Chapter 551 — A New Gate
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
Hedy had clearly been worried for a long while. The moment she saw Gao Yang, she hurried to meet him, her face showing undisguised relief and ease. "How glad I am to see you safe and sound—did you find anything?"
"We did find something remarkable, but it's better discussed once we're back," Gao Yang said with a wave of his hand. "I saw the construction crew just now—Gordon took part in some of the reinforcement work on the Boulder Fortress in the north, didn't he?"
"Yes, he's an expert in that field. He led the team that reinforced the Boulder Fortress's north gate and took part in part of the reconstruction of Boulder Castle. Only after winter set in did the local construction crews of Boulder City take over those projects," Hedy said, then looked at Gao Yang curiously. "Ancestor, do you have something in mind?"
"The passage between Cecil and the southern slopes of the Dark Mountains has been opened," Gao Yi nodded slightly. "I want to keep this passage—and set up a gate here."
Hedy blinked and raised her head to look around the vast cavern—the high-powered mana crystal lamps of the work site lit up what had once been the dim Shadow Experiment Ground, and great quantities of engineering equipment, building materials, and weaponry lay sorted and stacked on the rock platforms throughout the cave. In fact, when she had seen the Ancestor requisition so many supplies from Xuanyao City, she had vaguely guessed what the Xuanmai Sect had in mind.
"We cannot stay huddled north of the Dark Mountains forever. Facing the threat of the demon tide, the borders of civilization advance or they retreat," Gao Dai said. "Back then, when the Ansu people pulled back once, we lost a full third of our southern lands outright, and the kingdom's southern bulwark was left shattered beyond recognition. So we must never be content with things as they are."
He looked toward the vast rift in the southern wall of the cavern, and the pitch-black night flowed into his eyes.
"Crossing the Dark Mountains over the ridge is far too difficult. The Defiance Fortress is our natural passage. Beyond this rift lies a gentle stretch of slope on the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains. It's hard to defend, true, but it's easy to push outward from—we can march straight into the Black Forest from here. I mean to take this giant cavern, the Shadow Experiment Grounds, as our foundation and rebuild it into 'Southgate Fortress.' A man-made bastion armed with railguns, prismatic cannons, and reinforced concrete is no worse than bare rock walls. By then we'll have a gateway opening onto the south."
Hedy understood Gao Song's intent. After a brief consideration, she nodded slowly. "Yes. I'll see to the arrangements at once."
Gao Yang said no more. Gazing at the murky, darkened sky over the southern cavern, his eyes slowly hardened with resolve.
The impact crater that had appeared in the Black Forest, the mysterious object from beyond the heavens, the dragon of unknown whereabouts, the shadowy hand behind the Mithril Vault, and this rift at the far end of the Defiance Fortress, so suddenly shaken open...
This world seemed to grow more unsettled by the day, and as the ruler of this land, he must seize every thread of usable value in that unsettled world.
Used well, a dangerous breach could become a gateway for marching south.
This was the first day of the Month of Revival, in the 737th year of Ansu.
On this first day of spring, construction began on the Southgate Fortress of Cecil, and the descendants of the Gondor Empire, after seven hundred years of dwelling in comfortable exile, set foot once again upon the land at the edge of the wasteland.
On this same day, the brief tacit truce between the Ansu Kingdom's army and the Eastern Legion came to an end, and along the confrontation line in the eastern Holy Spirit Plains, the atmosphere grew tense once more.