Chapter 997 - 996: Targeted Ignition

Chapter 997: Chapter 996: Targeted Ignition

On the Winterwolf Fortress front, the war has ignited on this land and continues to burn.

On the eastern side of the defense line, a fierce battle just concluded in the narrow valley region. A contingent of Typhon Extraordinary Corps attempted a covert flanking attack on the Cecil Clan’s supply line from the valley, but during their march, they startled a mobile brigade temporarily stationed nearby—both sides erupted into intense combat during the encounter, with the extraordinary army and ordinary soldiers armed with steel machinery igniting the whole region. Three hours later, the remnants of the Typhon forces retreated, and the Cecil Corps, having sustained certain battle losses, maintained vigilance from the high point in the valley while resting until reinforcements arrived.

A young officer with bronze skin arrived on the still-smoldering battlefield. The chilling north wind howled through the valley, carrying the acrid smell of scorched earth and charred flesh, causing this young man, deeply trusted by Maryland, to squint his eyes slightly.

He looked up towards the end of the slope, seeing three destroyed war vehicles lying in craters, with twisted armor plates still spewing thick smoke. Further away, soldiers could be seen active, tidying up the battlefield and placing bodies into body bags.

The Typhon soldiers couldn’t take away all the bodies during their retreat—it’s best to take these dangerous remains back and burn them thoroughly, as leaving them here might cause unexpected trouble.

A company commander wearing second-generation Magic Energy Armor, with a blue insignia ribbon on one shoulder, approached the highland and saluted the young bronze-skinned officer: "Commander Payne, the collection of bodies is complete."

"Hmm," the young officer known as Payne nodded, then frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the damaged war vehicles, "...the Typhon soldiers are gradually mastering ways to combat war vehicles in small conflicts...they no longer rely solely on legion-level spells; their extraordinary troops can now fight against our tanks."

"Seems that’s the case—their tactics are advancing rapidly and they’ve always been learning from us," the company commander nodded, "They no longer use melee units to directly assault tanks but instead rely on various extraordinary units working in small teams—when conditions allow, they use various magic traps. When conditions don’t allow, they form small squads of five to ten knights with strong defenses to withstand one or two shell hits, while mages quickly cast spells under cover using swamp or rock magic to trap tanks, and counter-spells to try and destroy the magic circuits within, with stealth users executing close-range explosions or coordinating multiple mages for attacks...

"Currently, Typhon’s tactics require a larger sacrifice and can only counter small tank groups and Multi-Functional War Vehicles, but their tactics are undeniably progressing—and they’ve created some quite powerful ’new toys,’ like those explosives used by stealth users, which pose a significant threat."

"...Are the mixed units formed by extraordinary troops really that troublesome..." Payne couldn’t help but frown, "They were powerless against our steel chariots during encounters not long ago..."

"We have never faced an opponent able to use extraordinary troops as ordinary soldiers before Typhon," the company commander said candidly, "Even the historical records of Longwind Fortress don’t mention such mixed units and tactical changes—Typhon must have developed this only in recent years."

"We had not seen ’extraordinary troops,’ so were caught off guard," Payne couldn’t help but lament, "And Typhon had not seen ’ordinary troops’ using steel machinery, which caught them off guard as well...this is a war where both sides are greatly enlightened."

His gaze swept across the battlefield, Typhon’s black flags fell on the cold ground, stained with dirt and ash, the red patterns on the surface strikingly conspicuous.

Welcoming this war when Typhon was at its weakest left him genuinely grateful—such thoughts might not be in line with "knightly virtues," but Payne knew the era of knightly virtues has already passed.

After a moment’s contemplation, he retracted his gaze, looking at the company commander beside him: "Has there been a preliminary inspection of those bodies? What are the results?"

"Yes, inspection is complete, and the results align with General Philip’s predictions," the company commander promptly said, "Several enemy commanders show signs of bodily mutations, identifiable as ’complete infections,’ most ordinary knights and some auxiliary soldiers also exhibit greater resilience and recovery, identifiable as ’mental aberrations.’ All aforementioned enemies retain their rationality. As for those Army Mages...they seem unaffected by War God mental contamination."

"...So, among the Typhon troops sent to attack the Winterwolf Defense Line, the proportion of personnel with minds affected by spiritual contamination is rising, especially among the officer ranks..." Payne nodded slowly, speaking solemnly, "When we seized the Winterwolf Defense Line, about half of the officers in the attacking enemy forces were mentally contaminated..."

"Isn’t that normal?" The company commander seemed perplexed, "This indicates the contamination is spreading within Typhon’s military, and soldiers and officers affected by the mad gods are becoming more numerous—their infection is approaching loss of control."

"No," Payne shook his head, a serious expression appearing on his face, "You’ve misunderstood—though we call it a ’spiritual plague,’ its contamination speed and scope were limited from the start, and now it’s unlikely to cause this rapidly increasing infection.

"This ’spiritual plague’ uses War God Faith as its basic medium, according to scholars’ above analysis, only those who reach a certain level of devotion to War God are susceptible to it—so if you’re not a devoted War God believer, you won’t be infected, and if you are, you’ve already been affected within the initial days of the pandemic’s outbreak."

The company commander listened to his superior’s explanation and gradually understood: "So, the number of ’infected’ within Typhon’s military should’ve stabilized several days ago, theoretically there shouldn’t be this abnormal increase...but what’s causing these suddenly increased infected?"

"...I don’t know," Payne shook his head, his sight set on the distance, "But we should figure it out soon."

...

In the eastern region of Winterwolf Fortress, amidst snow-covered forests near a nameless mine, a few blurred silhouettes swiftly moved between trees and snowy grounds.

