Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Lana didn’t answer Yelena’s question right away.
On the four-way screen, the representatives from the other three nations were all waiting for her to speak.
Lana thought, ‘What should I say? How much can I reveal, and what must stay hidden?’
She decided, ‘I’ll bring up the Ghost Wall.’
But the thirty-seven-page manuscript? That stays under wraps for now, Lana resolved.
“We’ve made a discovery that hasn’t been fully confirmed yet,” Lana said, her fingers resting on the edge of the table. “Inside the Wraith mist of the Wraith zone, there might be a barrier formed from souls.”
On the four-way screen, the representatives from the other three nations each reacted differently.
“Souls? Ghosts or the undead?” The Ursaria Liaison’s voice came through the translator, sounding uncertain.
“Yes,” Lana clarified. “I’m not talking about the kind of souls you see in games. These are real, invisible spirits, the souls of the deceased, packed so densely together they create a physical barrier.”
“Internally, we’ve been calling it the ‘Ghost Wall,” Lana added.
Everyone on the screen fell silent.
Yelena was the first to speak. “How did you discover it?”
“Commander Yelena, you remember when our team went into the Wraith zone, right? Ivana from your side even joined them. Since they were in ghost form, they were able to see it for themselves,” Lana said.
Lana kept quiet about Lyra and the Heavenly Eye, just vaguely saying the Ghost Wall was spotted by those in spirit form.
“Once they entered the Wraith mist, they found the Ghost Wall at the outer edge of the Wraith zone. The souls inside looked vacant, all lined up facing outward. They didn’t attack anyone alive, but they did stop them from getting through,” Lana explained.
She zoomed in on the four-nation comparison chart, tapping her finger on the line representing Draconia.
“Our theory is that the souls inside the Ghost Wall are channeling their energy into the earth, slowing down how fast the Wraith zone spreads outward, or maybe even holding back the Wraiths from devouring more land,” Lana explained.
“That could be why Draconia’s decay curve is the flattest,” she added.
Yelena stared at the curve for a long moment. “So what about us?”
Her voice dropped, sounding worried. “Does Southern Reach have one of those walls?”
Lana shook her head. “We can’t confirm that yet. So far, we’ve only observed the Ghost Wall in Draconia’s Wraith zone.
“But based on the data…” Lana continued.
She traced her finger from Draconia’s curve to Southern Reach’s.
The apple decay rate at the edge of Southern Reach’s Wraith zone is much higher than in Draconia. If there really was a Ghost Wall there, we wouldn’t see these results,” Lana explained.
“Unless the Ghost Wall’s energy is nearly depleted,” she added.
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Yelena’s fingers tightened on the table, a flicker of fear crossing her face, but mostly she just looked confused “Why Why don’t we have one?”
Lama couldn’t answer that.
Ms. Reed suspected that the Ghost Wall was formed from the souls native to each nation. With Draconias massive population and long history, it had accumulated far more spirits than any other country.
It might even be because Draconia had countless people who sacrificed themselves for their homeland, so devoted that even after death, their souls would rise to defend their nation when needed, even if it meant being utterly destroyed in the
process.
But Lana couldn’t say any of that on the alliance channel.
That’s something we’re still looking into,” Lana replied, keeping her tone neutral.
The Belsoria Commander spoke up, his words coming through the translator. “Chief Advisor Sterling. Commander felen mentioned that the distance where apples rot instantly in Southern Reach is expanding outward by sixty meters every day
He paused. “Belsoria’s numbers today are pushing outward too.”
“How much?” Lana asked.
“Forty-two meters,” the Belsoria Commander replied.
The Ursaria Liaison chimed in next. “Ursaria, thirty-one meters.”
Lana noted the three numbers.
Southern Reach: sixty meters. Belsoria: forty-two meters. Ursaria: thirty-one meters.
The numbers lined up perfectly with the sharpness of the curves, the less powerful the Ghost Wall is, the faster their safe zones are devoured.
“What about Draconia?” Yelena asked.
Lana glanced at the tech specialist beside her, who quickly pulled up today’s test data and handed it over.
Lana gave it a quick look. “Draconia, zero point three meters.”
No one spoke on the four-way screen. 0.3 meters compared to 60 meters, that’s a two-hundred-fold difference.
Yelena tried to speak twice before finally managing, her voice shaky. “Chief Advisor Sterling, Southern Reach’s last safe zone is less than two hundred kilometers across.”
“At sixty meters a day…” She stopped, quickly calculating in her head, and her face went pale.
“Less than ten years,” she whispered. Even if Lina won every single round, their country would still end up devoured by the Wraiths sooner or later.
“No,” Lana cut in, her voice firm.
Lana interjected, correcting her.
“Commander Yelena, what if the decay isn’t linear? What if it’s accelerating?” Lana asked.
Yelena’s hand trembled. “Are you saying that sixty meters could keep getting bigger?”
Lana didn’t answer.
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Chapter 122
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