On the northern front, where the Living Forest and the dark Root Network clashed most fiercely, the entire battlefield had evolved, amid the intense struggle between both sides, into a form utterly beyond ordinary understanding and even beyond any historical record—massive mutated lifeforms fought and slaughtered one another deep underground, beneath heavy layers of rock and soil. Above them raged a white-hot battle between the mechanized legions of the mortal empire and the Dark Cult's bioengineered army. Between these two battlefields lay numerous Biomass Factories and pipeline systems established by the Cecil Empire, as well as the Dark Cult's treant priests and crawling vine colonies. These unprecedented War Machines fought to the death like colossal beasts. The pressure of war they generated not only rapidly tempered the mortal empire's armies, but also greatly accelerated the refinement and evolution of the dark creatures cultivated by The End of All Things.
Tough vines tore through thick Rock strata, while seemingly soft mimic roots supported the stone and earth. Fluid flowing through the plants' vascular systems gave off a faint glow, illuminating the passage leading into the depths underground. Bertrem's roots wriggled swiftly forward between slick rocks and vines, while this vast Root Network continuously transmitted information gathered from the surrounding environment directly into the depths of his consciousness, allowing him to clearly understand the "battle situation" ahead.
The encirclement was gradually taking shape. The Root Network's "immune barrier" had already gained a clear upper hand. His "fangs and claws" had successfully intercepted part of the hostile roots spreading out from the Living Forest within an underground cavern and cut off a large number of Biomass supply pipelines around the target. Deep within the tightening encirclement, the enormous thought pulses were already as conspicuous as lights in the dark.
In this war between