Chapter 47: Memory Metal
Soren did not answer the Eastern Dance Maiden’s question.
He looked up at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the horizon, catching glimpses of some future fragments. The stars under the night sky had dimmed significantly; as time moved into late April, some stars had become quite inconspicuous, and the moon appeared somewhat gray, as if shrouded in a layer of haze. There were still eight months left until the end of this year, and this should be Soren’s most stable eight months. When next spring arrives, he would probably not have such a relaxed and stable time.
The Eastern Dance Maiden looked up at the horizon, her expression somewhat dazed as she murmured, “Have you heard of the legends from the East?”
“What legends?” Soren fiddled with the campfire and replied in a low voice.
The Eastern Dance Maiden stood up and looked at the moon before quietly saying, “When all the stars in the sky have turned dim and lifeless, a demon star will tear through the heavens! At that time, great disasters will descend. It is said that there have been rumors in many places, and the monks appear to be secretly preparing for something. In the Eastern Kingdom, there are reports that many ascetic monks have emerged from their seclusion, including the ascetic monk from the Prajna Sect. The actions of the monks have made many feel uneasy.”
“After completing this mission, I will be returning to the Eastern Kingdom.”
“Her Majesty ordered us to withdraw from the vicinity of the d*ath Desert by the second half of the year, although I do not know what will happen.”
The Eastern Empress.
This woman holds a profession level of over 30, a legendary figure among legends, and Soren was not surprised that she could sense the signs of the Saint’s Cataclysm in advance.
The d*ath Desert would be at the forefront during the Saint’s Cataclysm!
Too many evil entities were sealed here, but there were no monasteries to quell them, making it easy for it to become a chaotic slaughterhouse.
“Leaving here is for the best.”
Soren turned to glance at the woman behind him. The Eastern Dance Maiden had a charm different from other women, a foreign allure that easily won others’ favor.
But not Soren, because the woman before him likely intended to leverage this to forge a closer relationship.
If one were to compare the Eastern Dance Maiden to someone, they would resemble the Yin-Gui Sect of the Demonic Gate; the Eastern Empress is well-versed in charm techniques, and her dance moves are undoubtedly lethal, not much weaker than the ‘Demon Dance’. Moreover, they secretly have intricate connections with brothels in the Eastern Kingdom. Many Eastern Dance Maidens publicly identify as the top courtesans of brothels, yet behind the scenes, they are ruthless assassins.
Soren stood up, gazing at the woman before him, and said in a deep voice, “It’s time.”
“It’s time for the next watch.”
“You should rest early today; tomorrow we can enter the underground.”
The second watchman was the Eastern Ronin, who sat by the campfire with his sword and cast a disinterested glance at the Eastern Dance Maiden.
After a moment, he pierced a scorpion with his sword and put it on the fire to roast, surprisingly sipping some wine.
The night passed quickly.
The next day, the laborers were once again urged to work. The progress in the morning was much faster, and they unearthed some remnants of buildings. However, another unexpected event occurred. After they broke through a wall, a multitude of sacred beetles surged out from within, a dark wave of sacred beetles pouring forth. They instantly overwhelmed the three nearest laborers. Not only did these ordinary people falter, but even the other professionals present, especially the Eastern Dance Maiden, paled at the sight of the densely packed sacred beetles.
Desert Sacred Beetles.
They resembled the army ants of the Overseas Islands. A creature capable of overwhelming even high-level professionals.
“Fire!”
Soren had long been prepared, and upon giving the command, oil was quickly poured at the entrance, followed by flames spreading through the passage, burning for about ten minutes before driving the sacred beetles away. There were many burned sacred beetles at the entrance, likely numbering in the thousands. Many ancient ruins in the desert teemed with such creatures, and seeing them unprepared would send chills down anyone’s spine.
Two dead, one injured!
The casualties were within Soren’s expectations, even though they had only just excavated the edge of the underground ruins.
“Prepare to enter.”
Soren looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, “Get your torches ready! Everyone prepare; the area below should be the plaza of the ancient ruins, and there may be some unsavory entities inside.”
