A different world game? A different world game!

The continent of Taril.

The air was so heavy it felt like you could wring out rotten blood and ashes.

This is one of the forward operating areas of the Tahrir Continent Expedition.

A small outpost camp on the outskirts of the "Iron Cliff" defense zone.

Walking through this outpost camp.

Beneath his feet lay a mixture of deep red soil, dried blood, plant sap twisted by the chaos of the abyss, and dust remnants of void creatures, carrying a pungent, ionized odor.

In the distance, the demonized thorn forest cast a hideous silhouette in the dim light of day. Deeper still, in that unseen place, in that impenetrable place, lies the Void Gate.

The incessant howling and bursts of energy emanated from that direction.

That was a death symphony of three forces locked in a fierce battle between the Voidclaw Beasts, the Rift Hunters, and the native beasts "Heart-Piercing Beetles" and "Bone-Eating Pangolins," which were deeply corrupted by Chaos.

Even as they tear each other apart and devour one another, this land remains a tough nut to crack, covered in venomous thorns, for the expeditionary force.

But it's not easy.

Almost half a year has passed since the Void Vanguard invaded.

They were stuck here for more than half a year, and the rapidly expanding expedition was forced to stop.

Inside the camp.

Several thick canvas tents, stained with unknown dirt, surrounded the magical furnace in the center of the camp.

A steady blue flame danced within the furnace, providing warmth and light to the body, and also powering a thin, rippled, pale golden energy shield around it.

The shield barely separated the camp from the inferno outside.

But the stench, a mixture of rust, rotting organic matter, sulfur, and faint ozone, stubbornly seeps in, becoming the permanent background odor here.

You'll get used to it.

There will always be some unpleasant smell, but this kind of smell is already acceptable.

"Huff... Damn it, this place is so awful, even breathing feels like drinking poison!" said Daniel, a burly orc warrior with fresh claw marks on his face.

The orc slammed the whetstone down at his feet and spat on it.

He was wiping his enormous two-handed axe, and several fine gray etchings were clearly visible on the blade, proof that it had been rubbed by void energy.

Even weapons digitized by the Night's Watch can exhibit this behavior.

This will make weapons no longer what they used to be, but it's something we have to accept in the fight against Void creatures.

Fortunately, the Night's Watch has very advanced technology for repairs, so it's not too bad.

It's a real shame that this kind of weapon can't be passed down as a family heirloom.

For Daniel, this was the case, since he was thinking that if he ever established a territory here, his weapon used to conquer that territory could be passed down as a family heirloom and a symbol.

Get rid of these delusions first.

"I'd rather go back and face those slippery sea monsters in the Emerald Sea!"

The situation at hand was enough to irritate him.

Beside her, the elven mage Lia was carefully maintaining her staff with an enchanted cloth. While this item wasn't particularly valuable, it was certainly more precious than swords or axes.

She gave a soft hum, her voice carrying its usual calmness, but lacking the tension of a few months ago.

"Save your breath, Daniel. At least now, you know where to crawl when you're injured, unlike Wolf and the others who had to watch their wounds fester in the swamp where the neutralizer was useless."

"But back then, there weren't those damn purple, shiny monsters that would poke your head with some unknown stuff."

"Those are void creatures, the vanguard of the apocalypse."

"Yeah, yeah, void creatures, anyway, it's this thing. It's so annoying. Look at my precious axe, sigh."

"Hey, Leah's right!"

A nimble halfling scout, Felchick, who was toying with a poisoned dagger, sprang out of the shadows upon hearing this, his face bearing his usual mocking expression.

"Think back to when the war first started? Shields would overload and start smoking all the time, bandages had to be boiled three times with hot water, and a single intermediate healing potion could buy you half a life!"

"Night Watchmen? You can hardly find a few of them. We had to risk our lives to fill the gaps, bumping around like headless flies. Unlike now..."

He pointed with the tip of his dagger at the brand-new medical tent in the center of the camp, bearing the silver Night's Watch emblem, from which a soft glow of healing magic and the scent of potions emanated.

“Look, those evil stars known as ‘Soul Guardians’ just moved into the Cliff Fortress yesterday. The day before yesterday, that archmage with ‘Frost Touch’ froze an entire nest of rotten worms, leaving not even a trace.”

"A lot of logistics vehicles were also brought. They even cleared a safe transport route in a single day. Bandages, medicines, and even replacement enchanted arrowheads could be requested."

