The giant sun was setting in the west. In the gradually slanting blood-red sunset, the ancient forest had turned into a sea of fire. Like the setting sun, the flames rose and spread across the ancient land of the orcs. Almost the entire Gravel Plain and the towering walls of Red Jade City were dyed in a layer of crimson.
The city wall fell into a dead silence. Everyone's mind seemed to be tightly gripped by the blood that spread across the plain. It was not until a tribal warrior on the city wall shouted loudly that the silence was broken. "The great chief is back! Open the city gate! "
The heavy purple steel city gate slowly rose with the help of chains and pulleys. In the creaking sound of friction, Camilla and the last batch of tribal warriors rushed into the ancient main city of the orcs. As the heavy gate closed again, a false and temporary 'sense of security' was established. However, this' sense of security 'did not make Camilla's footsteps lighter. She just walked up the city wall with heavy steps and walked towards her generals and soldiers.
The tribal warriors who came to guard the city wall and the temporarily armed militia crowded on both sides. Many pairs of nervous and tired eyes quietly looked at her in the sunset. Camilla had never thought that the gaze of her compatriots could make her feel so heavy. She walked forward silently, feeling the power of the bloodline in her body gradually fading away. The pain and the poison began to torture her nerves and will again. Waves of weakness came over her in waves.
At this moment, a nervous and childish voice suddenly came from among the warriors. "Great chief, the uncles and aunts said that you did the right thing …"
Camilla could not help but stop in her tracks. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a short orc girl standing in the corner and looking at her boldly. Her ears were still covered with soft black fur, and the war tattoos on her cheeks and neck had not grown out yet. She was holding a small axe in her hand, and she was not even as tall as the soldiers' waists. Even according to the standards of 'Shahdafar', she should not be standing on the city wall.
The expression on Camilla's face changed. She walked up to the little girl, bent down, and pressed her forehead against the little girl's until the warmth of the blood passed through her fur. She then stood up and looked at the warriors nearby. "Where are the child's parents? Why are you letting such a young child onto the city wall? "
She asked twice in a row, but no one nearby responded to her. So she came back to her senses and lowered her head to look at the girl who was standing together with the warriors with a small axe in her hand. She bent down again and said in a hoarse but gentle voice, "You are a brave child … Later, you will have to follow the warriors of the tribe. Someone will tell you where to go."
After receiving an affirmative answer from the little girl, she got up and walked through the ramp again. On the city wall, she saw General Morakot with a bandage around his arm.
"Arrange for the children, scholars, and some young craftsmen to leave the city and retreat to the Ancestral Peak." Camilla came to Morakot's side and said to the old orc in a low voice, "Also, there's a child on the city wall who hasn't even grown a battle pattern yet. Take her away too."
Morakot looked at Camilla with a complicated expression. "Great Chief …"
"We have nowhere to go. We have to stay here and buy time for the other tribes. This is the mission of the warriors and the great chief, but not the fate of our entire tribe." Camilla shook her head. "The mission of the scholars, craftsmen, and children is to survive. We need successors to rebuild this land. Even if the entire Auglay cannot avoid the fate of destruction in the end, we have to leave some seeds and keep a hope in the long history of the future."
Morakot was silent for a few seconds before he finally lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Yes, Great Chief."
The old orc quickly completed the arrangements and carried out the great chief's order. After that, he returned to Camilla's side and looked at the burning Red Jade Forest with her. For a long time, they were silent.
Flames rose in the forest. From time to time, black smoke and explosions would erupt in the depths of the forest. A purplish-black air mass tried to gather above the forest, but it was constantly dispersed by the monstrous flames. Feeling the turbulent magic and elemental power in the air, Morakot could not help but whisper, "Your plan worked. The main force of those monsters is being destroyed by the forest guardian's flames."
"It's just stopping them. Roaring Inferno isn't just the monsters from the wasteland. The Red Jade Forest isn't an airtight barrier either." Camilla shook her head and said in a low voice, "The power of the forest keepers is limited, but those mutants are endless."
