Chapter 1342: Chapter 1341: Barrier Wall Project

The winter is drawing to a close, yet the dense fog still lingers over Aldernon, enveloping the Typhon Capital known as the "City of a Thousand Years." The oscillating mist obscures the towering spires and the densely packed rooftops, transforming them into bizarre silhouettes and illusions within the fog. Emperor Rosetta Augustus stands atop the Obsidian Palace, overlooking the city. The dense fog before him inevitably makes him think of the war that is gradually engulfing the civilized world.

This war will not end swiftly. After the initial bloodbath akin to a storm and the nearly out-of-control crisis, the territories of civilized nations and the wasteland’s borders are gradually slipping into a stalemate. Along the long frontline surrounding the ancient Gondor Empire, the forces of order and chaos are deeply entwined, with no signs of a dramatic change in the situation. As winter approaches its end, the battles on the border are likely to enter another feverish phase with the arrival of the Revival Month.

Yet, in this state of stalemate, the scholars of the Cecil Empire seem to have found some method to end it all.

"The barrier wall across the Gondor wasteland..." The ruler of the Typhon Empire spoke in a low voice, as if talking to himself, "Diana, what do you think of this matter?"

As Rosetta’s voice fell, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the darkness beside him. The black-haired maid who has served the Augustus Clan for centuries lowered her eyelids, speaking with a gentle and respectful tone: "I’m sorry, Your Majesty. My knowledge is not sufficient to interpret this issue—I know no more about the wasteland than ordinary human scholars, and thus cannot determine whether the theoretical model proposed by the Cecil scholars is correct."

"This model... is likely correct, as its main submitter is the ’Lady Tower,’ and we all know what her true identity is," Rosetta said solemnly, "The key is, what is the probability of success in building the ’barrier wall’? According to the information from Cecil Castle, we need to construct two barrier walls running across the wasteland from north to south and east to west to halt the operation of the ’chaos realm.’ For the Allied Nations, who have just barely recovered from the massive attack of the aberration Legion, this is already an extremely difficult task. Meanwhile, the dark priests within the wasteland and the ’sentinel towers’ behind them certainly won’t sit idly by as we complete such an endeavor..."

"Indeed," Diana nodded slightly, "Disregarding the dark priests, the ’sentinel towers’ behind them possess the knowledge of the Voyagers, and they will certainly quickly grasp the intentions of the alliance once we begin constructing the barrier wall—the deeper we delve into the wasteland, the greater the pressure and resistance we’ll face."

"...But if the theoretical model proposed by Lady Tower is correct, then this is the only means to end this disaster," Rosetta said deep in thought, "Moreover, from the start, recapturing the Ancient Country of Gondor and breaking through the wasteland pollution zone has always been the ultimate goal of the alliance’s ’counter-attack the wasteland’ plan. You should be very aware, we have never abandoned this plan."

"So, you actually already have a decision," Diana said with a calm expression, "But you need a stronger reason to support your resolution."

"...The current Typhon Empire can no longer afford a second mistake. We need the support of the entire nation for this plan. Like Gawain Cecil often says, once the bow is pulled, there’s no turning back. This means I must carefully consider whether this plan is worth betting everything on. Additionally, there’s another crucial point: presently, most of the nations in the alliance are barely maintaining their lines. The only countries capable of advancing into the wasteland and counter-attacking are us and Cecil. Once we start building the barrier wall within the wasteland, all the pressure will instantly fall upon us. As for how much help the other Allied Nations can offer us in such a situation? That’s entirely an unknown..."

"You don’t wish to stake Typhon’s fate on this," Diana looked at Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s eyes, speaking candidly and with a serene air, "It’s a logical judgment. So, would you like to hear my opinion?"

"Now more than ever."

"Seven hundred years ago, when the Well of Deep Blue exploded, we didn’t even have the qualifications to gamble," Diana began slowly, "Your Majesty, we may not always have the opportunity to choose the ’best plan.’ Or rather... when there is no other choice, the only path we can take is in itself the best plan."

"... Connect me to the direct line with Cecil," Rosetta contemplated for a long time before finally exhaling gently, "I want to speak directly with Gawain Cecil."