Martha, a human female ranger leaning against the fireplace with clean bandages wrapped around her arm, spoke up, her face showing weariness but genuine relief.

“Indeed, life isn’t so hopeless anymore. Last time, I got my shoulder pierced by the claws of a shadow-spotted black panther. If it were before, I would have lost my arm even if I hadn’t died.”

"Now? With advanced healing spells and the Night's Watch's special muscle-regenerating ointment, I can barely draw a bow after lying down for three days."

She patted her shoulder.

"There are plenty of charging crystals for the magic cannons, unlike when Captain Victor was in such a hurry to open up Blackrock Pass that he almost plucked his beard off."

"What the hell is there to say? Praise the Night's Watch, and praise the Holy Light."

“Ha! Speaking of Victor, that tin can boss,” Daniel laughed gruffly, breaking the momentary heaviness, “I heard their ‘Iron Fortress’ is as solid as a turtle shell now? Although the price… tsk.”

He shook his head, clearly recalling the horrific scene of the Earth-Shaking Rock Armored Beast crashing into and collapsing the supporting pillar.

The biggest difference between now and before, or between becoming an adventurer and now, is that one has become much more well-informed.

This made them always eager to follow news from other places. Even on the front lines, they could keep track of the overall battle situation, learn about news from the rear, and know about news from other continents. This fascinated them and also brought them a lot of comfort.

"Who told them to take on the toughest pass? But thankfully they held their ground and drew enemy fire," Leah said calmly.

"In this situation, although we're still risking our lives, at least... we're not running around naked."
"We know that if we get injured, we can get treatment; if we run out of ammunition, we can replenish it; and there are legendary figures backing us up."

She paused, then added, "The Night's Watch really went all out for this reinforcement." "Got all out? Hmph, I think they had no choice but to!" Daniel took a big gulp of the pink powder concoction provided by the Night's Watch, which could replenish his strength and provide a slight resistance to the corruption of chaotic magic, and wiped his mouth.

"Those gentlemen sitting on the golden toilet in the capital were cursing and swearing, saying that 'the land granted by the expedition is a disgrace to the noble bloodline by peasants.'"

"On the one hand, they secretly fund their own pioneering teams to sneak into this area, trying to seize territory. They are shameless!"

"If the Night's Watch doesn't stabilize these front lines soon, those noble lords' 'private' expedition teams back home might get eaten up as snacks by void creatures and local monsters!"

"If I were a Night's Watchman, I'd love to twist the heads off these fat noble pigs and use them as footballs, then poop in their heads."

"Ugh, this is a bit disgusting, but cheers, hahaha!"

"cheers!"

“That’s right!” Felchuck leaned closer, lowered his voice, and his face showed excited gossip.

"I heard that the Night's Watch has been keeping a low profile lately, busy putting out newly emerging void rifts, and has even clashed with the councils of several major city-states in the south over this."

"Those fools, all they care about is fighting for power and profit, and they refuse to open the borders to let the Night's Watch in to clear out the Rift, talking about 'sacred sovereignty'! Bah!"
"Let's see if they're still so holy when the Void monsters crawl into their bedrooms! I'm on the Night's Watch's side. Those city-state residents are really unlucky to have run into these lords!"

“Your information is incomplete. I heard that the Night’s Watch ignored them completely, and they just rushed over without uttering a word, only shouting that the Night’s Watch did not respect them or something.”

Lia frowned slightly: "These things... are too far removed from us. But the Night's Watch is indeed under considerable pressure lately."

“Far?” Daniel scoffed. “If this drags on any longer, nobody’s going to get far. If we can’t pull down that damned void gate from our ‘Iron Cliff,’ we’ll just have to keep wasting our time with these bastards. Look at this godforsaken place.”

He waved his rough, large hand, pointing to the distorted horizon beyond the shield. "How many months? How much have you advanced? Ten kilometers? Twenty kilometers? The battle line is longer than an elf's foot binding."

"The supplies and personnel in the rear all have to go in and out through that one opening in the warship port. I feel exhausted just thinking about them!"

"Go to hell, Daniel, shut your damn mouth."

There are quite a few elves here, and they start cursing right away.

When the topic turned to warship ports, Felchuck's large ears suddenly perked up like radar, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Hey! Speaking of warship ports and the rear... brothers, I have a fresh, hot, and absolutely authentic 'dock secret' here!"

