Erebus Fields had a different aesthetic from the other siege capitals. Its most prominent feature was the massive and numerous "geothermal farms". Unlike Gehrman's farms that were powered by Spelltech and Soul Shards, this was entirely mundane.
However, Gehrman didn't appreciate the term "mundane" in this context. This place had become a beacon of natural energy and human ingenuity. Situated near a volcano, it enjoyed the most fertile soil in all of Antarctica, maybe even the world.
Despite Antarctica being generally cool, this place managed to maintain a warm climate all year round.
Gehrman was looking down over the city from its main tower.
Though this siege capital was not as vertical in its architecture as the others he had visited, it still had a bulky, towering base at its center where the Government operated out of.
But besides this monolith – which was bulky and fortified – everything else was sleek and modern, a combination of nature and human engineering.
It was a nice place.
If Gehrman didn't retain the tastes of Yharnam architecture he imagined that the New Workshop would probably look a lot like this.
Gehrman sighed and walked over to the bathroom attached to his simple room. It was supposed to be for Captains. But even though Gehrman didn't have that rank, his status as an Ascended was enough to secure this place for an absurd 3 hours of sleep.
In truth, since Gehrman's political and actual power were so unique, he probably would have been afforded the best lodgings in the entire city, but since he would only be staying for a short while he just stole an abandoned room.
Ugh, I can't believe I slept for THREE hours.
That was absurd. He hadn't slept that long since becoming a Master. Part of the myth of The Red Judge was that he didn't sleep, and if word got back to any of his Engineers…well he shuddered to think what would happen.
Gehrman sighed and looked up at the mirror in the bathroom, adjusting his face to fit the Red Judge.
This was getting a bit tedious, but recently he had made something of a promise to himself.
He would probably become Transcendent in a year or two, and once he made that leap he could abandon this whole "mask".
The fact that humans underwent even more sublime beauty transformations every time they rose in Rank could explain the sudden change in the Red Judges appearance, and by the time he accomplished this his body would probably be 18, and thus (hopefully) wouldn't appear as youthful and innocent.
"You know, now that I think about it, this whole mask thing…is kinda childish. Something a teenager might do," Gehrman muttered to himself as he felt the odd texture of the stretched skin on his face.
He wanted respect from adults, so he presented himself as one.
But wouldn't the more adult thing simply being himself and letting his words and attitude speak for themselves?
He was over 100 years old for gods sake! Who was he trying to impress?
He shook his head.
Now was no longer the time to be thinking about such things.
…
They met in the largest Government meeting room that the HQ of Erebus Field had.
Gehrman was by his lonesome, while the other two Masters: Sunless and Davis were accompanied by their Cohort.
There were some other guests too.
The VIP whom Sunny was originally supposed to snag from the LO49 research facility, and his assistant, were present. Brought the rest of the way by Davis and his cohort, they had faced many perils, but through careful planning with Sunny, they managed to avoid the truly big threats.
Even so, half of Davis's Awakened were killed. His grim eyes reflected both his mourning, and his determination.
His presence overshadowed the guest the Government had worked so hard to obtain, but in all reality Gehrman found this new fellow more interesting.
At first Gehrman was confused seeing the ancient looking old man in the briefing, especially since he was mundane.
But once his identity was revealed, it became clear why he would be included.
Professor Obel - the main inventor of the Obel Scale.
It was the device that allowed the Government to locate and predict the formation of Gates by measuring and tracking certain frequencies.
The engineering behind it all was very complex, even for Gehrman.
The knowledge he gained in this world had been highly specialized in order to maximize his memory and make the perfect recall this body possessed optimized.
For this reason, even he would be but a meager student before Obel's intelligence in certain fields.
His assistant, a young woman who was also a prodigious scientist was situated next to him, looking much more nervous than her Professor.
The assistant also kept sneaking glances at Sunny.
They had spent a few weeks together in LO49 before they were replaced with Davis's crew, so it stood to reason they were not strangers. But still, they way she looked at him…
I'd move on, Gehrman thought to himself. I'm pretty sure he is taken.
Belatedly Gehrman noted that such a thought was probably in poor taste since "taken" had other connotations that fit Sunny's predicament with Nephis.
Gods, I'm thinking too much, I need to get back out there and lose my mind again.
As if answering his prayer, the screen they were all huddled around sprung to life, and Soul Reaper Jet appeared before them.
"Saint Tyris has promised us 5 minutes, so let's make this quick," Jet started. "As you have undoubtedly noticed, communications are down throughout Central Antarctica. This is due to the Corrupted Titan designated Winter Beast. Fortunately, Saint Tyris is a direct counter to this particular abomination's abilities, but she can only contain it, and sometimes offer brief moments where she can expend extra power to suppress Winter Beasts storm."
