Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 435 - 434: Approaching

Under the cover of night on the White River, two large, thoroughly modified ships, looking incredibly bizarre, are navigating the rolling waves with a speed and agility that completely contradicts their size.

These are two ships faintly retaining the contours of river sail warships, yet approximately one-third of the original wooden hull is covered with a layer of reinforced metal plates for enhancement and magic conduction. The sails, originally used for propulsion, have been removed, and the bases for the masts have now mounted huge solid metal frameworks extending outward like wings. Magic symbols on these "wing" structures glimmer faintly in the dark, complementing the various bright spots from the magic crystal lamps on the hull. Aside from the conspicuous "Magic Array" named "wing" structures, the most striking feature on these ships is the two massive ancient magical devices on the deck.

Their basic contour resembles an extraordinarily large Magic Crystal Railgun, but the "barrel" is not a straight parallel metal track; instead, it’s composed of three elegantly curved alloy "beams" arranged in a character "品" shape when viewed from the front. The inside of the alloy beams is covered with magic patterns, while a transparent and slender man-made crystal is clamped in place by mechanical structures at the center of the three alloy beams. The rear half of the alloy beams reveals somewhat crude but firmly reliable iron mechanisms connecting the entire "barrel" to the base.

This device’s dimensions are more than double that of the first-generation Magic Crystal Railgun. Although conventional technology suggests that further advancements could streamline its structure and reduce its size, its initial size clearly indicates that it is certainly a formidable contraption.

The power spine extending from below the deck, covered with magic patterns, along with the Magic Web runes found throughout the deck, and the exposed group of amplifiers at the base’s rear, all emphasize its "power."

Burdened with such a heavy set of modifications, the two originally wooden inner river warships were expected to be cumbersome, yet their speed while navigating the waters was rapid. Besides, it’s a night with clouds covering starshine, and ships of this era nearly never sail "at night"; no other vessels are visible on the White River. On its broad and serene surface, these battleships race forward at a speed that would astonish any captain of this era.

All of this is due to the White River’s waves "pushing" the two ships forward.

The two battleships are sailing in line, with the previously calm White River waters suddenly stirred into waves near them. These waves do not cause the ships to sway but instead propel them smoothly ahead, while between the waves, a graceful, almost dreamlike figure navigates agilely through the foam and water.

It is a girl with a beautiful fish tail, darting through the water, occasionally leaping above the surface to dance with the surrounding splashes. Her fish tail beats the foam in rhythm with the nearby waves; she resembles a water-elven or a river fairy from legends, playing with the entire White River.

Byron Kirk stepped out of the cabin, breathing the fresh and cool air over the White River; he saw Tiel swimming among the waves and couldn’t help but mutter softly, "She looks spirited while swimming in the water."

A series of footsteps approached, along with Gawain’s voice from behind Byron: "That’s because she slept for two whole days and nights. If she didn’t wake up, I’d really start to suspect that this fish was dead in the pool."

Byron turned around, seeing the leader in normal attire also watching Tiel’s figure in the river.

He saluted Gawain, "Leader."

Gawain waved his hand, casually asking, "How’s the situation on Sir Philip’s side?"

Byron shook his head, "Rocky ridges Fortress sent a Transcendent team to raid the interim camp, but the ’sneak attack plan’ those aristocrats devised is childish and laughable. Aside from losing personnel before the battle started, it probably won’t cause any damage."

Gawain wasn’t entirely surprised: "The fact they managed a sneak attack is already progress. If it weren’t for the southern aristocratic who were beaten by us and fled to Rocky ridges Fortress, I doubt the orthodox knights there would even come up with tactics like harassment and ambushing the camp."

"Yeah, those aristocrats finally learned to fight," Byron clicked his tongue and sighed, "But I fear Sir Philip will mull over this for a while, distressing over the demise of ’aristocratic warfare’, and how knightly spirit is meaningless..."

Gawain turned slightly to glance at Byron, in a somewhat teasing tone, "You seem to know Sir Philip quite well."

"Hey, we’ve been working together for six years—the lad has real talent, became an official knight six years ago. In another two years, he might reach middle-ranked. He could challenge powerful ranks in his lifetime..." Byron couldn’t help but shake his head, "Too bad he’s a bit thick-headed, believing knight stories and heroic tales as if they’re real. I’ve never seen anyone over seventeen who believes in that crap about knights being able to inspire dragons with their convictions."

Gawain, himself a legendary hero and the subject of numerous hero tales, felt slightly awkward: "Ahem, heroic tales aren’t necessarily entirely fiction..."

"Ah—" Byron immediately seemed more awkward, scratching his head in slight tension and apology, but then his expression turned peculiar, seeming about to speak.

Gawain saw his look and realized what was coming, forcing out one sentence with a deadpan: "That book about eighty-plus princesses is indeed fabricated nonsense."

