The investigation into the remnants of the Apocalypse in the wastelands had reached a bottleneck, but that did not mean that the empires outside the Great Wall would stop their counterattack. On the contrary, because the situation inside the Great Wall was unknown, it gave the empires extra pressure and made them even more eager to send their forces into the wastelands, even if it was just to build a forward base.
And so, the mortal nations began their counterattack on the wastelands.
In the south of the continent, the Silver Empire had joined forces with the Kingdom of Kaolin to build a massive ranger force, and began to push north along the border forest with the Guardian Tree, gradually reducing the polluted area outside the Great Wall. In the north and northeast of the continent, Typhon and Cecil had mobilized a large number of manpower and resources, and began to build several railways through the polluted area, preparing to use these 'steel arteries' as a pivot point to pry open the sturdy pollution barrier around the wastelands.
Grand Architect Gordon stood on the observation deck of the first wall of the Southern Fortress, and his gaze fell on the edge of the Dark Forest in the distance. In the depths of the forest, he could see some vague man-made structures poking out from the tall twisted trees. Their metal or crystal spires shone brightly under the sun, like jewels embedded in the forest, one after another connected into a line, pointing towards the direction of the Great Wall.
Those were sentry stations set up in the Dark Forest, and they were the exposed spires of the magical broadcast towers or shield generators in the sentry stations.
In the past, many people thought that the Dark Forest was a land of death for humans, and many nations flinched before the blockade of the Dark Forest. Due to the high cost, great risk, and low returns of resisting the Dark Forest, they gave up on the border. But there were two exceptions: one was the Typhon Empire, which had always maintained the alert zone in the western wastelands, and the other was the Cecil Empire, which had always been the goal of counterattacking the wastelands. In comparison, Cecil's actions were even more radical than Typhon's.
Early in the Ansu Era, before the establishment of the Cecil Empire, during the joint operation to repair and reinforce the Great Wall, Cecil had used heavy incinerators and armored troops to forcibly open a path in the Dark Forest that led straight to the wastelands. After the joint operation, the 'temporary path' was not abandoned, but received long-term maintenance and a series of 'additions'. According to the orders from the Imperial Capital, the construction corps stationed at the southern foot of the Gloom Mountain Range used the path as a foundation, constantly expanding the control zone of the Southern Fortress, and building a series of sentry stations and supply nodes along the path. The control zone extended all the way to the foot of the sentry tower.
Today, it was finally time for this long-lasting project to play a major role.
The 'Sentry Path' in the Dark Forest would become the foundation for advancing into the wastelands. The energy stations, military stations, and supply nodes along the way would provide important protection for the subsequent engineering corps. A charging railway of the highest standard so far would set off from the Southern Fortress, all the way through the Dark Forest and the belt plains outside the sentry tower, and all the way to the foot of the Great Wall. After that, the steel fortress and the army of the Empire would reach the territory of Gondor through this steel artery, where the first forward base of the human counterattack on the wastelands would be built.
The sound of footsteps came from the side. Gordon retracted his gaze from the Dark Forest and turned to the direction of the sound. He saw a short, muscular colleague in a thick black coat walking towards him.
It was Bruce Rock, an outstanding craftsman who was promoted to a Great Architect two years ago. This master engineer with dwarven blood was one of the first members of the 'Hundred Relief Team' to come to the south during the reign of Cecil. During the restoration of the Great Wall, the engineering team he led shone brightly (which was an important reason why he was promoted to a Great Architect). And in the upcoming counterattack on the wastelands, this technical expert with experience in 'contaminated zone construction' would also be one of the main heads of the engineering department. No doubt, it would be an honor.
"Hey, Gordon." Bruce raised his hand and greeted Gordon. His voice was as loud as thunder. "Do you see the first echelon of the engineering team assembled in the square? Those earth elemental resonance rails, the big lifting mechanism, and the shiny mechanical cabin! Let me tell you, I like our new mission. Now the empire's most advanced engineering machinery has been sent here! "
"I see it, of course I see it. I've been looking at it all morning." Gordon shrugged. "And we'll be looking at it for a long time. Building a railway from here to the wastelands is not a simple project."
