Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 522 - 521: Sights and Stories from the Southern Borders

Rocky Ridges Fortress.

This once heavily fortified stronghold under direct royal control has completely transformed.

Originally built to exert control over southern forces, the Rocky Ridges Fortress boasted sturdy southern walls but relatively weak northern defenses. The Gorgon River flowed past a gap on the western side, flanked by continuous and barren mountain ranges of the southern borders. However, after the Cecil Clan occupied this place, the entire fortress underwent a radical transformation.

The southern wall was dismantled, and the Cecil Clan did not restore it, but rather expanded directly southward from the gap, establishing Rocky Ridges Town at the fortress’s foot, and constructing new walls outside of it. In contrast, the northern fortress wall has seen a continuous series of reinforcement and reconstruction projects since summer’s end, and these projects are still ongoing.

As the magnificent carriage passed beneath the gates of the northern wall of the Rocky Ridges Fortress, Victoria Wilder opened the cover on one side of the carriage and gazed at the ongoing transformations of the bulwark, shock filling her heart. Upon the original wall’s foundation, the Cecil Clan had added an additional layer of steel armor over all weak points, with a framework and supporting structures of steel covering the angular exterior walls and towers, resembling the shell of some sinister monstrous creature. On top of the walls, metal reinforcement plates glistened with the light of the large sun, with faint pulses of magical energy flowing between the seams of the armor. This magic congregated at the top of the walls, where one could see neatly arranged magical devices with straight rails, the end of the rails pointing towards the Plains of the Holy Spirits.

It was not a mere wall; it was a beast forged from steel and rock, its veins coursing with massive magic, and the Cecil Clan was sharpening its fangs even more. Anyone who viewed the Rocky Ridges Fortress’s northern wall project from the Plains of the Holy Spirits would realize this, and as a powerful spellcaster and ruler of the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range, Victoria thought of more: Where did the Cecil Clan obtain so much steel? Did they cast all the steel from the entire southern region into the walls of Rocky Ridges Fortress after occupying the southern borders? Where did they acquire such immense magical power? Was there another undiscovered magic focal point beneath Rocky Ridges Fortress? How did they accomplish all this in such a short time?

The convoy reached the foot of the northern wall, accompanied by the sound of loud bells ringing from atop the walls, as the large metal-reinforced gate slowly rose up. Clear mechanical sounds came from near the gate, along with the flow of magic; many facilities within the fortress seemed to be driven by magic.

Victoria Wilder sat calmly in the carriage, her frosty and stoic face masking all emotions.

An armed fortress, after all, is just a fortress, and a fortress cannot move. Building such a stronghold was undoubtedly Gawain Cecil’s way of asserting his military prowess and attitude: the southern borders are powerful enough not to allow anyone to interfere, though he has no intention of venturing into the Plains of the Holy Spirits.

At least for now.

One of Victoria Wilder’s purposes for this trip to the southern borders is to understand the stance of this founding hero toward St. Soniel. If he truly is not content with being a duke in the southern borders, how much longer can he wait?

Anzu’s royal family, embroiled deeply in the civil war, has no capacity to open a new battlefield.

Guests from the royal capital were led to the fortress’s Rocky Ridges Castle — this castle has yet to be fully restored. Scaffolding still covers several areas destroyed by the calibrated beam that day, and seeing those gaping holes and the crystallized traces left by melting rock streaming down the walls, the visitors could imagine the devastation this place had experienced at the time.

Veronica Moen and Victoria Wilder observed these frightening damages beneath the castle, yet ultimately, they said nothing.

The Cecil Clan has effectively occupied and controlled the entire southern borders. In the absence of any ability to change this situation, discussing the relationship between the royal family and Rocky Ridges Fortress means nothing. Both the Guardian Duke of the northern Emerald Forest and the princess who has joined the church understand one fundamental truth:

Only the opportunity to strive for interests is worthwhile; interests that cannot be fought for — mentioning them turns into disgrace.

In the long hall of the castle, a commander clad in white armor with some sort of magic sword at his waist received Victoria and Veronica — he is the new commander of rocky ridges Fortress, Wald Peric.

This old knight from the Kant Region never thought he would have such an extraordinary experience in his lifetime: becoming the commander of the fortress guarding the duchy’s borders at an age not considered young, and representing the Guardian Duke in receiving another duke and the princess of the country. This would probably become a tale to boast to his descendants for the rest of his life. But at this moment, he must do his duty well, ensuring that courtesy is upheld and the Cecil Duke is not shamed.

