Ten minutes after entering the Dark Mountain Range, the surrounding sky became obviously dimmed. The clouds above the head seemed to cover the entire sky, and the light shining through it was dim and dim. The "Wall of Lolisa" is already working. It is not only preventing energy from leaking inside the mountain range, but also preventing things from the outside world from entering the inside of the mountain range.
"In fact, not only the creatures in the dark mountains will be trapped by the wall of Lorisa, but even the adventurers who come in from outside will be disturbed by the energy field of the mountains," Becky said while leading the way, "the powerful Adventurers and mercenaries are still less affected, but those who are weaker will have various negative effects such as loss of direction, memory loss, and difficulty in casting spells. No matter how weak they are, they will even be eroded by energy and directly injured. The deeper the mountains The further you go, the greater the threat of out-of-control energy, so the hunters and herb pickers in the vicinity usually only work at the foot of the mountain, and only professional professionals will challenge the mountain forest. As for the highest main peak... no one has yet been to it. "
Hao Ren asked casually, "But generally speaking, the 'Wall of Lolisa' seems to be more powerful in suppressing the creatures in the Dark Mountains?"
"Well, its original function should be internal and external," Becky nodded, "Some scholars speculate that this energy barrier was originally used by the ancient magic empire to seal off the test site, preventing things in the test site from going out—just Now that the age is long, the energy barrier has been out of control, and it will also cause harm to visitors from the outside world."
The forest wind blows, the lush shadow cedar makes the sound of rattling branches and leaves, only a faint light leaks through the gaps in the canopy, the shadows are faint, like stars, and between the trees and weeds and shrubs, there is a steep hillside all the way up And all kinds of abrupt rocks, it is not easy to trek. There are almost no things that can be called "roads" in the dark mountains. Hunters at the foot of the mountain only use some natural trails to enter the mountain, and these trails do not extend deep into the forest. Usually, adventurers mostly use personal experience. And bold and careful exploration to find their own way into the mountain. The road that Becky chose for Hao Ren was already the best one - the knights sent by the kingdom more or less trimmed and marked the hillside along the way, which was much easier than the pure mountain road.
Lily has transformed into a werewolf form, her eyes widened and she bent down to sniff carefully from time to time. Those golden eyes shimmered in the dim environment, and they were full of seriousness. She is usually careless and unreliable, but in the wild environment, she seems to be vigilant as if she has been modded, like a wild beast, which can only show its strength when it enters the mountains and wilderness.
"There are many scents left by wild beasts," Lily sniffled. "The deeper you go, the stronger the strength, and most of them are monsters—it really is a test site left over from the ancient magic empire. Most of the indigenous creatures here have mutated." I don’t even know my own mother.”
"The further you go, the more dangerous it is. There are even hidden dragons who make their homes in the dark mountains." Becky tightened the magic long sword in her hand, but her expression was eager to try, "Ha, without those knight guards, I found it." It’s a bit more exciting than when I was a mercenary~”
Although Hao Ren and his party's trip to the Dark Mountains was arranged by Ophra, they did not bring the guard knights sent by the royal family of Holleta, because Hao Ren felt that they didn't need those entourages at all. Instead of slowing down the itinerary, it is better to bring Becky who is familiar with the situation as a guide, which is more efficient and there is no restraint in getting along. Of course, Becky has no objection to this arrangement. Her only regret is that Marshal Ophra cannot accompany her: as the highest-ranking military general in the kingdom, that Marshal is truly a man of many opportunities. One or two relics in the Dark Mountains have changed. Not enough for her to ask in person.
After all, such incidents are usually said to be more or less, and basically it will happen once or twice in more than ten years.
Along the way, it can be said that there is almost no problem: the dangerous monsters in the dark mountains may be quite threatening to the local aborigines, but they are obviously not enough for Hao Ren and the two big killers around him. They didn't encounter any monster attacks on this way into the mountain at all - it's not that they didn't pass through the territory of those monsters, but that all the monsters with a little observation ability were scared away by the aura emitted by Lily and Vivian.
To survive in a place like the Dark Mountains, the most basic skill is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.
There was a noise in the distant forest, and Hao Ren vaguely saw a huge black shadow swaying in the shade. Lily immediately raised her head and bared her fangs, and let out a low "woo hoo" in the direction of the noise. Roaring, the sound disappeared instantly.
The husky girl curled her lips in disdain: "Tch, she looks quite scary, but they are all cowards."
"This is just the periphery. The power level of monsters is limited. When you reach the depths, there will be guys who are not afraid of you." Becky shrugged. "At that time, you can naturally find them to have a good time."
Lily's eyeballs rolled suddenly, and she quietly hid behind Hao Ren's back: "Oh...cut, I don't have that much time..."
