Chapter 1: Desperate Battle in the Ruins

In the valley shrouded in darkness, the ancient machine was roused from its millennia-long slumber by the arrival of Mels and his companions. Unfortunately, for Mels and the others, this was not good news. The metal rods scattered outside the cabin were like death warrants in the hands of the grim reaper, ready at any moment to unleash dazzling flashes that would claim their lives.

If it had been anyone else, they might not have known the power of these metal rods just a few meters away, but Mels and the others were not seeing them for the first time. On Frank Island and in the Dragon Valley, they had witnessed the hidden power of these seemingly useless "things" multiple times! Because of this, when the tips of those metal rods began to emit dazzling light, the hearts of the young men leaped into their throats!

"Mels, what exactly are these things?" Xiu Lante was seeing these metal rods for the first time. Although he didn’t know their power, based on his combat experience and the terrified expressions of Mels and the others, he immediately became alert.

"Uncle, you must be very careful. These things can emit flashes of light that can kill at any moment! My master, the White-haired Wind God, was once injured by them!" To help Xiu Lante understand just how powerful the metal rods were, Mels didn’t hesitate to bring up the past!

The name of the White-haired Wind God indeed carried immense influence. Upon hearing that a master of equal renown had been injured by these metal rods, Xiu Lante immediately took a step back, bracing to counterattack at a moment's notice. From the reactions of Xiu Lante and Mels at this point, it seemed they were ready to launch their strongest attacks and destroy the metal rods preemptively.

However, as the seconds ticked by, the metal rods still hadn’t fired their incredibly powerful rays, which puzzled Mels. After watching for a while, Xiu Lante also began to shoot a skeptical glance at Mels, as if asking, "Where is this 'very threatening thing' you mentioned?"

Perhaps driven by his own doubts, or perhaps unable to bear Xiu Lante’s slightly skeptical gaze, Mels steeled himself, took a step forward, and said, "Uncle, this is different from what we’ve encountered before. I’ll go take a look."

Before Mels’ words had even finished, and just as Xiu Lante’s guard had slightly relaxed, the worst-case scenario finally occurred!

A flat, emotionless male voice issued from the cabin: "Intruder approaching again. Threat level assessed as A. Defense systems activated!"

As soon as the words fell, the previously poised metal rods almost simultaneously flashed with a dazzling red light, shooting directly at Mels’ body from all directions!

Light was blindingly fast. Although Mels now understood that the earlier machines hadn’t fired simply because he hadn’t posed a further threat by approaching, at this moment, he had time only for thought, not for physical reaction, not even the reflex to close his eyes and wait for death, before he was completely enveloped by the red light.

"Boss, run!" Half a second later, Sol’s voice reached Mels’ ears.

"My body is fine?" Stunned, Mels then realized that his entire body was enveloped in a layer of white light. When the red light struck this white layer, it reflected like light hitting a mirror, ricocheting wildly in all directions. Many of the rays even struck the outer hull of the cabin that had launched the attack, triggering countless explosions and showers of sparks.

It turned out that when Mels had just taken a step forward, Sol had had a bad feeling and immediately cast a "Light Shield" to add an extra layer of safety for Mels. However, he never expected that his impulsive action would save Mels’ life and also reveal the fatal weakness of those metal rods! The invincible rays couldn’t be blocked, but they could be redirected using the low-level defensive magic of the Light Shield. This was undoubtedly a major and exciting discovery for Sol.

Still in shock, Mels only snapped out of it after Sol repeatedly urged him, realizing he hadn’t yet left the danger zone. After two consecutive backward leaps, Mels retreated dozens of meters before the metal rods could launch a second wave of attacks.

Strangely enough, although the range of those invincible rays was more than dozens of meters, when Mels retreated, they simultaneously stopped attacking, as if they had no intention of killing Mels and the others.

Looking at the dents punched into the mechanical hull by the earlier rays, Xiu Lante slowly retreated while whispering to Mels, "Are these things the same machines you saw on Frank Island? What exactly can we do to destroy them?"

"Actually, the things we saw on Frank Island weren’t this powerful. It’s just that those machines could move and were more aggressive than the ones here! As for how to destroy them, we have no idea at all. Uncle, I think we should leave here first and come back when we’ve figured out a way. If I’m not mistaken, whatever is preserved inside must have a lot to do with Emma!" Mels cautiously warned Xiu Lante.

Assessing the situation, Xiu Lante also knew this was the only course of action for now. So, along with Akafir in the distance, the four of them began to slowly retreat until they found a large rock big enough to hide behind before stopping.

