There was a moment of silence in the study, and Gawain was deep in thought behind his desk—the sudden revelations that had been sent to him had caused him a certain amount of stress, but on the other hand, it had not completely exceeded his expectations.

From the day he knew that there was a remnant of the Cultists of the Dead still operating in the wasteland, he knew that he would have to face this trouble one day, and Veronica's revelation of information about the Deep Blue Well, the Iron Man Corps, and the remnant base was more unexpected than the sudden activity of these cultists.

All of this strengthened his determination to fight back against the wasteland, a goal that had been secretly set in his mind not long after he had awakened, and suddenly there was one more reason to work for it.

"In short, no matter what those cultists want to do, their goal is definitely not for world peace, unity, and fraternity," Gawain broke the silence in a low voice as he pondered, "The more energy they steal from the Deep Blue Well, the more dangerous it is that what they are going to plan becomes...... You can't sit idly by. ”

"But they're deep in the wasteland," Veronica said quietly, "it's a vast polluted land, and countless aberrations roaming around—any desperate place outside the Great Walls is as comfortable as a garden compared to the Gondor Wasteland, and the fact that the cultists are hiding in the tainted zone means they are almost completely safe. ”

Gawain didn't speak for a while, just leaned back slightly, and the wind in his ears seemed even more noisy.

Veronica was talking about the biggest problem of the moment – the vast wasteland. The wasteland is a sinister and desperate situation for the nations living in the clean area, but for the cultists who have adapted to the wasteland environment through biochemical transformation, the terrible demonic energy pollution and wandering aberrations are their natural barriers, even if Gawain and Veronica now know where the cultists are hiding, they can hardly do anything about them, after all...... Seven hundred years have passed, and the nations around the Gondor Wasteland are barely able to maintain their borders, and none of them have actually raised the banner of counterattacking the wasteland.

But not being able in the past does not mean that it cannot be now, and it does not mean that it cannot be in the future.

Gawain curled his fingers and tapped the armrest of his chair twice, his gaze falling on the wall not far away, where the map of the continent hung and now a new flag symbolizing the union of the community, bathed in the afternoon sun, the silk fabric shining brightly.

"I haven't mentioned this to you before because I didn't think the time was right?" Veronica's voice came from the side, "You have a bigger, more urgent crisis to face, and every little energy you put into it is at risk of overturning?" And even then I told you about the wasteland? Neither you nor your allies can do anything? But now...... I think we have some leeway to think about the internal pitfalls that preceded the grandeur. ”

Gawain couldn't help but glance at her, what the other party said didn't sound like a problem? But when he thought about it, he found that these judgments only calculated rigid data? However, without taking into account the variability of human beings, this way of judging things does not seem to be quite in line with human thinking habits...... Is this also the effect of too long a long time on her?

Veronica noticed his gaze, "What's the problem?" ”

"No, not really?" Gawain shook his head? Eyes fell on the Union flag not far away again? Said with a thoughtful expression? "To this day? We are still not ready for a counter-offensive on the wasteland? Whether it is from the point of view of technical reserves or manpower and material resources, this is not a problem that the Cecil Empire can solve independently at this stage, but from the other side...... We now have a coalition that we have the opportunity to mobilize unprecedented power to do great things? So ......"

"So it's no longer a far-fetched thing?" Veronica said calmly? "What if all the nations on the continent could realize that a threat was looming in the wasteland? So even if we still can't reclaim the wasteland, at least do something, even if it's a kilometer to the Great Wall? Even if it's to build a few outposts on its borders. ”

Gawain groaned, and said slowly in thought: "I think your idea is too conservative - if several more powerful countries are really willing to do this together, then we can probably do more than that." ”

All kinds of thoughts were churning in his mind, and Gawain said as he combed through the list of countries that might actively cooperate in this matter in his mind like a list, and when those alliance countries appeared in his mind one by one, he gradually realized what an effective force this was, and suddenly realized that the matter of "counterattacking the wasteland" had some kind of foundation unconsciously.

It is indeed difficult to counterattack the wasteland on Cecil himself, but if Typhon and the Silver Empire are willing to actively contribute, and the border countries like the Oguray and the Kaolin Kingdom are also willing to actively cooperate, this matter will ...... It doesn't seem that far away either?

