Byron and Asalena did not intend to waste too much time at the banquet. As a siren, Vanessa had no appetite for human food. King Aldris understood that as well. So, after everyone was full, the three expeditionary commanders and the human king immediately went to the military hall of the castle. A sand table showing the current situation of the southern front was waiting for them.
"This is Fort Greta. It is the largest military fortress at the northwestern border of the Kingdom of Kaolin. At the same time, it is also the stronghold directly adjacent to the Augri tribal nation. With this place as the center, the surrounding six castles and twelve highland magus towers are part of the defense system of Fort Greta. These facilities are connected to each other through underground tunnels. To prevent the monsters from attacking from underground, we have elementiumized the underground structure of the defensive belt and set up a large number of traps."
King Aldris pointed at the model and markings on the sand table and drew an arc in front of Fort Greta with his finger.
"This place used to be part of the forest barrier. There were still some strongholds within the barrier, but they have all been destroyed. The forest barrier was burned down by the fire. Some of the ancient guardian trees that survived temporarily retreated to the hills to recuperate. However, even though the defense line here has been breached, many of the fortifications and underground bunkers can still be used. While the mutants don't need those 'dwellings', their commanders do. So, many of these fortifications have been preserved. "
"It looks like a very... sturdy defense system," Byron said after looking at it for a while. He had to admit that the Kingdom of Kaolin had been well-prepared for the invasion of the wastelands over the past few centuries. The fortresses, underground fortifications, and forest barriers were not things that could be built overnight. "Even now, the castles around Fort Greta are still functioning."
"Yes, without these castles, our northwestern border would have fallen long ago," King Aldris said with a nod before he sighed. "But no matter how sturdy a fortress is, it will be surrounded sooner or later if we don't have the means to fight our way out. Just like what you saw today, we are still holding our ground here. But that's all we can do. In the entire southern front, only the Constellation Temple has successfully pushed back."
"Now that the Winter is here, the situation will be very different," Byron said with a hint of pride. "Our artillery support can cover the entire battlefield north of Fort Greta. The marines and dragonborn expeditionary army can ensure a wider range of safety from land and air. When the mutants here are completely wiped out, we can fully support the Silver Elves in the construction of the barricade wall. It shouldn't take too long. The enemy's command center has been destroyed by General Vanessa. Even if the enemy can immediately dispatch a dark high priest from the interior of the wastelands to take over the remaining troops in the northwest, a large number of mutants will lose control in the process and become 'wild'... "
"Before that, I can first send a part of the troops to support the 'forward base,'" Vanessa looked at the sand table for a long time before she finally got used to the somewhat backward battlefield presentation. She also roughly understood the meaning of the terrain markings that only the land races could understand. The tip of her tail pointed to the eastern side of the battlefield, where the Constellation Temple fell. Now it had become the bridgehead for the Silver Elves to push into the wastelands. "General Byron's artillery can take care of most of the enemy, so Fort Greta should not need too many people. I will take half of my sisters and depart tomorrow morning. With the strong airflow in the next two days, we will soon arrive above the Constellation Temple Base..."
"You are still planning to use the rain clouds to float over?" Byron looked at the siren general with a strange expression. "You don't want to consider the normal way to travel?"
"This is the normal way of traveling." Vanessa felt that Byron's words were a little strange. She widened her eyes and said, "There is no way to swim on land, so of course it is faster to turn into water vapor and float over. And if we are caught in the fierce battle on the front line, when the rain comes down, it can be a surprise attack."
This suddenly involved the cultural habits of the races. Byron usually had a hard time discussing the nature homework with Pea at home. Of course, he could not think of any other words at this time. He could only scratch his head hard. After a long while, he said, "Then you can float over, but when you come into contact with the Silver Elves, don't let them 'see your faces'. To be honest, normal people may not be able to tell from your expressions..."
