The study fell silent for a moment. Gawain sank into thought behind his desk—the intelligence that had suddenly been delivered to him put a certain amount of pressure on him, yet at the same time, none of it had entirely exceeded his expectations.
Ever since learning that a remnant group of The End of All Things cultists was still active in the wasteland, he had known that he would have to face this trouble sooner or later. Compared with the cultists' sudden activity, however, the information Veronica had revealed about the Azure Well, the Ironclad Legion, and the surviving base was far more unexpected.
All of this only strengthened his determination to launch a counteroffensive into the wasteland—a goal he had quietly set for himself not long after awakening, and which now suddenly had one more reason to strive toward.
"Regardless of what those cultists are planning, their goal certainly isn't world peace, unity, and friendship," Gawain said quietly, breaking the silence. "The more energy they steal from the Azure Well, the more dangerous whatever they're planning must be... We can't just stand by."
"But they are deep in the wasteland," Veronica said calmly. "It is a vast Contaminated Zone, with countless Aberrants wandering everywhere. Any perilous place beyond the Great Wall would seem as peaceful as a garden compared to the Gondor Wasteland. The fact that those cultists are hiding within the Contaminated Zone means they enjoy almost absolute safety."
Gawain said nothing for a moment. He merely leaned back slightly as the wind in his ears seemed to grow louder.
What Veronica had said was precisely the greatest problem at present—the vast wasteland. To the nations living in clean regions, it was an incomparably dangerous forbidden land. Yet for those cultists who had adapted to the wasteland environment