In the control center of the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn, the reinforced dome slowly opened under the push of mechanical devices. Brilliant sunlight turned into soft light through the filter screen, illuminating the entire hall. A low humming sound echoed in the control center, accompanied by occasional prompts from various control systems. Large and small holographic projections floated above each console, and in front of the 'Cortex Prime' tank in the center of the hall, floated the largest set of holographic images in the entire control center.
The images clearly presented the scenery of Auglay's vast land, which was the real-time monitoring feed of the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn's main visual nerves.
Rebecca walked into the control center, and the busy technical sergeants and commanders immediately saluted the 'highest technical officer' and 'captain of the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn'. Rebecca waved her hand at these people, motioning them to continue with their work. She went straight through the passage in the center of the hall toward the Cortex Prime tank.
A large shadow slid across the sky, dimming the hall slightly. Rebecca looked up and saw a hexagonal air platform flying over the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn. Around the platform were several dragon riders flying together, and on both sides of the platform, holographic projections of iron fists, rings, swords, and plows were floating in the air.
Rebecca retracted her gaze and looked at the Cortex Prime tank in front of her and the large holographic projection floating in front of the tank. The mysterious and vast mountains of Auglay's tribal kingdom were reflected in her eyes. It was a completely different scenery from the northern kingdom she was familiar with. She looked at the scene in a trance, and after a long time, she could not help but sigh softly. "Ah … the mountains are so big … there are so many trees …"
Just as she finished, she subconsciously looked around to make sure that no one heard her whisper. She was relieved. At the same time, she thought to herself: My literature teacher would cry if he heard this …
"We are approaching Red Jade City. We are deep in the communication interference zone." A voice came from the nearby loudspeaker. It was the voice of the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn. "Currently, communication between the fleet units is normal. Communication with the ground is still jammed, but we can already receive fuzzy automatic call signals."
"It seems that the most serious interference area is indeed limited to the vicinity of the surface. The communication between air units is basically not affected," Rebecca said thoughtfully. "And we can receive signals from the surface. Does this mean that we are close enough?"
"Yes, it's close enough. From this position, we should be able to prioritize the recovery of some high-altitude communications. Besides, the presence of the surface signal also means that most of the cities in the Augulay Tribe are still safe." The Cortex Prime's voice rang. "Judging from the surface image data collected so far, the Aberrations have not spread to this area. However, a part of the forest below is covered by thick winter fog and low-altitude clouds. I can't see clearly from above."
"Enhance the optical scan and look as carefully as possible. We need to find the movement of those monsters and confirm the survival of the local defenders … If it still doesn't work, we can only risk sending some of the dragon knights to lower their altitude to do low-altitude reconnaissance."
As Rebecca's voice trailed off, there was a slight bubbling sound in the Cortex Prime's container. A neutral synthetic voice rang in the control center. "Understood. Enhancing the visual perception system … System resource allocation complete. Neural signal priority has been adjusted …"
The synthetic brain issued the command as nerve pulses rushed through the biological vascular deep in the deck of the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn. The signal reached the edge of the giant aerial fortress in an instant and was quickly executed by the terminal mechanism. Between the heavy armor and the anti-gravity engine, a set of additional sensory terminals installed in a hidden position was activated. The hemispherical pod protected by the steel armor rotated and pointed to the ground. Inside the polymeric crystal shell on the front of the pod, a few huge eyeballs instantly widened and stared at the mountains and forests in the distance.
After choosing to use the synthetic brain as the central control system, the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn had become a half-mechanical, half-biological aerial fortress. In order to improve the operation efficiency of its biological part, it was reasonable to install a circle of eyeballs as an extra vision.
"Optical scan enhancement mode activated." In the control center, the Cortex Prime said solemnly. "Confirming that this mode is used for the first time. Beginning to record the work status of the corresponding neural community and keep a file …"
Rebecca nodded. The Dawn of the Earthly Dawn was a fortress that rushed to the battlefield in a hurry. This behemoth was the pinnacle of magical and biochemical technology in the Cecil Empire. It had an unimaginably complex system in its body, and many of these systems had not been thoroughly tested and adjusted. Now, this trip to the Western Front was not only a military mission for the Dawn of the Earthly Dawn, but also a very special test. During the voyage, the activation process of every system needed to be recorded in detail. Perhaps in the near future, this data would become a valuable reference for the second aerial fortress …
She then turned her head and looked at a technical sergeant in a nearby control seat. "How's the adjustment of the supercritical accelerator and the Inferno incendiary bomb?"
