Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 790 - 789: Changes

Sunlight poured into the spacious study, casting a gentle glow over the oak desk and the Magic Web Terminal beside it. The scent of invigorating incense slowly drifted through the air, finding its way into Byron’s nostrils, compelling the mercenary-born Imperial General to almost let out an impolite sneeze.

"... The envoy from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom will arrive soon at the northern border," Gawain said, seated behind the desk, casually placing a document on the table. "You will meet them."

Byron scratched his head, but midway through, he realized it was now "the Imperial Era," and being this casual in front of the emperor was somewhat inappropriate. He quickly lowered his hand: "Understood—I don’t know diplomacy though?"

Gawain glanced at the "mercenary general" with a smile: "Isn’t your eloquence always excellent? Even Sir Philip was swayed by your words."

"Your Majesty, that’s different. When dealing with Philip, I relied less on eloquence and more on a steadfast adherence to righteousness and the knight’s creed..." Byron immediately began to talk effortlessly, but soon noticed Gawain’s half-smiling expression, prompting him to cautiously and tactfully add, "Of course, there might also be an element of shamelessness involved..."

Some things don’t change just because you don an Imperial General’s uniform—or at least not quickly.

But Gawain didn’t mind, instead appreciating the quirks and habits of the group of "old founding ministers," including Byron.

He couldn’t determine if it was the memories of Gawain Cecil affecting him or because he saw the shadows of the founding pigeons of Anzu from seven hundred years ago in Byron. However, one thing he knew for certain was that interacting with Byron, Amber, and Wright—those who had followed him for years—was far more comfortable and relaxing than dealing with the "professionals" who had migrated from the Old Capital and were rigid in everything.

Thus, he relaxed, leaning back in his chair, and said with a smile: "Let me say something that perhaps I shouldn’t express directly—among the many diplomatic skills required, ’shamelessness’ is precisely a major component—it even equals the role of ’eloquence.’

"Of course, you don’t actually need to worry about these things, as you’re not the one truly responsible for negotiations—your role is simply to go to the border and welcome the envoy, showing our sincerity and serving as an equal-status ’face.’ The real negotiation and escorting of the envoy to the imperial capital will be handled by Earl Cromwell Whiteshill."

"Cromwell Whiteshill?" Byron recalled the somewhat familiar name. "Oh, the half-dwarf knight lord. I met him in St. Soniel."

"Though he comes from the Old Capital aristocracy, he’s quite familiar with northern affairs," Gawain nodded. "You and he head to the northern border to meet the envoy from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. Afterward, he can handle the tasks, whereas you, you need to stay in the north for a while, as there’s a new mission assigned to you."

"So... the task of meeting the envoy is actually secondary," Byron nodded in enlightenment, then showed a bit of curiosity. "What is my real mission?"

"Constructing Northport and its associated naval base," Gawain stood up and slowly walked to the wall not far away, where the full map was hanging. His gaze fell on the north of the Empire. "Preparing for the establishment of the Imperial Navy and the reopening of the northern continental trade routes."

"Northport..." Byron’s gaze followed Gawain’s line of sight, slowly focusing beyond the northern mountains, falling on the coastline between the Violet Kingdom and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. "... The Sacred Dragon Kingdom’s peninsula brings a warm current to the Northern Continent. Beyond the northern mountains, there’s a natural ice-free port... It’s indeed the most suitable starting point for reopening the northern continental trade route."

Gawain looked at Byron with slight surprise, showing a trace of a smile: "Seems like you’ve noticed early on?"

"Your Majesty, when I have holidays at home, I’m not just focused on spending time with my daughter," Byron spread his hands with a grin. "You mentioned long ago to focus on the ocean, but the southern borders were surrounded by the continent, making it impossible to have an outlet to the sea. Now, however, the north is under our control, and that precious coastline has caught my attention for a long time now."

Gawain smiled.

Clearly, he and Byron had reached a tacit understanding: the two had been eyeing the northern coastline since the days in the southern borders...

"It seems choosing you to lead the fleet was the right decision," Gawain maintained a smile and said, "Once Northport is built, we’ll have the opportunity to connect the peninsula of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, the Empire’s northern border, Augari tribal country, and the dwarf kingdom’s western coast from the ocean. If the Augari tribal country is willing to cooperate, we could establish a haven at the cliff’s gap in the southern part of the continent, potentially extending the route to the borders of the Highmountain Kingdom, incorporating the northern, western, and southern regions of the entire continent. It will become a true ’continental trade route’...

"With the performance of magic machinery ships, this can be fully realized.

"Our fleet will then truly become a ’navy fleet,’ no longer just playing around in inland rivers... Having led the fleet for so long, you must have felt too, that those mechanical ships can play roles on a broader stage."

"I’ve felt it long ago; the inland rivers are... really not spacious enough for our mechanical ships," Byron immediately responded, but quickly furrowed his brows. "However, as I understand it, the marine environment is far more complex than the inland rivers. It’s not just a matter of taking inland river battleships to the sea and turning them into naval warships. Miss Tiel also reminded me that the ships she helped us design are only suitable for relatively stable inland river sailing. To challenge the ocean... some modifications are necessary."

"Of course, this is a long-term task. Humans have been distant from the sea for too long, and we’ll need a lot of time to gather marine information and adjust our ship designs. Fortunately, Tiel is willing to continue as our advisor, and the Northern Wilder Family has conducted some level of observation of the ocean over the past few hundred years. Their records will be of great use.

"Additionally, the construction of Northport isn’t our only ’marine plan.’ After establishing diplomatic relations with the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, we’ll re-exploit the Dragon Summoning Gulf, the outlet between the eastern borders and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. Then, this task will also be given to you."

