Chapter 1395: Midsummer Approaches

A coarse curse from the Air Force’s top commander echoed through the command center, finally jolting the stunned officers and technicians—still reeling from what they had just witnessed—back to full alert. Rebecca’s eyes widened as she stared at the projection before her. Even with her steady nerves, she felt a bit dazed. “That thing… it looks like it’s slowly crawling toward the Deep Blue Well?”

“It’s hard to say if it’s crawling or… growing,” Jenna Prince said grimly, her face pale. At that moment, she even felt like her dinner from last week was churning in her stomach. “But one thing’s certain: it’s advancing on the Deep Blue Well.”

The holographic display continued to play. The high-altitude reconnaissance drone was clearly fixated on the massive creature on the ground. After several zoom-ins, the image sharpened, revealing the rippling surface of the grotesque flesh mass as it writhed across the earth. Dark red streams of light pulsed between its roots and vines. From beyond the screen came the drone pilot’s trembling voice: “Visual confirmation… scale impossible to determine, absolutely staggering… countless energy reactions on surface and inside… sensor readings maxed out… it’s moving toward the Deep Blue Well…”

Suddenly, a shrill alarm cut through the pilot’s report. In the next moment, Jenna and Rebecca saw the creature’s “back” shift. Part of what had mimicked a forest suddenly flipped open like a trapdoor, transforming the dense thicket into a writhing mass of twisted tentacles. Each tentacle’s tip split open, revealing rows upon rows of pale, terrifying eyeballs. Hundreds—no, thousands—of these ghostly eyes fixed unblinkingly on the drone’s direction. At the center of this “eye forest,” countless pinpricks of light converged into a blinding flash—the last image recorded before the device was destroyed.

The screen was flooded with white light. The piercing alarm blared and then abruptly ceased. Before the image vanished completely, Rebecca caught sight of several smaller bursts of fire flickering at the edges—three other drones struck down by the same beam.

“It was definitely shot down by that thing,” Jenna Prince’s voice was grave and low, snapping Rebecca out of her shock. “It can detect drones flying in the turbulent upper atmosphere and bring them down with devastating firepower. The precision and range are incredible.”

A technical officer analyzed the data briefly before speaking in a deep voice: “Judging by the burn marks on the drones and the last recorded readings, this ‘anti-air cannon’ can destroy any model of dragonrider. Even a giant dragon probably couldn’t withstand two hits. Only massive airborne fortresses like the Dawn of the World or the Gorgon might shield against such attacks—but for how long, we don’t know. And we have no idea how many of these ‘giant cannons’ it has. There are no obvious weapon structures on its surface; these biological weapons seem to grow spontaneously inside its body.”

“Immediately upload all intelligence to the Supreme Command,” Jenna ordered rapidly. “Include the discovery of that large neural node and the complete disappearance of the frontline dark priests. I have a bad feeling… our enemy is preparing something extraordinary.”

…

Reports from the front lines quickly reached the highest commanders of the Alliance. In the study of the Cecil Palace, Gawain sat in his favorite high-backed chair. Two holograms hovered before him—Rosetta August and Belsethia Morningstar, the leaders of the Alliance’s three main nations, all wearing grave expressions.

“You’ve likely seen the footage our scouts captured at the front,” Gawain broke the silence. “At the same time, we’ve confirmed a massive… transformation within the Cult of the End of All Things. Dark priests have vanished from every battlefield, replaced by neural nodes mimicking ‘synthetic brains.’ Our enemy is using these nodes to maintain control over the Wasteland legions. As for where the missing dark priests went… no one knows.”

“The Millennium Legion that penetrated the Wasteland’s heart confirmed this as well,” Belsethia nodded. “And we found that the dark priests disappeared almost simultaneously, as if ordered to withdraw overnight, leaving only those disgusting neural nodes to command.”

Rosetta August fixed her gaze on Gawain through the hologram. “You must have more intelligence.”