“We must clear them out before we can continue digging the passage.”
It would be a d*ath sentence for ordinary people to enter.
Soren had to eliminate some monsters inside before they could proceed with the excavation.
“I’ve been waiting impatiently.”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior banged on his shield and jumped up from the dune, excitedly exclaiming, “Are there treasures down there? Didn’t you say you were very familiar with the situation inside? There must be something good near the plaza, right?”
Treasures.
Apart from Soren and the Eastern Dance Maiden, everyone present came for the wealth.
Soren glanced at him and nodded, “There should be some. According to the architectural distribution from the era of the Arcane Empire, there should be quite a few Arcane coins nearby.”
“These coins are highly valuable, with an exchange rate of approximately 1:10 with Gind.”
Arcane Gold.
Simply put, it’s gold refined through alchemy. The consistency of gold is strong, and the coin-making techniques of the Arcane Empire were at least two eras ahead of the current time.
“Is it that valuable?”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior said excitedly, “Then finding a hundred would mean swapping for a thousand Gind.”
Upon hearing his words, the Eastern Ronin and Desert Warrior both showed slight reactions; finding thousands of ancient coins in an underground ruin was a normal occurrence, which meant that without accounting for other treasures, it would generate an income of over ten thousand Gind.
“Don’t celebrate too early.”
Soren frowned slightly and said in a serious tone, “There may still be undamaged golem sentinels below. Our mission is still to clear the plaza before exploring other areas.”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior clapped his chest and replied earnestly, “I know. It’s not my first time exploring ruins, so don’t worry, I won’t act recklessly.”
Rumbling!
A faint collapse was heard from within the passage, seemingly from a wall being pushed down.
Soren glanced below and instructed, “Prepare the ropes. We’ve dug into an entrance; it seems to be over thirty meters deep.”
Torches, grappling hooks, and pulleys.
Soren, as a Wanderer, was at the forefront. Although he could easily descend using levitation, he still slowly slid down with the rope.
Currently, no one knew that he also worked as a Wizard; it was better to keep it a secret for now.
“Safe!”
Soren’s night vision was strong; he quickly scanned the surroundings. He lit his torch and firmly stated, “It’s safe to come down.”
The second to descend was the Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior.
He was the true meat shield, clad in heavy armor weighing over sixty pounds, which only a Dwarf Warrior could wear. (Impressive strength, with the highest constitution among regular races. Non-advanced Dwarves with decent talents can reach a constitution of 19. Dwarf Warriors, despite their height disadvantage, are top-tier meat shields in all aspects, and these guys naturally possess decent taunting abilities.)
Thud!
Due to his weight, the sound of him landing was loud.
This noise echoed in the silent underground, and soon there came some faint movements from all directions.
Never expect a heavy armored warrior to move silently; Soren perked his ears to listen, and his expression gradually turned serious, saying, “Hurry down! Prepare for battle!”
The Desert Warrior and Eastern Ronin, both agile melee professions, quickly landed and steadied themselves, while the Eastern Dance Maiden landed quietly.
Woo woo woo!
Eerie sounds came from all around, sending chills down their spines.
“d*mn!”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior muttered after listening, “We’ve encountered the undead!…” (as in encountering ghosts!)
A ghostly blue flame flickered.
The breath of the undead appeared with the cold wind. The enclosed underground ruins should rarely have ventilation, so their experienced senses immediately told them that they had encountered the undead.
“Ghost! Will-o’-the-wisp! There seems to be skeletal undead nearby!…”
Soren frowned as he scanned the surroundings. He said in a deep voice, “Prepare the Holy Water, it can be applied to weapons! Everyone stay close together; no one knows what monsters are here!”
Woo woo woo!
Half-transparent figures appeared; these were the souls buried alongside the city, rushing towards them.
Clang!
Soren instantly drew his blade, slashing with the Curved Blade “Ice d*ath” which possessed energy damage, capable of directly dealing with these semi-material undead beings.
“I hate the undead!”
