Chapter 1275: The In-Person Meeting

Massive wings blotting out the sun swept over the castle district. A colossal dragon circled slowly, gradually descending toward the open landing field behind Covenant Fortress. As it lowered its altitude, Melita and Noretta carefully observed the sprawling complex below—the towering energy towers, the makeshift roads, the alliance member nations’ encampments, and the immense energy fluctuations invisible to the naked eye but unmistakable to those attuned to magic.

Led by Cecil and Typhon, a vast array of manpower and resources from the alliance member states had been poured into constructing this “Gate” on this cold, barren wasteland. Even in Melita’s tens of thousands of years of dragon life, she had never witnessed anything like it. Her eyes, glowing with magical radiance, perceived far more than ordinary mortals. Through her magical vision, she saw torrents of mana surging between the facilities, a massive concentration of energy at the heart of Covenant Fortress, and a swirling “focal point” in the real world that seemed to devour all magic around it—no one needed to point it out for her to know that was the location of the “Gate.”

This was truly a monumental event.

The dragon gradually lowered its altitude and finally landed on the fortress’s designated landing field. Beforehand, the facility’s technical directors had already gathered nearby, necks craned in anticipation.

“This is my first time coming face-to-face with a dragon,” Windsor Mapple murmured with a hint of awe, watching the two dragons fold their enormous wings. The sheer weight of their bodies caused the entire plaza to tremble slightly as they touched down. “It’s hard to imagine… just two years ago, these mighty creatures only existed in adventure tales.”

“And most of those adventure tales were written by the dragons themselves,” Kamail added with a shake of his head.

Indeed, many of the dragon-related adventure stories circulating among mortal nations were fabrications concocted by dragons traveling across the Loren Continent out of boredom. Writing these stories was a primary source of income for dragons working as mercenaries, technical consultants, or scholars abroad. As Talrond and the nations of Loren forged closer ties, and more dragons integrated into human society, the truth gradually spread. Dragon scholars across the lands lamented the shattering of countless beloved legends, now tinged with absurdity. Yet for most magic scholars, who paid little attention to such matters, these “truths” were little more than amusing anecdotes.

“When I was sixteen, I was rebellious and nearly abandoned my magical studies to pursue ‘dragonology,’” Windsor Mapple recalled softly, a trace of regret in her voice. “Luckily, I didn’t go down that path. Otherwise, I might have ended up like those ‘dragon scholars’—broken and defeated, far from where I am today.”

Daniel, the elderly mage standing beside her, snorted dismissively, his tone dripping with disdain. “Those so-called ‘dragon scholars’ brought it on themselves. They cobbled together half-truths and legends to fabricate ‘historical evidence,’ formed cliques to praise each other and suppress dissent, and invented countless theories out of thin air to create a fake academic field to deceive the world. They paraded as scholars for years, never imagining that one day dragons would actually step out of their stories and openly greet the world.”

Windsor glanced at her gruff mentor, sensing that he was gradually returning to his usual self—especially since the “Gate” project began, the renewed academic vigor had rekindled the old man’s vitality and warmth. She smiled. “So I owe my thanks to your timely discipline back then—my rebellious streak didn’t ruin my life because of you.”

Daniel gave her a flat look, expressionless. “And it’s a good thing your rebellion ended at sixteen—by seventeen, I was barely able to keep up with you.”

Windsor’s face flushed slightly, while Daniel turned his gaze toward several figures descending from the dragons. His eyes briefly flicked over the tallest among them, and with a barely perceptible nod and a slight movement of his lips, he murmured, “…I salute you…”

The legendary master spy and his true master were finally meeting face-to-face for the first time in history.

Gawain stepped down along Melita’s wing. Behind him were Amber, looking around curiously, and two excited young dragons. Nearby stood Noretta, wings lowered, and from her descended Victoria and Modir.

Victoria was originally supposed to disembark at the Northern Port and return to Winterhold, but since Modir was accompanying Gawain to the God of War’s realm, the High Chancellor had followed along.

As for the two young dragons tagging along—it was because of the deep blue magical marks they bore and their innate “sensing” abilities. Near the Tower of the Tides, these two had already proven capable of directly perceiving the aura of the deep blue rift. Since the God of War’s realm also had similar rifts at its borders, Gawain and Melita believed bringing them might prove useful.

A shimmering light screen materialized, and the dragon’s form gradually shifted into a humanoid shape amid the glow. Gawain strode toward the technical directors gathered by the landing field. He first looked at Kamail and Windsor, then at the stern-faced Daniel, and finally at Mary, who kept her head bowed, trying to stay inconspicuous behind her mentor.

Gawain couldn’t help but admire Mary’s acting skills—maintaining her usual cautious and timid persona perfectly in such a nerve-wracking moment. That was exactly how someone with her personality should behave when meeting foreign dignitaries.

“Your Majesty,” Kamail greeted first, a faint buzzing emanating from within him. “We’re honored by your personal visit.”

“I’ve heard about your progress here—there are things I need to see with my own eyes,” Gawain nodded, his gaze naturally shifting to the others. Windsor Mapple, as Typhon’s chief technical officer, stepped forward with a formal bow. “I salute you, great King Gawain Cecil. I am Windsor Mapple, President of the Typhon Royal Mage Association. On behalf of the Typhon scholars, I express our deepest gratitude and respect for your tremendous support in advancing frontier technologies. To my knowledge, no human emperor has ever pushed technological development as far as you have.”

