The appearance of the giant dragon made Gawain more interested in the mysterious impact crater at the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range.
Whatever it was, it obviously got the dragon's attention - so what was the last thing that caught the dragon's attention
It was Cecil who was polluted by the magic tide.
After exiting the satellite connection mode, Gao Wen quietly thought for a while in the study, and then ordered Amber to call Hetty and Byron.
When he heard that Gao Wen was about to go to the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range to investigate the situation, Heti was startled: "Are you going to the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range?!"
"I'm very concerned about what happened over there," Gawain couldn't explain what satellite monitoring is to the current Heidi, so he could only say, "The overload of the Great Wall happened not long ago, and now there is another explosion near the wasteland." There's a new movement, and we have to figure things out."
"But it's too dangerous there," Hetty worried, "Crossing the Dark Mountains is tantamount to facing the wasteland..."
"I've faced it more than once," Gawain interrupted Hetty, "and even if you cross the Dark Mountains, it doesn't mean you've entered the wasteland—there are Black Forest and Belt Plain in between. Strictly speaking, the Dark Mountains The southern foot is still part of the 'Civilization Territory', with my strength, and with a team of elites, there is no problem in moving there."
Seeing Gao Wen's resolute attitude, Hetty realized that she might not be able to dissuade him.
The ancestor has always been far-sighted in doing things, and he cares so much about this matter, there must be a very important reason behind it.
But just when Hetty was about to nod his head and Gawain was about to discuss manpower matters with Byron, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the study door, interrupting everyone's movements: "Old friend, I'm afraid you don't have to cross the mountains for the time being. —There are some situations in the disobedient fortress."
Gawain raised his head and saw Soldering standing there.
…
When the "earthquake" happened, Soldering immediately received an order. He led a group of elite steel rangers into the disobedient fortress, and checked south along the main corridor of the fortress to confirm whether this ancient Gondor building was damaged. Effects of mountain tremors.
Facts have proved that this order is not only timely, but also very necessary.
The magic spar lamp powered by the modern magic net system illuminated the long corridor of the ancient fortress. Gawain took Amber, Byron and Hetty, and followed Solderling to the southern depths of the fortress.
A group of heavily armed Iron Ranger warriors walked with them, and on both sides of the corridor, you could see sentries standing at intervals. The further you moved to the south of the fortress, the more sentries on the road.
"After the earthquake, the person in charge of the arsenal of the disobedient fortress sent a report, saying that there was a loud noise from the southern corridor," Soldering said in a calm tone as he walked beside Gao Wen. The workers in this work area also heard loud noises and obvious vibrations. I was worried that the entire southern area would collapse, so I evacuated the workers in this area and checked along the main corridor... "
The long corridor gradually came to an end, and an extraordinarily heavy and huge isolation door appeared before everyone's eyes.
This is the southern isolation gate of the Fortress of Rebellion. Opposite this heavy gate is a huge cave called the "Shadow Experimental Field". Gawain still remembers this place—it was here that Amber jumped to the Fort of the Treaty through the Shadow Realm , witnessed the scene of the assassination of Francis II, and also brought back key evidence of the secret collusion between Prince Edmund and the believers of the end of all things.
Since the development and exploration of other areas of the fortress have not been completed, the current "Dark Zone Industrial Zone" does not need such a large area for the time being, so after that incident, the "Shadow Experimental Field" was temporarily sealed up.
Solderling came to the gate of the Shadow Experimental Field and activated the magic mechanism of the gate. Accompanied by a creaking sound of mechanical operation, the newly installed magic mechanism drove the heavy isolation door to slowly open to both sides. The opposite scene was presented in front of everyone.
"To be honest, I was also taken aback," Soldering said.
Opposite the gate, there was a thin layer of mist floating in the wide cave. At the end of Gawain's line of sight, a piece of skylight was pouring in from the south of the cave—there was an extremely wide opening, and the skylight and mist obviously came through from there. .
"It may be caused by the collapse of the mountain - the previous 'earthquake' caused the second collapse, part of the rocks peeled off, connecting the originally closed shadow experiment field cave with the outside," Soldering said unhurriedly Said, "The infiltrating fog has a faint magic breath, but fortunately it is very thin, and belongs to the 'boundary fog' that has declined to almost harmless."
"... the southern part of the Dark Mountain Range..." Byron stared dumbfounded at the gap at the end of the cave, and muttered to himself, "My God... it was opened..."
Amber was equally stunned: "So this shadow experiment site is so close to the southern mountain wall?"
"Immediately mobilize a brigade, carrying light and heavy artillery, and deploy it near the gap," Gawain suddenly turned to Byron, speaking quickly, and then looked at Hetty, "Mobilize the engineering team, build fortifications near the gap, set up Shield generators, and...bring enough Rebecca crystals."
If the situation deteriorates, he doesn't mind blowing up the entire southern fortress area directly to seal the gap.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Byron and Hetty quickly responded to Gawain's order: "Understood!" "Yes!"
"I want to go to the south of the Dark Mountain Range..." Gawain turned his head to look at the Shadow Experimental Field, which has been connected to the outside world, with a deep sense of helplessness in his tone, "But I didn't want to go there like this..."
