Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 592 - 591: Opportunity

The ruler of the Silver Empire sat quietly on the throne forged from long-lost ancient technology. The holographic projection before the throne had dissipated, and her gaze traversed the air, landing aimlessly in the distance, seemingly immersed in contemplation.

After a brief moment of thought, she gently tapped the golden armrest of the throne, and a fleeting stream of light emerged from one of the cables connected to her nervous system behind the throne.

The metal sliding door on one side of the Hall of Domination opened silently, and a high-ranking maid dressed in a white fringed dress walked in with light steps, bowing toward the Sovereignty Chair: "Your Majesty, you summoned me?"

"Please have Master Vilanya come to the Hall of Domination," Queen Belsetia nodded softly, "I want to discuss matters in the technological realm with her."

The Sacred Stars Temple is not only an airborne fortress symbolizing the power of the Empire but also an important research facility and a sanctuary of knowledge. This magnificent floating city houses extensive laboratories and several archives, and one of the two major magical organizations on the continent, the "Association of Astrologers," has its headquarters here.

The Silver Empire boasts a group of top-tier researchers whose team consists of the finest Master Mages, the wisest and most learned scholars, and the most outstanding engineering masters. They immerse themselves in the infinite knowledge contained within the Sacred Stars Temple and various ancestral relics, tirelessly exploring the mysteries of the magic domain using the vast research facilities within the Sacred Stars Temple.

Due to their outstanding contributions and high academic prowess, they have honorary titles independent of their professional systems—Astrologers.

One of the most distinguished astrologers, Great Astrologer Vilaniya, who has served the empire for nearly two thousand years, received the queen’s summons, breaking away temporarily from the vast sea of data and blueprints, to stand before the Sovereign Throne.

This wise and knowledgeable lady possesses a tall stature. Although no longer young, she maintains a beautiful mature appearance and elegant demeanor, wearing a light purple robe with silver trim. Her golden hair is elegantly lifted, with several magic-filled crystals floating beside her, serving as her casting mediums and recording tools. She bowed slightly before Queen Belsetia, paying respects and inquiring about the queen’s instructions: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Vilanya, you are my finest magic consultant," the Silver Queen nodded softly, "I need to make a decision now and require your opinion."

"Please speak, I am listening."

"We have re-established contact with the northern continent, which you should already know," the Silver Queen said, "I just spoke with Sonia’s Messenger and met Gawain Cecil—he is indeed resurrected."

"... Resurrection of the deceased is occasionally seen in history, but a ’perfect’ resurrection like Duke Cecil’s is indeed rare, perhaps related to a mutation in life forms," Vilanya pondered aloud, "Do you wish for me to study the secret of Duke Cecil’s resurrection? But that is not my area of expertise; researchers in the life school might offer you better advice..."

"No, I sought you out because Duke Cecil proposed a suggestion to me—regarding technological cooperation between humans and elves."

"Technological cooperation?" Vilanya was slightly surprised, frowning lightly, "This... is an unexpected proposal. Human and elven magical skills have always been incompatible. Even during the Gondor Empire era, academic exchanges with humans were mostly limited to cultural and artistic fields, occasionally involving extraordinary powers, but only in theoretical academic discussions. However, I assume Duke Cecil’s ’cooperation’ likely doesn’t refer to these."

For exchanges only in the aforementioned fields, the queen wouldn’t need to consult with her.

"They have found a way to decipher and control elven spells," Belsetia said calmly, though the content of this calm statement made the Great Astrologer’s eyes widen, "Strictly speaking, they have discovered the mysteries of all known runes in the world, which they have named: Rune Logic."

Vilanya’s first reaction was "This is impossible," because rune varieties are numerous, and the combinatory possibilities of runes are nearly infinite. Even the most gifted thaurologists cannot sense all rune magic fluctuations, let alone control all magic circles, not to mention organizing vastly disparate rune systems from different races into a common law. This seemed like an improbable tale. However, as a rigorous researcher with respect for the unknown, the Great Astrologer eventually suppressed her instinctual resistance and disbelief, instead turning to the Silver Queen for confirmation: "Is this true? How did they manage it?"

"Of course, Duke Cecil would not detail the specifics, but they seem to have indeed found a path, a path... diametrically opposed to tradition. We have confirmed intelligence that during the war south of Anzu, magic devices exhibiting elven spell characteristics appeared, which should be evidence," Belsetia said leisurely, "And Duke Cecil hopes to leverage this for technological collaboration with the Silver Empire—he desires our anti-gravity technology, layered rune stacking techniques, and various ancestral knowledge in fields like mechanics and engineering, and in exchange, he is willing to share with us Rune Logic, along with the knowledge they have gained in deciphering human spells and Divine Arts."

"Our ancestral knowledge..." Vilanya repeated the words mentioned by the queen softly, her expression becoming solemn.

"We have never revealed ancestral knowledge to other races, even when building the sentinel towers with human nations, what we provided were ’packaged results’ without disclosing their construction processes," Belsetia continued, "The heritage left by the primordial elves has been the foundation of the Silver Empire’s strength to this day. Duke Cecil’s proposal... makes me hesitant."

The Great Astrologer did not immediately provide her answer, she merely pondered quietly, and the floating magic crystals beside her, which were constantly shifting positions, had quietly stabilized, beginning to pulse with synchronized light.

This was a sign of the Great Astrologer deep in thought.

