Soldering, who went to the north to investigate the situation, sent back information. With the help of the hidden relay devices installed along the river bank along the way, the advance team of the Iron Rangers has always maintained communication with the magic net in the south. With the support of convenient remote communication, Gao Wen immediately knew the situation of those "crystal cluster monsters" encountered by the high-level ranger.
To be honest, he hoped that this report would never be delivered to him.
"... We encountered those monsters in the Dolan Hills area northeast of Pompeii... They looked like humans made of flesh and crystal, but they were stronger and taller than humans. They seemed to have strong physical fitness and a certain The ability to cast spells, but the specific combat power is not yet clear. It is only known that the burner is very effective against them.
"According to the remaining clues, those monsters should have wandered from further north... We found a village that was attacked, but the villagers showed no signs of infection, and the source of pollution should not be nearby...
"...the local lord and his army responded to the call of the royal family and went to the front line. It is said that there has been no news for a long time..."
In the holographic projection, Soldering meticulously reported the situation in the north. The background behind him was a temporary camp built at the foot of the leeward rock. Iron Rangers were guarding guard not far away. Due to the lack of relay nodes, The communication screen was slightly disturbed and distorted, but Gawain could still see the obvious worried look on the face of the high-ranking ranger.
The communication in a large area was interrupted, the whereabouts of the local lords were unknown, and the strange flesh cluster monsters wandered out from the lost area... No matter which feature, it pointed to the worst possibility.
After finishing the report, the high-level ranger asked for the next order: "Should we continue to move forward?"
"Proceed forward to the periphery of the giant log crossing, but return immediately if you encounter too many 'infected crystal clusters'," Gao Wen said in a deep voice, "Pay attention to setting up relay devices and small-scale magic nets along the way... the ones you carry Are magic net units and small relays enough?"
"The relay device is enough, if the magic net... We can directly install some of the relay devices in the mills and manors of the local lords. The magic net is more popular in the central and eastern regions of the plain, and the energy here is not a problem."
Gao Wen nodded, and then made some more detailed inquiries and arrangements before hanging up the communication.
He raised his head and looked at the people gathered in the room.
Of course Hetty, Byron, Philip, Amber, Rebecca and others were present, and besides that, "technicians" like Kamel and Pittman were also called here.
"It is now certain that the large-scale destruction of the Doom Society has already begun, and the situation may be more serious than we imagined. The whereabouts of the monsters crossing their territory, this situation can only show one thing that the nobles and lords in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain have lost control of the situation," Gao Wen said solemnly, and at the same time he looked at the hanging by the side On the wall is an accurate map marking the entire territory of Ansu. On that map, the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain is marked with a big red circle. "The biggest problem now is that we are not sure how big the out-of-control area is. How many of those 'drussia infections' are there, and what are the respective conditions of the royal family and the Eastern Realm."
While speaking, what came to Gao Wen's mind was not only the hand-painted map of Ansu, but also the bird's-eye view from the satellite.
However, even with the assistance of the satellite perspective, what he can see this time is still limited.
Since last week, the entire giant log crossing area has been shrouded in thick fog. Although the fog has dissipated, the clouds still affect the satellite's overlooking view. The eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain is shrouded in a powerful energy field, and a similar situation... He only encountered it when overlooking the wasteland of Gondor.
Of course, he can't see everything. In the area where the distortion is not so serious, and the interference of clouds and smoke is relatively light, he can see the traces of the outbreak of battle and see some messy battlefields. However, due to the lack of clarity, he It is not sure whether those battle marks were attacked by monsters, or were caused by the normal battle between the Royal Army and the Eastern Territory.
"The latest news from White Sands Mining, the social order in the Eastern Territory is still normal, but there is indeed an uneasy atmosphere spreading," Hetty said at this time, "The Marquis of Belk Rollen went to Solinburg and never returned. , Many left-behind nobles in the eastern border are gathering frequently, exchanging visits, and sending messengers. It seems that they have also cut off contact with the front line. Hom, who is in charge of the Baisha area, believes that the situation may deteriorate further. Even if there is no foreign enemy attack, the left-behind nobles in the eastern border are losing control There is also the possibility of civil unrest afterward and a threat to mine safety.”
Speaking of which, she couldn't help but added with a strange expression: "The local nobles near the Baisha Hills seem to...have not liked our mining methods very much."
"White Sand Hills... It is adjacent to the Gelen region, and there is a gap," Gawain pondered briefly, then looked at Rebecca, "Has the modification of the 'Iron Throne' been completed?"
Rebecca's eyes lit up, and she looked excited: "The welding of the armor plate has been completed, and the rail gun group and incineration device have also been installed! Now it is undergoing control and balance tests at the depot, but if you feel it is necessary, you can directly install it. It drove to Glenn, and the follow-up tests can also be completed there...”
