Chapter 232: Blackstone City

Chapter 232: Blackstone City

After reaching an agreement with Dakville, the Black Iron Clan's pursuit of humans temporarily ceased.

Therefore, Su Muyu and Lin Zeyu no longer needed to hide and were led by Lu Heng into the Forge Fortress.

Lu Heng had accepted the mission to retrieve Dakville II's ashes from Blackstone City, a dangerous task that required some preparation before departure.

"I need a map of Blackstone City, including all the mines, secret passages, and hidden locations unknown to the Bloodline Demons," Lu Heng requested.

Dakville was ready and led Lu Heng to the Military Hall.

In the Military Hall, there was a sand table of Blackstone City, meticulously detailing the Blackstone Mine and the city itself.

Blackstone City was, after all, the original home of the Black Iron Clan led by Dakville, even though it had been taken over by the Bloodline Demons. No one knew this stone city better than the Black Iron Clan.

Dakville pointed to the sand table and began to introduce the peculiar construction of the city:

"Blackstone City is built upon the Blackstone Mine, and its entire structure is integrated with the mine.

"Beneath the mine lies a magma abyss, three hundred meters deep, the most dangerous area within the city.

"A lava river flows through the city, entering the magma abyss at the southern end of the Blackstone Plaza.

"Ordinary creatures that fall into the magma abyss have no chance of survival.

"This lava river flows past the city's main gate, and without the drawbridge lowered, it's nearly impossible for anyone to enter.

"This is the primary reason why Blackstone City is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

"As long as the city's guards raise the drawbridge, the only way to enter is by crossing the lava river, which is a challenging feat even for us Black Iron Dwarves."

The Black Iron Dwarves are naturally highly resistant to fire, a racial talent that allows them to live in stone cities surrounded by lava rivers. Even so, it is still difficult for Black Iron Dwarves to cross these lava rivers.

Su Muyu was observing the sandbox model of Blackstone City while comparing it with the observations made by the Celestial Phoenix.

At this moment, an invisible Celestial Phoenix was circling high above Blackstone City, observing this grand and mysterious stone city.

When looking at the sandbox, the stone city appeared small, making its structure seem merely very intriguing. However, observing the real Blackstone City through the Celestial Phoenix, one could truly appreciate the grandeur of this stone city.

T

Such a marvel of craftsmanship was now occupied by Bloodline Demons. It had to be said that the Black Iron Dwarves had truly suffered a tragic fate.

While observing the sandbox and the real Blackstone City, Su Muyu pointed out a few differences:

"Here, this entrance is blocked, so it would be very difficult to enter Blackstone City from the air."

Lu Heng carefully examined every detail of Blackstone City, then closed his eyes and reconstructed its structure in his mind, imagining himself navigating through its various passages. After repeating this twice, he was confident he had memorized all the passages.

"

A Black Iron Clan guard stepped forward, extending his arm. "Use my blood."

D

Lu Heng took a piece of cloth, dipped it in a few drops of his blood, and then folded it and put it in his pocket.

Bloodline Demons prefer to drink blood rather than smear it on their bodies, and they have a very sensitive sense of smell. Therefore, a few drops were enough.

Once everything was prepared, the balcony gradually descended as the sun set. Nighttime was when Bloodline Demons were most active, and Lu Heng needed to enter Blackstone City at night.

After the sun set, Lu Heng emerged from the military hall, ready to set out.

On the square outside the military hall, a group of Black Iron Dwarves were sparring with the mechanical tiger Anka. These Black Iron Dwarves had never seen such a magnificent "creature" before, with a body that seemed to be made of metal but was not just a lump of iron.

Roar!

The mechanical tiger stretched out its paw and swatted the nearest Black Iron Dwarf, sending him rolling away.

This Black Iron Dwarf quickly got up, laughing heartily, and ran back to continue sparring with the mechanical tiger, finding this method of sparring very interesting.

L

Su Muyu and Lin Ze Yu followed, leaving Forge Fortress to discuss their next steps.

"Do you need me to go in with you?" Su Muyu, after serious consideration, thought that Blackstone City was large, and with her invisibility ability, she could infiltrate some remote areas.

"Still, I'll go alone. If needed, I can send the Celestial Phoenix to assist me," Lu Heng decided after careful thought.

"Be careful," Su Muyu pursed her lips, her worry evident on her face.

Lu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Stay at Forge Fortress and be cautious. The Black Iron Dwarves won't mistreat you for now, but other humans are a variable. Be wary of the two teams we've encountered; their thinking is different from ours."

Su Muyu nodded in agreement. "Understood, I know."

Lin Ze Yu, carrying a sniper rifle, said, "I think we should just take them out; it would save a lot of trouble."

"Let's not. Our principle is not to fire the first shot."

Engaging in internal conflict within the Abyss Battlefield is not a wise move. If every time humans were summoned to an Abyss Battlefield, they ended up fighting each other, a significant number would die with each summons. Human civilization wouldn't last long before being overwhelmed by the Abyss.

