The team soon reached the first island.
Or, as the spirits would say, the first patch of mud.
"Azure Flower Village." Alka glanced at the map in his hand. Not far ahead of them lay the village.
However, when they actually saw the village in the distance, it was clearly very different from what they had imagined.
A tall, green vine wall completely enveloped the island.
On the vine wall, emerald green spikes could be clearly seen, densely ramified outward.
A massive flower cannon could be seen on the vine wall, clearly indicating that this place had long since transformed from a village into a fortress.
The muzzle of the flower fairy cannon swung towards their team and remained so for less than a few seconds. Then, the muzzle automatically tilted upward, indicating no attack intent.
Soon, a figure emerged from the fortress.
As soon as Alka and the others saw this person, memories immediately flooded back.
They recognized her; she was an old woman dressed in floral attire, holding a floral scepter.
She was the gardener they had met at the Emerald Fortress when they first arrived in the Land of the Spirits.
The fact that they were here meant that the Emerald Fortress and the surrounding area had long since fallen.
The fact that this gardener was still on the front lines meant she must possess some ability to counter those undead monsters.
The boats that had arrived naturally docked at the edge of the island.
Everyone boarded the island.
"Thank you very much for coming."
After exchanging pleasantries with the two knights, the gardener led the reinforcements into the fortress.
As they entered, they discovered that the village houses, once woven with flowers and vines, had become simple stone structures entwined with vines. They had become much more sturdy.
Even the surrounding vine walls were much thicker than the Emerald Fortress, and they were covered in scars of battle.
Upon entering, they saw a massive medical tent, where many soldiers were still lying.
After the two church knights selected several captains, they instructed the remaining personnel to follow the nearby flower priests to find a place to camp and rest.
Then Alka and the others followed the gardener into a meeting room.
"Thank you again for coming."
"Enough of the pleasantries, Gardener Furna. Now we need to know what the situation is like here," said Alati, who was sitting nearby.
Gardener Furna nodded and looked at the group.
In the center of the large round table, the vines began to twist, weaving into a vivid map.
It was clear that this was a map of the entire Land of All Spirits.
"From here to here, it's completely lost." Everyone looked at the area she'd divided. It was slightly larger than the information Arkadin had received last night.
But the difference was barely noticeable.
Then, several small flowers sprouted on the map, lining up alongside the fallen areas.
Forming a long strip.
"This strip represents the existing, reconstructed defense system, the front line. We rely on these six fortresses to resist attack."
At this point, the gardener sighed. "But the problem isn't that. It's in the back. Portals to Hell appear from time to time, and random rips in space appear all around."
As he spoke, red flowers would occasionally appear in the back area, signaling the opening of a portal.
"My god has fallen into a deep slumber, undergoing the final stages of his resurgence. This has caused the entire Land of the Spirits to lose its stability.
Those damned cultists took advantage of this opportunity to launch a ritual here. They massacred the entire population of eight villages, including some captives captured from the sea."
In just a few words, she essentially outlined the dire situation facing the Land of the Spirits.
He then added, "If it were just an invasion from the borderlands of life and death, we could still handle it. Even with the disruptions from those cultists, we could still hold out.
However, those demons, seemingly targeting the invasion, mostly wield fire-based spells. They're very effective against us.
Additionally, they're wreaking havoc in countless areas with the portals that appear everywhere. This has caused numerous problems in our rear and logistics, leading to our continuous retreat and the loss of numerous areas."
After speaking, he sighed and began to speak again, "The good news is, these demons don't seem to be able to control where the portals appear. They should be spread throughout the Land of the Spirits.
This has resulted in some portals appearing in the occupied areas, helping us to hold back the undead."
After this, the entire conference room fell silent, everyone frowning as they considered the current situation.
Simply put, the most difficult issue now is the ritual used to summon the demons.
That is, the portals that randomly appear in the rear.
Because of the stability of the rear and the ripple effect leading to the front, danger could arise at any moment in such a situation.
If such a situation were to occur, the battle ahead would inevitably be disrupted as well.
A vicious cycle would ensue, until the entire Land of All Spirits fell.
Or perhaps the Flower Fairy would abandon the final step of her resurgence, regain control, and begin cleaning up the mess.
But the fact that she would undertake the final step of her resurgence under such circumstances suggests that the situation had become unmanageable.
With all the troops concentrated at the front, preparing for a life-or-death assault, there clearly wasn't much left to devote to the rear.
Not to mention the vast territory behind, how could they possibly clear out so many demons? Not to mention the Hell portal was still open.
Perhaps the cultists were preparing for an even greater outburst; that was undeniable.
Those cultists were capable of anything.
They were completely unconcerned about injuring the enemy and losing a thousand of their own.