...

The light from the Magic crystal lamps illuminates the deep and long corridors within the elf border fortress "Fabuti." Tall and ornately decorated narrow windows are embedded at the top of the corridor walls, faintly revealing the dim light outside. Silver Empress Belsetia, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, marches rapidly down the corridor in full armor, the crisp sound of her heels striking the stone slab floor echoing along.

Handmaiden Elaine closely follows beside the Empress, maintaining a slightly bowed posture, walking quickly forward while speaking in a low voice: "... We successfully repelled the aberration Legion besieging Fort Greta, but the southern highlands of Fort Greta were briefly seized, being occupied for over four hours—now the Master Mages are checking the remaining traces to ascertain if those monsters have already deployed Rune Stones near the highlands."

Belsetia doesn’t turn her head: "Is there a natural magic focal point there? Are there legends about forest spirits or paranormal phenomena locally?"

"Yes, the southern highlands contain a very powerful natural magic focal point. Half of the Mage spires at Fort Greta rely on siphoning magic power from that focal point to maintain automatic operations."

"Then assume those monsters have already succeeded. Such investigation is of limited post-event significance... No, still let the Master Mages continue probing, perhaps they’ll truly discover valuable clues," Belsetia spoke rapidly, "How is King Audris?"

Elaine immediately answered: "The King sustained some injuries but faces no life-threatening harm. He has now returned to Highland City to recuperate. Prince Lorin and Ranger General Carlo have taken over the defense of Fort Greta. The Highmountain Kingdom has already sent reinforcements to Fort Greta, and we have dispatched the Thousand Years Group over for support—there shouldn’t be any issues there."

"There’s no problem with maintaining defense—the key issue is the origin of those aberrations. Their numbers have exceeded expectations, and their marching paths are concerning," Belsetia said with a furrowed brow, "Do you recall the message from the northwest scouts? They discovered signs of aberrational gatherings along the northwest border of the Highmountain Kingdom... Yet there was no breach in the great walls in that direction."

Elaine’s footsteps instinctively paused, her expression turning grim: "You mean..."

"That was the initial western front army aiming to invade the tribal country of Augari—we previously received intelligence that an expeditionary army from the Cecil Empire had already entered Augari and suppressed the aberrations’ movements on the western front," Belsetia glanced at her handmaiden, speaking with seriousness, "It seems the intelligence was accurate, and... that Legion originally intended to assault the tribal country of Augari has begun moving southward."

Elaine slowly widened her eyes, following Belsetia’s footsteps. She seemed to want to say something, but in the next second, she noticed the Silver Empress’s steps suddenly slow, her expression slightly changed.

"Your Majesty?" Yilian instinctively spoke, "What happened?"

"Yilian, dismiss everyone," Belsetia’s expression appeared slightly serious as she quickly and quietly said, "Follow me to the room next to us."

Yilian paused for a moment, quickly realized the situation, and immediately ordered the accompanying attendants and guards to withdraw, then proceeded with the Silver Empress to the nearby wooden door—the door led to an empty room off the corridor, presumably filled with miscellaneous items.

However, as Belsetia approached the old and worn wooden door, her expression instantly became very solemn. She adjusted her breath before seriously nodding to her handmaiden, "Alright, open the door."

Yilian took a deep breath, stepped forward, and gently pushed open the seemingly ordinary wooden door. Accompanied by a slight creak of the door hinge, the door opened—yet behind the door was not a room, nor any trace related to Fort Fabuti.

It was an extraordinarily open woodland clearing, appearing in an uncanny manner behind an ordinary door within Fabuti Fortress. A fresh and gentle breeze greeted them, mixed with an elusive scent of fresh earth and grass, encircled by numerous ancient towering trees. The distant light through the treetops manifested in a brilliant and fragmented form.

Yilian and Belsetia stepped forward, crossed the "barrier" formed by the doorway, and moved onto the soft grass. Simultaneously, a rustling sound emerged from the nearby forest, as if a large body was passing through the plants, about to appear before the two elf mistress and servant.

