In the blue velvet carpeted study in Cecil City, Amber delivered the information she had just received to Gwen. "This is the new clue that the Western Expeditionary Force found in the area once occupied by the mutants. I've sorted it out. Have a look."
Gwen snapped out of his work and looked up at Amber, who had poked her upper body out of a shadowy fissure with a document in her hand. Gwen took the document from her hand and asked casually, "What is it?"
Amber handed the document to Hao Ren and jumped out of the shadowy fissure with the help of the table. "The ground operation team of the outpost research ship found the wreckage of some man-made object in the ruins of the mutant camp in Wolfridge Mountain. Preliminary analysis shows that the object is similar to the cube 'salvaged' by the sirens in the Deep Blue Vein Current. But it is seriously damaged, and many of its structures can't be restored. Now, the original has been sent to the transport ship.
"On the other hand, King Wycliffe, one of the Five Augurean Kings, has provided clues to the expeditionary force. He said that the mutants had acted inexplicably when they attacked Falm Fortress. They attacked the north tower of the fortress without any regard for their losses and stayed there for a long time. After that, the technicians of the Holy Setting Sun searched the ruins of the north tower according to the clues and found runic matrices and magic crystals that were not completely destroyed under the ruins. Based on the residual energy fluctuations at the scene, the technicians suspected that the mutants or the commander behind them had carried out some kind of powerful … magic ritual. "
Gwen flipped through the documents in his hand. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and looked up at Amber. "Some kind of powerful magic ritual?"
"For example, opening a space fissure to the Deep Blue Vein Current." Amber shrugged. "That's what the technical experts said."
Gwen's eyes fell back on the document in his hand. After a long time of staring and pondering, he finally threw the document on the table and leaned back in his chair after a long sigh.
The feeling of lightness and clarity brought about by the clues floating to the surface and the oppressive urgency brought about by the discovery of the conspiracy appeared in his heart at the same time. The two feelings mixed together, but it made his thoughts clearer and sharper than ever.
"This …" Amber carefully observed Gwen's reaction. After a few seconds, she finally couldn't help but ask, "What do you think? Those aberrations … "
"At this time yesterday, Oldenheim also sent a message. Rosetta mentioned that their frontline commander had noticed some unusual movements of the monsters and suspected that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the monster's actions. And now we have further substantial evidence … This evidence matches the clues that the sirens had found before." Gwen sat up again and said in a serious voice, "Amber, I think this is what the monsters really want to do. They are still putting runestones in the Deep Blue Network, and this is far more important than any other operation, even …"
Hao Ren paused for a few seconds as if he was weighing something, but in the end, he said his bold guess.
"Even their large-scale attack on the civilized world may be just one of the means to achieve this … Behind their military action, their real goal is to put those 'cubes' in specific places."
Listening to Gwen's words, Amber could not help but widen her eyes. "You mean, they launched such a large-scale war, but their real goal is not to occupy a place, nor to destroy a country. Many of their actions are just a cover, just to throw those 'stones' into the Deep Blue Network?"
"Putting cubes in the Deep Blue Network and 'creating destruction' may not be in conflict." Gwen looked up at the shadowy goose in front of him. "The only thing we missed before was that we could not connect the enemy's' cubes' in the wasteland with their war. We thought that these were two separate operations, but now it seems that these two things are one."
Amber blinked. The information she had quickly combined in her mind and gradually sorted out a new context. A moment later, she thoughtfully broke the silence. "So now we can at least be sure of two things. First, it is obviously not enough for the monsters to just put the 'cubes' in the wasteland. If there is a 'target' for their action, then some of the 'targets' are obviously in the civilized world. So they have to start this war and take action at all costs in certain places.
"Second, their 'projection plan' has not been completed. No matter how much is left, as long as the predetermined 'projection target' has not been achieved, they have to continue the operation."
