The study room was quiet for a moment, and Gao Wen fell into deep thought behind the desk - the information suddenly sent to him put a certain amount of pressure on him, but on the other hand, all this did not completely exceed his expectations.

As early as the day when he knew that there was a remnant of all things that died, the church was still moving in the wasteland, he knew that he would have to face this trouble one day. Compared to the sudden activities of these cultists, the information about the Deep Blue Well, the Iron Man Corps and the Remaining Base revealed by Veronica was even more unexpected.

All this strengthened his determination to counterattack the wasteland - the goal that he had set secretly in his heart not long after he woke up, and suddenly there was a more reason to work hard for it.

"In short, no matter what the cultists want to do, their goal is definitely not for world peace, unity and friendship," Gao Wen whispered to break the silence. "The more energy they steal from the deep blue well, the more dangerous the things they are going to plan... They can't sit idly by."

"But they are deep in the wasteland," Veronica said quietly, "It is a vast land of pollution, and countless distortions are wandering around. Any desperate and dangerous place outside the magnificent wall is as comfortable as a garden compared to the wasteland of Gondor. Those cultists hiding in the polluted area means they are almost absolutely safe."

Gao Wen didn't say anything for a moment, but just leaned back gently, and the wind coming from his ears seemed even more noisy.

What Veronica is talking about is the biggest problem at present - the vast wasteland. For the countries living in clean areas, the wasteland is an extremely dangerous desperate situation. However, for those cultists who have adapted to the wasteland environment through biochemical transformation, the terrible magical pollution and wandering distortions are their natural barriers. Even though Gowen and Veronica know where the cultists are hiding, they almost have no choice but to deal with those guys. After all... Seven hundred years have passed, the countries around the Gondor wasteland can only maintain the border, and no one has ever really raised the banner of counterattacking the wasteland.

But the past cannot be done, it does not mean that the present cannot be done, nor does it mean that the future cannot be done.

Gao Wen bent his fingers and gently tapped the armrest of the seat twice. His eyes fell on the wall not far away. On the wall with the map of the mainland, another new flag symbolizing the Union of the Community was added. The flag was bathed in the afternoon sun, and the silk fabric looked shining brightly.

"I never mentioned this to you before because I judged that the time was not ripe," Veronica's voice came from the side. "You have a bigger and more urgent crisis to face. You have a risk of total overturning with every slight energy. And even if I told you about the wasteland at that time, you or your allies could do nothing, but now... I think we have some extra room to consider the internal hidden dangers before the Majesty."

Gao Wen couldn't help but look at her. What the other party said sounded like nothing wrong, but when he thought about it carefully, he found that these judgments only calculated rigid data, but did not take into account the variability of humans. This way of judging things did not seem to be in line with human thinking habits... Is this also the impact of too long time on her?

Veronica noticed his gaze: "Is there any problem?"

"No, not," Gao Wen shook his head, his eyes fell on the alliance flag not far away, and said with a thoughtful expression, "To this day, we are still not ready to counterattack the wasteland. Whether from the perspective of technology reserves or manpower and material resources, this is not a problem that the Cecil Empire can solve independently at this stage, but on the other hand... we have now established an alliance, relying on it, we have the opportunity to mobilize unprecedented power to do great things, so..."

"So this is no longer a remote thing," Veronica said calmly. "If all countries on the mainland can realize that the threats in the wasteland are about to move, then even if we still cannot recover the wasteland, at least we can do something, even if we go a kilometer toward the grand wall, even if we build out several outposts on its borders."

Gao Wen pondered and slowly said in his thoughts: "I think your ideas are too conservative - if several more powerful countries are really willing to do this together, then we may not be able to do it."

All kinds of thoughts were surging in his heart. As Gao Wen said, he sorted out the list of countries that might actively cooperate in this matter in his mind. When those alliance countries emerged one by one in his mind, he gradually realized how effective this was, and suddenly realized that the "counterattack on the wasteland" had already had some foundation without realizing it.

It is indeed difficult to counterattack the wasteland by Cecil himself, but if the Tifong and the Silver Empire are willing to actively contribute, and border countries like Agure and the Kaoling Kingdom are willing to actively cooperate, this matter... does not seem so far away?

