Chapter 991 - 990: Rear Guard

Chapter 991: Chapter 990: Rear Guard

Faced with the sudden intelligence from Typhon, Aunt Heidi took a moment to realize the information reflected behind the matter. After brief contemplation, she widened her eyes, "Could Rosetta possibly be..."

"He treats the divine disaster as an opportunity," Gawain said slowly, "an opportunity to thoroughly clear domestic stubborn forces and remnants of reform, reshaping the order of rule. If I am correct, the temporary closure of parliament and the national emergency state will be a precursor to a grand purge...and it should be more than just a grand purge."

"A grand purge?" Aunt Heidi couldn’t help but show an incredulous expression, "Is this how he deals with the divine disaster?"

"No, it only means he is confident in dealing with the divine disaster. It means the Obsidian Palace still maintains control over Typhon, and Emperor Rosetta Augustus has ways to quickly reorganize the chaotic order caused by the initial divine disaster—Typhon’s situation is not out of control, only the Sect of the War God is," Gawain shook his head, "It looks like no matter the outcome of this divine disaster, the end for the Sect of the War God won’t be good."

Aunt Heidi quickly considered the implications for Typhon and Cecil, unable to resist asking, "This approach could lead to greater chaos in a short time. Aldernon might respond sluggishly to the war because of it—doesn’t Emperor Rosetta Augustus worry about the battle situation? Or does he think we will just watch all this unfold from the line at Winterwolf Fortress?"

"If Rosetta is fast enough and well-prepared, then the chaos caused in Aldernon will be much smaller than you imagine. It will only allow the Typhon royal family to complete its integration of domestic forces in a shorter time, enabling Typhon’s military and industrial capabilities to quickly escape from this chaos caused by the gods—although the War God has lost control, at present, it can only rely on corrupting mortals to affect this world, and these mortals influenced by it are the targets of Rosetta’s current purge."

Gawain spoke steadily, glancing at the continent map hanging not far away before continuing:

"As for this ’war’ and any actions we might take...his calculations are indeed precise.

"We will not attack, at least not currently—what do you think, Aunt Heidi?"

Aunt Heidi blinked, seemingly not fully understanding Gawain’s meaning.

"Currently, Typhon is a quagmire, and it’s getting deeper," Gawain said gravely, "If this were a normal war, we could naturally fight to protect the homeland, but this war currently has no meaning—for away from the Cecil Homeland, the effectiveness of our network-based mental protection and purification technology will be difficult to guarantee. The casualties of soldiers stepping into contaminated areas will be unpredictable. Additionally, we are more aware than the Typhon people of the hazards of divine disaster and the danger of gods turning mad. Since it has been determined that this war is pushed by an out-of-control War God...continuing to leap into this pit can only make the divine disaster more unsolvable.

"At that time, we would be facing more than just the Typhon Empire.

"Lastly, and most importantly—I have said more than once, in the face of world-class disasters, all of humankind has a shared destiny. I never just say these things for the sake of saying them."

Aunt Heidi nodded lightly, but soon muttered thoughtfully, "What you said...it’s all ’current stage’, isn’t it?"

"Yes, the current stage, which is why I’m very curious about how Rosetta plans to resolve this," Gawain nodded, "By advancing the front line to Winterwolf Fortress, we have reported back to our citizens, but Typhon...it’s not easy for them to stop themselves. Emperor Rosetta Augustus should currently be considering how to stop those restless elements while quickly controlling domestic situation..."

He abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Aunt Heidi looked at him in puzzlement, "Ancestor, you..."

"Perhaps...he doesn’t intend to stop at all..." Gawain slowly narrowed his eyes, a sudden flash of insight coming to him, considering another possible action by Emperor Rosetta Augustus—a bold move, seemingly like gambling, yet the best option under the circumstances, "Aunt Heidi, inform Sir Philip, to continue bolstering troops at Longwind Fortress and to control the mechanical bridge near Shadow Marsh in the shortest time. Within at most half a week, the mortal world Serpent and Unit Zero must enter the Winterwolf Fortress area."

