Chapter 637: Domain Of The Condemned

She pointed at the storage areas on the map.

"But the defensive equipment needs to be moved away from unstable areas, I also suggest keeping some essential supplies at the second location, if the ground beneath the main storage area breaks apart, we shouldn’t lose everything at once."

"We’ll create two separate storage locations." Alaric agreed after a few seconds.

Myra nodded.

Lian looked at her for a moment, she really didn’t seem like someone who made decisions based on emotions, and this trait was valuable in the current situation.

Alaric pointed at another part of the map.

"Now, the missing Chosen Ones... Of the four who haven’t returned yet, we have the approximate locations of two, the latest reports show that they were moving toward safer routes."

"What about the other two?" Rindo asked.

"We still haven’t received any confirmed information."

Noah frowned.

"Then we should send a rescue team."

"The routes are unstable, more people might get trapped." One of the officers disagreed.

Noah looked at him.

"But if we wait, there might not be another chance to save them."

"Both concerns are valid, we need to determine their possible locations first." Alaric raised his hand.

Mathieu, who had been silent until then, stepped closer.

"If we also have the time of their last communication, we can use their movement speed and the routes they can travel through to identify several possible areas."

He pointed at the map with his finger.

"Of course, that’s assuming the ground is still the same as it is on the map."

He gave a short smile.

"Which, unfortunately, it isn’t."

"Prepare the information." Alaric agreed.

At the same time, Lian pointed at several red markers on the map.

"Commander, I want the locations of the new cracks, the direction of the underground mana flow, and the movements of the Withered to be marked on the same map."

"All three?" One of the officers asked.

"Yeah. They might be connected, today, during the Judgment, I saw some of the Judgment energy enter the ground, and I had seen similar downward flows in other places."

Then he pointed at the cracks.

"Some of the cracks also follow clear paths, if these flows are connected, we might be able to figure out which areas will change first."

"I also noticed that the direction in which some cracks spread isn’t random." Rindo nodded.

"And the Withered?" Alaric asked.

"They appeared almost at the same time the Sun awakened, I want to know whether their movements are random or not."

"So you want to put three sets of incomplete information together and see if anything comes out of it." Mathieu smiled.

"Exactly."

"It’s not a bad method, there might be an important factor we haven’t noticed yet."

"Assuming there really is a connection." Myra said without taking her eyes off the map.

Lian gave a slight smile.

"That’s why we need to investigate it."

Alaric finally ordered the information to be recorded on a shared map.

"But no one is sending troops into a dangerous area based on an unconfirmed pattern."

"I agree." Lian nodded.

He still did not know what was hidden deep inside the land, but at least now he could gather the information needed to investigate it.

After the meeting, Myra went to check the transfer of supplies, and Mathieu returned to the medical area.

Rindo also began organizing the route reports.

Lian remained beside the map for a while, only two days had passed since they entered.

He had increased his level and learned new ways to use the Corrupt Sun’s power, but he still did not know the true purpose of that massive structure.

"At least now I know what I need to look for."

Then he left the building, the second night was quieter than most people had expected, but quiet did not mean safe.

Red molten light could still be seen through the distant cracks, and sometimes the sound of shifting rocks echoed across the plains.

However, the direct attacks from the Withered on the base had decreased.

As he passed one of the watchtowers, he saw Noah sitting on the wooden platform, his war umbrella was beside him, and he was looking at the Hollow Sun.

When he saw Lian, he smiled.

"Haven’t you rested yet?"

"Later."

"I think I’ve heard you give that answer several times since yesterday." Noah laughed.

"We still have work to do."

Lian stood beside the platform’s railing.

"You know, when I first met you at Base #3, I thought you would be a very different person." They both remained silent for a while before the young Frenchman spoke.

"What kind of person?"

"Maybe someone more arrogant, someone who thinks he doesn’t need to work with others just because he comes from a great family."

"Did I disappoint you?" The corner of Lian’s mouth rose.

Noah laughed.

"Not exactly. I just didn’t expect someone as powerful as you to spend so much time defending an emergency base."

"Why?"

"Because even if this base is destroyed, you could probably still survive on your own."

Lian thought for a moment.

"Maybe." In fact, this was a reasonable argument, he did not want to be arrogant, but he had no doubt that even if every human in the Land Of First Dawn was killed, he could survive on his own.

In fact, he could also leave this place whenever he wanted.

He opened the system panel and clicked on the ability.

[Do you wish to leave the Ruined Realm?]

Without hesitation, he clicked Yes, even if he left, he could return whenever he wanted, and this way, he could inform the Federation and the Academy about what had happened to them.