Gehrman's eyes narrowed.
That was a lot of new information. Of course they had already heard that the Winter Beast was responsible for taking down coms, but its Rank had been unknown. A Corrupted Titan…was a big issue.
The mention of its Rank sent shivers down the collective spines of each person in the room.
Gehrman considered what power such a thing would possess.
Goliath had been an entire Rank weaker, but it still possessed the ability to kill Gehrman if he was not careful.
This thing would be much, much worse.
The only silver lining was that Gehrman didn't have to beat around the bush when killing it.
After checking with Sunny, he found out that there was only one creature in Cassie's letter that had not already fallen to him: the Terror with powerful mind hexes.
And since Winter Beast was just confirmed to be a Titan, there was no need for Gehrman to restrain himself when fighting it.
The only thing he had to look out for was that Terror, which was actually what Jet mentioned next.
"There are three other priority targets that we have identified as the biggest threat to the safety of Erebus Fields and Falcon Scott," Jet continued. "The first is the Devouring Cloud. We are fairly certain it is the remnants of a dead Terror's army."
On screen, what looked like a mass of dark grey specks hovered over a colossal mountain chain.
With a start Gehrman realized that these specks were actually the Devouring Cloud. Tens of thousands, if not Hundreds of thousands abominations made up an enormous unit. It may have been quantity over quality, but at a certain point quantity was simply going to overwhelm quality. This cloud of Nightmare Creatures appeared to have reached that point.
"The Heart of Darkness, it has actually been a recognized threat since before the Chain of Nightmares," Jet's gaze shifted to Sunny. "Captain Sunless reported an encounter where it is believed he interrupted its evolution to a Titan. Its nature are millions of tiny, insect-like creatures made up of elemental True Darkness."
What's with all the armies of little monsters? Granted this one appears to still have something controlling it. No doubt the Heart is more dangerous than the Cloud.
"And finally there is the Nightmare Creature that wiped out half of LO49. Theorized to be a Corrupted Terror, the majority of civilians and Awakened were silently wiped out before Davis and Sunless managed to coordinate a large-scale rescue operation," Jet turned to Sunny, expecting him to elaborate.
"It specializes in Mind Hexes, I didn't even realize it at the time, but we were all under its spell. People would simply walk off a cliff and into the water. They walked right in front of our faces, but we didn't see them because of the hex."
Sunny's countenance was exceedingly grim.
Gehrman didn't blame him. Such a thing was utterly terrifying. He wondered how he would fare against it. Gehrman did have a good resistance to Mind Attacks due to the [Greedy Bloodstone Tailsiman], but this kind of subtle manipulation demonstrated a refinement of technique that greatly disturbed Gehrman, and made him doubt his ability to counteract it.
Fortunately, Sunny added one last thing that eased the room.
"It's important to note though, that it never came out of the water. I'm not sure if it possesses the ability to do so, but it undoubtedly is not inclined to."
Erebus Fields was a landlocked siege capital. It would be impossible for the Terror of LO49 to reach them if it indeed lacked the ability to come on land.
"It will likely head toward Falcon Scott," Jet confirmed.
The greatest siege capital of the Antarctic Central was also home to its greatest port. A decent chunk of the city was frighteningly close to the water.
But at the same time, that was also where Bloodwave and the other Nightwalkers would no doubt be stationed. If that Terror wanted to ruin Falcon Scott, it would have to go through them first.
"However," Jet interjected with a dire voice. "The Devouring Cloud and The Heart of Darkness are both closer to Erebus Fields than to us…our Seers have also divined attacks from both enemies within a few days. Combined with the increasing quantity of Gates, you will be facing several large-scale assaults a day."
She adjusted her suit as if uncomfortable with what came out of her mouth next.
"We are sending Nightwalkers to the nearest coast. The evacuation of the civilians is our top priority. You will need to hold Erebus Fields for 4 weeks, and then rendezvous with us at Falcon Scott before doing the same once again."
The dire news pressed down on each of them. It was clear by the tone of her voice that Erebus Fields fall had not been eliminated, but postponed.
The horrors of Central Antarctica were too much, and humanity could buy time.
Gehrman gnashed his teeth.
But in the final message of the call, Jet's face broke into a smile.
"Don't worry though, you'll have reinforcements in a week. Five Awakened just managed to conquer their 2nd Nightmare in record time. So you'll have 5 new Master's to back you up."
Her eyes turned to Gehrman confirming his initial thought.
Well, his whole schtick is being fast, I suppose I shouldn't have expected less from him.
Caster and the Ex-Mercianries had completed their trial.
The New Workshop now had Five new Ascended at its disposal.