Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1258: Chapter 1257: Toward the Unknown Realm

Under the remote control of the Mage Controller, the Explorer Golem had been operating for two full hours on the other side of the portal in the "Divine Kingdom," transmitting a large amount of real-time footage back to us. Undoubtedly, this would become crucial data for humans to understand the kingdom, but as a magical device, the "Explorer" has its limits.

After the Explorer crossed the "plaza area" of the kingdom and passed through the first arch leading to the palace complex, the Mage Controller noticed signs of transmission instability with the golem. The images transmitted from the front started flickering frequently, and within a few seconds, the golem even sent back an emergency signal of "Magic Power supply about to be interrupted."

To prevent the loss of this precious magical device, Windsor Maple ordered the recovery of the Explorer immediately. The holographic projection from the front then turned back toward the portal, the Explorer unfolded its long metal limbs and began swiftly returning along its original path. Kamel watched those flickering holographic projections and asked in a deep voice, "Is it out of control range?"

"It shouldn’t be..." Windsor Maple said with a furrowed brow, "We anticipated that the internal space of the kingdom might be very vast, so we specially modified the signal transmission structure of the golem. Furthermore, all the controlling mages are powerful practitioners. In theory, even if the golem moved two more hours outwards at the previous speed, the signal transmission shouldn’t be affected...."

While speaking, this Typhon Legendary Mage’s eyes never left the holographic projection by the portal, the Explorer had already begun running at maximum speed, the magical images transmitted back showed the wide stone bricks of the kingdom’s plaza area and elegant stone pillars standing on the plaza, all flashing past rapidly. However, even as the distance between the golem and the portal continued to shorten, the poor signal transmission condition showed no improvement, the holographic images’ flickering and interference worsening over time, with the warning message "Magic Power supply about to be interrupted" constantly displayed in the center of the screen, causing Windsor’s expression to grow increasingly serious.

"Its energy supply has issues... It looks a lot like the magic reserves are running out, but the golem is supposed to have the function to absorb magic power from its surroundings for long-term operation...." she murmured to herself, then suddenly raised her voice, "Can the retreat speed be increased any further?!"

"It is already retreating at the fastest speed, Master Windsor," said a Mage Controller hurriedly. This high-level mage in a deep purple robe was sweating profusely, the intermittent golem signal made control extremely difficult, and the impending loss of the Explorer added immense pressure to his nerves — the expensive cost of the golem was actually secondary in the minds of these Typhon Scholars; what they were truly concerned about was the research progress. The Explorer’s current abnormal state needed to be analyzed, but only if it successfully returned could the on-site technical personnel determine what caused this anomaly. If the golem ran out of energy and lost communication before reaching the portal, it would doubtlessly pose a great challenge to ongoing exploration and research.

Windsor did not urge further; she simply focused intently with Kamel on the images being returned by the holographic projection. In the ever more blurry and dim images, she saw the mirror-like portal already appear in front of the Explorer, its numerous metallic limbs operating rapidly, closing the distance with the portal. However, as it closed in on the final hundred meters, the limbs raised high suddenly showed signs of incoordination, one limb even failing to lift in time, causing the Explorer to stumble and almost fall.

The most basic power system also showed signs of energy exhaustion, with the golem’s final reserve of magic power nearing depletion, while its capability to absorb magic power from the environment to sustain operation seemed nonexistent....

Within the last fifteen meters, all eyes were on the already extremely dim and blurry holographic projection. The Mage Controllers could no longer detect the golem’s signal transmission, with the primary controller attempting one last effort, raising both hands toward Windsor Maple: "Master Windsor, the signal is interrupted, we can only..."

Before he could finish speaking, the holographic projection dimmed completely, and the golem’s last link to the mortal world was severed.

The portal hall fell silent, then a few sighs arose from various corners. Kamel stared intently at the mirror-like "door," while beside him Windsor Maple shook her head, sighing, "We’ve lost the ’Explorer’...."

