Chapter 1373: The Combat Style of the Water Extractors

Byron and Asalina had no intention of wasting much time at the banquet. Vanessa, being a sea witch, had no interest in human cuisine whatsoever. King Audris clearly understood this, so once everyone had eaten their fill, the three expedition commanders and the human king immediately gathered in the castle’s war room. A large sand table displaying the current overall situation on the southern front awaited them there.

“This is the Greta Fortress where we’re currently stationed,” King Audris began, pointing to the models and markers on the sand table. “It’s the largest military stronghold on the northwest border of the Highland Kingdom, and it directly borders the Ogure tribe’s territory. Centered on this fortress, six surrounding castles and twelve highland mage towers form a defensive network. These facilities are connected by underground tunnels, and to prevent monsters from launching subterranean attacks, we’ve reinforced the underground structures with elemental solidification and set numerous traps.”

He traced an arc in front of Greta Fortress on the map. “This area used to be part of the forest barrier, with several outposts inside it, but all have been destroyed. The forest barrier was burned to ashes by fire. Some of the ancient guardian trees survived and have temporarily retreated to the hills to recuperate. Although the frontline here has been breached, many fortifications and underground bunkers should still be usable. The aberrations don’t need ‘homes,’ but their commanders do, so many of these structures have been preserved.”

“Looks like a very… solid defense system,” Byron admitted after studying the map for a while. He had to acknowledge that the Highland Kingdom’s preparations over the past centuries against the wasteland incursions were quite thorough. Those fortress clusters, underground works, and forest barriers weren’t built overnight. “Even now, the castles around Greta Fortress are still playing their part.”

“Yes. Without those castles, our northwest border would have fallen long ago,” King Audris nodded, then sighed. “But no matter how strong a fortress is, if you don’t have the means to strike out, it will eventually be besieged. Just like you saw today, we’re still holding here, but all we’ve managed so far is to hold the line. The only place on the southern front that has successfully pushed back is the Star Sanctuary.”

“Now that the Winterwind has arrived, things will be very different,” Byron said with a hint of pride. “Our artillery support can cover the entire battlefield north of Greta Fortress. The marines and the Dragonborn expeditionary force can secure a wider area from land and sky. Once we clear out the aberrations here, we can fully support the Silver Elves’ construction of the blockade wall. It shouldn’t take long—the enemy’s command center has already been dismantled by General Vanessa. Even if they immediately dispatch another dark priest from deep within the wasteland to take over the remaining forces in the northwest, many aberrations will lose control during the process and become ‘wild’…”

“Before that, I can detach part of my forces to support that ‘forward base,’” Vanessa said after studying the sand table for a long time. She was gradually adapting to this somewhat outdated style of battlefield presentation and roughly understood the terrain markings that only land races could read. Her tail tip pointed to the eastern side of the battlefield, where the Star Sanctuary had crashed and now served as the Silver Elves’ bridgehead into the wasteland. “Byron’s artillery can handle most of the enemies, so Greta Fortress shouldn’t need too many troops. I’ll take half my sisters and depart tomorrow morning. With the strong air currents these past two days, we’ll reach the ‘Star Sanctuary base’ quickly.”

“You’re planning to ride the rain clouds over?” Byron gave the sea witch general a strange look. “Not considering a normal march?”

“This is the normal way to travel,” Vanessa said, eyes wide in surprise. “You can’t swim on land, so of course it’s faster to turn into water vapor and float over. Plus, if there’s a fierce battle at the front, the rain can help with a surprise attack.”

This touched on cultural and racial habits. Byron, who usually struggled just discussing a natural science assignment with Pea at home, couldn’t think of a better response. He scratched his head and finally said, “Well, floating over is fine, but when you meet the Silver Elves, don’t let them ‘read your face’ again. Honestly, your expressions aren’t exactly easy for most people to interpret…”

“Hey, battlefield communications are restored now. We can contact each other directly if anything happens. We don’t need to express ourselves through cloud gestures anymore. That was just a necessity before,” Vanessa waved off the comment but couldn’t help adding, “Though I still think my previous signals were pretty clear…”

Byron and Audris exchanged a glance and silently agreed it was better not to argue further with this deep-sea creature.

Vanessa then studied the sand table again for a long while before shifting her gaze to the large map of the entire continent hanging on the wall. After some thought, she suddenly asked, “I have another question. Is water scarce throughout the Gondor Wasteland? We once accidentally opened a passage deep into the wasteland and found a vast arid environment. The dark priests need large-scale water extraction systems to pump water from deep underground…”

She was referring to the earlier incident when Queen Petia descended into the heart of the wasteland following a death beacon. The dark priests reacted swiftly, blowing up the passage and severely wounding the queen—one of the reasons Petia sent the expeditionary force to Loren. Despite their quick response, the queen had already gathered a wealth of intelligence on the other side.

One of the most important pieces of information for the sea witches was the deep wasteland’s water scarcity.

“We know very little about the deepest parts of the wasteland,” King Audris said slowly after thinking it over. “But according to reconnaissance reports from our forward bases inside, it is indeed drier than outside the Grant Wall. The great explosion that shattered Gondor destroyed the original surface water systems within the wasteland and disrupted the climate. The Grant Wall further blocked moisture exchange between inside and outside, causing a centuries-long drought. Although many breaches have opened in the wall recently, and some edge areas have started to experience normal rain and snow, it will take many years for this effect to reach the wasteland’s core.”

