Chapter 590 — Seven Hundred Years Apart

After tense calibration, more than ten failed call attempts and transmissions, and nearly two hours of agonizing waiting, the technicians monitoring the magic-net communications device finally detected a regular feedback signal within the energy surges coming from the Great Wall—

The magic-net communications device now served in place of the Sentinel Tower's transmitting function. It could not obtain the Sentinel Tower's special runic signature, but it did possess the internal communications cipher of the Silver Empire. Under normal circumstances, this would constitute an illegal access request, but under today's circumstances, even an illegal access request would receive a response from the monitoring staff.

After a brief second round of signal adjustment and amplification, the interference in the channel stabilized at an acceptable level. The human communications terminal and the elven transmitting medium had achieved satisfactory results on their very first fusion. The communications request from Spike Base was first transmitted to the southern part of the continent in both text and audio form, and before long a reply came back:

"Her Majesty Queen Belantia will take the call."

"We have received a higher level of authorization. The visual feed is about to connect," Suo You said, standing beside the communicator, somewhat clumsily deciphering the characters displayed on the holographic projection before prompting the operator nearby. "Open the second channel—the communications signal from the Throne District is separate."

Gao Yang raised his head and looked at the chaotic, quivering illusion projection above the magic-net terminal—after a moment, it began to gradually stabilize. Faint, discernible shapes of light and shadow coalesced out of those chaotically trembling colors and lines, and finally formed a relatively clear image.

There was still considerable interference in the picture, but considering that this signal had crossed the entire Gondor Wasteland and spanned the whole continent, the result was already extraordinarily satisfying.

An elven woman with flowing golden hair appeared at the center of the image, wearing a crown and a court gown of white with gold trim, embroidered with intricate lace.

The leader of the elven race, the queen of the Silver Empire for this millennium and the next, the sovereign of the Radiant Dome Hall, the ruler of the Ancestral Woodland and the Silver Forest—Belantia Morningstar.

She sat there upright, her features exquisite and noble, possessing the appearance of "a treasure forged by the gods" as the rumors described, and yet a piercing majesty cloaked her entire being, so that anyone who beheld her would realize at once that she was an imperial ruler. Her throne was the legendary "Throne of Dominion," and from behind this crystallization of ancient technology extended countless pipes and cables, unfurling behind her like some strange pair of wings. The ruler sat quietly upon her throne, her gaze first sweeping over Suo You, then coming to rest on Gao Yang.

Her expression seemed to shift slightly, and the piercing majesty in her eyes softened a little: "Duke Gao Yang Cecil, your resurrection is indeed real—thanks be to the forest and the ancient spirits for their blessing. This is truly a miraculous reunion."

"You really are quite different from how I remember you," Gao Yang said, rifling through the memories he had inherited, and sighed with genuine feeling. "Queen Belantia."

In Gao Yang Cecil's memory, this queen had still been a little girl who ran about everywhere, loved "adventures," and was left utterly spellbound by the heroic tales spun by Charles and the others. Gao Yang's initial impression of Belantia had been built upon that foundation, yet at this very moment, those distant memories were gradually dissolving.

Seven centuries later, the little girl of those days had finally grown into an imperial ruler.

"You are still the same as I remember," Belantia said with a faint smile. "Call me by my name still, just as you did before."

"Then I shall dispense with formalities—you know I dislike excessive ceremony," Gao Yang nodded. "As you can see, we have rebuilt the channel between north and south of the continent. It relies on some of our new technology—I will brief you on the details later. Before that, High Messenger Suo You has something more important to report."

This was a reunion after seven hundred years apart, yet both sides knew they had no leisure for idle reminiscence.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Suo You stepped forward at once. "An emergency has arisen, and I had no choice but to agree to establish this emergency channel—I have matters concerning the Great Wall and the Society of the Final End to report to you. Your Majesty, our Sentinel Tower has been corrupted. There is a terrible flaw in the Great Wall system..."

Belantia's expression turned grave in an instant: "Tell me everything."

...

The account did not take long. As a High Messenger, Suo You knew very well how to convey intelligence concisely and to the point. She quickly explained to Queen Belantia what she and Gao Yang had witnessed within the Sentinel Tower, especially those vines discovered in the Shadow Realm, after which Gao Yang supplemented the intelligence concerning the Dark Bridge and the possibility that the cultists of the Final End were using it to send signals into the wasteland.

After hearing all this, Belantia frowned slightly and pondered for a moment. Her expression was clearly not good. After a brief silence, she looked at Suo You: "Suo You, those vines you discovered have already withered, have they not?"

"Yes, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the 'shadow vines' in other Sentinel Towers are still alive," Suo You said with a solemn expression. "Moreover, even if the vines have withered, the damage they inflicted upon the Sentinel Tower has not vanished—through some mapping method as yet unclear, the Sentinel Tower in the Shadow Realm is also affecting the operation of the tower in the real world. Archmage Banner has determined that several key systems of the Sentinel Tower have suffered varying degrees of damage, and the anomalous signals caused by this damage have until now been tampered with and concealed."

"Order Archmage Banner to transmit all materials back. I will have the Astromancer Association study a solution immediately," Belantia's voice was full of majesty. "In addition, I will order the Royal Druidic Society to confirm whether there are any activities of the fallen Twilight Grove sect within the borders of the Silver Empire. Keep in constant contact with the Empire."

Then she paused, her gaze turning to Gao Yang: "Duke Cecil—you said just now that this special communications line was established relying on human technology?"

"Strictly speaking, it is the technology of the Duchy of Cecil," Gao Yang nodded. "The technical断层 across Ansul as a whole is severe, and development varies greatly from place to place. The Duchy of Cecil was rebuilt after my resurrection, and we are attempting to follow a special technological path, which I have named 'arcanotech.' The communications system before you is one of its fruits. Lady Suo You has stayed on my side for quite some time now, and she should have her own understanding of arcanotech from an elven perspective."

"Indeed, Your Majesty," Suo You said, unable to suppress a hint of emotion in her expression. "Since coming here, we have seen many things beyond imagination. Arcanotech possesses a... philosophy entirely different from the old magical arts. It is practical—practical in many fields. Even now we are relying on its power to construct the first mana-convergence ring of the 'secondary tower'..."