Chapter 1322 - 1321: Spreading and Smoldering

Chapter 1322: Chapter 1321: Spreading and Smoldering

As anticipated by the Great Chieftain and the generals, the defense line on Wolf Spine Mountain still couldn’t hold back the tide of aberrations surging from the direction of the wasteland. When an overwhelming barrage of corrosive energy arrows and countless aberrant creatures fearing not the sword charged from the mountain pass towards the positions, even the bravest Highland Braves and Champion Warriors had no choice but to battle while retreating, giving up the defenses underfoot.

The tribe’s warriors were never lacking in courage or battle wisdom, but they didn’t have high-quality weapons, enough soldiers, or well-prepared positions—let alone reinforcements. Their only advantage was the terrain of Wolf Spine Mountain, which was easy to defend and hard to attack. But in the face of the enemy’s tireless nature and endless numbers, this sole advantage would soon be exhausted.

In fact, not only Morak and Camilla but many commanders in the tribal army had long known this situation would occur: several breaches had appeared in the great walls, resulting in constant pressure from the wasteland. The tribal warriors couldn’t intercept those monsters on the eastern slopes of the mountain barriers, therefore they couldn’t stop these increasingly numerous enemies elsewhere, unless the breaches towards the great walls were sealed. Otherwise, the outcome of this war was destined the day the mountain barriers fell.

Yet even so, the tribe’s warriors would still choose to continue fighting until the day of total annihilation — this obstinacy was etched in the bones of the beastmen. They were not a race that would be defeated by desperation; since ancient times, an unbeatable enemy wouldn’t make them bow their heads. They would only choose to die on the path of charge.

"This won’t be an end..."

The cold wind brought an acrid smell, and the tranquil Ruby Forest Sea seemed to sense this unsettling aura as well. The ancient towering trees around rustled in the wind, while Elder Beastman Morak led a skilled squad through the forest sea. He lifted his head, gazing into the gloomy shadows deep in the forest, listening to what seemed to be faint battle cries still echoing in the wind, and he muttered softly to himself.

The ancient forest wouldn’t respond to the Elder Beastman’s murmurs. Only the subtle sound of leaves stirred by the wind and the rustle of falling snow echoed between the trees. At this moment, the morning sun had risen; its rays scattered through gaps between the tree crowns, casting light on the forest clearing. Under the ethereal radiance, beneath the thick snow and soft soil, whirlwinds were silently gathering, almost beyond the perception of the naked eye.

The warriors sensed the scrutinizing gaze carried by the air, and Morak gently waved his hand, causing the soldiers following him to stop at once. He then looked towards the end of the forest clearing, his gaze falling on a peculiarly shaped boulder.

The boulder stood abruptly amidst a circle of smaller stones, with its irregular surface carved with dark red fine patterns. Several rugged natural crystals were embedded atop the stone, resembling strange eyes—Morak observed this stone, until an invisible wind swept up snow and dead leaves, obscuring his view. Gradually, the wind died down, and several figures appeared within the "Stone Circle."

They were draped in thick cloaks, their entire bodies, including faces, hidden beneath the cloaks. The cloak surfaces occasionally fluttered slightly, as if beneath the clothing wasn’t flesh and blood, but a mass of shapeless smoke and dust. These figures held weapons in their hands that appeared decayed, fragile, seeming ready to shatter at any touch. Cracks on the weapon surfaces glowed with a pale blue light—an aura of cold death flowing from within.

"Forest Guardians," Morak stepped forward from the silent warriors, calmly looking at those "human" shadows cloaked entirely in cloaks, "I speak with you on behalf of the Great Chieftain."

"We know the purpose of your visit, the warlocks have informed us of the battles in the east," one of the figures spoke, the voice sounding unlike that from a flesh and blood body, instead akin to a distorted resonance emitted solely through air vibrations, "Useless... didn’t expect you all to falter so quickly."

Morak’s nostrils flared slightly, but his expression remained calm: "Soon enough, you will realize the potency of that ’tide.’"

