Chapter 1016: The Approaching God

Outside the arched window inset with crystal glass, snowflakes whipped up by the wind drifted past. The ice crystals tapped softly against the pane, producing a delicate, tinkling sound. Thick stone walls and magical circulations kept the biting cold of the castle’s exterior at bay, maintaining a warm, cozy temperature inside.

Not far away, a blazing fireplace cast a bright glow. The flames flickered against brass ornaments, throwing hazy, dancing shadows across the room. The comforting warmth eased the weariness in the heart of the high-ranking ranger who had traveled far and wide—suddenly, this harsh winter didn’t feel quite so cold.

“Tell me about the situation at Winterfort,” Gawain said as he entered, casually shrugging off his cloak and hanging it on a nearby hook. “How many of our people are still operating over there?”

“The main squad of the Iron Rangers has already withdrawn to our controlled territory,” Solderin replied with a nod. “Currently, there are three reconnaissance teams and two mobile units conducting missions between Winterfort and the Frostwood. Also, due to shifts in the situation in several key towns, divine corruption is spreading beyond the military. Our intelligence agents embedded in the urban areas have been evacuated in stages, leaving only a few well-protected communication stations running at minimal capacity.”

“Hm…” Gawain nodded thoughtfully. “Evacuating early is wise. The situation is about to change drastically. The stalemate phase is ending; soon, we’ll see the outcome.”

“When I first received the evacuation order, I was surprised—the situation is evolving faster than I expected,” Solderin said. “It seems the war god’s corruption is accelerating rapidly. Aldern can’t wait any longer… which matches some of the phenomena I observed before pulling out.”

“Phenomena?” Gawain’s expression grew serious. “What kind of phenomena?”

Solderin gathered his thoughts and began reporting what he had observed during his reconnaissance in the Winterfort region. “By the time I left, there were already very obvious signs of divine calamity on Typhon’s lands. Ordinary people started hearing and seeing ‘messages’ related to the gods. The sealed war god temples began emitting strange noises frequently. Moreover, some witnesses reported massive illusions appearing in the sky above Winterfort. The clearer accounts described the apparition as a giant clad in heavy iron-gray armor.”

“…The classic image of the war god in most religious texts,” Gawain said in a low voice. “An armored giant, marching through storms and clouds, gazing down upon the earth…”

He then asked, “Did these phenomena appear after that aerial battle?”

Solderin thought for a moment. “If you mean the usual auditory and visual hallucinations, those happened occasionally even before the battle. Locals believed they were magical effects caused by the gathering of many battle mages. But if you’re referring to the giant… that only appeared a few days after the air battle.”

Gawain exhaled softly. The intelligence Solderin brought further confirmed his suspicions about the “war god’s descent.”

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Solderin suddenly spoke again: “If my analysis is correct… all these signs indicate the war god’s activity is intensifying, and it’s already very ‘close’ to our world. Considering you’ve come here in person… could it be that the war god is about to manifest?”

Gawain’s eyes widened in surprise. He gave Solderin a thorough once-over, but before he could respond, Solderin smiled faintly. “I’m no expert in theology, nor do I have your strategic foresight, but over the centuries, I’ve picked up bits and pieces of knowledge. The phenomena I observed recently in Winterfort were enough to make me think along these lines… I just never imagined it would come to this.”

“Rosetta seems to be planning something big,” Gawain sighed deeply. “Even I have to admit, he’s a terrifying man… but also one with sharp judgment and decisive action.”

“In my eyes, you all are pretty ‘terrifying’ people,” Solderin chuckled, a hint of nostalgia in his tone. “Sometimes I can’t help but think back to when I first met you over seven hundred years ago… back then, you were even more reckless, fearsome on the battlefield. But strangely, I felt more at ease with you then than I do now.”

“After all, back then I only had to answer to one army. The burden of the nation rested on Charles,” Gawain said casually. But just as he finished speaking, a familiar mental ripple suddenly stirred deep within his consciousness, interrupting his next words.

He waved to Solderin to wait a moment, then quickly focused, immersing his mind into the neural network. Moments later, he ended the sudden communication. Solderin, noticing Gawain’s return to reality, immediately asked, “What happened?”

“Number 25 just sent word,” Gawain’s expression darkened as he spoke gravely. “Rosetta Augustus left Aldern yesterday. Accompanying him was Duke Pedinan.”

Upon hearing this, Solderin’s face instantly grew serious. At such a critical moment, with the situation shifting so rapidly, the warlord himself leaving the imperial capital could only mean one thing…

“Looks like it’s about to begin.” After a few seconds of silence, Gawain said slowly, his voice low and heavy.

…

The dizziness from the mental link faded quickly. Daniel opened his eyes, still seated in his chair.

The fireplace beside him crackled warmly, flames dancing cheerfully in the hearth. Magic crystal lamps illuminated the spacious living room. Two enchanted brooms swept dust from the stairwell corners automatically. The old mage sat in a comfortable armchair near the fire, a warm blanket draped over his legs. An open spellbook rested on his lap, its runic pages glowing with a soft, lustrous light. It all made him look as if he had merely taken a brief nap.

The young female mage reading nearby noticed her mentor’s subtle movement and immediately looked up, concern etched on her face. “Has the message been sent?”

“Yes,” Daniel nodded simply. “No abnormalities?”

“No. The sensing runes placed throughout the house haven’t detected anything,” Mary replied promptly. “No one’s spying on us.”

“That’s good,” Daniel said. “The situation in Aldern seems calm on the surface, but the Obsidian Guard and royal spies are stretched thin behind the scenes. Even a few minutes of communication must be handled with extreme caution… You haven’t used the neural network these past few days, have you?”