But even so, this matter is not something that can be achieved overnight. Even if the conditions are complete now, planning a plan to counterattack the wasteland requires long-term consideration - after all, the mortal countries have been away from that ancient corrupt land for too many years.

Gao Wen said unreservedly what he thought to Veronica, and at the end, "I will send a message to Tifeng and the Silver Empire as soon as possible. No matter what, it is necessary to warn them first, but no matter what, entering the wasteland of Gondor is not an easy thing, and it takes a long time to prepare."

"I know," Veronica nodded, "but please as soon as possible-I have lost the clues of those cultists again. They are preparing plans that no one knows in the blind spots of everyone's vision. Only by finding them as soon as possible can I truly calm down."

Gao Wen didn't make a sound, but sat behind the desk with a heavy face and nodded slowly.

...

When the wind in the last week of the Revival Moon blows across the plains, all the golden taicho flowers in Changzhi Manor will bloom. These beautiful little flowers with light golden petals are actually not eye-catching in the plains, but they are strong in vitality and have always been loved by the Wendell family - it is planted on both sides of every road in the manor, from the high ground where the red windmill is located to the edge of the grove, from the direction of the farm to the main house designed by Bard Wendell. When the warm wind blows, a scent of mixed earthy smell will float from the flowers and fill all the avenues and paths.

A magic car with the Wendell family emblem drove through the wide and flat "National Avenue" and drove from the pebbled path into the main entrance of Changzhi Manor. The servants had already waited at the entrance of the manor, waiting for the owner who had been away from here for too long - the car stopped on the open ground. After the door opened, Andesha Wendell, who was tall and gray-haired, finally stood on the land she was most familiar with again.

The young wolf general had taken off his military uniform and was wearing a spring dress that looked more like an ordinary woman. The white long skirt with high-end fabric but simple style was slightly raised in the wind, slightly reducing her cold and stiff military aura, but still unable to completely cover up that neat temperament.

Andesha Wendell nodded to the servants who came to greet him, and then his eyes could not help but swept over the familiar things in his sight. She saw the main road under her feet winding towards the main house. Not far away, there was a wizard tower standing on the hill, and further apart, you could see lush fruit forests, nurseries and stables, and a small river winding through the direction of the distant woods and flowing towards the direction of the National Avenue.

This is her own manor, a small part of her fiefdom, and is quite far from the emperor. Many years ago, the owner of this manor was her father, and after her father's disappearance, the manor was soon handed over to her by her grandfather. For Andesha, it is frozen here with almost all her beautiful and unpleasant memories from childhood to girls. Compared with the family mansion in the imperial capital, this slightly remote manor is more like the "home" in her memory.

Andesa took a light breath and calmed her mind gradually. Perhaps she had experienced too many changes. When she returned to this familiar land again, she found that her mood had become so complicated that it was difficult for her to understand.

At this moment, the butler in the manor walked up at the right time, bowed to the hostess and said, "Miss, Grand Duke Pei Dinnan is here, he is waiting for you in the lobby on the first floor of the main house."

Is my grandfather already waiting for me here?

Andesha blinked, with no surprise on her face. She nodded and signaled the butler to disband the servants gathered here, and at the same time, she stepped forward calmly towards the main house not far away.

In the main house, Duke Pedinan Wendell, with white hair, was standing quietly in front of the north wall, looking up at the large portrait hanging high on the wall - if according to the "regulation" of most of the aristocratic mansions of Tifeng, the portrait of the owner here should be hanging at this location, that is, the "formal portrait" painted by Andessa when she was an adult, but in fact, the one hanging here is still the one that was more than ten years ago: the full body portrait of Bad Wendell.

On the wide painting, Bad Wendel, who was young, stood in the armed showroom with a momentum, covered in armor, wearing a cloak, and standing in front of him with sharp eyes as sharp as a wolf. Although the owner of this painting was no longer there, a certain spirit of the wolf general of the previous generation seemed to be deeply imprinted in the painting. In the writing of a famous master in the imperial capital, this spirit even emerged, making every gaze feel the arrogant aura - however, the white-haired Pei Dinnan stood here, and when he looked at the painting, he only showed a soft and nostalgic look, like any old father.

The sound of opening the door and footsteps came at this moment. Pei Dinnan turned around and saw Andesha Wendell standing at the door.

The sun shone into the hall from behind Andessa, with a mist-like texture, and a golden light shone on the shoulders of the girl who took off her military uniform.

