Chapter 559: Ascension in Progress
Chapter 559: Ascension in Progress
On the way to the Prison, the group dealt with over a hundred goblin combat vehicles.
Soon, Rayne and his companions arrived at the entrance to the Prison.
The sight before them made Rayne pause momentarily.
In the center of the Prison’s corridor, a massive crack, dozens of meters long, split the ground, revealing irregular metal fractures several meters thick. Even for Sky City, this fissure was too large to heal on its own.
Of course, if Sky City were in its prime, the goblin technicians would have swiftly repaired the damage.
Due to this massive crack, the prison cells here were almost entirely destroyed, with metal bars either scattered or bent out of shape, serving as clear evidence of the goblin mechanical onslaught.
"Your Highness Rayne, it seems your judgment was correct. The Mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex must have come up from here", said Sword Saint Tyrion.
"Shall we go down?" Tyrion asked.
"Yes, but I haven’t explored Level B3 before. Everyone, please be highly alert. The influence of the Whisper will likely intensify", Rayne warned.
After reaching the peak of the Dawn stage, Rayne could sense deeper aspects this time around.
The entire Sky City seemed to have a faint oppressive feeling, as if it were trapped in a vast cage. However, this oppression seemed not to target living beings but the Vile Demon.
"Wait, Your Highness Rayne, shall I investigate first?" one of the Twin Flame Spirits, Dawn Wizard Aog, suggested.
"Oh?"
"I have a spell called 'Flame Eye' that can investigate distant areas."
"Of course, that would be helpful", Rayne nodded with a smile.
As Aog began chanting and casting his spell, a human-sized eye surrounded by wisps of flame appeared before the group. The flame eye was hollow in the middle, with a more lively, smaller flame resembling a pupil.
Rayne noticed that the Flame Eye seemed to share some of the same essence as Aog’s gaze.
From this perspective, the spell was somewhat similar to his 'Beast Eye.'
The Flame Eye quickly moved along the ground toward the crack and soon disappeared from view.
"Directly below is a barracks, and there are no particularly powerful mechanical constructs", Aog, eyes closed, reported after a moment.
"The area within a hundred meters is safe."
A barracks, huh?
Rayne suddenly understood.
Previously, it was likely that his battle on Level B2 above the barracks, where he eliminated some Vile Demons, had been sensed by General Angrik, or more accurately, by the Vile Demon aura.
This led the Mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex to break through the ground of Level B2 and surge upward.
"Hmm, strange. My Flame Eye has disappeared."
Suddenly, Aog opened his eyes, looking surprised.
"Disappeared? But your Flame Eye can investigate areas several kilometers around. How could it disappear within two hundred meters?" Otto, equally puzzled, asked.
As a brother, Otto was well aware of the range and effects of Aog’s 'Flame Eye.'
"Yes, it seems to have been affected by something and disappeared", Aog mused, recalling his recent sensations.
"Wait, let me try again."
Two minutes later.
"I can confirm that there is some kind of influence below", Aog said, his face serious.
"Shall we go down?"
Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to Rayne.
"Wait!"
In the next instant, Rayne’s figure vanished from the spot and reappeared a second later.
He had just used 'Shadow Traverse,' which succeeded but consumed several times more psi energy than usual.
'The psi energy consumption is much higher. There must be some kind of restriction,' Rayne thought.
This scene immediately stunned the group, but then they felt a strange sense of relief, as if having a reliable support was very comforting.
"There’s no major issue. There is some kind of restriction here, so certain spells might be affected", Rayne explained.
"I see", the group nodded in unison.
Once everyone descended, they immediately noticed a change.
"The influence of the Whisper is much stronger here."
Rayne immediately felt the difference between Level B3 and Level B2.
While he could still resist it, Helm, a high-level wizard who had just reached the Dawn stage, frowned deeply. He quickly took a Focus Potion and drank it.
The Focus Potion was several times more effective than a Focus Amulet, providing immunity to the abnormal Whisper for a certain period.
