Chapter 969 — The Beginning of a Shift
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"Those questions... I would also need to apply to my superiors before I could determine whether I'm permitted to discuss them with you," Meicen hesitated, then spoke slowly. "But there is one part I can tell you—about why Talund can pass through one Magic Tide after another unscathed..."
At this point she paused and raised a hand to point upward.
"You may have guessed it already—the Great Shield of Talund, our greatest defensive barrier. It is the key that allows the dragon race to survive the Magic Tide safely."
The Great Shield of Talund...
Gaoyang instinctively rubbed his temples. This was in fact an idea he had entertained before; he had thought the dragons' technique for resisting the Magic Tide must be connected to that great shield. Yet it could not explain one problem—
"Even if the Great Shield can protect the living beings on the Talund continent when the Magic Tide arrives, how do you manage to smoothly adapt to a world turned upside down outside the shield after the Magic Tide ends? Of course, I don't mean the minor Magic Tides Gondor experienced, but the true great Magic Tides that can affect the entire world," he asked, frowning. "After a great Magic Tide, the magical rules of the whole world are reset, and a vast amount of matter becomes unfamiliar. Yet after you come out of the Great Shield, you can still survive safely... Is it really just by relying on the dragons' formidable physical constitution?"
Hearing Gaoyang's words, Meicen suddenly wore a rather peculiar look. Her gaze rested on Gaoyang for quite a while before she asked, not entirely certain, "I want to know—about the fact that after a great Magic Tide arrives, the magical rules of the entire world and the forms and properties of vast amounts of matter will change—who revealed that to you?"
Gaoyang sensed something was off in her expression and grew extremely serious in turn. "That was intelligence the Sea Demons revealed to us—like you, they too have observed this world for millions of years. And Cecil's ties with the Sea Demons are closer than with Talund, so all our prior knowledge of great and minor Magic Tides, the Black Pit, the Reverse Tide, and so on, came from the Sea Demons. What you mean is... could the Sea Demons' data on the great Magic Tide be false?"
"...No, they did not lie to you. That is indeed the world as they see it. When the Magic Tide arrives, the whole world truly is turned upside down. But I think your understanding of it..." Meicen spoke with a strange expression, but halfway through, her face suddenly changed. She dropped the cup in her hand and pressed her hand painfully against her chest; all her remaining words were replaced by a low roar and ragged gasps.
Gaoyang was startled. "Are you all right?!"
Meicen gasped with difficulty for a long while before she finally recovered somewhat. Supporting herself on the bar counter beside her, she slowly raised her head, her face pale and her expression complex as she looked at Gaoyang. "I truly never imagined that even in my own home, chatting with you about casual topics would turn out like this..."
Gaoyang: "So just now—"
"The god warned me... that I cannot continue discussing this topic with you," Meicen said weakly. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
Gaoyang's expression turned grave. Although Meicen had only said half of it, it had already stirred no small ripple in his heart. He vaguely felt as though he had grasped something, and his thoughts could not help but spread outward. And seeing the agent lady's pained state after being directly warned by her god, the information hinted at behind this topic made him value it all the more!
Humanity's understanding of the "great Magic Tide" might be off? The Sea Demons' intelligence not entirely accurate? Research on the Magic Tide about to face a new breakthrough? Where would the breakthrough come from? The dragons' technology, or the Sea Demons' intelligence?!