Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1083: Chapter 1082: What Gawain Wants

In the early morning, Gawain received an emergency communication from the Cold Winter ship, and half an hour later, a more detailed second intelligence report was delivered to him.

The rising sun illuminated Elf Outpost No. 112, a town standing in the valley gradually awakening in the warming spring breeze. Sunlight penetrated the crystal window on one side of the room, casting a distinct beam on the elf-styled exquisite tapestry. Gawain sat by the desk with the intelligence recorded by Amber at his side, the letters seeming particularly clear and sharp under the sunlight.

Amber stood beside him, the half-elf’s expression uncharacteristically serious: "... Further reconnaissance shows that the Typhon Empire has built outposts on at least fourteen islands or large reefs. Basically, wherever the tides can still be borne, you can see the black flags flying—the furthest outpost from land even reaches the edge of the Chaotic Turbulence Danger Zone. All the outposts are very small, the larger ones are just wooden shelters, the smaller ones are merely tents, clearly erected in a short time—considering the presence of mage-engineers, those things might have sprung up in one or two days—a fact the Cold Winter ship has not missed in its reconnaissance of those islands."

Gawain tapped the table beside him lightly and unconsciously, speaking naturally: "Even if their scale is small, they still prove ’actual control.’ They have personnel, flags, and more importantly, the islands are indeed in Typhon’s seas, so we cannot say those are unclaimed islands—in the end, there are currently no international standards to define the ownership of islands far from land, especially since humans have long parted from the oceans."

"Perhaps we could attempt to treat those outposts as..."

Gawain shook his head: "Any actions we take now are laying the foundation for the international order we are creating—for deeper understanding, some Typhons might be waiting for us to make a misstep, as not all Typhons are eager to see the formation of the alliance, and certainly not all Typhons wish for the Cecil Clan to gain increasing fame. Now, as they lack the ability to confront us directly, waiting for us to err has become their last hope."

Amber couldn’t help but mutter: "How did those Typhons manage to do this under the Cold Winter ship’s very nose... and on such a large scale..."

"The Cold Winter ship is just one vessel, and it’s an experimental ocean-going warship, with the ship’s crew and the supporting training all still in the testing stage. Moreover, they’re facing an extremely vast sea—the expanse of the ocean is unimaginable," Gawain shook his head, "Byron Kirk couldn’t possibly seal off Typhon’s territorial seas with just one ship; he serves more as a symbol. Yet, the Typhon’s reaction... is indeed quick."

At the end, a slight smile appeared on his face—a reaction naturally caught by Amber’s eyes. The half-elf lady looked at Gawain’s expression with some amazement and couldn’t resist asking: "It seems... you expected this situation long ago?"

"I indeed predicted they would stand firm on the island issues but didn’t expect them to build those outposts... Their response slightly exceeded expectations, but the overall direction of things isn’t bad," Gawain slowly replied, pointing to the transcribed intelligence sheet, watching it dissolve into a wisp of green smoke under the sunlight, "The time is about right, let’s set out. We should talk to Emperor Rosetta Augustus again."

Amber blinked, finally certain this was indeed a situation Gawain anticipated—yet she still couldn’t quite understand why Gawain was so indifferent about Winterwolf Fortress and those coastlines, nor why Gawain’s mood seemed so... pleased at this moment. She even felt a delusion that Gawain’s eyes were smiling, a smile that was almost... comforting.

But before she had a chance to speak, Gawain had already taken large strides to leave the room, his voice coming from the door: "Why haven’t you caught up? Being late isn’t a good habit."

...

In the reception room on the second floor of the Jade Hall, Gawain and Amber faced Emperor Rosetta Augustus again. Upon entering the room, Matilda was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window a short distance away, seemingly lost in thought gazing outside.

From this window, the most visible scene is the barren and desolate valley outside the town and the vast wilderness beyond the valley’s end. The land in the direction of the Gondor wasteland is uninhabited, with wild growth, moderately polluted, somewhat oddly shaped foliage covering the black brown ground. At this moment, the sun is rising from the east, its slanting rays sweeping across the valley, pouring into the town, and finally illuminating the barren wilderness outside the window—under the sunlight, the vegetation which should symbolize chaotic magic pollution is somehow appearing vibrant and lively.

"Today’s sunlight is very good; the elf astrologers say such clear weather will last at least a week. It seems a good omen," Rosetta greeted them while casually remarking, "When I arrived here yesterday, it was already dusk, so I didn’t get a clear look at the scenery here—under the night sky the wasteland monitoring station seemed overly grim. Never imagined it had another look in the morning."

