Chapter 1228 — The Deep Blue Netway Surveillance Plan
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Beranthia seemed unconcerned with Gao Song's assessment. She simply tilted her head back and gazed at the star-strewn night sky, and at the glows that drifted near the edges of the clouds—those were the lights of the earth piercing through the veil of night, cast upward in the form of afterglow. The sheer multitude of man-made lights kept most districts of Xuanque City as lively as day even after nightfall, and that surplus of illumination had even dimmed the starlight in the sky considerably.
In the Silver Empress's memory, she had not seen such splendid lights in the human world for several hundred years.
"I leave in two days," she said suddenly to Gao Dai after a moment of silence. "It's already settled."
"The schedule's been moved up?" Gao Yang raised an eyebrow. "I remember the original plan had you staying here quite a while longer—there's a great deal you haven't seen yet with Project 115 and the 'Gate' plan."
"I know, but I've been away from the Silver Empire far too long," Beranthia said with a smile. "The matter of Sage Azmoor and the other druid sages is settled, but those cultists won't simply vanish on their own—every day I remain away from the royal court is another excuse for the restless elements to crawl out, and by now they've crawled out more or less completely. I must go back and put a final period to this three-thousand-year account of rot."
Gao Yang glanced at the elf empress beside him. Her features in the starlight were as serene and placid as ever, yet deep within those eyes was hidden a resolve like the cold wind of the northern lands—a resolve that was very much necessary for the Silver Empire as it stood, yet Gao Yang could not help but offer a reminder: "Do you remember what you promised Sage Azmoor?"
"...Of course I remember," Beranthia said with a soft sigh. "Those who truly follow the ancient druidic path... well, let's generously call them the moderates within the cult... Sage Azmoor has indeed handed me a difficult problem, but since I have agreed, I will of course honor my promise—especially since that promise was, in a sense, sworn before the gods.
"The reason I'm going back early this time is precisely because of that promise—I've been away too long. Every day I'm gone, more people can no longer contain themselves, and those 'moderates' will eventually have their moments of leaping out as well. If they too leap out like the cultists... then I'll have a hard time finding grounds to let them go."
"Since you've thought it through so clearly, I won't offer much more advice," Gao Cen said as he rose from the bench, extending a hand to Beranthia. "I wish you a smooth journey in advance—and I wish you every success in what you have to do."
"Few things I've done over the past centuries have gone truly smoothly, but in the end everything has succeeded," Beranthia said with a laugh, grasping Gao Song's hand. As she rose, she added offhandedly, "Of course, I thank you nonetheless for your blessing, Uncle Gao Yang."
Gao Yan nodded, then as if suddenly recalling something, spoke up in reminder: "By the way, don't forget that matter I mentioned to you—the Deep Blue Netway. Enya has already provided the means to locate and monitor the netway's rifts; the Star Sorcerers' Association should be capable of handling it. I hope that once you're back, you'll organize a team as soon as possible to find the Deep Blue Netway rifts within the Silver Empire. We need more monitoring data now."
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten," Beranthia nodded with a smile. "I already sent the relevant materials to Master Verania yesterday, and she said there's no problem. If all goes smoothly, she should have the entire monitoring project team organized before I even return to the Silver Empire."