Strictly speaking, this was a war for which both sides had prepared for a long time, yet neither side had prepared sufficiently. Its outbreak had come as a surprise to everyone—everything had gone beyond the plan and failed to develop entirely according to the participants' blueprints. It had all happened suddenly. The ability of frontline soldiers to respond had become the deciding factor. Everything was gradually spiraling out of control, and only "out of control" itself remained constant throughout.
The Silver Empire's communications had been cut off, the condition of the elven allied forces was unknown, and the Great Wall and Sentinel Towers had clearly entered a fatal error state. The barrier that had protected the Civilized World for seven centuries was rapidly disintegrating and vanishing. Meanwhile, the number of monsters wandering and gathering in the depths of the wasteland inside the wall had clearly exceeded the theoretical limit. Their ferocity in battle and the faint "discipline" they displayed were even more shocking. The vanguard forces that had originally been prepared to advance before the barrier had no choice but to shift from offense to defense, becoming rocks that blocked the Great Wall's malfunctioning and continuously widening breaches—the changing situation shocked even experienced commanders and veteran soldiers.
As for the Aberrant Legion attacking the northern defense line, the scene they had imagined—"mortal armies hastily responding, careless barrier guards collapsing at first contact, and the tide of Aberrants charging into the civilized nations like rotten wood"—had not occurred either. The humans outside the wall had not scattered in panic. Instead, they had erected a Steel Rampart as though they had long been prepared. Tank units like moving walls and heavy artillery positions began roaring from beyond visual range. The legions that charged recklessly were engulfed in a rain of fire before