However, as soon as she finished speaking, a sound of mechanical limb friction suddenly came from the hall, that mirror-like round "door" surface suddenly rippled, and a brass-made magical mechanical device stumbled out, rolling and crashing onto the base of the portal device amid a series of noises.

In the last moment, the golem used its remaining energy to successfully dash back. It rolled onto the ground with noise, while simultaneously, the series of dimly lit magic symbols on its shell extinguished completely one by one.

Windsor Maple reacted immediately, rushing towards the Explorer while loudly ordering, "Inspection team! Get over here right now!"

Several technicians clad in Typhon mage robes rushed to the side of the Explorer Golem, Kamel following Windsor Maple closely to the scene. They focused intently on the fully shut-down golem, its brass shell with all symbols extinguished, and the crystals at key energy nodes appearing a grayish-white hue from excessive exhaustion, heat emanating from within. Witnessing this, even those unfamiliar with Typhon golem technology could readily determine — this precise magical device had far exceeded its operating limits in an environment completely deprived of magic supply for too long, with numerous magic circuits now severely damaged.

An Engineering Mage bent down to inspect the "Explorer’s" shell, attempting to find traces of external damage to assess the failure of its charging device. At that moment, a low humming sounded from the rotund brass body, those completely extinguished symbols flickered a few times before lighting up one by another — it had begun recharging itself.

"...Master Windsor," the Engineering Mage looked up, puzzled, at Windsor Maple, "Its charging structure is undamaged...."

Windsor Maple frowned as she watched, contemplating briefly before deciding, "Open the shell, remove the shielding plates 2 to 4, and inspect the condition of the core magic circuit."

"Yes, Master Windsor!" the Engineering Mage immediately complied, and several assistant mages stepped forward to help, quickly dismantling the Explorer’s rotund brass shell with deft movements. As the heavy shell and several silver shield plates inside were removed, the exceedingly complex and precise mechanical and magical structure of this device was finally displayed to everyone — at first glance, Kamel noticed several crystals recharging and several obviously damaged magic symbol structures surrounding them.

The Typhon mages gathered around, rapidly inspecting the various mechanisms within the Explorer, while Windsor Maple observed their progress from the side. The mages’ examination did not last long; shortly, a thin female mage stood up, seriously reporting to Windsor Maple, "Master, the core magic circuit of the golem shows signs of inward breakdown, and the alchemy solution filling layers 2 to 4 has been completely vaporized."

"...The internal perforation, the alchemy solution evaporated..." Windsor Maple’s face darkened as she quickly made her assessment, "This indicates it tried to draw magic from the surrounding environment, but the charging circuit never got replenished... coupled with the over-discharge of the magic core, the central control array continuously extracted the remaining magical power in the circuit, leading to a series of system errors..."

Kamel quickly understood what had happened to the explorers. The eyes of this ancient Arcane Master suddenly flickered with a peculiar light. After a moment of contemplation, he broke the silence in a deep voice: "So, there is no magic or it’s impossible to extract magical power in the kingdom, which is why the explorers rapidly exhausted their stored energy..."

"...That is one possibility," Windsor Maple nodded with a furrowed brow, her tone full of confusion, "But I have never heard of such a thing... Magic is something omnipresent and can penetrate almost any barrier, even in the Suppressing Magic Crystal Mines, there is a relatively thin magical environment. How can there be a place in this world where magic is entirely absent?"

"Perhaps not in this world, but we are dealing with a ’kingdom’—a realm that mortals have never understood!" Kamel immediately replied, his tone seemingly carrying an inexplicable excitement, "Lady Windsor, let go of the shackles created by past knowledge. We are dealing with an entirely new domain!"

Windsor finally noticed the emotional change in the Gondor Ancient beside her and couldn’t help but ask in surprise: "Master Kamel... you seem very excited?"

