Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 613 - 612: Fire Beacon

At the edge of the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance area, Soldrin and the Steel Cavalry Warriors he was leading were approaching a small town.

The multi-functional war vehicles of the vanguard stopped outside the town. These sturdy vehicles made of steel temporarily acted as barrier generators and energy stations, setting up a makeshift base on a stony high ground outside the town. A Cavalry Scout Warrior climbed to the top of a vehicle, turned towards the town, and pressed a mechanism on the side of his enclosed helmet.

The crystal eyepiece embedded in the helmet’s visor was activated by magic power, first turning red as the warrior used a magic-detection vision to roughly scan the town. The goggles then switched to blue — the second-generation eyepiece’s bird’s eye enhanced the user’s vision, immediately revealing numerous details of the small town to the observer.

After a brief observation, a slightly muffled voice came from inside the Cavalry Scout’s helmet: "Sir, there are wandering Crystal Cluster Infectors in the town, with obvious magical surges everywhere."

"The entire town has already been infected..." Soldrin’s face darkened, "looks like we’ve entered the infection zone and can’t advance any further."

"We haven’t encountered any traces of the Eastern Legion or the Anzu Kingdom’s military along the way..." the Cavalry Scout Warrior said, "have they been completely wiped out?"

"... It’s hard to say. Although the noble lord military is poorly equipped, at least they have a number of Transcendents on guard, it’s not that easy to be completely annihilated," Soldrin said solemnly, "perhaps they’ve abandoned all the wasteland areas and are relying on large cities to hold out, or maybe they’re still up north, skirmishing with the Crystal Cluster Infectors..."

As he was expressing his analysis, he didn’t feel very confident inside.

As a High-Ranked Ranger who had experienced the grand expansion seven hundred years ago, he still felt particularly uneasy in the face of the current situation.

The bizarre "divine evils Pollution" and the massive numbers of Crystal Cluster Infectors hindered the intelligence-gathering efforts, and even with the elite and powerful Steel Cavalry, he couldn’t ascertain the situation deep within the polluted zone.

This was different from seven hundred years ago. Back then, humans fought in the wasteland, with no real need to worry about reinforcements or safe zones beyond, as it usually ended up being a gamble — succeed and survive, fail and be annihilated, with the chaotic wave at their backs leaving no room for thought, but here... things were far more complex.

Soldrin analyzed the information collected in recent days, while simultaneously, several other Cavalry Scout Warriors continued to observe the town: it was their first time seeing such a large gathering of Crystal Cluster Infectors outside of an ambush scenario, presenting a good opportunity to observe their patterns of activity.

Soon, the warriors noticed something worth paying attention to.

"Sir, these ’monsters’... seem to be organized."

Soldrin was taken aback, then immediately activated Falcon Vision (Elf Series bird’s eye) to look towards the town.

Just as the warriors had seen, the Crystal Cluster Infectors... were organized.

They weren’t aimlessly wandering, but moving in an organized manner, with some particularly tall figures directing them. Soldrin saw the scenes of these "monsters" working in groups of three to five, transporting things, and patrolling the town, scenes not observed in previous encounters in the wild.

Soldrin frowned, slowly recalling more details: even during previous ambush encounters, signs of organization could be seen among the Crystal Cluster Infectors.

They did exhibit coordination and a certain level of command during attacks.

They... seemed to retain a level of cognitive ability?

If true, the situation would be even worse — they could think but with a completely alien cognitive mode, meaning they weren’t simply mindless monsters post-infection.

These Crystal Cluster Infectors... were an army.

Amidst these thoughts, new developments suddenly appeared in the distant town.

Soldrin saw the Crystal Cluster Infectors gathered on the west side of the town suddenly become agitated, and then several particularly tall Crystal Cluster Giants appeared in his vision. Those giants quickly rallied a sizable squad, departing the town and rushing towards the northwest.

Driven by curiosity, Soldrin looked in the direction the Crystal Cluster Infectors were headed. At the horizon, he saw rising dust and flashes from the surge of magical power.

A battle had erupted there.

"There might be survivors — to the vehicles!"

...

As dusk fell, the towering southern borders Gateway finally came into view.

Beltira halted on the expanse, gazing towards the south where a series of continuous mountains stood proudly, with a majestic fortress standing among them.

A mottled horse stood uneasily beside him, often pawing the ground with its hoof and snorting.

This horse was something he "picked up" on the road. Its owner might have already fled, leaving this poor creature to wander the wilderness. Though it couldn’t compare to Beltira’s former trusty steed, or even any steed from the army, it had greatly assisted during the arduous latter half of the journey, significantly shortening the travel time.

Perhaps now seeing the journey’s end, Beltira suddenly felt much more relaxed. With a lighthearted tone, he patted the mottled horse’s neck and remarked, "You’ve earned your keep — almost worthy of a Knight’s title."

The mottled horse snorted, slightly shaking its neck.

Beltira nodded approvingly, then mounted the horse, guiding his silent temporary companion towards the fortress in the distance.

He knew he was passing by the edge of Count Pompeii’s domain, but he had no intention of meeting the plains’ aristocratic lord, nor did he plan to stop in any village or town nearby for a rest — on one hand, it was to save time and minimize complications, and on the other hand, he simply didn’t feel tired.