"Welcome to rocky ridges Fortress, and welcome to the land of the southern borders, Commander of rocky ridges, Wald Peric, pays respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess and Your Grace the Duke," Wald Peric, in full military dress, said to his guests with impeccable manners and attitude. "Please rest here for a moment — the reception banquet has been set, and I hope the castle’s heating will dispel the chill accumulated during your journey."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Peric," Veronica said with a smile. The Saint Princess was not aware of the commander’s specific title, but according to Anzu’s traditional laws, commanders of such critical fortresses would automatically receive a non-heritable "knight" title upon assuming office. This title is independent of common titles and grants equal dialogue rights with most nobles, honoring Anzu’s respect for martial nobles and ensuring that if a soldier of lower status but exceptional ability takes charge of the fortress, they can immediately command the noble officers within with sufficient prestige and legitimacy.

Beside Veronica, Victoria Wilder recalled the incredible magical devices she saw after entering the fortress and the impressive north wall. Her tone carried a hint of admiration: "Duke Cecil has created a miracle here."

"Believe me, you will be even more amazed when you see Cecil Castle," Wald Peric said with a smile as he led the two guests towards the castle’s inner court. "The Duke is already aware of your arrival, and a designated convoy will come to escort you tomorrow."

Victoria paid little mind to the "escort convoy" the old knight mentioned, considering it just a routine part of etiquette. When important guests visit a territory, local rulers naturally send a team to welcome them.

This indifferent thought persisted until the next day, until she saw those iron-forged magic machines pass through the avenue and align in rows on the castle’s open grounds.

Even as she maintained her expression as best as she could, Victoria couldn’t help but show surprise at these vehicles that didn’t quite resemble traditional ones: "Are these... your vehicles?!"

"This is the Mana-475 Series Magi-Guided Car, model ’Pioneer Generation’, a creation of magic guide technology," Wald Peric introduced with pride to the duchess — although it was also his first time seeing the magi-guided car prototype, he was well-prepared and accustomed to witnessing new technological products from his native land, hence his calm and composed demeanor. He recited the introduction he memorized only the night before, trying not to let his smile falter — after all, standing before him were the kingdom’s Guardian Duke and the renowned Saint Princess, and he didn’t want his smile to give any impression of offense, "This is something new, and I believe its riding experience will make you forget about carriages."

"Magic guide technology..." Victoria softly repeated the term, associating it with various intelligence she had gathered in the past year regarding the southern borders.

The rapid rise of the Cecil family in the southern borders seems related to this rumored "magic guide technology."

It is said that this technology was brought back by Gawain Cecil after his revival, and it is a variant of long-lost magic technology from the ancient Gondor Empire.

Yet as a Mage, well-versed in magical texts, Victoria Wilder had never found even a single mention of "magic guide technology" in any ancient texts on the Gondor Empire... Instead, in scattered materials about the Magic Web from the south, she saw traces of modern magic arrays being optimized to the extreme...

Her gaze fell on the magi-guided cars, which boasted bold lines and a unique design — these "creations of magic guide technology" were completely out of sync with the elegant and refined styles favored by northern aristocrats in recent years, yet their rugged lines and the intricate mechanical steel essence somehow exuded an indescribable aesthetic: "I’ve heard of magic guide technology... so they can be crafted into such incredible magic devices?"

"That is precisely its charm. Of course, the cost to create such magical devices is not insignificant either," Wald Peric remarked. He was truthful: the factory line for magi-guided cars was still under construction, and the few vehicles here were crafted by Master Artificer Nicholas Egg himself (although the master has no hands). The master’s craftsmanship ensured the vehicles’ reliability but also meant their cost was far beyond that of mass-produced items.

"Costly, is it..." Victoria’s eyes showed no change as she softly echoed those words, then nodded, "Since it’s Duke Cecil’s kind offer, I’m very pleased to accept it, and I’m quite interested in this incredible ’magic guide technology’.

"Please get in the car, and also—allow the personnel we arranged to accompany you," Wald Peric said, and as he finished speaking, a valiant young female knight walked over from the side, "Margarita is a knight deeply trusted by the Duke, she will explain the story of the Magic-guided Vehicle to you and serve as your guide on this journey to ensure you don’t get bored."

Victoria initially wanted to refuse when she heard the word "accompanying personnel"—she was not accustomed to having anyone ride in the same car with her, usually traveling only with the black-haired maid Maji, but after hearing Wald Peric’s latter words, and seeing the female knight named Margarita, she still nodded.

Perhaps she could inquire some useful information from this young female knight, and this Miss Margarita seemed to be a clean and efficient person, she didn’t mind allowing such a person to get closer to her.

"Margarita Crite, paying respects to the guardian of the kingdom’s northern parts."

Knight Margarita saluted, and her slight nervousness and good etiquette made Victoria very satisfied: this was exactly the performance a qualified young knight should have, showing that even in this remote southern border, there are excellent talents.

Later, Knight Wald arranged another female knight as accompanying personnel for Veronica—the always approachable princess accepted this arrangement and thanked Wald for his goodwill.

