Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 633 A Tentative Attack (Part 2)

"So, Commander Dak is rejecting us? Or is it really as Commander Shaneva judged, that you and that dragon have indeed sided with the rebel leader Nebrius, is that right?" Maxim said, pointing to the device on his chest that was faintly flashing a red light, adding:
"This is a 'recording machine' created through in-depth research into the conceptual technology of the old empire. I have recorded every word you just said. As soon as I leave here, I will report to Commander Shaneva immediately. Commander Dak, if you explicitly refuse, I think Wright Socrates' situation will become extremely difficult."

"You're threatening us, aren't you?" Before Dark could even finish speaking, Adaloni was already furious.

He stretched out his fist, desperately mobilizing the dragon power within his body that was about to burst forth, and surging with the fire-type magical power that had already been fully formed, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Maxim.

“Don’t be angry, anger will cloud our judgment,” Dark whispered, pressing down hard on Adaloni’s slowly rising right arm and giving him a wink.

Immediately afterwards, his expression softened slightly, and he looked at Maxim in front of him, his tone gentler as he said:
“Vasily is dead, the ‘Gnady Line’ no longer exists, and the Federation has lost the area west of Icefall City. Do we still have the strength to counterattack the Lost and the ‘Heartless’? Even if we do, it would be extremely unwise to waste so many soldiers and supplies in the Outer Naboa Mountains.”

“To fight against external enemies, there is a prerequisite: to first stabilize the internal situation and achieve unity. This is the wisdom of the Khitan-Lis people, and also the wisdom of the Krusd people,” Maxim explained, trying to allay Dak’s concerns as much as possible.
"Nablius was not satisfied with Shaneva's legitimate succession to the position of head of the Federation Council. He has been claiming that Shaneva's appointment as governor was illegitimate and that she stole the throne through cruel and cunning means. In reality, it was Nabrius's selfish behavior that led to the current situation."

"What behavior?" Dark asked curiously.

“Merging with the ‘Dedication Group’,” Maxim said angrily.

"As enemies of humanity, the Federation Council should not have cooperated with the Lost Ones. They are a bunch of vile, despicable, and cruel beasts who do nothing but devour fresh bodies and suck blood. Commander Vasily's cooperation with the Order has brought disaster. Commander Shaneva realized the problem and urgently cut off some transactions with the Devotion Group."

"In fact, even if Commander Nabrius wanted to destroy the [Core of Khitania] and stop the uncertain 'Universal Energy Evolution Platform Project', he could have done it in Nabusk. The minerals and energy he needed could be found in the uninhabited area to the east, in the Eventlay region, even if the Outer Nabuan Mountains could not provide them."

“It’s ambition, isn’t it?” Darke laughed helplessly.

“Of course,” Maxim nodded.

"Even if the 'Evolution Platform' project cannot proceed, for Commander Shaneva, it can simply be shelved for the time being. In any case, with the resources that the Federation currently controls, it is not enough to truly activate all the 'Evolution Platforms' in various places, let alone summon 'Mind Manipulation Platforms' to bewitch people."

"Nebrius only needed an excuse to rebel. Cooperating with gods will taint one with divinity; cooperating with humans will strengthen one's humanity; cooperating with beasts will make one savage; but cooperating with devils and monsters will gradually turn one into their likeness."

"The Lost Ones' goal is to turn all humans into their kind, or at least into their secondary controlled beings, the 'Heartless Ones.' The Federation is destined not to cooperate with the Lost Ones. Commander Shaneva, the truly controllable 'Heavenly Punishment Fire' will soon descend, destroying the parts of the cities and mountains that Nebrius can control."

"What did you say?" Dark asked in shock.

"Commander Shaneva is going to unleash the Heavenly Punishment Fire? Besides tens of thousands of Lost and Half-Lost, there are also 100,000 Nebusk troops and temporarily conscripted residents here. Does Shaneva intend to kill them all?"