“Indeed. Take a look at this.” Gawain activated another image—not a live feed, but a magically reconstructed scene. A shimmering shield covered the land, beyond which hordes of mutants surged like a tide. Magical flashes crisscrossed the battlefield, explosions and smoke filling the frame. In the distance loomed a shadow rising from the earth.

At first, Rosetta and Belsethia thought it was a mountain range on the horizon, mere background scenery. But soon they realized it was the same “creature” the high-altitude drone had spotted.

This was a close-up, frontal view of the monstrous entity on the surface. Rosetta recognized the tentacles waving skyward, the “forest” of limbs, and the twisted, amorphous body crawling relentlessly forward. Then he saw something bulging on its back—a powerful energy orb fired from it, triggering a storm-like explosion on the shield. Amid the blast, waves of monsters surged forward.

“This is…” Belsethia was visibly shaken, eyes wide. “Could it be…”

“This is the front near the Deep Blue Well—the footage was captured recently,” Gawain explained. “We can’t transmit data directly between here and the Deep Blue Well, so Veronica recreated the scene through magic. Rest assured, the accuracy is over ninety percent. The actual impact of that creature is even more terrifying than what you see.”

Veronica’s Iron Legion had no true air units, so they couldn’t scout the massive flesh behemoth from above. But her ground footage filled in details the drones couldn’t capture. Even the Silver Queen Belsethia was momentarily stunned into silence. After a few seconds, she spoke again: “So when Veronica mentioned a large entity forming near the Deep Blue Well, this is what she meant…”

“Yes. At first, we thought the Cult of the End of All Things was building a frontline fortress. No one expected they’d ‘manufacture’… this,” Gawain said slowly. “One more thing: the dark priests near the Deep Blue Well disappeared recently as well. Now, all mutants on that battlefield are directly commanded by this giant ‘creature.’”

“The dark priests near the Deep Blue Well too…” Rosetta frowned deeply, suddenly realizing something. “You mean those dark priests might actually be part of this ‘creature’…”

“The Cult has made similar things before,” Gawain said gravely. “The two branches of the cult inside and outside the Wasteland share the same technical lineage. Though we lack direct proof, this ‘creature’ is likely the true fate of those missing dark priests. Whether this is the Archprelate Borken’s plan or the Sentinels’ is unknown. But more than these details, what we face now is how to destroy this thing.”

“Looks like this is the ‘ultimate target’ of the war,” Belsethia said, frowning deeply. “But this thing is clearly beyond what ordinary troops can handle. Our warriors are brave, but how do you destroy a living, retaliatory ‘mountain’? We don’t even know if it has any conventional weak points…”

“We’ve destroyed similarly powerful entities before—though smaller in scale,” Rosetta said slowly. “If necessary, Typhon can still unleash the Annihilation’s Wrath.”

“Maybe we won’t have to,” Gawain shook his head. “This time, we have the Dawn of the World. Its ‘Supercritical Accelerator’ can deal massive damage to solid targets—if we get a firing window. This thing once shot down drones flying in the magical turbulence layer with a weapon of incredible range and power. Given its attacks on the Deep Blue Well, the Dawn of the World would have to enter its attack range first. The fortress’s defenses are strong, but probably not as strong as the ancient shield system protecting the Deep Blue Well.”

“…We need to devise an effective offensive plan,” Rosetta sighed. “Alliance forces have already pushed deep into the Wasteland. Soon, we’ll face the enemy’s main force—and that terrifying… ‘creature.’ We must convene the high commanders from all fronts and prepare them for what lies ahead. This will be a massive joint operation.”

Gawain and Belsethia nodded quietly. After a moment of silence, Belsethia suddenly seemed to remember something. “This… ‘creature’ needs a name, doesn’t it?”

“I call it the Crawling Calamity—the disaster that creeps across the earth,” Gawain said slowly. “The greatest natural and man-made catastrophe we’ve ever faced.”

Rosetta nodded thoughtfully. “A fitting name. Hopefully, one day it will be inscribed on the Victory Monument at the heart of the Wasteland—and in our history books.”

