The Crystal Cluster Giants had changed collectively.
The sky was gloomy, the wind was howling, and the artillery was roaring.
A large number of Crystal Cluster Giants from the eastern region were running wildly on the plains. The swollen and deformed monsters moved wildly, sweeping across the plains, rushing over the hills, some rushing into the distance, and some attacking the legion's line of defense. Dazzling arcane arcs cut through the air, illuminating the polluted plains under the dim sky. On Highland No. 3, which supported the important node of the line of defense, the artillery fire did not stop for a moment.
The heavy magic cannon adjusted the angle of fire slightly under the effect of the mechanical device. The rune track flashed, and the cannonballs wrapped in a light blue air mass flew into the distance. The Warhammer I in the tank bunker also fired frequently. More intensive cannonballs bombarded the plains on the east side of the highland, interweaving an airtight firepower net.
A Captain Cecil in white and blue armor stood behind the bunker, observing the situation on the battlefield with a tactical eyepiece.
Continuous explosions, flashes, and shock waves covered the frenzied Crystal Cluster Army. Countless twisted limbs and broken crystals were blown into the sky every minute and every second. But in the dim sky, there were still countless monsters coming from afar, falling on the line of death meaninglessly.
The captain turned off the eyepiece and turned away from the bunker.
The commander's roar with magic power came from nearby. "Bombardment Formation No. 2 is cooling down, change the acceleration track — Formation No. 3 is firing!" "The burner is warming up!" "The cannonballs have been delivered!" "The Pathfinder has arrived!"
The captain quickly passed through the busy artillery positions and supply tunnels. The sound of weapons firing and orders filled the air around him. He passed a sentry post and walked towards a tall commander wearing a knight's insignia and a short black cape with a white coat on his shoulders.
Three short muffled sounds came from the side. Three bright signal flares were shot into the sky. The eye-catching flashes illuminated the camp, and the light sprinkled on the surface of the Knight's silver armor.
"Sir! The enemy's offensive has been contained. They are suppressed outside the line of defense. "The captain saluted the commander in front of him and said quickly," But those monsters show no signs of retreating, and there is no trace of discipline. They are in a state of complete madness. "
The commander nodded. "Continue to consolidate the eastern line of defense. No matter how many of them come, destroy them on the line of fire. We have enough supplies and personnel."
"Yes, sir."
The captain took the order and left. The commander took a look at the situation on the battlefield, then turned and walked to the command post.
A low humming sound came from the direction of the Gorgon River, and in the dying light of the signal flare, two terrifying energy beams that looked like rivers of light suddenly lit up. They pierced through the dusky sky, from west to east across the entire battlefield, and then solemnly swept across the plains filled with crystal cluster giants. Wherever the beam passed, the giants and rocks evaporated together, leaving only scorched earth on the ground.
Within the command center's barracks, the Weave terminal was humming as it operated, the projection displaying the image of the commander of the ground forces, Philip.
The commander stood in front of the terminal and saluted. His voice was loud and clear. "General, the defensive line of Highland No. 3 has been stabilized. The calibration beam has cleared the eastern and northern extension areas. We can set up the next stronghold."
"Maintain suppressive fire. The next advancing force will enter from the southwest in thirty minutes," Philip said calmly. "What's the situation with the crystal cluster giants over there?"
"Out of control, frenzied, almost irrational, but there are no signs of his strength weakening."
"So far, no Crystal Cluster Commanders have been found to maintain their sanity?"
"I didn't find anything."
"… Understood. Continue with the mission, Commander. "
"Roger."
In the command center of the main force, Philip came before Gwen, who was at the back copying the information. Before Philip could speak, Gwen had already looked up. "The Crystal Cluster Legion seems to be completely out of control."
Without waiting for Philip to ask, Gwen waved the paper in his hand. "Kamel sent a message from the Pompeii Laboratory. All the commander-class crystal cluster giants locked in the isolation cages of the laboratory went crazy at the same time. They can't all be subordinate units of the Red Maple node."