This was no empty flattery but genuine respect. Even during the tense periods between Typhon and Cecil, and from the standpoint of a rival, Windsor had to acknowledge Cecil’s leading position in magitech and the profound changes his “Magitech Era” had brought to the world. Unlike stubborn politicians who always let their biases cloud their judgment, Windsor, as a scholar, could straightforwardly admire Gawain’s role as a pioneer.

“Ms. Windsor Mapple… I know you. Rosetta told me you’re his most trusted magical advisor, especially indispensable in the fight against the ‘Eye of God,’” Gawain smiled slightly, nodding to the legendary mage. “And now you’ve opened the gate to the divine realm. In this era, we need experts like you who understand the gods more than ever.”

After the friendly exchange, Gawain’s gaze settled on Daniel and Mary.

“Daniel Fred, current President of the Typhon Imperial Engineering Association,” Daniel said flatly. “I salute you. Behind me is my apprentice, Mary—not someone of great importance here.”

“Daniel… I know you too,” Gawain smiled, appraising the subordinate who reported to him at least twice a week. “You cracked many of our magitech secrets. We sold you a prototype engine, and before long, you built your own.”

Windsor’s heart skipped a beat. Though Gawain’s smile never wavered, the topic was sensitive. She knew her mentor held a special, delicate position here. Daniel’s magitech team had long been the backbone resisting the “Cecil magitech hegemony.” Typhon’s survival against the onslaught of the magitech era owed more than half its credit to Daniel. But from Cecil’s perspective, that contribution might not be entirely welcome.

While Windsor fretted silently, Daniel merely gave a somewhat somber smile. “Knowledge and technology know no borders. Everyone deserves to benefit from technological progress. Our magitech engine prototype was hammered out by hand, with human effort.”

Gawain regarded Daniel seriously and smiled faintly. “Everyone deserves to benefit from technological progress… you’re absolutely right.”

It seemed their earlier exchange on the sensitive topic was just casual banter.

Windsor exhaled in relief.

Kamail floated nearby, expressionless as ever. Daniel and Gawain maintained their smiles. Mary kept her head low, trying to fade into the background. Amber appeared lost in thought. Everyone understood the unspoken undercurrents—only Windsor had been tense for a while, then finally relaxed completely.

Gawain almost felt guilty about it—but he quickly overcame the minor psychological hurdle and regained his composure.

After brief introductions and pleasantries, the group wasted no time on formalities.

Gawain approached the portal leading to the God of War’s realm.

The perfectly circular, mirror-like spatial gateway was stably anchored in the center of the platform. Through it, the scene on the other side was visible: a broad plaza shrouded under a gray, overcast sky, with outposts set up by explorers and towering walls and palaces looming in the distance.

Kamail hovered beside him. “After days of progress and exploration, we’ve successfully established several supply stations within the divine realm. Using the magical energy these stations provide, our expedition teams have roughly mapped out the Temple District, the Arena District, and the Plaza District—these areas can be considered the ‘stable zones’ of the entire divine kingdom. Beyond the edges of these stable zones lie the constantly crumbling ‘borders,’ which are slowly collapsing inward toward the heart of the realm. We still know very little about the nature of these borders.

“We’ve already sent all our current findings to the Divine Authority Council, and each member nation is sharing the results according to our agreement…

“Additionally, thanks to the war god’s realm’s uniquely ‘interference-free’ conditions, we’ve installed numerous experimental devices in the arena deep within the realm to study various aspects of the nature of magical energy. You should have already received reports on this during your journey…”

“Yes, I got them back at the Northern Port,” Gawain nodded solemnly. “You’ve finally confirmed the wave-like nature of magic—that discovery is as significant as the fact that mortals have set foot in the divine realm.”

“We didn’t just confirm the wave nature of magic…” Kamail’s tone grew serious. “Lady ‘High Tower’ uncovered something even more baffling and unsettling during the process…”

“I received her message as well,” Gawain said slowly, nodding as he recalled the flood of questions and speculations that had surged through his mind after arriving at the Northern Port and receiving Myrmidna’s transmission. All those thoughts had culminated in a furrowed brow and a low voice. “She said that after grasping the essence of magic, she briefly entered a very strange ‘self-state.’ From that state, she perceived the world’s ‘explanation’ from an incredible perspective. She not only saw the fluctuations of magic intuitively but also ‘saw’ the fluctuating characteristics of all things in existence, the blurry boundary between matter and magic. Yet she also said she couldn’t fully explain the experience because her ‘perspective’… couldn’t be accurately conveyed through words or language.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what she told us,” Kamail nodded gently. “Lady Windsor, Mr. Daniel, and I all take Lady ‘High Tower’s’ discovery very seriously, but we’re completely at a loss.”

“…Answers will come,” Gawain exhaled softly. “When I return, I’ll discuss this further with our senior advisors. But for now… let’s first take a look at what you’ve found at the edge of the divine realm.”

As Gawain’s words fell, everyone’s gaze instinctively shifted to the teleportation gate at the center of the platform.

Amber stared at the circular area that shimmered like a mirror. After a moment, she couldn’t help but swallow nervously. “I’m starting to get a little anxious…”

“Even I’m nervous,” Modir, who had been silent for a long time, finally broke the quiet. He had held back from speaking because everyone here was, in his eyes, ‘the great figures shaping the world’s future.’ As a memory-lost adventurer, he felt it best to stay quiet in such an academic setting. But now, with the journey into the divine realm about to begin, his excitement couldn’t be contained any longer. “I even prepared a blank notebook just for today…”

(End of chapter)