"Mels, what exactly do you know? Please tell me everything. I feel like everything happening here is just too unbelievable!" Xiu Lante looked gravely at Mels, as if trying to uncover the secrets in his heart.

Seeing Xiu Lante’s expression, Mels knew he couldn’t hide anything anymore. After a brief consideration, he sighed softly and laid out everything: Frank Island, the Dragon Valley, and what they had heard about the Divine Crystals while searching for the black-clad men at the harbor.

By the time the long narration ended, the night was gradually nearing its end. Although they were in a valley, the gradually brightening dawn light above still made everyone feel the glow of morning. Xiu Lante sat quietly, not speaking for a long time, but from his furrowed brows, the youths could still sense a deep-seated worry plaguing this heroic man.

Letting out a long breath, Xiu Lante withdrew his gaze from the ground and said to Mels, "Although I can’t determine much with the current situation, I think we’ve already been drawn into an event that’s difficult to comprehend with our existing thinking! Originally, I wanted to stop you from venturing further into that unknown thing, but now it seems that to unravel the mystery, we must go in!"

After saying this, Xiu Lante stood up as if having made a decision and continued to the youths, "We now know this is a valley, so there’s no need to post guards at the cave we came through.

Sol, Akafir, you two go back to the cave entrance to fetch Rek and Bagina. Mels and I will stay here and try to figure out a way to break through the defenses of those metal rods." After speaking, Xiu Lante immediately summoned his Firebird to carry Sol and the others back to the cave on the cliff.

Watching the Firebird’s gradually receding figure, Mels approached Xiu Lante and asked, "Uncle, have you discovered something?"

Hearing Mels’ words, Xiu Lante seemed startled. As he hesitated, Mels asked again, "Uncle, I know you must have found something. If what you discovered is related to the mysterious people we know about, please tell me. I really want to know."

"Sigh, I think you’ll find out about this sooner or later anyway. Since that’s the case, I’ll tell you." Xiu Lante continued with a somber expression, "About thirteen years ago, when I had just become the Imperial Dragon Knight Commander...

That year, due to a large number of magical beasts appearing on the northwestern border, I was ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to lead about three hundred members of the Dragon Knights Regiment to the northwest to engage the beasts. I vaguely remember it was an early summer night. When I led the troops to the predetermined location, I found that the small village, which originally had nearly a thousand inhabitants, had become a dead zone. Based on the initial intelligence, we instinctively thought it was the doing of magical beasts, but..." Xiu Lante’s thoughts returned to over a decade ago as he slowly recounted the events of that terrifying night to Mels.

Back then, upon entering the village, Xiu Lante was immediately horrified by the scene. Although the Relkes Empire had always maintained peace and prosperity, the Imperial Dragon Knights Regiment never had a moment’s rest. Whether it was exterminating brutal bandits or repelling magical beast raids, whenever danger arose within the territory, their presence was seen. Even though witnessing the loss of life and experiencing the cruelty of enemies was commonplace for them, they were still stunned by what they saw.

Looking around, the village showed no signs of the chaos left by bandit raids or magical beast attacks. The surroundings were unusually tidy, as if nothing had happened. What broke this abnormal "tidiness" was the central meeting square of the village. There, the bodies of thousands of people were piled up like garbage. Whether it was the elderly nearing their twilight years or infants in swaddling clothes, all had become lifeless shells.

This mountain of corpses was also as "tidy" as the rest of the village. Not a drop of blood, not even a trace of blood could be found. The remains of nearly a thousand villagers lay as if asleep, haphazardly piled up.

After careful inspection by the Dragon Knights, Xiu Lante was shocked to discover that the blood in every corpse had been completely drained, with no wounds on their bodies. What surprised him even more was that the Summoning Gems on the backs of many adults’ hands had been brutally dug out, and the internal organs of some children and women had vanished without a trace, with no external injuries.

After hearing his subordinates’ reports, Xiu Lante immediately realized this was definitely not a simple case of bandit murder or magical beast attack. At the very least, even he couldn’t remove human internal organs without leaving a wound! "Commander, what should we do now?" The squad leaders under Xiu Lante gathered around him, their expressions grave.

"Continue to be vigilant in the surroundings and try to find any possible escape routes or traces left by the enemy." Xiu Lante replied mechanically. However, he knew this effort would likely be in vain.

Sure enough, after several hours of a carpet-like search, they found nothing and could only bury the unfortunate villagers on the spot as best they could.

