Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1092: Chapter 1091: From Talronde

The rune glows softly in the comfortably warm incubation room, where a pale golden dragon egg suddenly quivers slightly, and the newspaper floating in front of the egg also makes a gentle rustling sound.

Betty, who was wiping the eggshell with a soft cloth beside it, immediately noticed the movement and looked up with concern, "Lady Enya? Did I hurt you?"

"Ah... no," a gentle voice came from the golden giant egg, "I just suddenly felt like... shivering a bit."

Betty tilted her head in confusion, "Shiver a bit? Is it because you’re cold?"

"No, the room is very warm, but I just wanted to... shiver," Enya’s tone seemed a bit confused as well, "It’s strange, I’ve never had this feeling before... is this one of the changes after separating from humanity and divinity..."

"I don’t understand," Betty said earnestly, then she glanced at Enya reading the newspaper and smiled, "Lady Enya, would you like some more tea? It’s freshly made and still warm."

"Ah, of course, thank you, Betty," Enya immediately replied, with a noticeable hint of amusement in her voice.

Betty happily ran to the little table with the tea—the table she had specially instructed to be moved in for tea and newspapers over the past two days. She picked up her beloved big teapot and carefully poured the tea over the golden egg. With a light splashing sound, the pleasant aroma of high-quality tea spread throughout the room, steaming and fragrant.

Betty wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but it seemed as if Lady Enya’s eggshell had been completely infused with this fragrance recently. Even after wiping it clean, the scent of tea could still be detected near the giant egg—yet judging by Lady Enya’s lack of concern, it wasn’t a bad thing, right?

With whimsical thoughts swirling in her head, the little maid heard Enya let out a satisfied sigh, "Thank you... thank you so much all this time, dear girl."

"It’s what I’m supposed to do," Betty quickly responded, "Would you like some more?"

"Not for now," Enya answered gently, then curiously asked, "Has your master not returned yet?"

"Hmm... it seems like Master and the others won’t be back for several days," Betty scratched her head while recalling what she had heard from others, "I heard that the meeting is supposed to last many days, and there’s a bunch of smaller meetings afterward... I don’t know why it takes so long, but I’ve been told it’s just how big figures interact."

"...Mortals have ever-changing thoughts and different desires, reaching a consensus is always difficult, but it’s good to make an effort, using up time and energy is better than making no progress for hundreds of years," Enya said softly as the newspaper floating in the air slowly turned another page, "Tell me about this thing called Magic Web Communication, I’m rather curious about the neural network it mentions..."

...

The dragons killed their god—all of their gods.

Melita Ponia stood under the flag symbolizing Talronde, the blue dragon, experienced in the Godslayer war and full of scars, spread her arms. Under her command, powerful magic resonated swiftly with the magical environment of the Oath Stone Circle itself, accompanied by a "sizzling" sound triggered by the descending light screen and magical turbulence. In the sky above the majestic and solemn Oath Stone Circle, a magical illusion appeared, larger than any full-scale illusion seen before, causing unease and awe.

Dragons not only possess strong bodies but are also masters of magical skills, and the blue dragons are especially adept at illusion spells—in Melita’s control, the scene in the sky shocked everyone present, even Gawain, who already knew what was going to happen, couldn’t help but feel breathless. He looked up at the sky, seeing a landscape already distorted and twisted—a storm of fire and thunderstorms raged in the firmament, with thousands of dragons and indistinguishable war machines battling against a shadow-covering, more terrifying hybrid ’creature’ than a mad War God...

But the scene wasn’t the entirety; when those destructive disaster scenes stunned everyone, the picture suddenly switched—the war-torn land became a magnificent temple and palace, with dragon herds soaring among the clouds on the mountains, and prosperous, illusory cities spreading across the land, home to advanced races that humans never imagined inhabiting those tall buildings and factory facilities... but in the next second, the war scenes flared from the edge of the picture, the wrath of the gods annihilated everything, and the cultural achievements of the Dragonkin were destroyed in an instant.

"...That was once Talronde, the image of our homeland in its prosperous times...

"...That was Talronde not long ago, when our deity crossed the brink of madness, and the entire Dragon Kingdom was devoured and destroyed..."

