Chapter 1320: Urgency

Hearing Camilla’s words, Morak couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. The orc general, known as a champion warrior, sighed softly. “A clever beast never willingly walks into a dead end. For years, we’ve been too blind to the false sense of security given by those grand walls and mountain barriers…”

“Yeah,” Camilla twisted the corner of her mouth. “But actually, Wenna and Stur have realized this over the past two years. The only pity is that we woke up too late. The monsters in the wasteland won’t just obediently cooperate with us to rebuild the defenses… hss.”

Morak tensed immediately. “Do you need a healer?”

“No, I’m not that fragile yet.” Camilla waved him off, then propped herself up on the edge of the bed and swung her legs down. “Alright, enough of the weak lamenting. I have things I need to do. Morak, bring me my armor.”

Morak stared in shock at Camilla’s determined posture, her readiness to leave the tent immediately making the fur on his head stand on end. “Great Chieftain? Your body isn’t—”

“Do you expect me to lie here until I’m fully healed? We’re at war, General.” Camilla shot a sharp glance at her most trusted subordinate. “The warriors need to see their leader, and I need to see the battlefield with my own eyes. Complaining won’t push those invading monsters back into the wasteland.”

The winter night in the mountains was bitterly cold. Stepping out of the tent, Camilla shivered violently in the night wind. As a big cat, she suddenly longed for the warm hearth and thick woolen blankets of Red Jade City. But that fragile feeling didn’t linger for more than a second. She quickly steadied herself and, accompanied by Morak, began inspecting the defenses along the ridge.

Far off at the edge of the night, a faint, hazy glow lit the dim horizon. It wasn’t the sunrise, which wouldn’t come for over an hour, but the light from the Great Wall at the edge of the wasteland.

Compared to Camilla’s memory, the glow from the horizon was noticeably dimmer and flickering intermittently—an unsettling sign.

“There are still breaches in the Great Wall…” Morak looked up toward where Camilla was staring, his face grim. “Before we withdrew from the mountain barrier, our scouts confirmed that the sentinel towers along the wasteland border were being reactivated. But the monsters have clearly shattered the wall’s integrity. We can’t get close enough to assess the situation in detail, but even with the naked eye, it’s clear… several large holes have opened, and monsters are pouring through them nonstop.”

Camilla said nothing, withdrawing her gaze to silently watch the burning camps and towns at the mountain’s base. Each flicker of flame marked a bloody battle and a desperate attempt to delay the enemy with fire. Fire was effective, but against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy and their own insufficient forces, the front line kept retreating.

She turned her head toward Red Jade City. The distant orc capital was still beyond sight; even with her keen vision, all she could see was the “Red Jade Forest Sea” that lay between the city and the Wolfspine Mountains.

Under the winter night sky, the dense, ancient forest lay quietly beneath the stars. Though not as cold as the northern continent, the deep winter still blanketed much of the forest in snow. White patches dotted the black backdrop, and when the mountain wind blew, a soft rustling sound drifted through the night—a peaceful scene that could almost make one forget the brutal reality on the other side of the mountains, forget the ongoing war.

If not for the dire situation, Camilla would be enjoying a hunt in that forest right now. The winter Red Jade Forest Sea was her second favorite place—like many ogres, her first was always the ancestral peak in summer.

“If those monsters cross the Wolfspine Mountains, their next target will undoubtedly be the Red Jade Forest Sea…” Morak’s low, hoarse voice came from beside her. “The forest guardians’ forces probably aren’t enough to stop the monsters crossing the mountains. And from past experience, the forest itself only slows them down a little. Once the guardians are broken through, Red Jade City will be next…”

The old orc shook his head. The black fur markings on his cheeks and neck twitched with the movement of his muscles. He suppressed his emotions, but his tone betrayed anger and sorrow. “The mountains and forests were gifts from our ancestors. Now these reckless abominations trample our homeland without restraint…”

“Great Chieftain… General…” A nervous voice interrupted. A patrolling soldier passed by cautiously. The young orc warrior spoke carefully, “Will the spirits of the Red Jade Forest continue to protect our city?”

Camilla glanced at the young soldier. Her sharp eyes softened slightly, but her hoarse voice was firm and unwavering. “We will protect ourselves.”

“Do your duty, soldier.” General Morak said sternly.

The orc soldier left, and Morak looked apologetic toward his chieftain. “Sorry, Great Chieftain. Young warriors tend to be reckless…”

“I was reckless once too—we all were.” Camilla shook her head gently, then seemed to fall into thought. Her pale golden, feline eyes grew calm, but beneath that quiet gaze, a fierce internal struggle churned. Morak saw this and remained silent, standing quietly beside the mountain’s ruler. The sharp stench drifting from afar, mixed with the foul odor unique to those mutated monsters, made the old orc twitch his nostrils.

“The monsters are gathering again, searching for a way up the mountain,” Morak frowned. “The traps we set on the slopes only slow them down a little. The real battle will break out at dawn. Great Chieftain, your wounds aren’t healed yet. You should—”

“General Morak,” Camilla interrupted, “these monsters fear fire, don’t they?”

“Strictly speaking, they resist fire better than the beasts of the forest, but most of them are still flesh and blood. If the fire is large enough, they can be burned to death,” Morak nodded. “Also, although their main sense isn’t vision but ‘magical sight,’ the heat and elemental chaos from fire still greatly disrupt their judgment. We’ve seen them panic in flames firsthand…”

Camilla pondered, then turned toward the Red Jade Forest Sea. After a long silence, she suddenly said, “Can we contact the forest guardians now?”