Lu Heng had witnessed the civilizational catastrophe humans faced during the later stages of Abyssal invasions and hoped that in this life, humans could take a different path, finding a way to resist the Abyss.

Since their arrival, Su Muyu had been worrying about one issue: "What about the traitors? One of the challenge tasks is to eliminate traitors. Does this mean that there are traitors among the summoned metahumans?"

The first challenge task is:

【1. Find and eliminate the Fallen Traitor.】

Lu Heng had already been paying attention to this issue and nodded, "Yes, among the metahumans summoned, there is a traitor. That much is certain."

Lin Ze Yu asked curiously, "Since you know there's a traitor, why doesn't the Creator just eliminate them directly if they're aware of their existence?"

Lu Heng glanced at him and reminded, "If the one who summoned us is the Creator, then what does the existence of the traitor task imply? Is it the will of the Abyssal Creator?"

"If there truly is a Creator, then it's a game between the two Creators. If our Creator can eliminate the traitor, can the Abyssal Creator do the same to us?"

"If the Creator really has the power to eliminate any target, then our efforts would be meaningless."

"In fact, whether there is a Creator or not is still an unknown."

"I prefer to call the task-giver the World Will."

"Based on the current task information, the World Will knows there's a traitor, but doesn't know who it is."

"Perhaps the Abyssal Will is also protecting the traitor, concealing their identity."

Su Muyu pondered and asked, "Then how do we determine who the traitor is?"

Lu Heng spread his hands and answered, "We can only judge by the traitor's behavioral logic."

...

After finalizing their plan, Lu Heng rode the Mechanical Tiger, and the Celestial Phoenix carried Lin Ze Yu. Su Muyu spread her wings and flew into the sky.

The three of them flew towards Blackstone City.

Their flight was swift, and by the time they reached the vicinity of Blackstone City, the night had just enveloped the Lava Plain.

They searched in the air for a moment and located a squad of Bloodline Demons. They descended upon them.

The Solar Wind blew, and with the Energy Shock Bomb and Thunder Gaol, all their energy attacks bombarded the demons.

In one encounter, they eliminated five Bloodline Demons.

Su Muyu picked up the dropped Crystal Core, took a glance at it, and then stored it in her inventory.

The trio's skill levels were already quite high, so even when they killed ordinary demons and obtained Crystal Cores, it usually couldn't immediately enhance their combat power.

Lu Heng used the Shape-Shifting Orb and transformed into the appearance of one of the Bloodline Demons.

"I'm off. You two find a place to hide and don't let the Bloodline Demons discover you."

"Alright, don't worry about us. If you encounter danger, send us a signal, and I'll come to your aid immediately." Su Muyu instructed.

Lu Heng waved and strode towards Blackstone City.

As night fell, darkness enveloped the massive stone city ahead.

Due to the surrounding lava river, even at night, the red glow from the ground outlined the silhouette of the black stone city.

Lu Heng followed the uphill road towards Blackstone City.

After nightfall, Bloodline Demons were coming out of Blackstone City to forage in the wilderness.

Although Bloodline Demons were among the more intelligent races of demons, their discipline wasn't particularly high.

These ram-headed demons also had limited verbal communication skills.

Usually, only high-ranking Bloodline Demons would use vocal commands when issuing orders.

When Bloodline Demons encountered each other, they wouldn't communicate verbally. Instead, they would use a few simple roars to express their emotions.

This was one of the reasons Lu Heng dared to infiltrate Blackstone City alone.

Since Bloodline Demons rarely spoke, speaking less reduced the chances of being discovered.

Additionally, due to their poor discipline, when they foraged in groups, they didn't maintain a strict formation.

Individual Bloodline Demons moved as they pleased, and others wouldn't bother with their kind.

Only when high-ranking Bloodline Demons appeared would these lower-ranked demons display a respectful demeanor.

Lu Heng followed the road leading to Blackstone Mine, and on his way up, he encountered two or three squads of foraging Bloodline Demons. One or two of them emitted low growls, expressing some emotion.

Upon hearing these sounds, Lu Heng didn't react and continued walking forward as if he hadn't seen the demons.

Such behavior, if exhibited by humans, would be considered aloof and difficult to get along with.

But among the Bloodline Demon clans, this was the most normal reaction.

As long as the other party wasn't a high-ranking Bloodline Demon, ignoring them was the best course of action.

Lu Heng continued up the mountain path and reached the gates of Blackstone City.

The drawbridge at the gate had already been lowered, and several Bloodline Demons were exiting from within.

Lu Heng quickened his pace, stepped onto the drawbridge, and headed towards the Blackstone City gates.

Just at that moment—

A high-ranking Bloodline Demon appeared above the city gates and let out a roar.

Roar!

All the Bloodline Demons on the mountain road below froze, turned around, faced the Blackstone City gates, and stood still with their heads bowed.

Lu Heng quickly stood still as well, facing the high-ranking Bloodline Demon above, and quietly waited with his head lowered.

At this moment, any movement would surely give him away.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end