Chapter 580 — Advance, Unfold
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Amber's first impression of the wasteland was "alien."
The pale gray sky churned overhead like some viscous liquid, its thick clouds shot through with an almost visible turbulence of magical currents; erratic winds swept without pattern across a barren, twisted land — and that land was blanketed in some substance of purple-black, as though molten volcanic discharge had been mingled with mire, spreading outward like the festering sores of this world, stretching to the very edge of sight and on into the interior of that distant, magnificent energy barrier.
She had never seen its like anywhere.
At last she understood what Gao Yang had meant when he said the wasteland lay beyond the borders of the civilized world.
The Black Forest might be corrupted and twisted, but at least the trees were still trees and the monsters still monsters; however overcast the sky, the heavens glimpsed between the clouds were still clear. But here, at the Black Forest's end, at the foot of the great wall, the whole world had become something other than what she knew.
She even felt that the shadow power here had turned unfamiliar.
"According to the siren, the tide of magic is the world's process of 'reshuffling' — the tide of seven hundred years ago was but an incomplete eruption, a kind of 'prelude' to the shuffle..." Gao Yang watched the wasteland stretch out before him and suddenly recalled what Tyr had told him; he could not help murmuring softly to himself. "So the changes here... can actually be regarded as the harbinger of some 'new world.'"
Amber stared at Gao Yang in horror. "You're telling me this rotten place... is what the 'new world' looks like after a true eruption of the magic tide?"
Gao Yang gave a slight nod. "More or less."
"...The new world is truly terrifying," Amber said, sticking out her tongue. "Just what kind of life could possibly survive in a 'new world' like this..."
"Terrifying only relative to our aesthetic," Gao Yang glanced at Amber. "Perhaps in the eyes of the new world's life, this twisted, corrupted land is a paradise of birdsong and blossoms, of pleasant scenery — while the blue skies, white clouds, green hills and clear waters we know... would seem to them no different from purgatory."
Suo You came to Gao Yang and Amber's side; hearing their exchange, she could not help saying, "Seven hundred years of sleep have made you more sentimental than before."
Gao Yang said, "There isn't much else to do when you're sleeping in a coffin."
"If there's a chance, introduce us to that siren lady. We elves have always been interested in the ancient knowledge the sirens possess."
"I will, once she wakes again," Gao Yang nodded, then surveyed their surroundings. "And now... let us establish our final forward base here."
They were still a short distance from the Sentinel Tower that required construction — not far, but the corrupted plains were fraught with peril. To ensure the safety of the front-line personnel and to safeguard the road running through the Black Forest, Gao Yang ordered the establishment of a final forward base at the southern boundary of the Black Forest.
Counting Base One in the northern Black Forest and Base Two deep within it, this was the third.
The transport vehicles carrying vital supplies rolled out of the forest and arranged themselves in a loose ring upon the open ground at the woodland's edge, while the multi-purpose war chariots came to rest smoothly and precisely in the gaps between the great transports, filling the breaches in that loose ring.
Thus the steel plating and hulls of the convoy formed a temporary defensive barrier, and the artillery pieces drawn on tractor chassis were set up within the barrier to serve as the base's initial self-defense firepower.
With rudimentary defenses established, the Pathfinders and the escort squads began unloading supplies and setting up the base.