Chapter 1341: Chapter 1340: The Origin of the Barrier Wall

The surging power of the Magic-Powered Engine drove the mechanical apparatus, and the black armored engineering vehicle moved along the temporarily hardened road towards the distance. After crossing that invisible "boundary," the wind and snow once again filled the view outside the window. Having finished his shift with the soldiers, Fendil, sitting in the back seat, instinctively turned to look behind. He saw the mysterious mansion standing on the hill gradually being enveloped by the wind and snow, becoming increasingly blurred in the chaotic sky.

However, the sensation of being watched only gradually faded after they had left the mansion far behind — it took a long time for the pressure brought by that gaze to completely dissipate.

"So this is the awe of a Legendary Powerhouse..." muttered a technical soldier accompanying them in a low voice, unable to resist. "This is the first time in my life I’ve faced a Legendary Mage... Just as everyone said, unfathomable, truly unfathomable..."

"I was scared to death!" grumbled the soldier driving in the front with lingering fear, "I actually remarked earlier that the lady might be quite ugly... Thank goodness she didn’t hear..."

"She probably heard long ago. Do you think a few kilometers could conceal something from such a figure’s perception?" The soldier next to Fendil pouted, "Lady Mina just didn’t bother to hold it against you, she’s definitely a broad-minded person..."

"You think... How old is Lady Mina actually?" After holding back for a few seconds, the soldier driving couldn’t help but speak again, "She seemed about the same age as my sister, and like my sister, she’s a very kind person... But she gave me a feeling as if she could see through everything, a sense just like a learned elder..."

"Who knows, maybe what we saw from start to finish was just an illusion. Besides, it’s said that legendary powerhouses could easily live two or three hundred years, maintaining their appearance with magic long before they age. Lady Mina might have already..."

"Ahem," Fendil finally couldn’t hold back anymore, lightly coughing twice to interrupt the chat between the two soldiers, "Talking about a lady behind her back is impolite — especially considering that the lady is a respected scholar in charge of a research facility at the frontline. You two should stop now."

"Ah, yes, sir, sorry, sir," the soldier driving hurriedly nodded in response, then couldn’t resist giving Fendil another curious glance, "What are you thinking, sir? You seemed particularly serious since just now..."

"...It’s nothing," Fendil remained silent for a couple of seconds, shook his head, and said, "Focus on driving. We haven’t crossed this wilderness area yet. Keep an eye out for any movements along the road — I’m going to rest a little."

The two soldiers quieted down, while Fendil let out a breath, slightly closed his eyes, leaning back to rest — he couldn’t possibly tell the soldiers he had just recalled the terror of being bullied by his aunt as a child when they talked about the "awe of a Legendary Powerhouse"...

...

At the northern foothills of the Dark Mountain Range, in the Cecil Palace, Gawain sat behind his large desk. The afternoon sunlight slanted through the window beside him, casting elongated shadows of some decorations on the desktop and adding a sense of tranquility to the room. Gawain was poring over a document that arrived just at noon today. After focusing intensely for a long while, he finally put down the document in hand and let out a long sigh, allowing his tightly wound nerves to relax slightly.

Amber’s voice timely came from the side: "What’s going on? You seemed quite stern just now — is there another problem with the wartime supplies?"

"It’s from Byron’s side. His fleet has just passed the southern coastline of the Dwarf Kingdom and successfully restored communication from the Dwarf Kingdom to the coastal area in the central-southern region of Augari. Coupled with the temporary sky communication network set up by Rebecca, we’ve finally resolved most of the communication issues on the western front..." Gawain said in a deep voice, "Now the Empire’s fleet is approaching the mouth of the Sacred River."

"Just got to the mouth of the Sacred River?" Amber couldn’t help but widen her eyes on hearing this, "Why is it so much slower than planned? Even considering the restoration of communications and liaising with coastal countries along the way, they should have reached there a few days ago..."

