Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1051: Chapter 1050: Further Unlocking

Melita had to admit, this was the most embarrassing and undignified landing she had experienced since hatching—despite the fact that her crash landing rate was indeed relatively high among her kin due to occasional carelessness or visual component failures, appearing in front of Speaker Andar in such a tumbling, sprawling manner was a first.

Undoubtedly, it was all due to the implant malfunctions, the disappearance of the Omega System leading to the shutdown of various auxiliary implants, and the discomfort following the loss of the Vision Enhancement System...

However, no matter what, the embarrassment and pain from a failed landing vanished in the next instant—when she saw the familiar, elderly dragon with its entire body marked by implant modifications, Melita’s mind was instantly filled with surprise and astonishment.

Speaker Andar was still alive, and even High Priest Heragor was alive.

There were three dragons beside the massive crater, two of whom Melita was very familiar with and had long thought to be dead in the final battle. The only one she didn’t know was Balogar—the true identity of the Grand Duke of Dragonblood was a secret to 99% of all dragons in Talronde, and this was no exception even for Melita, a member of the Five Kings Council.

...

It took a long time for Heragor, Andar, and Balogar to gather the general situation of Talronde from Melita and Duke More, understanding the changes that occurred on the planet after they left it.

"I really didn’t expect... to see you all return alive," Duke More looked at the three old friends in front of him with complex and inexplicable eyes—he was one of the few remaining Ancient Titans in Talronde and stayed on the planet to face the disaster invoked by the gods during the final adulthood ceremony. As one of the Ancient Defiers, he had no regrets about such an arrangement, yet what fate had brought to this point still filled him with emotion, "This is a miracle of miracles."

"Neither did we expect to return, nor did we expect to see you ’alive’, Duke More," Heragor also expressed his feelings, "So... all the surviving kin have regained self-awareness? And Omega left Talronde after releasing the minds of all dragons?"

"Currently, it seems so," Duke More lowered his large head, the red light in his mechanical eye dimmed, "Although there are few surviving kin, everyone has awakened. As for the Omega System... now we can’t determine the situation of those computational nodes deeply buried underground, but we have excavated some city service lines and factory information processing stations distributed on the surface, a small part of which can still operate. When connecting to the main network through those lines, we discovered Omega’s ’disappearance.’ Judging from the few signals we received, it seems some of the computational nodes deep underground are still ’alive,’ but the Omega System that should have been running there has disappeared."

Duke More’s description reminded Melita of "the body remains, but the soul has left," and she then found her analogy somewhat odd: Omega System was a super AI; did it really... have a soul?

While Melita was lost in her wild thoughts, Balogar, on the side, thought of their bizarre encounter in space. The ancient Mechanic looked towards Duke More: "Do you know how we returned?"

Duke More immediately said: "I was just about to ask..."

"We were saved by a strange... entity," Balogar said in a deep voice, "It passed over our spaceship, appearing as if a bizarre dragon made of steel. Although its figure flashed by, and its form looked very peculiar, I could distinguish many of the features on it came from Talronde, from our kin..."

On the side, Andar, who had been resting for a while, picked up the topic in a low tone: "He came from this planet, eventually disappearing into the vast universe."

"You mean..." Duke More’s eyes widened immediately, realizing the deeper implication in his friends’ words. However, the potential it revealed left him stunned, "You encountered... Omega?! But this is impossible... why would... this doesn’t fit Omega’s behavioral logic..."

"Indeed, it doesn’t fit his behavioral logic," Heragor said softly, "According to the initial directives we set, he should eliminate all dragon kin’s minds as soon as the final battle ends, to prevent the reconstruction of mental Steel Stamp, according to the directives, he should perform a second purge, to prevent the resurgence of thoughts, according to the directives, after completing this final task, he should not take any new actions, but quietly wait for the system to decompose... But he didn’t do that, he did things outside of the program, and even... chose to leave this planet."

"It sounds... as if he developed a ’heart’," Duke More muttered to himself, suddenly shivering, "I feel a chill down my spine."

"A chill down your spine? I don’t have that feeling," Heragor shook his head, "I have other thoughts now."

Duke More looked over with curious eyes: "Other thoughts?"

"Omega’s ’variable’ couldn’t have emerged out of thin air; someone must have influenced him, and this influence occurred at the deepest level of the logic library," Heragor said calmly, "The programs we set for Omega were based on our understanding of gods, and to avoid hidden risks to the greatest extent possible, we pushed all conditions to the extreme—but that doesn’t mean we had to reach this ’extreme’; we went to such extremes simply because we feared failure.

"In the final stage, Omega didn’t reach this ’extreme’ after all, he didn’t eliminate all dragon kin’s minds and even saved the three of us, and his actions... did not lead to failure.

"We still won, even though we were prepared to gamble everything, in the end we didn’t actually sacrifice everything, as if an invisible hand tweaked our overly crude and simple plan along a very, very narrow boundary between life and death, snatching a thread of life from the predetermined conclusion for us."

Heragor spoke slowly; he was the oldest leader and rebel among the Dragonkin, and the priest closest to and most knowledgeable about the gods in Talronde. Listening to his analysis, Andar and others fell silent one after another, each showing thoughtful expressions, leaving only Melita still appearing somewhat puzzled—she felt she seemed to understand something, yet couldn’t fully comprehend what had transpired.

Heragor paused, and in the twilight glow, it seemed a long time before he broke the silence: "That hand... understands the gods better than us, the Defiers who have pondered for one million, eight hundred and seventy thousand years."

Andar remained silent for a long time before quietly speaking with a hoarse voice: "Indeed, there is no existence in the world that understands the gods better than Him."