Victoria Wilder boarded the Magic-guided Vehicle, she saw a young man in uniform sitting in the front row—she had seen someone in the car earlier, but it was only at this moment she noticed the various control devices around that young man.

Is this the Mage controlling the magic device?

The "driver" is not sitting outside the cabin but is sitting inside the cabin with the passengers, which in the eyes of certain strict and rigid people might be very inappropriate, however, Victoria did not mind these things—instead of this bit of "etiquette" issue, she was more concerned about how this Magic-guided Vehicle was made.

She and Margarita sat in the rear row, while the black-haired maid Maji sat in the front row, next to the driver.

Part of the entourage in the team boarded other Magic-guided Vehicles; they would depart together with Victoria and Veronica to Cecil Castle, while the remaining accompanying personnel would continue to ride the carriages coming all the way from the royal capital across the plains, slowly making their way—this arrangement was suggested by Wald considering the speed gap between the Magic-guided Vehicles and the carriages.

The whistle sounded, the convoy departed.

Riding this incredible magic device for the first time brought Victoria a novel experience, she hadn’t felt this mixture of curiosity and confusion in many years, she felt the complex-structured magic vehicle gradually accelerating—a mechanical operation vibration from beneath the car, but the overall journey was much smoother than a carriage, while the "Mage" controlling the vehicle used a disk, some control levers, and pedals to command this magic creation’s operation...he did not use magic.

The duchess from the northern border watched all this with curiosity, but she didn’t want to appear too frivolous, so she began to find ways to divert her attention—soon, she noticed the sword placed at her side by the female knight.

It was a sword with magical symbols, clearly a piece of Beyonder gear, and on the fortress commander’s person, there seemed to be an almost identical Rune Sword.

Beyonder gears are powerful equipment crafted by Mages and Runemasters at great expense and effort, only those with certain status and wealth can have such tailored equipment, thus it’s rare to see two identical Beyonder gears, yet in Cecil...many magical items based on magic power appear to be identical.

From small swords to large "Magic-guided Vehicles," and those magical devices evidently weapons on the city wall, identical Beyonder items are almost ubiquitously seen.

Victoria understood what this implied, it meant that at least to some extent, the Cecil people had the capability to mass-produce these magical things.

Magical items are precious and cannot be mass-produced—this notion lies deeply in the heart of most Anzu people, and due to technical limitations, it is indeed the current reality, but it doesn’t mean the rulers of the kingdom are unaware of the significance of mass-producing Beyonder items.

"Miss Margarita, this sword is very beautiful."

Complimenting a knight’s sword is a very common and appropriate opening, especially suitable when a superior is willing to initiate a conversation, this kind of praise carried implications of superior evaluation, while providing the lower status party adequate respect, Victoria was adept at the etiquette within these words.

The young female knight indeed showed a modest smile, she touched the hilt of the Rune Sword with the back of her hand, her tone carrying a hint of pride: "This is the sword bestowed by the Duke—it’s my pride."

"It seems to be a piece of Beyonder gear?"

"Yes, it’s a Rune Sword," Margarita smiled, "but I can’t demonstrate it here—once activated, the blade of this sword can easily slice through the vehicle’s shell, it’s too dangerous."

Victoria couldn’t help but show a look of admiration—even if that admiration had somewhat a formal aspect, Margarita naturally began to explain: "...of course, this sword is not only very powerful, but the blade’s balance has also been adjusted by the best swordsmiths, making single-handed wielding very comfortable and flexible, while temporarily wielding with both hands for slashes provides substantial power. Its handle is specially designed, with a single dose of therapeutic potion inside the twist-off end, in other words, as long as the sword remains by your side, even if other supplies are lost, warriors still have at least one life-saving chance..."

Victoria listened intently to Margarita’s introduction, she indeed gathered some useful information...but somehow, she felt the young female knight’s familiar phrasing and words seemed to be deliberately memorized when introducing the sword...

And after Margarita finished her introduction of the sword, she succeeded in attracting the northern duchess’s interest in the white commander magic armor she wore.

The magical energy between the gaps of the armor and the magical symbols in detail had long made Victoria realize it was also a piece of Beyonder gear.

"This armor is also bestowed by the Duke—it protected me through the most perilous battlefield (watching artillery bombard the city wall outside the rocky ridges Fortress), and left me unscathed before five times the number of enemies (while receiving captives), I charged into the gate of rocky ridges Fortress wearing it (actually walked in, because when the Second Legion entered the city, not to mention the gate, the city wall was blown away), it’s a trustworthy armor—and please look, it also has unique patterns..."

Victoria subconsciously nodded: "...indeed...very beautiful..."

The young female knight before her unexpectedly became talkative.

Looks like this journey will truly not be boring.