Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 581 - 580: Advance and Deploy

Amber’s first impression of the wasteland was "exotic".

The pale gray sky churned above like some viscous liquid, with almost visibly surging magic turbulence flowing among the heavy clouds. Chaotic winds rolled aimlessly over the barren, twisted land, which was covered by a purplish-black "substance" resembling a mixture of volcanic lava and sludge, stretching like a festering sore across the landscape to the edge of the energy field screen in the distance.

She had never seen a scene like this anywhere before.

She finally understood what Gawain meant by "the wasteland is beyond the borders of the civilized world".

The Black Forest might be corrupted and twisted, but at least a tree remained a tree and a non-human monster was still a non-human monster. No matter how gloomy the sky, the sky seen between the clouds was still clear, but here, at the edge of the Black Forest, beneath the great walls, the whole world was different from what she had known.

She even felt that here, the shadow magic had become unfamiliar.

"According to the sea demons, the magic turbulence is a ’reshuffling’ process for the world. The magic turbulence seven hundred years ago was just an incomplete eruption, akin to a ’prelude’ to reshuffling..." Gawain looked at the wasteland stretching ahead, recalling what Tiel had told him, and couldn’t help but murmur softly, "So the changes here... can actually be seen as some kind of ’omen’ of a new world."

Amber looked at Gawain in horror: "You mean this desolate place... is what the world looks like after the real magic turbulence breaks out?"

Gawain nodded lightly: "More or less."

"...The new world is truly frightening," Amber stuck out her tongue, "What kind of life could survive in such a ’new world’..."

"Fear is only relative to our aesthetics," Gawain glanced at Amber, "Perhaps in the eyes of life in the new world, this twisted, corrupted land is a paradise full of birdsong and fragrant flowers. The blue skies, white clouds, and green mountains we’re familiar with... might seem like purgatory to them."

Sonia came to Gawain and Amber’s side, overhearing their conversation, and couldn’t help but say, "Seven hundred years of slumber have made you more sentimental than before."

Gawain replied casually, "When you’re sleeping in a coffin, there’s not much else to do."

"If there’s a chance, introduce us to that sea demon. We elves have always been interested in ancient knowledge about sea demons."

"I will, once she wakes up next time," Gawain nodded, then looked around at the surroundings, "For now... let’s establish the final forward base here."

There was still a short distance to where the sentinel towers needed to be constructed, though not far, the Rotting Plains were fraught with dangers. To ensure the safety of front-line personnel and secure the road through the Black Forest, Gawain ordered the establishment of the final forward base at the southern border of the Black Forest.

This would be the third, counting the No. 1 base in the northern Black Forest and the No. 2 base deep within the forest.

Vehicles loaded with important supplies emerged from the forest, forming a loose circle on the clearing at the forest’s edge, while the multi-functional war vehicles smoothly and precisely parked in the gaps between the large transport trucks, filling the voids in the loose circle.

The steel-covered armor of the convoy and the vehicles formed a temporary defensive barrier, while the artillery pieces mounted on tractor bases were set up within the barrier, becoming the initial defensive firepower for the base.

Once the preliminary defenses were established, the Pathfinders and the guards began unloading supplies to set up the base.

The cornerstone of Cecil Magic Industry is the Magic Web, so laying the Magic Web was the first crucial step.

The pre-manufactured Magic Web Units were unloaded from the first two trucks, consisting of large metal plates over two meters long and wide, pre-assembled with numerous Magic Web units. These units were connected to pre-fabricated clasps at the edges of the multi-functional war vehicles’ bases, interfacing with the power spine of the vehicles themselves. Ultimately, using these vehicles as nodes, they formed a large continuous Magic Web on the interior of the defensive barrier. As more Magic Web Units were connected, these multi-functional war vehicles began to serve their new purpose—as Magic Obelisks.

"Vehicle 1’s external energy reaching threshold—crystal activation!" "Vehicle 2’s external energy reaching threshold—crystal activation!" "Vehicle 3..."

Accompanied by the loud reports of the mechanical soldiers, the crystals mounted on the tops of the war vehicles scattered around the forward base lit up one by one, and the abundant magic power spread quickly with the activation of the Magic Web energy field, instantly enveloping the whole clearing.

Gawain picked up a Magic Transmission Terminal at hand and saw the magic symbol on its side indicating power had lit up, nodding slightly.

These lightweight "Multi-Functional War Vehicles" were designed after the "Warhammer I" main battle vehicle was finalized. They do not possess a high level of technical sophistication, but they were specifically designed for this mission—and it’s certain they will be very useful in the foreseeable future.

At the edge of the wasteland, harsh environments and various uncontrollable factors constantly threaten the safety of personnel ahead. How to deal with these threats is something Gawain must consider—the Warhammer I is powerful, with strong survivability, and it can handle most challenges in the wasteland by itself, but it cannot solve the wasteland survival problem for the entire construction team. To address this issue, the designers at the Cecil Mechanical Manufacturing Facility and the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute built these lightweight multi-functional vehicles based on the Warhammer I framework.

Gawain named it—Steel Envoy.

From its inception, the "Steel Envoy" has been positioned as a powerful support platform rather than an attacker. To allow teams far from stable rear supports, situated in the wasteland (or frontlines), to quickly establish themselves, the Steel Envoy has been fitted with larger Magic Web Units and a sturdier Power Spine and has fixed a Magic Crystal on top—a core component of the Magic Web Obelisk. This crystal, combined with the specially designed "turret" of the Steel Envoy, forms a complete Magic Obelisk.