Gawain spoke slowly, as his gaze gradually landed on Byron, containing a hint of expectation.

"At that point, you will be the true and deserving ’Imperial Navy Commander.’

"Ah, that sounds far more impressive than ’Naval General,’" Byron’s lips curved upwards. "I’m very much looking forward to that day."

...

The sun gradually rose high in the sky, and the bright sunlight generously poured down from the heavens. The air was still cold, but the warmth contained in the sunlight seemed to herald the approach of a warm season—amid the light and heat coming forward, Byron stood in the garden square in front of Cecil Palace, lifted his head, and squinted slightly.

"Imperial Navy Commander..." This knight mercenary’s face bore a faint smile, and he couldn’t help but mutter to himself softly, "Sounds quite thrilling indeed."

Saying this, he shook his head slightly and walked unhurriedly towards the Magic-guided Vehicle waiting for him at the edge of the square.

The holiday was over, and he needed to go back and inform Pea.

A pleasant and crisp ringing suddenly came from nearby, interrupting Byron’s thoughts.

He raised his head, somewhat curious, looking towards the direction of the sound, and saw Rebecca in winter hunting gear on a strange two-wheeled "machine," wobbling and heading towards him from the open space between flower beds not far away.

This strange "machine" did not resemble any known Magic-conducting machinery seen before—it clearly didn’t use any magic mechanisms as a power source. Instead, it was simply assembled using iron wheels, a framework, chains, and driven by human pedal power. The crisp and pleasant bell sound came from a small device hanging beside its handlebars—

Rebecca was enthusiastically fiddling with the small device, making it ring ding-ding with a look of excitement on her face. However, Byron noticed that Princess Veronica’s situation was not very optimistic—she clearly hadn’t mastered control of the "vehicle" with only two wheels, swaying severely while riding. Though she seemed to be riding towards an open road, she was swerving more and more, apparently about to crash into Byron.

"Ah, Byron!" Rebecca had already noticed him on her path and immediately yelled loudly, "Don’t move, don’t move!"

Byron thought for a moment, stood still in place, and watched as Rebecca, still about ten meters away, thudded off the two-wheeled vehicle, sprawling awkwardly.

But she was still smiling brightly.

A nearby guard quickly came running, hurriedly helping the princess up from the ground. Byron also stepped forward, looking at the girl he practically watched grow up, with a helpless smile: "I thought you told me not to move so you could aim and ram into me—I even activated my knight protective aura."

"Oh, I was telling you not to move so I could figure out how to evade on my own, but things didn’t turn out quite like I imagined... Anyway, no collision in the end, isn’t that good," Rebecca chattered away as she rubbed her head, then glanced at the "two-wheeled vehicle" just picked up by the attendant with a somewhat distressed look, "Ah, hope it’s not damaged... There are only a few delivered."

At this moment, Byron finally had the chance to observe the odd-looking "vehicle." He noticed the style of this thing was very different from other mechanical creations in Cecil, and couldn’t help but feel curious: "Princess, this thing... Is it something you invented again?"

In his mind, whenever something bizarre and new appeared in Cecil Castle, especially near Rebecca, it was likely invented by this imaginative princess or her nearby research team—the stuff she tinkered with accounted for half of all new things.

Although lately, with more and more research facilities improving, an increasing number of intellectuals have devoted themselves to technology development, the proportion of Rebecca’s "creations" among new things is steadily decreasing, but due to long-established habits, Byron instinctively associated novelty with Rebecca when he saw it.

However, Rebecca shook her head: "No, this one came along recently with imported textiles from Typhon. It was a gift brought by the merchants from Typhon—called a ’two-wheeled vehicle’."

"Typhon?" Byron asked with some surprise, unable to resist examining the quirky vehicle a bit longer, "Hmm... No wonder its style feels a bit peculiar, but it looks pretty intricate. But Typhonites are truly odd. This kind of vehicle with just two wheels... mastering it wouldn’t be easy."

"You’re mistaken. Once you learn it, this thing is quite convenient," Rebecca said with hands on her hips, "It was so relaxed when demonstrated—convenient and quick. I just fell off because I’m not proficient."

Listening to Rebecca’s excited chatter, Byron looked at the "two-wheeled vehicle" from Typhon in front of him, his face involuntarily showing a contemplative expression.

Typhon started late in Magic Guide Technology. In this field almost symbolizing the new era, they are indeed far behind Cecil, but they have always been ahead in other aspects—a very distinct example being "mechanical clocks." Initially reserved for aristocratic and church use, over the past two years it has begun to spread across the nation due to "punctuality demands" brought by factory construction and railway operation, first invented by Typhon’s craftsmen about half a century ago.

Like many old era technologies, it initially targeted theological ceremonies, allowing churches to determine mass times, summoning believers to pray through bell-ringing. Later used in noble castles and estates, yet still detached from ordinary people’s daily life.

The world’s best clockmakers are in Aldernon, and the world’s best crystal glass technology is also there.

Of course, latterly, crucial technology has leaked into Cecil through unspeakable channels, with the "floor-to-ceiling windows" now popular in the southern regions of Cecil being one of its "impact results."

Now, Typhon’s clever inventors have crafted this "two-wheeled vehicle," and compared to the original inventions like mechanical clocks and crystal glass, there’s a distinctly obvious difference:

It’s neither elegant nor lavish.

This creation seems initially targeted at the common people...

Byron furrowed his brow. Unlike Gawain or Aunt Heidi, they’re good at gleaning shifts in circumstances from this information. He merely finds himself instinctively pondering, just sensing that...

The Typhonites who hold knowledge seem to have undergone some change in their way of thinking.