https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-501-Successive-Promotion-Prompts/13358991/
Chapter 502: Prison
Chapter 502: Prison
Ren couldn't help but shake his head, saying, "Of course, but Lord Helm, you should be careful about your injuries."
However, Ren's warning lasted no more than two minutes before Helm's face flushed with excitement, his eyes wide as he hurriedly said to Ren, "Lord Ren, this... this memory crystal contains complete Goblin Engineering knowledge! Do you know how significant this could be!"
"I have a feeling that your discovery will bring about tremendous changes for the Federation, the Empire, and even all of humanity!"
"Helm, I think you should take a look at this too," said Dawn Wizard Hernandez, his expression becoming increasingly complex as he saw Helm's excitement.
As he spoke, he handed the memory crystal in his hand to Helm.
"Hmm?" Helm couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Could there be something even more important than Goblin Engineering?
So, Helm took the memory crystal from Hernandez and quickly infused it with mental energy. After a few seconds, his entire body began to tremble involuntarily!
"Heavens! A Sky City! This is the complete design and construction plans for a Sky City!"
Although Ren had already mentioned that this ancient goblin capital was actually a Sky City, Helm had initially thought Ren had drawn this conclusion from some surviving diaries or other materials. Now, it was clear that it came from this memory crystal.
The difference was like finding a piece of a rocket's debris versus discovering the entire design and construction plans for a rocket. It was a world of difference!
Especially for the Federation, with the systematic knowledge of Goblin Engineering and the complete design and construction methods for a Sky City, it could be said that, after a certain period, the Federation would have the ability to build a new, uniquely human Sky City.
No, perhaps even more than one!
Of course, the quickest method would be to repair the Sky City beneath their feet.
"The ultimate solution to dealing with giant beasts and the revival of deities has finally appeared!" Helm danced with excitement!
"Lord Ren, you are truly a savior!"
"Cough, Lord Helm, your bandages are soaked with blood," Ren kindly reminded him.
"Ah~"
Only then did Helm notice that most of his bandages were soaked with blood, and he couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath of pain.
"It's nothing, nothing, Lord Ren. Your discovery this time is so significant that these few drops of blood are insufficient to celebrate!"
"Well..."
Hearing Helm's words, Ren was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
After a moment's thought, Ren said, "By the way, everyone, I've found a way to leave in the Sky City's design plans. We can exit from the third exit on the first sublevel."
"Which is the level above us," Ren pointed to the ceiling.
"Lord Ren, are you not going to continue exploring?" Helm asked urgently.
"Helm, don't let your excitement cloud your judgment. Look at your injuries!" Swordsaint Tyrion said sternly.
"I've long wanted to leave this cursed place."
"Moreover, the gains from just these three memory crystals far exceed expectations and are much greater than previous ruins explorations. I think we should be content."
"That..." Tyrion's reminder was like a bucket of cold water poured over Helm's head, instantly sobering him up.
Yes! Continuing the exploration would be too dangerous!
But, it's really hard to accept.
This is a Sky City. If repaired, it would mean...
Helm's face showed a struggle.
"I also think we should leave first," Hernandez nodded in agreement with Tyrion.
Seeing that both of the epic-level experts agreed to leave, Helm couldn't help but feel disappointed.
However, he knew that with a three-to-one majority, his words wouldn't make a difference.
"Since that's the case, let's go to the ground level first, pick up the people at the temporary camp, and then go to the first sublevel to leave through the third exit of the Sky City," Ren smiled and said.
"Alright, Lord Ren, I'll follow your lead."
"I agree."
Soon, the four of them safely made their way from the second sublevel to the first sublevel.
Near the hole they had created, some Dryad Goblins and mechanical devices had gathered due to the alarm, so Ren had to scout and clear the area in advance.
Given Helm's severe injuries, the other three naturally didn't let him participate in the cleanup. He was left to excitedly examine the memory crystal containing the Sky City's information.
About ten minutes later, they returned to the ground level.
"Hmm, there's actually a military camp on the third sublevel," Helm muttered to himself as he followed the group, lost in thought.
The others naturally understood Helm's fascination with the Sky City.
"There's a prison on the second sublevel? I don't remember seeing it," Helm muttered again.
Wait, a prison?
Helm's offhand comment made Ren suddenly think of something.
It was as if a lightning bolt had flashed through the fog, piercing the darkness.
Ren realized he had overlooked a possibility!
