Sword of Dawn

Page 253

Gao Wen and Sonia watched Banner's work quite nervously. They hoped that Banner could find out some abnormalities, but at the same time, they were worried that they would really discover a major fault in the Sentinel Tower—the stele is the most important part of the Sentinel Tower. Structure, the faults that occur here are almost all fatal, if the problem is really here...

Then I'm afraid the entire barrier repair and reinforcement plan will become a joke.

Amber also paid attention to Banner's operation for a while, but she really didn't know anything about elf runes, and she didn't understand the working situation of the Sentinel Tower. After a while, she lost interest in the things in front of her and began to look around.

The "Visions" that happened one after another today made her very concerned.

She is a careless girl with a carefree character, but this does not mean that she is heartless (although many people think so), she will not simply attribute what she saw before It's as simple as "dazzled", but she is very clear--I am afraid that only she can see those things.

That was a projection from the Shadow Realm, or... a phenomenon that occurred after the Shadow Realm partly invaded the real world.

There is a shadow rift here?Why do shadow fissures appear out of thin air in nature?

Amber frowned. She tried to relax her mind, allowing her innate and unexplainable shadow talent to gradually dominate her five senses. She breathed gently and scanned the entire hall.

She began to try to observe this place from the perspective of shadow creatures.

Most of the figure I saw below was a shadow dweller—the shadow dweller had no communication with the creatures in the material world, and even seemed to have a certain degree of malice, but they were relatively...close to her. Whether her attitude is close or not, she does have experience dealing with the other party.

Those weird, seemingly illogical residents are actually intelligent creatures, and they will not point themselves in this direction for no reason, unless there is something here that disrupts the order of the material world and the shadow world... something.

"The device here also shows that everything is normal." Not far away, Banner's slightly confused voice sounded. The elf magister repeatedly checked several key sensors of the stone tablet, and his tone was full of confusion, "Strange... ...it's unbelievable to be normal..."

Sonia also came to Banner's side: "It seems that the sensor is working well. What about the connection with the demon's mind?"

"The connection is smooth, wait, it's too smooth..."

The voices of Banner and Sonia became faint and indistinct in Amber's ears.

Her hair has grown very long unknowingly, floating in mid-air as if she lost gravity, her eyes turned a strange pale gold, reflecting the black and white scenery of the Shadow Realm, a cloud of wriggling smoke gathered under her feet , Constructed a passage to the Shadow Realm.

She entered the Shadowlands.

Some hollow and strange figures wrapped in runecloth emerged around her, and those hollow figures whispered in a low voice: "You guys are in big trouble..." "They have caused damage a long time ago..." "But it seems that you It can be delayed a little bit." "That has nothing to do with us..." "Just, I need to remind you, you belong here after all..." "Look up, look up."

Amber raised her head and looked towards the roof of the hall.

Huge hatching vines and roots entrenched on all the silver-white metal pillars, spread across the walls of the entire hall, and drilled out of the stone tablet along the cracks in the parking area of ​​the lifting platform.

They seemed to be connected to the pedestal below, to the earth beneath the pedestal, to the wasteland, to something more profane deep within the wasteland.

"Mom!!"

Chapter 0585 Vine

Gawain watched Amber escape from the Shadow Realm in astonishment, and saw the panic and nervous expression on the other party's face: "What's wrong?"

"Shadow... There are things in the Shadow Realm!!" Amber almost jumped up and said, "It is definitely not something native to the Shadow Realm—someone put them in it, and it spread everywhere!!"

As if a light flashed in his mind, Gao Wen suddenly realized what was really ignored by everyone. He immediately stepped forward and grabbed Amber's arm: "Take us in and have a look."

Amber hesitated for a moment, but she nodded after thinking about the fighting power of several people on the scene: "Okay—but you have to be careful, there are shadow dwellers wandering here, don't conflict with them."

Sonia and Banner listened to Amber's crackling talk, but they didn't understand what was going on at first. Only then did they realize that this seemingly inconspicuous half-elf has the ability to move freely between the present world and the shadow world. Shuttle between, the two couldn't help but widen their eyes, but they knew that this was not the time to ask for details, so they suppressed all doubts and quickly prepared for the space replacement.