"In a sense, both of these are good news." Gwen nodded. "What we were most worried about was that the sentinels' conspiracy against the Deep Blue Network had reached the final stage, and the mortal world had no time to take countermeasures. But now we find that the monsters are still looking for places to put the cubes, which means our enemy's operation is not going well. Perhaps the 'system' that the sentinels are trying to build has very strict restrictions, or perhaps the sirens' accidental 'salvage' has ruined the enemy's plan. Whatever the reason, it is a good thing."
Gwen's words made Amber feel relieved. But soon she realized the hidden pressure behind these optimistic judgments. "But in this case, our current combat policy of 'ensuring local advantage, using strategic depth, and gradually reducing the enemy' …"
"That's right. I'm afraid we have to make some changes." Gawain's face was as calm as water as he nodded slowly. "The Sentinels are still throwing cubes into the dark blue net, but we have no way of determining what their 'throwing criteria' is. We can't be sure where the next 'throwing point' is, and we can't be sure how many more cubes the enemy intends to throw … So, the only thing we can do at this stage is to not retreat a single step on all fronts. We can't allow any new fallen areas to appear because any breach could mean that the Sentinels' plan can be pushed forward. Even if we can recover those areas in the future, those monsters may have already thrown the cubes …"
"But in this case, our counterattack plan won't be easy." Amber scratched her head hard. Although she was not a military expert, she had been following Gwen for so many years, so she could still understand some simple principles. "There is a long front around the Gondor wasteland. The alliance's military strength is not abundant, and now we have to defend all positions. The local advantage that we have painstakingly built on the northern and eastern fronts may not be maintained. Not to mention that we still plan to counterattack the wasteland and build a 'blocking wall' through the entire wasteland in the Gondor polluted area … How can we have so many troops?"
"… Tarlonde has sent out three waves of expeditionary forces, and now they are at the forefront of the three fronts of Ogoray, Typhon, and Cecil. The Duchy of St. Dragon, the Northern City States Federation, and even the Kingdom of Dwarfs have also sent out their elite forces. The situation in the southern part of the continent is unknown, and the Violet Kingdom is a bunch of autistic hermits. We can't count on them at all …" Gwen said slowly, his face a little gloomy. "But in any case, unless we can accurately determine where the next cube of the Sentinel will be dropped, the only thing we can do is to defend all the lines of defense. This is not a multiple-choice question …"
As he pondered, his eyes slowly fell on the map hanging on the wall not far away. On the accurately scaled map of the entire Lolun Continent, red and blue arrows and annotations marked the situation of almost the entire continent. Except for the lack of information in the southern part of the continent, there were intricate markings everywhere on the wasteland line of defense. The coalition forces from various countries, the large-scale offensive of the aberrant army, the crisscrossed fallen areas and contested areas, and the fragmented magnificent wall barrier … It was as if there was a dark and broken deep pool in the center of the vast civilized world, and the foul mud overflowing from the deep pool was polluting everything around it like a poisonous stream.
Gwen stared at the map, but more of his energy had begun to focus on the connection in the depths of his mind. His' vision 'gradually increased in his senses, and the perspective of the satellite from outer space appeared in his mind.
Between the clouds and fog, he saw the Lolun Continent in the flames of war. The sun was shining obliquely on the land from one side of the atmosphere. The dark wasteland in the center of the land was as eye-catching as an ugly scar, and the glowing wall that surrounded the entire Gondor was now in a state of fragmentation. The large and small gaps were dazzling purple-black mixed with dark red marks. These marks' flowed 'out of the wasteland like corroded scars on the originally green landscape. Around each of these scars, there were either rising smoke, continuous flashes, or ruins.
The old satellite monitoring system could not provide all the details on the land, and there was even an impenetrable interference in the areas where the wasteland aura was the densest. Even so, the bird's eye view from outer space allowed Gwen to roughly understand the situation on the Lolun Continent. This information was not comprehensive enough, but at the most critical moment when communication was cut off in various theaters and the allied lines fell one after another, it was this limited information that allowed Gwen to roughly grasp the situation and not let things get out of control.
