Chapter 1323 - 1322: Burning Ruby Forest

Chapter 1323: Chapter 1322: Burning Ruby Forest

The control center of the Dawn of the Mortal World, the reinforced dome opened slowly under the mechanical device’s propulsion, and the brilliant sunlight filtered through the barrier into soft rays, illuminating the entire hall. A low hum resonated throughout the control center, occasionally accompanied by alert sounds from various control systems. Large and small holographic projections floated above the control consoles, while the largest set of holographic images floated in front of the "Main Brain" tank in the center of the hall.

On it, the vast landscapes of the tribal country of Augari were clearly displayed, a real-time shared surveillance feed from the main visual neural system of the Dawn of the Mortal World’s Main Brain.

Rebecca walked into the control center, and the technical sergeants and commanders of all levels immediately saluted and paid their respects to this "Chief Technology Officer" and "Captain of the Dawn of the Mortal World." Rebecca waved to them, indicating they should continue their work. She then walked straight through the central aisle of the hall, heading toward the Main Brain tank.

A large shadow glided across the sky, casting a slight dimness over the hall. Rebecca looked up and saw a hexagonal airborne platform flying over the Dawn of the Mortal World. Several Dragon Rider Aircraft flew alongside the platform, and on both sides of it, holographic projection markers of fists and rings, swords and plows, floated in the air.

Rebecca withdrew her gaze and looked at the Main Brain container in front of her and the large holographic projection floating there. The mysterious, vast mountains of the tribal country of Augari reflected in her eyes were a completely different sight from the northern regions she was familiar with. She gazed at that scene, lost in thought, and after a long time, couldn’t help but softly exclaim, "Ah... the mountains are so big... there are so many trees..."

After exclaiming, she instinctively looked around to ensure no one heard her muttering, then sighed with relief, silently thinking to herself: Her literature teacher would surely weep if they heard this...

"We are approaching Ruby City—the area is already deep within the heart of the communication interference zone," a voice came from the nearby speaker, the voice of the Main Brain of the Dawn of the Mortal World, "Currently, communication between fleet units is normal, although communication with the ground is still disrupted. However, dim automatic calling signals are starting to come through."

"Looks like the most severe interference areas are indeed limited to the vicinity of the surface. Airborne unit communications are largely unaffected..." Rebecca mused aloud, "And receiving signals from the surface indicates we’ve gotten close enough?"

"Yes, close enough. At this location, we should be able to first restore communications in some high-altitude areas, and the presence of surface signals also suggests most inland cities in the tribal country of Augari remain safe," the Main Brain’s voice continued, "Judging from the surface image data collected so far, aberrations have not yet spread to this area—but some mountainous areas below are covered by winter fog and low clouds, making it hard to see from high altitudes."

"Enhance the optical scan, try to scrutinize things as clearly as possible. We need to find out the movements of those creatures and confirm the surviving status of local garrison forces... If that’s not feasible, we’ll have to take the risk of deploying some Dragon Cavalry to lower altitudes for reconnaissance."

As Rebecca finished speaking, a slight bubbling sound came from the Main Brain container, and a neutral synthesized voice echoed in the control center: "Understood, enhancing visual perception systems... System resource allocation is complete, neural signal priority has been adjusted..."

The Synthetic Brain issued commands as neural impulses coursed through the biological vascular systems deep in the deck of the Dawn of the Mortal World, transmitting signals to the edge regions of this giant sky fortress in an instant. The signals were quickly executed at the endpoints: amid the thick armor and anti-gravity engines, a series of extra sensory terminals in hidden positions were activated. The hemispherical pods, protected by steel armor, rotated toward the ground. Inside the composite crystal casing at the front of the pods, several large eyes suddenly widened, intensely staring at the distant mountains and forests, straining to glare!

Opting for a "Synthetic Brain" as the central control system, the Dawn of the Mortal World has already become a partially mechanical, partially biological sky fortress. To enhance the functioning of its biological components, equipping it with a circle of eyeballs as additional vision is quite reasonable.

"Optical scan enhancement mode activated," the Main Brain stated solemnly in the control center, "confirming this mode’s first use, starting to record corresponding neural cluster work states and archiving..."