“From what we know, there are almost no normal surface rivers inside the wasteland. Only a few ‘oases’ exist, fed by shallow underground rivers, but these waters are mostly toxic and require rigorous filtration before drinking. As for underground water… there are many subterranean rivers, but as I said, they’re polluted and mostly very deep, requiring large equipment to extract.”

“Pollution isn’t a problem for us, as long as there’s water, we can purify it,” Vanessa frowned slightly, tapping the ground with her tail tip as she pondered. “Our greatest strength comes from abundant water sources. Our troop replenishment and many defensive tactics rely heavily on water. Now, with the difficult connection between Loren and the Elemental World, and the low moisture content in the wasteland’s atmosphere, our soldiers will have to spend more effort ‘extracting water’ or ‘transporting water’ from the rear… The deeper we push into the wasteland, the lower our combat efficiency will be.”

Byron and Asalina exchanged a glance—they hadn’t considered this before. It was hard for normal land races to immediately grasp the sea witches’ unique traits. Asalina couldn’t help but say, “The deeper into the wasteland, the stronger our enemies will be, but the sea witch expedition’s strength is actually weakening. That’s… a big problem.”

“Then we may need to build many water supply stations along the way, drawing from underground rivers,” King Audris mused. “We’ll also need to construct a water pipeline along the blockade wall to supply the front lines.”

He paused, then added, “This will require a lot of engineering resources, but I think it’s worth it.”

“That’s good, but it will only solve part of the problem,” Vanessa said thoughtfully. “To ensure the deep-sea warriors’ combat effectiveness on land, we need a more stable water source.”

Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and turned to King Audris with a serious look. “Those aberrations… they seem to have a high water content?”

“The aberrations’ water content!?” Audris blinked in surprise, then his eyes widened slightly as a chilling realization dawned on him. “You mean…”

“After a deep-sea warrior dies, they can be resurrected in water—depending on the individual’s strength and manner of death, this takes varying amounts of time and causes temporary weakness. The ‘water’ used for resurrection can be the moisture inside other living beings. So if necessary, this can be used as a special attack method and… a way to extract water,” Vanessa explained. For the sake of cooperation, she didn’t hide her race’s unique ability from her allies—it wasn’t exactly a secret anyway. “On the other hand, if there’s enough moisture in the environment, we can resonate and directly draw water from already dead or weaker creatures, provided they have enough moisture to resonate with us.”

“So, if those aberrations have sufficient water content… we can try ‘battlefield endurance.’ The idea is to sacrifice some teammates at the start, then during their resurrection, open a breach in the enemy lines. Once the battlefield’s moisture reaches a certain level, those aberrations… will become our water source.”

Vanessa’s expression was serious as she laid out her idea without a hint of joking. Her attitude made everyone present realize one thing—

This “tactic” was not new to this deep-sea warlord. The sea witches had actually used it before—and more than once. They had employed this terrifying method against enemies with high internal water content and emerged victorious.

Even the thick-skinned Byron couldn’t help but get goosebumps. These deep-sea creatures were usually gentle and harmless, but when angered… they were truly unsettling to the bone.

King Audris swallowed hard and then said gravely, “It’s difficult for us to capture live aberrations, but we did take several dark priests prisoner this time. Perhaps we can have them ‘summon’ a few for experiments. If they meet your requirements… By the way, what do you call this… ‘tactic’ of yours?”

“Suck it to the death,” Vanessa said with complete seriousness.

Audris blinked, confused. “…?”

……

At the same moment, on the east side of the Greta Fortress, nestled between mountains and hills, scattered lights flickered across the mountain passes. At the brightest point stood the Fallen Star Sanctuary, a once-floating anti-gravity fortress now crashed onto the earth.

This fallen fortress had lost any hope of soaring through the skies again, but its massive, sturdy frame still guarded the border of the civilized world. Like a toppled giant, it blocked the gap in the grand wall’s energy barrier. On one side, it connected to the towering light screen that reached the clouds; on the other, it leaned against the towering mountain range. At the foot of the sanctuary’s ruins, the Silver Elves had reclaimed the land that was once lost. Using the sanctuary’s solid framework as a foundation, they quickly built a fortress capable of both offense and defense. From this stronghold, they established forward bases and purification devices throughout the wasteland.

Under the star-studded, low-hanging sky, Belsethia ascended to the highest platform above the fortress. This platform had once been part of the sanctuary’s middle deck, but now it was completely severed. Part of its structure had shattered in previous battles, scattering massive debris across the vast plains. The remaining section stretched out like a broken bridge from the sanctuary’s ruins, reaching high into the sky. Ahead of the “bridge” lay the dark wasteland plains; below it was the stronghold from which mortals launched their counterattack.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and the voice of her attendant, Eliane, came softly: “Your Majesty, the wind is strong tonight.”

Belsethia said nothing. She simply lifted her gaze to the imposing metallic skeletons extending from the “mountains” on either side, the jagged, torn giant decks between the frames, and the walls and barricades the Silver Elves had erected among the sanctuary’s ruins. The newly added structures looked out of place against the grandeur of the sanctuary’s main body, yet the warriors moving within them were more spirited and confident than ever.

“It really feels like being inside the belly of a great beast…” the Silver Queen murmured. “Though I’ve sat on the Throne of Dominion for centuries, I’ve never seen the sanctuary from this perspective. It’s strange—almost as if… today is the first time I’ve truly ‘met’ an elder.”

She turned to Eliane. “Tell me the current situation. We must prepare for the turning point that’s coming.”

(End of chapter)