Chapter 990: Chapter 989: The Operating Cecil Clan

Gawain has returned.

The giant wings of the blue dragon shrouded the sky, as the massive creature flew from the north, without any disguise, directly heading towards the Cecil Imperial Capital. Everyone living in the area witnessed the spectacle of the dragon descending to the earth—at other times or in different places, such sights would undoubtedly send shivers down the spine of the common person, and bards and scholars might even associate it with regional disasters. However, when the people of Cecil saw the dragon, most felt nothing but joy and excitement—even the oppressive atmosphere brought about by the sudden outbreak of war was dispelled.

Because many days ago, their King had ridden such a dragon to leave.

Gawain stood behind Melita Ponia’s shoulder blade, overlooking the familiar cityscape quickly approaching in his vision. As the dragon glided over the White River, he couldn’t help but sigh softly, "Cecil, your emperor has returned..."

This soft sigh did not escape Amber’s keen ears next to him, and the half-elf Miss’s pointed ears twitched slightly as she immediately turned around vigilantly, "Hey, hey, why the sudden sighing?"

Gawain quickly composed himself, "...Nothing, just felt something suddenly."

Amber glanced at Gawain suspiciously, although she couldn’t sense anything particularly off about his seemingly random sigh, her instincts told her that this sentence needed to be jotted down—it might just be nonsense.

The half-elf Miss has always been very keen.

A moment later, the blue dragon smoothly landed in the square next to the Cecil Palace, where the officials led by Aunt Heidi and the attendants of the Cecil Palace were already waiting.

The dragon’s wings drooped, forming a gentle slope. Gawain was the first to appear at the top of the slope, and when that tall figure appeared in the crowd’s view against the sunlight, applause and cheers immediately resounded throughout the square.

Standing at the front of the crowd, Aunt Heidi was unabashedly relieved, feeling as though a great weight had finally been lifted from her heart. She then stepped forward, preparing to extend her hand at the end of the slope to welcome her ancestor’s return—but a figure faster than her rushed forward. Rebecca, unable to contain herself, disregarded any etiquette and "ladylike demeanor," sprinting past her aunt to reach under the dragon’s wings. As soon as Gawain landed, she grabbed his arm, "Ancestor, you have finally returned!"

Gawain was long accustomed to the girl’s temperament, and this wasn’t an overly formal occasion (at least it wasn’t the kind where broadcast footage was required), so he just smiled helplessly, casually pressing Rebecca’s hair before turning his gaze to the equally helpless Aunt Heidi, "Simplify all ceremonial processes; the situation is special, let’s quickly get back on track."

"Of course, I knew you would say that," Aunt Heidi immediately nodded, "Although I’d like you to rest a bit first, I guess you won’t listen—documents are already delivered to your study, Victoria and Grand Governor Baldwin Franklin are ready to connect at any time, and the military and intelligence departments are prepared to report whenever you summon them."

"I need to find Andon to learn about the situation first," Amber hurriedly said as she descended behind Gawain, "I hope that kid is reliable this time."

Veronica Moen was the last to leave the slope formed by the dragon wings, she glanced at the surrounding crowd, then came beside Gawain, "I need to discuss matters concerning the Sect of the God of War with the Great Shepherd, please allow me to leave first."

Just like that, almost in the blink of an eye, everyone arranged their tasks, prioritizing efficiency over traditional etiquette and protocols. However, Gawain remembered there was a "guest" not belonging to Cecil among the scene, turning back to glance at Melita Ponia, still standing in dragon form on the square, "If you..."

"I would love to stay as a guest, but this time the situation is unique; I wish to return to Talronde first," Melita Ponia responded with her deep voice before Gawain could finish, slightly lowering her elegant neck. From the dragon’s perspective, the action was rather courteous and graceful, "Earlier, I tested the connection with The Mithril Ring and found communication inexplicably restored... though unclear why, you should still be able to use it to reach me."

