Chapter 616 — Breakout and Fire Support

Before the first ray of dawn appeared, the steel ranger unit led by Suo Jilin struck camp and set out, beginning their redeployment toward the Gorgon River.

This force had already drawn too close to the dangerous contaminated zone—it had even crossed the edge of the Greatwood Pass. This so-called "pass" was no true crossroads, but a vast expanse on the eastern side of the Holy Spirit Plain encompassing Boulder City, the Slantwood River Valley, Mount Artear, and a great deal more. In this region the steel ranger warriors had repeatedly clashed with crystal giants and had discovered several villages and towns wholly occupied by crystal legions. Add to that the royal stragglers they had chanced to rescue, and this task force had long since exceeded its reconnaissance mission. It was time to withdraw.

A proper artillery saturation should be left to the main force that followed.

Mitchell, a knight of the royal capital, crowded together with his soldiers inside the armored infantry vehicle, feeling the low growl and tremor of that steel brute driven by magic and machinery. A sense of immense power radiated from the turning of gears and connecting rods, filling them with inexpressible awe and, strangely, a peculiar sense of security. Though they could not understand how the Cecilians had built these incredible magical devices, reassurance still poured from them without cease.

They were protected—by a sturdy frame, steel plates, and a thick magical shield. The Cecilians had cleverly combined these ordinary materials with ordinary spells, and with mysterious rune-craft had given the machines souls, enabling this steel to run on its own without a mage to sustain it. Sitting here was like being inside a moving fortress, utterly safe.

Some kind of magical soul must drive this war machine; of that there was no doubt.

A machine spirit, perhaps.

Knight Mitchell let his thoughts wander, trying to comprehend the Cecilians' creation through "common sense," and at last found it incomprehensible. So he turned his head and gazed out through the crystal block set into the cabin's armor at the scenery outside. The wilderness was receding steadily, at a speed a carriage could not match by a hundredfold.

"Are we heading straight for the Gorgon River?" asked one of the royal soldiers beside him, watching the Cecil warrior across the cabin clad head to toe in black armor with some unease. "Will someone be there to meet us?"

The mage-warrior in black light armor replied offhandedly, "We go south first, then turn west toward the riverbank."

Knight Mitchell nodded slightly. He considered this a sound decision.

Heading straight west toward the Gorgon would of course be the shortest route, but mired as they were in the contaminated zone, a reckless lateral move might well run them into the crystal giants' main force. The safest course was to move south first, clear the most dangerous area, and then adjust their heading. Besides, word had it that the warship coming to meet them was still steaming north along the river, so moving the convoy south would also bring them to the rendezvous sooner…

Only, this manner of meeting demanded flawless coordination between convoy and warship—arriving at the exact place at the exact time. Unless a time and place had been agreed in advance, it would be very hard to pull off… Yet judging by the Cecilians' calm demeanor, they clearly did not worry about it. How they managed it, he had no idea… Could some of those black-armored soldiers use communication spells?

Knight Mitchell was still puzzling over it when a violent jolt of the vehicle cut his thoughts short—the lurch of sudden acceleration—and then he heard a sharp keening from outside, followed a moment later by a distant explosion from the rear.

He had heard that sound before. When he and his last soldiers were about to be swallowed by wave upon wave of crystal giants, just such an explosion had fallen from the sky, blocking the crystal giants' reinforcements and saving them all.

It was called a "howitzer." The vehicle carrying them—meant for transporting men and supplies—was not equipped with one, but the other two, the so-called "multipurpose war vehicles," each mounted one. Its power was memorable.

In the cabin, two Cecil soldiers in black light armor reacted instantly; they rose at once—one went to the observation slit to assess the situation, the other climbed the ladder amidships to man the ray-gun turret on the roof and join the fight. Knight Mitchell, after a moment of stunned disbelief, came to his senses as well, lunging toward another observation slit—and saw the terrible scene outside.

A vast horde of crystal giants was closing in from every direction, beyond counting, and the arcane lightning they generated was already licking at the ground not far away…

At the sight of those monsters, the sense of safety lent by steel and shield faltered in an instant. Knight Mitchell forced up his courage and kept his composure, but several royal soldiers had already begun to pray in terror.

Yet Mitchell could not fault these men—they had just come through a bitter defeat, through more than one flight, and had only just escaped that hell.

Just then another tremor came, along with a colossal detonation at point-blank range. The soldiers' faces went instantly pale: it was the sound of powerful arcane lightning striking the shield!

The monsters were drawing nearer and nearer!

The iron door separating the forward and rear sections of the vehicle was suddenly flung open, and the senior ranger with the golden hair stooped in: "Seems we've walked into an ambush. But the enemy didn't seem to adapt to our speed—didn't have time to close the ring completely."

An ambush!

Knight Mitchell drew a sharp breath and spoke fast: "Can we outrun them?"

"Not easily. There are many, and they're right on our heels," the senior ranger said with an easy manner—his calm composure a stark contrast to the royal soldiers already gripped by tension and fear, though his words offered no comfort at all. "Given those monsters' stamina, speed, and morale, I'm afraid we won't shake them for a while."

A grey shadow fell over Knight Mitchell's face. He could not even understand how this senior ranger could remain so relaxed in such a situation: "Then… I fear we're going to die here…"

Suo Jilin smiled: "Relax. We're already close to the rendezvous point—about ten-odd kilometers."

Mitchell was first eased a little by that "deceptive" smile, but the next moment he nearly jumped out of his skin—that far still!

And he remembered perfectly well that the convoy was not moving straight toward the Gorgon River—it was heading south! It was still a considerable distance from the riverbank!

The ceaseless explosions and the roar of burner flames came from outside, punctuated by the violent crack of arcane lightning striking the vehicle's shield—sounds that kept reminding everyone in the cabin: crystal giants were everywhere out there, and they were closing in!

Between the convoy and the Gorgon River, the ground was likely thick with hidden monsters. In such a situation, how could this unit—so far from the riverbank, so far from the rendezvous—possibly survive?

The knight from the royal capital could find no way to break through the encirclement in all his limited battlefield experience. Even counting the formidable power of these strange war vehicles, he did not believe they could survive amid the swarming crystal legions. Yet Suo Jilin showed no inclination to explain further—the senior ranger merely offered a few more casual reassurances, said they had "excellent fire support," and then turned and left the troop cabin.

Leaving behind his bewildered "passengers," Suo Jilin quickly returned to the driver's platform at the front of the vehicle. Signaling the soldier steering the war machine to keep pressing toward the riverbank, he swiftly opened the vehicle's Magic Web terminal.