The area around and inside the Sacred Tree that the transcendent group attacked became empty, devoid of any life.
Long Wu looked at the chamber one last time and left it as it was. He only had to weaken the Sacred Tree, not to obliterate it.
He backtracked his route and found that the third group was nearby, along with his undead servant who was dealing with the aftermath of battles. Wood chips were scattered around the group and some wooden remains stood out.
“Thank you for holding them off from the chamber. I have already dealt with the production source.” Long Wu said before he called the undead servant.
The undead servant’s undead fire flickered and it moved to Long Wu. Long Wu then stored the undead servant in one of his precious storage bags. It was bigger inside, despite looking small from the outside. It was the product of a craftsman with transcendent characteristics.
With this, the mission was mostly done.
-
“All is good. Why do you ask?” Tatsumi was in the designated room where he would be uninterrupted. He was also acting as the source of intelligence for the Cerulean Defense Force so the treatment he was given was in proportion to his responsibilities.
Currently, he was being asked by Kushina about the current situation both in the Cerulean Planet and the other side.
“It is good that we are advancing now but I am still concerned about the enemy.” Kushina said.
“True but the cards the opponent possesses are decreasing the more we advance and learn about them. If they still have a card or two unused, this should be the time for them to release them. Otherwise, we will slowly encroach on their territory and enable the victory condition for the Star Battle.” Tatsumi replied.
In the room which was spacious enough for a dozen people, there were only Tatsumi, Kushina and Ame.
Ame was dealing with some paperwork related to the intelligence Tatsumi had spread.
“At least the future generation will have seen the direct proof of this Star Battle. They just need to look outside and into the red celestial object called the moon.” Tatsumi murmured while he received much information from the frontline.
“But this news should be enough to encourage the rest. Tell the rest of the Cerulean Defense Force that the transcendent group sent to the Sacred Tree of the elves has successfully occupied it.” Tatsumi said this out loud since this was the latest news.
“Eh? That’s fast.” Ame looked up and heard what Tatsumi had said. She was surprised by the speed of the occupation since it should last for at least a day.
The fact that the transcendent group could capture the Sacred Tree in less than a day showed that the elves were hit by unexpected surprise one after another without being able to retaliate.
Kushina went into action and used the communication device to announce it to the Cerulean Defense Force.
And the Cerulean Defense Force would not belittle the news since Tatsumi had gained trust from General Wazowski and, by extension, the entire organization. They already deemed what he announced to be credible.
Especially helpful was when Tatsumi announced the infiltrators. Despite suffering losses, it was reduced to minimal and it further served as proof of his words.
But as the tide turned in favor of the three races, there was concern about the enemy move that remained unused. Just like how humans had the Bio Weapon as a conventional weapon and nuclear weapons as the trump card, the enemy should have such things too.
“There should be limited moves that the Queen could make. We have never seen the Ultra Gling in the past two months. They will likely make a last stand using them.” Tatsumi said before he looked around the room.
He was currently sitting in a comfortable chair behind the desk that was stacked with paper. It was the intelligence report that he had to submit to the Cerulean Defense Force and most of them were completed, meaning that he had almost done the job for today.
“Most likely to be the case.” Ame agreed. If those things were not deployed to the frontline, then it would be best to deploy them on the defense.
But Tatsumi understood why the Ultra Glings were not deployed. They were big enough of a target and transcendents would easily slay such beings. Two, the Bio Weapon worked on those beings so despite its effectiveness at causing destruction to structures that the three races had built, it would be for naught if they were caught by the three races’ weapons and transcendents.
“With that, today’s work should be done.” Tatsumi finally had the time to sip on a cup of the fresh product that the three races had discovered.
Tatsumi then felt that the liquid was quite tasty and slightly bitter so he took a gulp. His eyes widened as he felt that the drink calmed his mind and it was still warm. It was what the Qin Empire called a tea.
“Hmm. This tea is quite good, at least to me. Do you want to try some?” Tatsumi asked the two but he received no reply.
He had grown accustomed to drinking tea since it was one of the rare occasions when he could enjoy a drink while working.
“I already have one before.” Ame replied after she sorted out the paper and she tidied up the desk in front of her before she stood up.
“That explains it. You liked it, so there is no way you would miss out on having one.” Tatsumi understood and knew that Ame quite liked this drink.
In fact, there was a blooming business in growing the tea plantation as it had achieved a small success.
“I’ll pass. I still have some matters to attend so please enjoy things here.” Kushina then went out of the room, leaving Tatsumi and Ame.
