Chapter 494: Rizarre Canyon
Chapter 494: Rizarre Canyon
"If that's the case, I have no objections."
"With the presence of these two Majesties, even if His Excellency Ren wants to take away some ancient goblin technological data, it's unlikely he'll succeed." The pipe-smoking elder paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
However, his expression revealed that he was reluctantly agreeing.
Most likely, Senator Bertrand's statement had forced him to make a compromise.
Seeing this, the military general thought for a moment and also nodded, saying, "Since we can contact these two Majesties to participate, the next rescue operation will have a much higher chance of success. I've heard that His Excellency Ren is very powerful, and I agree with this decision as well."
"In that case, it's settled!" Senator Bertrand's face also broke into a smile.
"Congresswoman Terena, it's up to you now."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Terena nodded, her expression calm, but she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had a premonition that no matter whether they agreed or not, His Excellency Ren would still go to the ruins.
At the Country Guest Manor, within a luxurious villa.
"Ren, you want to act alone and explore an unknown ancient goblin empire site in Zetaa?" Melia looked at Ren in surprise.
"Yes, Your Highness Melia. This is related to my advanced meditation technique, and perhaps you should take a look at this." Ren spoke sincerely as he presented an ancient sheepskin map on the coffee table, the same map from the Valzig School ruins.
Before coming, Ren had thought about how to convince Melia.
After some consideration, he decided to reveal a part of the secret and explain his reasons from the perspective of his advanced meditation technique.
For a Dawn Wizard, an advanced meditation technique was almost irreplaceable. In other words, if he wasn't allowed to go and search, it would be like cutting off his path.
This was something that all Dawn Wizards couldn't accept.
Melia carefully examined the map and looked at Ren with a hint of surprise, saying,
"I didn't expect you to have such an ancient map."
"Is the advanced meditation technique you're practicing 'Steel Heart'?"
"Yes, Your Highness Melia," Ren nodded.
He wasn't surprised that Melia knew the name of the advanced meditation technique from the School of Construction.
"Hmm, I've heard that in the School of Construction, only the 'Steel Heart' advanced meditation technique reaches the fourth level. I didn't expect the fifth level to be found here."
"Ren, in principle, I agree with your decision to go, but not now. This place is too dangerous at the moment." Melia shook her head.
Hmm? Ren was surprised that Melia had agreed but wanted him to go later.
Seeing Ren's astonished expression, Melia slowly explained,
"I've received confidential information from an imperial spy that this site is likely the ruins of the ancient goblin empire's capital. The level of risk in exploring it is very high."
"According to reliable sources, the Federation has already lost several high-level exploration teams there."
"So, I suggest waiting until more information about the ruins is available before you consider going."
Ren was truly surprised that Melia had also learned about the ruins.
After a moment of thought, Ren said, "Your Highness Melia, the advanced meditation technique I need is likely on the remains of a corpse within the ruins. In other words, the Federation doesn't need to explore the entire site; they might discover it during their exploration process."
"What conditions do you think I would have to offer to the Federation to exchange for it if they acquire it?"
"This..." Melia's eyes flashed, clearly thinking of something.
Yes! If the Federation obtained it and invited Ren to join them, most Dawn Wizards probably wouldn't refuse.
"Then how do you plan to infiltrate that site?"
"I intend to accept Congresswoman Terena's invitation to visit the Hadenburg Duchy. The city of Zetaa, where the ruins are located, is also within the Hadenburg Duchy. At that time, I'll find an opportunity to go there."
"If everything goes well, I should be able to wait for you there before the delegation arrives in Zetaa."
"Ren, it seems you and this female congresswoman are quite close." Melia glanced at Ren with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Uh..." Hearing this, Ren didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Now that the Federation has discovered this site, there will undoubtedly be guards around it. It will be difficult for you to infiltrate." However, Melia only mentioned this briefly and quickly returned to the main topic.
"This is a transformation ring. As long as you imagine the appearance of a person in your mind, you can transform into their appearance." Melia said as she took off a ring from her finger and handed it to Ren.
"Thank you, Your Highness Melia."
