"It's really an exaggeration." Kaidezi spoke, his voice was not loud, but it echoed in the underground space, creating a strange resonance, like someone whispering in the ear.
She stopped, stretched out her hand, and lightly touched a fragment of the mural on the wall.
The surface of the fragment was rough, covered with tiny cracks, and black soil was embedded in the cracks. She could feel the magic left in the mural - no, not magic, but some kind of older, more primitive energy.
The frequency of that energy was so low that she wouldn't have been able to detect it if she hadn't been used to sensing it in the dark. The concentration of that energy was so high that she felt a slight tingling sensation on her fingertips just by touching it lightly.
"This level of residual magic power..." Kaidezi's voice contained a hint of surprise that she didn't realize she had, "Which god has awakened?"
The captain who was walking at the front did not look back. His steps did not pause, and the voice came from the front, steady and calm, like a precision instrument in operation. "It's not clear yet. We are only responsible for collecting intelligence. The rest is left to Scroll Keeper to judge."
Kaidezi took back her hand and did not ask again. The captain's answer was as she expected.
Silence Society That's it, everyone has their own responsibilities, do your part well, don't ask what you shouldn't ask, don't look at what you shouldn't see.
The group of people continued walking forward. The space at the bottom of the pit was much larger than they expected, and the passages were winding and extending in all directions.
In some places, you can still see the traces left by the miners - names engraved on the walls, kerosene lamps hanging on the rock walls, and mine carts leaning on the roadside.
In some places, there are no traces of human beings at all, only those ancient murals and runes left by unknown people and when, silent in the darkness.
"Why haven't you thought about this place before?" Kaidezi spoke again. She looked at the huge mural in front of her that stretched from the ground to the dome. On the screen was a huge dragon-shaped creature falling from the sky, its body entangled with countless small, luminous lines.
She has studied ancient Civilization for many years. She has seen countless murals and interpreted countless inscriptions, but she has never seen this kind of painting style and content.
The style of this mural did not belong to any era she knew, nor to any known ancient Civilization.
"We have contacted His Highness Karelia Empire and asked him to help seal this place." The captain said, "We have time to study it slowly."
Kaidezi nodded. She did not ask who his highness was, nor why she asked for his assistance. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't look at what you shouldn't look at.
At the end of the corridor is a hall that is wider than any previous space. The floor of the hall is scattered with gravel and dust, and there is a faint smell like burnt metal in the air.
The mural on the wall was interrupted here, replaced by a smooth, textureless stone wall. The color of the stone wall was much darker than the surrounding rocks, almost black, and the surface was covered with fine cracks that looked like they had been burned by something.
There were several corpses scattered on the floor of the hall.
Kaidezi's footsteps stopped.
"That is...Marquis Darkblood." She looked at the pale figure lying in the corner of the hall. Marquis Darkblood was sitting against the wall, with his head tilted to one side, his eyes closed, and his expression was as peaceful as if he had died peacefully in his sleep.
His left arm completely disappeared from the shoulder down, and the broken skin rolled up, showing a strange gray-white color. Vampires's vitality is very strong. Even if he is seriously injured and on the verge of death, as long as his heart is still there, he can slowly recover by sucking blood.
But Marquis Darkblood's heart had been burned through, and the fist-sized hole in his chest was scorched black at the edges, as if a red-hot iron rod had been stabbed from behind and out from the front.
Kaidezi was silent for a moment.
"And Dean Chronicle Court." She looked at the body a few meters away next to Marquis Darkblood. Dean Chronicle Court was lying on the ground, his legs twisted at an unnatural angle, and there was a large pool of dried, dark red blood under his body.
His eyes were open, his gray beard was covered with dust and blood, and his lips were slightly open, as if he had said something before he died, but no one heard him.
There were several corpses next to them, some wearing unknown mercenary clothes, some wearing Star Pole City's mage robes, and some being people Kaidezi couldn't name or identify.
Kaidezi doesn't know all of them, but she can feel the energy residue on them - none of them are weak. The weakest one is at least Fifth Tier.
"Especially Dean Marquis Darkblood and Chronicle Court." The captain's voice came from the front, a little more solemn than before, "This is the legendary powerhouse Seventh Tier."