"That’s why my expression just now was so serious," Gawain’s voice was low, "Byron mentioned in his report that the situation at sea started becoming odd once the fleet passed Forge City’s coast, with frequent occurrences of thick fog and dangerous ’interlaced waves.’ This severe weather even appeared in nearshore areas close to land. Although the Winter and other naval capital ships were specifically reinforced to withstand open sea conditions, the terrible sea state significantly delayed the fleet’s speed, and... the sea demons and Naga Navigators accompanying the fleet frequently sensed abnormal energy surging around the Loren Continent. They advised Byron to proceed with caution."

"Abnormal energy around Loren Continent? That scale could be a bit scary..." Amber clicked her tongue, "Could it possibly be related to the energy fluctuations released by the Wasteland? Is that thing starting to affect the sea now?"

"...Uncertain yet, we know too little about the Wasteland. Even now, Lady Milmina has only just established the first truly meaningful ’Wasteland Laboratory.’ No one can say how many incomprehensible forces were sealed in that land steeped in Well of Deep Blue magic for seven hundred years," Gawain slightly shook his head, then looked up at Amber, "Let’s not discuss this for now. How are things going on your end?"

"...To be honest, some people’s bottom lines always manage to break your understanding, even at a time when racial survival is at stake, some people, driven by huge profits, will still take risks," Amber sighed. "The clues have been verified, we’ve caught a batch of guys smuggling military supplies during wartime. No one has pleaded for them, but I suspect we won’t be able to catch all of these kinds of people..."

"Of course, you can’t catch them all. The complexity of mortals lies in the fact that the most splendid and the most base individuals often coexist and will always exist. This everlasting contradiction means that those with a fluke mentality always believe their ’little bit of profit-stealing’ won’t affect the big picture. So at such times, your people need to lend them a little help," Gawain’s expression was calm, "Prepare a few beautiful flagpoles for them, along with some sturdy ropes. The money for the ropes and flagpoles comes out of their own pockets. Make sure this matter makes a big splash and also guide public opinion well — we need to deter the remaining people, but not undermine the public’s trust in the Empire’s order."

"Rest assured... I’m experienced with this process," Amber nodded but still had a somewhat difficult expression. "But I just can’t figure out what those ’people’ are thinking — I could even understand if this was a war between nations, but this time we’re facing a cataclysm capable of wiping out civilizations, why are there still people willing to take such risks for gold pounds... Even the most contemptible people I’ve seen in the slums wouldn’t do such a thing, but those people are unmoved by the blood battles on the Empire’s frontlines?"

"You’re mistaken. They are precisely the ones who have the greatest trust in the Empire’s front-line soldiers — their trust in the protection provided by the Empire is so deep that they take it for granted and forget how this protection came about, forgetting that their lives are closely linked to it. They are the ones who dig bricks from the city walls, firmly believing there will always be another group of ’fools’ to endlessly replace the bricks... they just don’t comprehend that they themselves are the next batch of materials for the wall," Gawain shook his head, "From the start, I knew these kinds of people would appear sooner or later, which is why I have your Special Counter-reaction Department operatives constantly keeping an eye on those material flows and the underground trading markets."

Amber stared at Gawain for a long time, then mumbled thoughtfully: "Is this the phrase you often say? The strength of the Empire’s order doesn’t lie in the absence of darkness under our laws, but in our order never acknowledging such darkness..."

Gawain nodded slightly, but before he could say anything else, a low humming sound suddenly emanated from the Magic Web Terminal beside the desk, and a projection marked as "Special Confidential Line" appeared above the Focusing Crystal. In its corner, a small insignia formed by the outline of towers and eyes could be seen.

Amber immediately noticed that inconspicuous small insignia, and quickly turned to lock the study room door while activating the barrier system in the room, casually saying, "Oh wow, you just mentioned our Wasteland Laboratory, and now there’s news from it."

"Looks like the communication system over there is already operational," Gawain said offhandedly, raising his hand to activate the Magic Web Terminal, "Our Lady Tower is truly efficient."

His words had barely fallen when a series of jumping light spots quickly emerged above the Magic Web Terminal, seemingly indicating a powerful interference source on the other side affecting the stability of the communication line. However, these interferences swiftly dissipated, and Milmina’s clear projection presented itself before Gawain and Amber — not the "mythical body" shrouded in mist, but the clearly visible avatar dressed in a court gown.

