Chapter 843: The Computing Center

Yuri and Semler were the first to rise, followed by Wendy and several other bishops and archbishops present. Only then did the remaining clergy realize who had appeared before them. The soft rustling of benches and robes filled the entire assembly hall as every Sleeper stood up.

It was truly a magnificent sight.

Gawain looked at the people before him—those who had just transferred from Typhon, who until recently had been members of the Dark Cult. Even though he had orchestrated all of this himself, he still felt a bit surreal. The entire Sleeper sect, with its seven centuries of accumulated knowledge and achievements, more than half of it now belonged to Cecil.

These were all technicians.

Gawain exhaled softly and said calmly, “Please, everyone, be seated.”

The three great Dark Cults: the Sons of the Storm were currently being corrupted and transformed by the power of the Deep Sea Whisperer, their situation unknown; the End of All Things cult had lived up to its name—except for a few remnants hiding in the wasteland, those remaining in human lands were nearly wiped out, with only a single plant left on the Solin Plains; and the Sleepers—their order had collapsed, and the surviving technicians had been divided between the two great human empires.

This seven-hundred-year saga of darkness and chaos was not yet fully settled, but in Gawain’s eyes, the tide had at least turned.

“Yuri, Semler, and… Wendy,” Gawain’s gaze swept over the familiar archbishops, then shifted to an empty spot nearby where two more figures suddenly appeared. “Ah, and Magnan, Selina… I’m glad to see you arrived safely.”

“Your Majesty,” Yuri stepped forward slightly, stumbling over the title as if still unaccustomed to it. He then turned slightly, gesturing toward the crowd in the hall. “So far, all the Sleepers who successfully crossed the border are here. In terms of numbers, they make up less than ten percent of the entire order, but they are mostly mid- and high-level technicians, including nearly all the archbishops, a third of the bishops, and some elite priests with outstanding abilities. They stand ready to serve your command.”

So quite a number of mid-level technicians had remained behind in Typhon…

Gawain felt a pang of regret but kept it to himself. He simply nodded and said evenly, “No rush. You can rest here for a few days, get familiar with the environment, and learn the laws and rules you must abide by here. There will be dedicated personnel and departments to assist you with accommodations and other needs.

“Also, for the foreseeable future, these Holy Light priests will live alongside you. They will help you gradually adapt to life here.”

The Sleepers stirred slightly at this last remark, but no one spoke out against it. Gawain was quite satisfied.

“Everyone else may go rest. The archbishops, please stay—I have some matters to discuss and arrange.”

The White Knights and Battle Sisters immediately stepped forward, guiding the other clergy out of the assembly hall toward prearranged living quarters. Yuri, Semler, and the other archbishops remained as instructed—including Magnan and Selina, who appeared before Gawain as holographic projections.

Magnan looked around the place curiously. He was still not used to the “psychological projection” form and flickered intermittently like a faulty magic crystal—reminiscent of Kamail in party mode. Only after everyone else had left did he seem to realize the change in atmosphere and looked at Gawain with interest. “Your… Majesty, do you have any further plans?”

“I’ll show you your new ‘home’,” Gawain smiled slightly, then turned to Amber beside him. “To the Computing Center.”

The place Gawain was leading them to wasn’t far—indeed, it was right next to the assembly hall.

Escorted by a squad of White Knights, the archbishops walked along a path completely devoid of pedestrians, shaded by trees and bushes. In less than ten minutes, the scene before them suddenly opened up: a vast clearing still under construction.

Various magical-mechanical devices, unlike anything they had ever seen, operated busily across the site. Ordinary workers wielded extraordinary powers, applying them on a large scale to fundamental construction projects. At the center of this orderly and highly efficient site stood a roughly pyramid-shaped building, five or six stories tall, its surface covered with countless runes and magical materials. It loomed impressively.

Magnan’s eyes widened—almost every archbishop present shared his astonishment.

Some were amazed by the unprecedented “mechanized cluster construction,” others by the mysterious pyramid’s unique style and structure. Whatever the cause, their reactions were strikingly uniform: all eyes quickly turned to Gawain.

Magnan stared at the pyramid for a long moment before looking back at Gawain. He was the first to speak. “Is that a prison? Or a ‘factory’ for our transformation?”

He still vividly remembered Gawain’s mention of “labor reform” at the last High Archbishop meeting.

Several archbishops’ expressions shifted subtly. Yuri even shrugged helplessly—since Magnan had become a projection, it was no longer easy to silence his loud mouth in time.

Gawain paid no mind. Smiling, he shook his head. “Don’t worry. At least among those present, no one is at the level of needing imprisonment. And the knowledge you possess will help you secure a brighter future. As for this facility… in a sense, yes, you will work here, but it’s not a factory.