"We already have a road in the Dark Forest. With those stations along the way, all the preliminary survey and logistics work will be simple." Bruce came to Gordon's side, his face flushed. "I dare say, Typhon's engineering progress is definitely slower than ours. They are also building a railway from Winterwolf Fort to the wastelands, but they haven't built as many supply stations and energy stations in the Dark Forest in the past few years. And after the battle of Winterwolf Fort, they don't have that many engineering mages now …"
"According to the information I've received, they have already sent 12,000 engineering mages to the Dark Forest, Bruce." Gordon glanced at his loud colleague. "There are still 8,000 on the way."
Bruce's flushed face suddenly stiffened. After a moment of stunned silence in the cold wind, the dwarf architect could not help but mutter, "Damn rich people … damn money …"
"Take it easy. Think about the current situation. Typhon's people are putting in so much effort to do this. It's a good thing for us," Gordon said unhurriedly. As one of the earliest technical staff to follow Gwen Cecil, he had been exposed to almost all the large-scale engineering projects of the empire and understood many of the "big plans" formulated by His Majesty. Naturally, he now had a different perspective. "Counterattacking the wastelands is not a matter for one country. After the vanguard arrives at the Great Wall, the more reinforcements we have around us, the safer the soldiers and engineers will be."
Bruce rubbed his nose and said, "… Damn, you do have a point."
Gordon grinned and looked at the gate under the high wall. When he saw that the engineering team's vehicle had begun to drive out, he casually said, "Compared to studying this kind of headache-inducing 'situation problem', I suddenly remembered a joke that I often see on Cecil's anonymous page in the neural network recently …"
Bruce rubbed his red nose and asked, "What joke?"
"What we have experienced today will most likely become a 'full text recitation' in the textbooks of the students a few years later." Gordon laughed. "Look at the vehicles under your feet, and think about the proposal you submitted a few days ago, especially the long paragraph you wrote in the front of the proposal. I think the history books will certainly not miss a page of yours. Seriously, just for this point, you should have written those things shorter. "
"Who cares," Bruce muttered. "It's not like I'm the one carrying it …"
Gordon shrugged his shoulders and ignored his colleague's mumbling. Bruce, on the other hand, felt a little bored. In the chilly autumn wind, this muscular man with the blood of dwarves poked his head out to look at the direction of the Dark Forest. His eyes swept across the lush and twisted plants before slowly moving to the barren 'unpolluted area' near the fortress. A stretch of lush green trees suddenly came into his sight, causing him to widen his eyes slightly.
"Hey, Gordon." He nudged the elbow of his colleague beside him. "The forest didn't seem so lush a few days ago, right? Why does it seem to have suddenly sprung up these days? "
"Is it that bad?" Gordon glanced in that direction and said nonchalantly, "It's just a forest, and it's still outside the polluted area of the Black Forest. We have sent someone to check it once before, and those are just ordinary plants, not the polluted products of the Black Forest that are soaked in magic energy and corroded with poison. "
At this point, he paused and looked thoughtful. "But the growth of that forest is indeed fast … It's probably partly influenced by the Black Forest. After all, this is the edge of the polluted area, and most of the plants and animals here are a little weird. There are also many twisted and mutated plants and animals in the Gloom Mountain Range. "
"That's possible …"
…
The autumn wind blew through the freshly cleaned streets and rolled up the decorative flags hanging in front of the nearby shops. Pea walked on the wide 'Knight Street' with two books that she had just borrowed from the library. When a gust of wind suddenly blew, she subconsciously squinted and looked up to the other side of the street.
Although it was already autumn, the roadside trees planted in this street were a special species cultivated by the Druil. They grew in the southern border of the Empire, but like their relatives in the north, they were quite resistant to the cold weather. Some leaves fell from the treetops where the autumn wind blew, but it did not affect the overall lush green of the trees at all. Pea did not know if it was an illusion, but since the beginning of autumn, the plants in this street did not show any signs of wilting. Instead, some of them looked more luxuriant than in midsummer.
