To Gawain, the scariest situation would be to stand on the Dark Range and look to the south, only to see that the glimmering barrier wasn’t there.
For this continent’s kingdoms in this era, it would mean the end of civilization.
The barrier at the end of the horizon was still there. At the backdrop of the chaotic and rotting land, it was a wall of light that had stood for ages in this world. Because it had been standing there for 700 years, most of the functions had probably deteriorated, but as long as the radiance was still there, this world would still be safe.
“So that is the Great Barrier…” Heidi lamented with an inconceivable tone. “I have only read about it in books…”
“A few hundred years ago, the people at the borders were very familiar with that barrier. But during these hundreds of years, civilization’s territories had been constantly withdrawing. It had already withdrawn to the northern side of the White River.” Gawain sighed with regret and shook his head while saying, “The Dark Wave has withdrawn and shrunk, but you people continued to withdraw instead of expanding. It is truly ironic.”
Heidi’s expression turned rather ashamed, but what could she have done? One hundred years ago, after an ancestor with great potential died with bravery, he was succeeded by her great-grandfather, who was exceptional at rebelling and was just too damn crazy. He had single-handedly destroyed all their foundations in the south. Who was going to bear the blame for this…?
“Alright, alright. The barrier is still there, so it means that the so-called sentinel tower has ‘self-healed’, right?” Amber was also amazed by the Great Barrier, but after seeing the rotten piece of land in the south, she didn’t wish to even stay here one minute longer. “It means that those aberrations won’t have any more reinforcements… Then let’s quickly return to think of a method to deal with those monsters!”
Gawain nodded before jumping off the giant boulder. “I already have a rough plan.”
Amber followed behind closely before blabbing, “What plan, what plan? Do you really plan to eliminate over nine hundred of them in a single assault? I’m just joking with you, okay? — Could it be that you really are that incredible?!”
Gawain was thinking that the Gawain Cecil from 700 years ago might have really been able to wipe out those monsters in a single assault. But if he was to try it today, then it would be the same as dying again and spiraling into heaven. His plan wasn’t to rush in alone and start a musou1. “I have roughly calculated the path in the mountain and the movement speed of those monsters… They have yet to discover the presence of the camp, and they’re moving at a rather slow speed. According to their current speed, if they continued moving north, they would need at least two days before they would be a threat to the camp. Therefore, we have two days to make arrangements.”
Amber scratched her head. “Arrange what?”
“We will make the steep cliff at the western side of the camp collapse,” Gawain said while his mind rapidly turned to his ‘map’. “That rock stratum isn’t firm, and there are parts that have already started to crack. The path below the cliff… is the direction those aberrations are advancing towards.”
Amber was stunned. Gawain’s bold and near-insane (in her opinion) plan was entirely out of her expectations.
Inside her mind, she had constructed the scenes of countless kinds of defense lines outside the camp, dauntless combat, and torturous resistance. In fact, she was nearly moved herself… But she never expected Gawain to suggest such an unorthodox plan!
Immediately after, she was doubtful of the plan’s feasibility. “Are you truly able to do it? Collapsing a mountain! How is that possible!?”
Gawain looked at Amber. “We’re not blasting a mountain, only a portion of the rock strata. Trust me, I have observed the terrain there, and it will be very easy. Furthermore, we have enough things to blast it open.”
Amber blinked her eyes and suddenly reacted to what Gawain was referring to. “Are you referring to… those fake crystals that your dum-dum granddaughter has been working on?”
This fellow was truly getting increasingly proficient at giving nicknames to someone or something.
“It is exactly those crystals. They’re called ‘Rebecca Crystals’. They have a name.” Gawain nodded. “Because the raw materials are from the rocks in the mountain, it will be easy to make. Furthermore, after giving them instructions, even the serfs will be able to complete the smelting process. Therefore, a huge pile of them has already been produced, and they’re just in time too.” Amber still wanted to mutter, but Gawain had already walked in front. “We will discuss the details once we return to camp. Those monsters are not going to stop and wait for us.”