She looked up and looked in the direction of the Red Jade Forest. "When I was retreating, I noticed that the monsters had begun to surge out from the mountain paths on both the north and south sides of Wolf Spine Mountain. Under the circumstances of command, they are not completely unintelligent monsters. They know how to scout, split up and outflank. Under such circumstances, it is already a great achievement to use the Red Jade Forest to stop part of their main force."
Morakot was silent. The old orc seemed to be unwilling to accept the reality that sacrificing the entire Red Jade Forest could only temporarily stop the enemy's attack. However, reality would not change as he wished. He could only let out a sigh. "At least, we have stopped the overall trend of this land turning into a wasteland. The burned land is still habitable one day."
Camilla nodded in silence. At this moment, she suddenly noticed that something seemed to be rising from the depths of the burning Red Jade Forest. She looked at the depths of the flames and smoke in astonishment. She saw a huge shadow condensing, bulging, and quickly turning into a cloaked figure with a blurred face!
It was the image of the Forest Guardian, a condensed phantom. This phantom rose from the forest and looked in the direction of Red Jade City from afar. After a moment of observation, it raised an arm made of smoke and dust and pointed to the north of the Red Jade Forest. After making a vigilant gesture, this huge phantom suddenly collapsed and turned into smoke and dust that filled the sky.
The moment the smoke and dust dissipated with the wind, the flames in the Red Jade Forest had also risen to the peak. However, the monstrous flames no longer had a tangible will to support it. It had become an ordinary forest fire.
The guardian of the forest was free. Another mysterious and ancient thing on the land of Auglay had become history. However, the chief and the general on the city wall did not have the extra energy to lament about this. Morakot stared at the direction that the giant illusion was pointing at and said nervously, "Chief, the guardian of the forest seems to want to tell us something. That direction is …"
"Let the warriors on the city wall prepare for battle. Let the evacuation team leave the city immediately." Camilla spoke quickly. She had already thought of the worst possibility. "That is the direction where the Fourth Mountain Army is stationed. The northern defense line may have been breached!"
The forces in Red Jade City were quickly mobilized. The soldiers who could fight and all the war supplies in the city were sent to the city wall. The evacuation team began to gather at the side gate on the west side of the city. Not long after, Camilla's bad premonition was confirmed.
An ominous dark smoke rose from the sky to the north of the Red Jade Forest. The unusually gathering cloud brought a great sense of oppression. And the soldiers who had experienced the previous fierce battle were no stranger to this feeling. It was the unclean aura of the mutant army, a sign that the entire land was transforming into a wasteland environment.
Just as Camilla said, the Red Jade Forest could not stop all the enemies. When the defense lines of Augoray were broken one by one, the mutants could attack the surviving cities from any direction. Of course, the fire in the Red Jade Forest was not meaningless. The fire had at least blocked more than half of the mutants. But correspondingly, Camilla and her warriors now had to face the remaining enemies.
"Perhaps today is the day of our destiny." When the familiar 'Black Tide' appeared on the northern horizon, surging along the edge of the fire in the Red Jade Forest towards the towering city wall of Red Jade City, Morakot clenched the chipped axe in his hand. He turned to the chief beside him. "I am honored to have you as witness."
"Today, we will all be witnessed by our ancestors." Camilla smiled, her sharp fangs glowing red in the dusk. "At least we have persevered until the last moment."
On top of the city wall, the exhausted soldiers once again gathered. They gripped their chipped weapons and damaged staffs tightly. All eyes were on the dark tide that was surging towards Red Jade City. In the direction of the Red Jade Forest, the monstrous flames were still burning. The Mutants on the other side of the sea of flames were also ready to attack. They were waiting for the flames to die down, and then they would swarm over.
However, at this moment, a meteor-like flame suddenly cut through the bloody dusk. Accompanied by a sharp and creepy whistling sound, the "meteor" went straight to the place where the "black tide" was the densest in the north.