But even then, it won't happen overnight, and even if the conditions are in place now, planning a counterattack on the wasteland will take a long time - after all, the mortal kingdoms have been far away from the ancient Corruption for too many years.

Gawain unreservedly told Veronica what he was thinking, and finally said, "I will send a message to Typhon and the Silver Empire as soon as possible, and in any case, I will warn them first, but in any case, it is not an easy matter to enter the Gondor Wasteland, it will take a long time to prepare." ”

"I know," Veronica nodded, "but please hurry up - I've lost the clues of those cultists again, they are preparing plans that no one knows about in everyone's blind spot, and I can only really settle down if I find them sooner rather than later." ”

Gawain didn't say anything, just sat behind his desk with a sinking face and nodded slowly.

……

When the wind blows across the plains in the last week of the recovery month, all the golden flowers of Longbranch Manor will bloom, these beautiful little flowers with pale golden petals are actually inconspicuous in the plains, but they have always been loved by the Wendell family - they are planted on both sides of every road on the estate, from the high ground where the red windmill is located to the edge of the grove, from the direction of the farm to the main house designed by Bard Wendell himself, when the warm wind blows, An earthy aroma wafts from the flowers and fills all avenues and paths.

A magic guide car with the Wendell family crest drove across the wide, smooth "National Avenue" and drove through the cobblestone path into the main entrance of the Long Branch Manor, where the servants were already waiting for the owner, who had been away for too long—the car stopped in the open field, and when the door opened, the tall, gray-haired shawl Andesa Wendell finally stood on the ground she knew best.

The young wolf general had already taken off her military uniform and was wearing a spring dress that was more like an ordinary woman, with a long white dress with high-end fabric but a simple style that rose slightly in the wind, slightly reducing her cold and stiff military aura, but still unable to completely cover up that kind of neat and neat temperament.

Andesa Wendell nodded in response to the servants who had come to greet her, and then her eyes swept over the familiar objects in her sight—she saw the main road at her feet winding in the direction of the main house, a mage tower standing on a hill not far away, and a flourishing fruit grove, nursery, and stables in the distance, and a small river winding its way in the direction of the distant woods in the direction of the National Boulevard.

This is her own estate, a small part of the fief under her name, and it is not a short distance from the imperial capital. Many years ago, the estate was owned by her father, who soon passed from her grandfather to her after his "disappearance". For Andessa, it is a place that encapsulates almost all the good and bad memories of her childhood to her teenage years, and this slightly remote manor house is more like her "home" than the family mansion in the imperial capital.

Andesa took a soft breath to calm her mind, perhaps after too many changes, when she returned to this familiar land, she found that her feelings were complicated to the extent that it was difficult for even her to understand.

At this moment, the butler of the manor came forward at the right time, bowed before the hostess, and said, "Mademoiselle, the Grand Duke of Ferdinand is here, and he is waiting for you in the hall on the first floor of the main house. ”

Is grandfather already waiting for him here?

Andesa blinked, and there was not much surprise on her face, she nodded, and motioned for the butler to disband the servants assembled here, and walked calmly towards the main house not far away.

In the main house, the white-haired Duke Ferdinand Wendell is standing quietly in front of the north wall, looking up at the large portrait hanging on the wall—according to the "regulations" of most Typhon's noble mansions, this place should be hung with the portrait of the owner of the place, that is, the "formal portrait" that Andessa painted as an adult, but in fact it is still the same one from more than ten years ago: the full-length portrait of Bard Wendell.

On the wide canvas, the young Bard Wendell is standing in the armed showroom, full of armor, wearing a big sword, standing in front of him, his eyes are as sharp as a wolf, although the owner of this painting is long gone, but a certain spirit of the previous generation of wolf generals seems to still be deeply imprinted in the painting, under the pen of the famous master of the imperial capital, this spirit even penetrates, so that every observer can feel the aura of Ling Ran - but the white-haired Pei Dinan stands here, He looked at the painting with a soft and nostalgic look, like any old father.

The sound of the door opening and footsteps was heard, and Peddinand looked back to see Andesa Wendell standing in the doorway.

Sunlight poured into the hall from behind Andesa, with a misty texture, and a golden glow spread over the shoulders of the girl who had taken off her military uniform.