——The Shadow Realm is difficult to enter, but it is not completely closed to mortals. A powerful shadow caster can open the gap to enter the Shadow Realm after going through complicated rituals and tedious preparations. Well-informed people like Banner and Sonia The elves have naturally seen extraordinary beings who can enter the shadow world, but they just didn't expect that there would be such a strange thing as amber that could "cross the border" casually.

After confirming that everyone was ready, Amber no longer hesitated, she released her natural power, and beside her, the boundary between the real world and the shadow world quickly became blurred.

An unknowable and unfathomable crack opened, and the entire rotunda was quickly covered with a layer of monotonous colors like a black and white filter. Those buzzing metal columns became quiet, and the holographic projection in the air disappeared. , a deserted, weird, black and white space descended around the four of them.

Although he had made some mental preparations, after seeing Amber's natural ability, Sonia and Banner couldn't help but look at each other in astonishment, while Gawain immediately noticed those wandering around the corner of the hall with talismans wrapped around their bodies. Wen Bu's hazy phantom—the residents of the shadow world seemed to be indifferently observing the uninvited guests here, and Gawain could even feel their inhuman gazes sweeping over him. Those gazes were not actually malicious, but Very cold.

Banner and Sonia also noticed the wandering shadow dwellers at this time, and the former muttered in a low voice: "I only saw them in the research materials...I didn't expect to see them with my own eyes."

"It's best to restrain your researcher mentality, this is the Shadow Realm," Sonia said softly, then she raised her head and looked around the hall, "These things... are really creepy..."

Those rotten vines stimulated the nerves of everyone present.

Gawain looked at the elf magister: "Banner, can you figure out what these vines are about?"

Like Sonia, Banner also tried his best to ignore the shadow residents who were watching indifferently not far away. He looked at the withered and corrupted vines spreading around in the hall, and shook his head while going forward to check: "I have never seen such a thing before. , but there is no doubt that they should not be here."

Gawain looked at Amber and confirmed again: "Are you sure this is not a 'natural product' of the Shadow Realm?"

"Anyway, I've traveled through the Shadow Realm so many times, and I've never seen anything like it before." Amber spread her hands, "How about I go ask those shadow residents?"

Hearing this, Sonia looked at her in surprise: “They will respond to you?!”

"Basically, sometimes we can chat a few words, but not all the shadow dwellers are willing to deal with people, and some of them don't seem to be very clear-headed," Amber said casually, then waved her hand and walked towards those standing A figure not far away said, "I'll go find out."

On the other side, after carefully inspecting the state of those vines and alloy pillars, Banner has come to a preliminary conclusion: "These vines seem to have invaded the sensing and transmission structure of the stele, but I don't understand... I haven't seen them. Can the erosion in the Shadow Realm really affect the real world?"

"There is a secret mapping relationship between the shadow world and the real world. What you said is very possible." Sonia nodded slightly, then frowned, "These vines... feel like druids cultivated The magic vine, but I have never seen the form."

A name has already appeared in Gao Wen's mind: the meeting of the death of all things.

Amber had already arrived in front of those shadow dwellers. She looked around, found someone who might be easy to talk to, and asked cautiously, "Hey, do you know who brought these vines in?"

The shadow wrapped in the rune cloth really responded to her. He turned his head slightly, but he didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he made a voice that seemed to be full of interest from the black mist-like head: " You're such an interesting individual, little girl... who put you in here?"

"Put it in what?" Amber was stunned for a moment, she suddenly felt that the shadow dwellers here seemed to be different from the ones she had come into contact with before, even if the shadow dwellers she had contacted before could communicate with her, they had never behaved like this ... "Sense", "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay...it's not important..." The shadow dweller's voice suddenly became low, and he muttered some unintelligible words in a low voice, and then Amber heard him continue, "There are cracks here, many cracks... powerful The magic of the world has made the border here fragile... outsiders have planted seeds outside, and they have grown here..."

After that, the shadow's voice became low and indistinct again, and he seemed to lose interest in talking. After some incomprehensible murmurs, the figures of him and the shadow dwellers around him began to dim at the same time, and they gradually disappeared. In the air, only Amber was left with a dazed face.

Not far away, Banner had already cut a section of vines from an alloy column, and he found that these vines were actually "dead".

"They are dead," the magister said in surprise, "but it doesn't look like they have been dead for too long...their cores show signs of scorching, as if they were burned by a powerful energy flow."

