Chapter 748: Act 104 – Eternity V
The combat strength of the ice cave dwellers was utterly insignificant, yet the sudden collapse caused Anlek significant trouble. Just when no one expected it, a massive crack suddenly appeared in the ice layer, and amidst a violent tremor, a half-mile-long tunnel beneath the ice collapsed with a thunderous roar, sending huge fragments of ice crashing from all around, leading to numerous casualties among the noble’s private soldiers.
The wizard beside Anlek immediately conjured a series of light blue protective shields, as tons of ice and snow pressed down on the shields with creaking noises. The twisted faces of the wizards turned pale, making them appear even more like specters. Unfortunately, Shi Ta had no intention of allowing his lair to collapse completely; otherwise, they might perish alongside their petty spells. Shi Ta moved through the falling ice like it was a leisurely stroll, the frost dragon could conceal itself within the ice breath, leveraging an ancient ability hidden within its bloodline. In a suitable environment, the human strongmen would not be able to detect them.
He silently approached Anlek, reaching out with his claws to tear this guy apart, but just then, the two black knights beside Anlek suddenly turned around, their red eyes gleaming under the iron masks.
“What is that!” they shouted in unison.
Shi Ta was startled, quickly lunging forward, spreading his wings and crashing into the chests of the two knights. With a dull thud, the black knights’ chest plates crumpled like cardboard, and they were sent flying into the ice wall behind them. Shi Ta then dashed forward, clawing at the two bodies that had nearly formed a single iron sheet, not daring to linger, he turned and ran. Fortunately, the ice cave shook violently, with large chunks of ice and snow cascading from above, thundering down, leaving no one to notice the absence of two individuals.
The wizard by Anlek exerted considerable effort to halt the collapse and excavate a tunnel within the ice. It was only after this that the former duke had time to count the numbers, discovering that he had lost at least three hundred private soldiers, and the Knights of Order had suffered significant damage.
His expression darkened immediately.
“Phew phew.” Dejyar spat out the snow dust in his mouth and walked over, looking around with some trepidation. The natural forces were something mortals could hardly imagine, even though he was a strongman of elemental awakening. If the ice layers on both sides truly collapsed entirely, he would simply turn into a permanently frozen block of ice here.
“This must be the doing of those cave dwellers.” The lady knight beside Anlek said, covering her face with resentment. Sylphy had been cut on the face by sharp ice during the prior collapse while protecting her lord; her face was covered in blood, looking terrifying.
Dejyar nodded. No one had realized that the master here had never left; they felt the dragon’s might emanating from over a dozen miles away, a presence no one could imitate.
“Fortunately, they have retreated.” Dejyar replied with a hint of residual fear.
Anlek glanced at the hastily opened passage; the cave dwellers had indeed vanished without a trace. Dragons had their followers; for example, black dragons often mixed with goblins, red dragons with kobolds, silver dragons were often served by elves, and gold dragons liked to dwell with fairies. The frost dragon had left some ice cave dwellers in its lair for it to command, which was not unusual.
He pondered for a moment, finding nothing odd, and said, “Continue moving forward.”
What Duke Anlek did not expect was that Shi Ta, like them, was scared out of his wits. He had never imagined the black knights were so formidable, nearly exposing his whereabouts. After this lesson, Shi Ta immediately decided to give up on ambushing these humans again and instead look for a safer place to hide and observe what the other side intended to do.
Shi Ta felt he was playing a game with these humans, but safety was the primary consideration – it wasn’t about bravery; it was about wisdom—at least, that’s what he thought.
In the following time, he stealthily followed behind these humans, no longer making a move. As he watched them traverse the lengthy tunnel beneath the ice, he found himself not bored at all, thinking to himself that these humans were indeed dull individuals.
However, soon enough, he saw this group of humans enter his lair—
Anlek slowly stepped into the vast hall naturally formed by ten thousand years of cold ice. The hall was spacious, surrounded by ice formations in various peculiar prism shapes, all dyed in a shadowy blue hue, while a thin layer of icy mist settled on the ground. He raised his head and focused on the trapezoid ice wall in the center of the hall, which was embedded with a rare gemstone—a gray gemstone that shone brilliantly without needing to refract light, emanating a radiant glow from within as if nurturing a sun.