Rebecca nodded—the Dawn of the Mortal World is a fortress hastily dispatched to the battlefield. This massive entity, currently representing the pinnacle of Mage-Biotechnology of the Cecil Empire, contains systems so complex they’re unimaginable, many of which haven’t undergone thorough testing and adjustment. This westward journey isn’t just a military mission for the Dawn of the Mortal World but an extremely unique trial voyage. During its voyage, the activation process of each system needs to be documented in detail like this. In the near future, this data could become valuable references for a second sky fortress...

She then turned her head, looking at a technical sergeant at a nearby control seat: "How are the adjustments for the Supercritical Accelerator and Purgatory Incendiary?"

"The Purgatory Incendiary launcher has been adjusted and is ready for activation at any moment, but the rail charging unit for the Supercritical Accelerator is still unstable," the technical sergeant immediately replied, "Due to incomplete waste energy discharge, the terminal rail’s wear is severe, and it will totally melt and require replacement after about three shots..."

"Three shots..." Rebecca knocked her forehead, a little distressed, "Even though the ancestors said weapons are consumables, having a main cannon’s rail last only three shots seems a bit unreasonable..."

"Perhaps we should rethink," a nearby technical sergeant hesitated to suggest, "We could make the terminal rail disposable, lowering costs, and treat it like a shell—use and discard... After all, only the terminal rail melts. We can adjust the main rail’s connection structure to make it easier for disassembly and replacement..."

Rebecca’s eyes instantly brightened: "Eh? Your idea is pretty inno..."

But just as she was speaking, the Main Brain’s voice suddenly came from beside her: "Creator, observe an abnormal temperature rise in the eastern mountains. There may be a situation."

...

The cold wind howled through the mountains, rough sand and snow on the ridgelines whipping against faces. Gray and black toxins left behind by the deaths of aberrant creatures mixed into her fur, the itchy discomfort and fiery pain from wounds constantly stimulating Camilla’s nerves, but she automatically shunted these sensations to the back of her mind.

Riding on her lifelong companion, a direwolf, she and the fierce war beast sprinted down the treacherous mountain paths, those nauseating hisses and whispers haunting her like a nightmare, the pungent stench nearly invading her brain—yet the innate power within her bloodline began to ignite, and she felt her strength temporarily restored to its peak, rendering the monsters relentlessly pursuing her no match for her at the moment.

A shrill sound echoed by her ear, intermixed with a non-human, non-beastly roar. Without turning back, Camilla swung the chopping axe in her hand, and in the next second, she felt the sensation of severed flesh and bone returning to her fingertips. Her chopping axe whirled, her body sidestepping as a grotesquely deformed carcass swept past her, and taking advantage of this brief interlude, she glanced back.

Loyal tribal warriors closely followed her, sprinting along the mountain path toward the Ruby Forest Sea, while the monsters flooding over from the ridgeline had drawn perilously close. The warriors continuously turned back to fight as they ran, aberrations or other mutant creatures being slain by Highland Braves and Champion Warriors every moment, their ugly bodies falling into the ravine. However, from time to time, brave warriors would be caught by the monstrous tide of multiples larger than themselves, being overcome in their fight.

At the extent of her vision, the Wolf Spine Mountain defensive line had succumbed to flames, the flags representing both the tribal country of Augari and the beastmen tribes nowhere in sight. Countless monsters spilled over the ridge, making the entire slope appear as a rolling, writhing living entity, chilling and nauseating to behold.

The defense of Wolf Spine Mountain was ultimately not held, and the surviving tribal warriors had no choice but to retreat. She led the last rearguard squad, or rather... the last remaining soldiers of the rear guard.

The warriors fought valiantly wherever possible, holding out for as long as they could under limited conditions, but no one knew if they had held long enough, or if the defense of the last line beyond the Ruby Forest Sea had any meaning. Even Camilla herself wasn’t sure if reinforcements from other regions would arrive, or about the state of the other defensive lines.

They are merely doing their best, from the general to the soldiers, everyone is keenly aware of this.

"Do not conserve your strength, charge into the Ruby Forest Sea!" Camilla shouted to the warriors beside her when she saw the dark red dense forest at the foot of the mountain already within reach, "Don’t waste the time the warlocks have bought for us!"

The warriors responded with a roar, but in the next second, another Highland Brave was struck by a dark red energy beam from afar. He and his direwolf rolled down the mountain path, quickly falling into the army of aberrations, the cold wind carrying only the warrior’s last angry shout: "Great Chieftain, witness for me!!"