Sonia raised her eyebrows lightly: "Could it be...was it burnt down by the overload before the Sentinel Tower?"

"I can't rule out this possibility. The time seems to be corresponding. It's just that the mapping relationship between the real world and the Shadow Realm is really weird. I'm not sure what happened here when the Sentinel Tower in the real world was overloaded," Banner said cautiously, " We can only guess now that these vines have indeed affected the operation of the Sentinel Tower in the real world, and have been affecting it. They interfere with the sensors of the tower, and may even tamper with some return signals. Not long ago, the entire magnificent The large-scale overload of the wall produced a powerful surge of energy, even breaking through the boundary between the real world and the shadow world, so these hidden things were burned to death..."

This may sound funny, but it might be the truth.

"I suspect it's the handiwork of the Death of All Things Society," Gao Wen expressed his conjecture, "You may not know it well in the south, but in the north, I have dealt with them a lot. They are good at cultivating this kind of distortion and corruption biochemical creations, and once tried to infiltrate an observation post you set up on the border of Typhon - this matter was also reported to the Silver Empire by Solderin."

"...those fallen druids..." Sonia frowned slightly, and then sighed softly, "Actually, we know a lot about the end of all things—although they are indeed staying away from silver." The regional activities of the empire, but don't forget that the Druid line originally originated from the elves."

"The activities of the Doom Society have also caused losses to the Silver Empire," Banner added next to him, "Even within the Silver Elves, there have been fallen Druids who defected, including two high-ranking officials from the Temple of Nature. High-level mentors—those pervasive fallen, their tentacles are not limited to the northern part of the mainland."

Sonia nodded slightly, then looked at the withered vines entrenched in the hall, and took a deep breath: "But I still can't imagine that their destruction and penetration will go so far... Sentinel Tower, they actually Infiltrated the Sentinel Tower!!"

"Those shadow dwellers said that someone planted seeds in the outside world, and then these vines grew and infiltrated the border between the shadow world and the real world. They were talking nonsense, but most of them were true," Amber never said. Walked over from a distance, talking about the information he had inquired, "And they also said that the powerful magic power made the boundary between the shadow world and the real world fragile, which should be the magnificent wall, although the energy barrier blocked spread the wasteland, but it might also destroy the spatial structure here... that's what I'm saying, I don't know the specifics."

After Sonia listened carefully to Amber's words, the expression on her face became extremely serious: "In short, this matter must be reported to the Elf King Court immediately, and Her Majesty the Queen must send someone to check every Sentinel Tower as soon as possible. Although the vines in this tower have been dead, but maybe there are still alive elsewhere, and these hidden dangers must be eliminated."

"The communication function of the Sentinel Tower is still shut down. I am afraid that we can only use the Giant Eagle Messenger, human communication towers, and short-distance communication to relay information," Banner reminded, "Maybe we should find a way to repair it first." The communication function of the sentinel tower."

Sonia's brows were deeply frowned: "I'm afraid this is no faster than a relay communication. The communication circle is burned, not a simple failure."

Gao Wen was listening quietly at the side, and then he suddenly broke the silence: "Is the magic power cycle of the entire magnificent wall still complete? It is only the communication circle that was burned, isn't it?"

"Of course the magic power cycle is complete, otherwise there must be gaps all over the barrier," Banner replied immediately, "but only the magic power connection is useless..."

"I have a plan," Gawain interrupted Banner, "Do you know Cecil's magic web communication?"

"Magic Network Communication?" Banner and Sonia looked at each other, and then they all remembered the incredible magical creations they came into contact with when they temporarily lived in Cecil City, and thought of the most amazing magical creations among them. Novelty "broadcasting" device, "Ah! Remember!"

The first thing Banner thought of was the cheap and convenient terminal device used by magic net communication, and thought of its magical characteristics that can be controlled by ordinary people, while Sonia thought of the broadcast called "Witch Time". Show - that Miss Witch named Jibril is a nice girl...  

"My plan is to connect our magic net device to the magnificent wall." Gawain didn't know what Sonia was thinking, he just continued to talk about his plan, "The principle of the magic net terminal is Although the current terminal we manufacture is only compatible with our own magic energy broadcast, it is adjustable. In theory, as long as it is a continuous and regular magic field, it can be used as a carrier for carrying signals—— The wall is essentially a large, circular magic field, and it's pretty stable, isn't it?"