Just as Xiu Lante thought they had lost the enemy’s trail, a thunderous sound suddenly came from the northwestern sky. He looked up, astonished to see the sky there torn open, revealing a bright white flash of lightning that disappeared in less than three seconds.

"Where is the northwest? Are there any villages belonging to our country there?" Xiu Lante immediately asked loudly.

The geographer accompanying him quickly flipped through the records and said, "According to the records, about ten kilometers to the northwest is Bam Village, the closest to the border, with a population of less than a hundred!"

"Order the entire army to assemble within five minutes and advance to Bam Village immediately!" Without any hesitation, Xiu Lante’s keen senses told him that the earlier phenomenon must be directly related to the tragic deaths of the villagers here!

The Dragon Knights Regiment was the most elite force in the entire Relkes Empire. Their usual rigorous training now showed unimaginable effectiveness. The knights, originally scattered in various locations, assembled within just three minutes, awaiting Xiu Lante’s final order to advance.

"The Third Squadron stays here to continue searching and maintain vigilance. The First and Second Squadrons, advance to Bam Village immediately!" At Xiu Lante’s command, three hundred knights immediately split, with two hundred iron cavalry following his lead as they galloped toward Bam Village.

The iron cavalry flew like the wind. Under Xiu Lante’s constant urging, the hundreds of Dragon Knights covered the ten-kilometer distance in less than an hour, arriving before Bam Village.

Although Xiu Lante was eager to find out what force was attacking Bam Village, out of the caution born from years of leading troops, he ordered the forces to halt outside the village first, sending out scouts to investigate the situation inside. However, nearly ten minutes passed, and the ten scouts who entered Bam Village disappeared without a trace. Not a single one returned, nor did they send any warning signals. This deepened the worry in Xiu Lante’s heart.

Looking at the deathly silent, lifeless small village, after some consideration, Xiu Lante decided to personally lead the troops into Bam Village to assess the situation. However, to ensure the safety of his forces, he still divided his two hundred soldiers into two groups: half remained outside the village on alert, ready to reinforce at any moment, while the other half followed him into the village.

The stars and moon were covered by dark clouds, and the dim light made it difficult to see beyond five meters. Under these conditions, Xiu Lante and the hundred Dragon Knights entered the small village fraught with danger. It was here that he witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Bam Village had a sparse population, so its area was naturally not large—even smaller than Xiu Lante had anticipated. To avoid alerting the enemy to their movements, Xiu Lante deliberately refrained from using torches or other lighting tools upon entering the village, instead relying on his sharp instincts to detect the enemy’s whereabouts.

Within just a few minutes of entering the village, they had already reached the path leading directly to the village center. If not for the poor visibility, they would have already seen the horrific scene.

Although Xiu Lante’s skills were far superior to those of the other Dragon Knights, it wasn’t until he was about thirty meters from the village center that he noticed moving figures. This discovery greatly shocked the young Xiu Lante.

At that time, although he hadn’t yet entered the Top Hundred rankings, his strength was enough to place him within the top ten in the Relkes Empire. Therefore, when he realized he couldn’t sense enemies just thirty meters away, his surprise was naturally immense.

"Who goes there? Identify yourselves immediately!" In his shock, Xiu Lante immediately shouted loudly. But even in the face of this thunderous roar, the figures in the darkness did not stop their actions, as if they hadn’t heard at all.

Faced with the enemy’s arrogant attitude of completely disregarding him, Xiu Lante couldn’t help but fly into a rage and raised his hand to give the signal. The soldiers behind him immediately lit the pre-prepared oil-soaked torches, instantly illuminating the surroundings. As the torchlight flared, Xiu Lante and the hundred Dragon Knights couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

Looking around, the bodies of nearly a hundred villagers were scattered everywhere. Additionally, about thirty mysterious figures dressed in black jumpsuits, wearing transparent glass helmets connected to their clothing, and holding strange metal tools were moving about. Bright red blood was continuously flowing from the corpses into a huge glass container nearly two meters tall, while more mysterious people were using strange tools to dig out tissue organs and Summoning Gems from the villagers’ bodies!

"Gem Hunters!" Looking at the scene before him, the first thing that came to Xiu Lante’s mind was those insane, money-driven organizations that would kill to obtain gems, digging out human Summoning Gems to satisfy the underground black market trade.

However, his assumption was quickly overturned by himself, because those Gem Hunters would never choose these ordinary villagers as targets, nor would they collect their blood and human tissues!

