Chapter 1030 — Iron Man
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The most perilous and ferocious battle in human history had ended, but for this "war" itself, the mopping-up would still be a long and cautious process.
Inside the forward command post at Winterwolf Keep, Gao Yang sat with Philip, Ma Qi, Suo Jilin, Amber, and the others around a long table. The arcane-net terminal on the table glowed faintly; the terrain map of the entire Winter Keep region was projected into the air above the tabletop, while numerous other holograms displayed the situation of each unit within the region, along with images transmitted from Xuanyao City.
"Over the past few hours, three of our units have passed close by the Typhonians. No clash has occurred so far, but given the poor communications between some frontline soldiers and the rear, and the fact that some Typhonian legions have also been scattered, with many small units out of contact and out of control, I suggest we pull the soldiers who entered the eastern side of the belt plain back to the middle of the plain," Philip said. "Typhon's Guardian Knights and Mage Corps have begun to resume operations, and many areas are being progressively sealed off. There is no need for search units to keep operating inside the Winter Keep control zone."
"Ah—" Amber could not help sighing from the side. "After fighting the God of War, I actually had the illusion that everything in this war was settled... I nearly forgot that this place is really our 'battlefield' with the Typhonians..."
"You're not the only one who had that illusion—we've all felt it to some degree. After all... that was the God of War. We just fought a god head-on," Ma Qi said with a bitter smile, spreading his hands. "And I'm sure things on Typhon's side are even more chaotic than ours—I just hope they can get their command system fully back to normal as soon as possible. Right now there are far too many scattered small units on the battlefield, every single one a magic-crystal bomb waiting to go off."
What Ma Qi described was precisely the complex situation both the Typhon and Cecil frontline forces now faced: the fighting was over, yet the embers of this "war" had not been safely extinguished. Although the leadership on both sides knew the true situation, had reached a tacit understanding, and had already issued orders for a temporary ceasefire, the postwar chaos meant it would take some time for those orders to take effect on both sides. During that interval, a great many combat units that had lost contact with the rear were still waiting for orders on this scorched earth, while the search units of both sides moved across the already shattered defensive lines, looking for their own missing troops or battlefield resources. In a sense, this was even more nerve-wracking than the war itself.
"Philip is quite right," Gao Yang broke the silence. "Has there been any reply from Winter Keep?"
"We've established a temporary communication line with the Typhonians," Suo Jilin said, rising to his feet. "The 'War Citizen,' anchored at the edge of the war zone, is serving as a temporary arcane-net hub, and some of the Steel Ambassadors that are still operational have entered the Typhon-controlled zone as 'couriers.' We can finally relay messages to Winter Keep now. The Typhonians are also willing to withdraw some of their troops back to their garrisons and designate part of the overlapping zone as a 'buffer area,' into which only the medical and search-and-rescue units of both sides may enter. However, they want us to pull back first—at the very least, they want the mechanized units of the First and Second Regiments to withdraw."
"Huh?" Amber blurted out instinctively. "Why should we be the ones to fall back first..."
"Because our two tank regiments have already driven up to the Typhonians' camp at the foot of the mountains—driven right into it," Ma Qi said, his expression somewhat embarrassed. "Things were too chaotic in the final phase... Luckily, no shots were fired."
Amber: "...Ah. Oh..."