During the Alliance forces' full-scale counteroffensive against the Wasteland, the northern front maintained by the Cecil Empire's main force was perhaps the most distinctive part of this vast battlefield—not because of the Cecilians' mechanized army groups and endless stream of new weapons, but because throughout the war, a lush "forest" had been advancing alongside the Imperial soldiers...
The Thorin Giant Tree's "remote derivative"—this Living Forest began at the southern foot of the Dark Mountains, spreading across both the surface and underground as it steadily yet unwaveringly extended into the Wasteland. It had now advanced with the Empire's main force to the highlands south of the magical scorch marks, and wherever the Living Forest reached, even the corrupted Wasteland gradually began to appear full of life.
At least on the surface, the sight of a lush green forest was far more pleasant than the barren and terrifying Wasteland. As for the less "beautiful" things buried deep within the forest... the Imperial soldiers said they had gotten used to them after seeing enough.
Night gradually fell, and the scorching battlefield cooled. The great cannons and engines that had roared all day fell silent beneath the dusk, while the soldiers had already erected temporary fortifications at the edge of the Living Forest and begun conserving their strength for tomorrow's operations. Philip walked through this newly established camp. The shouted orders of soldiers in the distance and the hum of Dragon Rider Aircraft overhead had become the sounds most familiar to him these past days.
His line of sight passed over the Energy Barrier south of the camp, where broad, desolate land stretched all the way to the horizon. The filthy earth was scarred beyond recognition, covered everywhere in wounds carved by shells and flames. The gray-black ashes of Aberrants and the torn remains