The appearance of the dragon made Gawain even more interested in the mysterious impact crater at the southern foot of the Dark Mountains.

Whatever it was, it obviously caught the dragon's attention - so what was the last thing that caught the dragon's attention?

It's Cecil polluted by the Devil's Tide.

After exiting the satellite mode, Gawain quietly pondered in his study for a moment, and then ordered Amber to call Hetty and Byron.

When he heard that Gawain was going to go to the southern foot of the Dark Mountain Range to investigate the situation in person, Heti was suddenly taken aback: "You want to go to the southern part of the mountain range?!" ”

"I'm very concerned about what's going on over there," Gawain couldn't explain what satellite surveillance was to Hetty, so he could only say, "The overload of the Great Wall happened not long ago, and now there's a new change in the wasteland, and we have to figure out the situation." ”

"But it's too dangerous over there," Hetty worried, "and to cross the Dark Mountains is to face the wasteland......

"I've faced, more than once," Gawain interrupted Hetty, "and even crossing the Dark Mountains doesn't mean entering the wasteland—the Black Forest and the Belted Plains in between. Strictly speaking, the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains are still part of the 'Civilized Territory', and with my strength, with a team of elites, there is no problem in operating there. ”

Looking at Gawain's resolute attitude, Hetty realized that he might not be able to dissuade him.

The ancestor has always been far-sighted, and there must be a very important reason behind his concern for this matter.

But just as Hetty was about to nod his head, and Gawain was about to discuss manpower matters with Byron, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the study door, interrupting everyone's movements: "Old friend, I'm afraid you don't have to climb over the mountains for the time being—there are some situations in the fortress of disobedience." ”

Gawain looked up and saw Thorderling standing there.

……

Immediately after the "Earthquake", Thorderling received an order to lead an elite group of steel rangers into the Fort of Disobedience and inspect the ancient Gondor building south along the main corridor of the fortress to see if the ancient Gondor building had been affected by the shaking of the mountain.

This order proved not only timely, but also very necessary.

Magic crystal lamps powered by a modern magic web system illuminated the ancient fortress corridors, and Gawain followed Sölderlin to the southern depths of the fortress with Amber, Byron, and Hetty.

They were accompanied by a group of heavily armed Steel Ranger warriors, and on both sides of the corridor, sentries could be seen standing guard at regular intervals, and the more they moved south of the fortress, the more sentries appeared on the way.

"After the earthquake, the person in charge of the Fortress Arsenal sent a report that there was a loud noise coming from the southern corridor," Sölderlin said in a calm tone as he walked beside Gawain, "The workers in several southern areas also heard loud noises, and there was a significant tremor, and I was worried that the entire southern area would collapse, so I evacuated the workers in this area and checked all the way along the main corridor......"

The long corridor drew to a close, and an extraordinarily heavy, large isolation door appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

This is the southern barrier gate of the Fort of Disobedience, and opposite this heavy gate is the huge cavern known as the "Shadow Laboratory", a place that Gawain remembers - it was here that Amber jumped through the Shadow Realm to Fort Contract, witnessed the assassination of Francis II, and brought back key evidence of Prince Edmund's secret collusion with the Cultists.

Since the development and exploration of other areas of the fortress has not yet been completed, and the current "Dark Zone Industrial Zone" cannot be used for the time being, so after that incident, the "Shadow Experimental Field" has been temporarily mothballed.

Thordrin came to the door of the Shadow Laboratory, activated the magic mechanism of the gate, and with a creaking sound of machinery, the newly installed magic mechanism drove the heavy isolation door to slowly open to both sides, and the scene opposite the door appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

"To be honest, I was taken aback." Sölderling said.

Opposite the gate, a thin layer of mist floated in the wide cavern, and at the end of Gawain's line of sight, a field of light was pouring into the southern part of the cavern—there was an extremely wide opening from which the light and mist apparently came in.

"It may have been caused by the collapse of the mountain - the second collapse caused by the previous 'earthquake', part of the mountain rock peeled off, connecting the originally closed Shadow Experiment Site cave to the outside," Thorderling said unhurriedly, "The fog that seeped in had a faint demonic aura, but fortunately, it was very thin, and it belonged to the 'boundary fog' that had decayed to almost harmlessness. ”

“…… Southern ...... Dark Mountains" Byron stared at the crack at the end of the cavern and muttered to himself, "Oh my God...... It was unexpectedly opened......"

Amber was equally dumbfounded: "So this Shadow Experiment Ground is so close to the southern mountain wall?" ”

"Immediately mobilize a brigade to come over, carrying light and heavy artillery, and place it near the breach," Gawain turned sharply to Byron, speaking quickly, and then looked at Hetty, "Mobilize the engineering team, build fortifications near the breach, set up shield generators, and ...... Bring enough Rebecca Crystals. ”

If the situation worsens, he doesn't mind just blowing up the entire southern fort area to close the gap.

Byron and Hetty realized the gravity of the situation and quickly responded to Gawain's order: "Understood! "Yes!"

"I want to go to the south of the Dark Mountains to see......" Gawain turned his head to look at the Shadow Experiment Field, which had been connected to the outside world, with a deep helplessness in his tone, "But I didn't want to go over like this......"