"The adjustment of the Inferno incendiary bomb launcher has been completed. It can be used at any time, but the rail charging unit of the supercritical accelerator is still not stable enough," the technical sergeant immediately replied. "Due to the incomplete discharge of waste energy, the rail at the end is seriously damaged. It will completely melt after about three times. We have to replace it with a new rail …"
"Three times …" Rebecca suddenly had a headache and knocked on her forehead. "Although the ancestor said that weapons are a kind of consumable, as a main cannon, it doesn't seem right that the rail only has a firing life of three times …"
"Maybe we can change our way of thinking," the technical sergeant said hesitantly. "Let's just make the rail at the end disposable and reduce the cost. We can throw it away like a cannonball … Anyway, it's only the end that will melt. We can change the connecting structure of the main rail to make it easier to disassemble and replace it …"
Rebecca's eyes suddenly lit up. "Eh? That's not a good idea … "
But before she could finish her sentence, the voice of the Cortex Prime suddenly came from the side. "Creator, the temperature in the eastern mountain area has increased abnormally. There may be a situation."
…
The cold wind howled in the mountains. The coarse sand and snow on the ridge line slapped her face. The grayish-black venom left behind by the mutated monsters was mixed in her hair. The itchy discomfort mixed with the burning pain from her wounds constantly stimulated Camilla's nerves, but she had automatically blocked these feelings to the back of her mind.
She was riding on the back of her mount wolf that had accompanied her for many years. Together with the ferocious beast, they were running along the steep and dangerous mountain path. The disgusting roars and murmurs were like nightmares that followed closely behind her. The pungent smell of rot was almost burrowing into her brain. However, the innate power in her bloodline had begun to burn. She felt that her physical strength had temporarily returned to its peak. The monsters that were chasing after her were no match for her at this moment.
A whistling sound came from beside her, accompanied by a low growl that was neither human nor beast. Camilla raised the axe in her hand without looking back. The next second, she felt her flesh and bones being shredded from her fingertips. She swung the axe around and tilted her body. A twisted corpse flew past her. Taking advantage of this brief moment, she turned back and looked behind her.
The loyal tribal warriors followed her and ran along the mountain road in the direction of the Red Jade Forest. The monsters that came from the ridge line had caught up with them. The warriors kept turning back to fight back as they ran. Every moment, there were aberrations or other mutated creatures that were slain by the Alpine Warriors and the Champion Warriors. The ugly corpses fell into the mountain stream. But from time to time, there were brave warriors who were caught by the monsters that outnumbered them and drowned in the black tide.
At the end of her line of sight was the line of defense of the Wolf Ridge Mountain that had fallen into a sea of fire. The two flags that represented the Auglay Tribal Nation and the Orc Tribe had disappeared. Only countless monsters were crossing the ridge. The entire mountain slope looked like some kind of living creature rolling and surging. It was a chilling and nauseating sight.
The line of defense of the Wolf Ridge Mountain could not be held. The surviving tribal warriors had to retreat. Camilla was leading the last rearguard team, or rather … the last remaining soldiers of the rearguard team.
The warriors had fought as bravely as they could. Under limited conditions, they had held on for a long time. But no one knew if they had held on long enough, and no one knew if the last line of defense outside the Red Jade Forest was meaningful. Even Camilla herself did not know if there would be reinforcements from other areas. She did not know the situation of the other lines of defense.
They were just doing their best. Everyone from the general to the soldiers knew it.
"Don't save your strength. Charge into the Red Jade Forest!" Seeing the dark red forest at the foot of the mountain was close at hand, Camilla shouted to the warriors beside her. "Don't waste the time that the Spirit Wizards have bought for us!"
The warriors responded with a roar, but in the very next second, another alpine warrior was struck by a dark-red energy beam from afar. He tumbled along the mountain path with his mount wolf, and soon fell into the ranks of the mutated creatures. "Chief, bear witness!" The warrior's final bellow echoed amidst the cold winds. "Bear witness, Chief!"
