Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 703 - 702: The Wolf Returning Home

The elegantly and meticulously decorated hall carried the familiar scent of "night sky" incense; the Wendell clan’s "Iron-wolf Crest" hung on the pale gold pillars, and the midday sunlight streamed through the colored crystal windows on the south side into the hall, illuminating the portrait of Tilian Wendell hanging on the wall. In my memory, that forever dignified and powerful grandfather stood silently in front of our ancestral portrait, facing away from the door, seemingly lost in thought.

An attendant beside me wanted to step forward and report, but Andresha stopped the attendant. She walked into the hall alone and stopped a few meters behind Duke Ferdinand. The soft sunlight from Aldernon shone on the space between them, where tiny specks of dust danced like elves in the atmosphere.

"Grandfather, I’ve returned."

"Seven hundred years ago, when Tilian Wendell completely defeated the Western aberration Legion, he was the same age as you," Ferdinand said slowly. "It was winter; the knights fought on the snowy plains, united like wolves, fiercely, battling for three days and nights, annihilating an enemy five times their size. After victory, our founding emperor named Tilian Wendell the first Duke Wolf."

This is a history known by every Wendell descendant, and Andresha lowered her head: "I have always remembered the glory of our ancestors."

"The ancestors indeed had glory," Ferdinand finally turned around; his face, still dignified, appeared older than Andresha’s memory. "Or rather, every pioneer holds the same glory, and such glory requires matching ability—including Tilian Wendell, and naturally Gawain Cecil as well.

"The Cecil Clan’s Magical Mechanized Legion was personally organized and trained by Gawain Cecil, and compared to other ’glory legions,’ its strength is most notable in being ’the first.’ As a young commander, competing against such an enemy without defeat is, in itself, adequate."

Andresha calmly met her grandfather’s gaze, knowing there was more to follow.

Indeed, Duke Ferdinand continued: "However, as the supreme commander of the Winterwolf Legion and the first in command of the Empire’s defense line, the moment you set foot on the Palamere Highlands, you were already unqualified."

Andresha took a breath, just as she did in childhood, standing straight before her grandfather.

Ferdinand looked into Andresha’s eyes: "Regarding Longwind Fortress, what orders did the King give you?"

Andresha responded immediately: "To maintain constant surveillance, to confirm the actual troop strength and deployment of the Longwind Defense Line at all times, not to take the initiative to strike if there’s no breach, but to seize any opportunity and attack immediately upon discovery."

"Correct," Ferdinand nodded, "Thus, from the perspective of sheer orders, you performed without fault. The King won’t blame you for any setbacks due to your actions, but when carrying out this order, did you truly ’merely execute the command’?"

Andresha’s face tightened, and only a few seconds later did she nod under Ferdinand’s scrutiny: "Yes."

"When you’re tense, your eyes habitually glance at the lower left corner," Duke Ferdinand shook his head, turned around, and gazed at the colored crystal window that let in the sunlight. "You didn’t dispatch spies for disguised recon but chose to lead the pioneering knights to the Palamere Highlands directly. When you discovered Cecil’s position was false, you failed to further search and confirm the battlefield’s surrounding environment before signaling, all occurring during rainfall, when visibility was hindered and reconnaissance efficiency was down... This shouldn’t happen to you."

"...I have nothing to say."

"Hatred temporarily clouded your judgment. You’ve awaited such an opportunity for years, which I understand your urgency then, but you are not a lone knight in combat; you are a commander. More importantly, as a leader under the King, your personal sentiments must be secondary to imperial commands and national interests—remember firmly, even if Cecil were to kill me right before your eyes today, as long as the King commands you to establish peace with Cecil, you must abide by border peace with them. This is the responsibility you must fulfill upon wielding that knight’s sword."

Andresha remained silent for a moment before deeply inhaling, her gaze becoming resolute once more: "I understand."

"You will succeed because your name is Wendell," Ferdinand nodded slowly. "What satisfices me is your timely and accurate decision, at least partially. These choices allowed you to successfully lead the pioneering knights back to Winterwolf Fortress—avoiding being trapped on the Palamere Highlands is your greatest triumph, preventing the Empire from being disadvantaged in righteousness, and spared you from becoming a sacrificial pawn shouldered with blame in negotiations."

Grandfather’s reprimands, as relentless as ancient memories, left Andresha with no rebuttal as always, lowering her head to accept silently until her grandfather suddenly shifted tones: "The lecture ends here; it’s time for some praises—you successfully brought back direct intelligence on the Cecil Magical Mechanized Legion, a treasure of invaluable worth."

The old Duke paused here, then asked: "What does it look like? What weapons does it have? How does it fight?"

Andresha immediately organized her thoughts, her expression serious:

"The construct is made of massive steel, resembling in form and size what you described as a ’train’ in correspondence, equipped with highly potent magical weaponry...

"It was hidden behind trees and boulders, yet given its substantial scale, and its tracks bearing conspicuous magic symbol markings and large protruding structures, it is very observable from the air. I surmise it’s a weapon not suitable for concealment, serving primarily as a siege tool and moving fortress...

"It likely accommodates numerous soldiers and supplies, enabling prolonged combat far from bases...

"...Though we did not engage, I’m certain it possesses some sort of barrier...

"If conflict arises, damaging its track in advance should be paramount, additionally, its long-range assault is fierce and concentrated. It should be treated as a magic symbol-protected Mage Corps capable of relocating behind fortress walls during confrontation...

