Chapter 454: Act 204 – The ‘Lighthouse’ in Darkness
After entering the underground through a broken corner of the ruins, a vast underground world unfolded before Brendel’s eyes, where elongated corridors connected one material warehouse, arms depot, and military stronghold after another. This was clearly the defensive line of the underground city, a fortification he had seen before in the Crusian Laonte Mountain stronghold and the elven underground ruins, but it was far from as complete as what lay before him.
The corridors were built with the hardest rock, adorned with intricate lattice patterns that extended deep into the bowels of the earth. This architectural style clashed starkly with Vaunte’s aesthetic sense developed over many eras, seeming like a relic of a prehistoric civilization that had slumbered for countless ages, and carried a familiarity that Brendel found unsettling.
If the surrounding rocks were replaced by metal, Brendel would almost believe he was walking through a massive underground research facility. Were not those lattice networks pipes for transmitting energy? This near-futuristic style melded with the thick historical air of the eroding rocks, creating a sense of sacredness that almost commanded reverence. He couldn’t help but sigh; the scene designers of the Amber Sword were indeed world-class masters.
Brendel appreciated all of this from a player’s viewpoint, creating a starkly different feeling from that of the others. Xi and Funiya, who closely followed him, had their eyes wide open, staring at everything around them in stunned silence, as if even their breathing had stopped, deeply immersed in the awe of ancient civilization. Gray Saint Mephistopheles was slightly better, merely observing everything silently; flashes of surprise occasionally sparkled in his gray eyes.
Brendel’s nonchalance surprised Otales, who had never seen such well-preserved remnants of the Silver civilization; it was as if the people had merely vacated. Yet, to Brendel, all of this seemed commonplace. She noted that his gaze held both appreciation and familiarity, manifesting a demeanor that transcended the others.
In truth, Brendel carried a soul within him that was transcendent of this world. In the presence of this ancient civilization’s ruins, others felt a sense of sanctity, solemnity, and shock, but Brendel instead felt an intrinsic familiarity, as if he had returned home.
It felt as if just ahead, a few players were laughing and greeting him, “Hey, buddy, want to join us on an adventure?”
A reminiscent smile crept onto Brendel’s lips; yes, he would never return to Earth. But this world of Vaunte, interwoven with dreams, always reminded him of everything that had occurred.
“Kid, tell me seriously, are you really not Erluin?” At this moment, Otales suddenly asked.
“Eh?” Brendel was momentarily taken aback; why was she asking that? Could it be that Otales had discovered his true identity? This seemed impossible, yet the nostalgia flooded him, making him feel a bit guilty: “Why do you ask that?”
“Look at the gap between you and them,” Otales pointed at Xi and Funiya beside him, the two girls completely stunned. “How could an ordinary person be like you? Even if scholars read similar descriptions in books, they should be amazed when witnessing the real thing, right? But you, Brendel, are merely appreciating it; it’s as if a master was showing guests around their luxurious villa. Be honest with me, are you a descendant of the Silver people?”
Otales’s questioning gaze revealed to Brendel that she had long been suspicious. But Brendel couldn’t help but laugh; he hadn’t expected Otales to twist things in that direction. “No, of course not. I have a family tree to verify that I am indeed an Erluin, with noble ancestry.”
“Does the nobility of Erluin mean anything to me? Poor!” The female knight of Queen Wind shot him a glance. Although Brendel’s words dispelled her doubts, it was clear she hadn’t entirely given up, replying, “But even if you are a descendant of the Silver people, so what? The stronger the heir, the happier I’ll be.”
Brendel smiled; he certainly wouldn’t reveal that he didn’t want to be like the Silver people to avoid seeming too distant from Freya and Romaine.
As they passed through layers of defenses, gradually delving deeper underground. Beneath the deep rock layers, the transmission of sound became extremely slow. The temperature rose somewhat, yet the surroundings fell into silence. After a while, Brendel heard the sound of water dripping from afar. He estimated that there were at least three defensive lines above based on the depth, constructed like a maze. Thankfully, his experience allowed him to navigate through it without wasting time.
Beyond the surface fortification, there should be the living area of the underground city. The underground city was actually quite similar to those on the surface, with residential areas, commercial districts, gathering places, temples, and palaces, all featuring a large drainage system. He had seen such cities in the Dwarves’ homeland and knew that the monsters dwelling in the underground drainage systems occasionally wandered into the upper areas, becoming targets for players.
However, in areas where underground cities had access to water, aside from drainage systems, underground rivers, streams, and seepage pools, only the hall remained. The hall was akin to a square on the surface, generally featuring seepage pools and fountains at its center, connecting residential areas and commercial districts, supplying living water to nearby regions. Therefore, hearing the dripping sound here indicated that they were not far from the central area of this underground city.
