mesbooks Chapter 48 [The Reactions of Both Sides]
Chapter 48 [The Reactions of Both Sides]
The surviving Black Tide warriors, carrying the power of the fallen champions and information about the dwarven stronghold, disappeared into the dark woods.
The champion of the Black Tide vanguard, covered in wounds and armed with new intelligence, knelt before the Black Tide Monarch.
Behind him was an even larger and more restless Black Tide Legion than when he left.
Later, due to the monarch's indulgence, a hunting feast was held on this land that had become maddened by comet radiation.
Countless powerful mutated beings were hunted down one by one as the Black Tide Legion launched its carpet-bombing advance.
The life essence of the animals before they died was greedily absorbed by the totem pole, transforming into the dark red light that constantly flowed on it.
"Speak." The Black Tide Monarch stood on a small hill made of monster skulls, looking down at the kneeling champion below.
The champion raised his head, a fanatical flame burning in his single eye: "My lord, those dwarves, they have 'Iron Shells'."
"What's even more interesting," the champion added, changing his tone, "is that among them is an orc."
He described how he easily dismantled the champion's prized bone armor with that peculiar battle axe.
Upon hearing the report, the Black Tide Monarch, instead of being angry, laughed. "A wall that can block the Black Tide? An axe that can disintegrate matter?"
He descended from the mountain of bones and came to the totem pole that had absorbed life energy and was radiating an ominous aura.
"Interesting, very interesting." He reached out and stroked the twisting patterns on the totem pole.
He said to the old shaman beside him, "The dwarves have found a way to fight the Black Tide, and they have also found a weapon that can threaten my championship."
The old shaman's body trembled slightly with fear: "My lord, should we... launch a general offensive immediately? Let's overwhelm them with our sheer numbers."
"No." The Black Tide Monarch shook his head. "That would be too boring and a waste."
He turned to face his vast army, which had become increasingly frenzied from constant hunting.
"Since they have prepared an interesting 'city defense game' for me, I will naturally bring out 'siege weapons' worthy of this game."
"Pass on my orders!"
"Bring all the hearts of the monsters we've hunted here!"
"I will use their lives to give birth to two entirely new 'toys' for my legion!"
The Black Tide Monarch personally selected twenty of the most robust Black Tide champions, who had killed the most in previous battles.
"You are the strongest fist of my legion. Now, I will transform you into a battering ram capable of crushing everything!"
He placed his hand on the head of a champion, and the immense life energy stored in the totem pole was violently poured into the champion's body.
The champion began to swell, his bones emitting a sickening cracking and reforming sound.
Thick bone spurs burst from his back, shoulders, and joints.
Its skin transformed into a thick, rock-like shell, its skull deformed, and its forehead bulged high, forming a massive ramming horn.
When the transformation was complete, a monster over four meters tall, covered in heavy bone armor, and resembling an upright war beast appeared before everyone.
He pounded his chest, each impact producing a dull thud like a drumbeat.
The Black Tide Monarch nodded in satisfaction: "You are the [Citybreaker]. Your mission is to smash through all the barriers in my path!"
Next, he selected a group of shamans who were relatively weak in body but had exceptionally active mental energy.
"You fear the dwarves?" The monarch's gaze swept over them. "That's because you haven't yet grasped the true purpose of the Black Tide."
He probed his will into the minds of these shamans.
"Don't think about fighting or attacking."
"To feel, to permeate, to dismantle."
He guided these shamans to transform the black tide power within their bodies.
The Kuroshio Current's ability to atomize, ignore obstacles, and exert its wide-ranging erosive power has been amplified.
A shaman tried to open his mouth, and a cloud of black mist spewed out.
Wherever the mist passed, the grass on the ground withered, and the surface of the rocks showed mottled marks.
The monarch bestowed a name upon the new troop type: "From this day forward, you shall be the [Plaguebringers]."
The birth of the new unit has brought about a qualitative leap in the entire Black Tide Legion's combat system.
One is responsible for breaking through head-on, and the other is responsible for dismantling the defense.
The Black Tide Monarch stood before his masterpiece, his gaze piercing through the endless wilderness and landing on the distant, heavily fortified dwarven camp.
"Go."
"Go and send our greetings to our new rivals."
......
The brief conflict in front of the meteorite crater was recorded in real time in the top hall of the Arcane Temple, spanning thousands of miles, through a recording crystal.
Fear lingered on Lila's face; she had just severed her connection with the scouting magic ahead.
The dozen or so elite mages who participated in this remote observation were all speechless.
The final scene freezes on a cloud of black mist rising from the corpse and eventually being absorbed by its companions.
That complete disregard for life overturned the understanding of these spellcasters in their ivory tower.
"Monster..." A young mage said, his face pale.
"No." Valen was becoming increasingly interested in that power.
"This is a masterpiece! This is a completely new path for the evolution of life forms!"
"Valen, are you insane?" Lila turned around. "They're blaspheming life!!"
Valen spread his hands, looking unconvinced. "The council teaches us that knowledge and power are everything. All I see is... power."
