Chapter 1178: A Bold Project

After many days of relentless summer heat, a timely rain swept across the vast lands stretching from the Rockhold Fortress to the Dark Mountains. The downpour lasted a full day and night, bringing with it a welcome relief from the stifling heat and a gradually deepening sense of autumn in the air.

The window facing the garden was wide open, letting in a cool breeze tinged with the fresh scent of damp earth. Sunlight, now finally breaking through the clouds, streamed in and scattered dazzling patches of light across the windowsill. Standing before the broad window, Gawain’s gaze drifted over the lush grass below. He spotted a long Tyr lazily curled up in a small flowerbed encircled by bushes. Miss Selkie’s upper body lay stretched out on a thin blanket, basking in the sun, while the tip of her tail poked out from the shrubbery, idly stirring the water in a puddle beside the garden path.

She would probably stay there until the sun set—then curl back inside to continue lounging.

“Sometimes, I really envy that salty fish,” Gawain said with a faint, odd smile. “How does she manage to have so much free time every day, doing absolutely nothing?”

Amber, standing just behind him, peeked toward the garden and smirked. “It’s not doing nothing that’s impressive—it’s that she manages to slack off all day and still not miss a beat as the naval technology consultant. North Harbor just sent word today that the stabilizing fins she helped design are performing excellently on the new class of frigates. But from what I see, she’s just sleeping in every possible spot…”

Gawain shrugged helplessly. “Alright, tell me more about the northern investigation… Where were we?”

Amber nodded. “Several of our elite operatives successfully infiltrated Prandel, the coastal city in Violet Bay—the one Duchess Victoria mentioned before. The initial intelligence confirms the clues Victoria gave us. Some locals still remember the group of Loren apprentices who landed there over a decade ago, and many recall the circumstances when they left.

“Our agents also found the ‘path’ the apprentices took when they set out for the City of a Thousand Towers. Just as Victoria described, there’s no real path—only endless thick fog and shadowy dense woods within it. One agent skilled in wilderness operations ventured into the forest but found that all navigation devices and pathfinding spells failed the moment they entered the fog. It seems there’s some strange magical field at work. To avoid danger, the agent had to retreat.

“Additionally, we’ve established contact with some Violet Bay mages active in the coastal cities. Although the ‘Hidden Realm’ is generally closed off, residents on the fringes are curious about new things from Loren. Through trade and knowledge exchange, a few mages have shared local customs and legends. But these fringe mages hold marginal status in Violet society, so the intelligence they provide is limited. In short, we’ve made some progress, but don’t expect any breakthroughs soon.”

Amber paused briefly, then continued. “We also have news from Talrond. The support teams the Alliance sent have settled in and begun reconstruction work. Operating in the Dragon Wastelands seems to have given them extra motivation—almost all projects are ahead of schedule. Byron’s naval forces will return within a day or two, while the first support team will stay for a year-long mission.

“Regarding intelligence, we’ve confirmed that Talrond’s post-disaster situation matches Ambassador Melita’s reports. The provisional government in Argondor is in better shape than we expected. Our intelligence department assesses that order will be restored quickly, with no large-scale chaos or renewed conflict. Dragons are tougher than we thought, which should be good news for the nations of Loren…”

Amber’s report was clear and thorough. Gawain listened attentively, occasionally asking questions that she answered precisely. At the end, he couldn’t help but remark, “You’ve really grown a lot over the years.”

Crossing her arms, Amber raised an eyebrow. “So, does that mean a raise?”

Gawain glanced at her but said nothing. They stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter—a shared joke that had taken years to develop.

“Honestly, at your level, getting a raise isn’t easy. And do you even care about that little extra pay anymore?”

“Of course I do! What else?” Amber pouted, matter-of-fact. “I’m counting on the government’s paycheck. The law says no side jobs for official civil servants, and my skills have been getting rusty. Just the other day, I tried picking a lock for old times’ sake—and couldn’t get it open on the first couple of tries…”

Gawain ignored her casual rambling and instead looked at her with mild surprise. “I didn’t expect you to stick so strictly to the rules. I thought with your personality, you’d at least try to find loopholes.”

Amber had been joking around, but at his words, her smile faded and she grew serious. She glanced at him and said slowly, “Those laws were painstakingly crafted by all of us over many years, and only now are they being properly enforced. I used to be a petty thief, but if I still tried to exploit loopholes today, all that effort would be wasted.”

Gawain hadn’t expected such earnestness from her. Surprised, he asked, “Why so serious all of a sudden? That’s not like you…”

Amber shook her head, eyes lowering so he couldn’t quite read her expression. “Bobby ‘Bucktooth’ was arrested yesterday. I gave the order myself.” She sighed. “You remember him, right? One of the earliest MI operatives, an old hand I brought over from Kant’s team, part of Anton’s first group… He was clever, but I never thought his schemes would one day break our collective discipline. The Purge Task Force found seven major economic violations.

“Anton came to me early the day before yesterday. What could I do? I had to arrest a former loyal subordinate, just like we used to deal with rule-breakers in the Black Alley… If he won’t be loyal, I have to be loyal for him.