Holding a glowing gemstone and walking in the darkness for about a minute, the light in Brendel’s hand suddenly scattered in all directions, causing the low rock walls around them to disappear. They walked into a vast underground space. The light shone forward, revealing a massive square paved with uneven stone slabs, in the center of which stood a fountain, its water still flowing gently after thousands of years. However, the rocky platform around the fountain was already eroded into a thousand holes, with water overflowing its top and forming a large sunken damp area on the square.
“It’s a square! Just as you said, Brother Brendel!” Funiya exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this scene.
Xi looked at Brendel with admiration; to her, the Lord was a remarkably knowledgeable scholar, quite different from other nobles of his age who were consumed with rivalry and indulgence in pleasures. The Lord could converse on equal terms with figures like Gray Saint Mephistopheles and Veronika and could guide them in understanding.
“Mn.” Brendel nodded, feeling somewhat excited; finding the hall meant they were close to their goal. Especially with such a large underground hall, it surely connected to a palace or temple. He looked up at the towering rock walls around, hoping to find familiar markers.
He first spotted the sacred emblem of the temple. The faith of Vaunte had not changed much over the years, with Lady Martha always sheltering the wise beings upon the earth. Although the aesthetics had varied somewhat, the central figure of a motherly woman was easily identifiable.
Soon, the group made a complete round of the square. At this moment, Brendel’s eyes suddenly lit up. “It’s this way!” He discovered that the passage leading to the palace was right across from the square’s central axis. The palace was the core of the underground city, the nerve center of its defenses; if that flame of hope existed within this underground city, the ancient Silver people would certainly have placed it at the heart of the city.
The target of this perilous journey was nearly within reach, and even with Brendel’s experience, he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. Veronika and Mephistopheles thought of this place as a new resting ground, but Brendel understood the true significance of the flame, so he could blatantly offer one-third of the land to the Gray Saint for restoration, but he absolutely could not allow them to have the greatest secret here.
That was his greatest hope for saving Erluin.
He took a deep breath, unable to resist taking three steps at a time towards the front. But just then, Gray Saint Mephistopheles suddenly grabbed him. A shadow pounced towards them, and Mephistopheles drew his massive sword with a clang, cleaving towards that shadow. With a loud noise, Brendel finally saw that the severed shadow was a massive scythe that had been swung down from the ceiling. The scythe shimmered with peculiar glowing patterns, certainly endowed with exceptionally powerful spells; one hit was enough to endanger even a high-level elemental.
He couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat, realizing he had become overly excited and forgotten about the most basic traps.
Of course, given his reflexes, that thing wouldn’t hit him; however, Mephistopheles’s actions earned Brendel’s admiration, indicating that this Gray Saint truly intended to be on his side. He calmed himself and nodded to Mephistopheles.
“Be careful,” the Gray Saint said blandly.
“Mn.”
After dodging the first trap, the road behind indeed became thorny, but from then on, it was Brendel’s solo performance. He was neither a nightingale nor a rogue, lacking the special ability to detect traps. However, having seen it all before, his rich experiences as a level 130 warrior equipped him with familiarity; what kind of underground city hadn’t he explored? What kind of traps hadn’t he encountered?
Let alone a Silver civilization ruin of level sixty, he had even been to the ruins of the Gold people. In comparison, Valhalla was just considerably better preserved; however, those traps were nothing new to him. With just a casual glance, he could discern how a certain trap functioned, leading his group through the underground passage like a stroll in the park.
Mephistopheles, unfamiliar with Brendel, naturally assumed he was adept in the mechanics of traps. Yet, to Xi and Funiya, this only added to Brendel’s aura. Meanwhile, Otales couldn’t fathom how such a young man could be proficient in everything; it didn’t make sense in terms of learning time—
The underground palace of the Silver ancestors wasn’t complex in layout; it wasn’t even luxurious. It still primarily comprised rock, with smooth floors extending into the darkness marked by lattice patterns, only that the internal architectural space here was significantly taller and wider than outside, featuring a central pillar that would require several people to embrace.
And intricate networks of energy transmission sprawled between these pillars like a spider’s web, growing denser. Suddenly, Brendel’s gaze extended forward with the light from the gemstone, surpassing about thirty pillars constrained in a circle. In the center arose a massive ‘lighthouse.’
Indeed, upon seeing that object for the first time, Brendel immediately recognized it should be a ‘lighthouse.’
In the pitch-black space, a giant pyramid stood silently, at its apex floated an enormous conical crystal, at least over twenty meters tall, almost as wide as it was tall, shimmering with water-like patterns. Soft light filtered through these waves, faint yet capable of illuminating the surrounding area of the pyramid.
“Th…,” everyone couldn’t help but be rendered speechless at this sight.
……(To Be Continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting for it with recommendations or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