"This... sounds feasible," Banner glanced at Sonia, and said with a little hesitation, "but it means that we have to open up the communication key of the Grand Wall to you, and at the same time open up the communication technology of the Grand Wall." For your technicians, yes?"

Obviously, this was not as simple as "allowing Gawain to watch the inner structure of the Sentinel Tower".

Gao Wen smiled slightly: "Belsetia probably doesn't mind building a communication line between the Silver Empire and the Principality of Cecil. Of course, I understand your concerns, but the situation we encounter may not be the same. It won’t give us room to think slowly.”

"I agree to establish this special line," Sonia said suddenly, "I am a high-level courier, and I will bear the relevant responsibilities."

Gawain exhaled lightly, and stretched out his hand to Sonia: "This will be the right choice."

Chapter 0586 Network Conference

In late autumn, the mist gradually rises.

The season has not yet reached the foggy month, but Aldernan, the imperial capital of Typhon, has always been a rainy and foggy city. As the Frost Sky constellation gradually moves towards the highest point of the sky, the mist has begun to visit this "young" city more and more frequently. The capital city, especially after a cold autumn rain, the fog will come as promised.

Autumn rains are always continuous, and after the rain stops, there are still rare raindrops falling from the sky from time to time. Between the cold rain and the hazy fog, the solemn black towers and row upon row of spires of Aldernan stand silently on both sides of the avenue The black-haired female mage Mary was wrapped in her slightly old black mage robe, and walked quickly down the street with her head down.

The breeze shield blocked the cold air of late autumn and the raindrops falling from the sky, but the scenery in the fog still brought a chill from the bottom of my heart. Mary subconsciously tightened her robe, and then the angry face of her mentor Daniel appeared in her mind Come on - if the mentor sees himself walking down the street with his neck curled up like this, he will probably get angry again.

She shook her head, put aside these unreasonable associations, and then raised her head to look forward.

This is the street in late autumn. In the countryside, it is impossible to see anyone on the street in this season. However, in Mary's field of vision, there are more than one wave of figures walking in the mist.

Those figures were dressed in thin old linen clothes, with felt hats or dirty turbans on their heads. Most of them were men with numb expressions, and there were also some children and women with sleepy faces. Moving forward in one direction, with heavy steps and expressionless faces—in the early morning mist, these people walking on the street are as weird as ghosts coming out of the mist.

Mary knew that these were workers who went to work in factories—textile mills, printing factories, rune foundries, and burning rock acid chemical factories—factories had increased since last winter, and these workers had also been working since last year. It started to increase in winter.

The factory brought prosperity and made the whole city run at an astonishing speed. It also allowed those little nobles who once lost their rights and wealth to return to the extravagant banquets and dances. A rising star in the Manufacturing Association, Mary was fortunate to have participated in the gatherings of those big figures. She knew how the factory owners quickly accumulated wealth. Those wealth came from the amazing production efficiency of the machines and the timely implementation of market laws by His Majesty the Emperor. , more derived from these walking dead... people.

But those factory owners don't care about this.

Mary knew, she knew how her mentor was driving all this behind the scenes, and she also had a general idea of ​​what kind of plan was behind this miraculous factory boom. The female mage tightened her robe again on this cold street, and hurriedly walked among the numb "new citizens".

Crossing Palmer Avenue and passing through several towers on the edge of the mage's area, it is the place where the mentor and several apprentices including himself live: a luxurious mansion located in the upper-class wealthy area.

This mansion with a three-story main body, two towers, two gardens, complete stables and servant rooms was gifted to the tutor by the president of the Royal Society of Mages.

The gatekeeper was a well-known male apprentice. This young man with freckles had a strange expression on his face when he saw Mary. Before Mary asked, the young apprentice took the initiative to say: "The tutor is here' cellar', as soon as he tells you to come back."

cellar……

Mary's heart suddenly became tense, but she quickly smoothed out all the changes in her face, and nodded slightly: "I see."

She walked through the courtyard of the mansion, walked into the main room, walked down the stairs, and came to the entrance of the cellar. In this place where ordinary apprentices and servants were always forbidden to approach, Mary saw two puppet servants with empty eyes waiting at the door.

The young female mage swallowed, she kept reminding herself of the more obvious changes in the friendliness and kindness of her mentor recently, and then pushed open the door of the cellar.

