Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 244 - 243: The Returnee

Gawain brought Tiel over just for this.

Although the actual "identification operation" with this seafood didn’t go exactly as he initially imagined, the result was still quite satisfying.

"This is a type of creature similar to the big squid, although their forms are quite different," the sea demon Sister retained a basic sense of reason in the face of food, somewhat remembering the task Gawain had given her, so after completing the "identification," she quickly returned, drooling while reporting, "They have the same high-energy reactions, with the main body still retaining activity in its tissues after death... slurp, and they have a natural attraction to sea demons as elemental creatures... slurp, and they’re particularly chewy... slurp..."

Gawain found it hard to watch: "Maybe you should slurp a bit first?"

"No need, no need," Tiel wiped her mouth vigorously, "I’m very restrained."

After saying this, the salty fish essence raised her head, trying hard to divert her attention from the "snack" to elsewhere.

She stared blankly at the severely warped and deformed metal remnants floating around the corpse of "Amoen, the Giant Stag." As an individual from a high civilization society, she naturally had an unusual understanding of these intriguing remnants.

"This appears to be a mutual destruction-style assault," the sea demon guessed, "I found a big tear near the spine of the big white stag. There are metal debris fragments inside those wounds too, and it seems they collided harshly..."

"Suicide attack..." Gawain frowned at the metal and crystals floating around the divine corpses, pondering the benefits these things might bring to his territory.

This is technology far beyond the imagination of current humanity; this is indisputable. However, when the technological gap reaches a certain level, relics from a high civilization can lose their research and reference value for a low civilization—strong as the Gondor Empire of the past, even with many elites gathered, they only roughly mimicked the energy reaction on these remnants to create a protective barrier that could resist the "will of the gods." They never really understood any of the technical details inside these remnants, so what can the Cecil Clan learn from them now?

They probably couldn’t even cut through these metals—much like the fragments of the Eternal Stone Slate, contemporary races believe that Eternal Stone Slate was a creation of the gods, unable to be divided by mortals except through self-disassembly.

Sitting on a treasure mountain yet leaving empty-handed, perhaps that’s Gawain’s current mood.

"If only I were a deep-sea technician," Tiel shook her tail tip, also a bit regretful, "perhaps we could learn something from these remnants... We’ve observed every season’s civilization on the continent but never seen anything like this. These remnants are truly... unbelievable."

Tiel seems carefree and lacking craftiness, but she’s actually cautious and meticulous at heart. She knows she’s within an unfamiliar civilization entity, and as a special individual in this environment, she has excellently controlled her conduct and curiosity. Even when arriving at this ancient fortress, witnessing the so-called divine corpses and suspected god-slaying weapon, she hasn’t gone too far with her actions. Still, at this moment, she’s unable to hide her interest in these remnants.

"The deep-sea technicians you mentioned could analyze these remnants?" Gawain listens to Tiel’s words, immediately turning his head to ask, "Does your technology allow analysis of these things?"

"I was just saying," Tiel thought carefully, regrettably shaking her hand, "Our technology is stuck in a very subtle... bottleneck situation, so deep-sea technicians probably can’t analyze these things entirely different from our technology route."

"Really... That’s indeed regrettable."

Tiel was silent for a moment, then quietly asked, "By the way... is this the ’gods’ you mentioned?"

"Yes, you should have heard just now—this is the God of Nature."

Having stayed in human society for quite a while, Tiel is no longer as confused about humanity’s religious systems and worldview perceptions as she was initially. She roughly understands what humans mean by their worship of the gods now. After witnessing Gawain’s collection of divine flesh, she’s finally aware of what the "big squid" she and her sisters frequently excavate in the deep sea was. Nonetheless, for sea demons who don’t believe in gods, the supernatural idols humans worship hardly evoke any resonance from Tiel. Upon hearing Gawain’s affirmative response, she wanted to express surprise but ultimately could only sigh, "Oh, they’re quite chewy."

"I wonder how many believers would be scared to death by your comment," Gawain helplessly smiled, "But speaking of it... there shouldn’t be many who still worship the God of Nature now."

Since the White Starfall, the demise of the God of Nature has become a tacit reality that people don’t verbalize but know in their hearts. Three thousand years have thoroughly dismantled the original Druids’ belief system. With the sole "ritual" the Druids’ Holy Spirit School also declining to the Oblivion Association, the world no longer has any public followers of the God of Nature.