Melita blinked, the huge and crystal-clear eyes full of evident confusion, looking at the leaders and hesitating for a long time before cautiously asking: "What are you all talking about?"

"Nothing, you will understand later, we need to focus on something else now," Andar looked at Melita, gently shaking his head; the elderly dragon slowly propped up his huge body, gazing towards the direction of the former Agondale, "You established a temporary refuge near Agondale, didn’t you?"

"Yes," Melita quickly nodded, "Elder Duke More has gathered the initial survivors, but now the specific affairs of the camp are managed by Calador."

"Ah, Calador, he’s still alive... I remember him, he’s remarkable," Andar said, slowly spreading his immense dragon wings, "But in the current situation, even the most outstanding dragons need more helpers. We must quickly head to that temporary refuge; with more assistance, perhaps we can save more of our kin."

"Can you still fly normally?" Duke More glanced at Andar, "Many implants stopped functioning after the Omega System went offline. Even I only regained the ability to move freely after undergoing surgery to remove many faulty implants—your implants aren’t any less than mine, and you just survived a crash landing."

"It was a forced landing, my old friend, that was a forced landing," Balogar immediately said from the side, "Also, do not overlook the basic skills of a veteran mechanic—I have already adjusted the implants on Andar’s body. The malfunctioning and suspended devices have been removed or shielded. I can guarantee he can now fly around Talronde."

Andar couldn’t help but glance at Balogar, then suddenly revealed a carefree smile, "If he says I can, then I can."

"Alright then, I trust the greatest mechanic Talronde has ever seen—though this mechanic hasn’t touched Talronde’s modern machinery in many years," Duke More shook his massive head, looking up at the direction of the temporary refuge, "Besides, I don’t need you to fly around Talronde... Our camp is just on the other side of that cliff."

...

"This is all the information we have gathered so far," Duchess Victoria Wilder maintained her usual cold expression in the holographic projection cast by the Magic Web Terminal, reporting to Gawain about the latest results observed within the northern border over the past twenty-four hours, "Based on several sea and aerial reconnaissance missions conducted as close as possible, we can confirm that the Eternal Storm has completely disappeared. There is still a strong circular sea current in the original sea area, along with several unstable air cyclones in the vicinity, which are also causing widespread rainfall and tidal waves. These are likely natural phenomena triggered by the remaining magic power after the storm’s dissipation.

"Currently, the above phenomena are also fading rapidly. It is estimated that at most, all traces left by the Eternal Storm will disappear within half a month—of course, there will still be many long-term meteorological impacts after this storm’s disappearance. The ocean currents and marine climate will undergo changes, and these ’traces’ may last a long time, possibly even permanently."

Gawain sat behind his desk, listening to Victoria’s report, but he couldn’t help recalling that trip to Talronde, remembering everything that occurred when he crossed the storm on Melita’s back.

He recalled the ancient battlefield hidden in the space-time rift at the base of the storm, those motionless dragons, gods, and the ancient "relic" at the center of the great vortex.

Others might not know, but he understood well that the Eternal Storm was maintained by that bizarre, static space-time... Those ancient forces entrenched in that sea area led to the never-dissipating walls of clouds and vortices.

And now, that sustaining force has obviously vanished.

"Your Majesty, should we conduct further reconnaissance?" Victoria’s voice pulled Gawain out of his thoughts, her face serious—as it usually was, "The sea demons and naga from Northport stated they could attempt to approach that sea area from underwater, perhaps they could discover something."

"They’re willing to help?" Gawain was a bit surprised, but immediately displayed a delighted expression, "That would be excellent, we do indeed need further reconnaissance."

—The sea area after the storm’s dissipation remains dangerous, and Cecil’s current ships and aircraft still find it difficult to safely operate in the open sea. But the sea demons and naga, who originally live in the deep sea, should be able to ignore the ’natural threat’ following the storm’s dispersal. If they are willing to offer assistance, it would undoubtedly be most welcome.

"I understand," Victoria nodded, "I will arrange it then."

Gawain responded with a nod, then lifted his head again, "Is there anything else?"

"I have nothing else," Victoria said, "But Duke Baldwin Franklin might have some matters."

Gawain nodded and, after ending the communication with Victoria, connected with Sherlin City in the West, where the refined Duke Baldwin Franklin immediately appeared in the holographic projection.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty."

"Good afternoon, Grand Governor," Gawain nodded to Baldwin in the projection, "What is the situation on your end?"

"Information from the tribal country of Augari; our mage technicians sent there to assist the locals in establishing a Magic Net Main Hub have reported some concerning issues," Baldwin Franklin said with a serious expression.

"Concerning issues?"

"Yes, Your Majesty—according to the technical personnel’s reports, the project to establish a Magic Net Main Hub in the Ancestral Peak area has officially started. However, ever since the first test Magic Obelisk was turned on, the devices set on the mountaintop have frequently received interference signals of unknown origin. After initial comparison... these interference signals show a certain degree of similarity with those we received in the Sorin Region and Bitter Winter Castle."

Gawain widened his eyes in surprise and disbelief, instinctively leaning forward: "Signal interference was also received at Ancestral Peak?! And it was received by the test equipment?"

"Yes, low-power test machines," Baldwin Franklin nodded, "The strength of the signals they received is very high, but they’re also mixed with a lot of ’noise’, which significantly differs from situations we’ve encountered so far. The stationed mage technicians at Ancestral Peak have already transmitted the signal samples back, but the ’impurities’ within those samples are too severe. The technical personnel in Sherlin City can’t process them. I’ve already sent them to the neural network, hoping that the Imperial Computing Center can filter out those annoying jamming waves."