Chapter 549: Reconnaissance

The appearance of the great dragon only deepened Highlord Gawain’s interest in the mysterious impact crater on the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains.

Whatever it was, it had clearly caught the dragon’s attention—so what was the last thing to do so?

It had to be Cecil, tainted by the magical tide.

After exiting satellite link mode, Gawain sat quietly in his study, pondering for a moment before sending Amber to summon Hetty and Byron.

When Hetty heard that Gawain intended to personally investigate the southern slopes of the Dark Mountains, she was taken aback. “You’re going to the southern mountains?!”

“There’s something going on there that I can’t ignore,” Gawain said, unable to explain satellite surveillance to Hetty just yet. “The Overload of the Grant Wall happened not long ago, and now there’s new activity near the wasteland. We have to find out what’s going on.”

“But that area is too dangerous,” Hetty fretted. “Crossing the Dark Mountains means facing the wasteland head-on…”

“I’ve faced it before, more than once,” Gawain interrupted firmly. “Besides, crossing the Dark Mountains doesn’t mean you’re in the wasteland yet—there’s still the Black Forest and the Ribbon Plains in between. Strictly speaking, the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains are still part of the ‘civilized territory.’ With my strength and a squad of elite troops, operating there won’t be a problem.”

Seeing Gawain’s resolute expression, Hetty realized she wouldn’t be able to dissuade him.

Their ancestor was always cautious and far-sighted. If he cared so much about this, there had to be a very important reason behind it.

Just as Hetty was about to nod and Gawain was preparing to discuss personnel with Byron, a voice suddenly came from the study’s doorway, interrupting them all.

“Old friend, I’m afraid you won’t need to cross the mountains for now—there’s something going on inside the Defiant Fortress.”

Gawain looked up to see Solderin standing there.

…

After the “earthquake,” Solderin had immediately received orders. Leading a squad of elite Iron Rangers, he entered the Defiant Fortress and proceeded south along the main corridor to inspect whether the ancient Gondorian structure had been affected by the tremors.

It turned out the order was not only timely but absolutely necessary.

Powered by the modern magical network system, the crystal lamps illuminated the fortress’s long, ancient corridors. Gawain, accompanied by Amber, Byron, and Hetty, followed Solderin deeper into the southern reaches of the fortress.

A fully armed squad of Iron Rangers marched alongside them, and sentries stood guard at regular intervals along the corridor. The closer they got to the southern end, the more numerous the guards became.

“After the earthquake, the head of the Defiant Fortress armory reported a loud explosion coming from the southern grand corridor,” Solderin said steadily as he walked beside Gawain. “Workers in several southern operation zones also heard the blast and felt significant tremors. Fearing a collapse in the southern area, I evacuated the workers and began inspecting the corridor all the way through…”

The long corridor eventually ended at a massive, heavy isolation door.

This was the southern isolation gate of the Defiant Fortress. Beyond this heavy door lay the vast cavern known as the “Shadow Testing Grounds.” Gawain remembered this place well—it was here that Amber had jumped through the Shadow Realm to reach Covenant Keep, witnessed the assassination of Francis II, and brought back crucial evidence of Prince Edmund’s secret collusion with the Cult of the End of All Things.

Because other parts of the fortress were still under development and exploration, the “Shadow Industrial Zone” wasn’t yet in use, so after that incident, the Shadow Testing Grounds had been sealed off.

Solderin approached the gate and activated its magical mechanism. With creaks and groans of ancient machinery, the newly installed magic device slowly slid the heavy door open, revealing the scene beyond.

“To be honest, I was startled when I saw it,” Solderin admitted.

Beyond the door, a vast cavern stretched out, shrouded in a thin mist. At the far end, daylight poured in from a wide opening in the southern wall—the mist and light clearly coming through that breach.

“It’s probably a mountain collapse caused by the earthquake—a secondary landslide that peeled away part of the rock, connecting the previously sealed Shadow Testing Grounds to the outside,” Solderin explained calmly. “The mist carries a faint magical tide aura, but thankfully it’s very thin—what we call the ‘border mist,’ almost harmless now.”

“…The southern Dark Mountains…” Byron stared dumbfounded at the fissure at the cavern’s end, whispering, “Good heavens… it’s been breached…”

Amber was equally stunned. “So the Shadow Testing Grounds are actually that close to the southern mountain face?”

“Immediately assemble a large force with light and heavy artillery and position them near the breach,” Gawain suddenly turned to Byron, speaking rapidly. Then he looked at Hetty. “Mobilize engineering teams to build fortifications and set up shield generators near the fissure. Also… bring plenty of Rebekka crystals.”

If things got worse, he wouldn’t hesitate to blow up the entire southern fortress sector to seal the gap.

Byron and Hetty quickly acknowledged the orders. “Understood!” “Yes, sir!”

