The appearance of the Giant Dragon had piqued Gwen's interest in the mysterious crater at the southern foot of the Gloom Mountain Range.
No matter what it was, it had attracted the attention of the Giant Dragon. But what was the last thing that attracted the attention of the Giant Dragon?
It was Cecil, who had been contaminated by the Demonic Wave.
After exiting the satellite connection mode, Gwen quietly pondered for a moment in the study. He then asked Amber to call Heti and Byron.
When she heard that Gwen was going to the southern foot of the Gloom Mountain Range to investigate the situation, Heti was shocked. "You're going to the southern foot of the mountain range?"
"I'm very concerned about what happened over there." Gawain could not explain to Heidi what satellite monitoring was, so he said, "The overload of the Magnificent Wall happened not long ago. Now, there are new changes in the wasteland. We have to figure out the situation."
"But it's too dangerous there." Heti was worried. "Crossing the Gloom Mountain Range is tantamount to facing the wasteland —"
"I've faced it before, more than once." Gwen interrupted Heti. "And even if we cross the Gloom Mountain Range, it doesn't mean that we've entered the wasteland. There's still the Black Forest and the Belt Plain in between. Strictly speaking, the southern foot of the Gloom Mountain Range is still part of the 'civilized territory.' With my strength and a team of elites, it's not a problem to move there. "
Looking at Gwen's determined attitude, Heti realized that she could not dissuade him.
Her ancestor had always been far-sighted. There must be a very important reason for him to be so concerned about this matter.
But just as Heti was about to nod and Gwen was about to discuss the manpower with Byron, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the study, interrupting everyone. "Old friend, I'm afraid you don't have to cross the mountain range for the time being. There's a situation in the Defiant Fortress."
Gwen looked up and saw Sordling standing there.
…
When the 'earthquake' happened, Solderlin immediately received an order. He led a team of elite Iron Rangers into the Defiant Fortress and checked the south along the main corridor to see if the ancient Gondor building was affected by the earthquake.
Reality proved that this order was not only timely, but also necessary.
Gawain led Amber, Byron, and Heidi to the depths of the southern part of the fortress. The magic crystal lamps powered by the modern magic network illuminated the long and ancient corridors of the fortress. Gawain led Amber, Byron, and Heidi to the depths of the southern part of the fortress.
A squad of fully-armed Steel Rangers was traveling with them. On both sides of the corridor, there were sentries standing guard at regular intervals. The closer they moved to the south of the fortress, the more sentries there were on the road.
"After the earthquake, the person in charge of the munitions factory in the Defiant Fortress sent a report saying that there was a loud noise from the southern corridor," Solderlin said in a calm voice as he walked beside Gwen. "The workers in several areas in the south also heard the loud noise and there was an obvious tremor. I was worried that the entire southern area would collapse, so I evacuated the workers in this area and checked along the main corridor …"
The long corridor gradually came to an end, and an extraordinarily heavy, huge isolation door appeared in front of everyone.
This was the southern isolation door of the Defiant Fortress. Opposite this heavy door was a huge cave called the 'Shadow Experiment Field'. Gwen still remembered this place. It was here that Amber arrived at the Contract Fortress through the Shadow Realm and witnessed the assassination of Francis II. She also brought back key evidence of the secret collusion between Prince Edmund and the Apocalypse Cultists.
As the development and exploration of the other areas of the fortress had not been completed, the current 'Shadow Industrial Zone' did not require such a large space for the time being. So after that incident, the 'Shadow Experiment Field' was temporarily sealed up.
Solderlin came to the door of the Shadow Experiment Field and activated the magic mechanism of the door. With a series of creaking mechanical sounds, the newly installed magic mechanism drove the heavy isolation door to slowly open on both sides. The scene on the other side of the door appeared before everyone's eyes.
"To be honest, I was also shocked at that time," Solderlin said.
On the other side of the door, a thin layer of mist floated in the spacious cave. At the end of Gwen's sight, the southern part of the cave was sprinkled with light. There was a very wide opening there, and the light and mist were obviously coming in from there.
"It may be caused by the collapse of the mountain. The previous' earthquake 'caused a second collapse. Part of the mountain rock peeled off and connected the cave of the Shadow Experiment Field to the outside," Solderlin said slowly. "The mist that seeped in has a faint aura of the Magic Wave. But fortunately, it's very thin. It's a' boundary mist 'that has declined to the point of being almost harmless."
"… The southern part of the Gloom Mountain Range …" Byron stared at the opening at the end of the cave and muttered to himself, "Oh my God … it's actually opened …"
Amber was also stunned. "So the Shadow Experiment Field is actually so close to the southern mountain wall?"
"Immediately assemble a brigade with light and heavy artillery and set them up near the opening," Gwen suddenly turned to Byron and said quickly. Then he looked at Heti. "Assemble the engineering team, build fortifications near the opening, set up shield generators, and … bring enough Rebecca Crystals."
If the situation worsened, Hao Ren would not mind blowing up the entire southern fortress to seal the opening.
Byron and Heti realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly responded to Gwen's order. "Understood!" "Yes!"
