Chapter 1030: Chapter 1029: Iron Man
The most perilous and intense battle in human history had ended, but in terms of the "war" itself, the aftermath remained a lengthy and cautious process.
In the frontline command post of Winterwolf Fortress, Gawain sat at a long table with Sir Philip, Maryland, Soldrin, and Amber. The Magic Web Terminal on the table glowed faintly, projecting a map of the entire Winterhold Area into the air above the table, along with several holograms displaying the situation of various troops in the region and images from Cecil Castle.
"In the past few hours, we’ve passed by three Typhon troops without conflict occurring. Yet, given the communication breakdown between some frontline soldiers and the rear, as well as some Typhon corps being scattered, many small groups are in a state of disconnection and loss of control, I suggest withdrawing the soldiers who entered the eastern side of the banded flatlands back to the central plains," said Sir Philip. "The Protectorate Knight Order and Mage Corps of the Typhon have already resumed operation, many areas are gradually being sealed off, and our search troops no longer need to operate within Winterhold Control Zone."
"Ha—" Amber sighed quietly nearby. "After battling the War God, I had the illusion that all matters of this war were settled... almost forgetting that this is actually the ’battlefield’ between us and the Typhon Empire..."
"It’s not just you who had this illusion. We’ve all felt it to some extent. After all... it was the War God we faced, having fought directly against a deity," Maryland chuckled bitterly, spreading out his hands. "And I believe the situation is even more chaotic on the Typhon side—hopefully, they can quickly restore their command system, as there are too many scattered troops on the battlefield right now, each one potentially a volatile Magic Crystal Bomb."
What Maryland described was indeed the complex situation both Typhon and Cecil frontline forces faced: the fighting was over, yet the embers of this "war" hadn’t safely extinguished. Despite high commands from both sides knowing the real situation, reaching some tacit understanding, and issuing temporary ceasefire orders, the overly chaotic post-conflict situation caused delays in the orders taking effect—during this interim, numerous troops disconnected from their rear were still waiting for orders on these scorched grounds, while the search parties from both sides roamed this battered frontline, searching for their respective scattered troops or battlefield resources. In some sense, this was even more nerve-wracking than the war itself.
"Sir Philip is quite right," Gawain broke the silence. "Any response from Winterhold side?"
"We’ve established a temporary communication line with Typhon side," Soldrin stood up and said. "Using the War Citizen at the edge of the warzone as the temporary Magic Web Nexus, some operational Steel Envoys have entered Typhon Control Zone to act as ’messengers,’ and now we can finally convey messages to Winterhold. The Typhon side also expressed willingness to withdraw some troops back to their bases, designating parts of the warzone as ’buffer areas,’ where only medical and rescue teams are allowed entry. However, they hope we withdraw first, at least the mechanical units of the First and Second Corps."
"Ah?" Amber immediately muttered unconsciously. "Why do we have to fall back first..."
"Because our two tank corps have already rolled to the foothill camp of the Typhon—straight into it," Maryland said with an embarrassed expression. "The last stage was too chaotic... luckily, no fighting broke out."
Amber: "...Oh, okay..."
"We can pull back from Winterhold Fortress Group’s alert circle—it’s a reasonable request from the other side," Gawain broke the awkward atmosphere in the room. "Ground units retract, but the long-range artillery positions in central plains should be temporarily retained—Emperor Rosetta might be a trustworthy sovereign, but the current chaotic battlefield is not that safe. We need to retain our ability to provide cover for rescue teams entering the warzone."
"Understood, I will make arrangements," Philip nodded and then asked, "About the teams entering the military buffer zone..."
"Medical and rescue teams..." Gawain thought and casually made the arrangements. "Let Steel Sanctity and Crimson Holy Light go in. They are experienced in handling battlefield rescue tasks."
This arrangement was quite reasonable, yet Maryland couldn’t help but show a somewhat troubled expression. He remembered the heavy tanks beloved by priests and nuns, the "Holy Warhammer-II," and the large incinerators used for cleaning up the battlefield, hesitantly saying, "Your Majesty, might these two task groups potentially cause misunderstandings? Their style..."
"They are indeed the most suitable ones—and truth be told, isn’t this style typical of all our priests?" Gawain certainly knew what Maryland referred to, but he had long adapted, losing even the interest to make a remark. "Make sure to communicate properly with Winterhold forces, send them standard Holy Light Corps insignias to help identify their frontline units. Explain the situation—although those people drive tanks, equipped with heavy artillery, wielding warhammers and incinerators, they are indeed medical teams..."
Listening to Gawain’s instructions, Maryland nodded seriously: "I understand."
The details for the aftermath were thoroughly discussed, relevant orders issued one by one. Despite the entire border warzone still being chaotic, the most basic order was gradually being restored. Whether Cecil or Typhon, those in power understood well what needed to be done at this moment. Combat units began cautiously pulling out of sensitive areas, communications were re-established in grassroots troops, disconnected units during combat were either smoothly retrieved or returned independently to their closest superior camp. Although many grassroots soldiers remained uncertain of tomorrow, they were at least clear on one thing: they survived today—this life is invaluable.
After the temporary meeting ended, Gawain left the now bustling command hall. Having informed others of his whereabouts, he took Amber to an open area in the castle courtyard—a rare quiet place within the busy, tense Winterwolf Fortress.
A few fully armed magic soldiers guarded this area, where a young lady in black hair and black dress quietly stood in the open, seemingly having waited a long time yet showing no sign of impatience until Gawain appeared.
Gawain approached the black-haired lady: "Lady Diana, I apologize for making you wait longer, the meeting lasted a bit longer than expected."
