Chapter 316
Chapter 121: The Radiant Forest and Thunderlight
Although it was later reported that the light of the miracle suddenly vanished, its residual effects continue to overshadow this land.
First, those mysterious magical beasts, whose origins were unknown, vanished overnight from the forest, transforming what was once a deadly danger zone into a prosperous forest accessible to everyone.
Moreover, according to investigations by professional mages, after the miracle occurred, the concentration and purity of the light elements in this area experienced a leap, exceeding five times that of normal regions!
It’s likely due to this extraordinarily high concentration of light elements that the entire Disaster Forest gradually began to reveal an unrecorded magical ore, rich in high-purity light elements.
This special ore can refine into a remarkably precious light attribute magic crystal, believed to have potentially reached fifth-tier status, possessing various marvelous uses, with its value being immeasurable.
After all, the largest and most widespread faction in this world, the Church of the Goddess, worships the Light Goddess. Almost all priests, holy knights, and other branch professions primarily utilize light-based faith magic, ensuring a substantial market.
Even without considering this, fifth-tier magic crystals are one of the essential materials for forging genuine spiritual treasures, and even a small piece no bigger than a fingernail tip needs a mountain of gold coins to acquire.
Once the news spread, the surrounding residents rushed into this originally forbidden area like madmen, day and night searching for the precious ore known as the “Source Crystal of Radiance.” Gold diggers, catching wind of the news, flocked to this barren little kingdom.
However, before they could mine for long, the Abyss Tide arrived.
Under the current circumstances, the coalition army couldn’t let those civilians and speculators run amok, and most of them had already fled north before the war began. The few who were blinded by greed, attempting to “seize wealth in danger,” ended up just as they wished—devoured by the Abyss Beasts.
The reason the United Kingdom’s army chose this area to establish a defense line wasn’t because they also coveted those “Source Crystals of Radiance,” seeking riches during the great battle.
This vast forest nearly covers the entirety of the Bolt Kingdom’s southern region, meaning that to continue northward, they must pass through the area once branded as the Disaster Zone, now gradually being referred to as the “Radiant Forest.”
The environment here, due to its extremely high concentration and purity of light elements, exerts a considerable suppression on all undead and dark creatures, and it seems the Abyss Beasts are no exception.
The behavior logic of the Abyss Beasts is intelligent yet chaotic; they’re incredibly cunning in battle, yet in certain directions, they can be extremely stubborn, or one might say, dogmatic.
A large gathering of such intense life forms in the military attracts all nearby Abyss Beasts, like sweet nectar, ensuring these creatures’ attention remains captivated until they are completely devoured.
Thus, even within the “Radiant Forest,” the Abyss Tide continues to relentlessly assault them. The United Kingdom’s army sustains itself through this very reason.
Sometimes, Duke Bertlem genuinely feels thankful for the “unknown deity” who, for reasons unknown, bestowed miracles in this location, although the Holy Empire firmly claims it’s Aurora Goddess’s blessing.
Standing at the front of the command room, gazing at the frontline wavering under the onslaught of the Abyss Beasts, Bertlem furrowed his brow in silence.
At that moment, brilliant rays illuminated the sky.
This was no miracle, but rather a joint bombardment initiated by the United Kingdom’s Mage Corps. By energizing special magical cannons with magic, they significantly enhanced range, power, and coverage. Only through such methods could they swiftly kill those monsters, disregarding their outrageous self-healing powers.
However, the entire Southern Army possessed only five hundred of these devices, divided into five magical artillery corps, with each firing requiring a cooldown of over ten minutes—a true trump card. Given the distressing intelligence regarding the enemy, Bertlem brought every single one along.
Due to the intense concentration of Abyss Beasts, this round of bombardment was unexpectedly effective, likely obliterating at least a thousand of them, creating a clear disruption in the Abyss Tide, allowing frontline soldiers to concentrate fire on enemies engaged in close combat.
Yet after that brief respite, they would face oppressive pressure lasting over ten minutes. During such times, Bertlem always felt anxious, truly worried if their already heavily damaged frontline could hold up without fire support.
“General! Look over there!!”
An officer beside him exclaimed in shock, and Bertlem quickly turned his gaze, his heart sinking further.
What a disaster.
Soaring through the sky was a fearsome creature known as the Abyss Worm, measuring over a kilometer in length. It possessed at least legendary strength, with blade-like limbs capable of crushing steel and boulders. Whenever it appeared, significant casualties would inevitably follow.
Furthermore, the appearance of the Abyss Worm meant that “that thing” was soon approaching.
These giant worms only operated within a specific area, acting as its guards.
The Abyss Magic Island.
It is said to have risen from below the Abyss as the red light smashed apart the Island of Spris and the Great Abyss Well opened.
It isn’t as massive as the Island of Spris, with a radius of roughly only twenty kilometers, yet it can move on its own.
Although its speed is not fast—Abyss Beasts and Abyss Worms can easily outpace it, not to mention ordinary humans on horseback—yet the Abyss Magic Island acts like the headquarters of the Abyss Tide, continuously releasing Abyss Beasts from within. The Abyss Worms also circle around the island, attacking anything that dares approach.
Even more terrifying is the thick gray mist perpetually emanating from this magic island, wrapping around the island and making its internal conditions hard to discern, and spreading outward.
Wherever it goes, all vitality ceases, even plants wilt en masse, the earth loses its energy, water sources turn into putrid pools of poison, and all things become desolate.
It is known as the Magic Island, a moving dead zone.
Although the movement of the Abyss Magic Island is very slow, if it truly reaches this area, even if the defense line is not breached by the Abyss Tide, the army must retreat or face total annihilation.
Currently, they have not found an effective method to deal with this behemoth.
From experience, there should be a time gap of 1-2 days between the appearance of the Abyss Worm and the arrival of the magic island, allowing for some delay.
The immediate issue is that they must block this Abyss Worm; it must not penetrate the army, or the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Tsk… Was that just a ploy to lure us into firing? How are the magic artillery units recovering!”
“General, it might be a bit of a stretch, but… Wait, General, look over there!”
Following the officer’s pointed direction, Bertlem turned his head.
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky.
“Boom!!!”
That dazzling, earth-shattering thunder struck the rapidly approaching head of the Abyss Worm, exploding violently, causing this giant creature, which had never been stopped before, to plummet down.
