Chapter 381 - 380: Stirring Restlessness
Dark Mountain Range, Mid-level Zone of "Defied Fortress", in front of the internal defense station doors.
The ancient fortress in this area was newly renovated, with the originally mottled and peeling walls repainted. The white wall paint and light gray floors made the hall look brand new. On the snow-white walls, every ten meters or so, a bright magic crystal lamp was embedded, illuminating the entire space as bright as day. Behind each lamp on the wall, there was a glowing band made up of small hexagonal contours, emitting a faint blue light, extending along the wall, and elegantly and simply forming geometric patterns near the ceiling, eventually connecting with it.
On the newly laid ceiling, the neat honeycomb-shaped hexagonal structure extended to the end of the hall, reaching into the distant darkness of the corridor...
These honeycomb structures were the new energy source used to replace the original energy core of the Defied Fortress after it failed â the Second-Generation Magic Net Device.
These Magic Nets have not been fully enclosed yet. According to the leader, the dense hexagons appear to trigger "trypophobia" in people, and must be covered with a ceiling, but in Soldrinâs view, it was precisely these unenclosed, faintly blue-glowing Magic Nets that gave the entire room an extraordinary and captivating beauty. This scene, composed of orderly geometric lines and advanced ancient magical devices, indeed resembled the treasures of the elven civilization, the Sacred Stars Temple hailed as the "incredible ancient technological miracle"...
Who would have thought, this ancient Gondor facility built during the Meteoric Era would be "revived" in such a way a thousand years later? Just outside this hall, adjacent large indoor spaces housed the noisy workshops and storage facilities for backup supplies. After Kamel repaired the access isolation system in this area, and the leader sent enough guardian Soldiers, the security of the mid-level zone of the fortress was ensured. Now, the number of people working and living in this area has reached over a thousand. Although far from matching the full glory of Defied Fortress in its heyday, it still made Kamel quite emotional for a while.
Feeling slightly emotional, Soldrin withdrew his gaze from observing the surroundings and looked at the dozen or so selected elite Soldiers â these Soldiers were dressed in the unique light armor of the Steel Cavalry, wearing helmets made with precise machine stamping, with full coverage. The detector lens at the front of the helmet emitted a faint red light, and they stood there silently awaiting orders. Although they were just a group of "mortals" without any magical talent, an indescribable aura emanated from them.
âSo far, this aura could only be said to be a bluff, but as long as they experienced a few real battles, this aura would become tangible.
A subordinate serving as the deputy captain glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall not far away, and a slightly muffled voice came from under the helmet, "Sir, itâs time to depart."
"Wait five more minutes," Soldrin waved his hand, "The people sent by the leader should be arriving soon."
As he spoke, this High-Ranked Ranger showed a rather peculiar expression â that Miss Shadow Master, although usually appearing unreliable, had always been punctual. So much so that the leader had taken to using her as a mealtime alarm clock, why would she be late?
Just as he was wondering, suddenly Amberâs loud voice could be heard from the other end of the hall entrance, "Hey, Iâm here, Iâm here! You guys didnât wait too long, did you? I ran into a little unexpected situation!"
Soldrin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned his head, "Thatâs fine, the time just passed by a few... hmm?"
The High-Ranked Rangerâs long, golden eyebrows slightly arched in surprise as he watched Amber hopping and skipping toward him... the figure behind her moving in small leaps and bounds.
He couldnât resist inquiring with curiosity when Amber reached him, "And this... Miss Sea Demon is?"
Amber instantly rolled her eyes, "A last-minute addition to the teamâjust the day before yesterday, the old man... Gawain had only told me to come help you, and today, when it was time to leave, he suddenly added this sea caterpillar creature, saying I had to bring her along."
While speaking, the half-elf Miss looked slightly displeased at the sea demon beside her, "I originally was traveling fast alone, but bringing her along itâs been a slow journey here, you have no idea how slow this guy moves..."
Tiel immediately chimed in, "I had a faster way to get here â you just didnât like it so what can I do?"
"Nonsense! Rolling yourself up into a ball and having me kick you from behind â youâre relaxed but it exhausts me?! And weâre traversing mountain paths! Arenât you afraid I might kick you off a cliff?"
Soldrinâs gaze at Tiel immediately changed: rolling herself into a ball to be kicked along... this sea demon truly matched the rumors, laziness to the extent of near death...
Tiel seemed unfazed by Soldrinâs look and swung her long tail back and forth, curiously observing these strangely dressed Soldiers, then happily waved at everyone, "I heard! Youâve discovered a new area south of the fortress? So I volunteered to join â thinking I might come across some snacks or something..."
Soldrin looked baffled, "Snacks?"
"Ahaha, donât mind her, creatures steeped in the sea, more or less waterlogged," Amber chuckled, deftly diverting Soldrinâs attention, "Itâs getting late, letâs set off."
Tiel immediately glared at Amber, "Donât think I donât understand! âWaterloggedâ is a word you learned from that leader â are you insulting me?"
Amber took all the blame with a thick skin, completely ignoring Tielâs doubts. However, Soldrin, looking worried, leaned in and whispered, "Are you sure thereâs no problem? I heard this sea demon Miss is notoriously lazy. What if she falls asleep halfwayâ weâre not going on a picnic, but exploring dangerous ancient ruins..."