"Can you hear me? Can you see me? I shouldn’t have messed up this... this setup seems different from what I usually use..." Milmina’s voice came from the other end of the holographic projection, "Oh, it seems to have worked, it’s not so difficult really."

"Very clear, Lady Milmina," Gawain greeted the lady on the other side of the communication with a smile, "Looks like things have settled on your side?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the state of the lady opposite — behind her was a spacious indoor area, with many autonomously operating experimental platforms and Arcane Servants moving back and forth in the distance visible from the furnishings. This was evidently the main working area of the "Frontline Laboratory," and Milmina stood on a separate platform within the center of the communication scene. Judging by the proportion of the furnishings on the platform, the avatar used by this lady still seemed to have quite a tall figure.

But it should at least be within the range that humans can accept.

At this moment, Milmina could be referred to as Milmina.zip.

A slightly strange association flashed through Gawain’s mind, but his expression remained as calm as always with a steady smile, while Milmina on the other side of the communication was completely unaware she had gained a "zip" suffix in Gawain’s mind. She looked back at the laboratory she had just arranged and replied happily: "Yes, the main experimental area is nearly set up, only small issues remain — fortunately, I am the only one here, so there’s no need to consider the needs of typical mortals for living, and this avatar of mine doesn’t need to eat or sleep."

"How is the condition of the avatar you’re using now?" Gawain asked, "I mean, when interacting with others — is everything going smoothly?"

"If you’re referring to the young people who came to help install the network today, I think it went quite smoothly," Milmina.zip replied with a joyful smile, "They were somewhat surprised by my laboratory, but only slightly surprised. My identity before them is a ’legendary witch who has long been reclusive and recently accepted Emperor Gawain’s recruitment to serve the Empire,’ and it seems they quite believe this identity.

"Also, I met the young man named Fendil, who is said to be Victoria’s nephew? He seems nice, more mature and steady than I imagined, and appears to have fully adapted to his position. You seemed worried before whether he would be a pampered ’child of nobility,’ but I think you can rest assured — pampered people could not possibly trek across the snowy wasteland at the frontline like he did."

"How’s the functioning of the Anti-Divine Barrier and security restrictors?" Gawain asked again — although he had previously approved Milmina’s setup of the Frontline Laboratory, after all, her avatar would be operating in the real world for a long time, and Milmina had only been detached from her divine position for a short period; some cautiousness was still necessary.

"Everything is normal," Milmina.zip nodded and said, "I integrated those security devices with this ’laboratory,’ and I also set a ’filter’ on the main body over there, thus there’s no danger of divine pollution leakage here at all — the young people who helped install the network stayed here for half a day without any reaction. But then again, I think they seemed a bit tense throughout... could it be that my smile isn’t friendly enough?"

"Well... I think you’re overthinking it," Gawain said while instinctively glancing at Milmina.zip opposite, "Not everyone has as remarkable acceptance abilities as me or Amber... Most people feeling tense when entering your ’laboratory’ is the most normal reaction."

He had just finished speaking when Amber, who had been zoning out for quite some time, suddenly snapped back as if awakened from a daze and blurted out: "Calling it ’thick nerves’ is one thing, but saying it so tactfully... oh, it includes me too? Then it’s fine."

Gawain glanced at the half-elf and didn’t pay her any mind, instead confirming some details about the Frontline Laboratory with Milmina, then smoothly transitioned the topic: "Now, let’s discuss the wasteland — your avatar is now located within the wasteland, you should be able to see more clearly than before the situation of that land, have you discovered anything?"

"In such a short time, I haven’t gained anything that could be called ’discoveries,’" Milmina.zip gently shook her head and said, "But... after placing the avatar in this polluted zone, I indeed saw some ’scenery’ invisible from the outside.

"Just as I speculated before, this wasteland is enveloped in a vast magical power field with extremely fast change speed, this environment has already been altered, and such alteration directly leads to the blurred and misaligned boundaries between the material world and the immaterial world.

"I think I could begin planning the course of the first ’Wasteland Barrier Wall,’ the setup of my laboratory is the initial starting point..."

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