"Its main weapon is enormous, aimed at Longwind Plains back then, and judging by its deployment site, its range exceeds ten kilometers, far beyond traditional spell capabilities..."

Andresha spoke one line at a time, and Duke Ferdinand nodded occasionally. After Andresha finally finished speaking, the old Duke, after a brief thought, broke the silence with a hint of emotion: "...You’re lucky. The Cecil Clan is still inexperienced with it, much like when we first formed the Iron River Knights years ago. Their tactics for the new weapons weren’t mature."

"Not mature?" Andresha was somewhat surprised.

"If they were mature, you wouldn’t have come back," Ferdinand glanced at her, "Do you think it was merely that well-timed rain that allowed your knight regiment to retreat alive?"

Seeing Andresha’s thoughtful expression, Duke Ferdinand nodded slightly, then started walking toward the exit of the hall: "His Majesty is in the Obsidian Palace. Come with me to see him."

Andresha snapped out of her thoughts and immediately turned to follow the old Duke’s footsteps: "Yes, Grandfather."

Duke Ferdinand acknowledged with a sound, but as they were about to enter the corridor, he suddenly stopped and looked at Andresha, who also stopped and wore a confused expression. The old man nodded gently: "I forgot to say earlier—welcome home."

After a moment of surprise, Andresha reacted, and finally, a faint smile appeared on her face.

In front of the Duke’s residence porch, Andresha didn’t see the familiar carriage but instead saw a peculiar, four-wheeled vehicle with an iron shell parked below the steps.

"This is the Magic-guided Vehicle I mentioned in the last letter," Duke Ferdinand explained proactively before Andresha could ask, "It’s the third one—more than half of its parts are handcrafted by craftsmen. Your uncle has built a factory on Golden Shell Street and is trying to use machines to produce the framework and shell of the Magic-guided Vehicle. If you have time, you should take a look.

"You’ve been away from the imperial capital too long. A lot has changed here, and some new things can’t be clearly described in letters. You need to see more, as these experiences will be useful to you."

"The Cecil Clan has something similar," Andresha said, "It’s recently appeared near Longwind Fortress, and they use larger Magic-guided Vehicles to transport supplies."

"Magic-guided Vehicles were first born in the Cecil Clan. Our craftsmen and scholars have imitated it. As you’ve already seen—the Cecil Clan first created magic technology and has gone very far with it. We are now catching up, which makes many of the traditionally proud imperial aristocrats uncomfortable, but that’s the reality," Ferdinand said, walking towards the Magic-guided Vehicle, "That ’war machine’ you mentioned is evidently also a creation of magic technology—we have built a powerful Empire Corps, but the Cecil Clan is leveling that gap with magic technology. If we don’t want to fall behind, we must abandon pointless pride and start moving forward from now."

Andresha sat inside the car, unable to suppress her curiosity and joy as she observed everything in sight. Her fingers brushed over the interior wall of the car door. After seeing the Cecil Clan’s war machines, this thing inevitably seemed crude, but when the mechanical vibrations came from below, she couldn’t help but softly exclaim: "...This is what we created..."

"Yes, this is what we created, and we should thank every scholar, mage, and craftsman of the Imperial Construction Association, especially Master Daniel—the main leader of this project. Even though I don’t particularly like that archMage’s overly gloomy demeanor, his wisdom and talent are admirable," Ferdinand said, "Don’t envy the tools the Cecil Clan uses to transport supplies. Winterwolf Fortress will soon have them too. Your uncle has already received guidance from Master Daniel, and once his factory officially operates, we won’t need to rely on craftsmen’s hammers to make the Magic-guided Vehicle shell anymore."

Accompanied by mechanical vibrations, the Magic-guided Vehicle started, and this incredible machine drove out of the Duke’s residence towards the Obsidian Palace. Some pedestrians along the way stopped to watch, but Andresha’s focus was completely not on the outside street: "If we can make this thing, then the train..."

"Train...the train is another concept," the Duke said with a bitter smile, nodding, "I know what you’re thinking, I’m thinking it too, and so is His Majesty. Our scholars, craftsmen, and mages are all thinking about it, but we must admit we still can’t create something on par with the Cecil Magic Train...at least not right now. As far as I know, a group of craftsmen is attempting to build simple, small-scale rail vehicles, and hopefully, they succeed."

Listening to her grandfather, Andresha slowly calmed her emotions. She looked up and watched the road outside the window continuously receding, the midday sun dispelling the thin mist on Aldernon’s streets, and the far fewer pedestrians than she remembered hurriedly walking. Her heart, bound to Winterwolf Fortress and the front lines, finally slowly returned here.

The car drove through an intersection, passing a mother and daughter strolling, and through the open car window, Andresha heard vague voices carried by the wind:

"Mom, why are there so few people on the road...where did everyone go?"

"They’re in the factories..."

Times are changing, and this city does feel somewhat unfamiliar.

But it is still her home in the end.

...

In the Obsidian Palace, an attendant entered Rosetta Augustus’s room, bowed, and reported: "Your Majesty, Duke Ferdinand and General Andresha Wendell have arrived."

Rosetta looked up from the document he was reviewing, "Let them in."

The head and heir of the Wendell clan entered the room, each saluting according to etiquette. After Rosetta returned the gesture, his gaze fell on Andresha.

The young Wolf General stood straight, calmly meeting the emperor’s gaze. After that deep gaze finally withdrew a little, she heard a question:

"Andresha, what does our army lack now?"