“Now I want to know about the population reaction to the Red Moon. Starting from you, what do you think?” Tatsumi realized that a good opportunity to verify something and asked away.
“It is likely what empowered the Gling in the frontline so I personally don’t like it. We never had to look at the moon before, so I think it is an ill omen for us, one way or another.” Ame replied while looking at Tatsumi, full of questions.
“Ill omen. That is the general response I got from everyone.” Tatsumi opened his mouth before he continued, “But the changes that thing caused extend beyond that. Do you know that a dramatic effect has occurred due to the appearance of the Red Moon? And that effect caused the entire Cerulean Planet to change accordingly.”
Ame was surprised as her eyes widened. She did not expect that the appearance of the Red Moon alone could cause an earth-shattering change occurring on the Cerulean Planet.
“Does that mean it is truly a bad omen?” Ame asked.
“No. This is just the effect of the Red Moon existing and orbiting around our planet. You can call this natural law in working rather than transcendental forces at work.” Tatsumi explained in a way that could be understood intuitively.
Then Tatsumi extended his hand and saw a drawing of the members of the Snatcher who were captured in the Central Plains City. He saw a burly man in the drawings, while his skin was quite pale. Then he shifted to another where a woman was drawn on the paper.
The two lifelike pictures were actually the results of professional painters, while there were also photos of the two clipped alongside the lifelike drawings. The photos of the two were quite close to the pictures of the two being drawn.
“What is that?” Ame moved closer to Tatsumi, seeing that he looked at the drawings and the photos.
“This is a member of the former Snatcher. I remember that Sister Charlene once mentioned that they are the threat that the Hinon Federation and the other superpowers tried to erase. They are most likely your opponent.” Tatsumi explained.
Ame realized that these two were quite high in position if their photos and drawings were circulated through the Cerulean Defense Force.
As for the fact that they were the remnant of the Snatcher, she understood that they were harboring resentment toward the one who was responsible for their current situation.
But she would not yield, for what they did was despicable enough even in an objective perspective.
Tatsumi picked up the cup and sipped another taste of the tea while seeing Ame’s reaction.
“I will still not let them off, if you want to know.” Ame said with a tone that could cut through metal.
“I knew you’d say that. They deserved it.” Tatsumi said while putting the cup of tea back on the desk.
“What will happen to them?” Ame asked. She wanted to know what kind of punishment those two would get.
“I don’t know. Probably being separated from the rest of the criminals, they are placed at the lowest level. I mean, they betrayed our civilization.” Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders as he did not care what happened to them as long as their threat were contained.
“Um, there is another matter to discuss.” Ame said after some silence. Tatsumi focused his eyes on her since he rarely heard her extend something.
“What is it? Looks like you are concerned about something.”
“It is about the increased difficulty in dealing with the Gling Swarm. Ever since the Red Moon appeared, our forces have been having a difficult time even with their current weaponry and transcendents.” Ame said with a concerned look on her face.
“So you are saying that the victory condition became steep and more costly to gain.” Tatsumi understood her concern and could not help but sigh.
It was indeed hard to ignore the increased difficulty but so far, every Gling that came their way was completely exterminated. The Cerulean Defense Force knew that leaving even a single survivor could cause them to use their racial advantage to develop the countermeasure needed to withstand their attack.
That was why the Red Moon became the source of headaches for many who were on the frontline.
“Not only that but with each advancement further into enemy territory, we are stretching our supply lines. I am worried that the enemy will use it to their advantage.”
Ame muttered but Tatsumi managed to hear it.
“You don’t need to worry about that point. The frontline is conducting regular sweeps, so there should be no Gling remnants within the conquered territory. But the matter of the supply line is beyond me; that is the matter for the Cerulean Defense Force to think.” Tatsumi replied with a calm voice.
“So you don’t have to worry about something beyond your control. Just do your best within your capability; that is how much success comes about.”
He also did not forget to give Ame some advice since he could see that Ame put herself in the matter that involved the Cerulean Defense Force.
Tatsumi knew that Ame held a high position, even though she was a Reservist like him. That was why he needed her to take care of herself and not overreach.
“Thank you.” Ame murmured softly. Her voice was like a soft whisper in the tranquil room but Tatsumi still heard it.
“No need for that. I am just doing this for myself too. Let’s get out of this room since we are done with today’s job.” Tatsumi said before he gulped the last trace of tea from his cup and stood up.
Ame followed behind him and then they went out to do some exercise and training to improve themselves.
-
The conquered territory of the Glings and the Elves was increasing while the Cerulean Defense Force expanded its influence. One of the Sacred Trees of the Elves became a research site and some scientists were sent there to do some basic tests.