"The Whisper on Level B3, while not capable of warping a Dawn Wizard’s will, is beginning to affect their spellcasting to some extent."
"The mist here has become even thicker."
"There should be some clues in the barracks. Let's take a look", Rayne said, glancing around.
The surroundings were a series of rooms extending from the metal walls, resembling square cave dwellings, neatly arranged.
"Alright!"
A few minutes later, Helm emerged from one of the rooms, a pleased look on his face as he held up a scorched, yellowed diary.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I've found a diary. It appears to belong to General Angrik."
"Hmm? It managed to survive?" Sword Saint Tyrion raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"Yes, these barracks have a constant temperature and humidity ward array, which is why it managed to survive. However, some of the text is still likely to be blurred", Rayne explained from the side.
He had seen some blueprints on the workbench at Level B2, but they had crumbled to pieces upon touch.
"Your Excellency Helm, what does the diary say?" Otto, clearly intrigued, walked over and asked.
"Give me a moment, I'll translate it for everyone."
As the others gathered around, Helm, the most proficient in ancient Goblin language, began to read softly:
"‘I always felt that the Divine Remains the Grand Sage Tamrel brought to His Majesty the Emperor were problematic. However, after observations by over a dozen scholars, it was confirmed to be the remains of a primordial deity from the Terran Era.’”
"The Terran Era?" Rayne asked, puzzled.
"Yes, it's an era even more ancient than the ancient Goblin Empire, so far back that almost nothing has survived, making it completely unverifiable", Helm explained.
Rayne nodded.
From a timeline perspective, the ancient Goblin period was nearly twenty thousand years older than the murals discovered in the Cyrodiil Highlands, let alone the Terran Era.
Helm continued reading:
"‘Indeed, Emperor Solsen has not attended court meetings for several days. It's said he and Grand Sage Tamrel are deeply engrossed in studying the Divine Remains, even Princess Amora can't persuade him.’
"‘After more than half a month, things are getting increasingly wrong. Princess Amora, His Majesty's beloved, has been ordered to be confined!’
"‘I secretly infiltrated the palace and finally saw His Majesty. He seemed to have lost his mind, and so did Grand Sage Tamrel.’
"‘That so-called Divine Remains must be problematic. I have to save Princess Amora; only she can control the artifact and save His Majesty!’
"‘This...’" At this point, everyone exchanged glances.
From the outcome, it seemed General Angrik had not managed to rescue the princess. Of course, it was also possible that he had saved her but was still no match for the Vile Demon.
At this moment, Rayne suddenly had a thought and asked, "Your Excellency Helm, what level of strength does a Goblin Grand Sage possess?"
"Your Excellency Rayne, based on the information I found in other ruins, a Goblin Grand Sage should be a Full Moon Wizard, a demigod-level powerhouse. Whether they are mid or late-stage, I'm not sure", Helm answered quickly.
As the Federation's top metal wizard, he was quite familiar with the ancient Goblins and their circumstances. Additionally, he had collected relevant information well before this exploration.
Upon hearing this, the group began to murmur!
Rayne's expression was also serious.
'If even a Full Moon Wizard-level demigod can be corrupted, then the Vile Demon below must be even more terrifying than I anticipated.'
'The upcoming Level B4 could be extremely dangerous.'
'I need to advance at Level B3.'
At this moment, the others stepped forward and said:
"Your Excellency Rayne, Your Excellency Tyrion, should we return first?"
"The current situation has already exceeded my worst-case scenario."
"If it's true as the diary suggests, we won't stand a chance against the Vile Demon below, even if we all work together."
As the Federation's leader, Sword Saint Tyrion did not rush to make a decision. Instead, he asked Rayne for his opinion:
"Your Excellency Rayne, what do you think?"
"I want to explore Level B3 a bit more. As for the rest of you, you can return first", Rayne said after some thought.
"Your Excellency Rayne, we will stay with you", Otto, one of the Twin Flame Spirits, unexpectedly said.
As Otto spoke, the others nodded in agreement, showing an unusual level of support.
This...
Rayne was momentarily speechless.
