Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 512 - 511: Entering the City

The Fog Month arrives.

Winter has come.

Winter in Anzu always arrives early, often before the end of Frost Month. Many areas have already entered a desolate and silent season, the crops in the fields have been harvested, winter grains and firewood have been stored early in every household. From the cities to the countryside, from the fortresses to civilian homes, it’s hard to see groups of people between the streets and alleys. People, like animals wintering in the wild, return to their wind-sheltering homes before the cold fully descends, quietly waiting for spring to come.

But for two years, Cecil Castle has not been like this. For the Cecil Clan, winter is still a day to go out and work as usual.

Last night, there was a drizzle — it was likely the last rain of the year — the drizzle wetted the cement and stone roads of the city streets, nurturing the corner-hardy flowers, plants, and trees by the roadside. When the sun rises, the water vapor slightly rises, and with the slightly higher ground temperature of the urban area, this vapor forms a mist and envelops every populated place. This thin mist is different from the winter fog that obscures vision within the Typhon borders, yet it carries a comforting and lazy feeling — as if awakening in a misty and beautiful dream.

The sun’s radiance shines on such a Cecil Castle.

In this cold early winter morning, people, after having a hearty breakfast and wearing warm clothes, step out of their homes to work. As more people fill the streets and alleys, the entire city gradually awakens.

The thin morning mist is quickly dispelled by the sun’s heat, the city lifts that veiled layer, and everything becomes clear and bright.

A carriage, with decorative patterns not common locally, enters the gates of the Cecil commercial district. The sound of the horse’s hooves clicks lightly along the streets, sunlight laid over the carriage canopy, making those rain-cleaned bronze fittings glisten brightly.

The cover on the side of the carriage is opened ajar; a pair of bright eyes peeks out, observing for a good few minutes before retracting.

"Father, Cecil’s streets are so wide!" In the carriage, a short-haired young man looked towards the middle-aged man sitting at the back and said, "And their houses... they are all so tall!"

"When I last came here, there weren’t so many houses..." The middle-aged man at the back of the carriage — the great merchant Kode from Carol territory, could not conceal his inner surprise. However, in front of his eldest son, he endeavored to maintain a facade of calm and indifference, "Don’t act like a country bumpkin who’s never been to the city — Pal, we are here representing the Carol Merchants Association, to meet the ruler of the southern borders."

"Yes, father."

The young man called Pal hurriedly lowered his head, earnestly listening to his father’s guidance — His father, Kode, was the most successful merchant in the Carol Region. This great merchant was always renowned for his accurate judgment and execution. It was because he was the first to respond to the Administrative Office’s call and signed the merchant alliance agreement that their family could have further development. Now, they even had a chance to represent the Carol Merchants Association to meet the ruler of the southern borders. Facing such a person who proved his ability through actual actions, young Pal respectfully admired him from his heart.

Noticing his eldest son’s attitude, the great merchant Kode nodded with satisfaction, then softened his tone: "But under the premise of not affecting others’ impressions, one should also carefully and meticulously observe the surroundings. Whether it is business opportunities or connections, they often hide in the details of the environment. Just like this city — developing so quickly and its population increasing so swiftly, this means its business opportunities are simply endless..."

Kode spoke while peering through the opening in the side of the carriage, looking at Cecil’s streets: "...This is a city flowing with gold..."

Almost the instant Kode’s words fell, the loud chime of the large mechanical clock in the city center resounded — it was eight o’clock.

The Magic Web Terminals installed in various squares and large street intersections activated simultaneously.

Magic Power infused into the base, resonating between complex magic symbols and runes, then injected into projection crystals. Shimmering light and shadows emerged in the air of streets and alleys, quickly coalescing into coherent holographic projections. Ghibli, with a smiling face, stood in the projection and greeted everyone: "Good morning, Cecil Citizens, it is now eight o’clock Cecil time. ’Witch’ Giply greets you.

"Today, our wise and respected mechanical scholars, Mage Technicians, and rune masters will bring us a new kind of magic-conducting machinery, the exhibition site located at Cecil Central Pioneer Square, and all Magic Web Terminals will deliver live broadcasts..."

Inside the carriage, witnessing this scene, Kode widened his eyes and exclaimed in a low voice: "What is this?!"

The young man Pal was also startled. He had fully opened the cover and craned his neck to look outside, only after a while did he remember to respond: "Father, I’ve heard of this — there’s one in Kant! This is called a Magic Web Terminal!"

"I’ve heard of it too... those traveling merchants from the south described it to me..." Kode murmured to himself, "So this is it..."

"Father?"

"The time for the audience is still early — let’s go to that Pioneer Square first."

The Central Square had already gathered a large crowd.

The people living around the square noticed the commotion here as dawn just broke: Soldiers were guarding around the square, technical personnel adorned in white robes and blue attire gathered as well, with a street nearby vacated early in advance, said to transport large machinery — a mature and experienced Cecil Citizen would not be unfamiliar with all this.