"Pompeii Laboratory?!" Philip was shocked. "Is everything okay over there?"
"With a fully-armed army and a Legendary-class ancient magus in charge, there's no way anything could go wrong. At present, all the monsters that had gone out of control have been destroyed, and the infected carriers that had been quarantined and treated have been safely evacuated, so there's no need to worry about that. Fortunately, those who merely carried the infection are not affected."
"The situation is very strange …" Philip said with a frown. "The appearance of those monsters is not the same as the loss of control caused by the collapse of the superior node …"
"That's right. If the loss of control caused by the collapse of the superior node, those crystal cluster giants would quickly weaken while losing their sanity. After an hour, they would be no different from ordinary beasts. But now, those out-of-control crystal cluster giants are only in a frenzy, and their strength has not declined." Gwen threw the document in his hand on the table and said solemnly, "They are not 'out of control', but a new, completely insane mind has become their highest node."
Philip felt a chill run down his spine. Gawain continued, "The only good news is that the crystal cluster giants haven't evolved in strength after going berserk. We can still maintain the defensive line and continue to push north. But on the other hand, the crystal cluster giants that have lost their organization have become even harder to restrain …"
Before Gwen could finish, the nearby air suddenly twisted, and Amber emerged from the air. The half-elf lady handed a copy of the message to Gwen. "It's an emergency from Maryland."
Gwen took the message and glanced at it. He looked up at Philip and said, "The situation is as I expected. Iron Throne Zero is fighting with the crystal cluster giants at the entrance of the Eastern Region. It is indeed the entire crystal cluster army that is out of control."
In the urgent message, Maryland reported the situation of the pass leading to the Eastern Region. Countless frenzied crystal cluster giants and low-level infected were blindly spreading around, and a considerable number of them had rushed to the blockade line set up by the Iron Throne. Maryland Knight had built up a defense line with armored trains, armed railways, and a large number of temporary walls, bunkers, and mountain bunkers. At present, he had blocked the entrance of the crystal cluster infected into the Eastern Region, and he was constantly increasing the defense force.
Relying on the combat power of the Iron Throne, coupled with the armed security forces of White Sands Mining, the Maryland knight should be able to control the local situation. He could even forcibly expand the defensive line to the west. The war technicians were building a railway under the cover of the artillery, expanding the range of the Iron Throne's activities to the Plains of the Holy Spirit. The Maryland knight's goal was to drive the Iron Throne into Thorin Castle through a "defensive push". This way, he could rely on the strong fortifications of Thorin Castle to build a new defensive line, gain a certain depth, and do his best to ensure the safety of the uncontaminated areas in the east.
It turned out that Gwen's initial judgment of Maryland was correct. This was a capable person. Although he was born into a traditional Ansu noble, he had the value of transformation. After being instilled with advanced knowledge, as well as coming into contact with the operations of the Cecil Army, Maryland's original military capabilities had received inspiration and been strengthened. He was proficient in exchanging defense for offense, and with the assistance of the armored train, this tactic was able to display its greatest value.
"Where is Sonia?" Gwen turned to look at Amber. "She should be back soon."
"Twenty minutes ago, when I contacted her, she was returning from Tulip Castle. It's about time …"
"I'm back." Before Amber's voice trailed off, a clear voice came from the door. Gwen looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the high-ranking messenger in light leather armor had appeared in front of him. "The north is full of frenzied monsters, and so is the east. What's worse is … after passing through Tulip Castle, there are also wandering crystal cluster infected in the west of the Gorgon River."
"So the pollution has crossed the river …" Gwen could not help but clench his fists. "How many?"
"It's hard to tell. I didn't dare to fly too far, but I saw the private army of the local noble organization fighting against a small group of crystal cluster monsters. There shouldn't be many enemies crossing the Gorgon River. After all, our fleet is still blocking the river, and most of the monsters that try to cross the river will be taken care of by the coastal defense line. Only the north … the army's frontline has not advanced there yet. There's a gap there."