"Sigh, now that the battlefield communication has been restored, we can contact them directly if there is any situation. We don't have to continue to express our feelings on the clouds. After all, there was no other way before." Vanessa waved her hand, but she could not help but say, "But I still think that the signal I sent before is quite easy to understand..."
Byron and Aldris pondered at the same time and decided not to continue the discussion with the deep-sea creature.
General Vanessa carefully looked at the sand table in front of her for a long time, and then her eyes fell on the map of the continent hanging on the wall. After careful consideration, she suddenly asked, "I have a question. Is the Gondor wasteland water deficient everywhere? We accidentally opened a passage to the depths of the wasteland and found that a large area on the other side of the wasteland is dry, and the dark priests need a large scale water pumping system to draw water from the depths of the earth... "
The 'accident' she mentioned referred to the time when Queen Pettia followed a death beacon to the hinterland of the wastelands. At that time, the dark priests reacted quickly. They quickly blew up the passage and even severely injured the queen (which was one of the reasons why Pettia sent an expedition to Loren). But even though they reacted quickly, the queen still managed to gather a lot of information on the other side of the passage.
And one of the most important information for the sirens was the water-deficient environment in the depths of the wasteland.
"... We know little about the situation in the depths of the wasteland, but according to the investigation data from several forward bases we have dug into the wasteland, the place is indeed drier than the outside of the Great Wall." King Aldris thought for a moment and said slowly, "The main reason is that the Gondor explosion in the past has completely destroyed the original surface water system in the wasteland and interfered with the meteorological environment. The subsequent construction of the Great Wall has hindered the exchange of water vapor inside and outside the wasteland, which has led to the lack of water in the interior of the wasteland for centuries. Now there are many gaps in the Great Wall, and some of the peripheral areas of the wasteland have begun to experience normal rain and snow due to the influence of the external atmospheric environment, but it will take many years for this effect to spread to the depths of the wasteland...
"As far as the information we have so far, there are almost no normal surface rivers in the wasteland. Only a few areas have surface water like 'oasis', which seeps from shallow underground rivers and is basically poisonous. It is not drinkable without rigorous filtration and purification. As for underground... there seem to be many underground rivers flowing under the wasteland, but as I just said, they are also polluted, and most of the underground rivers are very deep. We have to use large equipment to pump them up. "
"... Pollution is not a problem for us. As long as there is water in it, we can extract pure water. The scarcity of water and the depth of the wasteland is indeed a big problem..." Vanessa frowned slightly and tapped the ground with the tip of her tail. "We can only maximize our strength in places with abundant water. Our replenishment of troops and many of our positional tactics rely heavily on water. Now the connection between the Lorien Continent and the Elemental World is difficult, and the water vapor content in the atmosphere above the wasteland is very low. This will force our soldiers to spend more effort to 'draw' water or 'transport' water from the rear. The deeper we push into the wasteland, the lower our combat efficiency will be."
Byron and Azalena looked at each other subconsciously. This seemed to be a situation they had not thought of before. It was indeed difficult for a normal land race to adapt to the various "characteristics" of the sirens. Azalena could not help but say, "The deeper we go into the wasteland, the stronger our enemies will be, but the strength of the siren expeditionary force is gradually weakening. This... this is a big problem."
"Then we may need to build a large number of water supply stations along the way and draw water from the underground rivers," King Audris said thoughtfully. In the previous battle, he had realized the strength of the deep-sea expeditionary force, and of course, he was more aware of their importance in the coming battle. "In addition, we need to build a water channel to send water along the wall to the front line..."
Then he paused and added, "This will take up a lot of engineering power, but I think it is worth it."
"That's good, but it can only solve part of the problem," Vanessa said as if she was seriously thinking about something. "If we want to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Deep-sea Warriors on land, we still need a more stable water source …"
As she said, she seemed to suddenly think of something. She turned to King Audris and asked seriously, "Those mutants... seem to have a high water content?"