Yet Gawain can still be certain that if the secrets within this Otherworld are made public, it would still cause a massive sensation across the world.

Then, the Cecil territory would be at the forefront.

So he absolutely could not let this information leak out, at least not while the territory had not fully developed; he could not let this information slip out casually.

However, Gawain still hoped to excavate something from this "treasure mountain" and take it out, so he turned to look at Kamel: "Kamel, the tools you used back then to cut samples from the divine corpse and its surrounding wreckage, can they still be used?"

Kamel’s voice came from the armor plates: "They definitely can’t be used anymore, and even if they could, I strongly advise against touching anything here."

Gawain frowned: "Why?"

"Amoen, the Giant Stag, is not as ’calm’ as it seems," Kamel warned seriously, "The God is dead, but the flesh does not perish. It has a life pattern incomprehensible to humans. The corpse before you has never stopped regenerating for the past three thousand years; some unknown force is constantly repairing it. However, the steel wreckage intertwined with the divine corpse suppresses this regeneration process. The two form a delicate balance, which has been maintained until today. Every time we collected samples from this place—whether from the divine corpse or from the wreckage—we paid a huge price, accompanied by immense danger. And now... we probably can’t afford this risk anymore."

"Regeneration..."

Gawain muttered to himself, unable to resist looking at Tiel, who was smacking her lips beside him.

Gods seem impossible to kill. Although a long time ago, a strong Zenith Fleet supposedly eliminated the gods, after they left, these dead gods gradually returned to their divine seats (regardless of whether they returned, someone is answering the phone on the divine seats now). The God of Storms in the deep sea and the God of Nature in the shadow realm have not returned only due to accidents—a storm rendering the former unable to care for itself and an interstellar accident hitting the latter into a vegetative state...

But it seems that as long as these external suppression factors are removed, they might come back to life?

Gawain did not know whether the benevolent, great, and selfless gods, as described by devout believers, were truly that noble. But judging from the crash site before him, Amoen, the Giant Stag, would likely not be very pleased if it awakened...

He decided to follow his inner guidance (and Kamel’s warning) not to rashly touch Amoen or the wreckage around it while the technical skill and production capacity were lacking and let this God of Nature continue to sleep quietly in the shadow realm.

However, other usable samples in the fortress should still be packed up as much as possible—just in case the magic door closes again. Then those samples that have been passed down since the Meteoric Era would become irreplaceable wealth.

"Let’s go; we’ve stayed here long enough," Gawain glanced back at Amoen’s corpse and then took a deep look at the eternally twisted wreckage floating around the divine corpse, exhaled gently, and then looked at the ancient Master Mage hovering in the air not far beside him, "Kamel, are you ready to return to the human world?"

The ancient Master Mage was silent.

When this day finally came, Kamel found himself completely unprepared.

For hundreds of years, he had imagined countless times the scene of himself leaving this place and returning to human society. But he never thought this day would truly come, and he never imagined losing the most basic attribute of being "human" before this day arrived.

Upon hearing Gawain’s question, he lowered his head, looking at his completely heterogenized body, feeling the rush of magic energy within, suddenly feeling a moment of retreat and fear.

"In this appearance... can I still return to humanity?"

"The world outside has changed a lot. Returning in any form will pose challenges, but on my land, I can at least ensure you receive acceptance," Gawain said slowly. "My territory already has numerous... things challenging the norm. My residents are used to accepting things beyond the common worldview, and a powerful Master Mage from ancient times will earn their respect. Of course, the prerequisite for all this is that you must learn to abide by the rules of this era and respect... my authority on this land."

After a longer silence, the arcane energy within Kamel gradually brightened, and he finally broke the silence: "Before accepting this lengthy mission, we all knew it was a path full of perils, but for the survival of the species, we willingly gave up everything it means to be human... Now, perhaps it is time to fulfill the vows made back then again."

"Senior Advisor to the Gondor Empire’s Master Mage Circle, ’Defied’ Fortress Watcher, Kamel Slayen, will continue to fulfill the vow made a thousand years ago; in the name of humanity, I swear allegiance to you, leader."