Accompanied by Melita’s low narration, the scenes in the sky switched one by one, and people watched helplessly as a once-glorious nation collapsed in the fires of war, witnessing the stark contrast before and after the destruction of the Dragon Kingdom in illusions. As those splendid palaces, buildings, and city factories burned and collapsed in flames, some representatives couldn’t help but sigh with regret and astonishment—a subconscious sigh at witnessing the destruction of beauty.

"...We once lived in a very comfortable environment, which was both a cradle and a prison. The details would take a long time to explain, but I can only tell you this: Once, Talronde was far more comfortable and convenient than even Loren’s current ’safe zone,’ and the Dragon Kingdom... was much stronger than your realms.

"But none of this escaped the fate of destruction—as you see here."

Melita gently lowered her hands, and the runes surrounding her immediately rearranged, causing the illusions above to change instantaneously—the glorious halls and apocalyptic wars disappeared, leaving everyone gazing upon only a wasteland. That wasteland was cracked and desolate, with the coastline’s edge shattered and twisted, and the sky filled with deadly elemental rifts, where mad elemental creatures and uncontrolled energy wraiths ravaged what remained of the identifiable city ruins.

In the depths of this wasteland, faint lights could be seen—small, refuge settlements stood like flickering candles in the wind on the earth, while scarred dragons guarded against threats in the wasteland near the sanctuary—reminiscent of the Gondor seven hundred years ago.

"This is the current Talronde." Melita spoke with a solemn tone as the illusions covering the sky extinguished.

If anything was more astounding than seeing dragons descend upon the venue or the participation of dragons in the mortal alliance, it was undoubtedly the shocking truth Melita delivered at this moment. Everyone in the venue was plunged into great shock, not knowing what expression to bear in the face of all this happening in front of them. Those intensive consultations, small-group alliances, and suspicions before the meeting about the Three Great Empires suddenly seemed irrelevant, like a child fussing over snacks and toys in a safe house, only to have the world collapse and present—burning grandeur appeared, the world....

Is there anything more disorienting than this?

Once upon a time, there was a Dragon Kingdom more powerful than all the kingdoms of the Loren Continent combined, and a Talronde that was safer than any in the Loren Continent. It had stood there for 1.87 million years, its history far surpassing any era known to mortals—and then it was gone.

Gone in a single day.

In the midst of an indescribable silence, some of the representatives at the scene gradually awoke from their shock, their minds began to become active, and many quickly connected it to the war between Typhon and the Cecil Clan—details of which had been partially disclosed in some internal reference documents. They thought of the description of the War God’s loss of control mentioned in the documents and recalled the startling truths that they had gathered through their intelligence channels, truths that were once suspicious and even resisted. However, at this moment, the news from Talronde strongly supported those dire reports.

The imaginations of many expanded as they recalled the scenes displayed in the holographic projections around the Oath Stone Circle earlier, and a sense of fearful dread gripped their hearts. Some national representatives fell into serious contemplation, while others—their expressions darkened, possibly indicating more than mere worry or concern.

Gawain observed all the changes in expression among the people, and he also noted those particularly complex expressions among some representatives. Information related to them quickly surfaced in his mind as he realized that most of these representatives came from kingdoms where the church had significant influence, where the power of the Goddess of the Night had penetrated deeply into all sectors of society. Thus, their reactions were more or less expected.

But until the end, no representative left in anger or immediately stood up to refute, which aligned with Gawain’s initial judgment:

No matter how influential the church may be in certain countries, the secular leaders were mostly the ones sent to attend this meeting. Moreover, the Empress of the world’s largest theocratic empire—the Silver Empire—had already sided with the Cecil Clan.

"Thank you to the Talronde Ambassador for speaking."

Gawain’s voice broke the silence, and only then did everyone seem to react. Applause gradually arose from all around, and after a simple courteous nod, Melita Ponia returned to her seat. Once the applause subsided, Gawain stood and surveyed the venue, continuing his speech.

