Chapter 918: The Howl

The grid integration project was proceeding at a breakneck pace.

From Shilin City in the western borderlands, to Tamdool and Changfeng Fortress in the east; from the frigid stronghold of Winterhold in the far north, down to the imperial capital of Cecil in the south—the empire’s main hubs were all undergoing their final round of testing before going fully online. Beneath these hubs, the various tiers of magic network nodes were also preparing for the upcoming “sequential roll call.” This monumental project, years in the making and the most thrilling endeavor in history, was finally ready for acceptance. Every person involved was on edge, unwilling to let even the slightest mishap occur.

But this electrifying project affected more than just the physical world. Another “world” was also gearing up for the network integration.

In the “New World” constructed from psychic energy, a brand-new city was unfolding across the plains, gleaming under the daylight. This city appeared to be a “mirror” of the imperial capital Cecil—its outline unmistakably matching the real-world city, yet its details diverged in many ways. It was newer, larger, and boasted numerous buildings that didn’t exist in the physical realm. It was as if someone had taken the real city as a blueprint and built a more imaginative, forward-looking “urban model,” proudly standing tall on this vast land.

In the city’s western district—a neighborhood absent from the real world—crowds thronged the bustling streets, filled with carriages and pedestrians unlike anything seen in the actual Cecil. The congestion was so severe it caused gridlock throughout the entire district, and the orderly shops lining the streets began to descend into chaos.

Then, suddenly, everything froze. The crowds and vehicles on the streets rapidly dispersed, the shops along the way one by one extinguished their lights, and the brightly colored buildings began to lose their hues, fading into gray-white geometric patterns. In seconds, these shapes dissolved into simple lines and static noise, vanishing entirely. All that remained was a blank, undefined patch of land. From the distant wilderness, grasslands swiftly crept in, reclaiming this undefined zone.

A refined gentleman in a white researcher’s lab coat, wearing a monocle, materialized out of thin air on the gray-white ground. He glanced at the district undergoing reset and casually spoke to the empty air: “Phase VI urban planning simulation for the western district concluded. No significant improvement in congestion. Road scale and traffic signal placements need to be redesigned. I’ll compile a detailed report later.”

Golden runes flickered in the air, and a response came from the real-world city planning department: “Received. Thank you for your work.”

“It’s what we’re here for,” Yuri replied politely, then glanced up at the sky not far off—where a massive countdown floated, reminding him of the approaching deadline. “This will be the last simulation for today. The grid integration will begin soon. Before the magic network stabilizes, the neural network will temporarily disconnect from all conventional nodes.”

“Understood. Wishing you all the best. Connection terminated.”

“Thank you. Connection terminated.”

Yuri ended the communication with the real world. The grassland spreading from the distance had just finished reclaiming the last patch of undefined land beneath his feet.

He turned to head back toward the city, but a familiar presence suddenly approached, causing him to pause.

Magnum’s figure appeared before him.

“Am I late?” the loud-voiced man asked, eyes wide. “I came as soon as I got the notice—I didn’t even have time to assign homework to those students’ homework…”

“You might want to consider improving your teaching efficiency rather than your homework assigning speed,” Yuri said coolly, casting a glance at the man who had lost his physical body in the real world but was still making waves there through other means. Then he nodded. “Perfect timing. With you here, the entire tech team is assembled.”

Magnum exhaled in relief and nodded.

Behind Yuri and Magnum, on the other side of the “New Dream City” modeled after the imperial capital, a massive, pure-white spider slowly materialized from the air and began climbing a hill outside the city.

…

On a highland east of the “New Dream City,” an elderly man dressed in a black suit, holding a cane in his right hand and an antique lantern in his left, looked up at the white spider climbing the hill nearby. He quietly spoke to the air beside him: “This is Duvalet. Narithil has begun monitoring the neural network’s central data. Protection of all nodes is expected to complete in five minutes.”

A string of golden runes flickered into existence beside this “Divine Human,” and Rebecca’s voice came through: “Received. Please remain alert for any instructions from the dispatch center.”

Duvalet nodded, about to reply, when Narithil’s voice called out from the hill: “I can climb faster!”

Her voice was soft but carried across the entire area.

“Ahem… maintain your current pace,” Duvalet coughed reflexively. “We still have three hours before the official integration. Plenty of time.”

“Yes, no need to rush. The key is to monitor and protect all network nodes,” Rebecca’s voice echoed through the runes. “Your mission is critical. The neural network must remain intact throughout the magic network’s integration.”

“…Understood.”

Narithil responded with a soft “Oh,” continuing her steady ascent. Around her enormous spider body, countless faint threads began to materialize from the air, weaving an invisible web that rapidly encased the still-developing neural network in layers of protection—preparing for the shocks that might come when the physical network in the real world changed.

…

In Saint Suniel City, within the old royal symbol of Silverfort, a towering spire was gradually powering up.

It was Saint Suniel’s main hub and, geographically, the very “center” of the entire Cecil Empire’s magic network. In the upcoming integration, this hub would play a crucial role in coordination and load-bearing.

Korn Loren and Count Barin stood side by side on a nearby tower, watching through the window as the spire—embodying the empire’s most advanced technology—slowly awoke from its slumber. Their hearts stirred with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

Unlike other main hubs, the tower in Silverfort was not entirely new. In fact, it was a renovation of the old main tower of Silverfort itself, the core structure being part of the royal fortress. Craftsmen from Saint Suniel and technical consultants from the southern imperial capital had spent nearly a year completing the project. Now, the complex mechanical supports and crystal arrays operated slowly above the former “King’s Eye,” the place where members of the Morn royal family once gazed out over the capital.

