Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 383 - 382: In the Depths of Shadow Manipulation

Defied Fortress, Southern Region.

The Magic crystal lamp previously set at the end of the corridor was still functioning well, its constant bright glow dispelling the darkness in the corridor, allowing Soldrin to slightly relax.

The Magic crystal lamp set in front of the Shadow Testing Grounds was not just for illumination but also served as a "detection device" — this Magic crystal lamp relied on a special set of Magic Web Units for power, with magic symbols to detect unusual surges in Magic Power. If the concentration of magic in the surrounding area changed suddenly, the Magic Web Units would immediately burn out, and the lamp would go out as a result. The subsequent exploration team would thus receive a pre-warning, and since the lamp was still brightly lit, it at least indicated that no unusual surges in magic had occurred in this area since Soldrin and the others left two days ago.

While exploring ancient mysterious ruins, the greatest fear is encountering ancient magical mechanisms that are still operational or mana creatures wandering among the ruins. Soldrin’s caution and care were lessons learned from the numerous adventurers who summarized them with their lives.

"Everything is normal, no unusual magic," a Steel Dragoon Warrior confirmed the safety of the area beyond the lamp using detection goggles, reporting back to Soldrin.

Soldrin nodded: "Set up an emergency defense point, prepare to open the gate."

Some warriors immediately pushed a few large boxes they carried along to the vicinity of the separation gate — these large boxes were inscribed with Weight-Reduction Runes and contained Magic Capacitors designed to power the runes, serving as special "transfer boxes" used by the Cecil Mechanical Manufacturing Facility for transporting heavy materials — upon opening the boxes, assemblable components and some peculiar equipment were revealed to everyone.

Soldrin bent down before the box, gently brushing his fingers over one of the large pieces of equipment.

It was a strange device with handles; its main body consisted of two opposing "U"-shaped metal tracks. The rear of the metal track was a sealed steel "box," where the metal track and "box" connected, one could see slightly glowing magic symbols, while the handle of the device was located mid-track, with auxiliary grips and shoulder rests at the front and rear.

Soldrin knew that, unlike the current standard equipment of the Cecil Clan, which followed a "mass production, low cost, and simplicity" route, what lay before him was a weapon manufactured nearly without concern for cost. Crafted by the finest craftsman masters and ancient Mage of the territory, it utilized the highest quality substrates available from the Rune Forge Factory. The "energy box" at the back of the tracks even used the second-generation Magic Capacitors, still in the testing phase and produced in limited quantities. Even the acceleration array on the tracks was a specially designed product, all to meet a single requirement: creating a railgun capable of being carried by a single person.

Yet Soldrin also knew another thing — every piece of cheap, mass-produced standard equipment began as these expensive prototype models.

During usage, the more data collected by the Steel Dragoon, and the more precise and effective the improvement proposals, the sooner this expensive weapon could be transformed into an affordable industrial product.

Under normal circumstances, even with a mature concept, it would take a long time for a product to turn from a blueprint into a physical item, but thanks to Mr. Nicholas Egg’s tireless efforts, Soldrin was able to secure a few samples for the second expedition.

"Groups of three, one per group," Soldrin began distributing equipment to the soldiers, "According to the previous plan, one shooter is equipped with two guards: shield bearers are responsible for raising barriers, shooters provide light weapon cover. No matter what situation you encounter inside, stay calm—don’t forget, you are the most elite ’Steel Dragoon’ on this land and soon in this world!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers took out the equipment piece by piece from the weapon boxes. In addition to the four individual launchers, there were emergency barriers supported by large Magic Capacitors and heat-ray guns with better continuous firing performance available for their use. These "special ops gear," modified based on existing technology, were ordered by Soldrin over ten days ago, and today was the time to validate them—if a battle indeed broke out.

Ms. Tiel, who temporarily joined in to find cookies, looked a bit dumbfounded at the fully armed Steel Dragoon. Although she seldom ventured out, she was aware of the style of things invented by Gawain Cecil’s military experts. Unable to hold back for a long time, she finally spoke: "Are you sure you want to pave the way through an ancient ruin with these things? Is this how reckless your elf race usually is?"

"This ancient ruin is a creation of the Gondor Empire; although ancient, it’s incredibly sturdy. Besides, we’re not using these for road work, just to be prepared for emergencies," Soldrin smiled slightly, then showed a proud look, "As for combat style—I believe I am the first awakened among the elves, having found a more effective solution than bows and arcane while my fellow kinsmen are still fixated on them."

While speaking, this High-Ranked Ranger couldn’t help but recall that earth-shattering battle with the evil cult follower woman last winter...

The feeling of throwing seven or eight grenades on the enemy’s head was truly satisfying... At that time, If he had brought a few more, he might have won the battle.

"You land-dwelling folks all have weird minds," Tiel felt some communication issues with Soldrin, so she shook her head helplessly and wobbled away, "No wonder my sisters in the clan say staying away from water for too long will break your brain..."