"This is the current situation in Talronde, and it may be beyond many people’s expectations. But there is one thing I must clarify—though the civilization of Talronde has indeed faced a catastrophic disaster like the Gondor Empire seven hundred years ago, just as many humans survived that extinction event, so too have a considerable number of dragons from Talronde. The surviving Dragonkin have now formed a temporary government, and Miss Melita Ponia is here on behalf of the current Dragon Council to engage with us.

"The current situation is that the Dragonkin have attained freedom, and they are generally willing to coexist peacefully with other mortal realms of the world, even to become a member of our future alliance. But first, they need help, akin to the aid the Gondor refugees required seven hundred years ago. On the other hand, not all dragons maintained order after the war. Communication has been severed in the wastelands of Talronde, and an unknown number of dragons are isolated from civilized society. Miss Melita and her kin are doing everything they can to bring these isolated compatriots back to civilization... but their power is still limited.

"This portion of the Dragonkin is beyond the control of the Dragon temporary government, not bound by order, and they might have already turned to violence. Perhaps one day, they may venture to this continent."

After Gawain’s words fell, he allowed the representatives ample time to think and react. Soon, one of them, unable to hold back, stood from the Northern City-States Union, eyes wide and said, "Do you mean the dragons might attack the human world?!"

"Not just the human world," Gawain said calmly, "but also the lands of gray elves, dwarfs, fairies, elves, and all mortals; none can isolate themselves from this threat."

"Talronde deeply regrets this; we bear some responsibility," Melita sighed with genuine apology in her expression. "We can only ensure that those under the control of the council abide by order, but those isolated in the wasteland... our current societal management is already overwhelmed."

A slight murmur of discussion arose in the venue.

The disasters displayed in the holographic projections earlier, though terrifying, still felt somewhat distant to everyone, lacking immediate impact. But the suddenly-exposed crisis now tangibly loomed over everyone’s heads: untold numbers of ravenous, irrational dragons lurked in the shadows, and who knew how many dragons capable of destroying cities were on their way to pillage the human world... That sword hanging overhead, its blade gleamed unmistakably!!

Representatives from the northern small kingdoms on the Loren Continent were first to sense the crisis, feeling natural anger rise in their hearts, yet quickly realized this anger had nowhere to be directed—

They looked towards the Dragonkin Ambassador seated beneath the red and gold banner, finding they lacked even the courage to glare.

The image of the Dragon Herd descending from the sky remained deeply imprinted in everyone’s minds, making anyone with sound judgment realize the reality: Talronde’s glorious civilization may be gone, but the Dragonkin remain, and these inherently powerful beings... just their existence alone made them far stronger than many isolated small kingdoms.

The Dragonkin Ambassador was not here to seek pity... in fact, her reminder to the continent’s nations was already an act of great responsibility.

"How should we respond?" Finally, another representative stood, their tone laden with tangible worry.

"The Dragonkin never shirk responsibility. If any among us acts wrongly... they should bear the responsibility," Melita said with gravity. "The Talronde Council has already decided: Any Dragonkin who do not comply with the council’s management, actively attack the countries of the Loren Continent, or violate the Commonwealth Alliance agreement will be expelled from the Dragonkin. The other member states of the alliance and Talronde itself have the right and duty, after three warnings, to strike that dragon down."

The Oath Stone Circle fell silent, and the representatives felt a steely resolve within the Dragonkin ambassador’s heavy words. They were moved by the spirit shown in that resolve, yet quickly many realized another more immediate truth—

Striking down a dragon... what a tall order!

They’re dragons! Everyone had seen with their own eyes as they descended from the sky, their wings would sweep walls aside, and the magic waves they emitted seemed able to ignite the sky!

It’s all well and good for vast empires like Cecil and Typhon with formidable aerial forces, but what about the edge-ridden minor nations with little power? What could bring such beings down? Throw a group of Mage-Hunters to hurl fireballs into the sky? Or perhaps launch their King to appeal to the dragons?

(Recommend a book from July’s new-manga history novel "New Book." Yes, you read it right, the book’s title is really "New Book," though its name sounds magical, it actually tells the serious story of a traverser battling a plane’s scion. Honestly, the reason for my recommendation is that this book’s title was something I’d thought of... and it ended up taken, lol.)