Chapter 1593 - 104: Tombstone

When the first ray of morning sunlight pierced the clouds and fell upon the vast green fields of the Wind Source Highlands, within Wind’s Breath Castle, Bologue and the others were already fully armed, awaiting the hour of advance.

"Then we follow Holt’s proposal: Holt and Fuen will jointly hold the Fortress of the Morning Wind, drawing the main offensive of the Rebellious Royal Court."

Bologue reiterated the conclusion reached after a night of discussion: all members of the fourth squad, as well as part of the fifth, would remain at the Fortress of the Morning Wind to coordinate with the coming course of battle.

"The request for reinforcement has already been sent back to the Order Bureau. Follow-up units will arrive here soon to strengthen the defensive line of the Fortress of the Morning Wind," Holt continued. "That way, even if the Rebellious Royal Court empties its nest, we can still ensure that the Fortress of the Morning Wind remains standing."

After careful data analysis, Bologue suspected that there was a certain distance limit to the Curved Pathway Rifts the Throat of the Abyss could freely open.

Though both opened Curved Paths, the power of the Throat of the Abyss and that of the Curved Path Gate were fundamentally different.

The Throat of the Abyss could ignore the constraints of reality and freely tear open Curved Paths, moving and flickering like a fish, shuttling wherever it pleased.

The establishment of a Curved Path Gate, however, required consuming massive resources and a point?to?point construction on both ends. Once complete, its Curved Path Shuttling was likewise bound by the limitation of fixed positions, losing a great degree of freedom, but in exchange the Curved Path Gate gained the capacity for long?distance transfer.

"My estimation is that the farthest distance the Throat of the Abyss can tear is exactly this stretch from the Angry Sea to the Fortress of the Morning Wind, and the area surrounding the Fortress of the Morning Wind lies entirely within the Clarks’ alert perimeter... more precisely, the entire Wind Source Highlands are under harsh control.

If the Rebellious Royal Court doesn’t first destroy the Fortress of the Morning Wind, then the moment they show themselves in any other area, they will immediately be struck by the Clarks’ swift assault. This has resulted in them being fundamentally unable to launch large?scale operations from within the Land of Eternal Night toward the outside world."

Listening to Bologue’s words, Fuen looked at the defensive line where several pieces were piled on the map, and lightly pushed a few over with his hand. "The Fortress of the Morning Wind is like a nail, pinning the Land of Eternal Night firmly in place here."

"The Rebellious Royal Court is, of course, well aware of this, so previously they only acted on a small scale, scattering themselves into the mortal world by this slow, hidden method, trying to establish a second base outside the Land of Eternal Night. Fortunately, the Order Bureau reacted quickly. Over this period, they’ve pretty much wiped those out."

Thinking of this, Bologue couldn’t help recalling his days of frantic overtime. Just as described in the board game Journey of the Absolute Night, he boarded a train, and every time he reached a town infested with the Night Race, he began a great slaughter, then immediately returned to the train to head for the next town.

"Which brings us to the question: even the movement of small detachments would still be detected by the Fortress of the Morning Wind, so how did they leave the Land of Eternal Night?"

Hinda looked at Fuen, her face full of doubt. In those days, not only was Bologue working himself to the bone, the fifth squad and the Hunter’s Bow hadn’t had it any easier. As bounty hunters officially employed by the Order Bureau, their wanted lists had shifted from one Condenser after another to page upon page of Night Race targets, racing across the breadth of the land, day and night.

Knowing all this, Hinda couldn’t help suspecting that it was precisely Fuen’s negligence that led to the Night Race’s rampant spread.

"This has nothing to do with the Fortress of the Morning Wind, but with the Regent King."

At this moment Holt spoke up. "The Regent King’s Secret Energy can drag others into another Mirror Image Space, thereby severing all connection with the real world."

Holt recalled his own clash with the Regent King. He rarely lost, but that encounter had been an undoubted rout. "At first I thought his Secret Energy merely forced his opponent out of their environment, making it a one?on?one duel. Looking back now, the power of his Secret Energy clearly does not stop there."

"Hiding in a Mirror Image Space, bypassing all sorts of defenses in the real world, silently infiltrating into the depths of a tightly fortified citadel," Bologue picked up Holt’s words; he too had crossed blades with the Regent King. "Moreover, we can’t even be sure the Regent King’s Secret Energy can only capture a single person... what if he can capture multiple beings?"

Bologue glanced at Holt with a trace of tension. "Simultaneously seizing several targets until he reaches the upper limit of his Secret Energy, then moving with that group through the Mirror Image Space, thereby circumnavigating all defenses arising from the real world."

Holt nodded with a grave expression, his gaze falling between the map and the pieces. "If our deduction is correct, then it is precisely by relying on this method that the Regent King calmly evaded the Fortress of the Morning Wind’s Mirror Realm, ignored the Angry Sea’s natural barrier, and strode openly into the Land of Eternal Night."

From the development of the Alchemy Matrix to the present, all manner of Secret Energy have emerged, grotesque and innumerable: some lean toward absolute Power of Destruction; others possess extremely complex properties, thereby exhibiting formidable functionality in certain critical domains.

Holt’s and the Regent King’s Secret Energy both incline toward special functionality, whereas Nesanel’s is pure destruction... the tendency of a Secret Energy is in fact related to the experiences of its wielder and the era’s environment in which they live.

When Nesanel rose to prominence, the King’s Secret Sword and the Order Bureau jointly administered Oubos, maintaining an extreme cold war between them. Both sides sought ways to annihilate the other; thus Nesanel’s power took the path of the Power of Burning.

After the secret war ended, Holt began his watch over the Abandoned Land. In order to better fulfill his duty, his subsequent promotions gradually tilted his Secret Energy toward functionality, so he could better suppress the Beast of the Herd.