……

The soldiers and engineering teams urgently transferred from Cecil City soon arrived in the area of the Shadow Experiment Field, and with the cooperation of the Iron Ranger soldiers who arrived in advance, they established a defensive line in the cave ** as quickly as possible, and began to rely on this defensive line to build temporary fortifications, and in the whole process, Gawain did not leave this rift half a step.

It wasn't until the magic guide cannon was erected near the rift in the cave, and until a large number of weapons and ammunition were sent to the south gate corridor, that Gawain and Herty and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Gawain took Amber to the southern end of the cavern, and the two climbed the crumbling boulders to look out at the expansive landscape.

A purple-black hillside covered in a thin haze stretched out before them, a gentle mountain in the middle of the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains, and at the end of the slopes, down the mountain, the endless Black Forest.

The towering giant trees took on a twisted and mutated hideous posture under the erosion of Chaos demonic energy, all the flowers and shrubs were no longer familiar, and the plants mixed with thorns, poison sacs, rotten limbs, and swollen glands made a constant rustling sound under the foul wind, some of them even slowly wriggled between the rocks, and some particularly disturbing shadows flashed between the mutated and twisted plants, causing countless terrifying associations for every witness out of thin air.

It was the Black Forest, the Black Forest that has been depicted in all epics, biographies, and poems, the product of the pollution of the Demonic Tide, the result of the compromise of the normal natural world with the Chaos Demonic Energies, which can devour all the uncautious explorers - and yet, it is only the very edge of the Demonic Tide.

It's hundreds of kilometers away from the Great Wall.

"Is this the boundary of the civilized world......" Amber stood beside Gawain, the half-elf who had always been afraid of heaven and earth couldn't help but get nervous after seeing the Black Forest with her own eyes - although she had also stood on the outpost at the top of the Dark Mountains and looked out at the Black Forest at the southern foothills, the view from a long and safe distance from the top of a high mountain was obviously no match for the impact that was so close at hand.

Here she stood now, only a few hundred meters from the nearest Black Forest border, and she could even smell the rotten breath wafting from the south, though it was mostly a psychological delusion.

"We had the opportunity to push this frontier south, a hundred years ago, when the demonic tide was waning, if the pioneering spirit was still there at that time, the Ansu people could have pushed the southern border all the way to the Great Wall, and then build a more controllable barrier there - it's a pity that Ansu missed this opportunity, and the humans gave this place away," Gawain sighed, "The Black Forest is hopeless, and it has been corrupted to such an extent that even the giant deer Ammon can't save it if he gets up." ”

As he spoke, Gawain looked up and looked southwest.

According to the satellite view in my mind, the mysterious impact crater should be not far to the southwest.

The breach caused by the collapse of the mountain is indeed a huge hazard, but it is not without its benefits—now that the Fort of Disobedience has connected Cecil to the southern part of the Dark Mountains, the facility built by the Gugondorians a thousand years ago is now a passage through the mountains, through which he can reach the southern region without having to climb steep mountain paths.

In addition, with the convenient passage inside the Fortress of Disobedience, a large amount of supplies can be sent directly to the southern foothills of the Dark Mountains, and once the fortifications on this side are secured, it may also be a good idea to transform the entire "Shadow Experiment Field" into a forward fortress.

Amber saw that Gawain suddenly looked into the distance and fell into thought, and after holding it for a long time, she finally couldn't help but break the silence: "Hey, what are you looking at?" ”

Gawain said casually: "Since you have already arrived here...... It's just a good time to go over and see how it's going. ”

“…… You haven't forgotten about it?! Amber was taken aback, "Isn't it just a landslide—look around here, isn't this it?" ”

"This place collapsed after the first 'earthquake', and the original 'epicenter' wasn't here," Gawain glanced at Amber, "From what I perceive, there seems to be an anomalous magic fluctuation in the southwest. ”

The "perception" of the legendary powerhouse is an almighty reason, Amber can only trust Gawain's judgment, but looking at the dense and formidable Black Forest in the distance, full of all kinds of crazy mutated plants, and I don't know how many dangerous monsters are hidden inside, this half-elf lady feels her scalp tingle: "Do you want me to go with you...... I'm allergic to the Black Forest......"

"Of course you'll have to follow," Gawain glanced at the coward, "but I'll have to say something first—Knight-Byron, come here." ”

Byron quickly ran to Gawain: "My lord, are you looking for me?" ”

"I'm going to look in that direction," Gawain said, gesturing to the southwestern slopes, "it should be within the Black Forest." ”

As a half-way knight with rich experience in adventure, Byron immediately reacted: "Oh, okay, I'll organize a group of ...... who are good at reconnaissance"

"No, the scout just let Thorderling get ready," Gawain interrupted Byron, "you bring in eighteen medium-sized 'justice' railguns, I'll give you a few parameters, and you blow up a road over there......"

Byron was stunned: "...... Didn't you mean detectives, my lord......"

"yes, fire reconnaissance."

Amber next to him also looked cute when he heard this: "How do I remember that the fire reconnaissance you told me last time didn't seem to mean that......"

"But this is beyond the borders of civilization, on the edge of the wasteland," Gawain smiled, patting Amber on the shoulder and looking at Byron again, "Remember, the only way to survive in this wasteland is to destroy all threats, the only safety rule is that nothing is safe, and the only reconnaissance is fire reconnaissance." ”