Gawain smiled slightly, casually taking a seat: "Yesterday when we met, the night sky was still shrouding the whole town, today at this time sunlight fills the room—comparing the two, I do prefer daylight; it lifts the spirits."

Matilda was turning from the window at this moment and seemed momentarily stunned upon hearing Gawain’s words, but she quickly regained her composure. She stepped beside Emperor Rosetta Augustus, seating herself while pointing to a plate of red fruit on the tea table: "These were delivered by the elves this morning; they said it was a special gift you brought from the Cecil Clan for this meeting?"

Gawain glanced at the small red fruits on the plate, nodded with a smile: "Indeed, I brought them over. They will be provided to all representatives during the meeting, considering the Typhons have a habit of eating fruit in the morning, I arranged for a serving to be sent here this morning—how do you find the taste?"

"Very good, I’ve never seen such a thing elsewhere," Matilda replied, "What is it called?"

"Sorin Tree Fruit, the fruit of the Sorin Giant Tree—you must have heard of this giant tree."

Matilda seemed momentarily unresponsive, while Emperor Rosetta Augustus couldn’t help showing a somewhat peculiar expression, coughed twice, and deliberately interrupted the current pleasantries, proactively steering the conversation: "Did you rest well last night?"

"Very well," Gawain nodded, speaking casually, "Moreover, we received intelligence from the Cold Winter ship early in the morning."

The room momentarily felt a bit silent, Rosetta seemed surprised at Gawain’s surprisingly calm demeanor, his gaze lingering on Gawain for a few seconds before he spoke in a deep voice: "The Cold Winter ship is indeed quite advanced."

"I’m quite curious," Gawain’s body leaned slightly forward, his expression serious, "How long did it take you to build those outposts? And when did you start constructing them?"

Rosetta was silent for a moment before calmly saying: "After noticing the Cold Winter ship’s patrol route, we realized its significance—we then spent over half a month observing its patrol patterns and reconnaissance range, determined its approximate number of crew members, and finally completed the construction of all outposts within a twelve-hour window."

"Twelve hours?" Amber couldn’t hide her surprise, "How did you manage that?"

"Twenty-six thousand engineering mages, working at full capacity," Emperor Rosetta Augustus slowly said, "Most of them are responsible for creating a frozen channel on the sea surface or seabed using manpower relay, while the rest transport materials to the islands and complete the construction, and take their positions before the Winter disappears from view. Perhaps we don’t have warships and engineering machinery as advanced as yours, but those sea conditions near the islands... we have studied them for a long time."

Gawain watched Emperor Rosetta Augustus, only looking away after a dozen seconds. He leaned back slightly and said softly, "Impressive."

"I think this illustrates our stance and also proves the issue of ’substantive control,’" Emperor Rosetta Augustus began, meeting Gawain’s gaze calmly. The once sharp aura on his face had vanished completely, and in the sunken eye sockets were only sincerity, "I have no intention of inciting conflict and dispute between the Typhon Empire and Cecil Clan, just as you once wrote to me in that book—-we must enter a new era, whether for present peace or the future of our descendants, this world needs prosperity and development. Over the past period, there have been misunderstandings and frictions between the two nations, but we stand here ultimately, don’t we?"

"That’s right, we should look forward," Gawain said solemnly, "But I also need to give an explanation to the citizens, and even more to the soldiers on the frontline. I can withdraw from Winterwolf Fortress, I can have the Winter return, I can work together with you for the peace between the two nations and to restore diplomatic normalcy, but this doesn’t mean everything will be written off."

"...Except for Typhon’s land and those islands, everything else can be negotiated." Emperor Rosetta Augustus paused momentarily and said solemnly.

Gawain pondered, his fingers gently tapping the armrest of the sofa, and after a long time, he slowly said, "Alright, I can take another step back—-I can no longer focus on those islands, but I must retain the port in Dragon Summoning Gulf, furthermore... you should know, I have always been committed to restarting the former continent-spanning trade route."

"...Yes, and Typhon is also making efforts in this regard," Emperor Rosetta Augustus nodded, "We are trying to restore contact from the sea with the southern part of the continent, just like you are doing in the north."