A human-shaped flame rose in the midst of the monsters. The alpine warrior bathed in fire turned into a three-meter-tall scorching beast. But the flame only burned for a moment before it was extinguished in the tide of decay.
Camilla retracted her gaze and silently noted down another name. The next moment, the light around her dimmed — the towering canopy of the Red Jade Forest blocked the sky above her.
She had entered the ancient sacred land of the orcs. The familiar towering ancient trees in her sight whispered in the wind. She and the last warriors ran in the dense forest. The tribal soldiers left various marks in the forest to guide the warriors' retreat. And around Camilla and the warriors, the temperature of the entire forest had begun to rise. It was clearly the cold of winter, but the temperature in the depths of the forest was already as hot as summer.
The forest in her sight was rapidly retreating. Camilla vaguely saw many figures appearing in the dark shadows between the trees.
Those figures wrapped in black robes stared at her silently. One of them nodded slightly at her, and the wind that blew through the forest carried a low voice, "I hope you can keep your promise, Great Chief."
Camilla whispered back, "Orcs keep their promises."
The phantom-like 'ghosts' disappeared. Heavy collisions and footsteps were heard from behind. Camilla knew that the aberrations had rushed into the forest.
The complex terrain of the forest would hinder the monsters for a while, but not for long. The main purpose of this hindrance was to allow her and the rest of the soldiers to distance themselves from the Aberrations and leave this inferno before the entire Red Jade Forest was set ablaze.
The surrounding temperature was even higher. There were already sparks in the air. The red jade trees, which were especially dry and flammable in winter, crackled uneasily. The pungent smell of smoke and dust entered their nostrils …
The towering walls of the ancient main city stood in the cold wind. Morakot led the first few batches of tribal warriors who had just finished their hasty preparations and the barely gathered soldiers to guard the wall. Across the open gravel plain, he looked in the direction of the Red Jade Forest.
The wind had already brought the smell of battle. This smell stimulated the old orc's nerves. He clenched the war bow in his hand, the hair on his face stood up slightly, and his pupils had contracted into two narrow slits.
Beside him, the tribal warriors and the city's spirit wizards were each guarding the heavy ballistas, giant bows, and combat runes. Between these ancient and 'traditional' city defense weapons, there were a limited number of magic cannons and a few rainbow light generators. Many nervous humans and even more nervous gray elves were checking the status of these magic cannons over and over again. Amateurs could not understand how they operated, but Morakot knew that these powerful weapons were probably the last hope of the city.
The gray elves bought these weapons from the Cecil tribe at a high price and spent a considerable amount of money to train professional "artillerymen". For a beastman tribe that wasn't rich, it wasn't easy to maintain these expensive "advanced gadgets". Great Chieftain Camilla had to use a huge favor to obtain these "treasures" from the gray elves.
In the beginning, Morakot did not care much about these expensive and complicated things, but now …
The old orc only regretted that he did not go bankrupt to buy these weapons.
He had seen magic cannons firing before. These things were more useful than axes and magic.
His wild thoughts did not last long.
A cloud of smoke rose from the Red Jade Forest in the distance. The snow that covered the dense forest had long melted and evaporated due to the unusually high temperature. The thick fog and low-altitude clouds were still floating above the forest. Now, the flames finally appeared in everyone's sight.
He heard a tribal warrior whisper in a sorrowful tone, "The Red Jade Forest is burning …"
Such voices were not only heard from the city wall. Countless orc warriors stood on the high wall and looked at the end of the Gravel Plain in the cold wind.
The sacred land that had a special meaning to them was burning in their sight.
Morakot was also pained by the burning of the Red Jade Forest, but at this moment, he was more focused on the open road between the plain and the forest.
The fire had already started. The smoke and flames were devouring everything in the forest.
Dozens of figures riding on wolves finally appeared in Morakot's sight.
Camilla rushed out of the Red Jade Forest and galloped on the barren land of Augoray with the remaining warriors. The glorious sun was gradually tilting towards the western horizon, and behind her, the entire Red Jade Forest was already burning.
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