Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1312: Chapter 1311: The Day of Flowing Fire

Flames flowed across the land, forests burned fiercely amidst the raging war, and a terrifying breach opened in the ancient great walls. From it poured forth the enemies of civilization. The defenders of the civilized world, taken by surprise, crumbled into disarray. They retreated repeatedly under the relentless onslaught of the aberrations, retreating from the foot of the great walls to the great barrier of the forest, then from the forest barrier to the borders of the kingdoms. Beyond that, lay towns and villages almost undefended.

The Ranger Corps of the Highmountain Kingdom and the alliance forces sent by the Silver Empire held firmly on these fronts. The existing military lines were torn apart, and battlefield communication was in chaos. The remaining capable Mortal Army was scattered across the expansive war zones, fighting alone and isolated, not knowing where their allies were or if the defense lines still existed, or even if they were the sole survivors left in this nightmare.

In many regions, the Garrison Troops had already lost almost all morale. The soldiers, nearly driven mad, fought numbly. The only reason being the enemy they faced neither allowed retreat nor accepted surrender.

Even in such dire circumstances, some among them noticed an eternally unforgettable sight in the sky: that scene occurred in the northern skies of the Highmountain Kingdom, as the Sacred Stars Temple, engulfed in flames and thick smoke, slowly descended toward the horizon. Nearly half the remaining troops at the border could clearly see the glow plummeting toward the earth.

The Sacred Stars Temple abandoned all its subsystems, no longer considering returning to voyage or repairs. Its old, decayed power core squeezed out its last bit of Magic, letting the weapon systems at their limits shine gloriously in the skies for the last time — no longer cautious or conserving, no longer concerned about wastage. Every logical unit of the master control systems roared, the operation units in the Machinery Cabin burst into resonance among sparks and smoke. For thousands of years, this ancient Sky Fortress finally dominated the blue sky once more.

Queen Belsetia sat quietly on the Sovereignty Chair, embraced by the pale-golden throne. Countless pipes and cables flashed and shattered at her feet and behind her. Her spirits slightly blurred, the nerve signals from various parts of the Sacred Stars Temple swarmed chaotically into her mind, causing much greater stress and pain than usual, yet she suddenly smiled, softly speaking: "It’s cheering."

Yilian Vanna stood beside the Sovereignty Chair. The young maid had torn off the overly long hem of her dress and tied up her long hair. She held a charged Longsword in each hand, watching the approaching dark earth with a composed expression. Despite the continuous rumbling surrounding them, she still heard Belsetia’s soft words, after a brief daze, she too smiled, bending down: "That’s good."

Belsetia nodded gently, closing her eyes. In the coming darkness, a hazy silhouette suddenly appeared in her vision. The silhouette faintly resembled an elf but was slimmer and taller than the current silver elves. It stood there, surrounded by many dim lines extending into the darkness, ultimately connecting to Belsetia behind her. It seemed to be saying something, yet no sound was uttered, but Belsetia seemed to understand, smiling in the darkness, sincerely expressing gratitude: "Thank you for your dedication over all these years."

The figure nodded, waved goodbye.

Unprecedented vibrations and loud noises came from all directions, as the base structure of the Sacred Stars Temple collided firmly at the edge of the polluted and corrupted earth, marking the moment of mountains collapsing and the sky falling.

Like a mountain floating in the air descending upon earth, the entire northern border of the Highmountain Kingdom felt an earthquake-like tremor at that moment, even if the temple had properly decelerated to prevent damage to the intact sentinel towers afar. The chain reaction sparked by this crash would permanently alter the visage of the land. As the collision occurred, the middle and upper structures of the Sacred Stars Temple disintegrated, with massive fragments collapsing and scattering over the plains, hills, and valleys surrounding the impact point. Countless aberration Legions pouring from those areas into the Forest Defense Line could not evade, turning into powder in the blink of an eye. Even those few creatures that narrowly escaped the crash site were torn apart under the shockwave’s destruction.