The heavy Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior found it difficult to deal with ghosts, so he turned his gaze and found a skeletal undead waking (Challenge Level 6).
Everyone present was a high-level professionist.
Taken out, they would be key figures in a town organization; dealing with these undead was naturally a manageable task.
The battle lasted only a few minutes.
All the undead were defeated. Soren sheathed the Curved Blade and began to light the torches; this was the first stop for exploring the underground ruins. Since it had sunk deep into the desert, many places were buried, and exploration had to be gradually cleared from here. Although the lighting had become sufficient, everything before them was now visible.
This was a large plaza, with the remnants of a decayed obelisk in front.
Half of the plaza was buried, while the other half was where they had dug. If Soren had not found the location, they may have struggled digging here, unless they had forcefully excavated all the dirt and sand out.
There were passages nearby, remnants of the city’s past streets, appearing very open, yet many had been buried, and the buildings had collapsed significantly. The structures in front of them were only partially intact. The preserved areas were not simple; there were likely traces of arcane remnants.
“This should be the location.”
Before taking action, Soren still wanted to give them a bit of sweet bait, after all, they were all high-level professionals, and it was difficult to truly put in the effort without seeing potential rewards.
He remembered quite clearly that there was a place nearby with a lot of spoils.
“Follow me.” Soren looked up at the top; this place had been buried for thousands of years and had stabilized greatly, but the possibility of sudden collapses could not be ruled out, and he certainly did not wish to be buried in the sand.
The group advanced cautiously.
As they approached a relatively intact building, some plants unexpectedly appeared before them.
Moss-like plants.
The walls bore mottled marks, and there were remnants of artificial crystals, a technique from the Arcane Empire, which used artificial crystals to transmit magical energy.
“Intruder detected!”
“Intruder detected!”
“Activate reserve energy!… Magical power drive system initiated!… Activating Level I defense system!…”
A cold mechanical voice rang out.
Suddenly, a dull thud came from the front wall, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, and a puppet golem standing about three meters tall, completely made of steel, stepped forth.
Soren stepped back cautiously, making the Dwarf Warrior stand in front, and said in a deep voice, “It’s a puppet golem from the Arcane Empire!…”
“Be careful!”
“They might have energy attack capabilities.”
Whenever it came to ruins related to the Arcane Empire, encountering these steel golems was common, as they completely replaced city guards during the Arcane Empire.
“Target detected!”
“Magical power guard type I receiving attack commands!…”
Crack.
The steel golem’s arm suddenly rotated, and a pitch-black cannon emerged. This golem technology is rarely seen in the current era, and Soren’s expression drastically changed as he exclaimed, “Quick, scatter!”
Boom!
Boom boom boom!
Three energy cannons struck their location, blasting the ground into numerous craters, with power not far from that of mortars.
“Pah pah pah!”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior spat out the dirt in his mouth, growled, and raised his shield, rushing forward, shouting, “Tadanding hates puppet golems! d*e, steel monster!”
Hill Dwarves once had glorious alchemy crafts, ultimately destroyed by the defensive constructs they created.
Clang!
The piercing sound of metal clashing echoed as the Dwarf Warrior struck the golem’s leg with his axe, producing sparks.
“Attack the joint positions!”
Soren moved as well, circling around from the side, and the Eastern Ronin quickly followed suit, sidestepping and swinging his sword towards the golem’s leg joint.
“Activate energy shield!”
“Elemental fission shield activated!… Insufficient energy!… Elemental fission shield activation failed!…”
“Magical power guard type I switching to melee form!”
Under the attacks from Soren and the others, the knee joints of the steel golem began to operate, rapidly transforming like a Transformer, retracting the pitch-black cannon into its body, and revealing a light golden obelisk shield and a giant sword forged from magical steel craftsmanship. Meanwhile, it gradually began to repair itself from the damage to its leg, with the metal seemingly coming to life, gradually returning to its original form.
“Memory metal?!”
Soren’s face instantly changed, then he showed some delight, murmuring, “Is it a high-level construct golem?”
……………(To be continued ~^~)
