The monsters' attacks had been dispelled.
However, it would take some time for the panic they caused to subside.
Andesha walked steadily on the walls of the Winter Wolf Fortress with her sword at her waist. She inspected the defensive line after the battle, and the scene that entered her eyes made her frown.
The Crimson Giants that came out of nowhere did not take a single step into the fortress. The brave soldiers of the Typhon had repelled the terrifying enemies on the walls, but the monsters' fearless attitude and strange 'corrosive' destructive power were still shocking. Large scars could be seen on the walls from the corrosive energy arrows, and the soldiers who were hit by the arrows either died miserably or were heavily injured. Ordinary metal armours had almost no protection against these strange attacks, and only enchanted armours or armours made of magical metals could effectively resist the monsters' attacks. But how many soldiers in the army could afford a full set of magical equipment?
Andesha stood at the edge of the wall and looked down. She saw a large number of mottled scars on the surface of the wall, and a few large corrosive marks that extended all the way to the top of the battlements. At the end of the battle, a few of the Blood Giants appeared among the Magisters. They were exceptionally large and had extremely high resistance to attacks. The Magisters' first round of attacks did not manage to stop them from advancing. The Blood Giants used a strange lightning spell to destroy the Magisters' defenses, and then climbed up the wall despite the falling rocks and arrows. Although they were eliminated in the end, they left behind a few terrible scars on the wall.
An adjutant came from the rear and handed a report to Andesha: "General Andesha, the casualty count is out, please take a look."
Andesha took the report with a heavy heart. The monsters' attack was sudden, and the soldiers had never fought against such enemies before, so it was not easy for them to win the battle. The report was even a little harsh to her.
"Take it away. According to the rules, compensate the families of the dead and treat the injured. Send those who cannot continue to fight back to the Empire. Write them a certificate of bravery so that they can at least have enough to eat when they return." Andesha was a little annoyed as she returned the report to the adjutant. She then turned to look at the blood-stained plains. "Say … … Where did these monsters come from?"
The plains in front of the Winter Wolf Fortress were originally covered in snow, but the Crimson Giants had dyed the ground an ominous dark red. The flesh and organs of the Crimson Giants melted and flowed like mud, corroding the ground and turning into smoke. Soon, only huge skeletons were left. Andesha had faced all kinds of enemies, but this was the first time she saw such a scene.
The adjutant did not expect the general to ask such a question. He was stunned for a moment before he answered with uncertainty: "The first report from the sentries said that the monsters came from the Gloom Mountain Range, that … … … … … …. It should be from Ansu."
"Ansu?" Andesha's expression gradually turned gloomy. "That country … …"
"But it might not be Ansu," the adjutant quickly added. "General, the Gloom Mountain Range is next to the Gondor Wastelands … …"
"You suspect that the monsters came from the Gondor Wastelands?" Andesha raised her eyebrows and looked at the usually cautious adjutant with surprise. "That's a bold idea."
"We have received reports that the Ansu Wastelands were attacked by 'unknown monsters'. Rumor has it that they came from the Gondor Wastelands," the adjutant reminded Andesha. "If more monsters came out from the Wastelands and moved along the natural barrier of the Gloom Mountain Range, then they could have come here … …"
"But the Gondor Wastelands is blocked by the Great Wall," Andesha frowned. "Didn't the watchtowers at the border say that the barrier is fine?"
"Those watchtowers are useless. They are too far away from the Wastelands."
"… … Prepare the griffins," Andesha said after a short pause. "We have to tell His Majesty what happened here!"
Andesha raised her head and looked at the hazy mountains in the southwest direction. Even though she could not see the scenery behind the mountains, she knew that the Gondor Wastelands was in that direction, and the Great Wall built by the elves was also there.
When she thought of the Great Wall and the watchtowers that supported it, Andesha could not help but feel a little envious. It was said that the ancient magic towers had powerful communication abilities, and could send messages along the entire Great Wall back to the Silver Empire in an instant. The elves used this incredible ancient technology to monitor the entire barrier system, and in the era of Gondor seven hundred years ago, the humans also had a similar technology.
But now, this technology was severely outdated and degraded. The existing communication magic was either expensive or ineffective. Most of the magic towers could only transmit messages within a few kilometers, and the cost of building a tower was frighteningly high. The main fortresses at the border could communicate with each other through magic, but if they wanted to send messages back to the Empire from the border … … they could only rely on the griffins.
