Chapter 1377: Chapter 1376: Revival Month Amidst the Flames of War

On the 22nd day of the Revival Month this year, the full-scale counterattack against the wasteland by the civilized world officially began, marked by the commencement of the movement of the Dawn of the mortal world Aerial Combat Group toward the wasteland.

On the northern battlefield, the mechanized corps of the Cecil Empire defeated all the wasteland legions north of the magic scorch mark and paved the purification devices all the way to the ruins of the former Gondor Empire northern stronghold "Kagsula." The purification towers glowed brightly on the wasteland grounds, and the continuous barrier formed by purification power stretched from the Dark Mountain Range to the frontline. Within half a month, the wasteland legion launched several fierce counterattacks, but until their northern line command system completely collapsed, the advancement of the alliance’s northern line legion was never impeded.

On the western battlefield, the Sky Fortress fleet, with the Dawn of the mortal world as the flagship, descended on the wasteland like giant beasts of the sky. These enormous and magnificent war machines silently and resolutely advanced toward the center of the wasteland, judging all filth with flames from the sky and thunder. The purification fire surged on the ground, burning away the aberration Legion that still lingered on the land after the collapse of their command system. The weak aerial units of the wasteland attempted to resist but failed, and under the coverage of overwhelming air superiority, the ground troops composed of Duke Baldwin Franklin and the Augari Tribal Coalition Army steadily advanced, efficiently constructing high towers from the purification components airdropped by the Dawn of the mortal world, with barrier walls extending continuously in the wasteland.

On the southern battlefield, the intervention of the Cecil expedition fleet completely solidified the originally vulnerable Highmountain Kingdom front line without natural barriers. The southern allied army was able to concentrate all its forces on the Sacred Stars Temple Fortress. From the deep-sea, the sea demons expeditionary army became the greatest support during the southern allied army’s advancement process. The fearless deep-sea warriors caused tremendous waves in the wasteland, and after the waves, the silver elves’ Mage Corps and Highmountain Kingdom’s craftsmen consecutively erected three purification towers within several days, dispersing the desolation that had shrouded the southern battlefield for an entire winter.

As for the eastern line, the old strong nation, Typhon, demonstrated its endurance in this brutal war. The Winter Wolf Legion, National Knights, and Mage Corps formed a strong spearhead under the leadership of Andresha Wendell, breaking into the eastern wilderness of the old Gondor Empire and setting up seven purification towers along the way. Despite surviving the divine disaster and undergoing brutal internal purges and reshuffles, Typhon remains the same Typhon. As the Revival Month entered mid-month, the eastern wasteland legion continued to engage in fierce and brutal frontal combat with Typhon’s vanguard troops, yet Typhon’s legions never halted their advance.

The situation of the war remains unclear, with terrifying forces entrenched in the wasteland resisting fiercely. However, historians have realized that no matter when this war ends, this spring will be its greatest turning point.

...

The tide of living flames set off by the Purgatory Incendiary has gradually extinguished, yet the scorching aura left on the ground after the flames flowed continues to steam the dry wasteland. Amidst the rolling heat waves, the air presents a distorted lens effect, making the distant horizon appear unstable—this is a rather unbearable environment for ordinary people, but for well-equipped alliance soldiers with complete protective gear, it is the best battlefield to vent their anger and seek revenge.

Heavy combat vehicles issued low rumbles, steel tracks rolling forward. Under the dim sky, the Warhammer-II Tank cluster advanced like armored giants on the ground, the hot wind lifting dry rough sand, beating against the gray-black armor plates of the main battle tanks. The turrets adjusted angles in the hot wind, and the long acceleration rails pointed afar at the few black-red monsters emerging from behind boulders and ruins. With the blue light of charging devices flashing, the Magic Crystal Shells screeched through the air, and after a brief delay, exploded upon landing, sending those monsters lucky enough to survive the bombardment to the sky.

The nearby, more scattered, surviving monsters encountered the Steel Ambassador Combat Vehicles’ light howitzers, rapid-firing missile launchers, and infantry’s dense thermal energy rays. Their hoarse roars never had the chance to escape, as they themselves turned into gray-black smoke scattered on the ground, and in the next hot wind, dissipated with the wind.