Aunt Heidi quickly reacted, "You mean...after the Typhon royal family regains control over the situation, the war state will instead escalate?"

Gawain rubbed his chin, his tone serious and low, "I have this feeling...if Rosetta is already aware of deeper hidden dangers within Typhon and seeks to capitalize on this crisis for more benefits, then he might try something bolder—after all, now all responsibilities can be attributed to a maddened deity, which for someone seeking opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

Aunt Heidi immediately bowed her head, "I understand."

Gawain waved his hand and his gaze once again fell on the continent map not far away—Typhon and Cecil’s border is intertwined northeast of the Gondor Empire, like two giant beasts pressing hard against each other’s throat, filled with lines and temporary markings, resembling blood beads oozing from their wounds.

He withdrew his gaze, lightly clenched his hand where Aunt Heidi didn’t notice, feeling as if he were driving an already speeding war chariot along the edge of a dangerous cliff, unable to stop or lose control—and he believed Emperor Rosetta Augustus felt similarly at this moment.

He couldn’t help but sigh softly, "Humans...truly are a species full of contradictions."

Aunt Heidi was engrossed in thought and did not hear Gawain muttering, "Ancestor, what did you say?"

"It’s nothing," Gawain waved his hand, looking up at her, "Inform the publicity department, they can aggressively announce my return—the scale of promotion should be larger, preferably so the Typhon people know immediately..."

...

The situation in the Winterwolf Fortress area is increasingly tense. The Cecil Clan occupying the main fortress is constructing fortifications and bunkers along the entire line, seemingly not intending to advance further in the short term and preparing to occupy the area thoroughly and strategically. The construction machinery roars day and night, with more and more soldiers entering the front line from Winterhold Castle and the Shadow Marsh direction. Their propaganda machine is running at full power, countless promotional materials spreading from Winterwolf Fortress to surrounding towns and trade routes.

During this process, Typhon Empire’s army has launched several counterattacks—from initial probing attacks to later large-scale action by several local corps, their counterassault intensity is continuously escalating.

The Typhon people are trying to reclaim their territory. These military actions cause casualties on both sides, but obviously, the Typhon people whose combat power has been reduced and who have lost important fortresses are in a worse state.

The Cecil Clan has firmly secured their foothold at the border.

Nonetheless, all of this has little to do with Andresha at this moment.

Once her physical condition improved slightly, able to withstand the bumps and strains of a long journey, the scarred Wolf General was transferred from Winterwolf Fortress. She was taken to Longwind Fortress first, and after a series of strict handovers, secretly escorted onto a chaotic magic-powered train heading inside Cecil territory. At this moment, she has crossed the last barrier to the Duke of the East.

Andresha never imagined she would step onto the land of Cecil in this manner.

The magic train sped along the tracks, outside the window lay the desolate winter landscape, with trees stripped of leaves and rivers entering their low ebb, all adorned the gray-brown earth, retreating as the train advanced, revealing silhouettes of cities and villages in the distance—vast man-made structures, towering towers, scenery unlike that of Typhon.

Andresha leaned against a seat resembling a soft couch, gazing somewhat absent-mindedly out the window. She adjusted her posture slightly, the cushion beneath her making a faint sound.

This seat was prepared especially for her, designed to alleviate fatigue from the journey to the greatest extent and prevent pulling on her wounds that were just beginning to heal. Evidently, the Cecil Clan were making every effort to ensure this special prisoner survived—she was of great use to them.

Andresha tugged at the corner of her mouth, somewhat appreciative of the meticulous care from the Cecil Clan. Moreover, even without this care, she would strive to survive on her own.

A young woman’s voice came from beside her, interrupting Andresha’s thoughts: "How’s the scenery outside?"