The whole battlefield seemed to fall silent; the monsters suddenly lost their command signals from the wasteland, and the mortals were left in shock, at a loss for action.

In the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range of the Highmountain Kingdom, within the fragmented forest defense line, the Ranger Corps of humans and silver elves stood dumbfounded, watching the Sky Fortress encased in flame and smoke crash onto the earth. When the dust rose to blot out the sky, and the ground started to tremble mightily, some soldiers barely regained their senses, with a few human soldiers exclaiming in shock. Yet the elves bit their lips, not uttering a word.

Ranger General Romain took two steps toward the horizon direction, the fire and smoke in the distance stung his eyes, and the charging blade in his hand buzzed.

A sliver of silver light appeared among his golden hair, and behind him, the other immensely fatigued silver elves silently stepped forward, with their hair rapidly transitioning from gold to silver.

The human soldiers present watched this scene with bewilderment, then saw the Ranger General abruptly raise his sword high, pointing it toward the aberration Legion spiraling into chaos in the distance. A bloodcurdling war cry burst forth from the normally gentle-mannered elf’s throat, a cry unheard in millennia on this earth, but which had once made every living thing on these wastelands and forest tremble in terror thousands of years ago—

"Slaughter!!"

Countless identical battle cries echoed throughout the forest, igniting the entire front line in raging fury at that moment: "Slaughter!!"

...

Within the defied Court enshrouded by dark chaos, the golden oak tree in the center of the clearing seemed suddenly blown by an invisible gust of wind. Amidst a series of sways and rubs, countless golden leaves cascaded from the tree crowns, stirring a swirling rain of leaves in this vast courtyard. Nearby, a Holy Giant Stag, originally lying under the oak tree resting with closed eyes, suddenly opened its eyes, rising to look toward a direction in the depth of infinite darkness.

The next second, another silhouette shrouded by deep purple mist appeared out of nowhere beside the revered white stag. Her eyes were filled with pale purple lightning, seemingly penetrating this vast space to observe the monumental change unfolding in the world.

Amon’s voice came from next to her: "Milmina, you felt it, didn’t you..."

"Yes, I felt it... Such a tremendous wave, a roar engulfing the entire mortal world, even without the medium of ’believers’, I could see it clearly," Milmina said solemnly, "That great barrier of Magic Power suffered severe damage; though it is repaired now, it isn’t fully mended... Those chaotic things are spreading toward the civilized world..."

Amon said nothing, his gaze fixed intently on a particular direction in the darkness. The glow surrounding him started fluctuating intensely, with powerful energy fields rippling outward layer by layer around him. This visible change finally drew Milmina’s attention, the former Goddess of Magic stared at her "roommate" with wide eyes, "Wait, Old Deer what do you intend to do..."

"I must go... I need to go..." Amon’s voice was deep, continuously striking the rock below him with a forefoot. Even the massive stone, formed by the fusion of unknown substances from the shadow realm and Voyager Alloy Fragments, subtly cracked under his force, "The situation over there is bad, I see... I see a sea of fire flowing in the dark, a blazing light falling, I must go help them..."

"Sit down!" Goddess of Magic glared, then rudely pushed Amon’s head— but failed despite using all her might. She let go, continuing to glare fiercely at him, "Think clearly! Do you know what you’re doing? Do you realize how much you sacrificed to sever the ties with mortal believers? Even if you don’t consider yourself, consider them— what’s to become of them if you help now? Should they commemorate this ’arrival’ and ’miracle’? You’ll be dragged back, and those elves’ future will be utterly ruined!"

Amon shook his head vigorously, never having heard Goddess of Magic speak so loudly. Her shouting, filled with anger and unrestrained energy, buzzed in his mind, but soon he lifted his head and gazed into her eyes, as if light gathered within them, "I must go—not as the God of Nature, but as ’Amon’."

"What nonsense are you saying?" Goddess of Magic glared at him, hands sparking with blinding electricity, "No, your mind is broken, I need to calm you down..."

