Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 752 - 751: Growth

No matter what changes may have occurred to the divine status of the God of Storms, it’s clear that Gawain won’t get any answers from the deep-sea heretic god currently fiddling with the tip of its tail.

In fact, it seems like the entire sea demon race is still in a state of confusion.

He couldn’t help but pinch his chin, leaning back in the high-backed chair, allowing his fluctuating thoughts to drift.

The news brought by Tiel sparked an irresistible impulse within him, prompting him to venture to the deep sea, to the other side of the Endless Sea, to the land of sea demons to see for himself, or to personally verify his judgments at the Storm God’s remnants.

However, he couldn’t do it—not only because he couldn’t leave his newly established Empire willy-nilly but also because the Cecil Empire currently lacks the maritime technology to cross the Endless Ocean.

Thinking of "maritime technology," Gawain couldn’t help but recall another troubling issue: the Cecil Empire currently lacks a suitable sea outlet.

Most of the Cecil Empire is inland, with no coastlines in the southern, eastern, and western regions. The only coastline lies in the extreme northern parts, beyond the northern range, a place that remains undeveloped due to harsh weather, mountain barriers, and oceanic dangers, which the Anzu Kingdom has disregarded for centuries.

But it can’t remain abandoned forever.

Gawain raised his head, his gaze moving past Tiel’s swaying tail tip to focus on the mainland map not far away.

Beyond the northern ranges of Anzu, the coastlines to the further north aren’t empty.

Across a narrow strait, one can first see a massive island, home to the Mage Nation, Violet Kingdom, while to the east of Violet Kingdom, the Sacred Dragon Kingdom’s territory juts out of the Loren Continent like a horse’s head and forms a peninsula that also looks out towards the northern mountains.

In the era of Anzu, northern regions were essentially synonymous with mystery and distance. The feudal kingdom’s inherent closed nature, combined with inconvenient transportation, made cross-region communication exceedingly rare—maintained primarily by border aristocrats and a few civilian trade caravans. The so-called "international activities" of the old era were limited to this.

Take the Violet Kingdom, for instance. The mysterious Mage Nation and Anzu were separated by merely a narrow "Northern Strait," which belonged to the safe zones of the Endless Sea and was free from storms and magic turbulence. Yet, there were no regular "sailings," and interaction depended solely on adventurer-like captains daring personal voyages or transcendents directly crossing the sea.

As for the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, the situation was slightly better because land connections existed between it and the Cecil Empire. However, it guarded its mysteries even more fiercely than the Violet Kingdom, to the point where outsiders from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom were scarcely seen within Old Anzu. In contrast, Violet Kingdom’s visiting mages occasionally appeared in various mage organizations within the royal capital.

Most of these mages journeyed directly across the strait using transcendental powers, while a few arrived via private ships to the Loren Continent.

In the old days, this was the norm.

But under the new order planned by Gawain, amidst the upcoming surge of international trade, study abroad fever, and Northern Continent traffic network layout, such scenarios would eventually change.

He’s already attempted to lay railways in the tribal country of Augari in the west and plans to open the tightly shut doors of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, while the Violet Kingdom is also targeted for Cecil Empire’s trade activities, aiming to bring them aboard the ship dubbed "Cecil Settlement."

The Magic-guided Train can solve terrestrial transportation issues, while restarting the northern continent route from seven hundred years ago is another consideration for Gawain.

Even without the plan for the Cecil Settlement or the need to establish maritime ties with other nations, challenging the ocean is a step the Cecil Empire must take.

Humanity can’t remain landlocked forever, especially when the presence of sea demons and dragons continuously reminds Gawain—the world is much larger still.

...

"The world out there is vast indeed!"

Byron Kirk sat at the dining table at home, speaking with an exaggerated expression to the young girl across from him. His lips still had some crumbs from the bread, and he seemed rather smug and boastful while speaking.

"Heading north from the rocky ridges, following the Gorgon River towards the Old Capital, the plains scenery over there is completely different from the southern borders...

"...Back then, I was busy fighting, with monsters everywhere on the Eastern shores. I directed battleships to bomb and shoot light beams at them. You’ve seen those cannons on the training grounds, right? Dad’s warship main cannon is bigger than that...

"St. Soniel has tall city walls, and beyond the walls are polygonal guard walls, much taller than those of Tanzan and Kant. I personally saw Cecil’s flag rise there... Don’t believe what your Uncle Philip says—though the flagship was stationed a bit far from the walls, I could still see it..."

The girl across from him smiled slightly, leaned forward, and used her fingers to wipe away the bread crumbs by Byron’s mouth, emitting a "Woo!" sound.

This sound represented a small lesson.

More than four years have passed, and the once scrawny, unimpressive mute girl has now grown slender and graceful. Good nutrition and training under her knight father have made Pea taller, her previously rough skin now healthy and rosy, and her tangled, dry blonde hair now smooth and draping over her shoulders. She sat there and was almost unrecognizable from her past appearance.

Yet, she still enjoyed listening to Byron’s embellished and self-aggrandizing tales as much as before.

"Oh, no issue—there’s no need to mind such details when dining at home," Byron waved his hand unconcernedly. "I’ve finally got a leave... By the way, Pea, how did your graduation results turn out last week?"

Pea displayed a somewhat proud smile, reached to grab a writing board nearby, and scribbled a series of words on it, showing it to her adoptive father across the table.

