Gwen was back.
The blue dragon's wings covered the sky as it flew from the north to Cecil's capital without any disguise. Everyone who lived in the area witnessed the Giant Dragon flying over the land. In other parts of the world or in the past, such a scene would undoubtedly be terrifying to ordinary people. Bards and scholars would even associate it with a regional disaster. However, when the people of Cecil saw the Giant Dragon, most of them felt joy. Even the oppressive atmosphere caused by the sudden outbreak of war was swept away.
Because many days ago, their emperor left on such a Giant Dragon.
Gwen stood behind Melita's shoulder blade and looked down at the familiar city scenery quickly approaching in his field of vision. When the Giant Dragon swept over the Whitewater River, he could not help but sigh softly. "Cecil, your emperor is back …"
His soft sigh did not escape Amber's sensitive ears. The half-elf's long pointed ears twitched a little. She immediately turned her head and asked, "Hey, why are you suddenly sigh about this?"
Gwen quickly put on a straight face. "… Nothing. I just suddenly had a feeling."
Amber looked at Gwen doubtfully. Although she did not feel anything wrong from his inexplicable sigh, she still instinctively felt that it was necessary to record it down. Maybe it was a flirtatious remark.
The half-elf had always been very perceptive.
A moment later, the blue Giant Dragon landed smoothly on the square next to Cecil's palace. Heti led the government officials and the attendants of Cecil's palace were already waiting in the open space.
The dragon's wings drooped down and formed a gentle ramp. Gwen was the first to appear at the top of the ramp. When the tall figure appeared against the sun, the whole square was immediately filled with applause and cheers.
Heti, who was standing at the front of the crowd, breathed a sigh of relief. She felt that a big stone in her heart had finally fallen to the ground. Then she stepped forward, ready to extend her hand at the end of the ramp to welcome the return of her ancestor. But there was a figure faster than her. Rebecca, who could not stand by the side for a long time, did not care about etiquette and "ladylike demeanor". She just trotted past her aunt and was the first to run under the dragon's wings. As soon as Gwen landed, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Ancestor, you're back!"
Gawain had long gotten used to the girl's personality. Besides, it was not a solemn occasion (at least, it was not an occasion that required the release of any video material). So, he simply smiled helplessly and patted Rebecca's hair. Then, he turned his eyes to Heidi, who was equally helpless. "Let's simplify the etiquette. This is a special situation. Let's get back on track as soon as possible."
"Of course, I knew you would say that." Heti nodded immediately. "Although I would like to let you rest first, I don't think you will listen. The information has been sent to your study. Victoria and Governor Bodwin can contact you at any time. The military and intelligence departments are also ready to meet you."
"I have to find Anton to understand the situation first." Amber came down behind Gwen. As soon as she landed, she said in a hurry, "I hope that kid can do a good job this time."
Veronica was the last to leave the ramp formed by the dragon's wings. She looked at the crowd around her and came to Gwen's side. "I need to discuss with the Grand Patriarch about the Church of the God of War. Please allow me to leave first."
Just like that, almost in the blink of an eye, everyone had arranged their own things to do. Cecil's managers prioritized efficiency and did not have the intention to stick to traditional etiquette and rules. But Gwen still remembered that there was a 'guest' who did not belong to Cecil. He turned back and looked at Melita Pânia, who was still standing in the square in the form of a Giant Dragon. "If you —"
"I would like to stay as a guest, but this is a special situation. I want to return to Tarlonde first." Melita did not wait for Gwen to finish. She slightly lowered her elegant neck. In the form of a Giant Dragon, this was quite polite and appropriate. "I just tested the connection between the Mithril Ring and found that the communication was inexplicably restored. Although I don't know what's going on, you should still be able to use it to contact me."
Her tone was as calm as possible, and her attitude was very calm and indifferent. But Gwen could vaguely sense the anxiety and uneasiness in the heart of the Giant Dragon. She seemed to suspect that something was going to happen to Tarlonde, so she could not wait to say goodbye and leave.
Of course, Melita's anxiety should not only be because of the insignificant 'malfunction' of the Mithril Ring. It should be more due to the two secret conversations between Gwen and the Dragon God, the abnormal phenomenon that had happened in the upper sanctum, and the current abnormal movement of the gods in the Loren Continent. And the 'malfunction' of the Omega System, which had never made a mistake, happened to be a trigger, giving the Giant Dragon some kind of warning.
In this regard, Gwen felt that as a human, he had no reason to intervene. He could not stop Melita's decision. He could only nod slightly and casually remind her, "Be careful on the way back. You have been flying at high intensity for a long time."
Melita shook her head slightly and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I am very confident in my stamina. Please back off a little, I am going to take off."
A moment later, the blue Giant Dragon flapped her wings again. This huge creature that blotted out the sky soared into the sky from the city. After a few continuous accelerations, she turned into a shadow on the horizon and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
…
Gwen returned to his familiar study. He looked at the familiar table, the familiar bookshelf, the familiar carpet, and the familiar roof. In this familiar room, he could see the familiar faces of Rebecca, Heti, and others.
His mood finally calmed down a little.
Tarlonde was a very advanced place. It was not uncomfortable to live in, and there was a city flashing with neon lights, automated home furnishings, and a variety of developed entertainment projects. In all fairness, Gwen could not help but recall the city life in his hometown. At least in terms of prosperity and advanced, the two had some similarities. But even so, Gwen always felt that the days living in the Giant Dragon Kingdom … were a little awkward.
He had never figured out where this awkwardness came from. He could only generalize it as "not used to sleeping in a strange bed". But now he felt that he had vaguely understood something.