"I’m very calm, I know what I’m doing, and what consequences it might lead to—but I have my reasons," Amon’s gaze swept over the lightning in Goddess of Magic’s hands, his voice calmer but more determined, "Not all help derived from higher powers is a ’miracle.’ If I’m just a mortal, can I not help them? Moreover, I can avoid appearing before them, I can assist quietly from the side, I can leave quickly..."

He paused briefly, shaking his head, "You know the rules behind gods’ operations, the key isn’t what I do, but what they believe I did or can do— their awe of gods has faded over a millennium, and as long as I’m careful, it won’t be considered a ’miracle,’ maybe...

"Maybe, it’s simply an incredible occurrence, just a powerful beast... charging from the forest... anything can emerge from the thickets, and they can gradually explain it. The key is now, they need..."

"...Why are you explaining this in such detail?" Goddess of Magic suddenly interrupted, the lightning gone from her hands, her voice calm. She quietly looked into Amon’s eyes, speaking with a low tone, "It’s enough if your mind is clear— I’m not your guardian, I’m still just staying at your place."

This time, Amon was surprised: "You... won’t stop me?"

"I can’t stop you, I can only advise—but now I’ve found I can’t even do that," Goddess of Magic lowered her gaze, "Honestly, if I hadn’t starved myself when leaving the divine seat causing my current weakened state, I’d really want to forcefully stop you here..."

She shook her head, seriously looking at the Holy Giant Stag before her: "I just need to confirm one thing—can you really do what you say? When you see them bleeding everywhere, retreating step by step, calling for help in the blaze, can you really ensure you’re just ’mortal Amon’?

"You must remain outside their vision, your actions will be extremely limited, and once you cross the line... endless despair awaits."

Amon and Goddess of Magic looked at each other frankly, after a long time, he nodded lightly, then stepped towards the deep darkness beyond the defied Court.

His figure disappeared into the depths of Chaos.

"...You really know the way out," Goddess of Magic watched Amon’s disappearing direction, staring for a long time before slowly retracting her gaze. She looked at the surrounding Magic-Guide devices flickering with various lights, after a moment of thought she sighed helplessly, "Alright... let me think about how to explain this to them... but they might already be overwhelmed..."

...

The Supreme Administration Office was brightly lit, intelligence from various channels continuously gathered before Aunt Heidi and Gawain. Busy footsteps and tense conversations echoed along corridors, while orderly commands were distributed, driving the Empire’s vast machine into motion, and became the foundation upon which many rebuilt their confidence.

The outskirts of the civilized world were facing an unprecedented challenge, yet the Empire’s supreme control institution still operated orderly—as long as the lights in the Supreme Administration Office and Cecil Palace stayed lit, mortals still controlled the situation—at least in the minds of those confident Cecil Clan, the world should run this way.

After tossing a latest intelligence report back onto the table, Gawain gently rubbed his brow, his expression severe but not overly dark or oppressive.

The astounding changes happening at the front line were quickly relayed back to the imperial capital at the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range, followed closely by intelligence regarding Typhon, the Silver Empire, and other areas, densely sent messages painted a suffocating picture.

The great walls malfunctioned for unknown reasons, sentinel towers ceased functioning, breaches appeared on the barrier surrounding the wasteland, and the aberration Army swarmed through, presenting a clear discipline inclination. The front lines hastily confronted the enemy; Typhon Defense Line strained, Silver Empire and tribal country of Augari severed communications, then Sentinel Tower No. 98 was completely destroyed. The previously dormant Sorin root system slowly extending toward the wasteland had to prematurely reveal itself, transforming into the Green Forest Front...

Gawain anticipated that this major operation against the wasteland would surely encounter some surprises, things wouldn’t develop as smoothly as everyone imagined.

Yet the scale of these "surprises" was indeed colossal.

Luckily, he’s inherently plagued by "firepower insufficiency phobia" and "persecution complex" as a dual severe patient, even under "no pressing need" circumstances, he relentlessly stockpiled "backup plans" towards the wasteland’s direction.

After all... since the day he rose from the coffin, he suspected that wall would end—now looking at it, it’s indeed finished.