Chapter 1320 - 1319: Urgency

Chapter 1320: Chapter 1319: Urgency

Upon hearing Camilla’s words, Morak couldn’t help but fall into contemplation. The orc general known as the Champion Warrior sighed softly, "A clever beast won’t willingly tread a path with no retreat—over the years, we’ve been too reliant on the false ’sense of security’ brought by the great walls and mountain barriers..."

"Yes," Camilla tugged at the corner of her mouth, "But actually, Venna and Studeer realized it two years ago—the only pity is that we woke up too late. The monsters in the wasteland won’t obediently cooperate with us to reconstruct the defensive line... hsss."

Morak immediately grew tense: "Do you need a physician?"

"No need, I’m not that fragile," Camilla waved her hand and then propped herself up on the edge of the bed and got to her feet, "Alright, the time for fragile lamentations is over. I should go do what I’m supposed to. Morak, bring me my armor."

Morak looked at Camilla, who seemed ready to leave the tent at once, and was so shocked that the fur on his head stood on end: "Great Chieftain? Your body is not..."

"Can I just lie on this bed until I recover? We’re at war now, my general," Camilla glanced at her most trusted subordinate, "The warriors need to see their leader now. I also need to see the battlefield firsthand—lamenting is all well and good, but simply lying on a bed and lamenting won’t drive the monsters invading the forest back to the wasteland."

The winter night in the mountains felt exceptionally cold. Leaving the tent, Camilla shivered violently in the night wind. As a Big Cat, she suddenly missed the warm hearth and thick wool mats in Ruby City, but these fragile emotions didn’t linger in her mind for more than a second. She quickly revitalized herself in the wind and began patrolling the spine of the mountain with Morak.

At the distant end of the night sky, a faint glow illuminated the dim horizon, but that glow was not the dawn that was still more than an hour away. It came from the magnificent walls at the edge of the wasteland.

Compared to how Camilla remembered it, the glow from the horizon seemed much dimmer and flickered intermittently, a state that caused great unease.

"There are still breaches on the great walls..." Morak also looked up toward where Camilla was gazing, a solemn expression appeared on his face, "Before evacuating from the mountain barrier, our scouts confirmed that the sentinel towers at the wasteland border were rebooting, but those monsters had clearly damaged the integrity of the entire great wall. We can’t approach that barrier to confirm the details now, but judging by the naked eye alone... there are several large holes, and monsters are pouring out from those holes continually."

Camilla remained silent, simply retracting her gaze to silently watch the camps and towns at the foot of the mountain still ablaze, each flame representing a brutal bloody battle and an attempt to delay the enemy with fire—fire was effective, but in the face of the enemy’s overwhelming numbers and the lack of personnel on their side, the defensive line continued to retreat.

She turned back, looking toward Ruby City. The distant orc city was, of course, still out of sight. Even with her good eyesight, she could at most see the stretch of the "Ruby Forest Sea" that lay between Ruby City and Wolf Spine Mountain from here.

In the winter night, that lush ancient forest lay quietly under the starlight. Though this place wasn’t as cold as the northern continent, in this deep winter season, many parts of the forest were still covered with snow. The white snow dotted on the black background, and when the mountain wind blew, there would be a fine rustling sound carried by the night—a serene and peaceful scene that could almost make one temporarily forget the harsh reality on the other side of the mountains and the ongoing war.

If not for the current situation, Camilla should have been enjoying the pleasures of hunting in that dense forest. The winter Ruby Forest Sea had always been her second favorite place—like many Augari, her first favorite place was, of course, the summer Ancestral Peak.

"If the monsters cross Wolf Spine Mountain, their next target will undoubtedly be the Ruby Forest Sea..." Morak’s voice came from the side, low and hoarse, "The Forest Guardians’ numbers may not be enough to intercept the monsters crossing the mountains... and from past experience, the forest itself has limited ability to hinder those monsters. Once the Forest Guardians are breached, next will be Ruby City..."