Alka and the others were also considering this, but they were more focused on analyzing the current situation. As for how to resolve it, it didn't really matter to them.
After all, even if their strength was there, what good would it do? At most, they could be a special guerrilla force.
They wouldn't be of much use to the entire battlefield.
Not to mention, their strength wasn't particularly strong in the overall war.
Allowing them to come in and hear this information was primarily a matter of courtesy.
After all, Alka possessed the blessing of the Flower Fairy and was favored by the Virgin Mary.
Alka had come back because of the Nafas family treasure and the Holy Grail-level artifact at the border of life and death.
Both were extremely important items, and they had left a small team on the island.
This was the most important thing; otherwise, Alka might have refused to come here.
Now that Narvi has been brought here, the cultist from the Nafas family isn't so important anymore.
Just as Alka was lost in thought, Arati said, "Rike, bring your church members to help defend the fortress."
Then he turned to the gardener and said, "Gardener Furna, with the help of the Church of God's Machine, we should be able to defend better. I hope you can assign more people, preferably those with sufficient knowledge of this area, to form teams and join us as demon-clearing teams.
Together, we'll clear out the demons wreaking havoc in the rear and destroy the portal that transported them here.
You should understand that this is the most important thing.
Besides, more support teams will arrive soon, and then our pressure will be much less."
After Arati laid out his ideas and solutions, the key members discussed it for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Alka and the others sat nearby, silent, not wanting to interrupt, silently listening to the information crucial to their next move.
The three parties also tacitly agreed not to drag Alka and the others into the conflict.
As they were discussing, a booming flute sounded outside.
The gardener, upon hearing the sound, immediately stood up: "The enemy is attacking!"
At this, everyone quickly left the meeting room and headed outside.
At this moment, the entire fortress was in full swing. Numerous soldiers emerged from the various buildings and began to run towards the city walls.
Alati looked at the priest next to him and asked, "Have our ships been recovered?"
"Don't worry, sir. The ships we were aboard have been towed in."
The mechanics and scholars of the Church of the Holy Machine began manipulating the massive mechanical devices, setting them up on the city walls.
Especially the three enormous long-range attack devices with thick barrels. Mounted side by side on the vine-covered wall, they exuded a powerful aura, drawing the attention of nearly every soldier.
Even Alka and the others couldn't help but stare.
"Is it very powerful?" Jason asked Simon beside him.
Simon nodded. "I heard it's powerful, but you know, I've never seen it fire."
Alka kept an eye on the enemies ahead.
There were also a large number of undead monsters, skeletons wrapped in moss and vines that came like a tide.
In addition, there were all kinds of strange undead bodies blended with plants.
These monsters were so dense that they almost covered the entire field of vision, rushing towards the fortress.
With the click of mechanical twisting,
Three thick barrels were aimed downward.
"Split shells ready!"
With the sound, the twisting sound rang out again.
"Fire!"
With a command,
The trivalent machinery's powerful recoil made the entire vine wall seem to collapse backwards.
A dense mass of fist-sized objects scattered through the air, raining down like raindrops.
Explosions, resembling thunder, echoed across the battlefield.
A massive splash of water erupted, the intense heat from the explosions causing a massive amount of steam to instantly fill the battlefield.
The skeletons and plant-based undead shattered into fragments and flew everywhere.
Swarms of undead monsters fell.
In an instant, half the undead within their field of vision were wiped out.
"Is that so outrageous?" Jason asked, eyes widening in surprise.
Not only Jason, but even Simon himself was a bit stunned; he hadn't anticipated the immense power of these three cannons.
Putting aside their ability to strike powerful enemies, their impact on these cannon fodder was simply brutal.
It was like a pile of coal dust on the ground, half swept away in an instant with a broom.
The cleaning effect was immediate.
Alka observed carefully.
After firing, the three cannons began to enter a cooling state. The mechanics nearby seemed to be working on cooling and replacing certain components.
Obviously, continuous firing was impossible.
But the first wave of attacks from these three cannons was enough. Now, all the soldiers were in high spirits.
The flower cannons dotting the upper part, as well as the newly raised mechanical devices, began to pour ammunition downwards.
One after another, giant green vine tentacles followed suit and began to attack.
Several emerald green projectiles, wrapped in vine moss, arced from the enemy camp and hurled themselves into the city.
Only then did everyone notice that, from behind the enemy formation in the distance, something like a bone spur had emerged from the vines in the water.
These three-jointed bone spurs had unexpectedly transformed into something resembling a catapult.
The sharp point at the top, with each bend, would insert a round from the ammunition below.
Then, the joint tilted back and swung toward them, hurling the emerald-green rounds stabbed from the top.
It was very strange.
