Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1022: Chapter 1021: The Rising Wind

The seventh flash rose above a certain peak in the Winterhold direction, and shortly after, an irregularly shaped mushroom cloud rose from the plains’ edge. The pale-colored magic turbulence spread from the base of the mushroom cloud, burning and annihilating everything in its path, while a deafening roar echoed between heaven and earth, as if capable of shaking the mountains.

Then, a massive body tore through the rolling heat waves and smoke. The armor on its body showed many cracks, with rusty-colored gas spewing from them, and molten rock flowing at the giant’s feet. It lifted its head, and deep within the hollow helmet, two dark red fires danced as it gazed toward a distant peak—a minute ago, that peak’s position had unleashed the seventh Annihilation Seed.

A second later, chaotic and frenzied layered sounds echoed from within the giant’s helmet—a war cry that seemed beyond human understanding—and then it raised its arm high. A longbow instantly formed in its hand, aiming at the distant peak with a gallant and heroic pose that could only be imagined by mortal imagination. A blood-red arrow appeared out of thin air on the bowstring.

The giant released the bowstring, and the blood-red arrow sliced through the air, landing on the distant peak almost instantly—where layered thick barriers rose in the air almost simultaneously. The blood-red arrow struck the surface of the barriers, accompanied by a screech that tore through the sky, and in almost a moment, the layered barriers were pierced through consecutively, while a massive explosion engulfed the entire mountain.

The white beam piercing the sky above the peak flickered violently a few times, then extinguished completely in the rising explosion cloud. Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, the Typhon Camp, with magic light currents flowing widely, dimmed one by one as if swallowed by darkness—should someone look down from the sky at this moment, they would see a large void appearing within the magic network formed by hundreds of thousands of Transcendents covering the entire Winterhold Area, a sight of horror.

In the Hall of Mysteries, a trembling voice sounded from the Communication Crystal: "The Black Thorn Mage Corps has been wiped out! Node Seven is offline! Magic flow deviation is nine percent!"

The hall fell silent for a brief moment before a calm, flat voice echoed in the vast Hall of Mysteries:

"Continue."

...

On the other side of the distant confrontation zone, the terrifying scene between the Winterhold Mountains and the plains shook every observer’s mind. The giant light orbs rising continuously, the giant striding forward in the torrent of magic, and the rapidly extinguished mortal defense lines seemed like a doomsday painting, impacting deeply despite the distance.

The Drake Cavalry Scouts transmitted clearer images from a closer distance—being careful to maintain a safe distance, they captured the sight of the uncontrolled and ruthless deity advancing under the continuous bombardment of Annihilation Seeds.

Amber stood beside Gawain, eyes wide as she watched the distant scene projected by the Magic Web terminal in front of her, finally unable to resist exclaiming, "They were actually hiding such a powerful thing..."

"This is Typhon’s ’nationwide strength’..." Gawain said slowly in a deep voice, "Truly... impressive."

Meanwhile, a thought emerged in his mind: If Emperor Rosetta Augustus had not opted for a bloodless route and directly declared war on Anzu, Anzu might have been gone long ago.

This world... truly has abyss everywhere.

At this moment, another Magic Web terminal beside them abruptly hummed, the Projection Crystal above it lit up, and Maryland’s figure appeared in the holographic projection with the busy scene inside an armored train behind him.

"Your Majesty," Maryland first saluted militarily, then spoke urgently, "We have reached the Typhon Control Zone, and the Typhon guard post here is completely destroyed—the railway ahead can still be pushed forward a little, and the tank units can enter at any time. Should we attack?"

Gawain did not answer immediately but slightly raised his head, looking in the direction of the Winterhold defense line.

Even separated by thick walls and a long-distance, he could imagine the scenes unfolding on that battlefield: the War God, having lost all sanity and transformed into a calamity, still advancing, and the mortal defense line retreating step by step. The large mage positions near Winterhold were being destroyed one by one, with hundreds and thousands of Typhon people dying every minute in the chaos of magic and the deity’s counterattack.