…
The soldiers and engineering team urgently dispatched from Cecil City soon arrived at the Shadow Experimental Field area. With the cooperation of the Iron Ranger fighters who arrived earlier, they established a line of defense in the cave at the fastest speed. And began to rely on this line of defense to build temporary fortifications, and during the whole process, Gawain did not leave this gap for even a step.
It wasn't until the magic cannon was set up near the gap in the cave, and until a large amount of weapons and ammunition were sent to the corridor of the south gate, that Gawain, Hetty and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Gawain brought Amber to the south end of the cave, and the two climbed up the collapsed boulders, looking out at the vast scenery outside.
A purple-black hillside covered with thin mist stretched out in front of their eyes. This is a relatively gentle mountain in the middle of the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range. At the end of the hillside, it extends down the mountain and is boundless black forest.
The towering giant trees showed a distorted and mutated posture under the erosion of the chaotic demon energy. All the flowers, plants and shrubs were no longer familiar to people. Those plants mixed with thorns, poisonous sacs, decayed limbs and swollen glands were blown by the dirty wind. There were constant rustling sounds, some of which were even slowly crawling between the rocks, and some particularly disturbing shadows flashed between the mutated and twisted plants, causing every witness to create countless ghosts out of thin air. Terrible associations.
That is the Black Forest, which is depicted in all epics, biographies, and poems. It is the product of the pollution of the demon tide, and it is the result of the compromise of the normal natural world with the Chaos Demon. It can swallow all uncautious explorers —However, it is only the most fringe area of the magic tide.
There are even hundreds of kilometers away from the magnificent wall.
"Is this the border of the civilized world..." Amber stood beside Gawain. This half-elf, who has always been fearless, couldn't help becoming nervous after seeing the Black Forest with her own eyes—even though she had also stood on the top of the Dark Mountain The outpost has overlooked the Black Forest at the southern foot, but the view from a high mountaintop at a safe distance is obviously not comparable to the impact that is so close at hand.
Now she is standing here, only a few hundred meters away from the nearest border of the Black Forest, and she can even smell the decaying air coming from the south—although this is mostly an illusion caused by psychological effects.
"We once had the opportunity to push this border to the south. A hundred years ago, when the magic tide receded, if the pioneering spirit was still there at that time, the Ansu people could have pushed the southern border to the side of the magnificent wall, and then A more controllable barrier was built there—it’s a pity that Ansu missed this opportunity, and human beings handed it over here,” Gao Wen sighed, “The Black Forest is hopeless, and it’s corrupted to this extent, I’m afraid it’s the giant deer Amo Eun can't save it even if he gets up."
While talking, Gao Wen raised his head and looked to the southwest.
According to the satellite view comparison results in my mind, the mysterious impact crater should be not far to the southwest.
The gap caused by the landslide is indeed a huge hidden danger, but this hidden danger is not without benefits-now, the Fortress of Disobedience has connected Cecil and the southern area of the Dark Mountains. This facility built by the ancient Gondors a thousand years ago At this moment, it turned into a passage through the mountain. Through this passage, he can reach the southern region without climbing the steep mountain road.
Moreover, with the help of the convenient passage inside the Rebel Fortress, a large amount of supplies can be sent directly to the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range. After the fortifications here are stabilized, it may be a good idea to transform the entire "Shadow Experimental Field" into a forward fortress.
Seeing Gao Wen suddenly looking into the distance, Amber fell into deep thought. After holding back for a long time, she finally couldn't help breaking the silence: "Hey, what are you looking at?"
Gao Wen said casually: "Since we've arrived here...it's time to go over and see the situation."
"...you haven't forgotten about it?!" Amber was taken aback, "Isn't it just a landslide—look around here, isn't it?"
"This place collapsed after the first 'earthquake'. The original 'shock' was not here." Gawain glanced at Amber. "According to my perception, there seems to be abnormal magic fluctuations in the southwest."
The legendary powerhouse's "perception" is a universal reason. Amber can only trust Gao Wen's judgment, but looking at the daunting denseness in the distance, it is full of all kinds of crazy mutant plants, and it is unknown how many dangerous monsters are hidden inside. In the Black Forest, the half-elf lady felt her scalp go numb: "You don't mean to ask me to go with you... I'm allergic to the Black Forest..."
"Of course you have to follow," Gawain glanced at the coward, "but I have to make a point first—Knight Byron, come here."
Byron quickly ran up to Gawain: "My lord, are you looking for me?"
"I'm going to investigate that direction," Gawain pointed to the southwest hillside, "it should be within the Black Forest."
As a half-way knight who was born as a mercenary and has rich adventure experience, Byron immediately reacted: "Oh, okay, I will organize a group of people who are good at scouting..."
"No, just let the scouts ask Soldering to prepare," Gawain interrupted Byron, "You call in eighteen medium-sized 'justice' rail guns, and I'll give you a few parameters, and you go over there Blow up a road…”
Byron was stunned: "...My lord, didn't you say investigation..."
"Yes, Fire Reconnaissance."
When Amber next to me heard this, she also circled her face cutely: "Why do I remember that the fire reconnaissance you told me last time didn't seem to mean that..."
"But this is beyond the borders of civilization, the edge of the wasteland," Gawain smiled, patted Amber on the shoulder, and looked at Byron again, "Remember, in this wasteland, the only way to survive is To destroy all threats, the only security criterion is that nothing is safe, and the only reconnaissance is fire reconnaissance."