Behind the ground troops, Duke Baldwin Franklin jumped down from the vehicle, looking up to survey the dark land shrouded by polluted clouds. The protective layer formed by the Wind Shield glittered beside him, isolating the heat waves and potential toxic gases in the environment. A soldier wearing light infantry armor with the Cecil Empire emblem on his chest approached and reported loudly, "Duke, the ground battlefield is cleared, the drop zone is secure!"

Duke Baldwin nodded and looked to the other side of the position, "How are things going on King Wickcliff’s side?"

"That battle has also ended, King Wickcliff’s Engineer Corps is setting up fortifications and assembling the ground signal stations."

"Looks like those Augari people are gradually getting the hang of it..." Duke Baldwin nodded and looked up at the sky. The figure of Dawn of the mortal world was floating overhead, slightly adjusting its angle and position. Twelve Gorgon Fortresses floated like small ’floating islands’ around the massive fortress, and countless Dragon Cavalry Fighters swarmed around this aerial force like bees, countless gun barrels pointed afar to the wasteland. Should those monsters dare to surge again, skyfire is sure to destroy them all.

On the other side of the position, King Wickcliff gazed at the distant undulating shadows at the edge of the battlefield. It looked like a strangely shaped mountain range with numerous gaps but was actually a molten city. That horrifying ruin was the shocking scar left by the great explosion of the former Gondor Empire. Accompanying scholars informed him that it was due to the uncontrolled deep blue magic power detonating the main energy supply node of the city, and the magic backlash of the node melted the entire city into its current terrifying form—a sight that could be seen throughout the Gondor wasteland.

Despite the passage of seven hundred years, everything in the wasteland can still chill the heart of anyone who witnesses it.

"Your Majesty, the surrounding area has been cleared," a soldier came from the side, interrupting Wickcliff’s thoughts with his report, "Dawn of the mortal world sent a communication, asking if the drop can be accepted."

"Reply, the area is ready, we can accept the drop at any time." Wickcliff nodded and said, and immediately, a sudden movement arose in a nearby wreck. An aberration with only half a body suddenly crawled out of the dirt. This monstrous entity let out chaotic roars, lunging here in a horrifying twisted posture—the nearby soldiers were shocked, instantly drawing their swords, but their king reacted even faster. Wickcliff lifted his arm, the mechanical device emitting a slight sound, with a black hole-like muzzle exposed in the alloy-cast palm. Accompanied by a sharp shriek, three arcane bullets shredded that monster’s body into pieces.

Wickcliff retracted his arm, his palm’s deformation mechanism quickly restored to original shape under direct control of the nervous system. He glanced at the soldier beside him, "Be mindful, these monsters have terrifying resilience, even exploding into two pieces doesn’t guarantee they’ll die completely, only when the bones starting to smoke black are they truly done—ensure soldiers don’t overlook any remnants on the battlefield, don’t let a single chunk of flesh get away."

"...Yes, Your Majesty!" The soldier responded loudly and quickly ran to the rear of the position, while Wickcliff watched the soldier leave before finally raising his head to look at the flying fortress in the sky.

After a period of integration and learning, the soldiers he brought have slowly adapted to the Cecil people’s combat style, a tactic they had never encountered before—the aerial troops led by Dawn of the mortal world entered first, using firepower bombardment to clear all major units and most concentration points in the target area, followed by heavy armored troops entering to eradicate enemy strongholds and hidden facilities that survived the aerial bombardment. Infantry units and light combat vehicles entered last to complete the occupation of the target and subsequent position construction. Throughout this entire process, those flying machines would continuously maintain suppression over the entire area—the Cecil people refer to this as "Air Superiority."

Air supremacy is quite necessary, as the Wasteland Legion indeed has its own aerial units. Those bloated, spell-casting "Bloated Corruptors," although vulnerable before the Sky Fortress, are still terrifying threats to purely ground troops without aerial cover.

Frankly speaking, this was not the type of combat that the Augari soldiers initially imagined. In most cases, the monsters that survived air bombings and tank shellings were so few that the soldiers rarely needed to engage in close-quarters combat. Those scattered aberrations often fell to light weapon fire before they even got close to charging. The anticipated bloody battles and wars of vengeance never materialized, which initially made the soldiers uncomfortable, but soon this discomfort faded away.