The Silver Queen did not disturb her chief adviser’s contemplation, merely sitting calmly on the Sovereignty Chair, listening with her soul and nerves to the low roars or murmurs of ancient machinery in the sky city, to the sounds each engine, each reactor, each artificial intelligence node made as they slowly approached destruction, her expression tranquil and undisturbed.

"Your Majesty," the Great Astrologer finally raised her head, breaking the silence, "Did you know that thirteen hundred years ago, I was a lecturer at the Royal Institute, where I taught young elite the advanced techniques of arcane magic and the most cutting-edge knowledge in the Empire’s arcane field?"

"I have heard," Belsetia nodded slightly, "Many members of the Association of Astrologers were your apprentices."

"Indeed, most of them were taught by me thirteen centuries ago," Vilanya said, lightly inhaling, "And six days ago, I returned to the Royal Institute to visit a friend—on that friend’s bookshelf, I saw their current textbooks... still relying on the content I taught thirteen centuries ago."

Belsetia’s eyes focused, looking silently at the Great Astrologer before her.

"Your Majesty, the Silver Empire has been a giant beast stagnating for thousands of years. It may still be the largest presence in this forest, but its interior has gradually decayed throughout these millennia of stagnation. We have been excavating knowledge from the heritage left by our ancestors. In the first few millennia, we built a vast empire with that knowledge, but for many millennia thereafter, we made no progress. All our technological achievements are mere minor improvements in a few established fields. The products we created from those ancient blueprints became increasingly exquisite and durable, even slightly more efficient, but... our fundamental domains behind those blueprints remain at a standstill.

"Your Majesty, we are nearly at a dead end. We need a second path—a path whose discovery seems obscure when sought alone, but perhaps there is an opportunity before us.

"Human Magic skills may have been heavily hit by the fall of the Gondor Empire, but they are a wise and adaptable race, adept at acquiring knowledge from various fields and developing rapidly. Their knowledge holds reference significance for us—what we need is precisely this kind of ’reference significance.’

"That is my proposal, Your Majesty the Queen."

Beltira silently listened to the Great Astrologer’s proposal. After several seconds of silence, she spoke, "You are quite right; we should seize this opportunity.

"Great Astrologer, please go and rest. Let the other Great Astrologers prepare to await my call."

Vilanya bowed her head deeply, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Vilanya left the hall, while the Silver Queen remained silent for a moment. Then she tapped the armrest again, summoning her maid, "Have Lord Valendian come to see me."

Moments later, wearing a Mithril crown and a red robe with golden edges, the tall, slim, and serious Empire’s Prime Minister, Valendian Gold Valley, entered the Hall of Domination. This high-ranking elf, who served as the Queen’s chief confidant, bowed deeply before the throne, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"The northern Cecil Principality is to engage in high-level technical collaboration with the Silver Empire. In exchange for their mastery of magic symbol techniques, the Empire will share some ancestral knowledge with them," Beltira said calmly, "I wish to convene the Senators and all the Great Astrologers to discuss this matter. There will be many opponents; needless pride and arrogance will make many elves refuse to share ancestral knowledge with humans."

Empire Prime Minister Valendian maintained his eternally stoic expression, "Then what are your orders?"

"I require the proposal to pass within two days."

"Understood."

Soon, the hall fell silent once more.

In the empty hall, having dismissed her attendants in advance, Beltira sat alone on the throne. Only the occasional hum of various instruments breaking the room’s silence, which lasted for over ten seconds before a sigh sounded from the throne.

"I hope this truly is an opportunity."

...

At the same time, in the north of the continent, within Anzu territory.

In an ancient palace deep underground, a room was brightly lit.

Preceptor Beltira stood in the room, quietly watching a few disciples in black short robes inspecting the magical devices in the room’s center.

They were two black stone pillars, almost human height, their surfaces inscribed with densely packed magic symbols and faint golden arcane lines, with tiny crystals and costly magic materials embedded between those symbols and lines, emitting a faint glow. The two stone pillars stood on the ground, less than two meters apart. On their foundation, a large magic circle, intricate to the point of nearly covering the entire floor, was evident. The magic circle was clearly in a semi-activated state, with countless symbols and lines flickering with faint light, while the crystals embedded in various parts of the magic circle were brimming with energy.

The Elven Twins stood next to Beltira, watching the two "stone pillars" in the room’s center with interest, exclaiming in unison, "The Eternal Sleepers certainly have some fascinating ideas—they even thought of projecting one’s mind far away, even directly crossing the great walls..."

"Unfortunately, this might be the last collaboration with them," Beltira said lightly, "They ultimately rejected the path of great evolution, choosing that illusory spiritual world instead."

"They believe their path is correct, and we believe ours is correct," the Elven Twins said with a light laugh, circling Beltira as they spoke, "And what about you, Preceptor Beltira? Do you have your own unique insights into the new world?"

"I don’t like your way of speaking around others," Beltira unceremoniously stepped away from the Elven Twins’ entanglement and walked toward the room’s center—the disciples inspecting the magic circle had already withdrawn, and the surfaces of the two black stone pillars were glowing with a sustained light, "If you’re not willing to help, at least don’t choose to create chaos."

"Ah, we’re certainly here to help," the Elven Twins said in unison, following Beltira to the stone pillars, "We have much to say to our companions on the other side of the barrier too."

The magic circle in the room activated, and the glow on the surfaces of the two black stone pillars suddenly became exceptionally bright.