The argument did not continue.
At the highest point of the temple, Thea's private door opened.
She emerged from the darkness, her long silver hair flowing in the arcane light.
"Speaker." All members fell silent and bowed.
Thea walked straight to the center of the hall and placed her hand on the World Tree remnant that was connected to the entire Temple system.
"Import all observation data into the 'Eye of Arcane' system."
"I grant you the highest privileges and will personally oversee the simulation."
The temple, this intricate machine previously constructed with the knowledge and magic of mages, began to turn.
All the effective images, through Thea's unique magical talent, flowed into her brain for calculation and deduction.
The lights in the hall dimmed, leaving only Thea radiating a pale purple glow.
Valen, Lila, and all the core members became both supporters and witnesses.
The first day was a replication of the process.
In her mental world, Thea perfectly replicated that battlefield.
From the terrain and landforms to the materials of each warrior's equipment, and even the concentration of free-floating magical particles in the air, everything corresponds one-to-one with the data transmitted back by Lila.
The next day, the events were analyzed.
Thea isolated and analyzed the "Static Rune" produced by the dwarven frostfire forging technique.
"A very peculiar structure," she relayed her analysis to Lila, "It created a small-scale law-silent zone, causing that dark force to lose its way during its transmission."
The focus then shifted to Gale's battle axe.
When the simulated Ger swung his axe and dismantled the bone armor of a Black Tide champion, Thea slowed down that moment by billions of times.
"See that, Valen?"
Her voice resonated directly in Valen's mind, "This power is not within our magical system. It is older, more fundamental. It is simply breaking down matter at a higher level."
Valen was completely captivated by what he saw; it opened a whole new door for him.
The third day, the strategy has unique aspects.
Analysis of the Kuroshio Current itself has reached a stalemate.
Its form of existence transcends the realm of magic.
"It... seems to be some kind of infectious disease." Lila, who was in charge of sorting through all the data, looked confused. "It's a virus that can self-replicate and infect others with the same virus."
This metaphor enlightened Thea.
"Wait... the world I'm in is a Western fantasy world... so theoretically, the Abyss faction should exist."
As she pondered this in her mind, a sudden inspiration led Thea to change the direction of her deductions.
She saw that when a Black Tide warrior died, his existence did not dissipate, but was decomposed by the Black Tide and then transferred to other legion members.
Therefore, this must mean that the orcish faction has a deep-seated scheme behind it...
This simulation, which lasted for three days, has finally come to an end.
When Thea opened her eyes, she glanced at Lila and Valen, who were waiting nervously to the side.
"Lila, your intuition is right."
She waved her hand, and a world map of Ashem made of light unfolded before the three of them.
"This is a war that cannot be won. The enemy is not the orc army, but the very entity they represent that is eroding the world."
She pointed to the crater, where a red dot representing the comet's core was flashing.
"The legion's lord's target isn't the dwarves, but this... something beneficial to him is hidden within the meteorite."
"Once he obtains it, it will elevate him to a level comparable to the entire world in a short period of time. At that time, all life and magic as we know them will cease to exist."
Faced with an enemy that was virtually impossible to defeat, Valen's obsessive pursuit of power changed, and he became genuinely fearful:
"Then what should we do? Speaker! We must use all the power of the Temple to destroy them!"
"No." Thea shook her head. "With our current strength, if we intervene head-on, the best outcome will be mutual destruction. My council cannot become a expendable resource in this war."
She waved her hand, closed the map, leaving only her deep eyes fixed on her two most capable deputies.
"We need a proxy in this war."
"A piece that... also possesses the same laws, but does not belong to our system."
Thea retrieved another document.
That's where everything about Ger is.
From his rebirth in the ruins, to slaying the Frostsaber, to his rise to fame at Blackrock Watchtower, and the unique ability he displayed to deconstruct matter.
"This orc..." Lila's eyes showed surprise.
"His power is also at the level of laws," Thea concluded.
"In a sense, he is the only and true 'natural enemy' of the Black Tide."
Valen understood Thea's intention: "You want to... use him?"
"It's cooperation," Thea corrected. "The Black Tide is the enemy of all life. Since the dwarves belong to the Order faction, this special orc, who also belongs to the Order's power, also has the responsibility to take on the mission of fighting against Chaos."
"We can't get involved ourselves, but we can provide our 'ally' with the intelligence and support he needs most."
Thea turned around and placed her hand back on the broken branch of the World Tree, her consciousness once again connecting with the mycelial network that covered the world.
"In my name, I send a divine revelation to Brock, the blacksmith in the dwarf camp."
"Tell him that the core of the divine iron that fell from the sky contains the purest fire of order; this flame can completely burn away the pollution of the Black Tide."
"But to ignite this flame, you need a key."
The oracle was packaged and disguised as a call from the heart of the mountains, and transmitted along the magical network to the old dwarven blacksmith who had devoted himself to the cause of his people.
Thea gave the dwarves a glimmer of hope that could turn the tide of the war.
The key to achieving this lies in Geer's hands.