Amber looked up and saw that Gawain and Heidi were already moving away swiftly on the rugged mountain path. She anxiously started running after them, shouting, “Hey! Hey! Wait for me! Hey… It’s fine for Gawain to have good stamina because he’s a knight, but how can Heidi the mage also run so quickly in the mountain!?”
When Heidi heard Amber’s voice, she only smiled and shook her head without replying.
How would outsiders know about the ancient rule that had been passed down the Cecil Clan: after reaching adulthood, the heirs of the clan (be it male or female, be it talented or not) would have to enter the forest to kill a wolf with their bare hands… Back then, Rebecca lost thrice to the wolf before she passed the test. But Heidi took only one attempt to pass!
After returning to the camp, Gawain immediately summoned Rebecca, Byron, and Philip to his tent. After hearing the news, Pittman had also come over uninvited.
After considering that there were many things that couldn’t be concealed and the possibility that they might have to confront those monsters, this half-baked druid’s healing spells might become an indispensable help. Hence, Gawain didn’t chase this little old man away.
“There are even more aberrations. The number is close to a thousand. They are in the mountains,” Gawain spoke bluntly when everyone was gathered. “They are moving in this direction.”
Everyone was shocked by the news, and Pittman was the first to react. He swung his old druid robes and declared righteously, “I don’t need this month’s wages…”
“Stop! And why do you have the same reaction as Amber?” Gawain stared at the little old man and continued, “Wait for me to finish speaking. It will not be too late to express your opinion after you hear my arrangements.”
“Lord Duke,” Knight Byron said, “the combatants in the camp are less than a hundred… This includes the militia that we’ve just trained. After equipping them with the magic armors and weapons, the official soldiers and militias might be able to confront the aberrations, but for them to fight an aberration individually, it is a little…”
“I know.” Gawain raised his hand to interrupt Byron before saying, “Therefore, I am not planning to confront those monsters head-on.”
Rebecca stared with wide eyes. “Are we… going to give up the camp?” She made a sad face and obviously didn’t wish to hear that answer.
Even though this might be a barren wilderness, this was already the Cecil Clan’s final establishment, and it was also her new home. Be it the furnace that smelted the crystals or using Magic Web 1 to supply energy to the steelworks, it was all her hard work. This was the first time in her life that she was doing something that she liked, and no matter what, she didn’t want to give up on this place.
But if Gawain was really deciding to withdraw… she was already prepared to comply.
“No, we don’t need to withdraw. At least, we don’t need to be in a hurry to make the decision.” Gawain shook his head. “Those monsters will need two days to move close enough to sense the presence of the camp. Afterward, they will need at least another day to charge over, so we have at most three days to make preparations. I have a plan, but it will require large quantities of ‘Rebecca Crystals’…”
Gawain spoke of his bold idea and emphasized the feasibility of his plan.
Knight Byron and Knight Philip looked at each other in dismay. As two traditional military professionals, they didn’t pay too much attention to those ‘inventions and innovations’ that Gawain and Rebecca had been working on. Furthermore, they weren’t able to imagine the firepower of those exploding crystals. Pittman was even more confused. All these days, he would either be concocting medicine in his dwelling, moving around to provide exorcisms or blessings, or selling his useless ointments. He didn’t even know what the ‘Rebecca Crystals’ were.
Rebecca’s eyes immediately brightened up and she exclaimed, “That’s right! Those crystals will work!”
The Rebecca Crystals were her proud invention. Recently, whenever she had spare time, she would test the characteristics of the crystals and also the power of the explosion. It could be said that she had a full grasp of the crystals’ abilities. Gawain’s plan was seemingly opening the door to a new world for her. This young lady was extremely excited as she said, “All of you have to listen to me. Lord Ancestor’s plan is totally feasible! I know how incredible the explosive power of the crystals is… With greater quantities, the firepower will drastically increase! If we stuff them in the crevices and carve explosive magic circles on the rocks… it wouldn’t be a problem to blast down an entire face of a cliff!”