Just as Xiu Lante was filled with rage and uncertainty, a figure who seemed to be the leader of the mysterious people said to Xiu Lante, "General, you’d best not interfere with what we’re doing. It would be beneficial for both you and your subordinates! We will leave once we’ve collected the specimens here. The ten men you sent first were only injured by our anesthetic rays and are definitely not in mortal danger."

Hearing this man’s words, Xiu Lante couldn’t help but fly into a rage. These people were treating humans as experimental subjects, conducting so-called "specimen" collection! Xiu Lante angrily drew his sword and shouted at the man, "Silence! Demons like you deserve only the gallows! Attack..." At his command, the hundred Dragon Knights simultaneously spurred their warhorses forward in a furious charge!

"What happened next?" When Xiu Lante reached this point, Mels instinctively pressed for more.

"What happened next is something I’ve only gradually come to understand now. Back then, after we charged forward, those mysterious people suddenly each took out strange metal objects from their hands. I only felt a flash of green light before losing consciousness! When I woke up, it was already the next morning. All the Dragon Knights I had led into Bam Village had been subdued by that green light, with no one having directly engaged the enemy.

Thinking back on it now, I believe they must be the mysterious people you encountered, and the tools they used probably weren’t the magic or martial arts we commonly refer to. They were likely a form of technology beyond our knowledge!" Xiu Lante said gravely.

After hearing Xiu Lante's story, Mels was silent for a long moment. From Xiu Lante's words, he learned that the mysterious figures hadn't appeared on the continent for the first time; they'd shown up at least once, thirteen years earlier. However, this time, their appearance seemed to carry deeper significance, like they were up to something bigger!

"Uncle, did you later report this incident to the Emperor of the Relkes Empire?" Mels suddenly asked.

"Of course. As a Knight Captain, failing is pretty embarrassing, but to prevent our citizens from facing the same threat again, I naturally had to report the entire incident in detail to the Emperor of the Relkes Empire!" Xiu Lante replied firmly.

However, his tone suddenly darkened after finishing those words: "But there's one thing I still don't understand. After I informed the Duke of the entire incident and faced questioning from His Majesty the Emperor, they never brought it up again. The Duke even warned me, without saying it outright, that this matter must never be leaked, or it could get me killed. I think..." At this point, Xiu Lante lowered his head and fell silent, though what he meant was perfectly clear.

"Uncle, are you saying that Duke Bolt and His Majesty the Emperor likely already knew about this?" Although Mels understood Xiu Lante's meaning, he couldn't help but ask again.

When Mels said this, Xiu Lante nodded gently and cautiously said, "Really, this is just me guessing. It's also possible that they considered the incident too bizarre and wanted to avoid causing panic, which is why they strictly forbade its disclosure."

Just as Mels was about to say something more, a phoenix's cry rang out from the sky. Sol and the others had arrived with Bagina and Rek.

"Alright, we can talk about this stuff later. For now, we should join them and figure out a way into that cabin," Xiu Lante stood up and said to Mels. Hearing his words, Mels knew that the top priority was to enter the cabin and uncover the truth. He also knew it was all just guesswork. They'd only grasp the underlying reasons by confirming it with their own eyes.

A few minutes later, once everyone was together, Xiu Lante looked at them and suddenly said, "I have a plan that might work, but it's really dangerous. I don't know if you're willing to try it."

"Uncle, just tell us your plan!" Mels said offhandedly.

Seeing the kids all looking at him expectantly, Xiu Lante pondered briefly before first addressing Sol: "Sol, can you use intermediate-level light magic? I mean, how quickly can you cast a large-scale spell like 'Light Barrier'?"

"If it's Light Barrier, with preparation, the fastest I can manage is twenty seconds. For a larger-scale 'Holy Light Barrier,' it would take nearly a minute," Sol replied after a moment of thought.

After listening to Sol's answer, Xiu Lante nodded gently, then turned to Akafir and said, "If I'm not mistaken, among all of you, you're the fastest in terms of movement speed. I want to know, if arrows were shot at you simultaneously from eight directions at a distance of three meters, how many times could you shift position at most?"

"At a distance of three meters, I could probably shift position about ten times, assuming I'm not attacking. If I have to dodge arrows while launching an attack, I can only shift position up to five times," Akafir answered carefully. In truth, dodging arrows shot from three meters away was effortless for Akafir; his answer was a conservative estimate.