[Exit permission denied]

[Exit permission denied]

[Exit permission denied]

[Leaving the Domain Of The Condemned is impossible without being cleared of all charges]

????????

Lian frowned deeply, this was the first time something like this had happened, and he had no idea what it meant, he tried several more times, but the result did not change.

Cleared of all charges?

He looked at the Hollow Sun, did this mean that he could not leave until the Sun declared them innocent?

And the Domain Of The Condemned? The system had called this place the Domain Of The Condemned?

’Now that I think about it, the Land Of First Dawn is a name the Awakened gave this place, so is this its real name?’

And as far as he could remember, the Sun had also listed entering the Domain Of The Condemned as one of Amélie’s crimes.

Whatever the reason was, it seemed he had to make new plans from the beginning.

"Is something wrong?" Noah asked when he noticed Lian’s long silence.

"No." Lian shook his head and continued their conversation.

"This base has resources, equipment, and people who can be useful to me, Alaric has command experience, Rindo can investigate the routes, and the others are gathering information that I can’t obtain on my own."

He looked at the golden wall on the horizon.

"If the base is destroyed, my own situation will also get worse. So protecting it is the more logical choice."

"That was a very calculating answer." Noah smiled.

"I prefer my decisions to have a reason." The young Vorhelm shrugged.

"I think that’s what helps you make fewer mistakes in difficult situations."

"Not always."

"Well, at least you know that yourself." The young Frenchman laughed.

Then he looked at the Sun.

"To be honest, I’ve always tried to get to know more people."

"I noticed."

"Is it that obvious?"

"You’ve talked to almost everyone at the base."

Noah smiled.

"I think when you get to know someone, it becomes harder to see them as just a name on a report."

His tone became a little calmer.

"I’ve known some of the people here since the first morning, now I know they have families, they’ve just started their jobs, or they only wanted to work here for a few days and then return home."

His gaze moved toward the medical area.

"That makes me not want to see their names added to the casualty report."

Lian looked at him for a moment, at least from what he showed, Noah seemed to truly value getting to know others.

"Then we’d better help keep fewer names off that report."

"Yeah. Exactly." The young Frenchman gave a warmer smile.

A while later, Ed stood up and picked up his umbrella.

But just as he was about to place it over his shoulder, his free hand briefly moved toward his side.

It was a quick, unconscious movement, as if he wanted to draw another weapon from that spot, but his hand stopped before reaching it, and he placed the folded umbrella over his shoulder.

Lian noticed the movement.

That habit again.

Ever since their encounter with the Black Vultures, he had noticed that some of Noah’s movements did not fully match the way he used his umbrella.

On the other hand, the young Frenchman’s skill with that weapon was truly impressive, perhaps his fighting style had been formed by combining several different methods.

Such a thing was not unusual among talented Awakened.

Lian put the matter aside.

"Are you going to rest?"

"Probably. But first, I want to check on a few people in the support section, anyway, you should get some rest too."

"Later."

"That same answer again."

Then he went down from the platform.

Lian watched him leave for a moment, over these two days, Noah had proven that his presence could be useful to the group.

More importantly, working with him had gradually become more natural.

A while later, he also returned to the command building, Rindo was still examining the map, and several new lines had been drawn in the western and northern sections.

"Did you find anything?"

"Maybe." Rindo raised his head, then pointed at one of the routes.

"Several groups of Withered were spotted in different areas since this morning, most of them didn’t attack the humans, they were just moving."

"In which direction?"

Rindo traced the lines with his finger.

"This group moved from north to south, that one moved from west to east."

Then he pointed at the third marker.

"But when I extend their paths, their overall directions start to look similar."

Lian examined the map, the lines started from different points, but many of them gradually moved closer to the same area.

"Do you also have the information about the new cracks?"

"Yeah."

"Add them."

Rindo marked several red locations.

The young Vorhelm examined the map for a few seconds.

Interesting.

Most groups of Withered were not simply following the nearest crack, some had even passed open cracks and continued moving without entering them.

So they’re not just looking for a way back underground.

If this pattern continued, many of their routes would lead toward a common area.

The center and deepest point of the Land Of First Dawn.

Of course, the central area had not been fully mapped yet, but the way the creatures’ paths were coming together could not be ignored.

"When did these movements begin?"

"Most reports came in after the second Judgment."

After the second Judgment...

Had the execution of the sentences changed the Withered’s behavior? Or had something else happened at the same time as the Judgment?

It was still unclear.

But one thing was clear, the Withered were moving with a purpose.

"Looks like we’ve finally found a route worth investigating."