* Boom!! *
A terrifying explosion rose into the sky. The ground quaked and even the city wall of Red Jade City shook.
The first skyfire seemed to be some kind of signal or a calibration test. Ten seconds after the big explosion rose from the horizon, a series of sharp whistling began to tear through the sky. In front of Camilla, the land where the Black Tide was located was almost instantly engulfed by the explosion and the sea of fire. It was as if the whole land was being rolled up by the terrible power. She felt her hair standing on end. In the violent power, she could not feel any 'bravery', 'hatred', 'killing' or other emotions that belonged to the living. It was just pure destruction. This bloodless, cold, and precise killing power made her subconsciously look at her general, only to see the same horror in his eyes.
"What is that?" General Morakot exclaimed. He looked in the direction where the 'meteors' fell, but he could only see the thick clouds under the setting sun and the light that kept shining in the clouds. But soon, something changed in the clouds. A huge and terrifying object floated out of the clouds and began to approach Red Jade City.
It was a floating city in the sky, like a palace made of steel. It was held up in the sky by shining rune rings and thick and complicated support structures. Around the city were giant cannons and platforms full of soldiers. It descended from the clouds and poured destructive flames and explosions on the land. A low humming sound came from the depths of the steel structure, like thunder in the belly of a giant beast.
Then, smaller flying platforms appeared around the 'city'. They were all equipped with giant cannons and various weapons that could shoot fire from the sky. They surrounded the city in the sky like a herd of beasts. The blood-red sky shone on their shells and cannons, and the torn clouds in the sky retreated in all directions.
These behemoths slowly advanced in the sky, accurately executing the bombardment and strafing of the land like machines in a factory. Their speed was not fast, but it was this slow advance that made all the creatures looking up at them on the ground feel suffocated by their aura.
This was not the war that the orcs were familiar with. This was not a 'battle' at all.
This was a cleansing and purification of the land, a 'treatment method' for the pests that were corroding the land.
"The Ancestral Peak …" Morakot took a deep breath as if he was trying to use this method to resist the enormous pressure that he felt. "What is that? The Astral Temple of the elves? But the Astral Temple doesn't have such a group of … "
"Look at the sky. That is the symbol of the Cecil Empire." Camilla suddenly noticed the huge holographic projections floating between the behemoths. The projections were projected from both sides of the largest fortress, and seemed to be specially projected for the people on the ground to recognize. "It's the reinforcements! The Alliance's reinforcements have arrived! "
Following Camilla's voice, some of the huge platforms slowly lowered their altitude. A large number of cannons of various calibers were launched into the land, and a more precise and efficient 'cleansing' began.
Then, a thunderous broadcast sounded in the sky above the city, but it was the voice of a very energetic young girl. "This is the air force of the Cecil Empire's Western Expeditionary Army, the Earthly Dawn Air Battle Group. I repeat, the Earthly Dawn Air Battle Group has entered the city. We are under orders to support you, we are under orders to support you …"
It was a familiar voice.
When the voice rang out, Camilla could not help but relax. She even revealed a smile on her face. However, General Morakot, who was standing beside her, looked surprised. "Such a young voice? Those terrifying air fortresses are commanded by such a young girl? "
"The young girl you are talking about is one of the few people who are qualified to change the order of our world, General Morakot." Camilla sighed softly. "I didn't expect her to come in person, but it doesn't seem to be a surprise …"
Morakot was stunned for a moment, and seemed to want to say something, but then the broadcast from the sky interrupted him. "This is Rebecca, calling Red Jade City, calling Red Jade City — Chief Camilla, please turn on the communicator."
Camilla was stunned for a moment before she reacted. She immediately looked at the person beside her. "Communicator — bring the communicator here!"
One of the tribal warriors rushed out at once, and soon, a portable Mana Net terminal was sent to the wall. For a long time, the device had been unable to contact distant communication stations due to the interference across the land, but now, the base of the device was shining with light, indicating that the signal was unimpeded.
No doubt, it had something to do with the huge fortresses floating in the sky.
(End of Chapter)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