Even now, this bird's eye view still played a role.
Gwen's' eyes' were focused on the southern part of the continent, which was the last area on the entire battlefront that had serious communication problems with the north. The communication problem was even secondary. After all, at least now Amoun could act as a messenger between the north and the south of the continent. The biggest problem on the southern front was the lack of support.
Although Typhon's Mage Legion and the National Knight Legion were powerful, after the Battle of Winter Fort, they had now lost the strength that they once had. At present, in the entire eastern front, only the northern part of Typhon could still maintain a local advantage, but it was difficult to provide any support to the south. Augori had just recovered from the crisis of the country's near-annihilation, so naturally, he did not have any extra resources. As for Cecil …
It was too far. The imperial navy led by the Winter was still repairing the communication network along the western continental route. The Dawn Earthly Dawn and the army led by Duke Bodwin were not enough to support all the way to the south.
And even if there was no such long distance, there was no other way. The military power of the Cecil Empire was also limited. Under the pressure of the Wasteland Legion in the north, Gwen could not infinitely allocate the forces at hand to other places.
But even so, the allied forces of the Kingdom of Kaolin and the Silver Empire still had to defend the entire southern front.
…
In the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, the towering Solin Tree covered the land and stretched its massive branches in the sun and the breeze. A deep and pleasant sound echoed in some of the chambers deep in the crown of this' Tree of Miracles'. It sounded like the sound of the wind, but also like a whisper in a dream.
In a large chamber wrapped in layers of wood and green leaves, a soft shimmer illuminated the open space. The fluorescence on the surface of the vines began to flow. In the center of the chamber, deep in the "nursery" where a large number of vines and roots intertwined, a cluster of vines suddenly shook and stretched out. Bertilla's figure appeared in the vines and slowly opened her eyes.
"… The poisonous spores have failed. Has the propulsion stopped?" The former hierarch of the Dark Church muttered to himself, but there was not much emotion on his face. "Heh, as expected of my 'compatriot' in the past. He is quite tenacious in resisting …"
She could feel that the warm winter sun was shining on the canopy of the Thorin Tree, but at the same time, she could also feel the darkness and coldness from far south. Her distal limbs were extending into the wasteland. Deep in the soil and rocks, at the edge of the Gondor wasteland, the roots of the Thorin Tree and the root system of the Dark High Priest in the wasteland were fighting an incomprehensible battle.
Poisonous spores, combat splits, resistance pheromones, and the most direct strangulation and parasitism. Every second, Bertilla was using her own methods to damage the 'immunity barrier' that protected the root network in the wasteland. She was trying to extend her power into the wasteland, and every second, the root network controlled by her former compatriots was also tenaciously resisting and fighting back.
The tug-of-war had been going on since the beginning of the war, and had even begun to affect the ecological environment around the northern battlefront. Lush green plants grew in the Dark Forest, thorns and rotten vines began to grow out of the dark and decaying soil, and all kinds of normal and abnormal plants spread across the border of the civilized world. It was hard to tell who had the upper hand.
At this moment, a part of Bertilla's consciousness had temporarily withdrawn from the prolonged confrontation in the distance. She took a short break as she thought about the new 'formula' of the nerve agent and pheromone, and at the same time, she seriously felt the sunlight above the Divine Plains.
The sunlight was her favorite pastime.
At this moment, a slight rustling sound suddenly came from the depths of the chamber, interrupting Bertilla's thoughts. She looked up in the direction of the sound and saw that the 'door' formed by the leaves was opening to the left and right. A petite figure in a gray and white plain coat carefully poked her head out from the door.
"Sister Bertilla … Are you 'back'? I heard something here … "
Bertilla looked at the petite elf in surprise. "Berna? What are you doing here? "
(End of Chapter)
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