Those figures were agile as beasts of the forest and shrouded entirely by a transforming magical aura, under the effect of this magic, their forms merged almost seamlessly with the surroundings, only with focused attention could one catch their fleeting outlines—they quickly crossed the snowy forest’s border, navigated paths rarely threaded by even hunters, and finally stopped at a secret hideout deep within the woods.

A giantwood long deceased had fallen here, its massive trunk weathered and decayed, forming a wooden wall shielding from wind and snow. Moreover, several soldiers in white light armor and cloaked in white were guarding here. As the squad sent for scouting returned, these soldiers instinctively heightened their alertness but soon verified the identities via carried identification sigils, subsequently relaxing.

"Safe, you can deactivate the position distortion Force Field."

A deep voice seemed to emerge from nowhere, and afterward, the figures returning from outside the snowy forest gradually lifted their disguises, revealing attire identical to those stationed at the hideout.

This is a Steel Cavalry Squadron that has penetrated deep into Typhon borders—in this snow-covered season, they have switched to equipment more suitable for maneuvering in snowy areas, and they all carry position distortion Force Field Generators to cloak themselves.

They have been operating in this area for two days, and at the same time, several other teams are active in other nearby regions.

"Where is Officer Soldrin?" the squad leader returning from outside the snow forest asked curiously, looking at the clearly evident hiding spot. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a magnetic voice came from right under his nose: "I’m here."

Blonde Soldrin stood up from a nearby post—before he made a sound and moved, the soldiers hadn’t even realized his presence!

High-Ranked Ranger from the silver elves can appear almost "invisible" before ordinary people without using any Transcendent skills. This incredible ability made the squad leader feel a bit of awe, and he hurriedly saluted Soldrin and said, "Sir, we have returned from Pine Forest Town, and the operation went smoothly."

"Tell me about your findings," Soldrin said, his elegant demeanor always carrying a hint of melancholy. "The other teams haven’t reported back yet; you are the first to complete the reconnaissance."

"Yes, sir," the squad leader promptly nodded. "The informant’s intelligence was accurate. We saw that several buildings in the Typhon military camps near Pine Forest Town had their emblems replaced. Judging by the structure, it should be a resting place for noble officers and awarded Knights. We also observed several large movements of personnel, and there was a military assembly at an intersection to the southeast. Judging by the flags and emblems, it should be part of a National Knights from the central region..."

Listening to the squad leader’s coherent report, Soldrin nodded slowly: "Very good, you’ve spotted something crucial."

"It’s a pity we can’t delve further southeast," the squad leader shook his head a bit regretfully. "The magic sentries over there are too rigorous; the place is full of Eyes of the Mage—mages are as common as anything, even the village entrance has mages on guard, our position distortion might not work there."

"...It’s not that mages are cheap, it’s that Typhon has always been wealthy," Soldrin quipped, unable to resist using a line once spoken by Gawain, "That’s how cash ability is."

As he spoke, the handsome blond elf’s brows seemed to carry even more of a melancholic air, but he quickly shook his head: "During the next communication, I’ll send the intelligence you’ve gathered and the data collected last time to the rear. Everyone will take a short rest for now—then we’ll shift locations once again."

After giving instructions, the High-Ranked Ranger turned and left the hiding spot, quickly arriving at a nearby tree. Using the leaves that did not fall in winter to conceal himself, he sat amidst the branches, half on guard and half at rest.

"Is the officer in a bad mood today?" The squad leader couldn’t help but glance in that direction and said to his comrade beside him, "He seems to be frowning."

"He’s been like this recently, it’s nothing," replied a Steel Dragoon Warrior offhandedly. "Elves, you know, are supposedly very emotional; perhaps something about the snowy scenery, the barren trees, or the desolate mountains gets them emotional..."

The squad leader thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Oh, that makes some sense..."

The warriors kept their conversation very low, yet these voices did not escape the keen ears of the elves.

Sitting on the tree branch, Soldrin twitched his ears but didn’t mind the boring chatter of his subordinates; he only adjusted his posture slightly, causing almost no movement in the branch, then tilted his head back, gazing at the clear blue sky of winter with a hint of melancholy.

After a long while, he sighed softly: "...Why don’t they have hair?

"Something conjured... can that even count as real..."

...

"This is the latest intelligence from the front line," Aunt Heidi placed an organized document before Gawain in the study of the Cecil Palace, "The Winterwolf Fort Defense Line has stabilized. Although the Typhon Empire’s counterattacks are fiercer each time, we have dispatched reinforcements promptly, and Zero and the mortal world Serpent have also arrived near the Shadow Marsh in time. The warriors have finally held their ground there."

Gawain received the document Aunt Heidi handed over, quickly scanning through it with his eyes while listening to her report. Soon, his reading pace slowed as he murmured to himself after Aunt Heidi finished speaking: "As expected... the proportion of ’polluters’ in the Typhon soldiers has increased..."

"In theory, the spiritual contamination spread through Chains of Faith can’t have such ’surges’—non-believers wouldn’t be contaminated, and devout believers would be heavily contaminated from the start. Among these two groups, there’s no ’person-to-person’ transmission of divine mental contamination," Aunt Heidi said, "So... the situation turned out as you predicted."

"Yes, I guessed it," Gawain said with a complex and subtle expression, smiling. "Look here, these signs of mobilization, these complex, exquisite, and rapid reorganizations..."

He sighed, his expression a mix of laughter and tears.

"These ’newly added’ infected are gathered and dispatched from the rear. Emperor Rosetta Augustus is mobilizing his vast governance machinery and war machinery, sending troops influenced by the War God to the Winterwolf Front Line through a series of personnel adjustments—he’s using our strength to purify this contamination, and perhaps... also to purge his political opponents."

Listening to Gawain, Aunt Heidi’s expression turned odd.