Moments later, the holograms of the Typhon Emperor and the Silver Queen faded away, leaving Gawain alone in the study. Soon, ripples shimmered in the air nearby, and a small figure leapt out from the glowing waves, bounding over to Gawain in a few quick hops.

“Amber, make the arrangements,” Gawain said without looking up. His words nearly sent the shadow-stepper Amber tumbling backward. “I’m heading to the front lines.”

“What!? You’re going where?” Amber’s eyes went wide, her whole body alert. “The front lines? Are you crazy? I just learned what that place is like! Even an imperial expedition doesn’t go charging in like that!”

“I’m not joking,” Gawain lifted his head, locking eyes with Amber. “This isn’t just a simple case of the emperor leading the charge—this battle is on a whole different level. The entire world can’t afford to lose. If we fail, whether I die here in the capital or on the front lines, it won’t make a difference.”

“That’s way too risky,” Amber said, clearly wanting to say more. “And it’s not exactly the same, either. If we lose this war, maybe the capital could hold out a few more days than the wasteland front…”

Before she could finish, the shadow assault goose suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, mumbling incoherently, “Okay, okay, I won’t say anything more, I won’t…”

Gawain had been about to grab an eggplant and theatrically smack her against the wall to revive an old tradition, but now he just sighed, waving his hand helplessly. “Make the arrangements. I have my reasons for being on the front lines myself.”

“…Alright, I’ll get it done,” Amber sighed, her figure slowly fading into the air as she muttered, “Ugh, I don’t even know how to face Lady Hetty’s nagging… She’s going to drive me crazy. Maybe I should just go to the front lines with you…”

Listening to Amber’s trailing complaints, Gawain shook his head with a wry smile. Then he slowly stood and walked over to the large floor-to-ceiling window.

Through the crystal-clear glass, he saw the courtyard’s plants thriving—lush green leaves and blooming flowers bathed in the radiant light of the great sun. Under the bright daylight, it felt as if the entire world was about to burst into bloom in the coming height of summer.

It was the 25th day of the Fire Moon in the fourth year of Cecil’s reign. Summer had arrived, and even in the northern lands, vibrant life had already spread across the earth.

“How can we let the vitality of this world be cut short in such a flourishing, brilliant season…”

…

“How can we let the vitality of this world be cut short in such a flourishing, brilliant season…”

The summer splendor reflected in Veronica’s eyes as she stood on the top balcony of the Holy Light Monastery, taking in the view of several city blocks below. A faint holy glow surrounded her.

But in her other eye, a very different scene unfolded—thousands of alien creatures surged toward her, flames scorching everything on the ground. At the horizon, a monstrous mass of flesh and bone, as vast as a mountain range, raised countless mutated limbs, crawling forward like a creeping disaster.

Under the dim, dying light, the great shield above the Deep Blue Well wavered on the brink of collapse.

A black-and-red energy orb shot up from above the monstrous flesh mass in the distance, then crashed down mercilessly onto the great shield.

The shield, which had held for half a month, finally let out a tortured howl under the blow. As the energy conduit rapidly collapsed with a shriek, a massive shockwave radiated outward from the Deep Blue Well in all directions—flattening nearly everything in its path. The tide of mutant creatures was wiped out in an instant.

But then, they began to regenerate in the surrounding air.

Before the shield’s collapse, the remaining Iron Legion soldiers fighting on the nearby surface had already retreated through underground tunnels to the crater near the Deep Blue Well.

“…Outer barrier breached. All shield units destroyed. No redundant systems available. Defense systems cannot be restarted. All outer zone watchtowers offline…

“Iron Legion damage rate at 42%. Warning: Insufficient core intelligence reserves…

“Abandon outer defense perimeter. Divert all power to the Crystal Spire… Redeploying Iron Legion. Activating inner watchtowers.

“Final order from the Norton Royal House—hold the Deep Blue Well at all costs.”

(There will be double monthly votes at the end of this month. If you have tickets, please save them up—but I suspect I might forget to ask for votes by then, haha.)

(End of chapter)