“Yes. Although there’s interference on the battlefield, we’re close enough, and the spirit shamans can still reach them,” Morak answered immediately. Then, noticing something in Camilla’s expression, he hesitated. “Wait, Great Chieftain, what are you planning—”

“Tell the leader of the guardians that their thousand-year pact with the living world is about to end. It begins with fire, and it will end with fire.” Camilla spoke slowly, pulling a beast’s tooth pendant from around her neck. “Take this. It’s the last debt between the guardians and the living world. We can’t hold this ridge line, but we must delay as long as possible. When the monsters break into the Red Jade Forest, you take this ‘debt’ to the commander’s spirit… and have him set the whole forest ablaze.

“When the fire spreads, all contracts are wiped clean.”

Morak hesitated as he took the pendant. He recalled the ancient legend—the blood war between the orc ancestors and another ruling race on this land, and the origin of the forest guardians in the Red Jade Forest Sea. It was said that in ancient times, the land was ruled not by orcs but by a more powerful race. That race eventually declined and was overthrown by their former slaves. Their descendants were driven into the forest, and to survive, they agreed to a thousand-year pact with the living world, becoming eternal guardians of the forest, never to leave its bounds…

Outsiders and ignorant locals often confused legend with history, sometimes even reversing details. But mountain warriors and champions, while fierce in battle, must know their history. Morak knew these old tales had truth behind them, and the “spirits” guarding the Red Jade Forest were real.

Those spirits had longed for freedom for a thousand years… but was releasing them now truly the right choice? Especially at the cost of the entire Red Jade Forest…

Noticing Morak’s hesitation, Camilla was unsurprised. She shook her head gently and pointed toward the wasteland of Gondor. “Do you know what that place is?”

Morak looked puzzled. “Of course. That’s the Gondor Wasteland.”

“No. That will be our future—if we keep hesitating like this.” Camilla’s voice turned icy. “We can rebuild a new order if we lose the guardians. We can plant new forests if we lose the Red Jade Forest Sea. Even if we lose Red Jade City, we can still rise again. But if we keep retreating, facing a legion sworn to destroy us with indecision, all that will remain on this land is a wasteland corrupted by chaotic magic. Morak, burn the Red Jade Forest Sea. Burn the main force of those mutants alive inside it. Even if only temporarily, we’ll delay the land’s corruption. And if we can buy just a little more time…”

She paused for a few seconds, then continued, “We are not fighting alone, Morak. Our allies may only need us to hold out for a day or two.”

The hesitation in Morak’s eyes finally faded. Meeting Camilla’s gaze, the markings on his face and neck seemed to glow faintly red in the darkness. “I understand. Everything will be as you wish.”

Camilla nodded softly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. She let out a long breath and then looked toward the darkened northern front. “I wonder how things are in the Mosswood… if they know what’s happening here…”

“The Cecilians have prepared more thoroughly for this war than we have. As long as their defenses hold firm, those monsters won’t be able to break into the Taimu Forest,” Morak said. “But right now, our communication with the northern regions is cut off. Several messenger parties we sent out have gone missing, and even contact with Sainthelm City has been lost. It’s really difficult to get any intelligence through… I just hope Chief Wenna can make accurate and timely decisions on her end.”

“Wenna is sharp; she knows what to do in times like this,” Camilla replied. “What we need to do now is hold on for as long as we can.”

Morak nodded in the darkness, then twitched his nostrils slightly. Riding the cold mountain wind of the winter night, that foul stench thickened once again.

…

In the southern Taimu Forest, on the small triangular plain leading to central Augrey, the banners of the Cecilian Empire fluttered above a makeshift camp. Well-equipped expeditionary soldiers were busy preparing vehicles and supplies, ready to enter the rugged, communication-blackout mountains to the south.

But before the ground forces could set out, the most basic reconnaissance had to be completed.

With a low, humming drone, two dragonrider fighters rose from the rear of the camp, breaking the stillness of the ambiguous night like swift ghosts. They crossed the mountain pass and flew toward the distant forest.

Inside the command post on the ground, Duke Bertram Franklin—one of the Empire’s three chief magistrates and the Western Frontier’s highest-ranking officer—stood solemnly by the tactical table. Static crackled from the communication devices, and the projection above the arcane network terminal showed a severely distorted image, unrecognizable.

“We still can’t reach the two relay hubs at Ancestor’s Peak and Sainthelm City—that’s the highest-powered transceiver within Augrey,” the technical sergeant operating the comms shook his head, worry etched on his face as he reported to the magistrate at the front lines. “Also, the nearest secondary relay stations haven’t responded at all. Could they have already been—”

“Don’t scare yourself,” Bertram interrupted, his face grim. “Even if those monsters charge in unopposed, it would take them a lot of effort just to cross the eastern border mountains of Augrey. There’s no way they’ve reached Sainthelm City yet—this is just interference. Keep calling. Once the jamming weakens, we might get a signal.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bertram nodded. Just then, a guard’s voice came from the barracks entrance: “Lady Wenna, leader of the Grey Elves, has arrived.”

Bertram paused briefly, then nodded. “Show her in.”

The barracks door opened, and a petite woman, almost childlike in stature, stepped inside. She caught sight of the magistrate standing by the tactical table and looked surprised.

“Duke Bertram… I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

“The situation is critical. His Majesty ordered me to come personally with the mobile corps from the Western Military District,” Bertram said with a nod. “There’s also another relief force—they’ll be here soon.”

(End of chapter)