Anlek pursed his lips and gazed at the scene. The pale radiance from the gemstone etched deep shadows on his gaunt face. Although he usually maintained a stern demeanor, he had to admit that he had never seen a gemstone of such magnificent size: this gift from ancient times was almost as tall as a person, and such crystals simply did not exist in nature; they could only be man-made.
The duke turned coldly, for no one had ever seen a dragon’s heart, but the wizards could sense the ceaseless power emanating from the gemstone—it was pure magic, after being purified into essence. The members of Everything Returns Society couldn’t help but reply in slightly trembling voices, “My lord, that could be the Dragon’s Heart.”
Anlek nodded; he felt it too. He had been in the realm of golden pinnacle for some time, and the perception of power was shared. He could sense the resonances radiating from that gemstone, as if a torrent of energy was confined within, ready to break free at any moment.
Historically, the Dragon’s Heart was recorded as an eternal source of energy, just like the scene they were witnessing.
Seeing Anlek nod, the wizards immediately set to work, starting from the outer edges of the hall to methodically probe the ground of the hall inch by inch with magic. Although it was unlikely for a dragon, with its pride, to set traps, it was said so, but who knew if there would be a traitor among the dragons?
As the results came back, just as Anlek had anticipated, the wizards reported that there were no traps, and even on the ice pillar where the gemstone rested, there was no anomaly.
Anlek’s previously dark demeanor lightened slightly, but still emitted an intimidating aura. He turned to the black knights behind him and commanded, “You go and retrieve it, be careful not to break it; you should know its importance to us.”
The black knights nodded, acting in unison, and led by a knight captain, over ten black knights approached under the ice pillar. But at that moment, an unexpected change occurred. With a soft whoosh, more than ten black knights, including the elemental-awakened knight captain, vanished without a trace.
Everyone stood dazed.
In fact, the hall beneath the ice fell silent, as quiet as a pin dropping.
It was thirteen elemental manifesters, along with a true master of elemental awakening, who had disappeared without even a hint of a response? Even the wizards couldn’t help but rub their eyes, almost doubting their vision.
Anlek turned coldly, looking at his wizards: “What’s going on?”
The wizards exchanged puzzled glances; this clearly appeared to be a trap. However, they had already confirmed that place was harmless. Facing the duke’s question, they had no answers, left standing there dumbfounded.
A look of disappointment crossed Anlek’s face as he pointed at another group of private soldiers, commanding, “You go over there.”
The private soldiers paled at once, but in this situation, they had no choice but to tremble toward that direction. Slow and hesitant, these noble soldiers took almost twice as long to reach the ice pillar, and Anlek remained patient, watching the scene without a word.
But then, a miracle occurred. Those noble soldiers stood perfectly fine beneath the ice pillar, showing no signs of harm, as though everything that had happened prior was merely an illusion.
Anlek paused in shock, his brows furrowing involuntarily. However, after a moment’s hesitation, he once again commanded the black knights, “You go over.”
The performance of the black knights was significantly better than those private soldiers; they slightly bowed and proceeded towards the ice pillar. But this time, once they were nearly thirty feet away, the same situation unfolded. With a soft swish, all the black knights, including the previously present private soldiers, vanished without a trace.
Everyone was left dumbfounded. The private soldiers were insignificant cannon fodder, but the two batches of black knights plus the ones lost during the collapse accounted for almost a third of the black knights brought for this operation. This loss was not one anyone could shoulder if the Privy Council held them accountable.
Close to a hundred elemental manifesters just vanished like that; such a contrast was unacceptable to anyone. Anlek’s expression turned icy, harmonizing with the surrounding environment. It seemed he finally realized something, turning back to roar, “Who! Come out!”
The duke’s voice echoed throughout the ice cave, but regrettably, there was no response. For Shi Ta was currently lying on the ground, watching the unfolding events beneath the ice, unable to contain himself, rolling in laughter while emitting hisses of breath. If anyone had been present at that moment, they would have seen a round white, green-tinged meatball rolling on the ground—barely resembling a dragon at all. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to support it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation votes or monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)