Her tone aimed for calm and collected, exhibiting a very tranquil indifference, but Gawain could vaguely sense the underlying anxiety and unrest within the Lady Dragon—she seemed suspicious about something possibly happening in Talronde, eager to depart immediately.

Of course, Melita Ponia’s anxiety should not solely stem from a minor "glitch" with The Mithril Ring—it likely originates more from Gawain and the Dragon God’s two private talks, anomalies previously occurring in the Upper Sanctum, and recent divine disturbances across Loren Continent, while the flawlessly operating Omega System’s "malfunction" turned into a trigger, activating the Lady Dragon’s intuitive alarm.

In this regard, Gawain felt as a human he had no grounds to intervene, unable to deter Melita Ponia’s decision, he simply nodded slightly, casually reminding her, "Be careful on your way back—you’ve been flying intensively for a long time."

Melita Ponia slightly shook her head, a hint of laughter in her voice, "Rest assured, I’m confident in my stamina—please step back, I’m about to take off."

A moment later, the blue dragon began flapping its wings vigorously again, this immense being overshadowing the sky took off from the city, accelerated several times in succession before transforming into a shadow at the horizon, swiftly disappearing from everyone’s view.

...

Gawain returned to his familiar study—he viewed the familiar desk, familiar bookshelf, familiar carpet, and familiar ceiling, in this room filled with familiarity, he also saw familiar faces of Rebecca, Heidi, and others.

His mood finally calmed down a bit.

Talronde is a very advanced place, living there wasn’t uncomfortable, plus it had neon-lit cities, automated homes, and various entertainment options. Frankly speaking, it often evoked memories of his hometown’s city life—at least in terms of prosperity and advancement, there were minor similarities between the two. Yet, despite these resemblances, Gawain constantly felt something awkward about life in the Dragon Kingdom.

He never figured out where this awkwardness stemmed from, merely attributing it broadly to "not getting used to sleeping in strange beds," but now he felt he vaguely understood some things.

He returned behind his desk, where Betty had cleaned meticulously. His familiar belongings were placed within easy reach, everything handy in the most convenient positions. Looking up, he saw Aunt Heidi standing slightly to his front side, while Rebecca stood a bit farther away. The latter seemed eager to approach for a chat but was too anxiously hesitant to come closer.

Gawain smiled, realizing that he had fully integrated into this place—the bustling and advanced Talronde ultimately was just another different, alien land.

"Let’s discuss the current situation," he looked at Aunt Heidi, "The remote communication we had earlier was not quite seamless, I need more details."

Aunt Heidi nodded and briefly recounted the events inside and outside the Empire since Gawain’s departure, before providing a detailed account of everything that had happened since Typhon’s divine disaster worsened: including the sudden attack on the Longwind Defense Line, as well as the battle at Winterwolf Fortress, Andresha’s surrender, and the intelligence reports just received from the vicinity of the Winterwolf Defense Line.

During this process, she also detailed various responses from the Supreme Administration Office in the face of changing circumstances, and the plans currently laid out by the Triumvirate, including considerations about the future.

Throughout the narrative, Gawain barely interrupted, he just listened attentively and quietly, mostly nodding slightly, occasionally commenting on certain matters or asking about some details, his brows furrowing occasionally, but as Aunt Heidi continued the briefing, his brows eventually relaxed completely.

Towards the end, there was even a hint of a smile on his face.

Rebecca was somewhat puzzled as she watched the changing expressions on her ancestor’s face — not being adept at reading people’s emotions, she didn’t quite understand what was on Gawain’s mind at this moment.

Finally, Aunt Heidi’s lengthy report concluded, and the relaxed and contented smile on Gawain’s face became increasingly evident. He gently exhaled and looked up at Aunt Heidi, "Very good — I’m happy to see that everything has been running orderly in my absence."

"Naturally," Aunt Heidi responded promptly, "Maintaining the normal order of the Empire while you were away was the command you left us before you left."

Gawain chuckled, "Indeed... but that was precisely my greatest concern before. Of course, now I don’t have to worry."