"Ren hesitated for a moment before accepting the ring.
However, he still felt a bit perplexed by Maynia's seemingly excessive kindness towards him.
'When do you plan to depart?' he asked.
'If you approve, I intend to leave early tomorrow morning,' Ren replied.
'Okay, be careful. We'll meet up with you in Zetaa,' Maynia nodded.
'Thank you, Your Highness Maynia. I'll be cautious,' Ren assured her.
That evening, Tereyna was slightly busier than usual.
After visiting both Tillio and Hernandez, she hurriedly contacted Ren.
The next morning, everything was ready, and a streamlined long-distance airship carried Ren and his party, speeding south.
By dusk, they had reached the Rizarre Canyon in Zetaa.
Ren, Swordsaint Tillio, and Dawn Wizard Hernandez, along with their entourage, had arrived at the bottom of the canyon.
Gazing at the narrow and elongated canyon landscape on both sides, Ren felt a bit puzzled. Typically, natural canyons formed by wind erosion, water flow, or glacial movement would have varying widths.
But this canyon seemed excessively uniform.
He noticed that from start to finish, the canyon's width remained consistently around a hundred meters, stretching for several dozen li.
Additionally, the canyon's depth exceeded his expectations.
The deepest area reached a staggering depth of over 1,500 meters.
Even now, as they stood in the middle of the canyon, near the deepest section, the azure sky visible from the bottom appeared as a mere slit.
'This canyon doesn't seem to be naturally formed,' Ren muttered under his breath.
'Your Highness Ren, your observation is sharp,' Hernandez, standing nearby, smiled upon hearing Ren's words.
'Oh? Your Highness Hernandez, do you know about this canyon?' Ren's eyes lit up as he smiled at Hernandez.
'Yes, I have some knowledge. According to Federation archaeologists, this canyon is no older than ten thousand years, and it's likely that it was formed only a few thousand years ago. So, we speculate that it's probably the result of some major battle,' Hernandez explained.
'But due to the lack of information about the new continent, the specifics remain unclear,' he added.
Ren nodded.
However, as he looked at the canyon again, he was quite astonished.
'To cause such destruction, even demi-gods might not be capable. Could it be the manifestation of a deity?' Ren wondered to himself.
At that moment, a capable Federation lieutenant stopped and pointed towards the rock wall ahead.
'Your Excellencies, the entrance to the ruins is just ahead.'
The lieutenant's words interrupted Ren's thoughts. He looked up and noticed a massive hole on the nearly vertical canyon wall to his left.
The hole was irregularly circular, several dozen meters high, and a faint red glow emanated from within, accompanied by a scorching heat.
Despite the large opening, the location at the canyon's deepest point, coupled with various hazards like venomous scorpions and wild wolves, made it a place rarely visited.
As they entered the cave, they saw numerous Federation soldiers swiftly setting up tents and arranging small defensive magic arrays, but it seemed they had only just arrived, and their work had just begun.
When Ren and his party entered, all the soldiers stopped what they were doing and immediately saluted. Simultaneously, the highest-ranking colonel among them took three quick steps forward and asked, 'Your Excellencies, do you need to rest?'
'No need,' Swordsaint Tillio waved his hand. 'Is the site ahead?'
'Yes, Your Highness Tillio, it's not far ahead,' the colonel replied.
'Good, then lead the way and give us a brief introduction,' Tillio instructed.
As the colonel introduced the site, he led the group through the dozens of meters of rock wall. Suddenly, a vast circular city came into view.
The entire city was situated several hundred meters below their current position, surrounded by a moat-like flow of dark red lava.
Whether due to the lava's gases or the dim lighting, even with Ren's dark vision, he could only make out a hazy outline of the massive city ahead.
It was as if a colossal beast lay there, its maw gaping open.
'I have a bad feeling about this place. There must be some dangerous entity hidden there,' Swordsaint Tillio's expression turned solemn as he pointed towards the city.
'Yes, otherwise, with Helm's strength, it's unlikely he couldn't even send a message,' Hernandez nodded in agreement, his face equally grave.
