ponia nodded, "most of them are being realized one by one, and the remaining ones... perhaps one day will also come to pass."

"When he learns of what happened in Talronde, he might be deeply surprised," Cassandra said sincerely, "outside our view, such earth-shattering events have occurred on this planet... You’ve created the greatest upheaval not seen for millions of years in this world, something that even sea demons would marvel at."

"But the opportunity for all this to happen came from the humans of the Loren Continent," Melita Ponia said with a smile.

Afterwards, she paused, her expression gradually turning serious as she looked into Cassandra’s eyes: "Lady Cassandra, please tell me about the current situation on the Loren Continent, especially in the Cecil Empire."

"Of course," Cassandra nodded and smiled, "this world is becoming increasingly ’interesting,’ and most interesting of all... His Majesty Gawain Cecil is attempting to forge a new world order..."

...

The Arctic Mountains were bathed in the warm sun of the Revival Month, the ever-frozen snow caps gradually began to shrink, and Dragonwatch Keep stood atop the mountains just as it had for millennia, overlooking the realm of the Dragonborn.

The Grand Duke of Dragonblood had returned.

Balogar stood on the highest terrace, the clouds and mist between the distant mountains reflected the sunlight, slowly undulating in his vision, while Sir Golosh Hickel, Sir Eugene, and Sir Keximir stood silently awaiting the Duke’s orders.

Each kingdom on the continent has its own ruling structure and title designations. In the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, "Sir" is a very special title; it is not a clear part of the aristocratic system as in other countries, but a unified honorific for the highest nobles. In this mountainous land, those who bear the title of "Sir" are significant figures entitled to free entry and exit from Dragonwatch Keep.

"...I didn’t expect to be able to return alive," Balogar softly said after a long silence, "Now the plan must change."

The coming-of-age ceremony not long ago felt like an unbelievable dream, yet everything in that dream had truly happened. Balogar couldn’t believe that after experiencing all that, he could return safely to Dragonwatch Keep. Reflecting on his time in space and in Talronde, aside from marveling at the unpredictability of things, he could only acknowledge that plans often cannot keep up with changes.

"We haven’t officially announced the ’death of the Grand Duke of Dragonblood,’ and this should be regarded as good news," said the tall, black-haired, relatively young Sir Keximir, "Although some news did leak and stirred some waves among the populace, the issue is not severe—we can quite easily alter plans."

"...Indeed, if I had come back a day later, I would likely have had to attend my own funeral," Balogar’s expression turned somewhat peculiar, "On my way back, I even considered how to reappear before the public in a reasonable manner, including whether to crawl out of a coffin like His Majesty Gawain Cecil... Alas, if it really came to that, things would get complicated."

"Ahem, thankfully, we only need to do some appeasement and guidance now, suppressing the rumors about the ’court coup,’" Sir Golosh Hickel coughed lightly, "So now that you’re back, the affairs of the Kingdom can proceed as usual. Should we draft an official letter and send a new response to the Cecil Empire? Our previous reply to their invitation was inappropriate..."

"We definitely need to respond anew," Balogar nodded, "but before that... let’s announce some matters first."

Sir Golosh’s face was curious: "What do you mean...?"

"About the long-standing, so-called ’exile’ truth, about the price the Dragonkin paid for freedom, about the true circumstances of Talronde... it’s time to reveal it all."

Sir Eugene, whose hair and beard were entirely white, immediately furrowed his brow: "This will surely cause a huge uproar, not all clansmen will accept all this—didn’t you previously decide to let the truth remain buried?"

"The truth will be revealed sooner or later, and we must also prevent the buried truth from becoming a hidden danger in the future—in this world, ’unknown’ and ’blindness’ are truly terrifying things. After seeing the current state of Talronde, I realized this more profoundly," Balogar said slowly, "Prepare public opinion guidance, prepare for aftermath handling, the rest... let the Dragonborn make their own choice."