"I want to go to the southern part of the Gloom Mountain Range …" Gwen turned to look at the Shadow Experiment Field that had been connected to the outside world. His voice was full of helplessness. "But I don't want to go there like this …"
…
The soldiers and engineering team from Cecil City quickly arrived at the Shadow Experiment Field. With the help of the Steel Rangers, they quickly established a line of defense in the cave and began to build temporary fortifications. Throughout the process, Gwen did not even leave the opening.
It was not until the magic cannons were set up near the opening and a large number of weapons and ammunition were sent to the southern corridor that Gwen and Heti finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Gwen and Amber came to the southern end of the cave. The two climbed up the collapsed boulders and looked at the vast scenery outside.
A purple-black hillside covered in thin mist stretched out in front of them. This was a relatively flat mountainous area in the middle of the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range. At the end of the hillside, extending all the way down along the mountain, was the boundless Black Forest.
The towering trees were twisted and ferocious under the erosion of the Chaos Magic. All the flowers and shrubs were no longer familiar to people. The plants with thorns, poisonous sacs, rotten limbs, and swollen glands were rustling in the foul wind. Some of them were even wriggling slowly between the rocks. Some particularly disturbing shadows flashed between the mutated and twisted plants, giving rise to countless horrifying thoughts in everyone's mind.
That was the Black Forest, the heavily described Black Forest in all epics, biographies, and poems. It was the product of the Demonic Tide's pollution, the result of the natural world's compromise with the Chaos Magic. It could devour all careless explorers. However, it was just the outermost area of the Demonic Tide.
It was hundreds of kilometers away from the Great Wall.
"Is this the border of the civilized world?" Amber stood beside Gwen. The fearless half-elf could not help but feel nervous when she saw the Black Forest with her own eyes. Although she had stood on the top of the Gloom Mountain Range and looked at the Black Forest in the south, it was a safe distance away. Obviously, the view from the top of the mountain was not comparable to the sight before her eyes.
Now she was standing here, only a few hundred meters away from the nearest border of the Black Forest. She could even smell the decay from the south, although it was mostly an illusion caused by her mind.
"We once had the opportunity to push the border to the south. A hundred years ago, when the Demonic Tide subsided, if the pioneering spirit was still there, the Ansu could have pushed the southern border all the way to the Great Wall and built a more controllable barrier there. Unfortunately, the Ansu missed this opportunity, and the humans gave up this place." Gwen sighed. "The Black Forest is hopeless. It has decayed to this extent. I'm afraid that even Amoun the Giant Stag could not save it."
As he spoke, Gawain raised his head and looked towards the southwest.
According to the satellite image in his mind, the mysterious crater should be not far from the southwest.
The gap caused by the collapse of the mountain was indeed a huge hidden danger, but it was not without its benefits. Now, Defiant Fortress had connected Cecil to the southern part of the Gloom Mountain Range. The facility built by the ancient Gondor a thousand years ago had now become a passageway through the mountain. Through this passageway, he could reach the south without having to climb the steep mountain path.
And with the help of the passageway inside Defiant Fortress, he could also send a large number of supplies directly to the southern foot of the Gloom Mountain Range. After the fortifications here were stabilized, it might be a good idea to transform the entire Shadowy Experimental Field into a forward fortress.
Amber saw Gwen suddenly looking into the distance and was lost in thought. After a long while, she could not help but break the silence. "Hey, what are you looking at?"
Gwen said casually, "Since we are already here, we can go and take a look."
"… You still haven't forgotten about it?!" Amber was shocked. "Isn't it just a mountain collapse? Look around, isn't this it?"
"This place collapsed after the first 'earthquake'. The initial 'epicenter' was not here." Gwen glanced at Amber. "According to my senses, there seems to be an unusual magical wave in the southwest."
The 'senses' of a Legendary champion was an omnipotent reason. Amber could only trust Gawain's judgment. However, looking at the Dark Forest in the distance, which was so dense that it was intimidating and filled with all kinds of crazy mutated plants and who knew how many dangerous magical creatures were hiding within, the half-elf lady felt her scalp go numb. "You're not asking me to go with you, are you … I'm allergic to the Dark Forest …"
"Of course you have to come with me." Gwen glanced at the coward. "But I have to clear a path first. Byron, Knight, come here."
Byron quickly ran to Gwen. "My Lord, you're looking for me?"
"I'm going to investigate that direction." Gwen raised his hand and pointed to the hillside in the southwest. "It should be within the Dark Forest."
As a mercenary with rich adventure experience, Byron immediately reacted, "Oh, okay, I'll organize a group of people who are good at scouting …"
"There's no need for that. Just get Solderlin to prepare the scouts," Gawain interrupted Byron. "Get eighteen medium 'Justice' railguns here. I'll give you a few parameters. Blast a path in that direction …"
Byron was stunned. "… My Lord, didn't you say scouting …"
"Yes, fire reconnaissance."
Amber heard this and her face turned cute. "Why do I remember that you didn't mean that when you told me about fire reconnaissance …"
"But this is outside the border of civilization, the edge of the wasteland." Gwen smiled. He patted Amber on the shoulder and looked at Byron. "Remember, in this wasteland, the only way to survive is to destroy all threats. The only safety rule is that nothing is safe. The only scouting is fire reconnaissance."
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