Chapter 460: Act 210 – The Ruins of Valhalla
“What is this!?” Farina exclaimed, one hand raising her skirt as she stood atop the blackened pyramid, the pale light casting shadows on the fine fuzz along her face.
Next to her was a staff, a black metallic staff about the width of an arm, embedded in a huge crystal set against a corresponding base, with a transparent crystal orb resting on top.
Brendel was certain that this object hadn’t been there before. He patted Xi’s hand; he and Otales had already made educated guesses about the girl’s question. As long as the dragon’s blood itself posed no harm, it could be temporarily set aside— the threat from the dragon girl, Anoz, was still somewhat distant.
He walked over with the others to take a look at the staff. Golden patterns were carved into the black shaft, resembling meaningless strands of metal. This style matched that of the hall, giving off an ancient vibe. The crystal orb was firmly affixed to the staff; even with force, it wouldn’t budge. At that moment, Brendel’s strength was equivalent to that of seven or eight adults. Nevertheless, he found that it wouldn’t move at all, suggesting that the orb might not be connected to the staff through physical means.
There could be magic at work beneath it.
From the moment Brendel laid eyes on it, he had a hunch. He glanced at the others, then placed his hand on the crystal orb. Instantly, layers of green light ensnared his vision, intertwining in front of him to scan up and down within about a cubic meter, forming patterns rich with mystery.
“Indeed, it’s this thing,” Brendel thought to himself.
“What is it?” Veronika asked nearby.
“It’s the core of this underground city,” Brendel replied.
“Oh, so it’s a core crystal! There’s one in the gray-white fortress of the wind elves, crafted by Bud’s wizard, which can be used to control the outer defense system,” exclaimed the war goddess, realizing.
Brendel was aware of the gray-white fortress’s version of the crystal, but that one was merely a replica of the true core crystal. Bud’s artisans had produced many such replicas, selling them to players for ten thousand gold coins (about one million Tor) each. However, when compared to the genuine article, the replicas were vastly inferior.
Ancient characters were interwoven before Brendel’s eyes, forming:
“Stao cu……d oaa s……A’rtee s……” (External temple…… request…… interruption, damaged……)
“Dum cu……d oaa s……A’rtee s……” (Dawn…… cavalry…… temple, request…… interruption……)
“Pos’ssa……d oaa s……A’rtee s……” (Market area……, request…… interruption……)
……
The ancient language was exceedingly complex; these ideograms flourished around twenty thousand years ago, seemingly bursting forth in a short time before spreading across the continent. But that era had long been buried beneath the sands of time, and Brendel could only struggle to read these characters, aided by his prior experiences with ancient scripts before crossing over.
The ancient texts within the Amber Sword were a self-contained system, once referred to as a miracle. Many players studied this, and the libraries of sizable empires contained organized archaeological investigations into ancient history and writing. Such a vast and intricate world background had once been the most talked-about topic among them.
But as the characters grew more detailed, the countless letters composed a green stream of light that cascaded down in front of Brendel like a waterfall. Unlike before, everyone could see the intertwining green light network on the crystal orb. Except for those characters they barely recognized, the light network quickly formed layer upon layer of patterns under Brendel’s cue.
“This is the overview of this underground city!” Once the layers of green light stabilized, Veronika’s eyes flickered with intrigue, as the image projected by the crystal displayed the city’s full panorama. Three layers of shattered glass-like defenses were visible on the outer rim, and below them sprawled a spiderweb-like distribution of the city’s layout. Various underground halls appeared in three-dimensional form suspended in midair, resembling a star system map.
She couldn’t help but turn back, her blue eyes fixed on Brendel: “This is the full panorama of this ‘city’… Could this core crystal actually control the entire city?”
Brendel took a deep breath and nodded. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement, not solely for the reason Veronika had stated— after all, the ancient core crystal was the very heart and brain of a city, a basic piece of knowledge for players. His excitement stemmed from the recognition he gained from those texts. So that’s it— this is the foundation of why Valhalla is called a legendary territory.
Through reading those ancient texts— though incomplete, fragmented, and not fully intelligible— the snippets revealed to Brendel made him tremble with excitement. Valhalla was, astonishingly, a conceptual territory. He wondered how the ancient People of Silver managed to forge such a fortress, basing it on an entire city to set up a colossal permanent magical system.
