Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 283 - 282: On the Border

The Cecil territory was attacked again by monsters from the Gondor wasteland, and the invaders were successfully annihilated on the same day—this became the fastest spreading and widest-reaching news this cold winter, and its dissemination was not just due to the efforts of various spies, merchants, and mercenaries, but also greatly influenced by Gawain’s tacit approval and even secret encouragement.

In Gawain’s words, "Those complacent southern noble territories and the people in the royal capital must know the presence of the threat."

This cold winter is destined to make many people restless.

The eastern border of Anzu, Longwind Fortress.

As the main protector of the eastern borders, Duke Silas Loland has been personally stationed in this fortress for many years. At this moment, he stands on the top-level terrace of the fortress castle, gazing at the distant layered walls and the vast stretches of plains covered in ice and snow beyond them.

Completed ten years ago, this fortress is the pride of the eastern Loland Clan. It has endured the efforts of three generations of the eastern Clan, which invested enormous financial, material, and human resources, and even the blood of its family members, to finally erect this stronghold on land directly opposed to the Typhon Empire. It faces the Winterwolf Fortress and its affiliated fortresses on the border of the Typhon Empire, serving both as a barrier and a deterrent.

The establishment of Longwind Fortress stems from the rapid deterioration of relations between Anzu and the Typhon Empire.

A hundred years ago, during the civil strife in the Fog Month, the eastern Loland Clan was the most well-preserved among the four dukes. From the beginning, this clan recognized that the seemingly fraternal Typhon Empire posed a significant threat. Thus, during the chaotic and brutal struggle for royal power, the Loland Clan kept its core forces from engaging in the turmoil. The few actions undertaken by the Loland Clan during the civil war were merely to maintain its position and influence within the kingdom, while the majority of its energy was focused on this eastern border line—the later facts proved that Duke Loland’s caution and dedication at that time protected the entire kingdom.

After the unrest ended and Anzu’s domestic situation quickly stabilized due to the establishment of the Second Dynasty and the decisive actions of the northern Wilder Clan, the Loland Clan began constructing a series of defense facilities along the border. Longwind Fortress became the one with the most extensive investment of resources, the longest time taken, and the strongest defense forces among all the defense facilities.

It is less a military fortress and more a "fortress city" with both defensive and urban functions. Its interior houses all the facilities necessary to maintain the fortress’s operation and ensure self-sufficiency. The warriors of the Loland Clan are both the soldiers defending this place and the residents of this fortress city, and the purpose of its existence is to stand firm on this borderland under any circumstances, never to fall.

When Anzu declined sharply due to civil strife, but the Typhon Empire grew stronger and harbored ill intentions, it was thanks to the barrier established by the Loland Clan on the national border that Typhon’s ill intentions could only remain intentions.

In fact, the four families during the Fog Month civil strife of Anzu undertook distinctly different historical roles: the Franklin Clan of the West kept diplomatic and trade relations with the tribal country of Augari, preserving the kingdom’s economic lifeline and laying the foundation for post-war reconstruction; the northern Wilder Clan quelled the entire nation’s unrest using an illegitimate child as a banner, forcibly stabilizing the kingdom before the situation became irreparable; the Loland Clan in the East served as a barrier to secure Anzu’s borders, preventing malevolent external enemies during the internal conflict within the kingdom.

Although each of them could be said to have personal motives and nearly fragmented into opposing factions during the civil war, they nonetheless held the kingdom together at the final moment.

In sharp contrast was the southern territories originally established by the first of the four founding dukes, the Cecil Clan, which remained radiant for six hundred years yet did nothing substantial.

Now the ancestor of the Cecil Clan is alive again, so no one dares to directly criticize the honor of the Cecil Clan; they can only say that their family was unfortunate to have encountered the worst heir at the most critical time, nearly destroying the foundation laid by the ancestor.

Historians have always been enthusiastic about discussing the factors that led the four families to have such distinct performances during the Fog Month civil strife, but in Duke Loland’s view, any discussion about that period of history is meaningless. He believes the primary cause of the situation back then was actually Gawain Cecil dying too early—the Cecil Duke died in battle at thirty-five, leaving the world prematurely and thus failing to timely pass on his glory and honor to his descendants, resulting in significant problems with the Cecil family legacy under Grumman Cecil’s generation.

The resurrection of Duke Cecil this time might be a return to educate his descendants.

Silas Loland stood on the terrace, quietly contemplating these issues concerning kingdom history and the inheritance of honor. Many believe this legendary strength Duke is merely a warrior, but he considers such opinions to be the ignorance of the uninformed. He never lacks profound thoughts; it’s just that his battlefield talents far exceed his thoughts, prompting people to notice only his strength.

