Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 558 - 557: Vanguard

The banks of the White River were filled with a sea of people.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on the highlands along the riverbanks, watching the activity on the river with curiosity, excitement, and a hint of nervousness. Whether they were local residents, new immigrants just settling down here, or traveling merchants passing through by chance, everyone was curious about what the magic-driven creation on display today would look like—rumor had it that it was a ship, a ship powered by magic. Some who were familiar with the battle at Rocky Ridges Fortress still remembered that the fortress was originally breached by two "magic warships," and those two warships were said to be only semi-finished products...

Undoubtedly, what was to appear on the White River today was the largest creation shown to the public since the Cecil Magic Industry began.

Near the riverbank, several merchants from the northern parts of the mountain range were engaged in heated discussions, with one speaking with barely concealed excitement: "Do you think that new style ship can carry a lot of cargo?"

Someone immediately chuckled nearby: "Didn’t you hear the program? That’s a warship..."

"You’re really shortsighted!" The first merchant instantly retorted, "Have you still not grasped the leader’s style after all this time? The technology on the warship is definitely going to be applied in civilian settings, not to mention that Marquise Rebecca just mentioned something..."

"That’s true, I’ve heard that Kode over at Carol Region already purchased magic trucks..."

Behind the merchants, an old man who looked hunched over couldn’t help but shake his head: "I don’t think there’s anything too special about that ship. A ship is just a big wooden tub floating on water..."

A young person immediately mocked him: "Old Man Kaol, you said the same thing about cars, that they’re just wooden boards propped up by wheels!!"

The mocked old man instantly blew his beard and glared: "What do you know, you little rascal! I may not have made cars, but I’ve built ships for half a lifetime! What kind of ship haven’t I seen before?"

The young person watched the old man puffing and glaring, about to say something more, when suddenly a loud noise from the river interrupted everyone’s conversation.

It was a resounding, deep-toned, and imposing steam whistle that even tightened the hearts of the people.

In the mist-covered river, a hazy shadow appeared in the eastern part of the river, and a second whistle echoed from the thin mist.

After a brief silence, people on both banks of the east erupted into deafening cheers and exclamations, which quickly spread along the banks of the White River to where they were standing.

People by the riverbank widened their eyes. They didn’t know what kind of creation could arouse such a reaction, but they soon saw clearly—it was a massive steel creature.

More immense than any inland wooden ship seen before, more majestic and solemn than any warship, this steel beast embodied both rigid texture and graceful curves. It sailed against the wind and waves on the White River, yet without visible sails and oars. The only thing reminiscent of "sails" on the entire ship was the "wing plates" on both sides of the hull. However, those wing plates were made up of neatly arranged metal leaves, covered with glowing magic symbols and connection lines, clearly not the direct source of power—this ship without sails or oars was propelled by some magic-conducting machinery, with sunlight shining on its metal casing and deck, its aura impressive and full of vigor.

Keen-eyed observers noticed the ship’s peculiar two-deck structure—the middle of the ship rose higher than the surrounding parts, with strange equipment installed on the top deck, and the entire raised structure covered with a layer of faintly glowing energy shield. Soldiers wearing light armors stood neatly by the ship’s railing, and behind them were awe-inducing turrets and sentinel towers...

This was not merely a ship; it was a fully armed steel fortress sailing on water.

Near the riverbank, merchants who had been eagerly discussing were dumbfounded, and the joking and bantering young people momentarily lost their words. An old man who had built ships for half a lifetime, having seen all kinds of vessels, began to mutter in astonishment: "Such a ship... I’ve truly never seen before... Is this really a ship?!"

In the bridge of the cutting-edge magic warship "Pioneer," all technical personnel involved in the project and officials from the Administrative Office stood behind the wide viewing windows, watching the rolling waves of the White River recede alongside the ship with excitement. The surging magic power transmitted from the power spine was infused into the lower layer of the ship, driving the three engine groups in the machinery cabin, their deep and powerful roar like the heartbeat of this giant beast. Everyone was compelled to marvel at this miraculous achievement of magic engineering.

At the very front of the bridge, Gawain gripped the railing behind the window, gazing at the distant river surface. After a while, he turned back, nodded to the sea demon and said, "You deserve the most credit. This ship even exceeded my expectations."

"I merely provided some technical guidance. To be honest, the engineers and mage technicians’ efforts were crucial in bringing this ship to life," Tiel replied modestly, her tail tip swaying in the air, her mood evidently good, "Your magic-conducting technology isn’t mature, and many foundations are quite weak, but fortunately... all difficulties were overcome."

A powerful mage technician reported beside them: "We’ve installed two large magic crystal rail cannons at the bow and stern of the ship, capable of striking targets within twenty-two kilometers, and two Rainbow Light Generators at the midsection on both sides, with an effective range of fifteen kilometers. After optimizing the power spine structure, all turrets can fire simultaneously without affecting the engines...

"Additionally, in accordance with your orders, we have installed an extra Magic Obelisk at the back of the bridge, which can provide Magic Web coverage around the ship, ensuring future fleet members can communicate with each other. Meanwhile, small vessels with damaged power systems can recharge around this ship..."