"There’s no need for you to apologize," the black-haired Typhon’s Handmaiden slightly bowed in acknowledgment. "I can imagine how chaotic the situation you’re dealing with after the battle ends, ensuring those who managed to survive are safer. I don’t mind waiting a little longer."
Gawain scrutinized her up and down, feeling a familiar yet special aura from this self-proclaimed Diana "Typhon’s Handmaiden," albeit unable to discern what it was, so he commented casually: "...Clearly, you’re not an ordinary maid, regular maids don’t have your insight."
"I’ll take that as a compliment from you," Diana said meticulously, then raised her head, glancing towards Winterhold, "So my mission is complete. May I leave here?"
"Of course," Gawain nodded, "You’re not our captive, this door is open at any time—extend my regards to your master and let him know I look forward to talking in a more formal setting."
"I will," Diana stepped back half a step, then bowed slightly, lifting the sides of her skirt with impeccable etiquette, "Then, allow me to take my leave..."
As she spoke, her figure gradually faded into the air, and Gawain prepared to watch her departure. However, at that moment, a gentle female voice suddenly interrupted Diana’s movements from the direction of the corridor nearby: "Wait a moment—turn around."
Surprised, Gawain looked towards the sound and saw Veronica, holding the platinum scepter, standing under the corridor at the edge of the courtyard. Near him, Diana, who was about to leave, immediately dispelled the shadow manipulation. Her face, which rarely showed much change in expression, displayed clear astonishment, staring dumbfounded at the "Saint Princess" beneath the corridor.
Veronica quickly walked over, her face carrying an unusual solemn expression, which surprised Gawain: "Is there a problem?"
"Who is this?" Veronica looked at the black-haired maid seemingly frozen in place, slightly furrowing her brows. Although her tone remained gentle, her attitude was clearly quite serious.
Amber immediately said, "Her name is Diana, she came from the Winterhold Area—you should have received the message. She is the ’messenger’ Emperor Rosetta Augustus sent."
"Diana... the messenger from Typhon?" Veronica muttered with a strange expression, unable to resist scrutinizing Diana again, then quickly spoke, "Self-check, execute sequence 335, output conclusions to language module."
As her voice fell, the "handmaiden" from Typhon suddenly stiffened noticeably, followed by a subtly audible buzzing and the sound of something metallic rubbing within her. Moments later, a glimmer of light appeared deep in her eyes, and she quickly responded, "Self-check, execute sequence 335... Error, mind core misalignment, original logic library has been reset..."
With another sound from within, the black-haired maid seemed to awaken suddenly from a state of trance. She swayed slightly, gazing into Veronica’s eyes: "Who are you?"
"The mind core detached from the Iron Man Network... the original logic library has also been overwritten... You can’t even recognize my magic pattern?" Veronica was rarely surprised, "Do you still remember who you are?"
Diana did not answer her question but repeated instead, "Who are you?"
"...I am the Legion Commander of the Iron Soldier Corps, Ophelia Norton," Veronica stared at her and said slowly, "Identify again, can you recognize it?"
She then rapidly reported a string of numbers, seemingly some kind of code.
Diana appeared deeply affected, her body noticeably trembling, and perhaps it was an illusion, but Gawain even felt the air around her heating slightly, suggesting that this lady’s body was generating astonishing heat—shortly after, she steadied herself slightly, looking into Veronica’s eyes: "The code... accepted... but I don’t understand... unable to identify, my identification function... malfunctioned hundreds of years ago, there are no facilities to provide repairs in this era..."
"Malfunction... that can be understood, but how did you come to the human world?" Veronica frowned tightly, staring into Diana’s eyes, "How many years have you been in the human world?"
Gawain listened perplexedly from the side, finally beginning to guess something—knowledge found from the memory of this body’s original owner, though its corresponding conclusions were rather astonishing: "Wait, Veronica, what I’ve gathered from your conversation... Do you mean Lady Diana is a part of the Iron Soldier Corps? She is a..."
"Iron Soldier, appears to be a later model, but the mind core seems to have undergone some change, already detached from the control of the original logic library," Veronica explained before Gawain could finish, "I have never seen such a situation... However, I am not an expert in Iron Man Technology myself."
Amber had been even more bewildered than Gawain earlier, now finally understanding what happened. She widened her eyes in disbelief, gazing at the tall black-haired lady: "Iron Man!? Just... like the ’Iron Man’ Gawain mentioned from the Gondor era?"
The development surprised not only Gawain and the others but also left Diana herself a bit bewildered. However, this "Iron Soldier" regained her composure or perhaps rebooted her mind within a remarkably short time—returning to her graceful and calm demeanor, she nodded lightly to Amber: "Apologies for the unexpected turn of events. Yes, I am indeed the ’Iron Man’ from the Gondor era you mentioned—my creator told me so."
"Looks just like a normal human being," Amber couldn’t resist remarking, "When I first heard the name ’Iron Man,’ I imagined a mechanical doll made entirely of steel, like the steel golems or constructs made by mages... Didn’t expect it to be quite beautiful."
Diana calmly nodded: "Thank you for your compliment—though external praise is unimportant to me."
"No problem, we share the Gondor era," Amber’s eyes twinkled mischievously, stretching out her hand with a grin, "Hello, I am an artificial human from the Gondor Empire—consider us ’fellow kin,’ perhaps?"
Diana did not respond to Amber’s outstretched hand. She merely looked at the short half-elf and tilted her head, showcasing undisguised confusion on her face.
She then refocused her attention on Veronica: "Your code is correct, I can temporarily log you as Ophelia Norton, but I have already detached from the Iron Soldier Corps and will no longer accept your commands."
This answer clearly took Veronica by complete surprise, as she slightly narrowed her eyes: "Detached from the Iron Soldier Corps? How did you accomplish that?"
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