'Your Excellencies, there's a simple steel frame bridge ahead, probably built by Helm's team.'
"The colonel pointed to the makeshift steel bridge suspended above the lava."
"Alright, you can leave it here. We'll take it from here," Tillio nodded.
Soon, the group crossed the steel bridge and officially entered the ancient Gnomish city.
Even at the edge of the city, the outlines of houses beyond a few dozen meters were obscured, and a smoky haze filled the air above the entire city.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the footprints of Lord Helm and the two previous squads disappeared here."
At this moment, the federal lieutenant who was scouting ahead suddenly stopped and turned back to report.
"Hmm? The footprints disappeared here?" Master Swordsman Tillio frowned and spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant nodded confidently.
Ren couldn't help but bend down to take a look, and indeed, the multiple footprints on the ground ahead suddenly vanished.
The ground here was paved with square marble slabs, and there was thick dust before, but surprisingly, the area ahead was unexpectedly clean.
"This shouldn't be. If human footprints can be explained by volcanic ash covering them, but Helm was controlling Prototype One, such a huge golem, it's impossible that there wouldn't be any traces left behind."
Master Swordsman Tillio furrowed his brows.
Ren nodded, not speaking, but stood up and looked ahead.
He saw that the houses in front were almost all intact, and the streets were unusually clean, as if the residents of the city had disappeared in a short time, and the entire city was frozen in a specific time frame.
At this moment, he faintly heard the sound of some gears turning in the distance.
However, the sound seemed to come from deep within the city, and at this distance, it was only barely audible.
"I feel like something over there is watching us." Tillio frowned and pointed forward.
Although he didn't see any enemy movements, the keen perception of the Master Swordsman never lied.
"I also sense a repressive aura." Hernandes casually cast a water-type spell, and a flickering blue symbol floated in the air.
"There's definitely something wrong with this city."
"How about we use our ultimate techniques to destroy this area? That way, even if something is hidden inside, we can force them out." Master Swordsman Tillio suggested a simple and brutal plan.
"That's not right!" Ren and Hernandes spoke almost simultaneously.
"If Helm isn't dead but hiding somewhere, our combined attack might end up hurting or even killing him instead." Hernandes explained.
The combined might of three epic-level powerhouses could probably destroy half of the city ruins before them.
"You're right, Your Majesty Tillio. We're here to save people, and we must first ascertain their life or death." Ren nodded in agreement.
He had come to find Lord Helm, regardless of his life or death, to obtain that spell.
Additionally, he wanted to find traces of the exploration team of the ancient wizard school of Walzig, especially the owner of the black leather diary, the master of the Walzig sect, Walzig himself.
If they used high-power spells to bombard the area, the ruins would likely bury everything, making it impossible to find any traces.
"Alright then, since that's the case, let's go in. With the three of us, even if we can't explore the entire city, we can still leave without issue."
Seeing that the other two disagreed, Tillio didn't insist and took the lead, walking at the forefront.
Ren and Hernandes followed in the middle, while the remaining elite federal soldiers brought up the rear, heading deeper into the city.
After walking for a few dozen meters, suddenly, Tillio stopped and said, "Did you hear that?"
"A female voice."
"It's getting clearer."
As the team came to a halt, everyone, including Ren, seemed to hear a woman's voice, softly speaking.
But no matter how intently they listened, they couldn't make out what she was saying.
Even Hernandes, the knowledgeable veteran Dawn Wizard, couldn't decipher her words.
"Wait, this is some kind of mental influence." Suddenly, Ren spoke in a deep voice.
Because when he turned around, he found that the elite federal soldiers behind him, at the level of knights and great knights, were all rolling their eyes and wandering off on their own.
"Purification!"
A pale blue stream of water burst forth in front of Hernandes, forming ripples that covered the surrounding soldiers.
However, even as the pale blue ripples passed over them multiple times, the soldiers didn't seem to wake up.
"It's ineffective?" Hernandes's eyes widened in surprise.
At the same time, a dense sound of 'clicks' came from not too far ahead.
(End of Chapter)
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