nucmednet Chapter 1107: A Network of Defenses
Chapter 1107: A Network of Defenses
The collapse of the second Wailing Barrier marks the official entry of the defenses of the world of Aegir into the most brutal third phase.
Node defense warfare.
The boundary swallowed by the void was no longer a slowly advancing tide, but transformed into a surging, roaring purple torrent, rushing outwards and spreading at a breathtaking speed.
The chilling calculations showed that, at this terrifying rate of absorption, the entire continent of Taliel would be completely stained a desolate purple within a month at most.
From the air, the once continuous Wall of Sighs has been divided and replaced.
Instead, defensive fortresses, standing like steel reefs amidst the purple waves, appeared.
They are not evenly distributed, but are carefully selected and constructed based on special terrains such as ice field rift valleys, permafrost highlands, and cold iron veins.
They form a robust yet flexible defense network through energy flow and emergency teleportation channels.
Each node is a gate that divides the void, a meat grinder that slows down its progress.
It firmly restrained the speed at which the void spread forward.
The 1-006 node fortress is located beside a deep lake that has not yet fully frozen deep in the ice field.
The massive circular steel fortress resembled a colossal metal beast crouching on the edge of a frozen lake, its thick composite armor walls gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
It is covered with rotating alchemical turrets, arrays of magic cannons flashing with arcane runes, and constantly recharged energy projectors.
Several battered but still suspended floating towers, like loyal guardians, slowly patrolled the sky above the fortress, casting reassuring shadows.
At the heart of the fortress is the [Attraction Node], suspended above the central plaza, radiating a soft yet resilient green light.
It acted like a powerful magnet, forcibly drawing the void creatures in the surrounding area toward the fortress.
This fortress is currently housing 70,000 soldiers of various ethnicities.
Human heavy infantrymen wiped their shields, elven rangers silently adjusted their longbows, and dwarven engineers nervously checked the final parameters beside the cannons.
In the fortress's warehouse area, various alchemical ammunition, quick-setting alloy foam canisters, healing agents, and emergency rations were piled up like mountains, almost filling every inch of space.
This is their lifeline for the next ten days, and the source of their confidence to persevere.
Commander Harold, a human veteran with frostbite scars on his face, stood on the outer city wall, his gaze piercing through the howling wind as he looked at the increasingly intense purple hue on the distant horizon.
He held a latest report on the rate of space erosion tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
"Ten days..."
Harold's voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of disbelief and bitterness.
"At the current rate of absorption, we only need to hold out here for ten days before we can retreat to the next node as planned."
Standing beside him was his adjutant, a young half-elf combat master named Lia, who forced a slightly stiff smile.
"Sir, this speed... is considered slow. According to the model simulation from the rear command post, the absorption speed will increase exponentially as we go on."
“When it’s the turn of the brothers stationed at the later nodes, they may have to retreat after holding out for three to five days. In a sense, we were ‘lucky’ during these ten days.”
Harold was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the resolute yet weary faces of the soldiers standing guard below the city walls, finally settling on the distant frozen ground that once belonged to the ancient homeland of the dwarves and was now completely abandoned.
He sighed deeply, frost forming on his beard: "Ah... ten days or five days... at least, this is Taril."
"The icy plains are harsh and cold, and have never been a permanent home for most intelligent races. Even our dwarf brothers came here with the belief of reclaiming their homeland and redeveloping it; they haven't had time to truly take root, haven't had time to make this place their 'home'..."
"That deep-seated, bone-deep longing for one's homeland wasn't the most profound yet. But later..."
He didn't continue, his worried gaze seeming to already foresee an even more horrific future.
When the defensive line retreats to the core continents where generations have lived and thrived, carrying countless civilizations and memories, what a heart-wrenching choice that will be.
Leah's expression also turned serious; she understood the commander's concerns.
"But it is precisely because of the vast buffer of Taril, and because of the time we have bought with our blood and flesh, that the people on the mainland behind us have been able to truly understand the terror of the void."
"This might... ease some of the heavy obsession in their hearts about 'living and dying with their homeland.' After all," her voice carried a cruel clarity, "to hold out until the very last moment, only to become part of the void and an accomplice in devouring their own homeland... that is definitely not the ending we want."
