The ancient observatory was not far from the forward base, and Philip's legion had already secured a foothold in the area for several days. While the engineers erected Purification Devices and sentry turrets, they had also leveled a temporary hardened road between the observatory and the base. Gawain, Amber, Diana, and several technical experts from Typhon and Cecil soon arrived by magic-infused vehicle at the high ground where the observatory stood, coming face-to-face with this massive structure that had remained standing since the ancient Gandor Era.
The entire facility had now been sealed off by the military. Within a hundred-meter radius of the observatory stood a "fence" made of alloy and concrete pylons, topped with simple Shield Generators and lightning Rune Arrays. A thin shield enveloped the entire area, with flickering electric sparks continuously crawling across its outer layer. A squad of soldiers had been stationed near the observatory for the past three days, setting up two firing positions capable of cross-covering the side of the high ground facing the wasteland—though in those three days, no Aberrants or any other monsters had approached the area.
"Those monsters seem to avoid this place on their own," Philip explained. "At least the 'wild' ones never come within half a kilometer of this high ground. We also found no signs of monsters invading or damaging the observatory. The experts suspect that the low-frequency energy constantly emitted from deep within the observatory has some sort of 'monster-repelling' effect, though they cannot determine the exact principle. Of course, just to be safe, I still set up these defenses."
Gawain nodded slightly and turned to Lady Diana, who had gotten out of the vehicle alongside him. The "Ironclad Soldier," who had once served as a guard at Vepranton Observatory, was gazing absentmindedly toward the observatory. No