Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 652 - 651: Ophelia Norton’s Identity

Amber, known as the shame of elves, has been like this for some time now. Gawain has long adapted to this fellow’s tendency to be opportunistic and go off-track, and he knows that often Amber behaves like this just to lighten the mood.

This half-elf dislikes overly serious and oppressive atmospheres, and indeed, after communicating with Veronica and Ophelia, things had become quite sombre and oppressive.

The next day, the ancient city of St. Soniel greeted a new day in the bright sunlight.

The wounds this giant beast received in the war still require slow healing, but everyone who survived gradually regains hope as the city’s stability continues. The blockade on the plains has closed, pushing the war far from the city. Within the city, two Guardian Dukes have started further restoration of city functions and begun convening aristocrats, scholars, and merchant representatives to prepare for announcing the Empire’s establishment.

After hosting a group of royal scholars, Gawain returned to the study in the Silver Castle.

After waiting for a moment, a steady and powerful sound of footsteps came from the door; the tall and robust Grand Shepherd Wright appeared at the study door: "Sir, you called for me?"

—Despite plans to establish the Cecil Empire being finalized, Gawain has yet to publicly take the crown; therefore, except for a few, most of those who have long followed him still habitually address him in the usual way.

Gawain glanced at Wright, as well as Wright’s substitute—Emily, who emerged from behind Wright, politely greeting Amber and Gawain.

"Sit down, I have some matters regarding the Holy Light Church to discuss with you," Gawain nodded to the substitute ambassador Grand Shepherd, then turned to instruct Amber, "Order the guards and attendants not to let anyone disturb us in the study from now on."

Once Wright had settled into the high-backed chair beside the desk, Gawain casually activated the Magic Web Terminal on the desk. While waiting for the response, he said offhandedly, "Now that we’ve entered St. Soniel, the Cathedral is essentially under our control. What are your thoughts?"

"...Considering the practical situation, we cannot violently destroy the Northern Church, nor can we violently treat the followers of old doctrines just for missionary purposes. However, the doctrines of the Northern and Southern Churches are destined to be opposed," Wright said in a deep voice, "If conditions permit, we should find a way to reform the Northern Church from aspects like interpretation rights of classics and bishop authority, let them accept the new doctrines and merge with the Southern Church. If conditions do not permit, we may have to face the reality of the divided Faith of Holy Light between North and South for a long time, dedicating considerable manpower and resources to maintaining balance and preventing conflict from escalating."

Gawain sized up the muscular Grand Shepherd: "Your approach to solving problems is becoming increasingly like a true religious leader."

Perhaps being a Grand Shepherd brought about new ways of seeing and thinking; this former low-level Priest, once purely focused on preaching and seeking Holy Light, was now beginning to develop practical viewpoints starting from the broader picture. To Gawain, this was a positive change.

Wright merely chuckled, his expression was calm and sincere: "It’s just that after taking this position, I’ve seen more people. The Holy Light teaches me to match responsibility with strength and with status, so I have to consider issues from a broader perspective. Honestly, I’m not yet adept at handling these matters... I should thank Sevin Terry and several other priests for their assistance."

"Sevin... must be the progressive priests from the city of Lu An," Gawain mused, recalling the name, "How are they performing in the Southern Church? Have they adapted to the new doctrines?"

"They’ve all adapted. Initially, they could only carry weight three kilometers; now Sevin can punch a bear to death after a five-kilometer load."

Gawain: "?"

Wright suddenly laughed: "They are in administrative positions and don’t need to adapt to warrior training – they have adapted to the new doctrines and are trying to find their own path to the Holy Light. After accepting the new doctrines, the progressive priests and clerics of Lu An City have experienced varying degrees of Holy Light decline. However, the existence of the White Knights has inspired them greatly, and they haven’t completely lost all their Holy Light as I did initially. I believe the decline amongst these brothers and sisters is temporary, and one day, they will rediscover their path."

Gawain’s expression finally returned to normal, surprised that Wright could now even joke around—because Wright himself had a rough demeanour, coupled with the peculiar selection criteria for the White Knights, even within the Cecil Legion, there’s a running joke that the Southern priests’ selection criteria is whether they can beat a bear to death. This joke clearly has reached the ears of the Grand Shepherd, but he seems to enjoy it.

Besides the surprise, Gawain confirmed another matter: the southern clergymen indeed experienced varying degrees of power decline because of wavering faith and abandoning the Holy Light God, but due to the presence of White Knights, their decline did not hit rock bottom like Wright’s did back then.

This perhaps indirectly showed some characteristics of the "mental Steel Stamp."

It indeed originates from the human heart and affects the human heart, yet it can also be influenced by the surrounding environment, affected by the group.

Of course, it might be that the southern clergymen didn’t completely lose hope in the Holy Light God as Wright once did, perhaps maintaining a tiny reverence for the Holy Light God, preventing their Holy Light power from completely fading.

Regardless of the reasons, the issues concerning the mental Steel Stamp require long-term observation and testing; Gawain is not in a hurry for the moment.

As they spoke, the Magic Web Terminal on the desk suddenly emitted a hum, and then an illusory projection condensed above the Projection Crystal.

Kamel’s figure appeared in front of Gawain and Wright.

The ancient master mage slightly bowed to Gawain in salute.