It seemed he had given the group too much confidence.
Even though he himself wasn't sure he could withstand the stronger Vile Demon below, the others believed he could manage.
"Everyone, if I go alone, I can still escape relatively easily if I can't defeat it. But if..." Rayne left the sentence hanging.
"Listen to Lord Rayne", Sword Saint Tyrion naturally understood Rayne's meaning and spoke up.
"Alright, Lord Rayne, please be careful", the group warned him.
"Thank you."
Watching everyone return to the upper level, Rayne's eyes flickered.
If he advanced normally, he would likely attract the attention of the elder god incarnations immediately. On the other hand, it might also alert the Vile Demon below.
In that case, a chaotic battle was highly possible.
In such a situation, Tyrion and the others being here would not only be of little help but could also risk their lives.
It would be better for them to stay above and prepare defenses. If he was overwhelmed, he could quickly retreat.
"Methys, Doric, you two also return to the upper level", Rayne said after a moment's thought.
"As you command, Master."
Rayne positioned the twin dragons at the Prison's fissure, a strategic location that allowed for both offense and defense.
Once everything was arranged, Rayne focused his mind on the Advanced Iron Heart Meditation.
So far, he had sketched 510 will runes out of the 512 needed for the fifth layer, leaving only the final two.
These two runes were intentionally left for last.
Taking a deep breath and calming his mind, Rayne began the final sketch.
The first one.
The 511th.
The 512th!
At this moment, a peculiar sensation arose within him, and in his mental sea, the intricate four-layer crystal encased in spherical amber began to change.
The ring-shaped base at the bottom of the four-layer crystal began to widen and thicken, more so than before.
The psi energy, now solidified into a spherical amber-like form, suddenly cracked, as if a star were about to explode, its surface riddled with fissures.
The System Prompt flooded his mind:
[You have practiced the fifth level of Advanced Iron Heart Meditation, enhancing your understanding!]
[Your skill Advanced Iron Heart Meditation has improved, +20 experience points]
[Ding! Host's solidification progress 100%, advancement begins. Continuous transformation ongoing.]
[Ding! Host lacks a fifth-level Full Moon Wizardry. You can choose to deduce the dawn spell 'Steel Forest' or 'Blade Disk' into a fifth-level Full Moon Wizardry. Yes/No?]
[Note: Deduction of the Metal Dawnbreak Killing Move 'Steel Forest' requires 784 Golden Skill Points.]
[Note: Deduction of the Metal Dawnbreak Killing Move 'Blade Disk' requires 912 Golden Skill Points.]
Consume 312 Golden Skill Points to deduce and perfect it?
"Indeed, just as the records state."
"Ancient texts mention that fifth-level innate wizardry, besides the conventional use of existing fifth-level wizardry, many Full Moon Wizards deduced their own from the dawn spells they mastered."
This was why Rayne wasn't worried about lacking fifth-level metallic magic.
In fact, Rayne had tried to find fifth-level metallic magic, but neither the Dragon Empire nor the Eagle Federation had any relevant records.
In other words, he had no choice but to deduce it himself.
As for the choice, the system had already given a hidden answer.
'Blade Disk' required more Golden Skill Points than 'Steel Forest,' indicating that the deduced fifth-level wizardry of 'Blade Disk' would be more powerful.
Thus, without hesitation, Rayne chose 'Blade Disk.'
As Rayne selected "Yes", a surge of wizardry training memories flooded his mind.
"First-level metallic magic 'Metal Shape.'"
"Second-level metallic magic 'Cutting Net.'"
"Third-level metallic magic 'Serrated Ring.'"
"Fourth-level metallic magic 'Blade Frisbee.'"
The original dawn spell 'Blade Disk' broke down into its four fundamental wizardries.
In Rayne's mind, various thoughts swirled, combined, and surged. After an unknown amount of time, a System Prompt sounded:
[Ding! Deduction successful! Host has deduced the fifth-level metallic wizardry 'High-Frequency Cut'!]
[Advancement in progress]
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
