The setting sun was setting, and an orange-red light penetrated through the thin layer of clouds and sprinkled on the barren and decaying land. The land extended in Andesha Wendell's line of sight, and the black 'ground' surged up like a tidal wave, carrying with it madness and malice that seemed to want to devour the living, causing the land to tremble violently.
A dark red signal flare rose into the sky and exploded into a ball of light more dazzling than the setting sun. Under the illumination of the signal flare, the defense line built by the Winterwolf Knight Corps was instantly coated with a layer of blazing light. In the next second, a whistling sound like a hurricane was heard from behind the defense line. The sound gradually grew louder and louder until it was like a muffled thunder.
Andesha looked back and saw large patches of runes appearing above the two hills on the north and south sides of the Knight Corps' base. Countless complex runes fell from the sky like a storm, forming a three-dimensional and complex light screen around the hills. Then, a large number of rings separated from the runes and formed a huge array in the air. The twelve Magic Net stations set up around the hills immediately roared, and a large amount of mana was gathered from the Magic Net and transmitted to the battlemages' array through the broadcast device. After a moment of delay, the spell was cast.
The clouds in the sky were instantly torn into pieces by the powerful force, and dozens of brilliant halos formed a continuous' ocean 'above the Knight Corps' base. The ocean was turbulent, and thousands of shockingly hot laser beams rained down like a storm, sweeping through the turbulent 'Black Tide'. Like a storm sweeping through snow, countless burnt limbs and flesh rose into the air and covered the entire plain in the blink of an eye.
After a round of laser rain (Army Level Thermal Ray Burst), the menacing tide of darkness had been riddled with holes, and the reduction in numbers was visible to the naked eye. However, the monsters did not know pain and fear, nor did they know how to cover and line up in a scattered formation. So, after a very short delay, the tide surged again. Although it was much thinner, the momentum of the tide charging towards the defensive line was not reduced at all.
"Recharge," Andesha said to the communication device beside her. "After three rounds of heat rays, activate the Electric Field Trap and the Proximity Barrier. Knight Squadron, start warming up the heat shield and prepare to engage the enemy."
"Yes, General!" The voice of the battle mage commander came from the communication device. Following this voice, the two hills behind Knight's group lit up once again.
In the Mage Squadron's encampment, the battle mages had already begun to guide the second Thermal Ray Burst. They stood on the massive Army Level Magic Circle, which was quickly pieced together with prefabricated and modular engineering components. The edges of the Magic Circle still had ports to connect to other energy systems, as well as a large number of pipes and grids. When the mages began to guide the Magic Circle, the grids at the edge of the Magic Circle began to emit a large amount of hot steam and 'waste energy' that emitted a faint blue light. The engineering mages standing at the edge of the Magic Circle stared at the pipes connected from the bottom of the Magic Circle, as well as the valves, pressure gauges, and other devices around the pipes to prevent them from overheating.
Even the Typhon Empire, which relied on traditional mages as the main force, knew how to adapt to this new era. The intelligent mages found a way to combine magical engineering technology with traditional spellcasting methods, and the pressure of war gave all new ideas and new technologies the opportunity to quickly mature. External energy stations were used to recharge army level spells, engineering prefabs were used to replace the old method of setting up magic circles, and alchemy coolants and large-scale circulation pumps were used to solve the problem of long cooldowns for army level spells. Apart from that, there were also personal magical coordinators, equalizers, load insurance, and unlimited alchemy potions. Relying on these things, the combat mages were able to unleash almost double the power of the army level spells.
This was the benefit of technological advancement, and also the experience gained through the use of fresh blood on the battlefield.
After a moment of delay, the second recharge was completed. The low to high whistling sound once again came from the top of the hill. The sky under the setting sun was once again lit up by a dazzling laser rain. The light burst onto the ground, and the tide of aberrations and biochemists evaporated into smoke in the storm.
After three rounds of heat rays, most of the monsters surging on the ground had been killed. The remaining ones continued to charge forward and successfully reached the defense line built by the Winterwolf Knight Legion. Behind the defense line, a huge tower stood on the ground. The top of the tower had a metallic texture, and the dim magic runes were gradually lighting up on the surface of the tower.
