Alien world

Chapter 1883, Section 516: Support
The Greybeard Mountains already had little vegetation, and the ratmen's rampage ensured that no tree taller than three meters would grow in the mountains for at least ten years.

The swarm of rats carved countless mountain paths through the valleys, resembling tributaries of a river. Using these paths, the Free Army was able to quickly cross the Grey Mountain Range, approaching its northern part, a maximum of three days' journey from the Kingdom Army.

The closer they got to the northern part of the mountains, the more ratmen they encountered, making it difficult for the rangers to cope. They frequently had to lure the main force back, which they managed to deal with easily, but it still slowed their advance.

Fermi, Jack, and the others chose a trapezoidal mountain a dozen miles away as their temporary base.

The terraced mountain has gentle slopes on three sides, but steep cliffs on the northwest side, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It can also serve as a retreat route in critical moments.

The Rangers arrived at Trapezoid Mountain first, cleared out the roaming rats, and then the main force set up camp on the summit and built a portal.

Thanks to Freedom Street, Freedom City has become incredibly skilled at building portals. Annam is second to none... but there are quite a few other factions that can claim to be number one, though they are indeed quite adept at it.

Fermi ordered the reconnaissance airships to send a message to the Kingdom's army, but because the battle on the Kingdom's side had become fierce, the reconnaissance airships could not get too close.

As Fermi and others discussed how to attract the attention of the rat swarm and make contact with the Kingdom's army by tearing off pieces of the rat swarm one by one, Annan personally came to the Terraced Mountain to boost morale.

As soon as Anan stepped out of the portal, he saw a mage using the Light Feather spell, wielding a magic musket, and running around the mountains and fields like a monkey, yelling strangely.

"Annan, this thing is really useful!" a mage screamed as he flew overhead.

Annan remained silent. What had turned a group of noble mages into this state? Magical firearms?
He turned his gaze to Fermi, who was kneeling in front of him, holding a helmet.

"Your Majesty, you need not come in person."

"cough……"

Cut out the scene where Annan winks at Evelyn and don't broadcast it. He pulled this stunt right after the chosen one was confirmed; it's too much.

Evelyn gave him a knowing look, and he continued in a theatrical tone, "With the decisive battle imminent, I should come to the front lines and stand with my soldiers."

Fermi did not stand up, but continued to say with his head down, "The ratmen could attack at any time, it's very dangerous here."

“Fermi, I am not a weak mortal. As a chosen one, I should stand at the forefront of humanity.”

"Wherever your sword points, that is where I will go!"

After accompanying Annan through his performance in front of the camera, Fermi stood up and led Annan into the tent.

Annan stood in front of the sand table, watching the communications soldier constantly modify it based on the frontline battlefield situation reported by the scout knights. As if he could really understand it, he asked, "How are our allies doing?"

Fermi took the pointer from his adjutant Lordaeron, walked to the sand table, and pointed north to the Graymount Mountains: "The Kingdom's army is locked in a stalemate with the rat horde and hopes we can help relieve some of the pressure. Due to the intensity of the battle, we are temporarily unable to make contact."

The curtain was then lifted, and the Black Widow entered, heading straight for Annam with a clear purpose.

Annan immediately turned to Evelyn and said, "Turn it off right away!"

Evelyn chewed on her candy, not only not turning it off but also turning the magic stone around: "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"You think I'd let you sell it on the black market? Shut it down!"

Evelyn, her little scheme exposed, pouted and turned off the Philosopher's Stone. She should have called Ruth over; at least there would have been a good show to watch.

Unaffected by the outside world, Fermi continued to explain to Annan: "The Imperial Army is making great strides. The area they are in has become a meat grinder. For every meter they advance, tens of thousands of ratmen die. But the ratmen keep pouring in, determined to wear them down with sheer numbers."

He played footage transmitted from the frontline reconnaissance airships: Imperial troops were fighting in a real swarm of rats, the rats stacked up in countless layers to form a real wave that crashed towards the Imperial troops, but the waves receded and had no effect on the rock.

The Ratmen's prized magic-suppressing domain also had no effect whatsoever.

Each time the core mage group raised their hand, a swarm of rats several times larger than their own formation was melted away, an efficiency comparable to an entire artillery legion.

"Honey, I want this too..."

Black Widow clung to Annan's arm, pointing seductively at the magical image. "I'm doing serious business."

"What I'm doing is also a legitimate business."

“But that doesn’t include using your chest to trap my hand.” Annan struggled to pull his arm away, his forehead sweating from the Black Widow’s heat, so he moved closer to Fermi. “So, the most urgent thing is to make contact with the Kingdom’s army?”

Fermi nodded. Although they could now observe the movements of their allies, they could only guess.

The anti-magic domain is helpless against the Imperial Army, but most human forces still have to be wary of it.

Annan said, "Have the reconnaissance airships find a way to get closer and drop the... communications leaf down."

The range of the Leaf of the Otherworld Tree has exceeded one kilometer, enough to make contact with Grand Marshal Galkin.

The lieutenant Lordaeron accepted the order and went out to inform his men.

“Your Majesty, there is one more thing. After the gray rats that attacked the northern Great Wall escaped, we sent a reconnaissance airship to follow them and found a hidden rat nest with several gray rats there.”

"Can you do big ones?"

"Oh?"

Black Widow, who was staring at the map, turned around.

"I didn't say anything about you."

Annan warned Black Widow not to cause trouble, and continued, "What I mean is, could we wipe out the gray rats in one fell swoop?"

Frank thought it wasn't the right time; there weren't many commanders in the rat burrows, and he hoped to track them down to the real nest.

"Then let's not alert them."

Annan remembered something, stepped out of the tent, and walked toward his adjutant Lordaeron, who was giving orders. "Wait a moment, have the reconnaissance airships filled with oil. I'll go with them."

"Your Majesty, this is too dangerous!" Lordaeron instinctively refused.

"You mean the rat people?"

……

Forty reconnaissance airships landed one after another, carrying barrels filled with oil onto the airships.

Annan and Evelyn boarded the Beast, but they didn't bring anyone else with them.

As the scouts rushed about, the behemoth rose, kicking up a cloud of dust, and set sail northward.

The wind howled high above, and Annan surveyed the landscape at dusk, while Evelyn clung tightly to the edge: "Why did you drag me along when you could have done it yourself?! Aaaaaaaahh ...

"You're my go-to cameraman, who else would I bring along?"

Annan was surprised that Evelyn still had a fear of heights—he thought it would be gone after filming "The Fall of the Mage Tower".

"Should we get someone else to take the photos? My hands are shaking uncontrollably..."

"It's ok."

Evelyn's steady hand is a visual feast, while her shaky hand adds to the battlefield feel; both interpretations are valid.

Airships may seem slow, but that's only compared to other aerial units. On the ground, they're as fast as a runaway carriage, reaching the skies above the Kingdom's forces in less than a day.

(End of this chapter)