After a few seconds of relative silence, Grand Duke Pei Dinnan finally broke the silence softly: "Antersha, you are back."

"Yes, grandfather," Andessa walked into the hall, with some unexplained sense of restraint and distance, "I'm back."

She looked at Duke Pei Dinan. The old man who was extremely powerful in memory was much older than just a few months ago. His hair was completely white. Although the gray-white hair of the Wendell family itself was very close to white, Duke Pei Dinan's hair has completely faded away from the gray texture, leaving only a piece of white that is almost silver. His burly body has also been slightly hunched over. Although it is still tall, she no longer needs to look up.

Andesha's eyes passed by her grandfather again and saw the full-body portrait of her father on the wall behind. The heroic soldier in military uniform brought a touch to her heart. Then some new memories emerged from her mind. Another image seemed to appear in front of her and gradually overlapped with her father in the portrait.

He is a little fat, wearing the uniform of the institute, his beard and hair are not taken care of because he is addicted to research. He holds a record board and can give himself a hundred questions at any time. He is extremely good at going to the cafeteria to grab chicken legs with his colleagues, and urges himself to drink medicine when he comes back.

I folded it for a long time, but didn't put it on.

Andesha controlled the change of expression at the last moment - in such a serious occasion, in front of her grandfather, she should pay attention.

Pei Dinnan had no idea what Andesha had thought of at this moment. He just noticed the other party's eye hidden under his bangs. The eye was bloody, obviously different from the normal eyeball: "Antesha, your eyes..."

"I was injured during the Cecil bombing," Andesha subconsciously stroked the corner of her eyes, with a hint of shame in her expression. "After their treatment, their eyesight recovered, but some changes occurred in her eyes - I took the initiative to ask for this mark as a reminder to myself."

Pei Dinnan looked at Andersha, and then sighed softly: "You... have suffered a lot."

This is probably the softest and most concerned thing this "Iron Duke" can say?

Andesa thought to herself and shook her head gently: "The physical damage is not important. Did my performance in the Battle of Winter Wolf Castle... disappoint you?"

Pei Dinnan didn't say anything, but just looked at his granddaughter quietly. Until this gaze was almost about to become substantial pressure, he said: "Why am I disappointed? Because you chose to surrender? Or because you failed to defend the fortress?"

Andesha didn't say anything.

"Andersha, you did not defend the Winter Wolf Castle, and you were indeed the first wolf general to surrender on the battlefield, but for the entire Tifeng, you are not just a Winter Wolf Castle," Pei Dinnan said in a deep voice. "At the right time, you have done these two things with the mission of protecting the interests of the motherland?"

Andesha didn't hesitate at all: "I did."

"That's good," Pei Dinnan finally smiled, "this is all I ask for you."

The old man opened his hands, his arms were still as wide as Andesha remembered:

"Welcome home, Andessa."

...

The cold sea breeze blows from the direction of the coastline, and the wind is filled with a slightly salty smell. Melita Pernia lands on the large landing platform on the coast in a bumpy manner. When she sees that the camp not far away is still running in an orderly manner and her compatriots are still busy, she exhale gently.

She turned into a human form and walked into a landing platform - it was called a landing platform, but this was not the same as the industrial products with precision navigation systems, smart lighting and intelligent self-cleaning functions in the past. It was just an open and flat high ground outside the camp. The ground was made of magic materials and deep marks that could luminous and auxiliary landing marks - a figure in a white dress was standing at the end of the ramp not far away. When Melita appeared, the figure immediately came up quickly.

"Welcome back!" Noreta happily greeted his friend and looked up and down at Melita, "Not bad - it seems that the long-distance travel did not cause any problems with your injury."

"It's just a round trip to the Loren continent," Melita waved her hand indifferently, "It's not about going to the Elemental World to find someone to fight."

As she said, she glanced at the direction of the camp and asked casually: "Are everything OK here?"

“As you can see, everything is developing in an orderly manner, and the camp has expanded a lot more than when you left,” Noreta said. “We now have more helpers – Argondore has successfully restarted two factories, and our logistics supply is becoming stable, at least… the source and reserves of basic supplies are no longer so dangerous.”

"That's good," Melita breathed a sigh of relief from the heart, "and then is there any other good news?"
Chapter completed!