As blazing flames ravaged the mountain forests, filthy, malformed flesh returned to dust in the fire, and the tainted aura that had spread alongside those aberrant creatures was finally brought under control on this ancient land.
Over the past several days, firepower from the ground and the skies had efficiently cleared out the directionless Aberrants wandering blindly after losing command. As great numbers of those monsters were eliminated, the wastelandification of the western region of Crimson Jade City began to recede. On the third day after the Dawn of the Mortal World entered the battlefield, the flames in the Crimson Jade Forest Sea gradually died down—and the cleanup and recovery of the battlefield began.
East of Crimson Jade Forest, above Wolf Ridge Mountain, a massive Gorgon Aerial Fortress hovered in the cold wind. It was a "forward research vessel" belonging to the Empire's Magic-Powered Technology Department. Upon its broad alloy-built chassis stood a complex structure with spired towers and astronomical platforms, utterly unlike any conventional military installation. Its main modules were currently operating at full power—the extended structures on either side of the main building had opened their energy-release grilles, and pale blue glowing particles drifted through the dawn sky on the wind. Mysterious streams of light flowed through magic-conducting structures between the building and its wing panels, illuminating numerous sensing devices atop the structure.
Against the still-dim light of dawn, this airborne forward research vessel possessed an astonishing beauty thanks to those mysterious, arcane flowing lights. It hovered above the scarred Wolf Ridge Mountain like an artificial deity spreading its wings, radiance spilling from its sides toward the earth and drifting into the sky. Yet these beautiful lights were clearly not decorative.
This "research vessel" was gathering vital data, monitoring changes in the magic environment across the land after