"Excellent. In that case, we might be able to carry out my plan," Xiu Lante said excitedly. He then pointed to the metal rods outside the cabin and continued, "As you've already seen, the rays emitted by those metal rods are highly lethal. But you should also have noticed that any light magic barrier can reflect those rays back! Additionally, I observed that those metal rods seem to only attack static targets. In other words, as long as you move at high speed, it's difficult for them to launch effective attacks.

I plan to exploit these two points. First, Akafir and I will create a diversion, using our speed to draw their fire and prevent them from launching effective attacks. Meanwhile, Mels, with Sol on his back, will use the opening to approach the metal rods, setting up a large-scale light defense barrier around them. This way, we can reflect the rays back, using their own power to destroy themselves!"

After hearing Xiu Lante's plan, everyone felt a surge of excitement, followed by some concern. Sol was the first to speak up: "Uncle, since light magic can reflect their rays, wouldn't it be enough if I just cast a Light Shield on you directly?"

At Sol's question, Xiu Lante shook his head and said, "No, the Light Shield covers too small an area. To attack those metal rods, we must get close to the cabin. If we do as you suggest, we'd be totally exposed to the rays, and our movement speed would be forced to slow down. The risk is too great, so we must eliminate all their attack weapons in one strike!"

After hearing Xiu Lante's explanation, the youths finally understood his reasoning. After weighing the pros and cons individually, no one raised any further objections. Thus, a battle that would determine whether they could enter the cabin was about to begin.

Following Xiu Lante's instructions, Mels carried Sol and hid behind a rock, while Rek and Bagina served as backup to protect Mels and Sol. Xiu Lante and Akafir slowly advanced toward the cabin from the left and right flanks.

Watching Xiu Lante and Akafir gradually move farther away, the youths' hearts were in their throats. However, the cabin showed no reaction to their approach; to it, Xiu Lante and Akafir seemed to pose no threat at all.

When the two reached about fifty meters from the cabin, the so-called "defense system" inside the cabin reacted once again. A dull mechanical sound echoed, and the previously lowered metal rods began to move, locking onto Xiu Lante and Akafir.

Seeing the situation unfold, Xiu Lante and Akafir exchanged a glance, then simultaneously accelerated, using S-shaped curves to approach the cabin from the left and right flanks at high speed!

Faced with this "intrusion," the cabin's defense system reacted swiftly. From the perspective of Mels and the others, hundreds of remaining metal rods on the cabin continuously shifted left and right. Yet, even so, by the time Xiu Lante reached about ten meters from the cabin, the metal rods still hadn't fired a single ray.

"Uncle succeeded!" Seeing everything unfold exactly as Xiu Lante had predicted, Sol couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.

"Sol, hold on tight!" Although equally thrilled, Mels didn't want to waste a single minute. Gripping Sol tightly on his back, he suddenly charged forward in a straight line at high speed, seemingly aiming to break through to the center.

Unfortunately, just as Mels began his assault, an unexpected change occurred on the battlefield ahead. The metal rods, which had been continuously tracking Xiu Lante and Akafir's movements, suddenly stopped and began gathering light at their tips.

Seeing this development, Xiu Lante was greatly alarmed. With a loud shout, he yelled to Akafir, "Be careful! The metal rods are about to fire indiscriminately!" Sure enough, before his words faded, the metal rods fired orange-red rays from their tips, haphazardly bombarding the ground around Xiu Lante and Akafir.

"Boss, stop... we can't break through!" Sol, seeing the area ahead turn into a web of crisscrossing rays and each ray leaving bottomless holes in the ground, cried out in terror.

"Enough nonsense! If we don't charge forward and destroy those things, Uncle and Akafir won't be able to retreat alive! You gather your magic and release it as soon as the attack converges!" Mels shouted, cutting off Sol's protests, and continued charging forward without hesitation.

If Mels could have seen Sol's expression at that moment, he would have burst out laughing. Though Sol, tightly strapped to Mels' back, was utterly unwilling to "rush to his death," he had no choice but to plunge into the web of light. His face, twisted with bitterness, showed nothing but reluctance and fear.

However, Sol also understood that since his body was under Mels' control, he had to obey Mels' orders. Otherwise, not only he but the other three would have no hope of survival.

"O light within all things, gather by my side. With my humble body as the foundation and my pure heart as the guide, release from my steadfast fingers to illuminate the darkened earth and repel the invasion of hellish demons! Light Barrier!" Almost shouting, Sol closed his eyes and loudly chanted the incantation. In truth, this spell didn't require him to close his eyes and focus on gathering magical energy, but at that moment, Sol couldn't bear to watch the deadly rays flashing around him, any one of which could pierce his body at any moment.