Chapter 775 — The Northern Plan

Victoria shook her head. "No. The technicians checked many times over, including several experts dispatched from the capital to the northern regions. I myself made a point of returning to Winterhold early from Saint Sunil, and confirmed that the magic net had not been attacked or contaminated by high-order magic."

All sorts of guesses and hypotheses surfaced in Gaoyang's mind, but none had solid theoretical support. Frowning, he pondered what might possibly cause such an eerie phenomenon, and looked into Victoria's eyes. "Do you have any thoughts of your own?"

"I can only guess that perhaps the far-northern mountains, being close to the edge of the continent, are to some degree disturbed by the magic surges of the Endless Sea. The local magic environment differs from that of the inland regions, and so unexpected interference was produced within the magic net—or perhaps Winterhold itself is the source of the interference..."

Here Victoria added by way of explanation, "Winterhold itself is not merely a castle but a vast magical fortress—or rather... the 'mage tower' of our family's ancestor, Snow Wilde. Our ancestor reshaped that mountain peak with magical power and turned a portion of the summit into the foundation of Winterhold, then set a very powerful magic well deep within the castle and collected all manner of powerful and uncanny magical objects. Afterward the Wilde family continually added to the castle upon that base, gathering extraordinary things... Today Winterhold has become the most powerful source of magical interference in the northern regions. Though the castle itself has certain shielding and protective measures, there is no guaranteeing that such interference will not affect the operation of the magic net in the city below the mountain."

Listening to Victoria's explanation, Gaoyang could not help rubbing his forehead as memories surfaced. "Snow... back then we used to say he was kin to a hamster. He loved to collect anything and everything. Even Charlie said he would end up dying amid that pile of dangerous collectibles of his."

Victoria's expression did not change, but inwardly she listened with a touch of nervousness as Gaoyang divulged these secrets concerning the founding ancestor, and she could not keep a thought from rising in her mind—

If His Majesty Gaoyang had not risen from his coffin, then her own ancestor Snow Wilde would actually have been the longest-lived of the five—the four founding dukes and the founding sovereign—from that year...

But such a thing could never be spoken aloud; it would be far too disrespectful.

Gaoyang could not guess what was going on in the mind of Victoria, who always wore a face of frost. Even as he sighed and grumbled, he was still pondering—

That strange phenomenon Victoria had mentioned could not be dismissed carelessly as a "mysterious malfunction" or a "horror tale"!

The magic net was a new thing; even though it had been in operation for several years, its various properties remained to be explored and all manner of improvements and refinements remained to be carried out. As the foundation of the magic-drive industry, any anomaly it exposed had to be treated with caution. And even setting that aside—

In this world where all manner of extraordinary powers existed, where all manner of mysterious phenomena and uncanny things existed, any event sufficiently bizarre and wide-ranging in its effects had to be met with heightened vigilance!

Was it truly as Victoria said—that some external interference had affected the operation of the magic net at Winterhold? Or... was something attempting to contaminate the magic net?

Will this influence spread to the magic-net of other regions?

If that is truly the case, the consequences would be unthinkable!

Noticing that Gao Yang's expression had suddenly turned unusually grave, Victoria was silent for a few seconds before she could not help asking, "Your Majesty, what have you thought of?"

Gao Yang was startled out of his brooding, yet certain bold proposals Rebecca had once put forward long ago could not help surfacing in his mind...

"Perhaps... certain key nodes of the magic-net ought to have a physical self-destruct function..."

Victoria was startled by the last few words: "Ah?!"

"Pay it no mind for now—it is a technical matter from the earliest days of the magic-net's design," Gao Yang waved his hand, setting the thought aside for the moment and resolving to consult the technicians about the details later. "In any case, the 'anomalous phenomenon' you mentioned is well worth our attention. Once you return, investigate it thoroughly. Even if you truly cannot find the cause, keep watching the magic-net's operation afterward and confirm whether any other anomalies appear, and report to me promptly."

Victoria lowered her head. "I understand."

Gao Yang let out a breath and turned to the next topic. "Beyond this, is there anything else in the north?"

"There is," Victoria nodded, and at once came to one of the reasons she had personally traveled to the imperial capital to report in person. "We succeeded in opening the 'gate' of the Holy Dragon Duchy. Dragonblood Duke Bayan Kerr agreed to the Empire's request for formal diplomatic relations, and has entrusted me to deliver the letter of credence to you in person and convey his wishes. Before spring, the Holy Dragon Duchy will dispatch a formal envoy delegation to make preparations for stationing a long-term ambassador, establishing an embassy, sending exchange students, and mutually opening commercial ports."

Gao Yang was taken aback, and then made no effort to conceal his delight. "Ha! This is truly good news! We have actually knocked open the hardest door to knock on in the north! With this, the situation will favor us all the more!"

"Precisely. Having opened this door, the Holy Dragon Duchy will lean further toward the Cecil Settlement Zone," said Victoria, and even one so expressionless as she could not help showing a faint smile. "After all, the Holy Dragon Duchy does not merely border Cecil—it also lies close to Typhon, and in recent years Typhon has been attempting to establish exchanges with the Holy Dragon Duchy. That has always been a cause for concern. Now... our worries can be a little fewer."

"We must not be blindly optimistic. Opening the door alone does not mean we have drawn the Holy Dragon Duchy into the Cecil Settlement Zone; they can still make allies of the Typhonians," Gao Rong said. "Besides, I am curious—just what was it that moved those stubborn 'dragonborn' of the Holy Dragon Duchy?"