This “repurposing of the old” did not mean the hub’s quality was inferior to others—in fact, quite the opposite. As the former heart of Ansu, the Morn royal family had spared no expense reinforcing every corner of the fortress with magical blessings and precise materials. Without regard for cost, the ancient magical craftsmanship rivaled today’s arcane industry. The main tower’s durability and resistance to aging could easily match, if not surpass, that of modern reinforced concrete hubs.

Seeing such an ancient symbol of royal power transformed into a pillar of the empire’s magic network was what truly moved these two former Ansu nobles.

“Once this tower is operational, Saint Suniel will be reborn…” Count Barin broke the silence. He looked slightly thinner than two years ago, but his gaze was steadier and more refined. “Economically and culturally, there should be some degree of growth…”

“This tower is a signal,” Korn Loren nodded. “It tells those who only know how to hide away at home drinking to give up their unrealistic nostalgia, to forget the old days and adapt to this new era as soon as possible. As for the economy and culture… I share your optimism, Count Barin.”

Both men smiled faintly.

Since the empire’s founding, the political and economic center had shifted from Saint Suniel to the southern city of Cecil. The old capital inevitably experienced some decline—though the city’s basic functions and commercial and industrial order had been restored, the gap between being a capital and an ordinary municipality was easy to imagine.

There was the economic gap, the cultural status gap, and the psychological gap felt by the citizens.

Reviving this once-glorious ancient city had always been the most important concern—almost an obsession—of Saint Suniel’s government officials.

“The time is near,” Count Barin glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall and quietly said, “Prepare yourselves.”

Korn Loren turned back and saw the magic network terminals in the room running smoothly. Many rune-etched control panels flickered with lights. Arcane technicians and runemasters stood ready beside the machines, like soldiers awaiting deployment.

He found himself involuntarily feeling like a general about to lead troops into battle.

Minutes later, the magic network terminal set up in the center of the room activated on its own. The image of Rebecca, the empire’s Minister of Arcane Technology, appeared in a holographic projection. Never before had anyone seen such a serious expression on her face—

“This is the Supreme Dispatch Center. All main hubs, begin sequential roll call of subordinate hubs. Report progress in fifteen minutes.”

…

In the underground command center of the Arcane Technology Research Institute, bright magic crystal lamps illuminated the vast hall. Numerous technicians sat before monitoring devices, executing procedures they had rehearsed countless times.

Rebecca sat at the front of the room, several magic network terminals operating before her, projecting scenes from the main hub control rooms across the empire, each connected by a single line.

“Western border roll call complete. All nodes normal.”

“Eastern Tamdool roll call complete. All nodes normal.”

“Eastern Changfeng Fortress roll call complete. All nodes normal.”

“Northern Winterhold roll call complete…”

Within the scheduled time, all sequential roll calls were successfully completed. The main hubs and their subordinate nodes across the empire connected one by one, gradually forming a vast network.

Gawain sat not far behind Rebecca, his heart tight with nervous anticipation.

According to his original plan, he had not intended to merge the entire empire’s magic network in a single operation. He had planned to divide the empire into several regions, allowing each regional network to form slowly, then sequentially connect these branch networks into the main grid. This approach would have extended the project’s duration many times over but offered greater certainty and a higher tolerance for risk.

But the problem was, he didn’t have that much time—especially after the divine calamity triggered by the Sleeper and realizing the gods’ “countdown” was drawing ever closer. The urgency in his heart forced him to choose the current plan: shorter in duration but far more difficult.

The howl of the approaching storm was about to begin.

To be honest, even with the pressure that urgency brought, Gawain had hesitated for quite some time over this plan. It was only the appearance of Nariel that finally steeled his resolve—knowing that a former god had entered the network gave him a newfound confidence. Nariel was the best “insurance” he could think of, and with that safeguard in place, he dared to face the risks of connecting the entire magical network.

As Gawain’s thoughts churned, Rebecca’s team was steadily moving forward with their work.

All the main hubs had been inspected, and now came the most critical step.

“This is the Supreme Dispatch Center. The following orders are now issued:

“Except for the Saint Sunir main hub, all other hubs will begin a 120-second countdown before powering on and entering standby mode;

“The Saint Sunir main hub will power on and immediately enter connection mode, with its primary channel directed to Cecil;

“After powering on, all hubs except Saint Sunir will remain on standby for 60 seconds, then, at 60-second intervals, will call Saint Sunir in sequence to establish connections. The order is as follows:

“Shilin City, Winterhold, Tamdull, Changfeng…

“This sequence matches the previously released document. I will repeat it for confirmation:

“Shilin City, Winterhold…”

Gawain glanced at Rebecca, who was meticulously issuing the commands herself. He took a slow breath, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

“Attention, timing starts now!”

The crowd in the hall fell into a deep silence, broken only by the hum and clicks of various devices and Rebecca’s clear voice giving orders.

Then, every few dozen seconds, a controller at one of the operation stations would report loudly:

“Signal received from Saint Sunir, strength as expected… Connected to the Western Node Cluster of the Holy Spirit Plains.”

“Signal received from Shilin City…”

Gawain’s eyes fixed on the front of the hall, where the largest magical network terminal stood. On the massive holographic projection, the map of the entire Cecil Empire was displayed.

Clusters of glowing points lit up in sequence across the map, as if the once dim land was being illuminated by a sky full of stars.

Soon, those bright points covered nearly the entire empire, waiting only for the final connection—

“Signal received from Solin Fort, strength…”

On the projection, the last point flickered to life in the Solin region, bathing the empire in a radiant glow.

But all of this lasted less than two seconds.

Suddenly, a sharp, eerie howl erupted from every magical network terminal in the hall—a sound so piercing it seemed to shake the very soul. At the same time, all the lights in the hall began to flicker violently!

(End of chapter)