"Ahem, certainly, as you said..." Byron coughed on the spot, awkwardly changing the topic before the chief could draw his blade for a mercenary-like solution, "But speaking of which, where is Amber?"

"She’s seasick, can’t get up for a while," Gawain said casually, "Even when departing, she was more excited than anyone... Truly unsure if she’ll have the energy to perform tasks at rocky ridges Fortress once we arrive."

"Amber gets seasick?" Byron remarked, slightly astonished, "I thought she had no weaknesses when it came to anything related to running away..."

Gawain heard this and felt disdain: No weaknesses? That disgrace of all things has fewer weaknesses? "Intelligence Agency Director inferior Rat Trap" is known to everyone...

At this time, Byron Kirk put away his joking manner and asked a question he was very concerned about: "Leader, I actually thought at the beginning that you were going to set out with Sir Philip, but I didn’t expect you would accompany my ’Second Tier’."

In most people’s eyes—and in fact, the first and Second Combat Corps led by Sir Philip are the ones facing the rocky ridges Fortress’s main battlefield and main force. Although the fortress gates might need to be pried open with the "Calibrator" Rainbow Cannon, it’s still Sir Philip’s army that’s truly attacking the fortress and eliminating the enemy’s active forces. It’s rare for Gawain to venture far from home on a campaign, and everyone thought he would depart with Sir Philip, yet no one expected this ancestor ultimately chose to accompany Byron.

"You should know that although I am going to the battlefield, I hope my presence is more symbolic—the Cecil Combat Corps should have the capability to take down the fortress on its own. If attacking a rocky ridges Fortress requires my personal involvement, then the army commander must apologize to the People of Cecil," Gawain explained, "And compared to the battle with Sir Philip, I am more interested in new weapons and technology."

Byron couldn’t help but look back at the "Calibrator" Rainbow Cannon installed on the battleship deck. In the deep night sky, this powerful new weapon squatted on the deck like a steel beast, with only a few runes indicating energy status emitting a faint glow on its base, like the eyes of a beast.

"New weapons... this thing is indeed pretty impressive."

"It’s not just about being impressive," Gawain shook his head lightly, his gaze resting on the Rainbow Cannon, but his eyes seemed to focus much farther away, "The Magic Crystal Railgun and Rainbow Cannon... they can shatter aristocratic castles and tear apart Mage’s barriers. Their value goes far beyond what can be demonstrated in just one or two wars."

...

The team sent to raid the Cecil Clan camp and sabotage the magical devices failed completely.

Bad news was sent to rocky ridges Fortress, yet the Cecil’s Army continues its advance, and Sir Maryland’s hair began to consume visibly.

He vaguely felt that his previous confidence... might have been a bit too sufficient.

From the mouths of those southern territories’ aristocrats, he indeed realized the massive threat posed by the Cecil Clan, and based on existing intelligence, he formulated a plan that could weaken Cecil’s Army—this plan even went against the Knight’s code.

He knew the Cecil’s "Skyfire Explosion" was launched using some magical device, and that the Cecil people also needed to establish positions to maximize the power of these magical devices, so he sent people in attempts to sabotage them before those magical devices could operate.

But those people encountered a remarkably powerful unit seemingly tailored to counter Transcendents, nearly obliterating the entire force.

Small-scale raids were ineffective, and Sir Maryland had no choice but to begin sending troops to disrupt the enemy—this was the second violation of the Knight’s code.

It is known that during army marches, they are most vulnerable and chaotic. Large troops are difficult to effectively command during movement. Rank-and-file soldiers often become disordered amidst chaos, and officers cannot organize effective rebuttals when the soldiers are in disarray. Thus, raiding during army marches often yields amazing results—and precisely because chaotic armies can easily lead to unexpected noble casualties, the act of "raiding marching armies" is prohibited in traditional aristocratic warfare.

But since he had already made the move to raid the camps at night, Sir Maryland no longer cared about breaking one more Knight’s code.

Yet on Fire Moon 56th, Anzu 736, the Cecil Clan still arrived punctually at the narrow plains south of rocky ridges Fortress, and less than half of the troops sent by Sir Maryland to raid returned alive.

Facing the astonished Fortress general, the leading wounded Knight described his nightmarish encounter—

When he had led his soldiers charging towards the Cecil people, the latter seemed to have seen them long ago and were already prepared, showing no signs of panic. The Cecil soldiers reacted precisely and instinctively like machines—first with some single-soldier "Skyfire Explosion," followed by launched explosives, and magic beams fired by vambraces, then enchanted swords and blades that could easily cleave ordinary soldiers’ armor, each wielding tremendous power.

The so-called surprise attack, when fought, felt like they were sending themselves to die.

Facts proved that leaving the fortress to launch an attack—regardless of the form—was never a good idea.

Sir Maryland could only let his heart sink to the lowest, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Cecil Clan.

On Fire Moon 57th, Anzu 736, the Cecil Clan’s flags appeared at the end of the plains opposite rocky ridges Fortress.