After a short thought, Gawain nodded: "Driving to Glenn, be on call at any time."
Then he paused again and turned his head to Byron.
"Where are the Pioneer, Aurora, and Morningstar now?"
"It has arrived at Panshi Port."
"You go there immediately. Three days later, regardless of whether there is any new information from Soldering, set sail immediately, cross the Rock Fortress, go up the Dorgon River and enter the Holy Spirit Plain, and be ready to support the advance team of the Rangers. In addition, I I have ordered Sir Walder to prepare a batch of mechanical ships to pick up refugees, and they are still on standby at the port, and those ships are also under your command. If the situation really develops in the worst direction, you will use those ships of."
When this order was issued, even the old fritter knight, who had always been carefree and undisciplined, showed a serious look on his face.
If the officers of the Military Intelligence Bureau are still just intelligence personnel, and if the Iron Rangers are just a small group of soldiers performing spying work, then once the three magical mechanical battleships cross the Rock Fortress and enter the Dorgon River, the meaning will be completely different.
Since the end of the Southern Unification War and the flag of the Principality of Cecil was hung from the Rock Fortress, this land has closed its gates. The nobles in the Holy Spirit Plain and further north have all speculated about what is brewing in this mysterious land. They guessed what kind of world was behind the steel-covered wall. They sent various spies and made various efforts, but in the face of Cecil's strict social system, all Efforts to pry the door open have been fruitless.
Now, its doors are finally about to open.
Those nobles of the plains who stared helplessly at the southern border to see what is now, will get their wish to see what is behind the gate.
"Yes," Byron accepted the order in a deep voice, but after a brief sternness, he still couldn't help laughing, "I guess those plain nobles along the Dorgon River will panic if they are still alive Of course, it is more likely that they do not know our advanced warships at all... "
"This is a serious occasion," Philip immediately interrupted Byron with a stern face, and then looked at Gawain, "My lord, where is the Army Combat Corps?"
"Temporary standby."
At present, the information is still insufficient. Gao Wen is still not sure how serious the pollution or "curse" in the eastern part of the plain is, how the strange "clusters" spread, and the presence of the Kingdom Army or the Eastern Border Army in those areas. In a state of serious lack of intelligence, it is not wise to rush to project ground troops.
On the other hand, powerful magical warships have almost unsolvable power in this era and have excellent survivability. At the same time, warships sailing on the water can also greatly avoid the threat of "plague" from land, even if they do It also has the ability to return home quickly.
Taking these two factors into consideration, he decided to let the magical warship enter the Dorgon River first, and while going north along the river to confirm the situation in the Holy Spirit Plain, he established a reliable naval gun support in the river channel to provide advance support for the land troops. After that, after Soldering has collected more information, he will consider letting the follow-up tanks and infantry enter the potentially very dangerous "contaminated zone"...
The area where the Royal Army and the Eastern Territory confront is located at the giant wooden crossing in the east of the Holy Spirit Plain. Although it belongs to the eastern part of the plain, it is actually very close to the central area, and the Dorgon River just passes through that area, so the naval guns in the river can be used Provide effective support for ground forces on land on the east coast.
The meeting was over, and most people left the meeting room, but Kamel and Pittman were left behind by Gawain.
"What do you think about those 'infected clusters' mentioned by Solderin?" Gawain glanced between the two masters, and finally landed on Kamel, "That sounds really good. Like the 'God's Abomination' back then, but the details seem to be different?"
"That's right, it's not the same as the abominations in my memory," Kamel nodded, making a buzzing voice, "The abominations we created back then, even those with the worst crystallization infection, were only the main ones. Crystals will appear in the joints, accompanied by swelling and distortion of the body, but according to Solderin, the surface crystal coverage of the 'infected' he saw even exceeded 50%, which is almost a mixture of crystals and organic matter. into creatures…”
Having said that, he paused for a moment, and then said: "This gives me a very weird feeling. Our research on abominations back then was trying to reduce the tendency of carriers to 'alienate', so that they could carry the abominable factor while carrying the abominable factor. Becoming more human, and what Soldering sees...is going to the other extreme, it's trying to make people...inhuman."
"This may be their so-called 'Great Evolution' abandoning the human body and embracing the new form brought about by mutation," Gawain shook his head, turning his gaze to Pittman, "According to your understanding, you think this 'infection' may be Through what means of transmission? Or, what prevention methods are most effective?"
