The Canyon's Watchtower

"Rations are ready, drinking water is ready, and weapons are also..."

The next morning, Karl and Hopp carefully inventoried the supplies in their Bag of Holding, preparing to set off towards the source of malice Karl had sensed earlier.

To enhance his combat capabilities, Karl had modified his Repeating Crossbow, mounting it onto the left arm of his Arcane Power Armor.

Now, the Repeating Crossbow could be automatically cocked by the armor's mechanisms, giving Karl another convenient way to attack.

"Excellent, supplies are ready. Let's go!"

Placing his hand on the armor's chest and activating the Armorer's ability, Karl watched as the Arcane Power Armor instantly phased and then enveloped him.

He looked up, and the crystals in the armor's eye sockets glowed with a yellow light.

With everything prepared, the two descended back to the ground using the Rope of Climbing.

Karl had added a pulley system to this mechanism, significantly improving its speed and load-bearing capacity.

"Can you still sense the source of the malice?"

Glancing at Karl beside him, Hopp warily scanned their surroundings, afraid of any sudden dangers.

"Yes, I still have a faint sense of it. It's roughly in this direction."

Pointing towards where the disturbance had come from, Karl took the lead, guiding the way.

Although the design of this Arcane Power Armor was somewhat lacking in defense due to the constraints of the original armor, Karl's structural design was excellent, and the armor made no sound as it moved.

The mushroom forest, illuminated by an orange-yellow glow, was as quiet as ever. Along the way, the two had encountered virtually no creatures.

However, a Rust Monster seemed attracted by the Arcane Power Armor Karl was wearing. But after Karl fired a magic bolt at it, the sensible creature turned and fled.

Soon, the two exited the forest.

"Is this... a canyon?"

Emerging from the forest, with the giant mushrooms no longer obstructing their view, the scene ahead unfolded clearly before Karl and Hopp.

It was a highland almost perpendicular to the ground, resembling the Red Line Continent from One Piece.

While its height was certainly not as exaggerated, it was at least six or seven stories tall.

Facing the direction of the mushroom forest, a wide fissure stretched deep into the highland, forming a canyon.

"Be careful, this doesn't look naturally formed. The crack is a bit too straight."

After observing for a moment, Hopp cautiously offered his opinion.

The pass from Droaam to the Kingdom of Brynnland was a canyon east of Graywall City, where Hopp lived. Hopp was quite familiar with similar terrain.

If it wasn't "natural," it either meant it was carved by intelligent life or created by a Mage using an earthquake spell.

Either way, it didn't seem like something the two could handle.

"Then let's try to sneak through. Wait a moment, I'll dim the Arcane Power Armor's light."

Standing still for a moment, Karl controlled the energy crystals in his chest and eyes to dim.

The forest was a considerable distance from the canyon. To avoid being discovered by anyone in the canyon, the two needed to remain as hidden as possible.

Soon, Hopp and Karl moved towards the canyon, one behind the other.

Initially, their movements were somewhat cautious, but as they got closer, their pace became bolder.

The closer they got, the clearer the situation at the canyon entrance became.

"It looks like there are indeed other intelligent beings in this demiplane dungeon. Look at that watchtower. If there were people there, we would have been spotted as soon as we stepped out of the mushroom forest."

"But judging by the state of disrepair of these things, they haven't been maintained for at least ten years. Did something happen?"

When they were less than a hundred meters from the canyon entrance, Karl and Hopp were quite certain that the canyon entrance was not guarded.

At least, not at the moment.

While they couldn't completely rule out the possibility of an ambush from someone in the watchtower, given the enemy's advantage of high ground, it would be completely unnecessary.

Upon reaching the base of the watchtower, Karl raised his hand and fired a magic bolt into the interior.

As expected, no suspicious sounds came from within the tower.

"I'll go first, you cover the rear."

To eliminate any final lingering doubts, Karl, relying on his Arcane Power Armor, took the lead.

Like playing a "battle royale" game, the two searched the watchtower from bottom to top. However, besides some old shields, they found nothing of value.

"It looks like a Rust Monster might have been here, and the style of these shields is somewhat reminiscent of Dagon's goblins."

"Goblins? Here?"

Hopp appeared quite puzzled as to why goblins would appear underground.

Dagon's goblin mercenaries and Droaam's monster mercenaries were rivals, but their knowledge of each other was limited to their combat styles.

"The Continent of Khorvaire was once ruled by orcs and goblins. But in ancient times, Syrraote from an otherworldly plane, also known as the Mad Nation, invaded Khorvaire, forcing an end to the rule of orcs and goblins."

"It is said that during that period, the major powers of the goblin empire took the opportunity to hide underground to escape the disaster. Even now, goblin figures can still be found in some underground caves and demiplane dungeons."

"The Mind Flayers of Eberron are said to have once been residents of the Mad Nation, and their masters, the Mutated Demons, were sealed into Khyber's domain by the orc druids of that era."

Karl sat on the steps, having briefly explained to Hopp the reasons for the goblins' appearance in the underworld. He was preparing to rest there with Hopp for a short while.

"Then how do you know these are goblin-made items?"

Hopp picked up a shield and examined it back and forth for a long time, but couldn't see much difference from ordinary shields.

"The straps! Goblins are divided into regular goblins, dire goblins, and hobgoblins. To accommodate goblins of different sizes, much of their equipment is made with structures that allow for significant adjustment of tightness, and the straps on this shield are like that."

Taking the shield from Hopp's hand, Karl showed Hopp the shield's straps.

The straps had only two buckles. One could barely allow a few fingers to pass through, while the other could even fit two people's thighs.

This was a characteristic only found on goblin equipment. Humans would usually just drill a few extra holes in the buckles for the user to adjust themselves.

Nodding in understanding, Hopp looked up at the standing watchtower.

The entire construction of the watchtower was visibly shoddy. Even Hopp, who didn't know much about construction, could see some redundant designs and unreasonable aspects.

"So, the goblins here might have been passed down from thousands of years ago? Then how did this building..."

"It's likely a break in civilization, like with the giants."

Standing up again, Karl called to Hopp, and they left the watchtower.

Unknown adventures still awaited them.