The dwarf's words immediately gave Karin a very bad feeling.
"Wait, Bryan!" he hurriedly shouted.
But it was too late. As if possessed, Brann Bronzebeard had already pressed the button!
The floor shook. The entire floor was shaking.
"Security mode activated!" As the button was pressed, a cold, almost emotionless voice rang out from the ceiling of the hall. "Intruders detected in the first-floor hall of the keep!"
"Security mode? Intruders?" the dwarf muttered in bewilderment. "What in the world is it talking about?"
"Entering cleanup mode..." The cold voice sounded from the ceiling again.
Karin immediately felt the floor shaking even more violently...
"That sound? It's..." Nathanos shouted to Karin, "Damn it... the gate! The gate seems to be closing! Mr. Karin, we need to run!"
"No, look over there..." Karin shook his head and pointed at the statues in the hall.
The statues of Vrykul and Proto-Dragons began moving stiffly. They blocked the keep's gate, and their gazes all turned toward Bryan and Karin...
"Heavens, what sort of trouble have I gotten us into?" Bryan's eyes widened. "Damn it, I think it means us when it says intruders!"
"Cleanup commencing..."
At those words from the ceiling, the Vrykul and Proto-Dragon statues began attacking them.
"Run!" all three shouted together.
Then they ran toward the keep's upper floors!
"Nathanos, shut the door!" Karin shouted.
He had just used Fireball to blast apart several pillars, temporarily blocking the statues' path... In their frantic flight, they had reached the keep's second floor... and found another large door there.
Nathanos nimbly shut the door. Then they hauled heavy objects over from nearby and piled them behind it, holding it closed for the moment.
Bang-bang- They could hear the statues pounding on the door outside.
"It won't hold for long. Those giant statues will break through soon... We have to..." Nathanos panted as he spoke... but stopped abruptly halfway through!
Nathanos's voice suddenly filled with fear as he pointed into the second-floor hall. "You... look ahead..."
Karin and Bryan looked in the direction Nathanos was pointing... Statues. Once again, there were groups of Vrykul and Proto-Dragon statues, and far more of them than on the first floor.
"How could... Damn it, am I, Bryan, going to die in this keep while I'm still so young?" Bryan muttered in panic. Even this normally confident adventurer had lost his composure.
"They're different!" The All-Knowing Eye's voice suddenly rang out in Karin's mind.
"What's different?" Karin hurriedly asked.
"The statues on the first floor really were statues without any signs of life. Their movements were controlled entirely by mechanisms..." the All-Knowing Eye explained. "But these aren't statues. They're still alive, merely asleep!"
"Alive?" Karin couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.
"What, Mr. Karin?" Bryan immediately reacted. "You're saying these things are still alive? Wait... that's possible... Grybe, let's go!"
A dwarf and a gorilla immediately darted over to the group of statues.
Bryan ran back and forth, examining them carefully, then said quietly with a grave expression, "Mr. Karin, you're absolutely right-these giants and dragons aren't like the statues downstairs. They still show signs of life!"
"That's impossible!" Nathanos's face was full of shock. "This ancient keep was already here when Northrend's first inhabitants landed at Valgarde thousands of years ago, and it has never shown any signs of life..."
Karin also walked up to the sleeping Vrykul and Proto-Dragons and examined their condition closely.
"It must have been a legendary spell!" the All-Knowing Eye concluded.
"You mean a tenth-ring legendary spell put them into this sleep?" Karin asked.
"Yes, a tenth-ring spell!" the All-Knowing Eye confirmed. "And judging by these giants' and dragons' expressions, they accepted the spell willingly and fell asleep!"
"The tenth ring..." Karin continued asking, "Does that mean these giants' leader was stronger than the tenth ring?"
"We can conclude that their leader must have been a legendary being, but whether he possessed the strength of a tenth-ring mage remains unknown. There are differences even among legendary beings!" the All-Knowing Eye replied. "Besides, twenty thousand years have passed. If he didn't put himself to sleep as well, even a legendary being would have crumbled to dust long ago!"
"Then can we wake them?" Karin asked curiously.
"Impossible! Unless they suffer an impact exceeding two thousand horsepower, a mental attack above 1,600 hertz, or someone dispels this sleeping spell, they cannot awaken!" the All-Knowing Eye replied.
"All right, friends, I've figured it out!" Bryan's voice came from behind him.
The dwarf's eyes shone with confidence.
"I was right. These are Titan Ruins! The Titans created these giants and dragons, but for some reason, they used an artifact left behind by the Titans to seal themselves inside this keep. Meanwhile, the statues downstairs were meant to eliminate any intruders so they wouldn't disturb them!"
"That... makes sense, but how are we supposed to escape?" Nathanos asked anxiously.
Outside, the statues grew more frenzied. They would soon break through the door.
"Hmph!" Bryan pointed at a stone tablet by his feet. "This is written in Titan Script, but fortunately, I know a little about it... After analyzing it just now, I discovered that this tablet records the location of these giants' royal palace!"
"The royal palace? What... what good does that do us?" Nathanos asked in confusion.
"Of course it helps! The giants made those statues, after all. How would they dare enter the royal palace and trespass on the king's domain? So as long as we get inside the palace, the giants won't dare follow us. We'll definitely be safe in there!" Bryan said confidently.
The moment he finished speaking, a thunderous crash rang out, and the door shattered.
"Then hurry and take us there..." Nathanos shouted urgently.
"Quick, follow me, and don't stray too far!" Bryan took the lead, running toward the keep's highest floor. He didn't forget to warn them, "Stay close to me, and don't touch anything I haven't touched!"