The old orc shook his head, the "war patterns" formed by black fur near his cheeks and neck trembling slightly with his muscles’ contraction. He suppressed his emotions, but there was still undisguised anger and sorrow in his voice: "The mountains and forest are gifts from our ancestors, and now those unrestrained freaks are wantonly trampling on our homeland..."

"Great Chieftain... General..." A somewhat nervous voice came from the side. A patrolling soldier happened to pass by, and the young orc warrior carefully spoke, "Will the spirits in Ruby Forest Sea continue to protect our Ruby City?"

Camilla glanced at the young warrior, her sharp eyes softened slightly, but her raspy voice carried an indisputable tone: "We will protect ourselves."

"Do your duty, soldier." General Morak said sternly on the side.

The orc soldier left, while Morak looked at his Great Chieftain with a hint of apology: "Apologies, Great Chieftain, young warriors can often be too rash..."

"I was once just as rash—we have all been rash," Camilla gently shook her head, then seemed to fall into thought. Her pale gold, feline-like eyes calmed down; a restrained gaze appeared to be surging with intense ideological conflict. Seeing this, Morak remained silent, standing quietly beside the forest guardian. The sharp odor drifting from afar stimulated his nostrils, mixed with the unique stench of the aberrant monsters, causing the old orc to unconsciously twitch his nostrils.

"Those monsters are starting to gather again, they’re looking for a way up the mountain," Morak said, frowning, "The traps we’ve set up on the slopes can only slightly delay their assault. A fierce battle is likely to break out at dawn. Great Chieftain, you are not yet healed, it’s best..."

"General Morak," Camilla interrupted the old orc, "these monsters fear fire, don’t they?"

"...Strictly speaking, they are more resistant to fire than forest beasts, but most of them are flesh and blood, which means if there is a fire large enough, they too could be burned alive," Morak nodded, "Moreover, although their primary senses aren’t visual but through ’Magi-sight,’ the heat and elemental agitation caused by fire can still greatly affect their judgment. We’ve seen those monsters fall into chaos amidst the flames firsthand..."

Camilla pondered, then turned toward the direction of the Ruby Forest Sea and after a long silence suddenly said, "Can we contact the Forest Guardians now?"

"Yes, though there’s still battlefield interference, we’re not far from the Forest Guardians and the warlocks can still reach them," Morak instantly replied but then immediately noticed something from Camilla’s demeanor, "Wait, Great Chieftain, what do you mean by..."

"Inform the leader of the Forest Guardians that their millennium pact with the world of the living is coming to an end—starting with fire, ending with fire," Camilla spoke slowly, reaching out to pull down a Beast Fang Pendant hanging around her neck, "Take this; it’s the final debt between the Forest Guardians and the world of the living. The line of defense on the ridge is surely untenable, but we must delay as long as possible. Once those monsters invade the Ruby Forest Sea, take this ’debt’ and find the ghost commanding the Forest Guardians... have him set the entire forest aflame.

"When the great fire burns, all contracts are nullified."

Morak hesitated as he accepted the pendant handed over by Camilla. He recalled that ancient legend, the tale of the beastmen ancestors who waged a blood war against another ruling race on this land, and the origin of the Forest Guardians Troop in the Ruby Forest Sea. It was said that in the Ancient Era, it was not the beastmen who dominated this land, but another, even more powerful race. It was said that this powerful race eventually declined and was overthrown and replaced by their former slaves. It was said that the remnants of this powerful race were driven into the forests, and in order to survive, they willingly signed a millennium contract with the world of the living, becoming a troop that eternally guards the dense woods, unable to leave even a step...

Ignorant outsiders and the shallow-minded forest dwellers could not distinguish between legends and real history, sometimes even reversing certain details in the legends, but Highland Braves and Champion Warriors must understand the history while maintaining their personal bravery. Morak knew that the ancient legends were all backed by evidence, and the "souls" protecting the Ruby Forest Sea indeed existed.

Those souls have longed for freedom for a full millennium... But is it really wise to free them now? Moreover, it would come at the cost of the entire Ruby Forest Sea...

Noticing the old beastman’s hesitation, Camilla was not particularly surprised. She simply shook her head lightly and raised her hand to point in the direction of the Gondor wasteland, "Do you know what that place is?"