The hall was quiet for a moment, no one spoke. The legendary strongman Seventh Tier, among the human beings Civilization in this era, is the one who stands at the top of the pyramid.
There are no more than fifty Seventh Tier legends in the entire continent. Each one has its own territory, power, and inheritance. Each one is the backbone of its own power. The death of one will cause shock on the continent, let alone the death of two.
"The trouble is a bit big." The captain's voice was very soft. He didn't look back, but Kaidezi could see that his shoulders were tense abnormally - it was his subconscious reaction when he felt pressure, and he couldn't hide from her eyes.
His fingers tapped lightly on the outside of his thigh twice, which were small movements when he was thinking rapidly.
"Also, a stronger aura." The captain added, speaking slower than before, as if he was thinking about it, "It's Duke Desolation."
Kaidezi's eyebrows skipped a beat. "He? What is he doing here?"
"I don't know," the captain said. He turned around and looked at the entrance to the corridor on the other side of the hall. "His breath is here. It's very strong, as if it has stayed for a while."
"Where is he?" Kaidezi looked around, scanning every corner of the hall and every entrance and exit of the corridor, but there was nothing.
There was no figure of Duke Desolation, no body, no trace of his blood, no trace of his stay here, except for the faint, gray-white breath that remained in the air that only someone like her, who had been sensing energy in the dark all year round, could detect.
"He may have escaped." The captain made a judgment, with a cautious tone in his voice: "Although uncertain, this is the most reasonable speculation at present." "After all, he is a veteran legendary strongman, so it is not surprising that he has some means of saving his life."
Kaidezi did not refute.
It's not surprising that an old monster who has lived for thousands of years has experienced countless lives and deaths, carries a few ancient relics that can save lives, hides a few secret passages that no one knows about, and knows several long-lost life-saving forbidden arts.
She was worried about something else.
"Then these guys..." Kaidezi's eyes fell on the body in black robes in the center of the hall.
Most of the black robe has been scorched, revealing the horrible skin underneath. There is a large area of scorched black on the back, not the carbon black burned by the flames, but a deeper blackness that seems to have been roasted from the inside out, and even the blood vessels have solidified into black.
His body was slightly curled up, and one hand was stretched forward with his fingers slightly spread out, as if he was grabbing something.
Kaidezi walked over, squatted down, and took a closer look at the face. He was no longer young, there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and there were some deep wrinkles on his forehead.
His lips were chapped, and the stubble on his chin was very hard, as if he hadn't shaved for several days. His eyes were half-open, and his gray-white pupils were completely dilated, like two glass beads that had lost their luster.
His expression before death was very strange. It was not pain or fear, but something Kaidezi had never seen before, and she didn't know which word to use to describe it - a warm expression, as if he had had a good dream.
Kaidezi doesn't recognize this face.
"Is it him?" She raised her head and looked at the captain.
The captain came over, squatted down next to the body, looked at it for a few seconds, and then nodded.
He stretched out his hand and peeled away the rubble on the right side of the body, revealing a palm-sized, black-red, cracked spar fragment underneath.
The light of the crystal has completely dimmed, leaving only a faint trace of fluorescence that can be extinguished at any time, like a heart that is about to stop beating.
"Destruction and Revelation Society." The captain picked up the fragments of the crystal and weighed it in his hands. The weight of the crystal was very light, much lighter than it looked like it should be, as if the energy inside had been completely drained, leaving only an empty shell. "What is the name of the leader of that organization that we are not very good at dealing with?"
"The president of Destruction and Revelation Society." Kaidezi said, "No one knows his name. He only contacts the outside world through intermediaries, never shows up, never signs his name, and never leaves any clues that can trace his identity.
His subordinates call him "Chief", those who work with him call him "Lao Ge", and his enemies call him "that rat who hides in the shadows and dares not see the light."
"Yes..." The captain put the crystal fragments back on the ground, "He actually died here."
Kaidezi looked at the gray, already blurred eyes and was silent for a moment. "It should have been solved by the gods who woke up here."
"Hiss..." The captain took a breath and did not say the next words. He swallowed back the sentence "Fortunately we didn't catch up" in his heart. Don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't think about what you shouldn't think.