A humanoid flame rose among the monster horde, the Highland Brave bathed in flames transformed into a three-meter-tall blazing beast, but this flame only burned for a moment before being extinguished in the tide of corruption.

Camilla withdrew her gaze from behind and silently noted down another name, the next moment, the light around her dimmed — the towering canopy of the Ruby Forest Sea blocked the sky above her head.

She has entered the age-old sacred land of the beastmen, the familiar towering ancient trees whispered in the wind, she and the last of the warriors galloped through this dense forest, the various marks left by the tribe soldiers who evacuated earlier guiding their retreat path, and around Camilla and the warriors, the temperature of the entire forest sea had already begun to rise continuously — though it was clearly the coldest part of deep winter, the temperature deep inside the forest was already like midsummer.

The trees in her vision were swiftly retreating, Camilla seemed to vaguely see many figures appearing in the dark shadows between the tree clusters.

Those figures wrapped in pitch-black robes silently watched her, one of them nodded slightly at her, the wind through the forest carrying a deep voice: "Hope you can keep your promise, Great Chieftain."

Camilla replied softly, "The beastmen are true to their word."

Those phantom-like "specters" disappeared, while heavy crashing and footsteps came from behind, Camilla knew those aberrations had already charged into the forest.

The complex terrain of the forest would slightly hinder those monsters, but not for long. The biggest role of this obstruction is to allow her and the rear guard soldiers to distance themselves from the aberrations, leaving this purgatory before the entire Ruby Forest Sea burns fiercely.

The surrounding temperature grew even higher, sparks had already begun to splatter from the air, the Ruby trees, exceptionally dry and flammable in winter, making unsettling crackling sounds, the pungent smell of smoke burrowed into the nostrils...

The towering walls of the ancient capital city stood in the cold wind, Morak leading the earlier batches of evacuated, hastily prepared tribal warriors and the barely gathered soldiers guarding the walls, gazing in the direction of the Ruby Forest Sea across an expansive Gravel Plains.

The wind had already brought the scent of battle, this scent tingling the old beastman’s nerves; he tightened his grip on the war bow in his hand, the fur on his face slightly bristling, his pupils already narrowed into two slits.

Beside him, the tribal warriors and the city’s warlocks stood guard beside the heavy ballistae, giant bows, and combat rune stones, and between these ancient and "traditional" city defense weapons were interspersed with a limited number of magic cannons and a few Rainbow Light Generators, numerous humans with tense faces, and even more tense gray elves repeatedly checking the status of these magic weapons — their operations were incomprehensible to the layperson, but Morak knew these powerful weapons might be the city’s last hope.

The gray elves had purchased these weapons from the Cecil Clan at a high price, and at great cost, trained professional "artillerymen." For the not so affluent beastmen tribe, maintaining these expensive "advanced gadgets" was no easy task, Great Chieftain Camilla had used many favors to procure these "treasures" from those shrewd gray elves.

Initially, Morak hadn’t paid much attention to these expensive and complex things, but now...

The old beastman only regretted not going bankrupt to buy arms earlier.

He had seen the magic cannon fire, this thing was definitely more effective than a chopping axe or magic.

His random thoughts did not last long.

A smoke rose up from the distance in the Ruby Forest Sea, the snow covering that dense forest had long melted and vaporized by the abnormal high temperature, thick fog and low clouds now floated above the forest, and now, flames finally appeared in everyone’s sight.

He heard a tribal warrior beside him say softly with a tone of sorrow: "The Ruby Forest Sea is burning..."

Such voices were not confined to one place along the city wall — countless beastmen warriors stood on the high wall, watching the end of the Gravel Plains in the cold wind.

That sanctuary, holding special significance for them, was burning in their sight.

Morak was also pained by the burning of the Ruby Forest Sea, but at that moment, his attention was still more focused on the open passageway between the plains and the forest sea.

The fire had already begun, thick smoke and flames were consuming everything in the forest.

Dozens of figures riding direwolves finally appeared in Morak’s vision.

Camilla charged out of the Ruby Forest Sea, galloping on the wild land of Augari with the remaining rear guard warriors, the magnificent great sun gradually slanted towards the western horizon, and behind her, the entire Ruby Forest Sea had begun to blaze fiercely.