This signifies that the great leader and the intelligent scholars have yet another new creation to present to everyone.

Citizens elsewhere might not care what their leader is doing, but the Cecil Clan is different. They know that what the leader showcases in this square is essentially closely related to everyone. These are usually new magic-conducting machinery, sometimes they can be publications like newspapers or journals. Regardless of what they are, they will quickly become a part of everyday life and mostly bring great benefits to it.

People gathered, paying attention, discussing what would be showcased today. However, even as the time announced by Miss Witches approached, they still saw nothing on the platform in the center of the square.

The crowd whispered, and just as the sound of discussion gradually grew, a sharp and loud strange noise suddenly interrupted everyone’s conversation from outside the square.

The sound seemed to come from some kind of brass instrument, it was loud, and the people gathered in the square were almost all startled—when they got a clear view of the giant thing crossing the edge of the square, moving along the cleared path towards the center, they were stunned for the second time.

What is this thing—

It is a behemoth built of steel, almost one size larger than a carriage. The wheels around it seemed to indicate that it’s a vehicle, yet there were no animals pulling it ahead: This giant machine could move by itself!

Even the experienced Cecil Citizens could not help but exclaim, though almost none were panicked. They just watched with a bit of nervousness as the steel-crafted strange vehicle slowly moved to the center of the square, seeing it stop steadily among soldiers and technical personnel. They curiously observed the shell of the vehicle, looking at its square front, the open-ended compartment at the rear, the magic crystal lamps at the front, and its large and tall wheels—considering the actual construction situation in the southern borders, adjustments were made to the final product of the vehicle’s wheel diameter, chassis height, and internal shock absorption and balancing structures to adapt to harsh road conditions. This made the wheel section appear more formidable and impressive.

After the vehicle came to a steady stop, a while later, the outer shell in the front middle suddenly opened—there was a door—a spirited young lady jumped out from inside.

People immediately burst into applause, some smiled and tipped their hats in salute, some slightly bowed to show respect. An elderly woman standing on the inner edge of the square was laughing happily: "Look—indeed it’s our Miss Rebecca."

People nearby also laughed: "Something like this certainly has her involved."

"Hello, everyone! This thing is called a magic-guided vehicle—or a magic-powered vehicle," Rebecca greeted those familiar and unfamiliar faces in the square eagerly, "As the first generation, its model is ’Magic Drive 475 Model’..."

Magic Drive 475 Model.

This is to commemorate the first ever magic-guided vehicle which successfully traveled its first journey after coming off the assembly platform—a distance of 475 meters.

At the time, Rebecca installed a mechanical counting disc in the wheels for testing, accurately recording the length of this distance.

People applauded again—although many actually still hadn’t figured out what exactly this concept of a magic-guided vehicle was, this did not deter them from clapping. On one hand, lively and enthusiastic Rebecca was always well-liked, on the other hand...

The thing called a magic-guided vehicle indeed looked incredibly amazing.

In one corner of the square, a father and son stood dumbfounded.

"Don’t act like a naive country bumpkin who’s never been to the city," big merchant Kode suddenly remembered what he had just told his son.

However... what could he do?

Located on the northern frontier of the Cecil Principality, right next to the rocky ridges Fortress’ Carol City... indeed it was countryside.

Although just two years ago, because close to the Plains of the Holy Spirits, it was still regarded as the southern borders’ place with the greatest opportunity, closest to the "kingdom’s trend center"...

"Father," young Pal finally recovered from his stupor, swallowing, "Is that vehicle driven by magical mechanisms? Is it a magic artificial intelligence?"

"It is indeed driven by magical mechanisms, but it’s not magic artificial intelligence, look at the view through the car door—did you see those control levers? It’s a piece of magic-conducting machinery, just like those mining machinery we’ve encountered before."

"Mining machinery..." Pal said thoughtfully, "You mean, it’s made for common people’s use?"

"Yes, undoubtedly—based on my analysis, our leader has always been dedicated to creating such magical creations usable by ordinary people," Kode said as he raised his ears, listening carefully to Rebecca’s introduction on the square about the concept of the "magic-guided vehicle". He muttered under his breath, "As expected... it’s driven by the magic-powered engine... then its strength must far exceed oxen and horses, and it doesn’t need to eat feed..."

"Father?" Pal looked curiously at his father, "What are you saying?"

"Pal, my son, take a good look at this city, see how many opportunities you can find—" big merchant Kode’s eyes were filled with fiery enthusiasm. This businessman, already approaching middle age and perceived by others as nearing retirement, was filled with vigor, and somehow, he felt as if he was returned to the days when he first ventured into commerce, back to the days when he first left his hometown to seek business elsewhere. He remembered hearing a phrase by chance after seeing city streets for the first time and witnessing so many people and goods.

"Oh my son, here... gold is everywhere..."