A crystal dragon streaked across the sky.
Its belching rainbow energy froze all the incoming green trebuchets, sending them crashing down into the enemy's own camp.
"What are you standing there for?" Alati asked, looking at the hammer-wielding burly man not far away.
"No need to remind me, I'm already doing it!"
Rike was impatient, and even then, the two of them were about to argue.
With that, the massive mechanical arm on Rickey's left arm fused together from the mechanical device that appeared out of thin air.
A thick, solid staff appeared before everyone. It didn't resemble a cannon barrel, but was covered in dense incantations.
There were coils of wire surrounding it.
Energy was concentrated there.
It looked a bit like an electromagnetic coil, but the concentrated energy was pure magic.
Aiming at the distant trebuchet.
With a sound that pierced the air.
A thin beam of energy shot out at the speed of light, emitting a powerful wave of energy.
Instantly, it struck the trebuchet bone spur in the rear, and the energy explosion reduced the entire trebuchet to ash.
Shot after shot, he single-handedly eliminated all the trebuchets in the rear that could threaten the city walls.
It can only be said that these undead attacking this time were extremely unlucky.
They just happened to be there when reinforcements arrived.
And with both responsible personnel still present.
Alka and his men stood on the city walls the entire time, firing ranged attacks, leaving them with few opportunities to attack.
With support, this desperate attacking force was completely wiped out before they even reached the city walls.
Many priests, adorned with flowery robes, cast some kind of spell.
The vines beneath the swamp began to curl, dragging the skeletal remains beneath them into the water. In less than 20 minutes, the entire battlefield was clear of debris.
Seeing this, Alka nodded in sudden realization. He wondered why there were no wreckage or signs of battle in front of such a fortress. It turned out they had been devoured by the vines below.
This cleanup method was completely natural, pollution-free, quick, and labor-saving. It was truly simple.
This improvised defensive battle was quickly over.
According to their previously planned strategy, they began to form teams and deploy their forces. There were six fortresses in this long row, so naturally they needed to be distributed.
So the two knights of the church began to make a simple distribution of the personnel they had brought with them.
"Are we staying here too?" Jason turned to Alka and asked, facing the current situation.
Alka shook his head. "No, we'll leave soon. We'll head to the Land of Fragrance first, and we'll figure out the rest later."
He had to rush over first and pick up the puppet girls who were left behind. Then he could figure out how to proceed.
The chaos in the Land of Spirits completely disrupted their previously planned rhythm.
Compared to them, the least visible was Narvi, who had temporarily joined them.
He had been observing everyone's movements silently the entire way.
Seeing Alka's questioning look, he nodded, agreeing with Alka's idea without offering any objections.
Afterwards, Alka found Arati and the others and said goodbye.
They had already decided to stay on the front lines and join the battle.
Arati and the others didn't try to persuade them to stay, even asking if they needed someone to escort them.
Arka smiled and flatly declined their offer.
Soon, everyone boarded the Flying Swallow and left the fortress. They began to speed towards the Land of Fragrance, almost at full speed.
...
"Be careful! There's a smell of sulfur," Pororo, sitting on the rear propeller, suddenly warned everyone on board.
It had been two days since they left the fortress.
They had basically entered the heart of the Land of All Spirits, leaving the current front lines behind. They would reach the Land of Fragrance in a few days.
Hearing this, everyone grew slightly more alert.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few Flower People, many of whom had their homes destroyed and were fleeing to the Land of Fragrance.
Many were militiamen from certain villages.
But the most common creatures they encountered were demons.
These demons roamed the area in groups of three or five.
They had encountered them several times during the voyage, gradually gaining experience.
Pororo could almost detect the presence of demons from a great distance thanks to his keen sense of smell.
In a place like this, the smell of sulfur was all too recognizable, and the smell of those demons was quite strong.
At Pororo's reminder, Simon, floating in the air, began to observe his surroundings more carefully.
As they advanced, they soon discovered something.
"A demon squad, seven demons. Three of them are imps, and one is new and looks formidable."
"They've spotted us too, be careful!"
With that, Simon took control of the patrol plane and opened fire directly in the enemy's direction.
Flames spurted out, and the bullets were coated with a faint holy light.
These demons were, after all, products of evil, and the holy light still had a certain degree of suppression on them, though not as pronounced as it did against the undead.
The spitting bullets quickly wiped out the three imps; they were merely the weakest of the bunch.
No one knew if this demon, about a meter tall and screaming like an imp, was actually called that.
But it didn't matter; they were all dead anyway.
Then they finally saw the creature Simon had described as something they had never seen before.
A gigantic demon, nearly three meters tall. It had bat-like wings behind it.
Horns like a bull protruded from its head, though one was broken off.