“After this, I’ll take responsibility as per regulations. Once the investigation into Bucktooth is complete, Anton and I will prepare the report…”

The corridor by the window fell silent. After a moment, Gawain sighed softly. “When times are hard, most people can band together and fight through the thorns. But when things get better, those comrades who shared hardships may not stay consistent. Some want to make up for past sacrifices, some want to be superior, and some get complacent and become the very kind of people they once fought to eliminate… That’s why a system of continuous self-renewal and correction is so important.”

“The Purge Task Force arrests people every week. I just never thought one of my own recruits would end up on the list. Sigh…” Amber shook her head. “But it’s a good thing. If even a veteran like him can be caught and dealt with, it means the correction mechanism you built is still working. Like you said—the scary thing isn’t the Purge Task Force’s list, but if it ever becomes empty.”

Gawain nodded, about to say more when familiar footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor, drawing their attention.

He looked up and saw Heddy hurrying toward them, dressed in a red gown trimmed with gold. Noticing her serious expression and brisk pace, he sensed urgent news was coming. He stepped forward before she reached them. “What’s happened?”

“We’ve received a top-level communication from the Typhon Empire—directly from the Obsidian Palace,” Heddy said, catching her breath. “They’ve made a breakthrough in their research on the War God’s Shard and now want to propose a high-profile academic collaboration with us to undertake a bold… project.”

“A collaboration from Typhon? Related to the War God’s Shard?” Gawain was surprised. This was the first official cooperation proposal from Typhon since the last ‘war.’ It came much sooner than he expected, which could only mean their scholars had achieved something that even Emperor Rosetta Augustus found unsettling. “This should be under the jurisdiction of the Divine Authority Council… What have those Typhon folks come up with?”

Heddy hadn’t yet calmed from the news herself. Taking a deep breath, she managed to sound more composed. “In short… they seem to have found a way to open the gates to the Divine Realm—the War God’s domain—allowing mortals to enter and explore.”

Gawain blinked, speechless.

The corridor fell utterly silent. Even Gawain was momentarily stunned, staring at Heddy for several seconds before finally piecing it together and blurting out, “What the hell?”

He quickly cleared his throat, trying to restore some dignity. “You’re saying they want to open a gateway to the Divine Realm? Are the Typhon people serious?”

“The Obsidian Palace sent the message directly. If even Emperor Rosetta Augustus isn’t taking this seriously, then few in the world would,” Heddy sighed, clearly understanding Gawain’s shock—she had reacted similarly not long ago. “They sent a brief technical document and an ‘inspiration report’ outlining their research on the War God’s Shard and the basic concept for opening the gate—including why they want to do it. I’ve read the documents. From a former technician’s perspective… I don’t see any issues.

“In simple terms, they discovered the dual nature of gods and their realms, found a ‘resonance’ path between the deity and the divine domain, and confirmed that after a god’s fall, the realm doesn’t vanish immediately but dissipates over a long period. They’ve found a way to materialize and temporarily stabilize this ‘path’ and have conducted substantial feasibility tests.

“The documents don’t specify how the Typhon scholars found this method, but between the lines, I suspect Emperor Rosetta Augustus herself may be involved.”

“Rosetta Augustus herself…” High King murmured the name Heddy had mentioned, a flicker of realization dawning on him. The Augustus family—this venerable lineage had been entangled with the ancient ‘Divine Eye’ for over two centuries. Through generations of immense sacrifice, they had managed to steal usable knowledge from the gods themselves, achieving a feat unparalleled in mortal history. And this knowledge… was a treasure even Cecil’s advanced technology couldn’t replicate.

Cecil had begun studying the gods early on, inheriting part of the legacy left by the ancient Gondor rebels. Their advantage in this field was clear. But Typhon controlled knowledge directly derived from the gods, which meant that in certain specialized areas, the Typhonians held their own edge. The fragments of the War God were not monopolized by either Cecil or Typhon. After the Battle of Winterburg, the divine shards scattered and shattered; the remnants successfully recovered were divided between the two sides. Both nations immediately began researching these fragments, but it was evident that Typhon had taken the lead.

Yet, it seemed Aldern had no intention of hoarding these breakthroughs. They had implemented the resolutions from the 112th Conference, honoring the consensus reached by the leaders at the founding assembly of the Divine Authority Council: the fruits of divine research should be shared by all mortals. Until then, specific technical projects would be jointly undertaken by member states with the relevant expertise. The “invitation” Typhon sent to Cecil was precisely in line with this agreement.

“The Typhonians are the first to play by the rules,” High King thought briefly, then sighed softly. “That’s good—we should respond positively. But before agreeing hastily, we need to see exactly what they’ve come up with… Heddy, send the documents from Aldern to my study. I’ll review them right away. And notify Kamail and Veronica—I’ll likely need their ‘expert opinions’ soon.”

Heddy bowed her head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

She turned and left swiftly, while Amber chattered beside High King, wide-eyed. “Those Typhonians really went and made something terrifying in secret… opening a gateway to the Divine Realm? That’s something none of us even dared to imagine…”

“Well…” High King glanced at Amber, a little embarrassed. “I’ve thought about it too, but technically, I had no clue how to make it happen…”

Amber stared, stunned, before finally blurting out, “…What kind of ideas are you having? Are you related to that Rosetta Augustus or something?!”

“…If you put it that way, I suppose it’s not impossible,” High King said, rubbing his nose as he sifted through memories. “Seven hundred years ago, my wife was a distant cousin of Roland Augustus…”

(End of chapter)