On the front lines, far from rear supplies, the Magic Obelisk of the Steel Envoy can provide crucial energy coverage for the positions, ensuring that the facilities can start operating as soon as possible, while its strong power spine also allows it to support a more powerful barrier system and switch between two shield modes—prioritizing self-survival with the "Upright Mode," which has strong defensive power but a limited projection range that only protects the vehicle itself. When there is a need to protect allies, activating the paired super magic rune can enter the "Peace Envoy" mode. In this mode, the shield projection range can expand to several dozen meters around, significantly lowering the shield’s protective capacity but enabling protection of a large area, thereby showcasing strong battlefield support capabilities.

In addition to providing energy and supplemental shielding, the Magic Crystal of the Steel Envoy can also serve as a relay point for Magic Web Communication. Although its power is far less than a fixed relay tower, it is sufficient to ensure battlefield communication, just as the cutting-edge magic warship "Pioneer" can provide communication coverage for the entire fleet, the Steel Envoy can ensure a land unit on the front line remains in contact with its allies.

Besides these fixed functions, as a vehicle positioned as "multi-functional support," the Steel Envoy also preemptively reserves the ability for expansion modules. Slots and rune drag chains are set around its chassis, directly connected to the vehicle’s power spine, allowing for the external connection of Magic Web Units to increase energy output, or providing rapid charge via rune drag chains to heavy units like the White Knights...

Of course, achieving these convenient features is not without cost. To install the large crystal and to support the high-energy-consuming specialized shield system, these vehicles, modified from the Warhammer I, have directly removed the main cannon, leaving only a few heat-ray guns and a single infantry-grade grenade launcher at the vehicle’s front for self-defense firepower. Its crew number has also been reduced from six to three, with the saved space used for installing additional Magic Web Units and an excessively large Power Spine. These modifications have nearly stripped the vehicle of its offensive capabilities—but Gawain knows that in a complex battlefield, a multi-functional vehicle with excellent support capabilities can play a role far beyond a main cannon.

In this wasteland, this is especially true.

On the open ground where the forward base is located, above the "wall" formed by large transport vehicles and multi-functional war vehicles, soldiers have already formed a temporary defensive line using the carriage as cover, while within the wall, Pathfinders are unloading prefabricated tents and simple prefab housing from the following trucks and setting up camp with urgency. The "Steel Envoy" at each node of the wall lights up its Magic Crystal on the roof, and as the crystals illuminate, a shimmering barrier completes the enclosure on the perimeter of the convoy.

"Magic Guide Technology..." Sonia looked at the defensive mechanisms of the camp being established bit by bit, and couldn’t help but whisper, "Initially, I thought this was just some modification and... restructuring of Gondor’s magic skills, but now it seems that it is walking a completely different path."

"The fall of the Gondor Empire gave us a lesson—no matter how advanced the technology, as long as it is restricted to the hands of a few elite individuals, limited in scope and unable to spread widely, it inevitably lacks reliability and disaster resistance, and is destined to struggle to break through its own development bottlenecks," Gawain smiled, "Of course, one reason for taking the Magic Guide Technology route was also due to the circumstances—after all, we don’t have a Well of Deep Blue."

"Well of Deep Blue..." Sonia muttered softly, looking at those "Steel Envoys" deploying shields and broadcasting chaotic magic, her gaze fell on the crystals atop these vehicles, "Perhaps... the value of these things is no less than another Well of Deep Blue..."

This was undoubtedly a very high praise.

And coming from an elf of the Silver Empire who had witnessed the glorious era of Gondor, it carried an even more special significance.

Gawain merely nodded lightly, then lifted his head to look towards the towering giant sentinel tower in his field of vision.

The gigantic sentinel tower stood at the former human empire’s border, with a hexagonal tower body reaching hundreds of meters high, floating above a mountain-like base built with special alloys and Rune Stones, relying on powerful anti-gravity devices. Countless complex runes and energy light streams shone and flowed across the tower and base, as powerful magical energy was projected into the air driven by these runes, forming an energy screen reaching a kilometer high at the wasteland’s edge.

"The glory of the ancient empire..."

Emperor Rosetta Augustus withdrew his gaze from the top of the giant tower, sighing lightly.

Behind him, a scene of bustling construction was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Numerous low-level mages from the Royal Mage Association were using The Sculpture Hand and various shaping and summoning spells to construct the camp’s walls. Huge stone walls grew visibly from the polluted land, and the Typhon Empire’s giant shield emblem was already raised to the top of the flagpole, fluttering in the chaotic winds of the wasteland.

The sound of horse hooves came from nearby, as a valiant gray-haired female knight approached the Typhon Emperor. Emperor Rosetta Augustus looked up, nodding at this talented "young wolf" from the Wendell clan, his usually solemn and rigid face holding a barely noticeable smile: "It seems we have news."

Andresha Wendell dismounted, bowing respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty, the Hawkeye Sentinel has confirmed that at the edge of the Black Forest in the northwest, there appears a team flying the Cecil Clan emblem."

"Just as expected, with Anzu’s eastern realm and the royal family in contention, they inevitably have to rely on their ancestor returning from the grave to intervene," Rosetta nodded, then turned his gaze towards the northwest, looking at the distant silhouette of another giant tower, "So close indeed..."

(I suppose many already know... little Eyeball is born, and both mother and child are safe =.= This is also my last drafted Chapter, wishing for my updates to be smooth...)