"Miss Tiel helped us solve the issues of navigation stability and center of gravity deviation..."

Gawain listened attentively to the technician’s report, feeling relieved, and he couldn’t help but admire that convincing Tiel into the technical team with Rainbow Light Technology was indeed the right decision.

Sea demons’ technology is far ahead of humans by countless years. Even though it has declined now, and even though some fields are incomplete or the technological paths don’t align, it still has a vast advancing and enhancing effect on Cecil’s shipbuilding technology. What many human technicians need to study for months, the sea demons often don’t see as a problem at all—in the shipyard, Tiel worked from last year to this year. For more than half the time, it wasn’t actually about solving technical bottlenecks, but finding ways to integrate existing human technology with sea demon knowledge. Once successfully connected, the problems would be resolved.

"Currently, the live broadcast of the launch of the ’Pioneer’ is being played throughout the whole territory, and supplementary newspaper editions will be published tomorrow," said Aunt Heidi, who was standing beside him. "According to your plan, this ship will continue to sail westward, docking at Tanzan Port for half a day for mechanical checks, then it will head northwest, passing through the Hosman Boundary, Lu’an Area, and Carol Region, finally staying at rocky ridges Fortress for three days for a comprehensive check and testing before returning."

"Very good," Gawain nodded slightly and looked at the middle-aged knight standing by the captain’s seat not far away, "Byron, it’s going to be tough for you these days."

Byron, who has become the temporary captain of the ’Pioneer’, smiled brightly and responded loudly, "You can rest assured, I won’t disappoint you!!"

Standing not far away, Sir Philip, whose face looked terrible, couldn’t help but shake his head, "Getting so excited, utterly lacking poise."

Byron heard his old partner’s murmur and glanced at Sir Philip, "You’re just jealous you don’t have the talent to be a captain..."

Sir Philip straightened his body, speaking earnestly, "As a knight, I’m more interested in charging on solid ground."

Byron shook his head, muttering softly, "It’s not just from getting seasick, is it? Can’t you just admit it... Your face is as white as a sheet now."

Gawain noticed their conversation, but he merely shook his head with a smile, without saying much.

It was unexpected for the usually young, promising, and stable Sir Philip to get seasick, but in contrast, Byron had adapted well to his new role, which was a good sign.

Humans cannot be confined to land forever, and neither can the Cecil army. With the continuous development of new shipbuilding technology, Gawain is bound to fill the common gap of "surface power" that exists across all human nations. Before ’Pioneer’ was completed, he had already planned to establish a navy—of course, for the current Cecil Principality, it would be more appropriate to describe the navy as an inland river water force, but this was at least a foundation—and as for the initial mariners, he had to form them from scratch.

He still remembers the so-called "fleet" formed by the Noble Coalition Army last year, those armored soldiers who couldn’t swim and didn’t understand naval warfare, who were mostly obliterated by artillery fire while on ships. In this era where cavalry reigns supreme, the seas are blocked by natural disasters, and warfare on water is not taken seriously, even after inheriting the entire southern borders’ aristocratic legacy, he couldn’t find a few individuals with any background to train into marines, so he had to recruit a batch of "talents" from western fishermen and merchant ship sailors, training them with rowboats, fishing boats, and merchant vessels for half a year before having a group of soldiers barely competent to serve on board, many of whom were currently standing on this cutting-edge magic-guided warship.

Byron is the captain of this ship and also the commander of the mariners. Over the past six months, besides continuing to take charge of some land military affairs, he has also been responsible for training the newly formed mariners.

This middle-aged knight is not a naval warfare expert, but the southern borders at this time don’t have any naval warfare experts at all; at the very least, Byron has commanded a semi-finished magic-guided warship, attacked rocky ridges Fortress with the magic-guided warship, and he also has extensive experience from dealing with various combat environments during his time as a mercenary. He is essentially the only choice that Gawain could find.

After all, nothing can be accomplished in one go; areas built from scratch often turn out this way.

Under Sir Byron’s command, the newly formed Cecil "water force" will complete their final training on this ship—these mariners, trained on rowboats and fishing boats, will for the first time, come into contact with a real magic-guided warship. They will face not just models and theoretical materials, but tangible steel machinery and control mechanisms; they will learn how to operate a ship driven by chaotic magic machines, learn how to deal with various issues on the water. During this half-month-long actual training, this ship will sail around White River, surrounded by countless residents on the riverbanks, published in newspapers, broadcasted live through Magic Web. This is not just an actual training but also a demonstration and deterrence—

While the order of the southern borders has initially stabilized, it is not entirely peaceful yet. The remnants of the old aristocracy and what remains of the church’s army are still entrenched in the western and northern mountainous areas and jungles. These lawless bandits have now turned to banditry; Sir Philip has been organizing to clear these bandits, but they have not been entirely eradicated yet.

Gawain knows that the most stubborn and naive remnants still fantasize about a day when Cecil’s rule collapses suddenly, and the old system is restored, while some have adapted to the life of a bandit, enjoying their lawless days—the cutting-edge magic-guided warship is meant for them to see.

Without a doubt, the gun emplacements of the cutting-edge magic-guided warship shimmer with the brilliance of Art, and Art is always used to influence people’s hearts.