Morak was somewhat confused, "Of course, that’s the Gondor wasteland."

"No, that will be our future—if we continue hesitating like this," Camilla said coldly. "Losing the Forest Guardians Troop, we can rebuild a new order; losing the Ruby Forest Sea, we can plant a new forest; even if we lose the Ruby City, we have the chance to make a comeback. But if we only keep retreating with an indecisive attitude in the face of an army determined to destroy us, then what remains on this land will be nothing but wasteland corroded by chaotic energy. Morak, burn the Ruby Forest Sea, incinerating the main force of those aberrations within it, even if it’s temporary. At least the corruption of this land will be postponed a bit, and as long as we can buy a little more time..."

She paused suddenly for several seconds but quickly continued, "We aren’t fighting alone, Morak. Our allies might really just need us to buy them one or two days of time."

The hesitation in Morak’s eyes finally gradually faded. Meeting Camilla’s gaze, the war markings near his face and neck seemed to glimmer with a bloody sheen in the darkness, "I understand, everything as you wish."

Camilla nodded lightly, seemingly relieved from a heavy burden, and couldn’t help but exhale deeply. She then looked towards the northern parts of the defensive line in the dark, "I wonder how things are on the side of Moss Woods... whether they know our situation here..."

"The Cecil Clan is better prepared for this war than we are. As long as their defensive line stands firm, those creatures won’t be able to invade Moss Woods," Morak said. "But now our communication with the northern parts has been cut off, and several batches of messengers sent out have disappeared, and even communications with Holy Helm City are severed, making it really hard to get intelligence across... Just hope that Chief Venna can make an accurate and timely judgment."

"Venna is a sharp person; she should know what to do at such times," Camilla said. "What we need to do now is to hold on as much as possible."

Morak nodded in the darkness and gently flared his nostrils—carried by the cold mountain wind on a winter night, the foul odor grew strong once again.

...

South of Moss Woods, on the small triangular plain leading to the Central Augari Region, the flag of the Cecil Empire was fluttering over a temporary camp. Well-equipped expeditionary warriors were preparing vehicles and supplies to enter the southern mountain range where communication had been cut off.

But before the ground troops could depart, the most basic reconnaissance work had to be completed.

Amidst the low, droning sound, two Dragon Cavalry Fighters soared into the sky from behind the camp, shattering the stillness of the night sky, flying swiftly over mountain passes like two ghostly figures toward distant forests.

Meanwhile, in the ground command post, Baldwin Franklin, Duke of the West and one of the Empire’s three Grand Governors, stood with a solemn face by the tactical table, listening to the crackling interference noise coming from the communication equipment. The overhead projection from the Magic Web Terminal showed severely distorted images, almost impossible to discern.

"We still can’t contact the two central hubs set at the Ancestral Peak and Holy Helm City—those are the largest transmission stations within the Augari Domain," said the Technical Sergeant responsible for operating the communication equipment, shaking his head with concern to the Grand Governor who had personally come to the front line. "Additionally, the several secondary relay stations closest to here have shown no feedback signals. Could they have already..."

"Don’t scare yourself," Baldwin said with a dour face, shaking his head. "Even if those creatures were to drive straight in without obstruction, it would take them a great deal of effort to climb over the eastern border mountains of the Augari Domain. Let alone now, attacking into Holy Helm City—it’s just interference. Keep calling; once the interference decreases, perhaps we’ll receive a signal."

"Yes, sir."

Baldwin Franklin nodded, and immediately, the guard’s announcement came from the camp entrance, "Gray Elf leader Miss Venna is visiting."

Baldwin was momentarily surprised and quickly nodded, "Please let her in."

The camp door was opened, and a petite lady, no larger than a child, walked into the room. She saw the Grand Governor standing by the tactical table, her expression somewhat startled.

"Duke Baldwin... I didn’t expect it would be you personally arriving."

"The situation is critical; His Majesty ordered me to personally come to support. I have brought the mobile troops of the Cecil Western Military District," Baldwin nodded and said, "In addition, there’s also a reinforcement—they will arrive soon."