Chapter 1245: The Second Journey North

Near the teleportation hall, in a secluded laboratory bathed in bright light, Mary stood before an observation window facing the hall. Her gaze pierced through the thick, reinforced crystal glass layered with dual energy barriers, fixed on the teleportation gate at the center of the hall.

Massive magical energy streamed in from the three power hubs surrounding Covenant Fortress, converging at several energy rail junctions inside the hall. Brilliant blue flames flickered within crystal tubular containers, continuously flowing and feeding into every component of the teleportation gate. Technicians dressed in uniforms of Typhon and Cecil bustled back and forth among the complex, sprawling apparatus, constantly refining the gate’s auxiliary structures and fine-tuning every parameter of these intricate devices.

Master Kamail and Master Windsor Mapel stood beside the gate, deep in discussion. They shook hands, their expressions warm and pleased.

“How long do you plan to stand by the window?” a mentor’s voice suddenly came from behind, snapping Mary back to full alertness. “Come on, break time’s over. You still have plenty of work to finish.”

Startled, Mary quickly turned and hurried back to her station, glancing toward the elderly mage seated at a nearby calculation desk. “Sorry, I was a bit distracted just now.”

The mentor’s voice carried a hint of reproach. “Don’t zone out during a project. It’s a bad habit—sometimes it can cost you your life.”

Mary nodded and approached the energy conduits embedded in the wall and the silvery alloy rails. She began observing the blue-white energy flows within the conduits and the shifting runes and glowing curves appearing on the alloy tracks. These conduits were “analysis veins” branching off from the main power pipeline, while the alloy rails connected to the massive underground magical core—the Cecilians called it the “Power Spine.” Their current states helped analyze the teleportation gate’s real-time load.

Of course, the hall was equipped with another monitoring system for frontline operators to track the gate’s status. This lab’s monitoring station primarily collected data before the gate’s official activation, allowing senior technical officers—including Mary’s mentor—to keep a close eye on the entire project.

Daniel, clad in a black robe, lifted his head as the runes swirling around him dimmed. He disengaged from the massive data calculations and looked at his most promising apprentice. “How’s the status of the third energy tower? Are the Power Spine readings back to normal?”

“After adjustments, the third energy tower is online and the mana supply has stabilized. The Power Spine readings are within normal range,” Mary reported confidently, effortlessly interpreting the dizzying raw data. As one of the subsystem’s designers, she could tell at a glance if the analysis nodes were functioning properly. “The C7 and C16 detection points in the secondary constraint segment of the gate are a bit low. I suspect incomplete resonance from newly installed components. I’ll arrange for the engineering mages to inspect them.”

“The secondary constraint segment, huh…” Daniel nodded slightly. “That’s the last link. Once all constraint segments are complete, we can ignite the gate for the first time. This project is progressing faster than I expected.”

“Well, it’s no surprise,” Mary smiled. “We’ve gathered the top talents from two great empires, with nearly unlimited resources. The alliance has thrown in manpower and materials from dozens of countries. Even the Silver Elves from the far southern continent sent over a dozen high-level star mages riding giant eagles.” She added, “I heard from Lady Windsor that the last time the nations of this continent cooperated so closely was a few years ago, during the repair of the Grant Wall…”

“Repairing the Grant Wall a few years ago? Hah, that can’t compare to today,” Daniel snorted dismissively. “That was a massive operation, sure, but the participants were scheming against each other, nations wary and suspicious—even voices doubting the Silver Empire never ceased. The Old Ansu chaos broke out not long after. Back then, people hadn’t yet been battered by divine calamities. They had no idea how dangerous this world could become.”

“You’re right. Back then, there was no ‘Alliance’ as we know it today,” Mary agreed immediately. Then, her expression shifted, hesitation flickering across her face. She fell silent, turning back to her workstation, but her voice transmitted directly into Daniel’s mind through their mental link. “You said… now that the relationship between Cecil and Typhon is changing so much, what about our value in the future…”

“We will continue to ‘exist,’ as always. We will endure,” Daniel’s voice echoed clearly in Mary’s mind, steady and unwavering. “Remember, no matter how close Typhon and Cecil become, as long as they remain two separate nations, as long as there is distinction between two groups, our ‘eyes’ will always have value.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hearing his apprentice’s reply, Daniel nodded slightly and returned his attention to the unfinished work before him.

Indeed, the relationship between Typhon and Cecil was shifting. Two nations once wary and even hostile were now drawn together by shared interests, growing closer every day. But Daniel knew well that no matter how close they got, two nations remained two nations—and the necessary intelligence work would never end.

The watchful eyes monitoring neighboring countries would never close; at most, the specifics of their tasks might shift slightly. Their master admired Rosetta Augustus’s talents, but that didn’t mean the rulers of these two powers were truly “inseparable.” Even the closest allies—the Silver Empire and the Highland Kingdom—had countless spies and informants embedded within each other. For thousands, even tens of thousands of years, mortal civilizations had always operated this way.

As their master once said: the essence of the Alliance was a group of porcupines huddling together for warmth. In a way, that was the essence of civilization itself.

Daniel shook his head. The runes around him brightened again as he resumed his massive model constructions and data simulations. The artificial neural cords behind him writhed slowly. He glanced casually toward Mary and sighed inwardly—his apprentice was still young, and he wondered when she would be ready to stand on her own. Looks like this old bone still needed to live a few more years…

…

In the royal district of Cecil City, at the empire’s large landing platform reserved for high-level official use—Amber had named it the “Resting Court”—Gawain, Amber, Maggie, and several dragon emissaries were making final preparations for departure. Hetty and Rebecca had come to see them off.

