Chapter 85: End of the Night World
The headquarters of the Tower of Secrets, as its name suggests, is a magnificent tower that reaches into the clouds.
This made Rast unconsciously recall his “Library of Fools,” with its twenty-one steps existing within a high tower, though Rast had never had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of its exterior.
The special train from the military stopped outside the military exclusion zone; though it was called an exclusion zone, its size was comparable to a small town.
The two walked down from the train door, and immediately soldiers in Black Eagle uniforms approached to verify their identities, allowing them to pass only after confirmation.
Ingrid walked in front, her shoulder-length black hair swaying slightly, and her pitch-black coat billowed in the wind.
Her form was quite slender, yet her movements were mechanical and precise, with her walking pace seemingly as accurate as a clock, exuding a sharp air that resonated with the cold and deadly aura of the military exclusion zone.
Rast followed behind and noticed that wherever Ingrid went, all the soldiers bowed in salute.
This clearly demonstrated that his senior sister held a very high position within the military.
Although it had only been six years since graduation, and she had no related background, starting as an ordinary non-commissioned officer in the military…
At this moment, Ingrid’s role as the Director of the Supervisory Bureau was indeed not a nominal position, but one wielding substantial power.
Rast gradually understood the weight of Ingrid’s casual remark about “climbing desperately and without scruples” from earlier.
As the two proceeded, the patrolling soldiers began to dwindle.
However, in contrast, various armored equipment, mechanical weapons, and all sorts of restrictions increased dramatically.
Moonlight flashed briefly in the air, and Mr. Silver emerged from the subspace of the sub-dimension, once again settling on Rast’s shoulder.
Around the Tower of Secrets, there seemed to be restrictions capable of directly interfering with subspace.
“Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss just to protect an intelligence archive?”
Rast stared at a giant cannon not far away, at least ten meters tall, comparable to the “Gustav cannon” from his memories, lost in thought.
The massive dark cannon barrel pointed straight at the pitch-black tower, its rough surface covered with various rune circuits and alchemical matrices.
Even a city wall would be ruthlessly destroyed by this rune cannon.
Considering the secrecy and importance of the Tower of Secrets headquarters, deploying an army of this scale was indeed a bit exaggerated.
Those who knew understood it was to protect sensitive intelligence; those who didn’t would think it was an all-out assault on the royal city of a hostile nation.
“Compared to the full force deployed by the empire and the academy for the Tower of Secrets, what you see is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Ingrid noticed Rast’s gaze directed at the rune cannon.
She paused her steps slightly and pointed at the azure sky above: “Rast, have you heard of ‘space-based kinetic weapons’?”
Space-based kinetic weapons?
Rast was slightly taken aback, then recalled some street literature he had seen in his previous life.
The so-called space-based kinetic weapons typically involved satellites positioned in low Earth orbit acting as platforms, carrying tungsten rods weighing several kilograms, then locking onto, guiding, and launching at ground targets from space.
Using gravitational potential energy as a power source for precise strikes against strategic targets on the surface.
Of course, based on previous life evidence, the actual lethality of such tungsten rods was far from expectations, and due to the significant difficulty of precise targeting from space… it was merely a fantasy weapon circulated in street literature and science fiction novels.
However—
If this was a world where extraordinary powers, magical matrices, and rune circuits existed…
Just as this thought arose.
Rast heard Ingrid’s ethereal voice ringing in his ears.
“Not long ago, the imperial military just produced a prototype space-based cannon.”
“In flashier terms, it’s a spear of judgment cast down from the heavens, the sword of Damocles.”
“Currently, it’s positioned in synchronous orbit, and the surface coordinates locked by the prototype space-based cannon—”
Ingrid smiled and pointed at the dark tower nearby: “is the Tower of Secrets.”
?
Even with Rast’s knowledge, he couldn’t help but freeze in astonishment.
He instinctively glanced at the azure sky overhead.
In other words, there was a possibility that at any moment, a sword of Damocles could fall, leveling the entire Tower of Secrets along with the surrounding military exclusion zone?
“Just an intelligence archive, isn’t this overkill?”
“Not just for the intelligence archive.”
Noticing Rast’s confusion, Ingrid turned her gaze to Mr. Silver, seemingly seeking his opinion.
Seeing this, Mr. Silver casually swished his fluffy tail: “Just tell him directly.”
“For ordinary night travelers, knowing too many secrets ahead of time might not be a good thing… but this guy is an exception.”
“Don’t be fooled by the fact that he is only at the second level right now; the number of high-difficulty echoes he has solved just because of himself exceeds two. Having joined the academy for less than a month, his obelisk ranking has already reached the top twenty, just a step away from becoming one of the Twelve Seats of the Round Table.”
“With this guy’s nature, even if you don’t tell him, he will eventually encounter these things sooner or later.”
Ingrid nodded: “I understand; he is indeed a student who has caught your investment, Mr. Silver, and his obelisk rank has risen so quickly.”
“Don’t say that; I never intended to invest in this unfortunate thing…”
“I was just randomly finding a silly new student to pass the time.”
As he spoke, Mr. Silver once again dove into Rast’s hood.
Ingrid glanced at the hood where Mr. Silver had vanished, smiled, and shook her head, not continuing this topic.
She then looked at Rast again and began to explain.
“Rast, you should have learned about the divisions of the old eras of the Night World in the academy, right?”
“Before the civilization era in which we live, in the ‘Pale Era’ shrouded in layers of mist, a total of six civilization epochs existed.”
“According to the latest theory proposed by the Ruins Institute… there should be seventy-two Night Worlds, grouped in groups of twelve, belonging to the six old epochs that have already perished.”
“Among them, the Night Worlds of the first five old epochs have been completely conquered; in other words… the existing and those that will appear in the future belong to the sixth epoch.”
“But have you ever thought—”
“Since even the most ordinary Night World, after being explored and conquered by the Night Travelers, will present a high-difficulty dungeon like Calamity Echo as the final challenge and conclusion.”
“Then, after an entire old epoch has been fully explored, what will emerge?”
In their conversation, they had already reached the foot of the magnificent tower, at an inconspicuous side entrance.
Ingrid smiled and once again directed her gaze toward the Tower of Secrets before her.
“The recording interval for ordinary Night Worlds usually spans several months to several decades, reflecting the entire process of a disaster that civilization once underwent.”
“Compared to the entire epoch, this is merely an insignificant fragment.”
“And after the remaining Night Worlds of a certain epoch are fully explored and historical secrets are completely resolved…”
“What emerges is the final Night World of that epoch—”
“Or should we say, ‘End Echo.'”
Her words paused for a moment.
“And what is recorded in the End Echo is naturally that which, at the twilight of the old epoch, destroyed an entire civilization and ended an entire era’s catastrophe.”
Without Ingrid needing to say it, Rast had already guessed her next words.
“As for the End Night World of the Sixth Epoch—”
“It is currently located within the Tower of Secrets.”
(End of Chapter)