“No!” Mary shook her head emphatically. “I’ve been very careful.”

Daniel gave a soft “hm,” then fixed his gaze on Mary for a long moment without moving. The black-haired mage finally shifted awkwardly under his scrutiny and nervously asked, “Master… have I done something wrong again?”

There was no fear in her voice now, just the nervousness of an apprentice facing her stern mentor.

“If you want to return to the countryside, I can arrange it,” Daniel said flatly. “With your current skills and rank, I could make you the head of a regional mage guild. Even if you don’t want the position, you could live well there and earn the respect of many.”

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?” Mary’s eyes widened. “Is it because I messed up in the lab recently…?”

“I’ve just realized that what we’re dealing with is becoming increasingly dangerous, and your mind probably isn’t ready for this kind of work,” Daniel said calmly. “If something happens, I’d have to split my attention to guide you.”

Mary was silent for a few seconds, as if she needed time to grasp the true meaning behind her mentor’s words. Once she understood, she summoned her courage and finally broke the silence. “Master, I can take care of myself. I don’t want to go back to the countryside… I think I’m fine here…”

Her voice weakened at the end; the courage she’d mustered was only enough to say those few words in front of her formidable mentor. Daniel, however, looked somewhat surprised. He studied his apprentice—who had never quite lived up to expectations—for a moment, then recalled what had happened a year ago when he found her parents in the countryside.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and snorted coldly. “Suit yourself. Opportunities like this won’t come again.”

…

The mana-powered train glided swiftly and smoothly along the tracks. Outside the window, the scenery rushed past—a snowy landscape of harvested fields buried beneath white, and quiet villages nestled in the stillness.

“We still have some time before reaching the eastern checkpoint of Winterfort, Your Majesty,” Pedinan said, glancing at the Typhon Emperor seated opposite him. “Would you like to rest?”

“No need,” Rosetta replied casually, his gaze sweeping over the passing fields. “The mana train is indeed a marvelous invention, as are the magitech machines.”

“Indeed,” Pedinan agreed. “That’s why, no matter the cost, we must find a way to produce them ourselves.”

Rosetta hummed in acknowledgment. His eyes seemed drawn to the fields outside, staring fixedly for a long moment before breaking the silence again. “Lord Pedinan, do you remember our last hunt in 716?”

Pedinan thought for a moment. “You mean the winter hunt? Of course. It left a deep impression… That was the year before your coronation. That winter was cold, and we caught several deer in the northern hunting grounds of Tarenkins… It was also the last royal winter hunt. The following year, you were crowned and temporarily canceled the hunt, and the year after that, you officially ended the royal winter hunt tradition—a centuries-old royal custom.”

“Yes… Do you remember what happened during that winter hunt?” Rosetta said, glancing at Pedinan. “Don’t tell me you only remember the deer.”

“I certainly remember what happened,” Pedinan recalled seriously. “A hunter trespassed into the forbidden forest during the winter hunting ban, trying to catch a rabbit in secret. His pregnant wife was ill and needed meat to regain strength. But soldiers patrolling the hunting grounds found him. Without trial or notification, they shot the hunter with arrows—just like killing game in the forest.”

“Yes, just like killing game,” Rosetta said calmly. “At that time, many people thought it was only right.”

“Even until a few years ago, some still thought it was justified. Only in the past two or three years has this begun to change. Among the literate commoners, more scholars, capable merchants, and rune artisans have emerged. Some commoners have even entered various government offices and parliaments. With improvements in nutrition, education, and newborn selection systems, the number of awakened extraordinary individuals among the commoners has risen. Now, the ratio of awakened individuals between nobles and commoners is nearly equal. Only then did the nobles have to admit that commoners possess the same capacity for thought, learning, and growth—or more bluntly put… admit that commoners and nobles are the same species.”

Rosetta listened quietly to Ferdinand’s account, his calm yet slightly grim expression concealing every flicker of emotion. After a long pause of several seconds, he finally broke the silence softly, gazing toward Winterburg. “Yes, it took us nearly twenty years just to barely accomplish all this…”

“To spend over a decade convincing some people of a truth so obvious and in harmony with nature’s laws—that’s a bit ironic,” Ferdinand sighed. “What’s even more ironic is that neither you nor I fully understood these things from the very beginning…”

Rosetta said nothing in response. Instead, he seemed lost in thought, staring out the window toward Winterburg. Beyond the snow-blanketed fields flanking the train stretched the rolling mountains of the Winterburg defense line. His eyes fixed on the vast, boundless sky between the peaks and the clouds.

In one eye shimmered a faint starlight, and deep within his pupil seemed embedded another eye altogether. Through it, he clearly saw a strange vision far out in the sky—

A giant clad in iron-gray armor stood amid the clouds, gazing down with hollow, icy eyes upon this fragile, insignificant world. On his back hung a banner and a massive sword; in his hand he held a war bow as tall as a clock tower.

That was God. Standing beneath the clear winter sky, He seemed to reign supreme over His exclusive hunting ground. The towering cities and endless countryside before His colossal form appeared no more than mere decorations—colorful flags adorning a hunting preserve. Under God’s war bow, all mortals—kings and commoners, heroes and foot soldiers alike—were nothing but prey awaiting slaughter.

The wheels turned, the train roared forward, and gusts of wind swirling with snowflakes whipped between the repulsion engines and relay pylons. The arcane-powered train gradually accelerated, charging straight toward the horizon where the majestic deity was nearly fully manifest in this world.

And as the train sped toward the border, along more than a dozen routes from Typhon’s heartland to Winterburg, across plains and valleys, rivers and fields, dozens of knightly orders and battlemage regiments—hundreds of thousands of extraordinary soldiers—were moving toward the front lines.

(End of chapter)