Watching the composed and prepared elder ancestor, Hetty couldn’t help but worry. She stepped up beside the landing platform and earnestly reminded him, “Ancestor, you must be extremely careful on this trip to Talrond. This time is different from before—the Dragon God and the dragons back then acted with goodwill, but that tower… it’s not something you want to deal with lightly. Besides, Talrond itself is unsafe now.”

This was the nth time his great xN-granddaughter had voiced her concerns. Gawain couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Don’t worry. It’s not my first time dealing with things like this. And stop nagging—it’s starting to sound like you’ve become the worried elder.”

Hetty’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she lowered her head. “I… might be a little overprotective…”

Before she could finish, Rebecca chimed in cheerfully, “Hey, that’s normal! When an elderly family member goes out, any caring junior would worry—Ancestor, please be careful! You’re over seven hundred years old now…”

Gawain shot a sharp look at the boisterous Rebecca, ready to scold her, but after a moment’s thought, he couldn’t find any fault in her words… which only made him more annoyed.

Hetty also glared at Rebecca but said nothing in this setting, silently filing away a mental note to give her a proper talking-to later. She turned her gaze back to Gawain. “Ancestor, your schedule is still too rushed. Several newly built warships at the North Port have their own missions. Only the Winter and two escort ships are available to sail. General Byron left for North Port yesterday; he will lead the Winter directly to Talrond’s west coast. But sea travel is slow, so the Winter will definitely arrive later than you. Unless it’s urgent, please wait a few days after arriving in Talrond to meet up with the Winter.”

“This operation is indeed rushed, but the situation won’t wait,” Gawain nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll act according to circumstances. After all, the Reverse Tide Tower won’t just run away.”

Hetty hummed in acknowledgment but couldn’t help glancing at Amber, who was distracted nearby. She sighed softly, “Sigh, you’re really bringing along such an unreliable one… I don’t know if anything will go wrong…”

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded nearby, and a massive shadow blocked the sunlight above them. Gawain looked up to see a graceful yet enormous blue dragon filling his view. The next moment, the dragon lowered her head, and a gentle but deep female voice came from above: “We are ready.”

As Melita spoke, a small head poked out from the edge of her broad back—a blue hatchling blinked curiously at Gawain and Amber standing on the platform, then excitedly chirped.

Not far off, another hatchling’s head appeared atop the white dragon Noretta’s back, chirping in response.

“Are you sure you want to bring these two little ones along?” Gawain asked, pointing at the excited hatchlings. “They still need care…”

“Talrond is their home. They’ve been out of their eggs long enough; it’s time they see what their mothers’ ‘home’ looks like and greet the dragon egg caretakers,” Melita said, tilting her neck to gently nudge the hatchling on her back, calming the little one’s excitement. “For you, traveling to Talrond might be an adventure, but for them… it’s going home.”

“Alright, that makes sense,” Gawain nodded. “But they just hatched recently. Is such a long journey safe for them?”

“For dragon hatchlings, crossing such a narrow sea isn’t really a ‘long journey,’” Melita laughed, her sharp fangs gleaming in the sunlight. “Once we take off, they’ll settle quietly on my and Noretta’s backs. Flying with their mothers is a basic skill for hatchlings.”

The young dragon perched on Melita’s back seemed to understand her mother’s words. It immediately lifted its neck and let out a clear, resonant “Gao!”—a call that somehow carried a hint of pride across its sharply defined features.

Gawain could only admit defeat with a wry smile. “Alright, when it comes to physical resilience… you dragons really do have the upper hand.”

Everything that needed to be explained had been covered, and all arrangements were firmly in place. Gawain, who preferred to keep ceremonies simple and efficient, wasted no more time. Moments later, several massive dragon silhouettes—including Maggie—soared up from the landing platform. Riding the invisible currents of magical energy, this group bound for Tal’Rond had already taken to the vast, open blue sky.

The fierce winds of high altitude rushed against them, but most of the strong gusts were blocked by the invisible barrier enveloping the dragons’ backs. Only a gentle, pleasant breeze brushed against their faces. Sitting alongside Amber on Melita’s back, Gawain finally couldn’t help but glance ahead and ask, “You said the young dragons usually stay put on their mother’s back during travel, right…?”

Before he could finish, a series of joyful cries erupted from beside him: “Gao! Gao~! Gaoooo~!!!”

Amber turned her head and immediately spotted the little hatchling clambering to the edge near Melita’s shoulder blade. The tiny creature’s head was nearly pressed against the translucent energy shield. Its four claws gripped tightly onto the raised bone near Melita’s shoulder, stretching its neck out eagerly as it shouted gleefully into the sky. Its long tail wagged wildly, as excited as a dog about to break free.

Melita twisted her head sharply to look back and answered Gawain’s question with a loud, reassuring voice: “Don’t worry! She’s just a little excited! Every young dragon experiences this on their first high-speed flight at altitude—they hold on tight, and the hatchlings know exactly what they’re doing~~!”

No sooner had the blue dragon finished speaking than Gawain saw the little one push its head beyond the protective shield. The violent high-altitude winds buffeted the hatchling, barely a month out of its shell. Even with a dragon’s hardy constitution, it was forced to tilt its head back sharply. Then, struggling, it opened its mouth wide as if challenging the endless blue sky itself. From its tender jaws came a string of sounds—

“Wuwawawawa—hulu lululu—wuwawa…”

Gawain: “…”

Amber: “…”

Suddenly, Gawain was reminded of his own childhood, foolishly staring at a fan in a past life, and felt a wave of nostalgia.

This little dragon really wasn’t much different from a mischievous kid after all!

(The End of This Chapter)