Just then, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air grew louder as it approached.
A scout riding a small reconnaissance pterosaur landed abruptly on the city wall and hurriedly reported before he could even get his footing.
"Commander! Purple wave! Visually confirmed! Less than 30 kilometers from the fortress! Scale... incalculable!"
All the complex emotions on Harold's face were instantly replaced by a steely coldness.
"Waaaaah!"
The piercing and heavy sound of the alarm horn instantly shattered the silence of the icy plains, echoing throughout the entire fortress.
All the soldiers on the city wall tensed up, the turrets began to hum as they charged, the mages raised their staffs, and the archers drew their bows to the limit.
After a brief silence, a thunderous roar of preparation for battle erupted.
The 1-006 node fortress, this steel fortress, instantly transformed into a war behemoth on high alert.
Meanwhile, the 1-004 node fortress.
Here, it is no longer a place of waiting, but the heart of purgatory.
The surging purple waves, like the raging waves of a real ocean, crashed against the thick metal walls one after another, producing a deafening roar.
The attraction node in the center of the fortress had already reached its maximum level, emitting a more intense emerald green light than node 006, like a lighthouse in the night, frantically attracting void creatures within its attraction range.
The entire fortress, along with the surrounding ice plains stretching for several kilometers, was completely transformed into a boiling vortex of slaughter.
The brilliance of magic, the explosions of alchemical shells, the roars of energy weapons, the shouts of soldiers, and the shrieks of monsters mingled together, creating a symphony of despair.
Its intensity was no less than that of the brutal battlefields of the Fortress of Sighs in the past.
The fortress commander, Groom Ironank, a legendary dwarven warrior clad in heavy armor, was wielding his thunder-sparkling warhammer, smashing a colossal void aberration that was trying to scale the walls into a bloody pulp.
Suddenly, his bloodshot eyes widened, staring intently at two unusually conspicuous figures amidst the surging purple tide in the distance.
The energy fluctuations they emitted were like purple torches in the night, cold, chaotic, and so powerful as to be suffocating.
"Damn it!"
Groom let out a deafening roar, spitting out a mixture of saliva and blood.
"Two?! Two legendary scumbags have been lured here? Did this damn node just get lucky?!"
His use of "dog shit luck" was obviously sarcastic; his luck was absolutely terrible.
Standing beside him was the adjutant, who calmly observed the battle, and was also another legendary combatant of the fortress.
The human swordsman Roland's eyes instantly sharpened like knives.
"I'll block one!"
Before he finished speaking, his longsword was already drawn, transforming into a streak of silver light. Man and sword became one, and he met the Void Legend, which resembled a giant purple crystal scorpion, without hesitation. "Leave the other one to us!"
On the other side of the city wall, the captain of an elite squad of five called the "Soul Guardians" shouted.
The team members were all experienced and well-coordinated top-tier warriors. They quickly formed a formation, and various binding, weakening, and disruptive spells and attacks surged like a tide towards the other Void Legend that resembled a rotting giant bat.
Their mission was to hold it off, buying time for Commander Groom or reinforcements.
However, the terror of Void Legends lies in their inherent corrosive and destructive power, with attack power far exceeding that of other Legendary Voids of the same level.
The Soul Guardian squad's coordination was impeccable, and their attacks were sharp enough, but faced with the frenzied attacks and energy corruption of the legendary void creatures, their defenses were like a small boat in a storm, teetering on the brink of collapse.
A team member's heavy shield was instantly pierced and corroded by a purplish-black energy ray, and his arm was also turned to ashes. His screams were drowned out by the roar of the battlefield.
"Hold on! Hold on!"
The captain's eyes were bloodshot, but he knew perfectly well what was going on.
With their own strength, it would be absolutely impossible to kill or even stop a Void Legendary for an extended period of time.
Only truly legendary combatants can provide effective support and find that one-sided opportunity to kill.
"Command Center! Urgent report from node 1-004! Encountered two legendary Void units! Lord Roland is holding one of them back!"
"The other side is being held up by the Soul Guardian squad and urgently needs reinforcements of legendary combat power! Repeat, we urgently need reinforcements of legendary combat power!"
The distress call, accompanied by a piercing alarm, was instantly transmitted to the command center on the mainland via an encrypted communication link.