After a few seconds of relative silence, Grand Duke Ferdinand finally broke the silence softly: "Andelsa, you're back." ”

"Yes, grandfather," Andesa said as she walked into the hall, with a certain inexplicable sense of restraint and distance, "I'm back. ”

She looked at Duke Ferdinand, an old man who was incomparably powerful in her memory and much older than he had been a few months ago, his hair was all white—although the gray hair of the Wendell family itself was close to white, but now Duke Ferdinand's hair had completely faded from that gray texture, leaving only a plain white that was almost silver—and his burly body was slightly rickety, and although he was still tall, he no longer needed her to look up.

Andesa looked beyond her grandfather and saw the full-length portrait of her father on the wall behind her, the heroic soldier in military uniform brought a touch to her heart, and then some new memories came to mind, and another image seemed to appear in front of her eyes, and gradually overlapped with the father in the portrait-

A little fat, wearing the uniform of the institute, the beard and hair are not taken care of due to the addiction to research, holding a record board, can give himself a hundred questions at any time, and is extremely good at going to the cafeteria to grab chicken legs with colleagues, and urging himself to drink medicine when he comes back.

I stacked it for a long time, but I didn't fold it.

Andesa controlled the change in her expression at the last moment - such a serious occasion, and in front of her grandfather, it is still necessary to pay attention.

Peddinand didn't know what Andesa remembered at this moment, he just noticed the other party's eye hidden under bangs for the first time, that eye was bloody, obviously different from normal eyeballs: "Andesa, your eyes are ......"

"Under the bombardment of the Cecil...... Hurt," Andesa subconsciously stroked the corner of her eye, with a hint of shame in her expression, "After their treatment, my vision was restored, but there were some changes in my eyeballs - I volunteered to leave this mark as a reminder to myself." ”

Peddinand looked at Andesa and sighed softly after a moment: "You...... Suffered a lot. ”

This is probably the softest and most caring thing that this "Iron Duke" can say, right?

Andesa thought to herself and shook her head slightly: "The physical damage is not important, my performance in the battle of Winterwolf Castle ...... Did you get down on it? ”

Peddinand didn't speak, just looked at his granddaughter quietly, until this gaze was almost about to turn into real pressure, and then he said, "Why should I be disappointed? Because you chose to surrender? Or is it because you failed to hold the fortress? ”

Andesa was silent.

"Andesa, it's true that you didn't defend the Winterwolf Castle, and you were indeed the first wolf general to surrender on the battlefield, but for the whole of Typhon, you are defending more than just a Winterwolf Castle," Peer Dinand said in a deep voice, "Have you made the right judgment at the right time and made it your mission to protect the interests of your country?" ”

Andesa did not hesitate at all: "I did it. ”

"That's good," Peddinand finally smiled, "that's all I want from you." ”

The old man opened his hands, and his arms were still as wide as Andesa remembered:

"Welcome home, Andresa."

……

The cold sea breeze blew from the direction of the coastline, and the wind carried a slightly salty smell, and Melita Pernia landed on the large landing platform on the shore in the bumps, and only exhaled softly when she saw that the camp not far away was still in order, and her compatriots were still busy.

She turned into a human form and walked on the landing platform - it was a landing platform, but it was not a concept at all from the industrial products of the past with a precision navigation system, intelligent lighting, and intelligent self-cleaning functions, it was just an open and flat high ground outside the camp, and the ground was just a glowing, land-aiding line marker with magic guide materials and deep notches - a figure in a white dress was standing at the end of the ramp not far away, and when she saw Melita appear, this figure immediately flew up.

"Welcome back!" Noretta happily greeted her friend and looked Melita up and down, "Yes - it looks like the long trip didn't make your injuries a problem." ”

"It's just a round trip to the Loren Continent," Melita waved her hand nonchalantly, "and it's not going to the Elemental World to find someone to fight." ”

As she spoke, she glanced in the direction of the camp and casually asked, "Is everything okay here?" ”

"As you can see, everything is going on in order, and the camp is much bigger than when you left," Norreta said, "We now have more helpers – the Argondol side has successfully restarted two factories, and our logistical supply is becoming stable, at least ...... The source and reserves of basic supplies are no longer so dangerous. ”

"That's good," Melita breathed a sigh of relief, "and then there's any other good news?" ”

"As our 'ambassador', you should theoretically talk about the situation outside," Noretta said with a smile, "but it doesn't matter, you should wait until you meet Speaker Andal." For now, come home with me first—I've got a surprise for you. ”