"Very well, everyone is here now," Gawain nodded and then got straight to the point, "Today I’ve gathered the two of you because of a matter involving both the Church of Holy Light and the ancient Gondor Empire."

"Involving the contemporary church and the ancient empire at the same time?" Kamel’s voice barely concealed his curiosity, "What’s happened?"

Gawain stated plainly, "Ophelia Norton, do you know that name?"

Kamel was obviously stunned for a moment upon hearing the name, and then spoke up, "Yes, of course, I’ve not only heard of her but met her — Princess Ophelia is a member of the ancient Gondor Royalty, and she herself is an exceptionally gifted master mage. Part of the defied Plan was personally overseen by her... why suddenly mention this name? Princess Ophelia, as one of the executors of the defied Plan, is not politically active, and there should not be much record of her in history. The era she lived in is three hundred years apart from yours, and a thousand years apart from the present..."

Gawain’s face was deeply solemn, his heart stirred.

Member of the ancient Gondor Royalty, one of the highest managers of the defied Plan!!

The defied Plan was the most important secret plan of the Gondor Empire during the Meteoric Era, controlled by the Gondor Royalty from the start. Therefore, upon hearing the surname Norton associated with Ophelia, Gawain made certain guesses about her identity. But guesses aside, hearing confirmed intelligence from a true ancient mouth still imparted a significant impact on him!

"Her current name is Veronica Moen," he exhaled lightly, speaking abruptly which startled Kamel and the nearby Wright, "She is inside the Cathedral of the Holy Light and is preparing to announce the martyrdom of the Pope and the bishop team in three hours."

"Holy Light..." Wright’s face showed a look of amazement, the news was so impactful that he didn’t instantly realize the Northern Church had suffered a major blow that was undoubtedly good news for the Southern Church. Emily, floating behind him, could even sense the surge of Holy Light around Wright, the young girl immediately concealed her form, then cautiously peeked out half her head amidst the ripple of the Holy Light, looking around warily.

Kamel’s entire person turned purplish-red — a sign of extreme shock: "Is the information reliable? Where did you get this intelligence?"

"She personally recounted it and accurately stated your origins, mentioned the defied Plan," Gawain said, then succinctly narrated his encounter last night in the Cathedral of the Holy Light, told of the cooperation request made by the self-proclaimed ’Ophelia Norton’ defier, and finally shared some of his speculations, "I believe there may be a more immense truth behind her, remnants of the defied Plan persisting to this day could be more than we’ve imagined — she refers to herself using ’we’, possibly indicating the original Ophelia Norton has split into several souls through some ancient magic, and the so-called Veronica Moen is merely a temporary vessel used by one of these split souls."

"This speculation seems likely..." Kamel pondered, then cautiously suggested after some thought, "I advise you to treat this defier with caution — even if her identity is genuine, you must maintain sufficient vigilance, keep a safe distance, never trust too easily."

Gawain glanced at Kamel, "I thought you, as a fellow defier, would naturally be more inclined to trust and be familiar with that ’Princess’, after all, from a certain perspective, she could be considered your former superior."

"Indeed, I inherently hold some preliminary trust and familiarity with Princess Ophelia as a fellow defier, but first and foremost, I am your advisor and scholar," Kamel buzzed, "I must warn you of the potential risks, especially when this risk might be significant."

"What are your concerns?"

"The defied Plan is the most extreme and audacious plan since the birth of mankind, defiers are a group of extremists attempting to ensure human continuity through theft, distortion, or even manipulation of divine power. Obsession, extremism, and recklessness are intrinsic characteristics of defiers. Our goals are indeed lofty and our resolve strong, and the initial intention is very good, but the long passage of time and humanity’s inherent obsession can easily distort these good elements," Kamel expressed his concerns, "According to what you’ve said, Princess Ophelia Norton has survived for a thousand years, and seven hundred of those years have been spent in human realms in the form of a host soul after the destruction of the Gondor Empire, surely such a lengthy and heterogenous life has deeply impacted her."

At this point, Kamel paused, his tone serious, "I dare not imagine what someone becomes after enduring such a millennium — she could perhaps be a saint transcending mortal spirit and will, but more likely a lunatic."

Gawain stroked his chin thoughtfully, "You’ve also experienced a thousand years, and under more daunting conditions — you were sealed within the fortress of the shadow realm."

"Indeed, and you surely have not forgotten, I myself was once half-crazy," Kamel said, "Moreover, my body has been reshaped into a spiritual form, no longer affected by various neural signals and hormonal substances of a flesh body. In a sense, my mental state is semi-solidified, more resilient than that of a flesh-and-blood human, whereas Princess Ophelia... she has been hosting in various flesh bodies, it’s hard to say what kind of changes her mental state has undergone over this lengthy period."

"Do you then reject Ophelia’s cooperation request?"

"...It’s not entirely that way," Kamel changed his tune, "Her cooperation is still of immense value, not only because she now controls the Cathedral of Saint Soniel but also because she possesses knowledge unknown to us, and we certainly need to understand what changes have occurred within the Church of the Holy Light over these years through her, understand what she intends to do leveraging the Church of the Holy Light. I am merely advising you, listing all the risks for your reference."

Gawain nodded slightly, then looked at Wright at the other side.

"What is your opinion?"

Wright had gone through a period of contemplation, and when faced with Gawain’s inquiry, he replied in a deep voice, "I believe cooperation is possible, sir."