They needed to be careful to eliminate all the enemies, especially the Glings, since their racial trait proved to be troublesome if left unchecked.
Then days had gone by and then weeks and months. The progress of the conquered territory increased to the point that the continent the Rift was on the enemy's side became split directly in half. One belonged to the Elves and Glings while the rest belonged to the Humans, Dwarves and Undead.
There were struggles, bloodshed and statistics about the battle recorded in the reports that were sent to the rear. But one thing still stood, they needed to win the Star Battle while reducing the casualties to a minimum.
But that was difficult as the Glings were still affected by the Red Moon. Fortunately, the more territory the three races conquered, the weaker the Glings became.
The scientists concluded that the Red Moon Effect reduced the more distance they were from the Red Moon and this made the Cerulean Defense Force glad that the sacrifices they had made were worth it.
Each territory was the result of the days of battling the Nests and Lairs of the Gling. Add the Sacred Tree and the effort became greater at subjugating the elves who could not be moved due to various reasons.
They became prisoners of war and they were treated as such. But they were not treated harshly because humans knew that the elves were needed for the future.
But the ethereal beauty of the elves became the matter of discussion among the Cerulean Defense Force Units.
Who couldn’t appreciate beauty? And now there was something like that to be seen on the temporary prisons of the elves; there were often visitors to see the otherworldly race up close.
Those who became prisoners of war were those who were still children and those who were too old. This also marked the first communication effort between different sides in the Star Battle. Translation was on the way to be deciphered and propagated throughout the Cerulean Defense Force and, by extension, the civilization.
While that was in progress, the supply line got longer and it caused quite a bit of problems and the advance had to slow down. The frontline had a restructure in its personnel since they needed more manpower to safeguard the conquered territory.
But that came with its own risk so General Wazowski had to decide the best solution available.
“It has been eleven months since the Rift appeared and we have made remarkable progress.” General Wazowski said to the people around him in the tent.
They all stood since this was going to be a quick decision-making process. Despite that, the decision was an important factor for the Cerulean Defense Force.
“But our supply line has gotten longer and is getting to the dangerous zone. We also need to subjugate the rest of the territory belonging to the Glings and Elves. We don’t need to destroy the Sacred Tree since, according to intel, it is the Ether-producing plants so its importance is self-evident. But the Nest and the Lair have to be destroyed at all costs. This caused the need for crucial items to increase in supply while the time it takes to receive it getting longer. What are we supposed to do?”
Wazowski asked for the opinion of the people in front of him. Those people were under him and responsible for the logistics as well as the operations on the frontline.
“We need to finish this quickly. The more we dragged things out, the more severe it would be for us. Swift completion of the mission objective is advised.” One of them said with reluctance.
Wazowski sighed before he nodded. He agreed on that part but the problem was that it was not going to be easy. The Queen intended for the battle to be long and giving the Glings and Elves chances for the three races to slip up.
He looked at the one who proposed the idea and realized that it was a familiar dwarf. Despite his shorter height, his presence was acknowledged by everyone, including Wazowski.
“But we cannot mess up at the finish line or else the effect could be felt by the entire civilization behind us.” Wazowski reminded them of the importance of doing things properly and not messing up things before the end was confirmed.
The people there had a helpless expression but their eyes looked at the General with such intensity that it could pierce through him.
“How about we deploy our Bio Weapon on a large scale? This should speed things up while the rest of the units, transcendent or not, could finish whatever remains.” Another one suggested.
“But we need a special container for it, which is not easy to get. It is limited in quantity so the deployments are also limited. But this idea can use some polishing.” Wazowski nodded while replying.
“We need the transcendents to become our spearhead while the Undead Race becomes our shield, effectively covering our forces. Either move with them or not at all.”
That one was the thing that held the Cerulean Defense Force for advancing fast enough. Each conquest required them to be in charge, or the expenditure would increase exponentially due to the resources spent on dealing with the Glings.
“We can only uproot the effect of the Nests and Lairs through those transcendents and it is a necessary move to ensure that the Queen does not have ground to threaten us.” Wazowski replied after some thought.
“Worst comes to worst, we have to use nuclear weapons. I suppose that there are aircraft ready to do exactly that in case we screw up badly in the frontline.”
This caused a forced chuckle from everyone in the tent. No one would truly use that weapon since it caused damage that some scientists said could affect genetics, and they did not know what effect it could have if used on the enemy, which they did not fully understand.
But for the rest of the meeting, they finalized the method to gain victory in this Star Battle and it was the most likely outcome despite their careful consideration.