"The water content of the mutants!?" King Audris was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what she meant. An unexpected horror accompanied by a faint chill made his eyes widen slightly. "You mean..."
"After the deep-sea warriors die, they can be resurrected in water. Depending on the strength of the individual and the way of death, it takes a long time and will cause short-term weakness. The 'water' used for this resurrection... can be the water in the body of other creatures, so if the situation requires, this can also be used as a special means of attack and... water extraction," Vanessa said. For the convenience of future cooperation, she did not hide the unique talent of her race in front of her allies. Besides, it was not a secret in itself. "On the other hand, as long as the surrounding environment is full of water vapor, we can also use the method of resonance to extract water directly from dead creatures or weaker creatures, provided that they have enough water in their body to resonate with us.
"So, if the water content of those mutants is enough... we can try 'battlefield endurance'. The specific method is to sacrifice a wave of teammates at the beginning of the battle, and during the resurrection process, we can open up a 'situation' with the enemy. When the water content of the battlefield reaches a certain level, those mutants... will become our water source."
Vanessa had a serious expression on her face as she introduced her idea in a way that was not joking at all. And her attitude made everyone realize one thing —
This' tactic 'was not new to the Lord of the Deep Sea Warfare. The sirens had done this before, and definitely not just once. They had used this terrible' tactic 'to deal with an enemy with a lot of water in their body and won.
Even the thick-skinned Byron could not help but feel goosebumps. Although these deep-sea creatures were gentle and harmless by nature, when they were angry... they were so evil that it sent chills down one's spine.
King Aldris swallowed slightly and then said in a low voice, "It is difficult for us to capture living mutants, but this time we have captured a few dark priests. Maybe they can 'summon' a few to do experiments, if they meet your requirements... By the way, what is the name of your... 'tactic'?"
"Death by the Skin," Vanessa said with a serious face.
King Aldris was speechless.
...
At the same time, on the east side of Greta Fortress, between the mountains and the hills, a cluster of lights was scattered between the mountain passes. At the brightest spot was the fallen Stellaris Temple.
The fallen anti-gravity fortress had now forever lost the possibility of flying in the sky, but its massive and sturdy body still guarded the borders of the civilized world. Like a fallen giant, it used its body to block the gap in the energy barrier of the Great Wall, with one side connected to the towering curtain of light that reached into the clouds and the other side backed against the towering mountains. Beneath the temple wreckage, the Silver Elves had reclaimed the lost land and built a fortress with both offensive and defensive capabilities in a short period of time using the sturdy framework of the Stellar Temple as a foundation. At the same time, with the fortress as a starting point, they built a forward base and purification facility in the wasteland.
Under the starry sky, Bersetia walked up to the highest platform above the fortress. This platform was originally part of the middle deck of the Stellaris Temple, but now it was completely broken. Part of the structure had collapsed in the previous battle and turned into countless huge wreckage scattered across the vast plains. The remaining structure formed a broken bridge that extended from the wreckage of the temple into the sky. In front of the 'bridge' was the wasteland in the dark, and below the 'bridge' was the stronghold where the mortals launched a counterattack into the wasteland.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and the voice of the maidservant Irene came. "Your Majesty, the wind is strong at night."
Bersetia did not answer. She only raised her head and looked at the magnificent alloy skeletons that extended out from the 'mountains' on both sides. Between the skeletons were giant decks that were torn apart. She also saw the walls and bunkers that the Silver Elves had built in the wreckage of the temple. The recently built additional structures seemed out of place in the grand main body of the temple, but the warriors who walked in it were more spirited and confident than ever.
"It really feels like I'm in the stomach of a giant beast …" The Silver Queen said softly. "Even though I've sat on the throne for hundreds of years, I've never seen this temple from this perspective. It's very strange. It's like … I've only 'met' an elder today."
As she spoke, she turned back and looked at the maidservant Irene.
"Tell me about the current situation. We need to be prepared for the coming turning point."
(End of Chapter)
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