He returned to his desk. It was spotless, cleaned by Betty. There were also the things he was used to on the desk. Everything that was handy was placed in the most convenient position. He looked up again and saw Heti standing in front of him. Rebecca stood a little further away. The latter seemed to want to talk to him, but she was a little nervous and did not dare to move forward.
Gwen smiled and realized that he had completely integrated into this place. Tarlonde, which was so prosperous that it reminded him of his hometown, was just another foreign country.
"Tell me about the current situation." He looked at Heti. "The communication was not smooth enough. I need to know more details."
Heti nodded and immediately told Gwen about what happened in and out of the Empire after he left. Then she began to detail everything that happened after the Calamity of Gods in Typhon worsened. She included the sudden attack on the Longwind Defense Line, the battle at Winterwolf Fort, Andesha's surrender, and a lot of intelligence from the Winterwolf Defense Line.
In the process, she also mentioned in detail the various responses made by the Supreme Government in the face of the changes in the situation, the current plans of the three-member council, and the future considerations.
Gawain did not interrupt much during the entire story. He only listened carefully and nodded most of the time. Occasionally, he would express his opinion on certain matters or ask for details. His brows would furrow occasionally, but after Heidi's report, his furrowed brows finally relaxed.
In the end, there was even a trace of a smile on his face.
Rebecca looked at the change of expression on her ancestor's face. She was not good at reading people's expressions and did not understand what Gwen was thinking.
Finally, Heidi's long report came to an end. The relaxed and gratified smile on Gawain's face became more obvious. He heaved a sigh of relief and looked up at Heidi. "Very good. I'm glad to see that everything is running smoothly after I left."
"Of course," Heti immediately said. "Maintaining the normal order of the Empire while you were away was the order you gave us before you left."
Gwen smiled. "Indeed … but this is still the thing I was most worried about. Of course, I don't have to worry about it now. "
There was no falsehood in his words. This was indeed what he had been worried about. For a long time, he had been worried about whether the order he created was stable enough, whether it could maintain and operate stably in his absence. Now that everything had gone through an unexpected test, the conclusion was gratifying.
Even though he had left the Imperium, and even though such a serious emergency had taken place, the highest government office was not in chaos. Everything was running in order. The changes of public opinion, the supply of assets, the mobilization of personnel, and the production and life were all handled properly by the departments. The three-person council, on the other hand, controlled the 'steering wheel' at the top of the Imperium tightly.
Of course, there were prerequisites to all this: Gwen had not left for too long, and everyone knew that he would return at any time; General Andesha had made the right choice and did not let the situation go completely out of control; many departments in the Government Office were just operating normally and had not really begun to bear the pressure of the prolonged state of war. But even so, the performance of the Supreme Government Office and the three-member council this time had reassured Gwen a lot.
Even Heti, who was always calm and composed, could not hide her happy smile in the face of her ancestor's affirmation.
She took a light breath and asked Gwen, "Do you have any comments on our response plan?"
"You have done well at the present stage. You did not rashly advance after taking down Winterwolf Fort. Instead, you chose to maintain the frontline and deplete Typhon's counterattack. This is the best decision," Gwen said. "This is indeed a divine calamity. The 'normal' people on Typhon's side obviously have no intention of starting a war. But the army under the influence of the God of War will still continue to attack their 'enemies', so military conflict is unavoidable. But we do not have to go deep into Typhon's hinterland to help them solve the problem.
"At this stage, in addition to maintaining the front line, the most important thing for us to do is to figure out the internal situation of Typhon and their plan to deal with this divine catastrophe. If we really want to help, we should start from this aspect. On the front line, we should just deal with and appease the God of War who killed himself."
Heti was stunned for a moment when she heard her ancestor describing the crazy God of War as' stupid God of War '. Then, she could not help but laugh.
Her tensed nerves finally relaxed a little.
And this was exactly Gwen's purpose. From the moment he saw Heti, he knew that his descendant had been under too much pressure recently.
"About the internal situation of Typhon," Gwen continued after a pause, "Has there been any news from No.25?"
"Not yet," Heti shook her head. "The current situation of Typhon is unknown. Given that their upper echelons have been contaminated by the God of War, Oldenheim is likely to conduct a large-scale investigation and purge. To ensure the safety of the informants, the intelligence department has suspended all active contact with the spies, including the spies of the Trajectory Project and the No.25 line. But if special circumstances arise, they will pass on the message to the outside while ensuring their own safety. "
Gwen thought for a moment and nodded. "… Well, the correct response should be so."
He then looked at Heti and was about to ask some other questions, but at this moment, a familiar mental wave suddenly entered his mind.
"Ancestor?" Heti looked at Gwen in confusion, who suddenly fell into a trance. "What's wrong with you?"
Gwen raised a hand and motioned for her to wait for a moment. Then, he quickly focused on listening to the brief message from Daniel. The content of the message was very concise and could be received without being immersed in the network. Obviously, it was directly abbreviated and sent. In this tense and dangerous situation, this was a very necessary cautious attitude.
A moment later, Gwen looked up and smiled at Heti. "What a coincidence … No.25 just contacted me."
Heti immediately widened her eyes. "What's the situation over there?"
"… Two things. First, No.25 has roughly determined how the 'declaration of war' came from Obsidian Palace. Second, and more importantly, Rosetta Augustus has declared a state of emergency in Typhon and took advantage of the situation to implement three emergency laws in a row in one day: closing the parliament, sealing the city, and … temporarily canceling all the exemption privileges of the churches in the country."
As he spoke, Gawain couldn't help but exhale softly. He sighed emotionally. "… Not bad at all …"
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