“I was planning to go check out the southern Dark Mountains…” Gawain glanced toward the now-open Shadow Testing Grounds, his tone heavy with reluctant frustration. “But I never imagined I’d get there like this…”

…

Soldiers and engineers rushed from Cecil City to the Shadow Testing Grounds. With the Iron Rangers already on site, they quickly established a defensive line inside the cavern and began constructing temporary fortifications. Throughout the process, Gawain never left the fissure’s side.

Only after magical cannons were set up near the breach and a large cache of weapons and ammunition was delivered to the southern corridor did Gawain and Hetty finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Gawain led Amber to the cavern’s southern end. Climbing over the shattered boulders, they gazed out at the vast landscape beyond.

A slope stretched out before them, cloaked in a thin mist that shimmered with a purple-black hue. This was the gentler midsection of the Dark Mountains’ southern foothills. At the slope’s edge, the land dropped away into the endless Black Forest.

Towering ancient trees, twisted and mutated by the chaotic magical energy, loomed grotesquely. The plants and shrubs were no longer familiar—they were tangled with thorns, poisonous sacs, rotting limbs, and swollen glands. The foul wind rustled through them, and some even seemed to writhe slowly among the rocks. Dark, unsettling shadows flickered between the warped vegetation, sparking countless terrifying imaginings in anyone who saw them.

This was the Black Forest—the legendary, heavily painted Black Forest of epics, biographies, and poems. It was a product of the magical tide’s corruption, the natural world’s surrender to chaotic magic. It could swallow any careless explorer whole. Yet it was only the outermost edge of the magical tide’s reach.

This place was still hundreds of kilometers from the Grant Wall.

“This is the boundary of the civilized world…” Amber stood beside Gawain, the usually fearless half-elf visibly tense. Though she had once looked down at the Black Forest from a distant mountain outpost atop the Dark Mountains, that distant, safe vantage point was nothing compared to standing here, just hundreds of meters from the edge, smelling the faint stench of decay drifting from the south—though that was probably just her imagination.

“We once had a chance to push this boundary southward,” Gawain sighed. “A hundred years ago, when the magical tide weakened, if the spirit of expansion had still been alive, the Ansu could have pushed the southern border all the way to the Grant Wall and built a more controllable barrier there. But they missed that chance, and humanity lost this ground.”

“The Black Forest is beyond saving now. Corrupted to this degree, not even the great stag Amorn rising could save it.”

As he spoke, Gawain looked up toward the southwest.

According to his mental satellite map comparison, the mysterious impact crater should be not far in that direction.

The mountain collapse was a huge hazard, but it also had its advantages—the Defiant Fortress now connected Cecil to the southern Dark Mountains. This ancient Gondorian structure, built a thousand years ago, had become a mountain pass. Through it, Gawain no longer needed to scale treacherous mountain paths to reach the south.

Moreover, using the fortress’s internal passages, large quantities of supplies could be sent directly to the southern foothills. Once the fortifications here were secure, converting the entire Shadow Testing Grounds into a forward fortress might be a good idea.

Amber noticed Gawain staring off into the distance, lost in thought. After a long pause, she finally broke the silence. “Hey, what are you looking at?”

Gawain replied casually, “Since we’re already here… might as well go check it out.”

“You still haven’t forgotten about that?” Amber was shocked. “It’s just a mountain collapse—look around, it’s right here!”

“This collapse happened after the first earthquake. The initial epicenter wasn’t here,” Gawain glanced at her. “According to my senses, there’s an abnormal magical fluctuation to the southwest.”

The “senses” of a legendary warrior were a catch-all explanation. Amber had no choice but to trust him. But looking at the dense, terrifying Black Forest filled with wildly mutated plants and unknown dangers lurking within, the half-elf felt her scalp tingle. “You’re not seriously going to make me come with you, are you? I’m allergic to the Black Forest!”

“Of course you’re coming,” Gawain shot a glance at the coward. “But I’ll clear a path first—Knight Byron, come here.”

Byron hurried over. “Sir, you called?”

“I’m going to investigate that direction,” Gawain said, pointing southwest toward the slope. “It should be inside the Black Forest.”

As a mercenary with plenty of adventuring experience, Byron immediately understood. “Oh, got it. I’ll organize a team of skilled scouts…”

“No need. Have Solderin’s men prepare the reconnaissance,” Gawain cut him off. “You bring eighteen medium ‘Justice’ rail cannons here. I’ll give you some parameters. Fire a path through that area.”

Byron blinked. “Sir, didn’t you say reconnaissance?”

“Yes. Fire reconnaissance.”

Amber beside him heard this and pouted adorably. “I could’ve sworn the last time you explained ‘fire reconnaissance’ to me, it didn’t mean this…”

“But this is beyond the civilized borders, on the edge of the wasteland,” Gawain said with a smile. He patted Amber on the shoulder, then looked at Byron. “Remember, out here in the wasteland, the only way to survive is to destroy every threat. The only rule for safety is that nothing is safe. And the only kind of reconnaissance is fire reconnaissance.”

(End of chapter)