Pea blinked, but she was not an expert in the field of plants, so she quickly put this insignificant phenomenon to the back of her mind. However, the colder weather made her think of something.
Father had been on a mission in the north for a long time. He did not come back for this year's Revival Festival, and even last year's Harvest Festival and Requiem Festival. Now that summer had passed and autumn had come … Father should be back soon, right?
With some longing in her heart, the artificial nerve cord attached to the back of Pea's head wriggled slightly with the change in her emotions. At this moment, a whistling wind and a low roar suddenly came from the sky, making her look up in surprise.
A huge and mighty figure streaked across the sky, quickly passing over the northern city. The figure was covered in a layer of golden brilliance under the brilliant sunlight of the giant sun. The edges of the huge wings that were spread out were suffused with a metallic luster. The intimidating steel machinery covered her body, limbs, and tail that were like fire and covered in scales. She was like a figure that walked out of a bard's legend, reflected in Pea's eyes.
"Dragon? Dragonkin? " Pea watched in surprise as the figure flew over her head and landed on a nearby street. She subconsciously muttered, "Wasn't the flying zone of the dragonkin forced by the Public Security Administration to be moved out of the city? Why is there one flying in the bustling district?"
With some doubts in her mind, Pea stepped forward and ran in the direction where the "Steel Dragon" landed. She was not going to watch the show, but she was worried that the dragonkin would cause trouble during the landing process. After all, the place was not far from her home.
…
After a series of thrilling deceleration and "flank flight", the mighty red dragon finally controlled her speed and altitude over the city area. Her giant wings flapped, and the artificial rune system mobilized the magic and airflow in the air to stabilize her huge body. Then, with the help of the anti-gravity system, Asalena finally completed the last step of landing in a very elegant and beautiful "short elevation landing". The impact shook the small square and a loud bang. The dragon claw firmly imprinted on the open space of the landing zone.
Then, the dragonkin lady with fiery red scales seemed to react on the spot. She shook her huge head from side to side and said, "I'm not used to landing normally …"
As soon as her voice trailed off, a figure shakily poked his head out from her shoulder. Byron clutched his head. He sounded like he was in pain, but he did not forget to ask loudly, "When you were dozens of meters above the ground, were you going to turn into a human and jump down? I saw the beginning of your transformation! "
"Didn't I remember you were on my back at the last moment?" Asalena shouted without looking back. At the same time, she lowered one of her wings to form a ramp to the ground. "And what do you mean by the beginning of my transformation? Can you tell when I'm going to transform from my flying posture?"
Byron clutched his head, but his voice was still loud. "How can I not tell? How many times have you smashed my deck in the past month? My deck washers can tell when you're going to jump from the sky … "
"Cut the crap." Asalena shook her wings and tail. "Come down quickly. My wings have been flying for a long time. It's tiring to hold on like this."
"What's so tiring about you? Most of your strength comes from the pile of machines on your back. Do you think I don't know that the latest model of Steel Wings has a 'fixed speed cruise' function?" Byron muttered, then waved his hand with a terrible look on his face. "Wait a minute, let me take a break … It's been a long journey, especially the last landing … My stomach is not feeling well now …"
"Huh?!" Asalena's back shook when she heard this. "Then you have to come down quickly! Don't puke on my back! Damn it, why didn't you tell me you're so afraid of heights before you set off? And I remember you weren't afraid of heights back then! "
"I'm not afraid of heights, I just don't like to fly … Stop shaking, Asalena, stop! Stop shaking! When you shake, I can't … I can't help it, I'm really … Ugh … "
After a series of unbearable vomiting sounds, the entire small square fell into an extreme silence.
After a few seconds, an exasperated dragon's roar finally resounded through half the street.
"Byron!! I'm going to kill you!!! "
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