Vivienne was quite contemptuous of the husky girl's performance: "Facing the wind and the waves against the wind, the skill points piled up from a lot of natural materials and earthly treasures all allow you to point to the ability to eat salted soda and eat spicy sticks without spitting out the packaging bag. "
"Bat, you have the ability to catch me a dog cannon with your face!"
In just a few days, she was fooled into accepting this setting...
The four of them passed through the outer area of the Dark Mountains as easily as if they were walking in their own back garden. Hao Ren collected a lot of data along the way, and after confirming that there was nothing more worthy of attention, they accelerated their speed. Arrived at the observation camp established by the Holletta Royal Investigation Team before the dark—it was located in a clearing deep in the dense forest on the mountainside of the main peak.
Around the camp, Hao Ren had already noticed the scattered ancient ruins—thick moss covered fragments of broken stone slabs, where vines and weeds were intertwined, metal fragments that were about to melt into the soil could be seen. Among the shadow trees, he even saw fallen stone pillars and collapsed altar-like things, all these signs indicated that they were approaching an ancient ruin.
Remnants of an ancient magical empire.
Observe that the camp is not very big, it occupies an open space with a diameter of no more than 100 meters in the forest, surrounded by several slatted wooden huts that have just been built, it should be the place where soldiers and ordinary handymen and assistants live, and further inside there are three A house that looks more refined and solid, with the emblem of the Holleta Royal Knights hanging on the outer wall of the house, it should be the place where the official knights and magician apprentices live. The core building of the camp is an astonishingly small magic tower. This tower is suspended in the air, only three stories high, and the bottom is four or five meters above the ground. It was built, and the surface of the tower has complex magic patterns shining - this is obviously not the kind of simple building that was rushed out in the temporary camp.
"That's the miniature magic tower of Master Haimo, the highest person in charge of the investigation team. He summoned it directly from the headquarters of the Magician Association in Wangcheng," Becky said enviously. As a magic swordsman, she also has the ability to cast spells. And a certain amount of magic knowledge, but it is obviously not enough compared with a real great magician, "For a magician, the magic tower brings more than just an improvement in strength, the laboratory and various auxiliary The facilities can help to explore this ruin. In addition, his personal assistant also works in that tower, and the houses around the tower are the knights' garrison... "
Hao Ren nodded, and had a general understanding of the investigation team's situation. At the same time, the sentries observing the camp had long noticed the group of uninvited guests who suddenly came out of the forest—they were first surprised that someone could be so careless. Walking into the depths of the dark mountain range, and there was no movement of fighting, nor did the vigilance around the camp be triggered, and then they recognized Becky's face.
"It's Captain Becky!" A soldier shouted from the sentry tower.
"Open the gate and inform Archmage Haimo!" Becky came to the gate of the camp, raised her head and ordered loudly, "Marshal Ophra's instructions should arrive before us."
"Yes, we just received the order in the morning," the gatekeeper replied loudly while instructing the person behind the gate to pull the winch, and the heavy camp gate slowly opened with a creaking sound, "Master Haimo is already I'm waiting for you."
Hao Ren originally thought that Master Haimo would be a serious old man, but he was surprised when he met him: the other party turned out to be a young man who looked less than 30 years old, and his expression was a little reserved Introverted. This young archmage was wearing a dark blue magic robe, with a pair of round gold-rimmed glasses clipped on the bridge of his nose. He had a rather refined demeanor. When he saw Hao Ren, he first offered a mage salute, and then Some nervously said: "It's a pleasure to meet you in person... I really didn't expect you to come to this place in person..."
"Um, I just came to check on the situation..." Hao Ren was a little uncomfortable being treated so warmly, and he was a little curious while agreeing, "By the way, you know me?"
"I was there when the 'eldest son' of Sunset Volcano was picked," the young Haimo, who already had the title of Archmage, showed a shy smile, "and I was also involved in the launch of the Hodisius Fortress—I was there The crystal mine pit you left behind has been studied for a long time, and my current title and strength should also be thanks to the research experience during that time."
"Oh..." Hao Ren nodded, somewhat understanding why the young man in front of him was so enthusiastic.
"Let's talk about the following situation first," Becky interjected at this moment, "It's rare for an expert to come and guide you."
Although he didn't understand the meaning of the string of coined words "experts are here to guide", Haimo still understood Becky's meaning and nodded immediately: "Please follow me—there have been several energy fluctuations in the ruins these days." , and I'm about to unravel the secret of the second gate. This must be a discovery that can shock the world: I actually found an ancient facility intact under there! Can you believe it? It's intact! It's like time from It’s as if I haven’t visited the cave behind that stone wall! I even suspect that the time inside was once frozen!”