The two knights’ eyes finally brightened up together. But Knight Byron was still a little worried. “Will it really be able to kill those monsters? They have very tough vitality…”
“You have faced them in combat before and should know that those aberrations aren’t invulnerable.” Gawain smiled and said, “Furthermore, the aberrations in the range of the Dark Wave field and those that have wandered outside of it are two completely different entities. After losing the supplement of primal magic, they aren’t just slightly weakened. According to my observations, this group of aberrations has a Dark Wave ‘presence’ that is far inferior to the pollution at the Cecil territories.”
“That will be wonderful.” Knight Byron nodded repeatedly. “But what if the collapse of the cliff isn’t enough to kill them all?”
“I never expected all of them to be buried… If even half of the group can be neutralized with the first collapse, it will already be the best result.” Gawain laughed and then said, “For the rest, we will use traps. We will use ‘arts’ that will be buried in the ground to shave down their numbers. From the southwest corner of the mountain pass to our camp, we have a buffer zone to deal with them. The empty grounds and the fence in front of the camp will be our final defense line. But I am doubtful that those monsters will even make it to such a close distance.”
While speaking, Gawain looked up at Rebecca. “I have asked you to combine the rune triggers and the traps. It should already be done, right?”
“Of course, those things are simple. The easiest rune triggers are done by stacking slabs together. We only need to make sure that the runes are pressed into the explosive magic circles.” Rebecca looked very happy as she continued, “Furthermore, after you left earlier, I sent a few individuals to the furnace. There should be another batch of crystals that are newly smelted… Now that Magic Web 1 has started operating and as long as the crystals are in the vicinity of the energy-supply point, a large pile can be fully energized quickly. I will send people to shift the stored-up crystals to the steelworks. At the latest, tonight, we will be able to energize all of them…”
Seeing how Rebecca was blabbing non-stop with excitement, Gawain felt from the bottom of his heart that he truly picked up a treasure.
This young lady… was truly a talent.
To Gawain, the scariest situation would be to stand on the Dark Range and look to the south, only to see that the glimmering barrier wasn’t there.
For this continent’s kingdoms in this era, it would mean the end of civilization.
The barrier at the end of the horizon was still there. At the backdrop of the chaotic and rotting land, it was a wall of light that had stood for ages in this world. Because it had been standing there for 700 years, most of the functions had probably deteriorated, but as long as the radiance was still there, this world would still be safe.
“So that is the Great Barrier…” Heidi lamented with an inconceivable tone. “I have only read about it in books…”
“A few hundred years ago, the people at the borders were very familiar with that barrier. But during these hundreds of years, civilization’s territories had been constantly withdrawing. It had already withdrawn to the northern side of the White River.” Gawain sighed with regret and shook his head while saying, “The Dark Wave has withdrawn and shrunk, but you people continued to withdraw instead of expanding. It is truly ironic.”
Heidi’s expression turned rather ashamed, but what could she have done? One hundred years ago, after an ancestor with great potential died with bravery, he was succeeded by her great-grandfather, who was exceptional at rebelling and was just too damn crazy. He had single-handedly destroyed all their foundations in the south. Who was going to bear the blame for this…?
“Alright, alright. The barrier is still there, so it means that the so-called sentinel tower has ‘self-healed’, right?” Amber was also amazed by the Great Barrier, but after seeing the rotten piece of land in the south, she didn’t wish to even stay here one minute longer. “It means that those aberrations won’t have any more reinforcements… Then let’s quickly return to think of a method to deal with those monsters!”
Gawain nodded before jumping off the giant boulder. “I already have a rough plan.”
Amber followed behind closely before blabbing, “What plan, what plan? Do you really plan to eliminate over nine hundred of them in a single assault? I’m just joking with you, okay? — Could it be that you really are that incredible?!”