The permanent magical system was different from a magic array; it was a super-complex set of rules and elements interwoven with magical power. In essence, it created a domain, self-contained within the space, unaffected by external forces. Unless the city was entirely destroyed and turned to dust, this system would continue to operate. The permanent magical system resembled a form of necromancy, but it was far more advanced. The people of Valhalla utilized a permanent conversion system to preserve souls, collecting heroes from across the land into this fortress, in order to retain skills, technology, and troop types that might have been lost in the river of time. In short, Valhalla was essentially a center for preserving ancient techniques and knowledge.
Brendel saw among these heroes those from the sun and fire-worshipping Nikan people, mist elves, and even legendary Lightfolk.
He beheld the Dawn Lance Cavalry Temple, the hall where the spirits cultivated warriors of the Nikan who worshipped the sun and fire— the Dawn Lance Cavalry. The Nikan were a legendary golden race, capable of using the light of dawn to fend off dark foes, and possessed formidable healing magic. However, this troop had long been extinguished in history, having perished during the war against the Duskgazer Dragon, and even the Nikan themselves vanished from the annals of time. Yet, he had not expected the people of Valhalla to resurrect them in this hall of spirits. Though it was unclear what level their versions might be, the authentic Dawn Lance Cavalry was a genuine level ten troop, which could be a key force in any medium-sized empire.
Additionally, he also saw the Twilight Altar, recruiting Dusk Angels, and the Everdark Forest, recruiting Shadow Elven Archers. Both were legendary tier fourteen armies, typically beyond the reach of even major empires. Brendel now understood that the only factions capable of possessing an army of this level, aside from those superpowers spanning the continent, were the four empires founded by the Four Sages.
All of the ancient and powerful warriors were here; that was the very essence of the hall of spirits.
In the world of Vaunte, no one knew the true meaning of the word Valhalla, but Brendel felt an understanding dawn upon him. Legend had it that Odin sent his servant, the Valkyrie, to bring valiant warriors to this palace situated in the Glashir woods, in preparation for the coming Ragnarok. But in terms of training warriors, the Valhalla fortress in the world of Vaunte undoubtedly deserved the name.
It was just a pity—
At this moment, Veronika gasped in astonishment: “A core crystal that can control the entire city? Does this mean it can mobilize magic for the whole city? Could this indeed be a massive magical fortress?”
Brendel knew what she was thinking. Such a fortress was nearly equivalent to Bud’s floating city, an inheritance of the People of Silver that the Crusian could hardly resist. Yet, he shook his head and replied, “Not the entire city, but the whole territory.”
“What!?” This time, it wasn’t just Veronika; even Mephistopheles and Farina couldn’t help but exclaim. A magical territory—what concept was that?
But Brendel still shook his head: “It’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean?” Veronika was somewhat tempted. After all, she was still an imperial general. If the Loop of Trade Winds had originally seemed insignificant as a mere enclave, the allure of a legendary magical territory was far too great for her to ignore.
“You’ll know when you take a look,” Brendel said, releasing his hold on the crystal and inviting Veronika over. This action momentarily surprised her; the lady looked at him in astonishment: “You want me to come?” Veronika regarded Brendel with a mix of curiosity and confusion, as this behavior seemed to place the entire defensive system of the fortress in her control.
Brendel smiled gently and nodded.
Seeing this, Veronika ceased her inquiries. She placed her hand on the crystal orb, her brow initially raising slightly, then furrowing. A look of sudden realization spread across her face.
“What’s wrong, my lord commander?” Farina asked curiously from the side.
“Now I understand. I thought you were such a sly fox, how could you trust me so easily?” Veronika said. Though she didn’t comprehend those ancient texts, she merely tried to manipulate the outer defense systems and discovered that the underground city seemed to have suffered severe damage, or perhaps due to the ravages of time, the entire city had almost completely fallen into paralysis: “How severely has this city been damaged? Is there any possibility of repair?” she asked.
Brendel shook his head, showing no intent to conceal the truth: “The entire city has almost been completely destroyed. Apart from this core ember, the whole city is merely a shell, and there is no possibility of repair.”
“What a pity,” Mephistopheles and Veronika both lamented simultaneously.
“Sly!” Farina shot him a glare.
It truly was a pity— a legendary magical territory within a fort. Yet Brendel shook his head, feeling not a shred of disappointment. For he had gleaned from the final texts that this fortress was not, in fact, the historical Valhalla; the real Valhalla still slumbered within this underground citadel— for the people of Valhalla had initially crafted two core crystals.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
