Chapter 1058 — Beiyila's Technical Roadmap
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 5
Bard looked at An Luo standing before him—the image in his mind of the little girl running clumsily toward him in the courtyard had already receded bit by bit, until at last only a few broken silhouettes remained, mingling with his ever-fading memories.
What stood before him now was a grown imperial soldier: steady, martial, possessed of an indomitable will and unshakable conviction, and a life's trajectory all her own.
"You will return safely to Typhon—as proof of the friendship forged between our two nations, as a good beginning," he said slowly, pondering. "His Majesty... I mean, His Majesty Gaoyang Cecil, will prepare the ground for you in the public discourse and guide it; Aldernan will make corresponding arrangements on its side. Part of the truth behind the war will be made public. You will return as a commander who rendered meritorious service, not as a defeated, captured officer..."
"I know," An Luo said in an even tone. "It benefits both nations, and it lets my value be put to better use. But be that as it may, for me to return safely, Aldernan will surely have to pay something in return..."
"That is not for you to consider," Bard shook his head. "His Majesty Luo Yan knows very well what price he ought to pay for a Wolf General. All you need do is cooperate with Aldernan's decisions."
"Of course, I will," An Luo said, her expression unchanged—but in the end she could not help stealing a few more glances at her father, and said with a trace of hesitation, "Then you... afterward, will you return to..."
Bard seemed to have long anticipated that she would eventually bring this up, and his answer was plain: "I no longer belong to Typhon. Publicly and privately, it would not be fitting for me to appear in Aldernan again. The life of Wolf General Bard Wendell is over; my presence would only disturb Aldernan's situation. So there is only one researcher here, Bard, nothing more. An Luo, you should understand what I mean."
"...Yes, I understand," the young Wolf General could only sigh softly, then lifted her head and looked toward the Soren Great Tree—she saw several flying craft approaching from the distance, droning low as they flew toward a certain fissure in the lower canopy zone, which stirred her curiosity. "Lately there always seem to be these oddly shaped craft moving about nearby?"
Bard's expression turned a little strange: "Lady Beiyila is testing ways to make her brains perform more functions, and to have them work in concert on their own when far from the parent body—the further details are technical secrets, and I cannot tell you."
An Luo: "...What are you talking about?"
"...All right, this really is a bit hard to grasp, so best not to pry—it's good for both body and mind," Bard thought of those bizarre projects under way in the biochemical laboratory inside the Soren Great Tree, and his expression grew even more peculiar. Considering that even he, a former priest of the All Things Perish Society, sometimes found Beiyila's aesthetic impossible to fathom, he decisively changed the subject. "We have stood out in this courtyard in the wind long enough. You have only just recovered; you should still limit your time outdoors."
An Luo was somewhat exasperated: "I have been indoors long enough. Having nothing to do is more exhausting than fighting on the battlefield."
"Nothing to do?" Bard glanced at his daughter and suddenly recalled something. "Ah, then I do have a suggestion—remember those exercises we never finished last time? We can start with the simpler systems of equations..."
An Luo: "...?!"
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