"Perhaps, but we don’t care about that," the leader of the Forest Guardians seemed to chuckle, yet Morak and the warriors heard only hollow wind, "We only care about the terms promised by your ’Great Chieftain’... We ignite the Ruby Forest Sea, she grants us a dying path, that’s the entire deal... Is my understanding incorrect?"

Morak silently regarded the figures within the Stone Circle, while in the shadowy corners of his vision, further into the forest depths, more gazes and indistinct silhouettes observed this way—they were the "Forest Guardians" of the Ruby Forest Sea, a group vanquished by the beastmen and driven into this Magic Forest in a war a thousand years ago, cursed by oath to be eternally trapped neither alive nor dead, an existence scarcely known to the outside world.

They were neither undead nor alive, their plight granted by this land and yet abandoned by it—they were the former masters of the beastmen millennia ago.

However, their rule had been overthrown by their slaves a thousand years ago, and now remaining here only are the "cursed ones," with their memories of past times almost forgotten.

The ancient and wild land of Augari, in this era, might not be as "advanced" or "civilized" as other countries in the world, yet within this enigmatic soil, countless ancient secrets lie that would baffle outsiders; everything within the Ruby Forest Sea is merely an insignificant wave in the long history of this land—and now, this wave has come to completely settle.

Morak retrieved the Beast Fang Pendant from his pouch, presenting it to the leader of the Forest Guardians: "The Great Chieftain’s promise is as unquestionable as the mountains — this signifies your final debt to the mortal world. The warlocks have already infused the contract into it, and I will leave it here. When the fires rage across the Ruby Forest Sea, this thousand-year entanglement will end."

In the dim forest, numerous gazes instantly fixated on the Beast Fang Pendant. Morak could feel the nearly tangible longing and intensity in those gazes, a pressure that made even a veteran like him feel the fur on his body slightly prickle, but he maintained his unhurried demeanor, calmly stepping forward to place the pendant on one of the stones at the edge of the "Stone Circle."

The leader of the Forest Guardians moved almost immediately, drifting through meters of distance like dust and smoke, reaching out an arm composed of ashes and smoke to touch the pendant. However, before his fingers could make contact with the pendant’s surface, a burst of cerulean flames erupted from his fingertips, forcing him to retreat swiftly and frantically extinguish the fire.

"The contract is not yet complete, you cannot touch it," Morak seemed to have anticipated this outcome, casually informing this Forest Guardian, "And you don’t need to touch it—once the forest sea begins to burn, it will naturally return to dust."

The leader of the Forest Guardians silently "drifted" back to his starting position, and within the darkness beneath the hood, it seemed as though two cold gazes landed on Morak. A moment later, a hollow voice emerged from the shadow under the dark hood: "Hope you’re truly prepared... when the Ruby Forest Sea is set ablaze, there’ll be no retreat left for you."

"Our ancestors had no retreat when they decided to launch the counterattack a thousand years ago," Morak replied calmly, "We’ve grown accustomed to it."

...

The grand army spread across the mountains, the resistance power of the civilized world resembling a flickering candle in the storm, swaying a few times in the darkness before extinguishing one by one. Those mortals outside the wasteland, long accustomed to peace, and their ridiculous "mountain defenses" appear like castles on sand before a real army, collapsing silently no matter how ornate they look.

Deep within the surge of aberrations of the western legion, numerous high-level aberrations and synthetic "monsters" cluster around their command node. A dark Treant druid, with skin the color of decayed yellow and a treetop resembling a frightening brain structure, climbed onto a mountain rock corroded into a purple-black hue by chaotic energy. He stretched his branches in the icy wind, dark brown eyes rotating behind layers of tree bark, looking towards the sunlit hillside.

The line of mortals’ defenses lay over there, occupying the high ground of the mountain, still resisting stubbornly. However, from the elevated position, their firepower meant little to the now well-established legion of aberrations—assembled from the wasteland, the army moving like a black tide against the mountain, advancing persistently, having already established fire points using the terrain on both flanks. The exhausted beastmen and their elf allies cast magic and burning boulders, which only raised minor, insignificant waves within the "tide", now visibly weakening.