That was the purification tower, and it was gradually "awakening". The orderly energy field it released had begun to affect the chaotic magical environment in the area. The aberrations, who relied on the special "force field" in the wasteland to maintain their stability, keenly sensed the threat. Driven by instinct, they became ten times more violent than before and madly rushed toward the "last line of defense".
This made them plunge headfirst into the electric field trap. Bright electric arcs suddenly erupted from the ground and quickly spread throughout the entire "Black Tide" with the monsters stepping into the trap as nodes. The net of lightning covered the land, and the electric current flowing everywhere was chilling.
This was a weapon developed in the previous "Battle of Typhon - Cecil". It was used to fight against Cecil's war machines, but now the Typhon people found that this trap was more useful against living targets. It could cook hundreds of biochemists into crisps in an instant, and could quickly spread between targets in a dense formation.
When the electric field covering the entire land finally extinguished, less than ten percent of the aberrations and chimeras were still able to move.
These monsters staggered, roared, twitched, and crashed into the thermal shield in front of the Knight Corps. Red heat erupted from the surface of the shield and knocked these stupid filthy creatures to the ground. Then, the Knight Corps unsheathed their swords. The final battle was fierce but short. After a one-sided slaughter, the entire battlefield finally quieted down.
"… They are getting easier to deal with," Andesha Wendell said softly as she looked at the battlefield that had calmed down, and the soldiers who were helping the wounded and cleaning up the battlefield. "Although there are still so many of them, they can no longer cause us too much damage."
"They are declining, just as Your Majesty expected," said the female adjutant behind Andesha. She had short silver hair and a slightly tanned complexion. "On the other hand, our soldiers have also grown rapidly in this war. Their techniques and tactics are improving. Under such circumstances, it is normal to see the results today."
"Yes, they are declining. But this also means that the battle at the 'Deep Blue Well' in the center of the wasteland is getting fiercer by the day, because the cultists are concentrating all their forces there," Andesha said in a low voice. "Princess Gondor's Ironmen are fighting against the entire wasteland alone. The order from above is that they must advance to the 'Old Imperial City' within a month. In other words, the defense of the Deep Blue Well should only last for a month at most …"
She raised her head and looked at the vast wasteland. Although the weather had turned warm, Andesha's voice was still cold. "If the Alliance's army cannot penetrate this battlefield within a month, and the interception wall cannot be activated, then all our efforts and sacrifices so far will be for naught. When the entire planet is' domesticated ', all our accumulated victories will be meaningless."
The silver-haired adjutant looked up at her general. She knew that Andesha would never say such words to the soldiers. The soldiers' morale was high after a series of victories, and they were pushing forward with all their might. The huge shadow behind the victories was a huge pressure on everyone, and some 'truths' were destined to be faced by only a few people.
The brilliant sun had finally completely sunk below the horizon. The remaining dark-red radiance spread along the clouds in the sky as if blood was spreading. On the battlefield, the mages used Stone to Mud and City Building to build several towering walls. While the gray stone walls were not exquisite, they had a desolate spirit in the wasteland under the afterglow of the blood. The walls and the temporary shields provided the warriors with the most precious sense of security after the battle. In this foreign land far away from the territory of civilization, the peace of mind and the opportunity to rest behind the walls was like gold to the expeditionary warriors. Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The magic crystal lamps were lit up, and a magic net built from prefabricated parts and mobile energy vehicles began to power the entire frontline base. The defensive crystals on the temporary walls hummed softly, and the Mage Eyes released by the night sentries were hovering in the air. Andesha Wendell walked between the barracks, listening to the rough chatter of the soldiers carried to her on the night wind.
A sudden melody from nearby made her stop. It was the tune of a folk song from her hometown. Andesha subconsciously followed the sound and saw a group of soldiers gathered in the open space under the lights. A blonde female Knight was holding a 'bellum harp' that was commonly seen in the Enkidhok region. A simple and melodious melody came from the instrument.