"Yes, Lady Windsor, we might be facing a possibility... a possibility of breaking through!" Kamel said excitedly, but soon he forcefully calmed his thoughts and tone, "The characteristics of the kingdom fit an environment I once imagined, Lady Windsor, we should further investigate the space beyond that portal."

Windsor glanced at the round "mirror" in the center of the portal device and agreed with Kamel’s words, but the recent incident with the explorers made her overly cautious: "...We might need to prepare more, the issue the explorers faced might be just one of the dangerous factors in the kingdom, and even without risky factors, a mere environment of magic depletion would pose significant challenges for our personnel and equipment."

Kamel ascended slightly, his gaze fixed on the "scene beyond" presented by that layer of mirroring surface, a strong impulse surged within his arcane body, mixing the millennia-long wish of the Defier and the scholars’ curiosity about the origins of magic. This impulse was a severe test for any scholar’s sanity—but he remained calm.

He had waited for a thousand years.

"You are right, Lady Windsor," Kamel lowered his head and spoke to the Typhon Legendary Mage beside him, "We need to send the explorers in a few more times, at least confirm if they faced additional impacts in a magic-depleted environment, then deploy some equipment to the other side to see if they can operate normally relying on their own stored magic in such an environment and for how long, and only after collecting enough data let the personnel enter."

Windsor Maple solemnly nodded, retracting her gaze, and looked at the Explorer Golem already dismantled and waiting for repairs. After a long gaze, the Typhon mage whispered, "Now, at least we have finally taken the first step."

...

The dark blue sea kept retreating in their vision, the ice floes floating on the ocean and the foam rising with the waves reflecting the splendid starlight, presenting a mysterious beauty unseen on land. The cold high-altitude wind was blocked outside by the dragon’s barrier, only a faint whistling sound came through. Gawain stood on Melita’s back, gazing into the far distance at the end of the horizon, within the dusky background of the distant sky, he could already see that majestic silhouette standing on the sea.

It was a high tower, like a giant pillar supporting heaven and earth, standing on a disc island made of steel, the passage of time did not diminish this spectacle’s majesty in the slightest, the dim light beneath the perpetual night also could not conceal this ancient relic’s soul-stirring demeanor—merely standing there, it was enough to instill endless awe and wonder in the majority of the mortal races on this planet, even equating it to the legendary "divine miracles."

It had surpassed the technical level that most civilizations on the current planet could comprehend. No race could imagine any man-made structure could possess such a scale and near-eternal service life—it’s no surprise that the Inversion Tide Empire, guided here by the dragons in past years, considered this thing a divine legacy, because in a sense... even the legacy of the gods could not compare to the civilization level represented by this giant tower.

Melita carried Gawain and Amber, while the White Dragon Noreta flew not far alongside her, bearing Victoria and Modir, and behind them in the sky, was a dragon herd composed of thirty adult dragons. This formidable team flew in the night sky, the enormous wings stirred the air, whistling winds swept among their massive bodies, creating a heart-stopping dull roar in the night, they silently crossed under the starlight of the eternal night, passed the shattered barriers and the ruins of barrier generators on the Western Coast, heading toward the Tower of the Inversion Tide.

If placed on the Loren Continent before the establishment of the alliance, such a team could have completely destroyed a small kingdom or any city-state in a short period, even dealing heavy blows to a relatively powerful country like the tribal country of Augari. However here, before the Tower of the Inversion Tide, even the mighty dragons had to restrain their edges, adopting the most cautious approach as they gradually approached their target—and started decelerating long before reaching the high tower.

Since the chaos of the Inversion Tide, it was the first time they proactively approached this high tower, even though the "chains" once established deep within their souls had been cut, some form of instinct, bred over millions of years, could still make the mightiest dragons nervous.

Gawain retracted his gaze from the distance and looked at the two other figures on Melita’s back besides himself and Amber: two young dragons were jumping around near Melita’s scapula, experiencing the novelty of traveling alongside the dragon herd and appearing very delighted.

These two little fellows should count as the most special members of this team—but they themselves were clearly oblivious to this fact.