Andresha glanced at the person beside her—Sister Marian sat on the nearest ordinary chair, smiling warmly at her. This nun still wore her almost war robe-like Priestess Robe while on the train, with her combat staff (or warhammer?) placed within easy reach. A thick book lay open on her knees, evidently, she had been immersed in reading before speaking to her.

"Winter scenery is the same everywhere," Andresha said casually, "it’s essentially a season devoid of everything."

"I hope you maintain your current thoughts, so that you’ll be even more astonished when we reach our destination," Sister Marian smiled, "this is Cecil, the common sense you know doesn’t quite apply here."

Sister Marian was a person full of pride and confidence in her homeland. Over the few days together, Andresha had come to deeply realize this, so she did not dwell on the topic, rather, she said sincerely, "Sister Marian, thank you for taking care of me these days."

"It’s my duty, no need to thank me," Marian smiled, "and I won’t just take care of you these days—in the coming period, I’ll be by your side until your body has mostly recovered."

Having a familiar person to care for her was also part of the Cecil Clan’s special "care".

Andresha fell silent for a moment, then softly asked, "Will I have a chance to return to Winterwolf Fortress?"

"...I don’t know, I’m just a nun," Marian shook her head, "but you can still keep some expectations, since ’expectations’ itself is free."

As she spoke, this War Nun lowered her head again, focusing back on the seemingly endless thick book.

That might be a sacred text of the Church of the Holy Light.

It’s said that in Cecil, the original Holy Light had been completely reorganized, with even the doctrines drastically changed. This book that Sister Marian kept reading...was it the new doctrine?

Thinking this, Andresha couldn’t help but feel curious. She peered through her bangs at the book on Marian’s knees, hesitated, and then asked, "You’ve been reading this book...is it the doctrine of your ’new Holy Light’?"

"Doctrine? Of course not," Sister Marian shook her head, casually raised the big book, "This is the ’Emperor’s Holy Words Collection’, to me...it’s as important as the doctrine."

"Emperor...Emperor’s Holy Words Collection?" Andresha struggled over the peculiar term; she had never heard of such a book before, "What’s it about?"

"Records of the insightful sayings of His Majesty Gawain Cecil, constantly updated and supplemented. The one I have is the latest edition from last month—want to take a look?"

Records of His Majesty Gawain Cecil’s sayings? Continuously updated and supplemented?

Andresha’s expression turned strange. She didn’t know what attitude to adopt towards such an object; she was about to say she wasn’t really interested in the book, but the enthusiastic Sister Marian had already placed the heavy book in front of her: "Take a look, it’s quite interesting and enlightening—you can see another side of His Majesty, filled with wisdom and humor. Let me remind you, this book isn’t publicly available, you need special channels to get it..."

Not publicly available?

Andresha suddenly found the book more suspicious, yet was simultaneously intrigued by this statement. Despite not being very interested, her curiosity drove her to take the book Marian handed over, flipping to a page, and there, the words came into view:

"Your eyes can deceive you, your ears can deceive you, your imagination can likewise deceive you, but math won’t—it won’t deceive you. If you really can’t grasp it, I suggest considering a specialty in music or sports..."

Andresha: "???"

So this War Nun had been engrossed in diligently studying this thing all these days?

Andresha looked at Marian with a stunned expression, utterly puzzled: "This...is this really what His Majesty Gawain Cecil said?"

Sister Marian shrugged nonchalantly: "Who knows—I’m skeptical too, but these words do contain some sense, don’t you think they’re quite amusing?"

For a moment, Andresha didn’t know what to say. She glanced again at the words in the book, unable to resist reading them twice—math won’t, it just won’t...

Suddenly, the young Wolf General felt that the book might indeed have some worth, at least a few of its sayings seemed sensible...

She chuckled and handed the big book back to the nun, casually asking: "So where are we headed?"

"To a place best suited for your recovery and healing, the place of life’s miracles in Cecil," Marian took the book, smiling proudly, "we are going to Sorinburg."