A familiar presence approached. Silas Loland withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to see a young man with brown short hair, clad in armor, walking onto the terrace. This battle-ready, exceptionally valiant young Knight slightly bowed in front of him: "Father, the intel has arrived."

"Perform the Knight’s salute!" Silas Loland sternly said, "Belk, you are now reporting military intelligence!"

"Yes!" The young man quickly straightened up and performed a very standard Knight’s salute, "General, the latest intelligence."

Silas nodded: "Speak."

"It has been confirmed that the Winterwolf Fortress garrison of Typhon indeed engaged in battle a few days ago, but it wasn’t against us. Instead, it was with some unknown ’monsters.’ The garrison achieved victory, and the fortress was not breached, but the outer walls suffered moderate damage. The casualties of the garrison are unclear, but they shouldn’t be minimal."

Silas nodded slightly but said nothing. The young Beltira—Silas Loland’s eldest son—couldn’t help but speak up when he saw his father’s silence: "Father, this is a good opportunity for us to weaken the enemy!"

Silas looked expressionlessly into Beltira’s eyes: "Do you really think so?"

"The enemy’s fatigue is our advantage," Beltira said, meeting his father’s gaze, holding his head high, "Their walls have been weakened, and repairing them in winter is difficult. Winterwolf Fortress’s defenses have weak points in the short term. Furthermore, they were attacked by monsters, which will cause panic and weaken their combat effectiveness. Finally, their soldiers have been injured, so this is a good time for us to attack."

"Fool."

Beltira stood straight, showing not the slightest sign of retreat.

"Do you know that Winterwolf Fortress is not an isolated fortress but one among a group of fortress chains? Do you know it’s winter, and a vast expanse of ice and snow lies between us and Winterwolf Fortress? Do you know how many reserve soldiers the Typhon Empire has arranged in their fortress chain, ready to replace any damaged troops?

"This bit of damage is hardly a blow to Typhon; rather, it will lead them to drastically reinforce the defenses of Winterwolf Fortress and its surroundings, transferring a large number of garrison troops from the rear of the fortress chain to the frontline to compensate for any defense gaps caused by the damaged walls. We would be weakened significantly by the snow and ice if we attempted to advance on Winterwolf Fortress. The enemy’s fatigue is our advantage? By the time you reach the foot of Winterwolf Fortress, it’s you who will be fatigued! And the most important point—taking the offensive would mean total war, but have I said that it’s time to go to war with Typhon?"

Only then did Beltira lower his head, embarrassed, but he couldn’t help but say, "Our war with Typhon... is imminent."

Silas regarded his overly young son, sensing the courage and hunger for victory and glory he had tried to instill in him, but he still had to shake his head: "Don’t anticipate this war. Don’t anticipate it at all."

"Father?"

"A warrior should indeed seek victory on the battlefield, but he should not seek war itself, especially not against Typhon," Silas Loland said slowly, sighing softly, "Have you heard any other news?"

"Other news?" Beltira frowned, clearly unsure what his father was getting at. "What is it?"

"A group of merchants coming from the southwest brought in an alchemical potion," Duke Silas replied leisurely, "They say the new Cecil territory to the southwest was also attacked by monsters. Those monsters are mutated creatures from the Gondor wasteland—your intelligence comes too slowly, as even news from the Cecil has reached here with the merchants, while you’ve only just cleared up about Winterwolf Fortress!"

Beltira felt a bit ashamed, though he knew it wasn’t entirely due to his incompetence—merchants travel within the safe and stable country, while he had to investigate those enemy fortress chains beyond the borders where information is tightly controlled. The difficulty and efficiency of the two tasks were drastically different. However, it remained a fact that he hadn’t managed to do his best.

So he quietly accepted his father’s criticism and discerned a trace of unease from the information his father mentioned: "Those monsters... are the ones Duke Gawain Cecil warned the noble about in the royal capital, aren’t they?"

"That’s right," Silas Loland nodded, "Not many people believed him initially, even I didn’t take it too seriously, but now it seems... I might have made a mistake."

Beltira looked at his father in surprise; it was rare to hear his father admit to making a mistake.

"Those monsters are real, and they are threatening human territories," Silas ignored his son’s gaze and continued speaking as if to himself, "They will attack Typhon, and they will attack us. To those wasteland monsters, there is no distinction between Typhon and Anzu, and this sudden threat... might change the entire situation."