Gawain was thinking that the Gawain Cecil from 700 years ago might have really been able to wipe out those monsters in a single assault. But if he was to try it today, then it would be the same as dying again and spiraling into heaven. His plan wasn’t to rush in alone and start a musou1. “I have roughly calculated the path in the mountain and the movement speed of those monsters… They have yet to discover the presence of the camp, and they’re moving at a rather slow speed. According to their current speed, if they continued moving north, they would need at least two days before they would be a threat to the camp. Therefore, we have two days to make arrangements.”
Amber scratched her head. “Arrange what?”
“We will make the steep cliff at the western side of the camp collapse,” Gawain said while his mind rapidly turned to his ‘map’. “That rock stratum isn’t firm, and there are parts that have already started to crack. The path below the cliff… is the direction those aberrations are advancing towards.”
Amber was stunned. Gawain’s bold and near-insane (in her opinion) plan was entirely out of her expectations.
Inside her mind, she had constructed the scenes of countless kinds of defense lines outside the camp, dauntless combat, and torturous resistance. In fact, she was nearly moved herself… But she never expected Gawain to suggest such an unorthodox plan!
Immediately after, she was doubtful of the plan’s feasibility. “Are you truly able to do it? Collapsing a mountain! How is that possible!?”
Gawain looked at Amber. “We’re not blasting a mountain, only a portion of the rock strata. Trust me, I have observed the terrain there, and it will be very easy. Furthermore, we have enough things to blast it open.”
Amber blinked her eyes and suddenly reacted to what Gawain was referring to. “Are you referring to… those fake crystals that your dum-dum granddaughter has been working on?”
This fellow was truly getting increasingly proficient at giving nicknames to someone or something.
“It is exactly those crystals. They’re called ‘Rebecca Crystals’. They have a name.” Gawain nodded. “Because the raw materials are from the rocks in the mountain, it will be easy to make. Furthermore, after giving them instructions, even the serfs will be able to complete the smelting process. Therefore, a huge pile of them has already been produced, and they’re just in time too.” Amber still wanted to mutter, but Gawain had already walked in front. “We will discuss the details once we return to camp. Those monsters are not going to stop and wait for us.”
Amber looked up and saw that Gawain and Heidi were already moving away swiftly on the rugged mountain path. She anxiously started running after them, shouting, “Hey! Hey! Wait for me! Hey… It’s fine for Gawain to have good stamina because he’s a knight, but how can Heidi the mage also run so quickly in the mountain!?”
When Heidi heard Amber’s voice, she only smiled and shook her head without replying.
How would outsiders know about the ancient rule that had been passed down the Cecil Clan: after reaching adulthood, the heirs of the clan (be it male or female, be it talented or not) would have to enter the forest to kill a wolf with their bare hands… Back then, Rebecca lost thrice to the wolf before she passed the test. But Heidi took only one attempt to pass!
After returning to the camp, Gawain immediately summoned Rebecca, Byron, and Philip to his tent. After hearing the news, Pittman had also come over uninvited.
After considering that there were many things that couldn’t be concealed and the possibility that they might have to confront those monsters, this half-baked druid’s healing spells might become an indispensable help. Hence, Gawain didn’t chase this little old man away.
“There are even more aberrations. The number is close to a thousand. They are in the mountains,” Gawain spoke bluntly when everyone was gathered. “They are moving in this direction.”
Everyone was shocked by the news, and Pittman was the first to react. He swung his old druid robes and declared righteously, “I don’t need this month’s wages…”
“Stop! And why do you have the same reaction as Amber?” Gawain stared at the little old man and continued, “Wait for me to finish speaking. It will not be too late to express your opinion after you hear my arrangements.”
“Lord Duke,” Knight Byron said, “the combatants in the camp are less than a hundred… This includes the militia that we’ve just trained. After equipping them with the magic armors and weapons, the official soldiers and militias might be able to confront the aberrations, but for them to fight an aberration individually, it is a little…”
“I know.” Gawain raised his hand to interrupt Byron before saying, “Therefore, I am not planning to confront those monsters head-on.”
