The high-powered magic crystal lamps illuminated the vast cavern as bright as day. The sound of mixers, elevators, and various magic arrays was intertwined. Uniformed construction workers and technicians were busy shuttling between machines and support frames. The construction site of the south gate fortress was bustling.
Gwen, Heti, and Amber came to the former Shadowy Experiment Field. In the center of the cavern, they found the person in charge, Gordon.
"My Lord, the support structure and foundation have been laid. The construction of the main wall is more than half done. The south gate, the rampart, the outer wall armor, and the extended firepower platform are 60% complete." Gordon reported the progress of the fortress. "The military depot and the energy station have been activated. As of yesterday, this place has preliminary defensive capabilities."
"Not bad, not bad." Gwen looked at the progress of the construction team led by Gordon with satisfaction. He saw that the workers were reinforcing the walls at the edge of the cavern, and between the south gate and the inner cavern, an additional layer of cement-steel armor had begun to take shape. A huge support frame was laid across the cavern, and a lifting device powered by a magical engine was fixed at the top of the frame. A winch pulled a cable and was lifting a huge cargo pallet to the second floor of the fortress. Around each cargo pallet, there was a faint glow of runes — that was the effect of the weight-reducing runic matrix.
At this stage, weight-reducing was still a spell that had not been fully analyzed. The runemasters had not solved the problem of interference when multiple weight-reducing effects were applied to a target at the same time. Therefore, it was difficult to use it on large-scale objects (such as large vehicles). But when dealing with smaller materials, weight-reducing had always been a useful tool.
At the edge of the cavern, technicians carrying magical terminals were quickly adjusting the walls with 'Stone to Mud' and 'Mud to Stone' in preparation for the subsequent installation of the wall panels. Not far away, another engineering team was embedding the magic net unit on the wall panels that had already been installed. The plasma welding beam (hot melt welding torch) flashed incessantly, showing the efficiency and coordination of each team.
Using extraordinary power as a productive force, and not simply as a weapon for the strong, brought about incredible efficiency.
Of course, Gordon's command was also an important factor in the rapid progress of the project.
Gwen retracted his gaze and looked at the circular pit in the ground at the center of the cavern. He looked at the ancient and mysterious rune array and the ancient device arranged in a ring at the bottom of the pit and asked casually, "Has there been any abnormal reaction from this Shadow Portal recently?"
Gordon shook his head and said, "No. We have set up magic sensors around the area, but we did not find any signs of the magic door being activated."
"Very good." Gwen nodded and looked at the new gate at the end of the cave. "Open the gate. I'm going to the FOB to take a look."
"Yes — open the gate!!"
The runic array hummed, the gears and capstan creaked at the same time, and the steel chain and bearing pulled the heavy steel gate. With a tremor that even shook the ground, the south gate of the fortress slowly opened in front of Gawain …
In order to build the wall at the edge of the wastelands, a path from the civilized world to the wastelands had to be opened. And this path was blocked by the entire Black Forest — the Black Forest that humans had not stepped into for hundreds of years.
After deciding to build the wall, Gwen had considered two options to open this path. The first option was to directly pass through the mountains from the south gate and build a FOB in front of the fortress. They would forcefully open a path through the Black Forest and build a straight path to the wastelands. The second option was to bypass the entire Defiant Fortress and leave from the mountain pass to the west of Cecil City. Finally, they would also build a path through the Black Forest.
The first plan was obviously more time-saving and labor-saving. The second plan was to protect the secret of the Defiant Fortress and the South Gate Fortress. He didn't want too many outsiders to know that Cecil was in control of such a unique portal and a complete ancient fortress. Although there were many rumors about Duke Cecil having Gondor's relics, there were too many secrets in the Defiant Fortress.
But now, Gwen still chose the first option because he was sure that the Royal Family and the Eastern Region would not send anyone to participate in the project. They wanted to preserve their strength to continue the fight. But for Gwen, he was happy to have the entire project under his control.
If a bunch of noble supervisors and slave craftsmen from the north were to join in, they would only drag down Cecil's engineering team.
Thanks to convenient elemental manipulation spells, it was not difficult to build a simple road in this world. From the south gate fortress to the edge of the Black Forest, a wide road temporarily hardened by 'Mud to Stone' had connected the Defiant Fortress and the FOB. Not long after they set off, Gwen saw the towering Magic Net relay tower and smoke rising in spirals. The temporary base built by the 'pathfinders' was just ahead.
A dozen large and small plank houses were built on the edge of the Black Forest. The houses were surrounded by a combination of wooden fences, steel wire fences, chest-high walls, and sentry towers. The guards in charge of protecting the FOB were vigilantly watching the direction of the Black Forest from the sentry towers. In front of the entrance of the FOB stood two strong White Knight like iron towers.
As Gwen had emphasized before, there were dangers everywhere outside the border of civilization. This FOB marching into the wastelands naturally had to be heavily guarded.
"Salute!"
The two White Knight noticed Gwen sitting in the car. They immediately straightened up, and a deep and powerful voice came from under their steel helmets. The gate of the FOB opened, and Gwen and the other two rode in the magic car into the FOB.
As soon as Gwen got out of the car, he saw a strong figure quickly walking towards him.