Unexpectedly, Tielâs hearing was better than Soldrin imagined. Before Amber could speak, the sea demon Miss waved her hand (and tail) carelessly, "Donât worry, Iâm somewhat a Tide Master and wonât drag you little ones back. Besides... if I really get too lazy to walk, Iâll just curl up in a ball and sleep. You can have someone push me from behind..."
Soldrin: "..."
Heâs genuinely starting to feel that this exploration trip is looking perilous...
In the feudal lordâs mansion, Aunt Heidi came to Gawainâs study with a stack of documents. Upon seeing her, Gawain nodded slightly, "Amber and Tiel should be setting off with Soldrinâs exploration team by now."
"Considering the time... probably," Aunt Heidi pondered for a moment before saying. Then she slightly frowned, with a hint of doubt in her voice, "Ancestor, is it really alright to send those two to help?"
Gawain looked at this occasionally overly serious granddaughter with a half-smile, "You think itâs inappropriate?"
"You know Amberâs character. If no one oversees her, sheâs unsuitable wherever she goes," Aunt Heidi sighed helplessly, "And as for the sea demon Miss Tiel... I canât even analyze her from a personality standpoint. The last time I saw her awake was three days ago in the White Riverâ she went for a swim and got caught by the fishermen in the East District, who ended up tearing their net."
"...She even has such glorious achievements?" Gawain was momentarily stunned before quickly shaking his head, "Ahem, these are all trivial matters; youâve only noticed their unreliable aspects, but donât forget their peerless abilities."
Gawain grew serious, looking into Aunt Heidiâs eyes, "Amber may not be reliable, but sheâs an undisputed master of shadows. At least in the field of shadow manipulation, sheâs as powerful as an elemental creature in its elemental world. The âShadow Testing Groundsâ that Soldrin discovered might be quite dangerous for ordinary people, hence needing Amberâs power. As for Tiel, sheâs an expert in countering divine power, which not everyone knows, but you doâ those sea demons each grew up eating gods raw and have terrifying resistance to divine power. The defied Fortress is a place for studying divine power, and the Shadow Testing Grounds might be related to the Goddess of Shadows. Tiel is an extra layer of insurance; if thereâs truly a divine relic there, only Tiel can safely handle it."
"...Indeed, as you say," Aunt Heidi thought for a moment and could only concede that Gawain made sense, "I hope they donât stir up any trouble."
"More importantly, do you have any significant matters to report?" Gawain observed Aunt Heidiâs expression, noticing a hint of seriousness on her face when she entered the study earlier, "Is there an issue with any of the factories?"
"The situation is likely more serious than that, Ancestor," Aunt Heidi said with a grave expression, "I just received a report from the Intelligence Agencyâ our spies in Count Hosmanâs Territory and Viscount Carolâs Territory discovered unusual movements among the southern aristocrats lately. The various local nobles are holding frequent gatherings, led by Count Hosman, and there are rumors circulating among the knights..."
"What rumors?"
"...Duke Gawain Cecil is portrayed as greedy and insane, seizing the rights and territories of all knights to amass wealth and recklessly disrupting Anzuâs traditional order. Moreover, this disruption is spreading outward; the Kant territory is a sacrifice, and many âillustrious and honorable surnames are tarnished on Cecilâs landââ these are the exact words circulating among the knights and lesser nobles in those territories, and the consistency in their narrative clearly indicates deliberate dissemination."
Gawain listened quietly, with a slightly playful smile curling at the corners of his mouth, "Interesting... someone finally accused me of disrupting Anzuâs traditionâ I thought theyâd at least wait until Francis II returned."
"Arenât you angry?" Aunt Heidi looked at Gawain in surprise, "After all, you are the creator of Anzuâs traditions, and those people seem to have forgotten who their ancestor is!"
"Oh, they havenât forgotten, nor are they foolish. They just see greater benefits," Gawain shook his head, "Is there anything more beyond this?"
"A group of Holy Light missionaries recently entered the southern borders from the northern Carol territory, frequently interacting with the senior members of the southern Holy Light church. These missionaries are heavily promoting the matter of Cecilâs acceptance of followers of an Otherworldly God among the knight classâ of course, they havenât used the neutral term âfollowers of an Otherworldly Godâ, but instead claim weâre accepting heretic and Evil God followers."
Gawain lifted his eyes and asked the only question that mattered to him, "Did the local noble leaders acquiesce to the actions of these missionaries?"
"Iâm afraid itâs more than just acquiescence," Aunt Heidi shook her head, "Without the covert assistance of the local noble leaders, it would be difficult for the missionaries to rally all the knights, who are themselves nobles, for such âpropagandaâ. The knight class isnât something you can easily muster just by ringing a bell at a church gate."
Gawain nodded slightly, "It seems the southern nobles have also roped in the Holy Light churchâ theyâre willing to do anything for the chance of gain. But this is also good..."
Aunt Heidi looked at Gawain in surprise, "Itâs good? How is this good?"
Gawain smiled faintly, "We only need to fight them once, rather than each separately."
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