To the north of this line, another army had successfully breached the weak forces guarding the narrow passageway, soon to bypass the mountain range through this breakthrough, heading directly towards the so-called "Sacred Forest Sea".

"Bertrum is a useless fool... but at least his failure has provided us with valuable experience," remarked the dark priest commanding the western army to the priest beside him, "Now we have identified the weakest point in the mortals’ defenses. Destroying this ancient and frail kingdom will greatly impact their laughable ’alliance’."

"As you said, High Priest Maselus," the junior priest nodded, shaking his dry branches, "But we must also be wary of the tricks these cunning ’mountain tribes’ may pull. Their resistance is incredibly strong, even after being driven here, showing no sign of collapse. I fear they still have..."

"Their tenacious will is the only commendable trait, yet it cannot alter destiny—we are their destiny," the dark priest Maselus laughed, a dry, harsh sound, "We have intercepted the entire western battlefield, from the great walls to these mountains, our army is widespread. Should the mountain folk desire to summon reinforcements and launch encirclement tactics, they could never penetrate through. As for aid from Augari’s inland... huh."

He snorted disdainfully.

"That land is covered in mountains, jungles, and rivers, making it impossible for reinforcements from other allied countries—even if such reinforcements existed, they couldn’t possibly reach the front lines quickly, unless their entire army flew over!"

Maselus spoke, turning to glance at the junior priests awaiting orders and the large aberration units controlled by priests. Among this silent group, the most noticeable were the "cargoes" they carried.

Those were large cubes neatly placed on the ground—unactivated control nodes of the Deep Blue Webway.

"Rather than worry about those uncivilized beastmen on the brink, we should focus on the next steps... destroying a weak ancient kingdom is not our true mission," Maselus slowly said, "Where is the next deployment point?"

"An ancient city called Ruby City—if it still bears that name," the junior priest quickly replied, "Deep beneath the city lies a hidden rift, unknown to the locals, who simply regard the magic-pervasive environment near the rift as ’the gift from ancestors’. We need to blast open the city’s center and drop the Rune Stones inside."

"Good, Ruby City—next it’s Holy Helm City and their ’Ancestral Peak’," Maselus’ gloomy gaze swept over those dormant Rune Stone cubes, "They will surely defend their so-called ’Holy Mountain’ fiercely, yet we must acquire this node. Executing the grand plan to this day, much of the Deep Blue Rift usable in the wasteland has been completed, yet overall progress falls to nearly half... those damned sea demons."

"Indeed, those damned sea demons... If not for their sudden disruption, we wouldn’t have needed to seize the Deep Blue node of Ancestral Peak," the junior priest agreed, then turned his roots towards the combat-engaged mountain ridge—under the gradually rising sunlight, the tribal country of Augari and the flag of Great Chieftain Camilla still fluttered high, but the blood and bodies around them continued accumulating.

Destroying those mountain tribes’ defenses is just a matter of time.

...

A low, pleasant hum resonated from the depths of this Steel Ground, while the cold winds in the sky were blocked and filtered by the energy shields covering the fortress, leaving only gentle breezes blowing on the deck. The mountains and valleys moved slowly on the distant ground, with clouds within arm’s reach, even allowing passage through them at times—certainly an unparalleled experience for Rebecca.

Although Dragon Cavalry can also fly in the skies, aside from those Dragonborn pilots skilled in extreme maneuvers, humans cannot experience such "vastness" when riding Dragon Cavalry—opening the hatch at high altitude could be deadly.

Rebecca walked on the extraordinarily wide deck of the Dawn of the mortal world, inhaling deeply the fresh, brisk air, feeling invigorated, as she heard the voice of the Main Brain of the Dawn of the mortal world emanating from a nearby speaker: "Good morning, Creator—I hope you had a good night’s sleep."

"Actually, I hardly slept at all—couldn’t sleep, but it’s not a problem," Rebecca waved her hand, speaking casually while heading toward a large platform at the deck’s edge, "How about you? First flight experience?"

"Status is stable, all systems normal," replied the Main Brain promptly, "My virtual persona judges this as a ’pleasant’ experience."

"That’s good, maintain that state—then we’ll give those monsters a huge surprise!"