The shattered remains of aberrations under heavy artillery bombardment and the great beasts turning to ash under living flames also serve as a tribute to the fallen at Falm Fortress. Although the monsters weren’t killed by the soldiers’ own hands, their current deaths are far more gruesome than dying by sword—this is also acceptable.

Wickcliff looked down at his own mechanical arm, glimmering with silver light, feeling the surging power between the alloy skeleton and artificial nerves. His fingers slowly clenched and then relaxed lightly.

Above him, a flash appeared at the edge of the Dawn of the mortal world. A framework the size of a house detached from the Sky Fortress, with the anti-gravity rings at its edge glowing a faint blue, and the entire device quickly descended toward the earth.

Immediately after, more structures airdropped from the Sky Fortress, and with the help of disposable anti-gravity components, these massive "parts" made a whistling sound in the air, penetrating the polluted air above the battlefield and the rising heatwaves from the ground, finally landing in the designated areas near the ground troops after the deceleration phase ended.

After the anti-gravity rings powered down, the gravitational adjustment magic symbols built into the structures continued to operate for some time. During this period, the engineers transported each component to the appropriate location and, with the assistance of large engineering machinery and Dragon Rider Aircraft, assembled them into a Purification Tower standing on the earth—a node of the Barrier Wall.

The entire process takes about twenty-four hours—compared to other Purification Towers constructed by normal means, this speed is astonishingly fast.

Images from the ground converged in the control hall where the Main Brain resided through neural transmission and were projected in front of the main console via the Magic Web Terminal connected to the biomass tanks. Rebecca’s eyes were fixed on the airdrop components as they flew toward the earth, watching as they slowed down and landed under the anti-gravity rings’ drive, seeing the engineering units responsible for retrieval on the ground move to recover the components. Only then did she breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"The ’cargo’ has been delivered to the ground," she raised her head and looked at Jinna Prince standing not far away, "they’ll soon begin assembly."

"Then we will soon have work to do as well," Jinna Prince, standing at the commander’s seat, gently nodded, but her eyes fell on another set of holographic projections. The holographic projections, arranged in a circle, presented the vast wastelands surrounding the Aerial Combat Group. Within the range of the sensing devices (the big eyes around the Dawn of the mortal world), some vague black dots were gradually gathering, showing signs of merging into a wave.

The Wasteland Legion fears no death, although the controllers behind them are the cognizant dark priests, ever since suffering several setbacks from the Cecil Clan’s long-range and ultra-long-range artillery, those dark priests have now learned to hide further back, relying entirely on the root network to remotely control their monster legions. As a result, the Alliance forces now face aberrations and biochemical monsters that fear no death within their firing range.

No matter how heavy and fierce the blows they sustain, those monsters quickly reorganize and launch counterattacks, one after another.

To be honest, these counterattacks are meaningless, but the aberrations never care—it’s the extension of the wasteland, a part of it, things birthed from this already alien and strange environment. As long as the wasteland continues to function, aberrations will always maintain a certain number, no matter if it’s the Supercritical Accelerator or the Purgatory Incendiary Bomb, it’s like throwing a massive stone into water; though it can repel the water’s surface momentarily upon impact, the pond with its constant water volume will swiftly fill the void—therefore, the enemy never cares about the effectiveness of their counterattacks.

Even if the waves of monsters can’t affect the Alliance army’s advance in the slightest, they’ll still come wave after wave.

Because their commanders believe that no matter how overwhelmingly victorious the Alliance army might be in each battle, the ’cost’ of combat accumulates continuously. The soldiers’ morale, ammunition consumption, the societal pressure from maintaining wartime conditions... none of this will reset with victory; instead, it all compiles onto the entire civilized world, growing into a burden.

By contrast, the cost to the Wasteland Legion is only the increasingly compressed operational space—and in this vast and boundless former land of Gondor, the cost they can ’pay’ is ample.

By now, the initial momentum and fervor have waned, and the Wasteland Legion’s commanders seem to have clearly realized the nature of the war.

When giants wrestle, the exhausted fall.

"Begin assembling the Purgatory Incendiary," Jinna lightly inhaled, "Supercritical Accelerator pre-charge, awaiting launch orders."

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