In this underground space that has been transformed into a secret laboratory by the instructor, the magic spar lamp driven by the magic net makes the whole room brightly lit. Mary soon saw the black-robed old mage Daniel in the corner of the room, and behind Daniel , she saw a strangely shaped...chair.

It was an obvious magical creation. It was placed on a base engraved with runes, and there was a glimmer of light flowing on the side of the seat. Some weird metal points were distributed on the inside of the back of the chair, and the back itself seemed to be Wrapped in some sort of enchanted leather—the moment Mary saw the chair, she thought of some sacrificial device depicted in some horror story.

Daniel raised his eyelids, and stared at the slightly at a loss female apprentice standing at the door with his tawny eyes: "Come here, the master wants to see you."

Mary took a deep breath.

She didn't remember how she moved to the chair, nor how she clumsily fixed her position with a belt and a buckle according to the method explained by the instructor. She had only one thought in her mind: this day finally Here she is, she will be sacrificed to that terrible "master" by her mentor...

She knew that there was a "master" behind the mentor, and of course she knew that the sudden appearance of knowledge and terrible plans of the mentor were arranged by the "master", and the fragments of knowledge promoted the development of the entire Typhon magic technology , and the first step of that terrible plan changed the balance of power among the nobles of Aldernan, in addition to algebra, solid geometry, calculus, runic logic... Those knowledge are awesome, but more It can make people realize the nature of the "master" behind the mentor.

It is said that only indescribable foreign evil gods will bestow "knowledge" in such a generous way, and this "knowledge" requires a price.

"Sit down, no matter what you see for a while, open your heart to accept it, don't have any resistance—otherwise you will be the only one who suffers." Daniel pressed hard on Mary's slightly trembling shoulders, and said in a serious and cold tone with.

Mary thought that she might be the "price".

The instructor continued: "You will arrive at a pure space, where you will talk less and see more, because the master's family members are gathered there, and each of them is much wiser, stronger and more noble than you. .”

Mary swallowed, and finally couldn't help but want to say something to relieve her tension, so she spoke: "I... what should I say when I see 'Master'?"

Daniel's movements stopped, and his yellow-brown eyes stared at Mary. I don't know if it was an illusion, but Mary felt that there was a hint of praise for herself in those eyes.

"Say your name first," the old mage said with a serious face while activating the rune trigger on the seat, "then say——learning makes me happy."

"what……"

Mary let out a brief exclamation in confusion, but before she could ask, the sudden dizziness pulled her into the depths of a grotesque illusion of light and shadow.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a vast space with high blue sky, boundless water surface and a large number of wonderful metal platforms.

Mary found herself no longer sitting on the weird "Sacrifice Chair", but on a comfortable high-backed chair, in front of an ornate and large round table, surrounded by neat seats , some unknown people were sitting in those positions, and across the round table, a tall and burly man was looking at him quietly.

Almost instantly, Mary realized that the man was the "master" mentioned by the instructor.

Although this was a round table where it was impossible to distinguish between primary and secondary, the man's aura was obviously different from everyone else's.

Mary didn't expect the image of the "master" to be like this, she thought she would see a hideous demon, or some kind of more indescribable existence, but anyway, a "master" in human form at least made her She relaxed a lot, and just as she breathed a sigh of relief, the figure of the old mage Daniel also appeared in this space, and sat on the seat beside Mary.

Daniel glared at the slightly dazed apprentice: "What are you still doing?"

Mary just woke up like a dream, and hurriedly stood up, stumbled and said what the instructor asked her to say: "My...my name is Mary, I don't have a last name, and...and...study makes me happy!"

The atmosphere at the scene seemed to be slightly awkward, but Mary was so nervous that she couldn't feel the change in the atmosphere. She saw those figures sitting around the round table cast their eyes on her, and there was even a soul full of blue light. The "spiritual creature" looked at himself with great interest, and made a buzzing voice: "This kid is quite interesting."

A beautiful and elegant woman in a long red dress smiled to herself: "You're a little nervous - relax."

A young lady with big eyes and long brown hair looked full of energy with a happy smile on her face: "Ah, you are the Mary who solved all the sixteen equations I gave?! You are so amazing Hey! My name is Rebecca--do you really untie it yourself?"

Mary was a little sluggish for a while, and she suddenly felt that... the unfolding of things at this moment seemed to be a little different from what she imagined.