The Valzigg School team were also outsiders. If they were defeated by the goblin machines, they would either be executed on the spot or taken to the prison on the second sublevel by the Dryad Goblins, who still followed some instinct from their lifetimes.
Once someone was sent to the prison on the Second Sublevel, it meant that the items they carried—such as the subsequent parts of the Meditation Technique—would also be in the prison.
A few minutes later.
The four of them returned to the temporary campground. Upon hearing their experiences, everyone who had stayed behind was amazed!
Several wizards from the Mechanical Research Institute, where Helm was based, held the memory crystals as if they were holy relics, their eyes sparkling brightly!
At this moment, Ren said to Tyrion and the others, "My lords, I would like to go down and explore the prison on the Second Sublevel."
Huh?
Everyone was taken aback by this statement!
"Sir Ren, do you think there might be some relics left by the prisoners there?" Before the others could react to Ren's intention, Hernandez seemed to have an idea and his eyes lit up as he said.
Swordsaint Tyrion and Helm, after being reminded by Hernandez, also realized something.
"I understand, Sir Ren. Although those prisoners are long dead, you believe that clues about the true reason for the fall of this Sky City can be found from their remains or relics, correct?"
"Tsk tsk, truly impressive, reverse thinking!" Helm praised repeatedly.
"Thank you, but there are two reasons. First, there might be some clues, and second, I believe that even if only a part of us outsiders were imprisoned, some lost spells or other treasures might have been left behind."
Ren naturally didn't directly mention the Meditation Technique but slightly changed his wording.
Actually, what Ren said was true, because if the head of the Valzigg School was captured, he would naturally be one of the outsiders imprisoned.
"Sir Ren, I will accompany you," Tyrion stood up and said.
"The wounds on my body have already scabbed over; it's just a minor injury, no problem," Swordsaint Tyrion added.
"Thank you, but Sir Tyrion, while your injuries are not severe, you have expended a lot of energy and are not in a condition to continue exploring. Additionally, these three memory crystals are of utmost importance. I believe the first priority is to ensure their safety and send them out," Ren shook his head and said.
"So, please stay here in the campground to rest and recover. I will return within twenty-four hours."
"Of course, if I do not return within the specified time, you have the structural plans of the Sky City and can evacuate on your own."
"Hmm," Tyrion and the others exchanged glances, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say.
Because Ren was right; the three memory crystals were of immense value.
Exploring the prison with the crystals would be too risky, and leaving them in the temporary campground, where the combat capabilities of the people present were too weak, was also not reassuring.
"Alright then, Sir Ren, please be extremely careful!"
"Take care, Sir Ren."
"Thank you, I will," Ren nodded and then turned to leave.
Soon.
Ren returned to the Second Sublevel mechanical construction area.
At this point, a few Dryad Goblins were already wandering into the explosion zone, but their numbers were still sparse.
After casually clearing a few of them, Ren proceeded westward according to his memory, heading in the direction of the prison.
While avoiding the Dryad Goblins, he quickly walked for about seven hundred meters. The dense chains and parts hanging from the ceiling gradually became fewer, making his field of vision clearer.
A spacious hall was visible a few hundred meters ahead.
On the west side of the hall, there was a deep corridor, and at the entrance, two peculiar and massive half-body statues stood.
Although they were only half-bodies, they were over ten meters tall, with thick gray metal arms, each holding a heavy hammer about seven to eight meters long, crossed in the air, as if in a welcoming ceremony with crossed spears!
"Hmm? These are replicas of the ancient Tolram Giants, the Tolram Automatons?"
Ren glanced at the statues and immediately noticed something amiss.
This was thanks to the goblin engineering knowledge he had forcibly memorized.
Although the statues were only half-bodies, they closely resembled the Tolram Automatons described in the advanced goblin engineering knowledge recorded in the second memory crystal.
If someone mistakenly assumed they were just statues, they would be gravely mistaken.
They would likely suffer severe injuries, or even die!
The Tolram Automatons were replicas created by ancient goblin engineers, inspired by the Thunder-controlling Tolram Giants of ancient times. While they were only partial replicas, their power was still astonishing.
Ren struggled to recall the relevant information.
"When the heavy hammers strike, they generate a ten-meter-wide thunderbolt attack. Good grief, it's a full coverage area," Ren glanced at the narrow corridor, which was less than five meters wide, and thought to himself.
"If hit, the body will be paralyzed, and even with strong resistance to lightning, the limbs will stiffen, and movement speed will drastically decrease!"