“Welcome to the Imperial Computing Center. Though it’s not yet complete, parts of the main building are operational. Follow me—I’ll show you the future.”

Gawain strode toward the pyramid-shaped building with the Sleepers following, a mix of curiosity and anticipation on their faces. Amber trotted alongside him, her short legs moving quickly.

As they neared the pyramid, Yuri noticed many parts of its foundation remained uncovered. On the exposed base level, countless hexagonal rune structures were neatly arranged, faint magical light flowing between the components.

This must be Cecil’s “Magic Network,” he thought.

In scale and precision, it far surpassed any “imitations” made by other factions.

They passed through the pyramid’s grand entrance into a vast hall still being cleaned and outfitted with equipment.

The first thing they saw was a massive pillar at the center—a rectangular column thicker than any castle’s main beam. Its surface was composed of numerous silver-white metal plates, joined with such precision and geometric harmony that it exuded a mesmerizing beauty. This beauty was indescribable, for no one had ever seen anything like it elsewhere.

Between the seams of these metal plates, on some special panels, soft blue magical light flowed quietly. Tiny points of light flickered like breathing stars.

Yuri even felt an illusion—that the pillar was alive, perhaps even sentient. It was the heart and brain of the building, and Cecil’s workers and technicians were slowly awakening it. This awakening entity… was waiting to communicate with other minds.

Suddenly, Yuri realized it was no illusion.

He truly sensed something familiar emanating from the pillar—magical fluctuations similar to those in certain facilities at the Sleeper headquarters!

“This is the Thought Hall,” Gawain explained, noticing the expressions on Yuri and the others’ faces. He paused a few seconds before continuing. “The pillar before you is called the ‘Cognitive Hub.’ It’s the empire’s first and only one of its kind.

“You may find it somewhat familiar, which is natural, because it uses your mind network technology.

“The Cognitive Hub runs through the entire building—four floors above ground, two below—connecting various computing layers, the Thought Hall, the redundancy center, and the deepest Magic Network medium layer. Have you noticed the rooms around the hall? There are many more rooms above and below ground, housing thousands of immersion pods—and more will be added. There will be more computing centers across the empire’s provinces, each with nearby ‘distribution stations’ to handle additional computing tasks.

“All the immersion pods connect to the Cognitive Hub, which then links to the Magic Network—after an extra layer of network conversion and new security protocols, it’s far safer than your previous direct ‘bare brain’ connections.

“By the way, some of you may not know what immersion pods are—you can ask Selina; she’s seen them before.”

Semler had already stopped paying attention to Gawain’s last words.

He and the other archbishops stood dumbfounded, absorbing everything, imagining it all in their minds.

This magnificent building, with its vast, advanced, and precise equipment, was essentially an extension of the Sleeper mind network technology. Yet its scale and application far exceeded anything the Sleepers had ever conceived. Even without seeing the entire structure, just a glance was enough for Semler, Yuri, and the others to realize this was not just for the clergy present—it was designed to accommodate far more “users” than they had imagined!

What moved them even more was that such “computing centers” would not be limited to just one in the future—each province would have one, and there would be “distribution stations” to expand capacity. How enormous would this network become?

The original Sleeper order had so-called “external nodes.” Besides the Orlandel headquarters, they had a few other computing facilities, but those were pitifully small and served only as auxiliary to the headquarters—roughly equivalent to the “distribution stations” Gawain mentioned. Even so, those were the fruits of centuries of Sleeper accumulation…

What Gawain described was a future they could hardly imagine.

A scale so vast it seemed almost excessive, even bewildering.

“So many, such large-scale computing centers…” Yuri finally spoke, unable to hold back. “Do you intend for everyone to connect to it?”

“Why not?” Gawain countered. “Immersion pods are a safer way to connect, and ordinary people can use them. In fact, Cecil has already completed research in this area. The only thing currently limiting the computing center’s scale is the production capacity of the immersion pods.

“As you said, Yuri, I want this network to cover the entire empire—in my view, it’s an incredibly useful technology.”

The archbishops exchanged glances.

This was a path they had never considered—because, to them, it had once seemed impossible.

But just the thought of the future that Gawain had painted—the immense power that could be unleashed once the Mind Network was rebuilt across the land of the Cecil Empire—was enough to leave them dizzy with awe.

“It can actually be like this…” Magnum muttered, unable to hold back his amazement. “We never even imagined something like this…”

Gawain smiled calmly and met Magnum’s gaze.

“That’s because the Sleeper’s Order is just an order, while Cecil is an empire,” he said steadily. “What you’re seeing are two forces at work—the power of industry, and… the power of the state apparatus.

“And the path you once walked—the lonely road of salvation—was always destined to run counter to these two forces.

“Finally, let me say it once more—welcome to Cecil. Welcome to the future.”

(End of chapter)