“Of course. In fact, everything Commander Shaneva is doing now is for the post-war period, not for the current war.” Maxim’s lips curled into a strange smile.

In Dac's view, this smile was like a god possessing a machine, appearing both mysterious and stiff, seemingly carrying the joy of victory yet revealing the chilling presence of the devil and the underworld.

“To tell you the truth, Commander Dak, Commander Shaneva isn’t interested in the pipeline, nor is she particularly interested in the [Core of Khitania]. Since it can’t be destroyed by artillery fire anyway, completely destroying Belogersk would be a worthwhile option.” Maxim deliberately discarded all his weapons, half-taunting Dak:
“Even if I were unarmed and stripped of all protective gear, when the ‘Artificial Heavenly Punishment Fire’ descends, you and I would both become ashes under the raging inferno. Shaneva has lost all patience with Nebrius. The siege of Belogersk during this period was merely to give the temporary residents of the city time to evacuate.”

“In fact, we already have complete information about the pipelines in Naibius here. The main pipelines transporting food and daily necessities are the ‘Outer Naibius Pipeline,’ while the pipelines actually transporting military supplies are the ‘Supplies Dedicated 01’ near the ‘Former 01’ military outpost and the ‘Supplies Dedicated 02’ nearby.” Maxim revealed the detailed military information:
"There is also a secret pipeline for transporting the 'Old-Style Divine Punishment Fire' stockpiled near Nebsk. Nebrius issued an order last month that if the military forces at the front were in dire straits, he would simultaneously drop them from Belogersk to Novayask, Khotov, Icefield City, North and South Ukhata, and Foothill City."

"He's going to take Commander Shaneva to the underworld to 'meet' Vasily. He wants the entire Federation and human civilization to perish with him. He won't tell you this; only we will."

"Why are you telling us this?" Dak remained calm, scrutinizing Maxim with a wary gaze, mentally assessing the truthfulness of his words.

“Because, in ten minutes, the first batch of ‘Controllable Artificial Heavenly Punishment Fire’ will be launched towards Belogersk from the transmitter buried in ‘Earth Wire 20’. The mission to destroy the pipeline is just a pretext… a decoy missile used to confuse Nebrius’s judgment.” Maxim’s face twitched and twisted slightly, then his mouth gaped open, emitting a wild, beast-like laugh:
"Hahaha. What you can control is called raw material, and what you can make full use of is called resource. But now, Nebrius, who has joined forces with the Lost Ones, and the more than 100,000 troops and citizens he brought with him, are nothing but unusable garbage."

"Their fate was sealed the moment they entered this land of death, from the moment you defeated 'Extinguisher' and destroyed the 'Net Hunter Shrine' on which the 'Devotion Group' had placed its hopes. You were indeed foolish, Commander Dark Tiris. Anyone facing 'Andres's Wish' would seek 'absolute power,' 'supreme authority,' or 'the power and status of a god.' You merely uttered meaningless platitudes like 'hoping to end the Wasteland Era.' You rejected the power bestowed upon you by the gods, so you should bear the consequences. Fortunately, Commander Shaneva gave you a chance to turn back. You, the 'Troublemaker,' and Wright, the 'Order Keeper,' can both enter that room that controls the Federation. One of you, or him, will ascend that supreme throne. Aren't you tempted?"

"Tempted?" Dark put down his "Imitation-Mad Bear" pistol, pointed the muzzle at the ground, and laughed, seemingly puzzled.

"Haha, of course. It's tempting, isn't it? Supreme power, who wouldn't be tempted? Becoming a member of the Crusad Federal Council means your name will be etched in history, to be recorded by future writers. Becoming the governor of Crusad is roughly equivalent to the position of emperor in the old empire. You can lead the Crusad people to achieve the revival of civilization."

“Of course. Commander Dak, your impulsiveness may have momentarily clouded your judgment just now, but your reason has clearly taken over.” Maxim smiled knowingly at Dak.

“Yes, my emotions led me astray just now. But now, reason has indeed regained control of my mind. However, I would like to ask Shaneva a question.”

