Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 572: Section 392: Saving the Collapsing Edifice (Part 2)

Chapter 572: Section 392: Saving the Collapsing Edifice (Part 2)

Satellite confirmed three battlefields, the first one is at the edge of the woods. From the position, it seems to be where the troops heading north were clashing with the Black Orcs.

The second one is further north, at Noble City to the northeast of the first battlefield. A large force of Black Orcs has besieged the city, and the satellite has confirmed the presence of Black Orc flying units.

Giant Bats.

They haven’t joined the siege warfare, which made Malin very curious, "They are still besieging the city but haven’t broken in yet. Aren’t they afraid our Mages or something that can fly will leave to sound the alarm?"

"Black Orc Magicians can disrupt the teleportation gates. With the Giant Bats circling the city, that’s sufficient. Black Orc flying units are extremely rare; those bats are not local to this region," Clovis gave an explanation, then pointed at a small dot in the far north, "But this battlefield intrigues me, a single person killed an entire squad of thirteen Black Orcs. An ordinary person couldn’t accomplish that."

"No worries, as long as such a skilled fighter breaks out of the encirclement, they’ll definitely be able to take those heads to the nearest city to raise the alarm." Malin was reassured about that small battlefield—when the satellite captured the scene, all the Black Orcs were already on the ground, and the human who killed them was mounting a horse.

Even Malin couldn’t help but respect this formidable warrior.

But with him being alone, even carrying heads, Malin was still worried about the national defense troops—what if he encountered someone who kills innocents for honor? Therefore, it was still necessary for Faye to contact her family.

But the problem now was, she couldn’t reach anyone, as messengers to the spirit world were like stones sunk in a vast sea.

"It takes seventeen teleport gates to get from here to The Capital, but I can only transfer a maximum of nine times a day. I can go to the Church, have them relay the message, at least then I can find the old butler; he’s probably the one most likely to find my parents," Faye said, then left for the Church of Justice in the city with Matilda—Faye wasn’t certain about other churches, but the Church of Justice would definitely believe everything she said because she had Matilda vouching for her.

"By the way, Mr. Malin, I found some of the national defense force in a town west of Noble City. By the timeline, they should be conducting military drills."

Malin thought about it for a while, then decided to head to the first battlefield.

.........

"I’ve said it before, this place is even closer to the North than Carterburg, it’s freezing to death."

"You guys have worked hard."

"Not at all, you’ve worked hard too."

Ataf Ivanovich Ivantaf followed his old friend into the bar.

This is Domer Town, about thirty kilometers from Nobel City. Their corps had just withdrawn to rest—actually, the morale of the entire corps was still good, and the losses were minimal. It’s just that being in the contaminated area for too long was somewhat risky.

"Ataf, seeing your head still attached to your neck is truly a pleasure!" a colonel of the national defense force in the bar laughed loudly at him.

"Get lost, you with that mouth of yours that’s been ravished by Odov’s goblin, I’m not dying yet!" Ataf laughed back in jest.

The colonels sitting next to that colonel laughed until they were out of breath.

"If your mother heard those curses, she would be really heartbroken!" Taking two glasses handed over from behind the bar, the colonel passed them to the two old friends, "I heard your corps got new firearms."

"How come everyone knows this news now." Ataf sat down on a chair, looking at his old friends, "Yes, we got new guns, 20 rounds, no bolt-pulling required."

"I’m so envious of you Ataf! My brother-in-law got a high-precision semi-automatic firearm from Carterburg, that little bastard really showed off during the last hunt!" someone said.

"I was thinking, if my unit had had these guns last time, I could have wiped out all those Goblins that came down the mountain to plunder!"

"Aljom! You unlucky bastard! You already lost a spear last time!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Ataf turned to his friend, "Aljom, I remember your area is right at the edge of the Dark Zone, right?"

"Yes, usually those Goblins live inside the Dark Zone. Two months ago, for some unknown reason, they all rushed out of the Dark Zone, pillaged several villages in my defense area, and killed many. I led my troops to intercept them, but still a portion got away. Instead of running towards the Dark Zone, they scattered and disappeared without a trace," the big-bearded man said and clinked glasses with Ataf who had walked over.

"Speaking of which, something similar happened in our area, but it wasn’t Goblins. A month ago, my Patrol Team found a zombie family on the plains—it sounds like a joke. A family of the living dead: two cubs, a mother, a father—with one arm torn off. My team found him dead already and the mother... when she saw my team, she actually let the two kids go with them."

"Good heavens, I’ve never heard you tell this story before. Don’t tell me you just made it up on the spot," someone asked.

"My men recorded the whole thing with a Demon Crystal. The mother and the two children have been sent to The Capital. Nobody knows what’s happened inside the Dark Zone."

"Sounds like trouble. It seems the Dark Zone down south has some issues. The Goblins living there are fleeing, and even zombies can’t survive—they’re giving their children to humans. Am I still dreaming?" Ataf asked his old friend, looking puzzled.

"You’re wide awake. It’s all true. Typically, we’ve always had zombies roaming near the woodland patrol area, but for the past three months, there’s been no sign of them."

"No, we haven’t seen much of the living dead since before the Spring Day Festival in my place."

Listening to the conversation, Ataf glanced at his old friend, "Don’t you think there’s really something wrong, old friend? Have you thought about where all the zombies have gone?"

"Who knows," the old friend sighed, "This time, Logan’s group was chosen to join the Church’s legion and head north to fight the Black Orcs, I’m actually pretty envious."

"Black Orcs?" Just as Ataf was taken aback, the door of the bar was pushed open.

A young man walked in, tall and skinny. He took out an Assistant Priest badge: "I have a piece of intelligence. Nobel City is under siege by Black Orcs."

"Young man, don’t spout nonsense with an Assistant Priest badge you found somewhere," Aljom said.

Ataf walked over. He felt like he recognized the young man, "Young man, do you have any evidence?"

"Ataf, I didn’t expect to see you here." To Ataf’s surprise, he knew his name.

Then the young man stepped outside the door, "You want evidence, right? Here is your evidence."

After saying that, he opened a portal.

Ataf saw the World Tree Sapling on his arm, "Lord Malin!"

"Yes, this is the form of my maternal lineage, and my evidence is the heads of these Black Orcs."

The onlookers watched as the heads of the Black Orcs rolled out of the portal—first in silence, then all the military commanders of the defense forces raced quickly toward their respective camps.

"Lord Ataf, aren’t you going back to your camp?"

"Forget it, your heads are blocking my way to my camp." Ataf pointed at the camp not far behind Malin and smiled, "Speaking of which, your arrival has given us an answer. The Black Orcs have returned, right?"

"Yes, they’ve returned. Let’s wipe them out," the young man answered with a smile.