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Damn it, when did Sword Masters become so common? Four of them appeared all at once, and these Sword Masters are different from the four Half-Orc Sword Masters who’ve been in seclusion. They are full of wisdom and experience; taking on two at once would be no problem for them. If Catherine were to use the "Emperor Martial Overlord Technique," she could probably defeat four within a hundred moves.

Damn, looks like I’ll have to avoid her for a while. But not for long. Once I create my new Moon Flame Aura, master the sixth level of the Muscle-Bone Forging Chapter, and fully utilize the Golden Bell Shield, heh, I’ll make sure you cry.

I sneaked into the secret tunnel of Qingcheng Fortress, bypassing the new faces in the city, and arrived at the underground structures. This place was originally part of the underground fortifications of the old Fontainebleau City, which partially collapsed during the "Twilight of the Gods." When I built Qingcheng Fortress, I excavated and rebuilt it. Now, it will serve as my new command center.

In the center of the underground fortifications, the female mage Hai Ruo was directing obedient Half-Orcs to install the city’s magical defense array, the "Twelve Palaces Gate." Upon seeing me arrive, she didn’t even greet me. In fact, she is the strangest among the three beauties. She hasn’t signed any contract with me but has always stayed here to work for me. I don’t believe she stays for sisterly affection or my charm, but I haven’t asked about her secrets. I believe there will come a day when everything is revealed.

"Hai Ruo, how’s the situation?"

"Smooth."

"What is this largest array?"

"The power source."

"This is what I’m most concerned about. Do we have a suitable power source to activate the magic array?"

"Yes."

"Please, can you explain in more detail?"

"Sure. The Twelve Palaces Gate is the work of the Twelve Sages. The main power source requires one super-grade monster core of each of the twelve attributes: light, dark, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, ice, time, illusion, abyss, and air. Once activated, it can completely resist direct hits from forbidden spells. If the super-grade cores are top-tier, it can even withstand divine punishment."

"Twelve… twelve super-grade monster cores of different attributes? Is that possible?"

"Of course… impossible." A hint of sorrow flashed across Hai Ruo’s face, but I didn’t notice. "Super-grade monsters are rare. Even the Twelve Sages couldn’t find all of them back then. So this array has two alternative circuits. One can fill with any attribute super-grade monster core, converting its energy to the needed attribute, though with some loss of efficiency. The other circuit can use ordinary monster cores of the twelve attributes, which can also work, but such cores cannot rapidly absorb and recover energy like super-grade cores, so they need frequent replacement. If neither option is available, the incomplete power source will function similarly to what you saw in the ruins of the Pig Clan Temple."

"I see. We still have seven Hydra cores. If we embed them all, can we achieve half the full effect?"

"Embedding more than three cores of the same type is not possible."

"I see, what a pity."

Chapter 22: Desolate Fireworks and the Lonesome Sword

The installation of the magic array proceeded smoothly, but progress on researching other treasures was limited. My follower, the goddess priestess Bai Lanling, said that the so-called "God of the Black Moon" is worshipped by two dark forces in the human world—the "Vampires" and the "Werewolves." Vampires possess eternal life, feed on human blood, and fear sunlight. Although werewolves share our name, they are quite different. They appear human in daylight but transform into werewolf form under moonlight, becoming more beast-like than our ancestors ten thousand years ago, losing their intelligence. Although the Radiant Temple has long pursued these dark creatures, they know little about their gods. As for the silver crystal, although she can sense divine power, she cannot determine which god or ability it belongs to, so she decided to wear it as a necklace.

The large batch of extremely hard red crystals, upon examination by the half-elf Evangeline, was found to contain terrifying magical power encompassing all elemental types, yet formed into an incredibly solid crystalline structure in a complex manner akin to celestial phenomena. Even the Twelve Sages would likely be unable to harness its power. These crystals, which I named "Blood Essence Crystals," are speculated to be byproducts of super-forbidden spells during the "Twilight of the Gods." Not only are they incredibly hard, but they are also completely immune to magic, though they cannot be finely processed. After much thought, I decided to use several large ones to make the gates of the underground fortifications.

The lecherous Romeo Shaman, due to his constant idleness and "unbearable" harassment of the city’s work, was given a grand farewell ceremony by all the residents. On the day of departure, countless enthusiastic residents, regardless of age or gender, raised iron pots, kitchen knives, picks, and bricks, shouting enthusiastically as they bid farewell to Romeo Shaman, making the handsome high shaman tear up and struggle to speak coherently.

Due to the astonishing labor enthusiasm of the thirty thousand Half-Orcs, the construction of Qingcheng Fortress progressed several times faster. By New Year’s, the central castle was already completed. This massive war fortress, situated at the highest point, spans two hundred feet in length and one hundred fifty feet in width, covering approximately one square mile. The outer walls are twelve feet high, and the interior is designed entirely as a fortress, with layers of fortifications and towers resembling a maze. The entire castle is built using the finest "Bronze Bricks," with mortar mixed with Hydra purple blood (extracted from the swamp where the Hydra died), ensuring the bricks remain intact even if the mortar breaks. The old architect Aluxisi guaranteed that he could complete the entire fortress’s triple-layered defenses within three months.

Meanwhile, the underground structures were also finished. The core of the magic array was placed in the lowest level, reinforced with layers of brick and stone. The gate was made of "Blood Essence Crystals," and I placed the four Red Pig Sword Masters inside to guard it. Their black tattoos are part of the magic array, allowing them to fight in the core area without being harmed by the alerting magic.