"Exactly, the northern continent-spanning trade route and the southern continent-spanning trade route—-This will bring economic development to all the countries along the line to a certain extent, and can promote the process of exchanges across the entire continent, but this is far from enough," Gawain said while shaking his head, "The route is divided into north and south, so it cannot be called a ’continent-spanning trade route.’ As economic zones become fixed and separated, it will gradually lead to the entire continent becoming two distinct circles of interaction between north and south. Considering the ’alliance’ we are about to establish, can you imagine being divided into a ’southern union’ and ’northern union’ within an alliance aimed at unification and common development?"

"You wish to connect the northern and southern continent-spanning trade routes?" Emperor Rosetta Augustus looked into Gawain’s eyes, then he appeared to be in deep thought, and after some consideration, he gently nodded, "Actually, I anticipated this... you must do it, you are committed to changing the development trajectory of the whole world, and certainly won’t allow this continent to remain in a state of mutual isolation. Any plan that can unite mortal nations, is surely within your plans."

He paused, then continued, "This matter... In principle, I agree but we must gradually negotiate the specifics, just as you must give an explanation to your citizens—-I must also consider the interests of the Typhon Empire."

Emperor Rosetta Augustus spoke cautiously, and it was clear that this decision was not easy for him—-frankly, if it had been not long ago, he would surely have rejected Gawain for evident reasons: Typhon is not yet prepared for a sea link with the northern continent-spanning trade route.

Although Typhon’s maritime fleet started early, its development was slow, and due to an emphasis on rebuilding those colonies at the outset, the maritime trade route plans were shelved for a long time. In this regard, the Cecil Clan clearly leads ahead; furthermore, Typhon was on the frontline during the recently ended battle of the gods, and its national strength was depleted considerably. With a priority on rebuilding order and restoring production, the Typhon Royal Family simply has no capacity to produce a seaworthy ocean-going merchant fleet in a short time. Yet Cecil’s national strength suffered limited loss, they can now deploy the strong Winter, which means they will soon be able to field more warships and an entire trade fleet.

Perhaps they have already prepared the trade fleet.

Given this, once the sea link with the northern continent-spanning trade route opens, allowing Cecil’s naval trade power to directly participate in commercial activities in the southern part of the continent...

Even if not a disaster for Typhon’s nascent maritime trade, it’s a catastrophe.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus does not fear powerful opponents, he believes in the resilience and progressive spirit of the Typhon Empire under his leadership, that Typhon people can carve out a path even under extremely harsh conditions, but the price required in the future to carve out this path needs careful consideration.

Once a blockade forms, escaping it is not so easy.

But Emperor Rosetta Augustus also knows, he has little choice, he can protect the territorial land and the islands at sea, but as long as warships like the Winter still possess overwhelming strength in front of Typhon’s own ships, he cannot prevent the Cecil Clan’s fleet from sailing to the southern seas—-in fact, they can even bypass directly from the western part of the continent, though the cost of doing so is much higher.

Gawain choosing to discuss this matter here with him is an act of morality and decency.

"I know what you’re thinking," Gawain said earnestly and sincerely to Emperor Rosetta Augustus, "You might think this will become a unilateral monopoly and blockade, you believe the continent-spanning trade route is nominally maintained jointly by Typhon and Cecil but actually the entire continent’s seaports will be controlled by Cecil’s fleet, the entire route will be in my grasp, and I will give no survival space to anyone—-If this is your belief, then you misunderstand me.

"From start to finish, I have never intended to rule this world, nor ever wanted to consume any country’s interests. In fact, apart from those who openly oppose me, every partner doing business with Cecil has ultimately gained great profits and long-term development, my goal is to strengthen all allies rather than squeezing them to maintain a so-called ruling position.

"So returning to the topic of the continent-spanning trade route—-I will not sacrifice Typhon’s interests to ensure Cecil’s domination on this route, regardless of whether these interests are current or future, all trade activities will proceed under the premise of fairness, without any unilateral blockade, exploitation or blows occurring. This can even be written into our alliance agreement memorandum."

Emperor Rosetta Augustus carefully weighed every word spoken by Gawain, his eyes hardly moved.

An alliance... Even pledges made before gods can be altered and betrayed, let alone the current oral promise—-Ultimately, everything must be discussed in terms of strength. When a nation weakens, its status must inevitably fall along with it, whereas strong nations always hold more power in voice. Emperor Rosetta Augustus knows this very well.

"I trust your promise and believe we will both faithfully execute the alliance," Emperor Rosetta Augustus exhaled lightly, stating formally, "Together, we will recreate the glory of the continent-spanning trade route—-to further advance the entire world."

Gawain smiled, "Indeed."

The last line of defense in the Typhon Settlement Area had finally opened the door to him.