He rubbed his fingers together mysteriously, successfully attracting everyone's attention.

Even Liya put down her staff.

"Spit it out, you shorty! If you keep beating around the bush, I'll throw you out like a dwarf cannonball!" Daniel yelled impatiently.

“It’s the fleet!” Felchuck’s voice was even lower, but filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"A fleet of Night's Watchers! They just left the City of the Ring of Towers a few days ago and are heading straight for our continent of Tauriel at full speed! They're quite large, and the one leading them is a giant transport ship that has been specially modified, with a belly big enough to swallow a mountain!"

"I spotted several merchant ships that run the Emerald Sea route in the distance. Their design... tsk tsk, they're definitely not ordinary cargo ships!"

Everyone held their breath.

Heavy transport ship? Specially modified?

"This setup..." Martha murmured, "sounds familiar?"

"It's more than just familiar!" Felczek exclaimed, slapping his thigh.

"Last time! Wasn't it this kind of huge transport ship that transported that 'iron flower structure' that could fly in the sky and build a tower in just a few bangs?!"

"An ironwork construct?" Lia's eyes narrowed. "The one above the warship port? It can stabilize magic and accelerate construction... Could it be that the Night Watchmen brought another one over?"

"An upgraded version? Building a new city?"

Daniel frowned, looking skeptical. "Nonsense! The warship port is hundreds of miles away from our front line! We're crawling sideways along the coastline like crabs, it's a long way off."

“Look at the map. From the port to those pioneering areas on the side, like the Black Stone Pass, it’s a damn fast straight line… well, it’s several hundred kilometers.”

"The port is bustling, but it's packed with people and goods. I heard that there are almost no more berths available, and all kinds of approvals are as slow as a snail's pace!"

He glanced at Leah and asked, "Leah, how long did you queue for supplies last time you went back to port?"

Lia thought for a moment and said helplessly, "The mission settlement took half a morning, and we had to wait another afternoon to replenish the special arrowheads."

"The port's functional zones are already very detailed, but the flow of people and goods... has indeed far exceeded expectations. Even with the accelerated construction of the ironwork structure, the expansion speed doesn't seem to be keeping up with the explosive growth in demand. The application for special supplies for remote outposts requires layers of approval, which is extremely troublesome."

“So,” Felczek chimed in, striking a pose that suggested he knew everything.

"I bet what's being shipped this time is an evolved version of the Iron Flower Construct! It's specifically designed to build a new city closer to the port, where the pressure isn't as high! To relieve the pressure on the warship port and make the supply line run more smoothly!"

"fart!"

Daniel slammed his hand on the ground, making the fire in the stove shake.

"Build a new city? What's the point of building a new city hundreds of miles from the front lines! We're stuck here on this 'steel cliff'! Unless this damn void gate is sealed, we'll never be able to push any further inland!"
"The supplies we consume and the brothers who die every day are flowing like water! The ports at the rear are packed with people, while the front lines are bleeding and waiting to die! If this drags on, the backbone of the entire expedition will be broken!"

He was panting heavily, and looking around at the solemn faces of his companions illuminated by the firelight, he said resolutely:
"I'd bet this animal skin that I'm wearing it! The Night's Watch aren't fools! This treasure is definitely not some upgraded version of the ironwork used to build new cities!"
"It's coming for the front lines! It's specifically designed to deal with those damned, invulnerable Void bastards!"

His cloudy eyes gleamed with an almost obsessive conviction.

"Just wait and see, what's inside that big ship is definitely a 'big surprise' that can blow the Void Gate into the sky... or at least send those bastards packing back to their hometown!"

His voice was so loud that it seemed to be heard throughout the entire camp.

It's unclear whether he hoped it would be this way or was certain it would be.

The campfire crackled, and outside the shield, the howls of the Twisted Treeline and the Void Gate intertwined in the night, creating a cruel symphony.

The news brought by Felchuck was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, stirring not only ripples of speculation, but also igniting a faint yet burning flame of hope in this oppressive frontline camp.

A "big surprise" that could change the course of this hellish landscape is crossing the raging sea and hurtling towards the continent of Taril.

What will happen next?

No one knows for sure, but at least in the soldiers' weary eyes, besides the bloodshot veins, there seemed to be something else.

After all, the Night's Watch always manages to come up with something new and incomprehensible, something incredibly powerful. (End of Chapter)