Mage? Magic Engineer!

Various types of anomalies were occurring, but for the most part, they weren’t severe.

The monster Rorschach had encountered could be considered a minor elite. If attacked with conventional Shaping Power Magic, one could imagine it repeatedly reassembling and regenerating, using the viscous peat bog to its advantage. Unfortunately for it, Rorschach had simply packed it up and taken it away.

The other incidents could be roughly categorized into the following: the dead rising, mutated flora and fauna, and abnormal geological activity.

The three most severe incidents were as follows. First, a massive resurrection of the undead occurred at the border between the Empire and the Republic. Their numbers were in the tens of thousands, and the first to discover them were nomadic Gray Elves scavenging the bodies.

With the current firepower of the two nations and the help of their Casters, dealing with these zombies wasn’t difficult. The real headache was the risk of these mobile, rotting remains causing a large-scale plague.

The fear wasn’t them moving in hordes, but that they would scatter like seeds in the wind, carrying disease into settlements.

The second incident of note was on the continent’s southernmost peninsula. Abnormal geological activity had brought a dormant volcano roaring back to life, and it was now erupting ceaselessly. A large city in the Sardinia Kingdom sat at the foot of the mountain. A rescue effort was theoretically being prepared, but the people had been buried for quite some time. It was likely the site would become a world heritage relic.

The last, which could potentially still be salvaged, was Ovord.

It was now sealed off by a white mist. The fog blended seamlessly with the pure white sky, making it look as if the heavens had bitten a chunk out of the earth. Anyone who entered from the outside lost all contact. Occasionally, flesh-proliferating monsters with tenacious Vitality would emerge from the white mist.

It had originally been a battlefield between the two nations. Now, along the Oder River on either side of it, the National Guard and the Empire Army remained in a standoff.

"Can we use an Airship to observe the situation inside from a high altitude?"

The Tower of Source Water was located on the banks of the Oder River, so its chief had the most information. "The engines will fail. Dwarf engineers say the air composition near the fog is constantly changing, exceeding the operational parameters of the Power Furnaces. Furthermore, no other vehicles or Casters who have entered have returned or sent back any information."

The only ones who could provide feedback on the local situation in Ovord were the soldiers who had witnessed the city burn to ash. After piecing together the scattered reports, the Elder Council was reasonably certain it had been a man-made Cult ritual, as the timing of the incident was highly unusual.

What unsettled the Elders most was that it seemed to be the first place where the "pale sky" had appeared. Now, this unnatural daylight shrouded the entire continent.

"Should we go to the site?"

"We don’t know if other problems will arise. It’s inconvenient for me to leave my tower." This was the attitude of most Elders. In the end, all eyes fell upon Master Rorschach.

’Why are they all looking at me? Am I the designated errand boy just because I’m the junior member?’

"Master Feuerbach is in the Bayern Region, along with other High Tier Casters. Master Rorschach, you are the perfect person to investigate the situation," someone offered with unassailable logic.

The last to come online was Kou Bo. His usual liveliness was gone, and only now did he truly look his age.

"Apologies. Many Natural Spells have malfunctioned. Ah, what a disaster..."

The old Master’s tone was still light, but his words were grave. "Everyone, you must recently inspect all Magic Items and Potions with healing effects. They might have unexpected, distorted results."

Kano mulled over the cause of the phenomena. "Can we conclude that this is due to the Earth Mother Goddess’s power becoming active?"

"Yes. This is likely the first large-scale activation since the Age of Silence. It’s still unclear if the Divine Spirit’s will has reawakened, nor do we know if the so-called doomsday described in the religious texts will truly come to pass." Feuerbach despised religious eschatology, but he had to admit that a major crisis was, at the very least, approaching.

The more dogmatic the doctrines sounded, the more disdainful the Mages became, dismissing them as nonsense meant to frighten ignorant believers into submission. But now, all signs seemed to align with the doomsday preached by the Underground Sect.

One Elder felt it was too soon to jump to conclusions. "What’s the deal with the premature daylight? Wasn’t this supposed to be about the Earth Mother Goddess?"

The chief of the Tower of Light proposed a theory others hadn’t considered. "Could it be that another Divine Spirit is contending with the Earth Mother Goddess? A symbol of the sky, the Light that envelops the world... a Divine Spirit with similar authority, who is hostile to the Mother Goddess and is still active. It must be that one."

"Its symbol should be the sun, not this strange sky... Never mind. You’re right. All we can do is handle the emergencies on the ground.

"And investigate the situation in Ovord as soon as possible."

’Alright, alright, I’ll go! Can you all stop staring at me?’ Rorschach had been looking forward to admiring his newly acquired "figurine" after the meeting, but now he had to make another trip. "I will depart as soon as possible."

He would first head to the Boundary Land. Rorschach planned to go this time in his Axiom Creation body.

As the core of this disaster and the focal point of the battlefield, the area around Ovord was bustling with activity.

The National Guard’s Eastern Army Group was still lingering nearby. A dispute over their orders had arisen during their retreat. With Paul absent, whether to execute his "withdraw" command had become a deeply contentious issue.

Staying away from the ghost town of Ovord was undisputed, but ending the war and withdrawing from the Empire was absolutely unacceptable. Many generals were unwilling to even execute an order to shorten the front lines.

It wasn’t necessarily about greed for military glory. The problem was that whoever ordered the retreat would be held responsible and have to face the scorn of a fanatical populace. The politicians couldn’t be trusted, either. The Military Commission might support a withdrawal today, but tomorrow, its members could be replaced by a new group eager to purge the "national traitors who spoke of retreat and defeat."

As the immediate crisis subsided, the Republic’s state of emergency began to devolve into political convulsions. The political scene in Valuva was now a super-chaotic system with no negative feedback loop:

Any event on the front lines could trigger violent political shockwaves. If anyone dared to make a decision, their political enemies would immediately rally public opinion to attack them, with the ultimate goal of sending them to the guillotine. This paralysis at the top then circled back to affect the front, influencing battle orders, appointments, and the generals’ future careers.

Paul had been able to seize command so quickly not just because he was the "Ever-Victorious General," but also because he was an unattached young man and a Mage, who didn’t have to give a damn about any of that political maneuvering.

With Paul gone, all that remained on the front lines were utterly exhausted soldiers and generals who were too afraid to make a decision, "patiently awaiting good news" in their trenches.

On the Empire Army’s side, other legions aside from Richard’s division had also maneuvered to the Oder River defensive line.

The main forces of both sides were once again facing off. For a moment, it felt like a decisive battle was imminent, its future as shrouded in fog as Ovord itself.

Inside the city, the Mage Corps was completely unaware that they had been cut off from the outside world. Not that it mattered, as they had their own hands full.

The Blood Knights pursued them relentlessly, their attacks impossible to guard against. There were also numerous fleshy creatures that had completely lost their human forms, swarming toward them from all directions.

"We have to get to the Guild headquarters! At least there are defensive measures there. We can let everyone rest." Richard’s Spirit was at its breaking point, and Paul and the others were in a similar state.