Gwen could not help but frown, but he had to accept this situation.
In the original plan, he wanted to completely block the Gorgon River and seal the entrance to the east. This way, with the armored wall in the south and the Saint Sunil-Northern Mountain Range defense line in the north, he could completely seal the crystal cluster infection in the east of the Holy Spirit Plains. This way, everything would become controllable. However, no matter how perfect the plan was, there would always be accidents. From the beginning, he had mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario: the speed of the army going north might not be able to catch up with the speed of the crystal cluster's spread, and the pollution might cross the Gorgon River and enter the west of the Holy Spirit Plains.
Now, the situation was only developing in this expected direction.
However, this did not mean that everything would be out of control. While the crystal cluster infection was scary, a large-scale outbreak required relatively harsh conditions. Now, there was evidence to prove that the reason why the Everything Will Die Association was able to contaminate the entire Great Wood Road in a short period of time was because of a long period of preparation and a large-scale sacrificial ceremony. Without the help of these preparations and rituals, the speed of the crystal cluster infection would not exceed that of a normal disease.
As long as the scale of the pollution that invaded the west of the plains did not exceed a certain critical point, and as long as the local nobles did not give up resistance, the situation would not be out of control for the time being.
"Pass down my order. Tell Byron to hurry up and block the river in the north. Also, inform Sir Walter to transfer five thousand people from the 2nd Division north to help block the river and clean up the pollution on the west." Gwen looked at Amber and quickly ordered, "Also, is there still no way to contact the military intelligence in Saint Sunil City?"
Amber shook her head. "No. The secret relay station extending from Saint Sunil might have been destroyed, and the contact points and informants of the other routes have all disappeared, including those in the west."
"Maybe … I can challenge flying straight to Saint Sunil," Sonia suddenly said. "I can send the information of the reinforcements to the White Silver Fortress …"
"Are you going to fly all the way through the polluted area without stopping in between? Or are you going to take a detour from the western plains? " Gwen glanced at Sonia. "If you fly straight to Saint Sunil, you will have to maintain the highest altitude the entire time. Neither the people nor the giant eagle will be able to take it. Furthermore, there is no place for you to land and rest along the way. If you take a detour from the western plains, the distance will be two to three times longer. Plus the time for the giant eagle to rest in between, by the time you reach Saint Sunil, the Captical nobles might have already abandoned the city and fled."
They had to let the defenders of the Captical know of the existence of reinforcements. This was the consensus that Gwen and Victoria had reached last time. An army with no hope would not be able to defend the city, even if they had the strongest defense system in Ansu. However, the existence of reinforcements could greatly boost the courage of the defenders. This was especially useful in the kingdom's army that relied on pure manpower to fight and Knight to supervise the battle.
However, the sudden turn of events disrupted Gwen's plan. The Crystal Cluster army suddenly went berserk and started to move randomly in the entire plains. The enemy distribution and safe routes that they had painstakingly found were now useless, and the messengers sent to Saint Sunil would have to bear an even greater risk. On the other hand, the pressure that the berserk Crystal Cluster army put on Saint Sunil would increase drastically, and the chances of the Captical defenders abandoning the city and fleeing would also increase rapidly, leaving less time for the messengers.
However, Saint Sunil could not be lost.
At this time, a pleasant but slightly cold voice suddenly entered everyone's ears. "Ms. Sonia, is the mage tower in Tulip Castle still there?"
Gwen looked up and saw the Duchess of the North, Victoria Werde, standing at the door.
After a short moment of thought, Sonia nodded. "The castle is half destroyed, but the mage tower is still there."
"That tower is a high-powered communication tower," Victoria said. "Bring me there. With the tower's boost, I can contact the Silver Fortress."
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