Belsetia was not surprised by this; she was already familiar with what would happen next. She adjusted her expression and looked towards the source of the sound. In the next second, a gigantic form shrouded in holy white light appeared in her view. Amoen, the Giant Stag, walked elegantly through the forest path onto the woodland clearing and nodded slightly towards Belsetia and Yilian, "It’s good to see you safe, I’ve returned."

"Hello, Mr. Amoen," Belsetia immediately greeted the figure politely. This former deity now served as the "messenger" connecting the northern and southern ends of the continent, his presence holding exceptional significance for the Silver Empire’s position on the Southern Front. Yet, after greeting, she promptly noticed that this holy giant stag appeared slightly different from their last meeting, "Ah, you seem to... have gotten a bit smaller?"

She was sure she was not mistaken; today, Amoen was still enormous, yet compared to the last meeting, he was undeniably smaller—noticing such a thing at this time might seem odd, but she couldn’t help but ask.

"Ah, it’s a slight intentional adjustment," Amoen lowered his gaze to himself, casually explained, "What you’re seeing is my avatar, and I’ve been trying to change the form of my avatar recently... don’t mind it."

Belsetia actually wanted to ask why he decided to do these things, but she felt the current occasion wasn’t right for it. So, she forcibly shifted her focus and adopted a serious expression to ask, "Do you have any crucial information to convey this time?"

"I do, but first I need to understand the situation on the Southern Front," Amoen lowered his neck, "How are things here?"

"...The line is still stable, but I must say, things don’t look good and could deteriorate at any moment," Belsetia admitted after hesitating for less than a second, "The Highmountain Kingdom’s northwestern border’s Fort Greta recently faced an unexpectedly ferocious assault. A large number of aberrations surged in from the north, and we paid a high price to eliminate them, and this might just be the beginning."

Amoen’s tone suddenly shifted, "A large number of aberrations surging in from the north?"

"Yes—we presume it’s the aberration legion that previously attacked the western front," Belsetia said, "Those monsters rallied shortly after dispersing, and now... they’re moving south."

"...This is critical information," Amoen said in a deep voice, then his tone shifted, "This also indicates... pressure on the Southern Front will soon increase rapidly."

"Yes, this is an expected change."

"...If pressure on the western front thus eases, the West Expeditionary Army and the Dawn of the mortal world aerial combat group should be free to relocate forces to the Southern Front. The Empire fleet led by Winter will soon enter the ’Sacred River’, providing support to the Highmountain Kingdom’s northwestern border," Amoen said after briefly pondering—these words meant to offer comfort were greatly needed by the Silver Empress at this moment. After a brief pause, he continued, "Additionally, I have come to deliver a plan—a plan from the Cecil Empire, jointly formulated by Gawain Cecil and the Dominator of All Magic Emilmina."

"Uncle Gawain and... Goddess of Magic?" Belsetia couldn’t hide her astonishment, "What are they planning?"

"Permanently cease the ’operation’ of the wasteland," Amoen said deliberately, "To completely end this disaster."

Perhaps it was the magnitude of what had been spoken; perhaps after several centuries of pursuit and effort, the Silver Empress couldn’t believe this moment arrived so abruptly before her eyes. She instinctively asked, "...Is this true? How are they going to do it?"

"Indeed, Emilmina has already uncovered the mechanism behind the existence of the wasteland and aberrations. I have brought detailed information that you can later examine alongside your scholarly advisors. As for the specific plan—we need to construct at least two ’Barrier Walls’ in the wasteland to cease the energy cycle within that chaotic realm. The most critical component of these ’Barrier Walls’... is the purification technology originally provided to the countries by the Silver Empire.

"Currently, within the alliance capable of mass-producing purification devices, only Cecil, Typhon, and the Silver Empire, as the initial provider of this technology, possess this capability."

As Amoen’s voice fell, the "woodland clearing" became momentarily quiet. A few seconds later, Belsetia with a complex expression began to speak, "Indeed, we still possess many usable production lines that can manufacture such purification devices. But given the current situation on the Southern Front... even if we produce the purification devices, I’m afraid we no longer have the means to deliver them into the wasteland, nor to withstand a counterattack from the dark priests."

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