Typhon, this terrifying colossal entity, the most potent competitor and threat to the Cecil Empire, a deeply rooted military empire, was now bleeding by the minute, its formidable force accumulated over centuries was being consumed at an unprecedented speed—just wait a bit longer, and the War God could shred its most elite troops, wait a bit longer, and the Typhon defense line would be breached, wait a bit longer, and Typhon would never again be a threat to Cecil.

And the War God might be sufficiently weakened in this process, becoming easier to kill: with continuous bombardment by Annihilation Seeds on a god in a weakened state, even if it could not kill, it would severely wound—perhaps only then would be the most ’cost-effective’ moment for an attack.

The black-haired maid named Diana merely stood quietly behind Gawain. Despite being in the "enemy’s" headquarters, with many soldiers monitoring nearby, this lady from the Typhon side remained calm and composed. She observed Gawain’s back with eyes devoid of emotional fluctuation, neither urging nor advising, as if a detached observer, silently counting each second in the turning points of history here.

Gawain smiled lightly, did not hesitate much, and looked at the communication device beside him: "Maryland, full force attack."

...

The cold wind howled as it swept across the dry plains, and the armored train "War Citizen" crouched silently like a steel-forged giant beast on a temporary railway in the Typhon-Cecil confrontation zone. On the sides of "War Citizen", several tracks parallel carried escort missions performed by "Iron Scepter" and the "Zero" armored train rapidly mobilized from Longwind Fortress. Around and behind these colossal entities, one could see rows of tanks and multi-functional war vehicles, as well as large magic cannons being dragged by powerful locomotives that could serve as stationary giant cannons in fortress structures.

The military formation of steel giants spread and lined up on the plains, with hunters anxiously awaiting orders from behind. Among the soldiers operating these war machines, a significant number had participated in the past action to hunt the "body of the fake god". Participating in a mortal hunt of a deity once was already worthy of poets’ praise, and now they had the chance for a second time.

Moreover, unlike the previous "body of the fake god", this time they faced a more powerful and more "orthodox" deity.

In the distance, in the Winterhold Fortress Group direction, a dozen bright beams pierced through the "night sky" brought by the peculiar stars, with one beam flickering briefly, followed shortly by an earth-shattering explosion on the plains. The overflowing magic turbulence rose like a new sun on the earth, and likewise, shortly afterward, that beam abruptly dimmed.

Inside the War Citizen armored train, a senior officer swiftly traversed busy seats to reach Maryland, speaking urgently: "General! Do we attack? Several tank regiment commanders have inquired multiple times..."

Maryland, clad in military uniform, had just hung up the communication. This composed mid-aged general, stemming from the knights, heard his subordinate’s words, only saying a few short words: "Orders from above — attack!"

"Yes! General!" The senior officer saluted sharply, loudly proclaiming, but as he turned and was just about to step away, he suddenly stopped, turning with a hint of doubt towards Maryland, "By the way, we are attacking which side?"

Maryland immediately glared at the opponent: "Is there even a need to ask?! Of course, aim at the biggest one that’s easiest to target!"

The senior officer’s face blossomed into a bright smile, his voice exceptionally loud: "Yes! General!!"

The next moment, surging magic power was injected into the engine and power spine, gears and linkages began to rotate under the drive of magic mechanisms, the war vehicle started advancing, the massive Steel Legion surged like a flood toward the Winter Fortress defense line——and after a brief delay, the large Rainbow Light Generator at the rear of the War Citizen emitted a buzzing sound, blinding white light began to ripple across the surface of the Focusing Crystal, accompanied by a howl of air being torn apart, a torrent of pure arcane energy instantly crossed a great distance, striking the massive iron-grey giant advancing from afar.

Next was the orbital acceleration main gun at the front and rear of the War Citizen, the main gun of Armor Train No.0, the Iron Scepter’s main and secondary guns...

"Boom Boom Boomーー"

The roar of magic weapons sounded one after another, incessant flashes lit up in the steel flood’s surge, powerful beams and shells bombarded the out-of-control god that had already approached the Winter Fortress Group.

That enormous and conspicuous "iron giant"... is indeed quite easy to target.