There were proposals to set up hundreds of magic towers to transmit messages from the border to the capital. Similar proposals had been repeatedly discussed in the Noble Parliament for many years. However, there was only one result: no money, no manpower.
The cost of building hundreds of magic towers was enough to empty the Empire's annual tax revenue, and the magic materials in the treasury that were used as strategic reserves would also be greatly depleted. One had to know that the magic circles of communication were extremely complicated, and only the rarest and most precious materials could be used to create them. But it was impossible to use those materials to build hundreds of immobile magic towers.
Moreover, even if they were built, who would maintain and control them? Only mages could control magic, and complex large-scale magic devices required multiple spellcasters to work together to maintain them. Hundreds of permanent magic communication towers meant that half of the mages in the empire would have to become "tower guardians". Compared to the cost of money, the cost of manpower was even more unacceptable.
Andesha's mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts. As a noble officer who held military power at a young age and had learned a lot from her family, she knew better than anyone else how important the transmission of messages was in war. But she could not do anything about it.
After all, she did not have any talent in magic.
Cecil led the Rune Research Institute's Dean, Jenny Perot, put down the blueprint and rune board in her hands and stretched her body.
She raised her head from behind the desk and looked at the few apprentices who were immersed in calculations or discussing their opinions. She could not help but smile.
These apprentices were the newcomers to the Rune Research Institute since its establishment. There were only a few of them, but it was much better than when she was the only one here.
Half of these apprentices came from Cecil's Domain. They were originally rune craftsmen or runemasters who had 'changed their jobs'. They had basic knowledge in the field of practical runes, and they were also talented in logic and mathematics. Thus, after a 'talent test', they were assigned to be Jenny's assistants. The other few apprentices were scholars and mage apprentices who were recruited from other places. Because they had good qualifications, they were also sent here.
To be honest, these people needed to be trained when they first arrived. After all, rune logic was a brand new field. In the world, no one except Jenny, Rebecca, Heti, and Gwen knew what it meant. These apprentices (assistants) were still stuck in the traditional magic theory at first. It took Jenny a lot of effort to change their ideas, but after a period of hard work, these people gradually became useful.
When they became professionals in the field of rune logic, Jenny would let them take turns teaching classes in the general academy. By then, Mr. Santis should have completed the basic courses in rune knowledge and magic theory for the children. After the foundation was laid, they would learn rune logic, and everything would be connected.
Then, the children in the domain would grow into a new generation with knowledge and skills, and these knowledge and skills would continue to be passed down and expanded. Under the promotion of the Lord, everyone would have the opportunity to learn all of this.
Teaching, learning, and spreading. Once the transmission of knowledge began, it wouldn't stop easily. It would continue until everyone had the right to access knowledge, the right to think, and the right to explore the truth. And all of this … was probably what Mr. Ravenkeyes wanted to see.
Jenny lowered her head again. Looking at the complicated arrangement of runes before her, as well as the equations and diagrams that looked like heavenly books in the eyes of laymen, she fell into deep thought.
These things were not regular magic circle designs, but a special "observation record" that Master Kamel gave her. They included the structure of the control and output units of the magic obelisk, as well as the readings of the magic energy escaping from the magic obelisk that Master Kamel observed through Arcana Eyes. These included the regular waves of magic power and a series of complicated diffusion and decay data.
These things were not easy to deal with. They were already beyond the field that Jenny came into contact with when she was studying rune logic. Even Rebecca, who had strong mathematical abilities, had a headache for a long time when she first saw these things. They were no longer simple rune arrangement problems, nor were they examples that could be solved simply by comparing the interference values. The huge amount of pure data made Jenny feel that she did not know where to start. However, she knew that mathematics would not let her down.
The most fundamental secrets of magic power might be hidden in these data. The Lord was also waiting for these data to unveil the mystery of "magic power remote transmission" and use it as a breakthrough to find a way to simplify the communication circle. Therefore, after calming herself down, Jenny picked up the paper and pen again, and once again devoted herself to thinking and calculating.
Pen and paper were her bridge to the path of magic. Only with the help of this bridge would she be able to walk further in this mysterious domain than anyone else.
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