Amber, however, did not pay attention to the conversation between Soldrin and Tiel. She was just quite curious as she came to the closed gate, looking up at the patterns on the gate — she didn’t understand the flashy letters of the ancient Gondor Empire but was only searching for the breath of shadow magic among the magic symbols in other areas of the door.

"Is this the so-called Shadow Testing Grounds behind here..." the half-elf murmured, "I can’t sense a bit of shadow magic..."

"Perhaps it is all blocked by the door, the interference of purple steel on magic is very strong," Soldrin said as he took out a silver disc engraved with complex magic symbols from his bosom, "Step back a bit; I’m going to try unlocking it."

He injected a trace of magic into the silver disc and then attempted to unlock the ancient door as Kamel had instructed.

——Although Kamel did not know this area, nor the passwords for each section of the defied Fortress, he knew the universal unlocking method. Now, a millennium had passed, and the power sources of all the fortress’s doors had been reset. The original passwords were surely invalid, so theoretically, with the universal unlocking device, any door in the fortress could be opened.

As the silver disc emitted a faint glow, a series of mechanical creaking sounds suddenly came from inside the heavy, ancient purple steel door.

Upon hearing this sound, Amber knew that Soldrin had succeeded: She had heard the same noise when Gawain opened the northern door of the mountain relics.

Everyone stood on high alert, and under the gaze of a dozen pairs of eyes, the ancient door finally glimmered with magical light and slowly opened to both sides under the influence of the repulsion mechanisms——

The alarm systems and defense equipment from a thousand years ago had all fallen silent, the fortress guardians had long perished, and the arrival of uninvited guests triggered no resistance, save for the dust rising as the door opened and a stench of decay that wafted forth.

Immediately, a nearly transparent shimmering barrier appeared beside each Steel Dragoon Warrior, and the Wind Shield isolated any potentially harmful vapors. Meanwhile, Amber smirked, her figure gradually fading into the air, disappearing, and transforming into a twisted shadow that "slipped" inside the door.

Moments later, the half-elf lady emerged: "Come in, it’s safe inside—and it’s mostly been flooded, likely due to landslides or geological shifts."

Behind the heavy isolation gate lay a vast hall enshrouded in darkness... No, to Soldrin, calling it a hall didn’t seem fitting; it was more like a primitive cave, with only sparse traces of human construction within.

The space behind the door was vast, appearing at least as large as two dock squares. In this expansive area, only a few places showed signs of human-made stone slabs, columns, and platforms where equipment might have been installed. Apart from these, there were only a few collapsed huts scattered among the man-made structures, which seemed to serve as resting or working quarters for researchers. Beyond these, the space was exposed rock, on whose high dark ceiling stalactites dangled, water occasionally dripping down from above. In the lower half of the cave, it appeared that underground water of unknown origin had seeped in, forming puddles and streams that soaked the ancient constructs in water.

A type of luminescent moss grew between the wet rock walls and stalactites, so the cave was dim but not entirely unseeable. However, this gloomy illumination only added to the oppressive atmosphere of the cave, making those within even more uneasy.

Except for one person.

Amber turned into a shadow, agilely leaping among several large boulders in the cave. The dim, gloomy environment suited her well. After skillfully using shadow jumps to check nearby footholds and platforms, she returned to Soldrin: "Everything’s been cleared out, but it’s strange... This place looks unfinished. The cave ceiling isn’t even sealed... Or maybe the builders of the defied Fortress intentionally left it like this back then?"

"It’s not impossible," Soldrin analyzed. "Perhaps they used the cave’s natural magic-pervasive environment for research, which meant they couldn’t easily alter the cave’s structure or add too many artificial constructs here..."

Tiel listened to their analysis with growing boredom—she had little interest in shadow research conducted a thousand years ago, as it wasn’t something sea demons excelled at. But she was quite interested in the seepage here, as this water-rich place seemed perfect for sleeping...

At Longwind Fortress, when the unfamiliar servant uttered the words "Oblivion," Francis II immediately reacted and swiftly raised his left hand. A sturdy magic shield almost instantly formed, keeping the grotesque, mutated creature with its exploding head and twisted flesh at bay.

Seeing the grotesque appearance of the flesh monster, Francis II’s expression changed slightly. However, his spellcasting movements didn’t cease; with his free right hand, he rapidly sketched a series of magical symbols. The complex and profound incantation was compressed into a few simple syllables, accompanied by a piercing explosive sound, as an intense burst of arcane energy erupted between the magic shield and the monster. The powerful explosion launched the creature away with force!

After the monster was flung away, Francis II’s expression changed abruptly—he hadn’t called for the guards.

The assassin had entered just seconds after Master Duke had gone out, and the fight just now had been loud enough that even if he hadn’t called for help, the guards or Master Duke should have rushed in immediately.

Yet no one came.

Someone here wanted the King dead.

The creature, recently blown away, writhed frantically on the ground, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and crawled back up. The nearly point-blank arcane explosion had caused it no mortal injuries. Witnessing this, Francis II made the wisest decision of the moment—

He raised his hand and fired an interference fireball at the creature, then immediately dashed toward the nearest window, leaping out!