“Go ahead and speak, Commander Shaneva will hear you.” Maxim pointed to the “recording device” on his chest.

"Is she the only one who's gone mad, or is the Federal Council mad? Is the entire Crusad mad, or is humanity mad?" Dark's face instantly filled with rage, and the dense, uncontrollable water and dark magic power turned one of his eyes completely black.

Countless tiny ice crystals, like sharp, invisible blades capable of cutting through anything, erupted outwards and instantly coalesced into two massive ice spikes, as large as oak logs, piercing through the two Federation soldiers standing beside Maxim.

Before they could even react or feel any pain, their semi-mechanical hearts and other human-like internal organs were pierced, completely rendering them unable to move. At the same time, splattered blood drenched Maxim like a shower.

It made him seem like a bloodthirsty servant who truly served demons and beasts.

The blood that fell to the ground flowed like a stream, and under the combined influence of Dark's dark magical power and the dragon power emanating from Adaloni, it formed a stream-like pattern around Maxim's body, quickly creating an extremely complex but regular geometric pattern.

Unknown beams of light instantly poured out from the depths of the earth and above the sun, strange lines darting freely through the air, forming shapes that humans could not fully comprehend and that did not belong to this dimension.

“Deep Ice Dragon Breath.” Dark murmured the name of the skill in a deep voice. This was a skill he had gradually learned shortly after leaving the “Red Illusion Ruins” while working with Dark, influenced by the power of the red magic source.

The red magical energy contains a rich dragon power. Legend has it that the order god "Dragon Chief" once obtained it, but rarely used it because the "ancient power" conflicted with the dragon power.

Dark originally intended to use it to deal with the mysterious beasts hiding in the Eventlay region, or the rulers of the so-called "underworld" beneath the great rift.

But now, anger has indeed temporarily clouded his judgment.

As Adaloni continued to unleash the power of the dragon race behind him, Dark, holding a seemingly non-existent illusory thread, gave it a slight tug in Maxim's direction. His right arm, like a misassembled building block, fell to the ground, transforming into countless red flying insects that scattered and disappeared.

“What do you want to do, Dak? Aren’t you afraid…” Maxim tried to threaten Dak.

However, with just a slight twitch of his eyes, the "recording device" on his chest instantly turned into particles even finer than grains, disappearing with the icy wind.

“Even if Shaneva wanted to start a civil war and eliminate everyone who opposed her, she had countless peaceful ways to resolve it. And she, a woman, is even more insane and ruthless than Vasily. Vasily only sacrificed 24 people for the energy reserves of the ‘Evolution Platform.’ But Shaneva, because these poor wretches temporarily belong to Nabrius’s camp, wants to exterminate more than 20 people here, and 30 in Nabusk.” Dak’s eyes turned bloodshot, and in his agitation, blood-red tears streamed down his face.

"The Crusad Federation has already lost the entire west, yet it wants to wipe out a third of the population and army in the east. Shaneva is truly insane. Serving such a federation is not worthwhile. That is my opinion, and also the opinion of Adaloni and Dark. You can tell Shaneva that I have sided with Commander Nebrius, but I advise Shaneva not to provoke Wright."

“I was once a ‘monster,’ and Wright is now a ‘monster.’ His fragile sanity struggled to bring him into this world, to participate in the struggle of the Genie people, and then he was imprisoned in the ‘Crimson Illusion Ruins’ by ancient monsters for thirty years. His spirit has never been rested, and once it collapses, he will crave blood more than vampires and desire killing more than the ‘heartless man.’”

“It’s too late, Commander Dak.” Maxim bit open his blood-stained cuff, looked at his cracked mechanical watch, and said in a hoarse voice:

“Our conversation has taken up a lot of time, and your uncooperative attitude has made us all lose... lose our chance of survival. Look, that fiery ball of light is... is rising from the transmitter of 'Earthline 20', like dazzling fireworks, about to fall above the 'Core Fortress'.”