"No matter how weird the 'Plague Spell' of the Doom Society looks, it is still a plague in essence, and the spread of the plague is nothing more than several ways of water, food, air, and pollution by corpses carrying curses. Airborne transmission It is the most efficient way, but it usually can only spread relatively weak plagues, and it is easily dispelled by ritual spells, followed by water and food, and the end of all things will like these two methods the most, but boiling water and thorough heating Food is effective against it. As for the last kind... Cursed corpses have the strongest polluting power, and since flesh itself is an excellent material for spellcasting, our burners of all kinds are necessary: all corpses must be burned, regardless of Enemy or friend, regardless of high or low, it is always safest to burn them to ashes in the shortest possible time, and before burning them, close or direct contact should be minimized as much as possible, isolation measures must be taken, and detection spells must be used to confirm Safety."
Gao Wen touched his chin: "It doesn't sound like anything special..."
"For us, for people in the south, it may be so, but on the plains of the Holy Spirit, any of these transmission routes is deadly enough," Pittman put away his usual unscrupulous appearance, and he licked his Beard, sighed in a low voice, "The firewood needed to boil a pot of water is enough for half a loaf of bread, and just because of this half loaf... the water plague can kill tens of thousands of people."
There was a moment of silence in the room.
"About those 'cluster infections', we still have too little information, and I can't make a sufficiently accurate analysis." After a brief silence, Kamel suddenly broke the silence, "If there are more samples, I should There will be some progress."
"Solderling will send a team to send back those crystal cluster fragments. After confirming that they do not carry activated magic properties and have no tendency to spread pollution," Gawain nodded, "I will give you a special laboratory for research. It, going forward until this incident subsides, it will be our focus."
…
After Kamel and Pittman also left, the room fell completely silent.
Gao Wen sat on his armchair, quietly thinking about the next arrangement and development.
This kind of silence lasted for an unknown amount of time before Gao Wen was awakened suddenly by a slight movement from the door.
He raised his head, and saw that the door of the room had quietly opened a narrow gap, and a guy who had almost forgotten that there was such a person came halfway in with his head poking his head.
Tyr.
Gao Wen has been away from the territory since last autumn, and has been busy with projects near the wasteland. He really hasn't seen this guy for too long.
But in fact, even if he stayed in the territory, he didn't have much time to meet Tire. Since the weather turned cold last year, the sea caterpillar has entered hibernation in a grandiose way, sleeping in the pool for twenty hours a day, and it's just a matter of climbing out occasionally. In order to go to the balcony to bask in the sun, I turned around, completely forgetting where I came from and where I was going... By the way, why did this guy suddenly come
Gawain was puzzled for a while, and at the same time he saw Tier crawling in, the shame of the siren looked around, his face was blank: "Ah, didn't you mean a meeting?"
Gao Wen: "..."
"It's already over," Gao Wen tried his best to keep his expression from collapsing, but he still looked at the saltwater freak with a strange expression, "You...you know about the meeting?"
"I know, Rebecca told me, but I took a nap," Till shook the tip of his tail with a helpless expression, "Then you guys are done."
Only then did Gawain suddenly recall that Rebecca seemed to have told Tire to come over before, because this salted fish was more or less a military technical consultant, but at that time Gawain never believed it at all. the fish will come...
It has to be said that even though Tyre didn't help at all, Gawain felt inexplicably happy watching this befuddled sea caterpillar strutting around the room.
Probably this is the power of the deep sea harmony god.
He shook his head slightly, getting rid of associations like "Deep Sea Harmony God" from his mind, then stood up, ready to leave: "I'm leaving, if you have nothing else to do, you can go back to sleep."
"Hey, it's rare for me to wake up for a while." Tier stretched his waist three or four meters long, then raised his upper body, and looked in a certain direction with a curious face, "By the way... what happened to the north?"
Gao Wen's movement of leaving immediately stopped.
What Tyre was looking at was a little east of the north, the front line where the Royal Army and the Eastern Territory were confronting each other.
So far, no one has mentioned the situation there to Tire in detail, and even if someone did, it is impossible for her to remember it with her personality.
Why did she suddenly pay attention to that direction
Gao Wen's intuition told Gao Wen that the fish's reaction might be because it felt something!
"The battlefield over there is deteriorating, and we are trying to figure out its situation," Gao Wen said, "Has anyone told you?"
"That's not true, but I seem to feel... there is a little bit of food in that direction," Till blinked, then raised his body even more vigorously, and looked to the north, "It's a little bit like a giant squid..."
Gao Wen's eyes narrowed slightly: His intuition was indeed correct. The Kraken, who has been dealing with the corpse of the God of Storms for a long time, has a perception ability that humans cannot understand, and his satellite perspective was disturbed when overlooking the giant log crossing, which means that there is something wrong with that area. Covered by a special energy field, Tyr suddenly stared at the north... indicating that she sensed that energy field!
He immediately asked: "Food? Are you sure it's food?"
"A little bit," Tyr wrinkled his nose, and said uncertainly, "but I always feel that there is something wrong with it..."
Gao Wen: "..."