Chapter 440, Section 439: The Anomaly in the Elemental Disorder Zone
While Lin Jun was engrossed in working on the [Life Essence], Inanna, leading her Puji Legion, was finally nearing the Redstone City Ruins.
The closer Inanna got to the front lines, the more uneasy she felt.
After all, this was her first real war, and the descriptions in books were nothing compared to experiencing the battlefield firsthand.
Fortunately, the boss made it clear that he would help her, and this promise was like a reassurance, making her feel somewhat at ease.
During their march, they encountered some scattered demons, most of whom were pigmen.
These pigmen were no match for the Puji army and were easily dealt with.
More commonly, they were defeated kingdom soldiers, mostly from the fallen Redstone City, and a few who had retreated from the front lines. From these remnants, Inanna pieced together the situation at the front.
After the fall of High Fortress, the demons regrouped briefly before launching another attack.
Ignoring the remnants of Alama's forces, their army marched directly towards the Three Mountains City, where the Sword Saint resided.
Duke Alama, still recovering from his illness, had no choice but to lead the remaining troops alongside Grand Duke Lorenzo in an attempt to harass and slow the demons' advance. However, they fell into a trap set by the demons, suffering further losses. Most of the routed soldiers they encountered were survivors of that previous defeat. What happened next, they had no way of knowing.
The news kept getting worse, and Inanna's heart sank lower and lower.
Although Alama and Inanna spent very little time together and were far from the close relationship of an ordinary father and daughter, his love for Inanna was genuine.
Inanna could naturally feel this real yet distant fatherly love, and it was impossible for her to remain indifferent to Alama's perilous situation.
She wanted the troops to advance faster, but her adjutant stepped forward and advised, "Commander... I'm afraid we can't advance at full speed, and we'll have to bypass Redstone City."
"Why?"
"Have you forgotten the other news those routed soldiers brought?" the adjutant reminded him. "The area around Redstone City has now become the territory of storm elementals. And those aren't just low-level elementals. In fact, according to intelligence, quite a few diamond-level storm elementals have been discovered there. Our legion could certainly force its way through, but that would inevitably come with heavy losses. Then, with a wounded and exhausted army, what would we use to support His Majesty the Duke?"
Inanna fell silent; she knew her adjutant was right.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down: "So, how far would the detour be?"
Upon hearing this, the adjutant immediately pulled out a leather map from his bag and spread it out in front of Inanna, his rough fingers tracing a winding route: "Taking this route, bypassing the edge of the elemental disorder zone, will probably take about five more days."
"Five days?!" Inanna's heart sank. This was far too long for her father, who desperately needed rescue.
"The area of elemental chaos left behind by the Storm Lord's rampage is extremely large. This is the only way to completely avoid it," the adjutant said with a hint of helplessness.
"Isn't there... any other way?" Inanna asked, unwilling to give up.
The adjutant pondered for a moment, then pointed to a section of the detour route on the map: "There is a compromise. Look here, this is the narrowest part of the entire chaotic zone. If we risk crossing through here quickly, we can shorten the detour to just two days."
"Then..."
The adjutant paused, looked up at Inanna, and continued, "But the risk is that we cannot predict the exact strength of the elemental storms in this area. If we encounter unexpected resistance, we may not only fail to save time but also get bogged down in a fierce battle, wasting manpower and even delaying things further."
Inanna's gaze lingered on the map, shifting between the safe long route and the dangerous shortcut, her fingers unconsciously tightening. One path offered the safety but risked missing the opportunity, the other the risk but offered a faster route... She was torn between the two.
After a moment's struggle, she suddenly raised her head, a resolute glint in her eyes:
"Take me to the front. I want to see for myself what that area of elemental disorder looks like before I make a decision!"
...
Surrounded by a guard squad, Inanna and her adjutant rode slowly into the edge of the elemental disorder zone.
If I had to describe the scene before me, it would be utter chaos!
Although storm elements do not need to hunt for food, their innate destructive desire drives them to destroy any living thing in sight.
Humans, demons, monsters, and even the plants that grow in the area were not spared.
The stray lightning occasionally ignited the dead wood, and the scorched earth was littered with the remnants of the fire, filling the entire area with a burnt smell.
Even without seeing the true form of the storm elementals, the ravaged land is enough to demonstrate their terror.
The surrounding silence was eerily quiet, as if all living things had been completely wiped out.
The adjutant was starting to regret agreeing to bring Inanna along, and suggested, "Commander, how about we stop here..."
“But we haven’t…” Before Inanna could finish speaking, a sudden whirlwind whipped up dust, and distant rumbles of thunder could be faintly heard.
The adjutant suddenly had a bad feeling, and soon, that feeling came true!
At the edge of their vision, the forms of storm elementals appeared. Not just a few, not just a dozen, but a dense swarm of at least a hundred elemental spirits!
What's even more chilling is that there seem to be even more figures, accompanied by wind and thunder, gathering in the rear area. This scale completely exceeds the adjutant's expectations!
"Retreat! Quickly!" the adjutant roared, and the men hurriedly turned their horses around and fled back the way they had come.
Such a large number was simply beyond the capacity of their reconnaissance team. Even if they were all gold or silver level, they could overwhelm them. Not to mention, some of the storm elementals were clearly diamond level in size.
"Why? Why did they all come after us?" Inanna's voice trembled slightly with fear.
Looking back from the swaying horseback, they saw wind and thunder gathering, rushing towards them like a surging tide.
Unfortunately, even the adjutant couldn't figure out why.
Fortunately, they were not far from the border, and with the speed of their horses, the group narrowly escaped the area of elemental disorder.
However, before everyone could catch their breath, they were horrified to discover that the storm elements had rushed out of the boundary of the chaotic zone without hesitation!
Although their forms seemed to become unstable and their energy fluctuations weakened after leaving their native environment, they still chased after them regardless!
"This..." The next moment, the adjutant drew his longsword, turned his horse around with his men, and shouted, "Young Miss, you must go! We'll cover your retreat!"
“We should go together…” Inanna suddenly remembered something, “Boss—!!!”
"They're here! They're here!"
At the critical moment, eight thousand direct subordinates appeared in Inanna's sight, with the knight Puji taking the lead!
Lin Jun mobilized the Puji army to come as soon as she noticed the anomaly, and it seems to have come at just the right time.
However, the moment the two sides made contact, everyone suddenly realized that something seemed amiss.
The storm elemental at the forefront calmed its raging whirlwinds and its blinding lightning receded into its body.
They completely ignored the adjutant and others who were in a defensive posture, restrained all aggression, and slowly circled around Inanna like docile birds.
Inanna, however, inexplicably sensed a hint of... submission from the storm elements before her.
I've been updating at noon lately.
(End of this chapter)
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