"Additionally, the eyes can shoot out electric arc beams, which are extremely powerful ranged attacks."
"Quite a tricky situation."
However, now that Ren knew these statues were actually automatons, he had avoided the biggest trap.
Moreover, he knew their origins and the special abilities they possessed.
After a brief moment of thought, Ren abandoned any tricks.
Since he couldn't use tricks, he might as well keep it simple.
As he rapidly chanted a spell under his breath, he raised his right hand over his head. Soon, a dark silver disk several meters in diameter, humming at high speed, appeared above his right hand.
This was the new single-target Dawn Kill move Ren had mastered: the 'Shard Tooth Vortex'!
"Go!"
In the next instant!
The rapidly spinning dark silver disk, with a bright edge, traced a beautiful arc and cut into the Tolram Automaton on Ren's left side!
"Zzzt!"
The incredibly hard, permanently solidified shell on the automaton's chest barely lasted a second before being penetrated by the Shard Tooth Vortex.
"Zzzzzt!"
It seemed that some kind of energy device had been hit, as a large number of electrical arcs suddenly emerged from the cut.
Ren had targeted this area because the energy device was located precisely three meters below the automaton's neck.
As the Shard Tooth Vortex rolled and departed, the next second!
"Boom!"
A violent explosion sounded, and the Tolram Automaton, having not even managed to attack, was completely destroyed by Ren.
If the goblin engineer who created this automaton were still alive, they would likely have been enraged to death.
Seeing the explosion of the Tolram Automaton on his left, Ren's eyes narrowed.
"Indeed, after thousands of years, this Tolram Automaton can still operate, and it seems its internal energy device still has a strong charge."
"This indicates that the energy transmission system of this Sky City is still functioning to some extent."
"Additionally, the fact that only half the body of the Tolram Automaton was placed here must have a special purpose."
"It's likely that there is some kind of power line layout on the ground below." Ren immediately understood some key points.
Suddenly!
Perhaps because the two automatons were somehow linked, or because they were designed to work together, the Tolram Automaton on Ren's right side suddenly activated.
"Intruder detected. (Ancient Goblin Language)"
Accompanied by a deep mechanical sound, the large head of the automaton turned to look at Ren, and its fist-sized eyes suddenly lit up!
"Hmm? Trying to release an electric arc ray?"
"Unfortunately, no chance!" Ren thought.
Almost simultaneously!
"Zzzt!"
A massive dark silver metal disk flashed and cut into the chest of the Tolram Automaton, causing electrical arcs to dance wildly!
Clearly, its energy device, like the one in the destroyed automaton, was in the same position and was instantly destroyed by the Shard Tooth Vortex.
The bright eyes of the automaton dimmed again.
Ren approached and confirmed that both Tolram Automatons were completely destroyed before proceeding down the corridor.
However, his speed was not fast; he remained constantly vigilant.
Although he had obtained the entire design plans for the Sky City, knew the location and size of the prison, and even the size of each cell, he did not know what was actually inside.
Better safe than sorry.
The area closest to the prison entrance was the common prisoner zone, with longer corridors on both sides of the hall. Entering these corridors would reveal a large number of small cells.
These cells were used to house common prisoners.
Ren thought for a moment and decided to take a look.
He turned left and walked into the right branch corridor. However, after just a few steps, he detected a musty smell in the air, caused by years of poor ventilation, along with a distinct odor of decay.
The dim lighting did not affect Ren's vision, and soon, he saw a dense array of cells.
The cells were close together and not large, containing only a bed and a water trough-like structure, about seven to eight square meters, resembling a pigeon coop.
There were no living prisoners inside; the ground was littered with bones of various sizes.
Ren also noticed that from the length of the leg bones, most seemed to be goblins.
Ren scanned the area, then shook his head slightly and turned to leave.
Since he had decided to take a look, he naturally also inspected the common cells on the left side.
But there were no additional discoveries; both sides were the same, with no survivors.
It seemed even the black bugs had no interest in infecting such common combatants.
"Are ordinary people not susceptible to infection?"
"Or are they simply uninteresting? This is an intriguing discovery." Ren mused.
Suddenly, Ren stopped, lifted his head, and focused on what lay ahead.
If his senses were correct, he had just heard something. It wasn't the stiff footsteps of a goblin dryad, but rather a sound like an air current.
"Breathing? Could it be that something has actually survived for thousands of years?"
Ren's eyes flashed with surprise!
(End of Chapter)
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