Wright Avelken, the leader of the White Knight and the Grand Patriarch of the Protestant Church.
The Grand Patriarch, who had become a 'big shot', did not stay in his church. Instead, after hearing that they were going to march into the wastelands, he took the initiative to come to the front and command the 'pathfinders'. As the White Knight was good at guarding, and the power of the holy light had the convenient characteristics of curing pollution and expelling monsters, Gwen agreed to his request.
Behind Wright, Gwen saw a few special figures.
They were Sonia Frostleaf and a few elven messengers she brought with her.
These elves were obviously very concerned about the restoration of the barrier. Although the bustling and novel Cecil City had aroused their great curiosity and interest, they were more concerned about the progress of the project in the southern part of the Gloom Mountain Range. These days, Sonia and her companions only spent one-third of their time in Cecil City, and almost all the rest of their time in the Black Forest.
"I'm here to check on the progress," Gwen greeted Wright, and then looked at Sonia. "You're here again today?"
"Checking on the progress of the project makes us feel more at ease," Sonia smiled and said frankly. "And not staying in the city can also prevent some awkward … conflict between mother and son."
Sonia was obviously joking. In fact, Gwen thought her relationship with Solderlin was good. But Gwen still understood the dilemma of the elven mother when she saw Solderlin.
To be fair, if he had a son who did not come home for 700 years, did not have a girlfriend, did not write letters, was bald, wore a wig, and liked cross-dressing …
But he did not dare to make any more assumptions.
He felt that he might choose to lie back in the coffin and ask someone to help nail the lid shut.
"… As you can see, we are doing our best to speed up the paving of the road and try to open the road to the Decaying Plain before the Harvest Festival," Gwen changed the topic to cover his moment of awkwardness. "At present, as long as there are no major accidents, the project can be completed on time."
"We can see it. This also makes me feel more at ease," Sonia sighed softly. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to be so fast. You have already started paving the road in the Black Forest in such a short time. I can see how much manpower and resources you have invested in this project. But look at your royal family, they have not sent the first batch of supplies yet! To put it bluntly, you are all Ansu people, how can your efficiency be so different? "
"Not everyone can turn magic into productivity," Gwen said, shaking his head helplessly. "What's more, the nobles in the north may not realize how terrible the threat of the wasteland is. The Demonic Wave seven hundred years ago may still be a vivid memory for the elves, but for the humans … it's an ancient legend from several generations ago. "
It was not Sonia's first time dealing with humans. Of course, she knew what Gwen said made sense, so she did not say much. Instead, she looked in the direction of the Gloom Mountains and the fortress at the south gate. She sighed and said, "The fortress of the ancient Gondor period. 700 years ago, I heard that the northern expedition found an ancient ruin when they crossed the Gloom Mountains. I didn't expect it to play such a role in your hands today."
"We didn't expect it back then either," Gwen said with a smile. "Just like I didn't expect that I would have to rebuild the Great Wall after I woke up from my long sleep. Fate has always been unreasonable."
"You are unlucky." Sonia could not help but shake her head. "You fell during the most difficult period and woke up during the next difficult period. Fate seems to have deliberately arranged for you to fight against the disaster, not giving you a chance to rest. We had seven centuries of peace, but you didn't enjoy a single day of it. "
Gawain did not say anything. He was not the real Gawain Cecil, so he did not feel any regret. But Heidi, who was beside him, suddenly looked up. She seemed to be greatly touched by Sonia's words. She stared at her ancestor and suddenly felt very ashamed of her usual smoky makeup. She looked at her ancestor in the eye and suddenly felt very ashamed of her usual smoky makeup.
Gwen did not know why Heti suddenly blushed.
…
At the same time, in the port square of Monolith City, north of Cecil Dukedom.
The Commander of Monolith City, Sir Walter Perry, stood in the square with his guards and honor guards, ready to send off the emissaries from the Captical. These emissaries had stayed in the gateway city for half a day. Now, they were going to board the ships and set off for Cecil City.
"This city is impressive, Sir," Cohen Loren, the leader of the emissary delegation and the deputy head of the Wang Knight's Regiment of Ansu, said to Walter sincerely. "I came to this land two years ago, but it was completely different at that time. I have to admit that this place is really incredible."
Walter looked at the deputy head of the Knight's Regiment in front of him. This deputy head had the special surname of 'Loren', but he was also a member of the royal family. The emissary delegation he led included emissaries from the Eastern Region and emissaries from the Captical. Walter was not interested in the politics of the court and the balance of the nobles. He just smiled and shook his head. "Monolith City is just a gateway. You haven't seen the truly incredible side of this land yet."
"Oh, I'm a calm person." Cohen Lorren smiled politely. "I will only look at the new things here with an appreciative eye. After all, no matter how magical they are, they are still man-made."
"Then, please." Walter raised his hand and pointed to the dock. Almost at the same time, a melodious whistle sounded from the bay.
A large ship without sails and oars, which shocked Cohen Lorren, was gradually sailing towards the port from the distant river accompanied by the sound of breaking waves and the roar of machinery.
The ship looked as if it was made of metal.
"In order to ensure efficiency, the Lord ordered the inland river express passenger ship 'Wave Breaker' to receive the emissaries," Walter Perry said with a pleasant smile. "Please board the ship."
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