At the edge of the Tahrir continent, the continental joint command center.
The atmosphere here was equally heavy.
On the enormous holographic sand table, the purple area representing void erosion is visibly devouring the blue dots representing the defense line.
Countless streams of information scrolled across the screen, and the staff officers' voices were urgent and low.
Governor Ariris sat at the control panel, her golden eyes rapidly scanning every piece of intelligence sent back from the front lines, calmly issuing various commands.
Beside her, Kana and Popper were equally engrossed.
Kana shifted his gaze from the glaring red alert at node 1-004 to Bobot beside him, who was intently staring at the complex spatial parameter diagram, his voice steady.
"Popot, the critical moment has arrived. Whether the node defense system can truly function depends on your capabilities."
"Whether or not a teleportation channel can be stably opened at a frontline node where space is severely eroded by the void and extremely unstable, and reinforcements and urgently needed supplies can be delivered precisely, will determine the life and death of countless nodes."
The invasion of the void is itself a violent tearing and continuous pollution of the world's crystal walls and internal space.
Maintaining a stable spatial channel in this environment is far more difficult than normal teleportation. If one is not careful, the teleporter or the teleported object may get lost in the turbulent spatial currents, or even be directly swallowed and assimilated by the void energy.
The core tactic of node defense warfare is to rely on key points for support and rapid reinforcement. Its success or failure depends entirely on the reliability of teleportation.
Therefore, at the beginning of the war, Kana bestowed upon Poppot an extremely precious and highly specialized fragment of the "teleportation and spatial stability" rule, helping him ascend to godhood and become a subordinate god specializing in this field.
This can be described as the ultimate enhancement for a profession that is directly related to one's expertise.
Popper also devoted all his energy to it, deducing countless solutions and conducting countless simulations.
"Hmph, just you wait and see!"
Popper shook the pair of white mouse ears on his head that were trembling slightly from intense concentration, trying to make his tone sound confident.
But her tightly clenched fists betrayed her inner tension.
No matter how perfect the theory or how successful the simulation, it will eventually need to be tested in the real void encroaching on reality.
This test has almost zero margin for error.
In one corner of the command center, a small, exceptionally sophisticated, silver-white teleportation array was humming and emitting stable spatial fluctuations.
A fully armed and composed legendary Soul Guardian warrior stood in the center of the teleportation array, at his destination.
It is the critical node 1-004.
"Spatial coordinates locked... Secondary teleportation platform at node 1-004... Energy path stable... Void interference coefficient within threshold... Activate!"
Popper took a deep breath, his clear voice carrying an undeniable determination.
Om-!
The teleportation array erupted with intense silver light, instantly engulfing the legendary warrior's figure.
The light faded, and the teleportation array was now empty.
The entire command center fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on the communication panel in front of Poppot, which displayed the status of the 1-004 node teleportation platform.
Alyris's fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest, while Kana's eyes were deep and unfathomable.
Popper held his breath, his small body tense, his silver pupils fixed on the screen.
Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds, yet also felt like centuries had passed.
suddenly!
The icons representing nodes 1-004 on the communication panel flashed rapidly, and a clear line of information appeared:
[1-004 Node Receives Confirmation]
The delivery unit has arrived safely.
The transmission process was stable, with no spatial fluctuations or damage to personnel or materials.
Transmission successful.
"it is good!"
Popper jumped up suddenly, clenched his little fist and swung it forcefully in the air, his face instantly breaking into a huge, relieved, and ecstatic smile.
"Perfect! Success on the first try! I knew my calculations were correct!"
Only at this moment did the suffocating tension in the command center finally dissipate.
The staff officers cheered quietly and high-fived each other.
Alyris's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and a hint of approval curved her lips.
Looking at the excited Popper, Kana's eyes also revealed satisfaction and affirmation.
The opening of this lifeline of spatial teleportation means that the most crucial link in the node defense system has finally been completed, injecting a strong boost into this desperate war of attrition.
However, joy is fleeting.
Everyone's attention quickly refocused on the blue dot on the sand table that represented node 1-004 and was being attacked by two huge red dots.
The legendary reinforcements, having successfully arrived, are about to step into that blood-soaked battlefield. (End of Chapter)