...

"The Frost Combat Mage Corps is annihilated! Node eleven has failed! There is severe imbalance occurring in the magic flow, our magic network is at risk of regional collapse!"

"Magic supply zones camp twelve to sixteen are out of contact, the garrison troops in camps nineteen and twenty-two have suffered heavy casualties, unable to support the nodes, have withdrawn from combat!"

"The National Knights Corps 8th Group is out of contact..."

"The Fourth Griffon Knight Corps completed their aerial attack mission, returning fourth part..."

Information from various Mage outposts continuously gathered in this largest Mage tower, within which Palin Winterhold, gripping his magic wand tightly, his expression as cold as wintry mountains.

The Empire’s elite that had accumulated over so many years were being consumed at a terrifying rate, he didn’t even feel the heartache, only felt absurdity, but the most absurd of all —— that horrifying giant was still alive, and had begun attacking the Winter Fortress Group, the mortal attack only dealt limited damage to it, while each of its counterattacks meant the organizational extinction of a certain unit.

This pressure was horrifying, even the Typhon soldiers, whose resolve is as firm as rocky ridges, would feel fear and shaken in the face of such a prolonged battle.

To date, the entire front line hasn’t collapsed, only due to three factors: one, the soldiers marshal their greatest bravery in a hopeless situation, one, Duke Ferdinand Wendell, using the Protectorate Knight Order’s strength, forcibly maintains the most basic morale and order in the frontline, and finally... because this defense line is truly wide, while the disbandment speed of troops removed from divine wrath was too fast, leading to scattered small units in different corners of the front line incapable of directly perceiving the continuous casualties occurring every minute on this prolonged front line.

Only those who could see the overall war situation truly knew what mortals were facing on this battlefield.

"So this is the divine catastrophe..." Count Winterhold couldn’t help but mumble, "For past hundreds and thousands of years, what have we truly worshiped..."

He instinctively gazed at the magic projection nearby, just in time to see the ruthless cold giant unleash a sky-tearing roar, within the hollow helmet depths, the inhuman twin flames seemed to contain the most extreme madness of the mortal world.

It is no longer divine in any sense, completely transformed into pure natural disaster and monster, relying on instincts to slaughter all living creatures on this land, or rather... creating a war in which all must perish.

At this moment, the sudden shining light at the edge of the magic projection caught Count Winterhold’s attention, in the next instant he saw explosions of massive flames bursting across the iron-grey giant’s body —— just a few seconds later, the beam and shells fell like a torrential downpour, covering the entire region where the giant stood.

Count Winterhold was dumbstruck for two seconds, then realized it was a spectacle created by the Cecil Clan.

The Cecil Clan had already crossed the confrontation and fire zones, entering the Typhon Empire’s control zone —— yet all sentries set up along the original defense line edge had long been destroyed by the mad gods, no one issued any warning or report regarding the Cecil Clan’s arrival.

Of course, in the current situation, no one cared about this fact.

"Your Majesty! The Cecil Clan has launched an attack!" Palin Winterhold swiftly approached the Communication Crystal, while activating the spell, spoke urgently, adding an explanation, "Ah, they’re not attacking us..."

"... Maintain the attack frequency of the Annihilation Seed as much as possible," the voice on the other side of the crystal maintained its usual calmness, "So far, this battle has only now entered the main course."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

No matter what, the arrival of the Cecil Clan greatly encouraged the officers and soldiers on the defense line, upon seeing those heaven-descending bombardments and arcane torrents falling upon the iron-colored giant, even the most resolute knights couldn’t help but breathe a significant sigh of relief —— never had any Typhon human imagined such a scenario, never had they imagined being encouraged by the appearance of the Cecil Clan, and never had they imagined that those from-the-sky bombardments and arcane torrents would become reassuring things.

The stabilization of the recently shaken defense line and the mortals didn’t retreat, once again the earth shuddered with the roar of bombardments.

(Special edition of "Record of Anomalous Creatures" has been released! Produced by our new team! Everyone go give it a boost — whether there’s a sequel, depends on its reception!)