Though he had journeyed across the expanse for over ten days, and had barely rested, he truly didn’t feel weary.

He vaguely recalled that he once felt tired — though that seemed like a long time ago.

The mottled horse trotted through the relatively flat wasteland, the refreshing wind invigorated Beltira’s spirit, and a peculiar sense of anticipation and joy bubbled up inside him, making him feel greatly relieved. As the formidable walls of the rocky ridges Fortress drew ever closer, the young Marquis began to formulate plans in his mind —

First, he aimed to pass through the rocky ridges Fortress, entering rocky ridges Town, to report the events at the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance to Sir Wald, seeking his help to warn the rulers of the southern borders, Gigantic Tree Path Entrance, Sorinburg, Sorinburg...

Belk’s eyes suddenly flickered with a hint of bewilderment.

What happened at the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance? What happened again at Sorinburg?

He felt disoriented, but this brief daze was quickly ignored. Suddenly, he was no longer interested in the specifics of what he needed to warn about. He only remembered that his mission was to go to the southern borders, to give a warning, to deliver important news, and considering his status and the importance of the message he was delivering, he would undoubtedly be personally received by Duke Gawain Cecil...

This intense thought surged continuously, wave after wave impacting Belk’s mind, but abruptly, within his increasingly hazy consciousness, an image emerged.

A pair of eyes, a pair of bright eyes flashed through his mind.

Those eyes... seemed familiar.

In this fleeting moment, Belk suddenly snapped back to clarity.

He felt his heart pounding, his breath quickening, sweat rolling down his neck, while a multitude of chaotic and fragmented memory images rapidly reassembled in his mind, yet unable to form an accurate impression, even causing his head to ache intensely. Simultaneously, amidst this frightening state, he suddenly felt his chest heating up.

Instinctively, Belk reached into his bosom, grasping something that was continuously heating up — it was a small talisman, the War God Amulet.

This powerful talisman, which had received the highest blessings and possessed various stabilized Divine Arts capable of enlightening the wearer’s spirituality, was releasing increasingly strong heat, and along with the heat, wave upon wave of surging power. Holding the talisman confusedly, Belk only felt his brain being constantly washed over and reshaped by it, and finally, those chaotic and fragmented memory images pieced together one by one.

He recalled the dense fog of Sorinburg, recalled the abnormal changes at the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance, and recalled the owner of those eyes.

At the end of all the memory images, he heard the last word spoken to him by the Prince he swore allegiance to:

"Run."

With a roaring explosion in his mind, Belk fully regained clarity and realized the bizarre nature of his existence over the past days —

He arrived here driven by a certain obsession — but this obsession wasn’t voluntary.

On the journey, he actively or passively distanced himself from all human presence — seemingly making efforts to avoid being disturbed or hindered by anyone.

He smoothly escaped from the area most severely contaminated — almost without any pursuit.

He was being controlled.

Belk suddenly pulled the reins, bringing his mottled horse to a halt.

He looked up at the distant rocky ridges Fortress, abruptly feeling once again a surge of illusory expectations and impulses in his mind, yet this time, he forcefully suppressed those thoughts that didn’t belong to him.

He dismounted, tightly gripping the War God Amulet, its sharp edges piercing his palm — as the blood flowed, he saw sparkling flashes within that blood.

That was the sparkle of crystalline particles in the sunlight.

At this moment, Belk finally realized — he had become an infection source, using the body of a powerful individual as a vessel, completely disguised as a human being, the most dangerous infection source.

The heat of the War God Amulet began to fade, the power stored within the amulet gradually exhausted, he sensed his clear consciousness waver once again, while those forcibly suppressed, alien thoughts attempted to regain control of this body.

He raised his head, looking toward the distant rocky ridges Fortress, amidst the difficult thought process, one thought remained exceptionally clear: He must... give a warning.

The time of clarity is limited.

Belk surveyed his surroundings, then drew his family heirloom Longsword.

He approached a nearby boulder, raised the Longsword, the sword tip scoring the surface of the rock, fragments flying —

"Gigantic Tree Path Entrance is shrouded in plague, Prince Edmund has been cursed and controlled, the Eastern Legion may have been completely destroyed...

"Main pollution area concentrated at...

"Beware of plague carriers disguised as humans — characterized by blood containing crystals."

The Longsword lowered, Belk gazed at the words he left behind, feeling a sense of pride rising within.

Despite passing through the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance in a bewildered state, he still remembered the main haunts of the Crystal Cluster Giants, this intelligence... might prove useful.

Having completed these tasks, he turned around, cast a glance at the majestic high walls of the rocky ridges Fortress, then withdrew his gaze, smiling faintly at the mottled horse that accompanied him through the last leg of the journey —

"Run."

Upon the sudden onset of pressure, the mottled horse made a loud neigh, turned, and ran towards the distance.

Belk exhaled, leaning the Longsword on the ground to support his body, standing upright, gazing towards the East.

"Quite distant..."

Two seconds later, a massive magic flame column rose into the sky, clearly visible even from the rocky ridges Fortress, illuminating half the sky.