Andesha had no intention of disturbing the soldiers' rare leisure time, but when she was about to quietly walk past them, the female Knight saw her first. She stopped her instrument and saluted in Andesha's direction. Only then did the other soldiers reacted and saluted.
Andesha smiled and walked to the group of soldiers. After receiving their salutes, she looked at the female Knight and said, "A very familiar melody … What's your name? You're from Enkidhok? "
"General, I'm the captain of the 12th Combat Squadron of the 8th Regiment of the newly established National Knight Regiment, Marianu Riven." The young blonde female Knight immediately straightened her body and replied meticulously. She then shook her head and said, "I'm not from Enkidhok, but my roommate when I was studying abroad was. I learned this song from her."
"Marianu … I have some impression of you. You're on the list of reinforcements last week." Andesha nodded slightly. At the same time, she also recognized the mark on the young Knight's breastplate. The mark indicated that this female Knight was a newly promoted commander, and this type of new commander was becoming more and more common on the frontline. With the change of the situation, the frontline was gradually being controlled. The war had turned from a near-disaster to a training ground for the Empire's army. The Empire was sending a steady stream of new soldiers to the frontline to undergo training, and these soldiers who grew rapidly on the battlefield would make up for the heavy losses suffered by the Empire in the War of the Orcs.
According to Andesha's knowledge, Typhon was not the only country that was doing this. Basically, every country that had the ability to send a large-scale expeditionary force to the wastelands was using this method to "train their soldiers". This fateful war was a trial for the Loren countries, but it was also an opportunity. Under the pressure of war, many countries were forced to start industrial reforms. A large number of resources and manpower that were previously required to be mobilized repeatedly were gathered together. The military was growing, technology was improving, and the Alliance … had truly become an "Alliance".
Frankly speaking, Andesha actually did not think that war was the driving force for social development. Although many people thought that she was warlike, as a soldier, she understood war very well. War was war, and its nature was destruction rather than construction. It would not create anything beautiful or useful by itself. What really pushed the countries forward in war was the pressure of life and death, the will to survive, and a correct and consistent belief.
Without these things, war would only bring about pure decline and destruction.
So Andesha sometimes felt very lucky that the war that turned the world upside down broke out between the civilized world and the wastelands, and not a bloody war between two civilized countries. Typhon and Cecil had almost fallen into this abyss, and she had brushed past another fate at the edge of that abyss. She knew what kind of future it would be.
"Study abroad … in Cecil?" Andesha asked curiously.
"Yes, general," Marianne replied immediately. "I was one of the first noble children sent to Cecil to study abroad …"
"Very good." Andesha smiled. But at this moment, she suddenly noticed a pale yellow flower pinned on Marianne's shoulder. This inconspicuous flower was probably the only 'soft' part of this valiant female Knight. Andesha could not help but stare at it for two more seconds. "This flower is …"
"Ah, reporting to the general, I found it when I was patrolling outside the camp. It was in a crack in a rock." Marianne seemed to blush a little, and her voice lowered. "I just thought it looked pretty."
Andesha's eyes widened slightly.
There was almost no life in the polluted wastelands, and even moss could not survive, let alone a fresh flower. This reminded the young Wolf General of the bouquet of flowers that the soldiers brought back from Cecil's base. But she knew that the little flower in front of her could not be a product of the 'living forest' because the living forest spread in the other direction, and its boundary was still some distance away from Typhon's front line.
She suddenly turned around and looked at the tower in the center of the base. The towering purification device emitted a soft glow under the night sky, but its purification core had not fully 'awakened'. According to the calculations of the technicians, the purification tower still needed at least twelve hours to be activated.
Moreover, even if the purification device was activated, a flower could not bloom in the blink of an eye.
"General?" Marianne noticed the strange expression on Andesha's face and could not help but whisper. "Is something wrong?"
"… The interception wall is starting to have an effect."
Andesha's voice was low, as if she was talking to herself softly.
The interception wall is starting to have an effect.
The environment in the wastelands … is changing!
(End of Chapter)
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