"Comprehensive... A+, wow, not bad," Byron saw the words and immediately slapped his knee in joy, then rubbed his leg while looking at his adoptive daughter, "What reward do you want?"

Pea thought for a moment, wiped the words off the writing board, and scribbled another line of words, showing it again:

"Come back safely in the future."

Byron looked at the writing board, paused for a moment, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Ahaha, no need to worry about me; I might not be good at other things, but I’m skilled at staying alive. But as for your Uncle Philip, he’s still painfully helping to build defenses at Longwind Fortress—he always looks ready to gallantly sacrifice himself, bound to die before me..."

As he spoke, Byron paused, scratched his chin, "Suddenly reminded, you’ve finished all your courses at the general school, and next, you’ll surely go to the Imperial Academy. Have you thought about which department to choose?"

Pea thought for a moment and shook her head slowly.

"No worries, take your time to think about it. After all, the winter enrollment season has already passed, and you’re not yet an adult. It’s not too late to make a decision next spring," Byron said casually, then recalled something, "Oh, you mentioned earlier that you were going to South Street with two friends today, right?"

Pea nodded, picked up the writing board, and wrote a few words:

"A new ’Philem Film Company’ has opened south of the Mage District, recruiting people with knowledge of magic guidance.

"Paphilis, Poppy, and I have agreed to do some short-term work there.

"I’ll go during the day and come back home at night."

"I’ve heard of that company," Byron nodded, "The King approved it and received strong support from the Administrative Office. It seems the founders include heirs from the northern parts and western parts, which makes it seem reliable. You can go, just pay attention to safety and try not to come back too late tonight—the Astronomical Observatory said it might snow tonight."

Pea stood up with a smile, dressed in outdoor attire, took her writing board, and left home by pushing the door.

The house became quiet, leaving Byron alone in the dining room.

The commander of the Empire’s naval forces stared blankly by the dining table for some time, then suddenly laughed at himself.

"It’s hard to get a vacation, yet staying home feels uncomfortable...

"Philip is guarding the borders, and the Empire’s army is controlling situations everywhere, the fleet’s really been idle these past two months...

"Tsk, when did I become this proactive?"

Mumbling to himself, Byron stood up, prepared to go upstairs for a nap, but as soon as he stood up, he heard the bell at the entrance ring.

He quickly walked to the door, muttering while opening it: "Forgot something? I told you..."

He didn’t finish his sentence because standing at the doorway was not Pea, but a hunched, shabby old man who looked like a fake medicine seller.

Byron thought for a moment, stepped back, and was about to close the door: "No one’s home, come back tomorrow."

"No, no, no, I know you’re joking," Pittman said, waving his hand while surprisingly agilely slipping into the house, "I just saw Pea leave, so I figured you’re home alone, and I came to check on you."

Byron widened his eyes, looking at the little old man: "Observing a middle-aged bachelor sulking all day in the dining room after his only adopted daughter leaves?"

Pittman looked at Byron in surprise: "I haven’t said anything yet—how are you summarizing yourself?"

Byron glared at Pittman for a couple of seconds, but decided not to get tangled up further.

Because this little old man was almost his equal in stubbornness and shamelessness, but unlike Pittman, Philip remained interesting in taking things in stride and jumping into pitfalls.

Byron sighed, closing the door, addressing Pittman who had already wandered to the dining table, picking out snacks: "Since you’re in, come in then, I actually have some questions for you."

Pittman responded without looking up, still picking snacks: "Is it about Pea’s speaking situation?"

"Looks like you indeed have serious business today," Byron approached Pittman, "That’s the issue—Pea still can’t speak, but didn’t you say the biological engineering technology dug out from the Oblivion Association’s nest could cure her?"

"Let me ask you a question first," Pittman finally raised his head, snack crumbs on his beard, "Has her tongue grown back?"

"...It actually has grown back, and she had a few days getting used to it."

"So, from the perspective of flesh regeneration, my team has succeeded. Pea is healthy physiologically; she has a tongue, vocal cords, and her nerves are fine, you know all this."

"But she still can’t speak," Byron stared at Pittman, expression serious, "What exactly is going on?"

Pittman was silent for a moment and finally spoke: "Her tongue was severed for six full years... do you know what that means?"

Byron’s face darkened.

"Her brain has forgotten how to command her vocal organs," Pittman said unhurriedly, "Even though her tongue has been rebuilt, her language ability has regressed to the level of an infant, that’s our conclusion."

"But it can still be retrained, right?" Byron asked hopefully, "Just like teaching a baby to speak, even if she learns slowly, she can start from the beginning..."

"I’m afraid it’s not that simple," Pittman shook his head, "I’ve seen similar cases, and it turns out that ’rehabilitation’ is not only about effort but sometimes also luck. Many inexplicable factors affect the rehabilitation outcome. Pea might regain her speaking ability, but if she has any psychological trauma or her brain stubbornly refuses to speak up, then she might never be able to talk again... Unfortunately, although my side possesses advanced biological technology, we haven’t researched these issues much."

Byron furrowed his brow, staring into Pittman’s eyes: "You came to me today, not just to deliver this depressing bad news, right?"

"Of course not," Pittman smiled slightly, "To be honest, we have some new technological innovations lately... I guess they might have some impact on Pea."

(Recommending a pretty budding book, title "I Became Strong After I Died," Just from the title, you know it’s a mind-expanding type.

The synopsis is just one sentence: It’s said sacrificing hair can make one stronger, Martha seems to have sacrificed even her life.

All in all, a sacrifice to the heavens.)