Rebecca stared with wide eyes. “Are we… going to give up the camp?” She made a sad face and obviously didn’t wish to hear that answer.
Even though this might be a barren wilderness, this was already the Cecil Clan’s final establishment, and it was also her new home. Be it the furnace that smelted the crystals or using Magic Web 1 to supply energy to the steelworks, it was all her hard work. This was the first time in her life that she was doing something that she liked, and no matter what, she didn’t want to give up on this place.
But if Gawain was really deciding to withdraw… she was already prepared to comply.
“No, we don’t need to withdraw. At least, we don’t need to be in a hurry to make the decision.” Gawain shook his head. “Those monsters will need two days to move close enough to sense the presence of the camp. Afterward, they will need at least another day to charge over, so we have at most three days to make preparations. I have a plan, but it will require large quantities of ‘Rebecca Crystals’…”
Gawain spoke of his bold idea and emphasized the feasibility of his plan.
Knight Byron and Knight Philip looked at each other in dismay. As two traditional military professionals, they didn’t pay too much attention to those ‘inventions and innovations’ that Gawain and Rebecca had been working on. Furthermore, they weren’t able to imagine the firepower of those exploding crystals. Pittman was even more confused. All these days, he would either be concocting medicine in his dwelling, moving around to provide exorcisms or blessings, or selling his useless ointments. He didn’t even know what the ‘Rebecca Crystals’ were.
Rebecca’s eyes immediately brightened up and she exclaimed, “That’s right! Those crystals will work!”
The Rebecca Crystals were her proud invention. Recently, whenever she had spare time, she would test the characteristics of the crystals and also the power of the explosion. It could be said that she had a full grasp of the crystals’ abilities. Gawain’s plan was seemingly opening the door to a new world for her. This young lady was extremely excited as she said, “All of you have to listen to me. Lord Ancestor’s plan is totally feasible! I know how incredible the explosive power of the crystals is… With greater quantities, the firepower will drastically increase! If we stuff them in the crevices and carve explosive magic circles on the rocks… it wouldn’t be a problem to blast down an entire face of a cliff!”
The two knights’ eyes finally brightened up together. But Knight Byron was still a little worried. “Will it really be able to kill those monsters? They have very tough vitality…”
“You have faced them in combat before and should know that those aberrations aren’t invulnerable.” Gawain smiled and said, “Furthermore, the aberrations in the range of the Dark Wave field and those that have wandered outside of it are two completely different entities. After losing the supplement of primal magic, they aren’t just slightly weakened. According to my observations, this group of aberrations has a Dark Wave ‘presence’ that is far inferior to the pollution at the Cecil territories.”
“That will be wonderful.” Knight Byron nodded repeatedly. “But what if the collapse of the cliff isn’t enough to kill them all?”
“I never expected all of them to be buried… If even half of the group can be neutralized with the first collapse, it will already be the best result.” Gawain laughed and then said, “For the rest, we will use traps. We will use ‘arts’ that will be buried in the ground to shave down their numbers. From the southwest corner of the mountain pass to our camp, we have a buffer zone to deal with them. The empty grounds and the fence in front of the camp will be our final defense line. But I am doubtful that those monsters will even make it to such a close distance.”
While speaking, Gawain looked up at Rebecca. “I have asked you to combine the rune triggers and the traps. It should already be done, right?”
“Of course, those things are simple. The easiest rune triggers are done by stacking slabs together. We only need to make sure that the runes are pressed into the explosive magic circles.” Rebecca looked very happy as she continued, “Furthermore, after you left earlier, I sent a few individuals to the furnace. There should be another batch of crystals that are newly smelted… Now that Magic Web 1 has started operating and as long as the crystals are in the vicinity of the energy-supply point, a large pile can be fully energized quickly. I will send people to shift the stored-up crystals to the steelworks. At the latest, tonight, we will be able to energize all of them…”
Seeing how Rebecca was blabbing non-stop with excitement, Gawain felt from the bottom of his heart that he truly picked up a treasure.
This young lady… was truly a talent.