The captain stood up and patted the dust on his robe. His movements were natural and his expression returned to its previous calmness, but Kaidezi noticed that his fingers stayed on the corners of his robe for a moment longer. He was thinking about something.
"Then what should we do now?" Kaidezi also stood up and looked around the hall again. Marquis Darkblood's corpse, Chronicle Court's dean's corpse, Grey Eye's corpse, and a few others she couldn't name.
The death of the legendary strong man here must not be hidden. Those forces will come to them - Vampires will come to ask for Marquis Darkblood's body, Chronicle Court will come to find out the cause of the death of Dean Chronicle Court, and Star Pole City will come to ask about the whereabouts of their strong man.
Once the news spreads, the entire continent's top brass will be alerted.
"It doesn't matter." The captain said, his voice was much calmer than when he said "the trouble is a bit big" just now. He had already thought about it. "The situation on the mainland is very chaotic now.
Just after the storm, all the countries were providing disaster relief, grabbing food, and blaming each other. No one had the energy to care about other things. Those forces have too much time to take care of themselves, and it will be difficult to find this place for a while."
Kaidezi nodded. The storm really disrupted everyone's rhythm. The border that was supposed to be heavily guarded now only has a few veterans standing guard.
The intelligence network that was supposed to be closely monitored now doesn't even have enough people to receive letters. This is indeed a window period.
"Destruction and Revelation Society's side has no leader, so it's not worth mentioning." The captain continued, "They were originally a loose organization, and they were all supported by Grey Eye.
Grey Eye is dead. They will either fight among themselves or break up, and they have no intention of causing trouble for us."
"Where is Vampires?" Kaidezi asked, "Marquis Darkblood is the elder of the Vampires royal family. They can't ignore it."
"Vampires may use some tracking methods to find clues." The captain said, "But they can't see the sun, and they can't stray too far from the nest.
Western Mine is far away from their territory, and it is impossible for them to move out in large numbers. At most, we can send a few dark walkers to investigate, and we have ways to deal with it."
He paused.
"Chronicle Court is still arguing over there. The conservatives and the reformists have been arguing for a long time. They haven't even decided on the candidate for the dean, so they don't have the energy to care about how the dean died."
Kaidezi couldn't help but sigh in his heart - Chronicle Court's chaos has become their protective umbrella. Things are unpredictable.
"The most troublesome thing is Duke Desolation." The captain finally said the most critical issue, his voice was a little lower and his speaking speed also slowed down, "He probably saw something.
He has lived for thousands of years, knows many people, and has many channels. If he comes out and talks about things here, we will be in big trouble."
(Duke Desolation:?)
Kaidezi didn't answer. She knew what the captain meant - not to let her answer, but to let her listen.
"You have to send someone to Far Wasteland to try to negotiate with them." The captain said, "Duke Desolation's disciples and grandsons are all there.
If he escapes, he will definitely go back to Far Wasteland to recuperate. We need to find him and talk to him before he speaks."
Kaidezi finally asked a question she shouldn't have asked, "What if he doesn't agree to talk?"
The captain glanced at her.
That glance was so short that Kaidezi wasn't even sure if he really looked at her. But she knew what that glance meant - don't ask if you shouldn't ask.
"Let's go." The captain turned around and walked along the corridor in the direction he came from.
The footsteps echoed in the empty underground space, click, click, click, steady and rhythmic, as if they were beating some ancient drum that only he could hear.
The others followed him, no one looked back, no one spoke, and no one made any unnecessary noise. Kaidezi walked at the back. Before leaving the hall, she stopped and took one last look back.
Those corpses were still lying on the ground, Marquis Darkblood was leaning against the wall, Dean Chronicle Court was lying down, and Grey Eye was curled up. Their postures were different, their positions were different, and their expressions were different.
But they have one thing in common - they are all breathless.
Kaidezi turned around and walked out of the hall.
The footsteps gradually faded away and disappeared into the darkness of the underground space.
Only the murals are still there, the runes are still there, the broken altars and scattered crystal fragments are still there.
They are silent in the darkness.
Waiting for the next person driven by curiosity or ambition to walk in.