His words were sincere; this was truly something he had been preoccupied with — for a long time, he often worried about whether the order he had established had enough stability, whether it could still function independently and stably in his absence, and all of this had now undergone an unexpected test, and the conclusions were comforting.

Even though he had left the Empire, and despite such serious unexpected events occurring, the Supreme Administration Office had not descended into chaos, everything ran orderly, changes in domestic public opinion, supply of materials, personnel mobilization, and production and living were all handled neatly by various departments, while the Triumvirate firmly controlled the Empire’s upper "helm."

Of course, perhaps all this comes with a premise: Gawain hadn’t been away for long, and everyone knew he could return at any time; that General Andresha had made the correct decision, preventing the situation from being completely out of control; many departments in the Administrative Office were merely operating on inertia and hadn’t truly begun to withstand the pressure of maintaining a constant state of war, but still, the conduct of the Supreme Administration Office and the Triumvirate this time reassured Gawain greatly.

In response to the ancestor’s affirmation, even the unflappably calm and serene Aunt Heidi couldn’t conceal her delighted smile.

She inhaled lightly and inquired Gawain, "Do you have any opinions on our response plan?"

"For the current stage, it’s very well done — after taking Winterwolf Fortress, you didn’t rashly advance, but chose to hold positions and exhaust Typhon’s counteroffensive forces, it’s the most appropriate decision," Gawain said, "This is indeed a divine disaster, Typhon’s ’normal people’ obviously have no intent to wage war, but the army swept up by the War God Faith will continue attacking their ’enemies,’ thus military conflict is inevitable, but we have no need to go deep into Typhon’s core to resolve their problem.

"At this stage, apart from maintaining the front line, the key is to comprehend the internal situation in Typhon, find out how they intend to deal with this divine disaster; if we really need to help, we should start from this aspect — on the frontline, we can just brush off and placate that fatal foolish War God a little."

Upon hearing the ancestor describe a fearsome mad god as ’dumb enough to die from stupidity,’ Aunt Heidi was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but chuckle.

The tightly wound nerves she had been carrying finally relaxed a little.

And this was precisely Gawain’s intent — from the moment he saw Aunt Heidi, he knew this descendant of his had been under too much pressure lately.

"Regarding Typhon’s internal situation," after a brief pause, Gawain continued, "Has there been any communication from the 25th line?"

"Not yet," Aunt Heidi shook her head, "The current situation in Typhon is unclear, given the pollution by the War God observed among their higher-ups, Aldernon is likely engaging in large-scale scrutiny and purge actions. To ensure the safety of our agents, the intelligence department has suspended all active contacts with dark networks — including the dark line for the Trajectory Project and the 25th line. However, should special circumstances arise, they will send messages out ensuring their safety."

Gawain thought briefly and nodded, "...Hmm, the correct response, it should be so."

He then looked at Aunt Heidi, ready to ask some other questions, but at that moment, a familiar mental wave suddenly entered his mind.

"Ancestor?" Aunt Heidi asked in confusion as she watched Gawain suddenly lapse into a trance, "Is something the matter?"

Gawain raised a hand to gesture for her to wait, then quickly concentrated on listening to the brief message sent by Daniel — the content of that message was so concise, it could be received without immersing in the network, clearly intelligence directly compiled into a summary form, a very necessary cautious approach in the current tense and dangerous situation.

Moments later, Gawain looked up and gave Aunt Heidi a slight smile, "It’s truly coincidental... The 25th line just contacted me."

Aunt Heidi’s eyes widened immediately, "New developments over there?"

"...Two things, firstly, the 25th line has roughly determined how the previous ’declaration of war’ was disseminated from the Obsidian Palace, secondly, and more crucially — Emperor Rosetta Augustus has announced Typhon entering emergency state, and used the momentum to execute three emergency legislations in one day: closure of parliament, military lockdown of the city, and... temporary revocation of all exemption privileges for national churches."

As he spoke, Gawain couldn’t help but gently exhale, his tone filled with admiration, "...Quite remarkable..."

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