The massive, towering building stood silently in the frozen Twilight, utterly still, as if it were just an oil painting.
Walking through such an environment, Derrick Berg was even more tense than when exploring other parts of the darkness; the hairs on his back stood on end.
Upon entering the Twilight- shrouded area, the entire exploration team, including Chief Colin Iliad and Elder " Shepherd " Lovia, inevitably began to show signs of exhaustion and decline, as if they were entering the twilight of their lives. As they progressed, more and more rotting Giant, either wandering the roads or bursting out from various buildings, appeared, growing stronger and stronger.
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, progress became difficult. After several fierce battles, the City of Silver exploration team finally broke through the Monster ' "blockade" and "blockade" and arrived at an extremely quiet area, where there was no sound at all, making their scalps tingle.
In response, Colin Iliad " Demon Hunter," had to break his silence and offer a reminder:
"This means we've truly entered the ' Giant King's Court,' and are approaching its core. The level of danger will only increase, not decrease."
Upon hearing this, a small number of exploration team members wavered due to the influence of " Twilight." In their view, although they dared not linger for most of the earlier stages, fearing being surrounded by the rotting Giant, they had ultimately managed to clear out all the Monster in a small area, allowing them to rest and recuperate for a while. They had obtained a considerable amount of Beyonder Characteristic, magical materials, and Potion recipes. This exploration could be considered to have yielded enough results, and there was no need to continue going deeper. The most important thing to do now was to find a suitable building, establish an advance camp, and prepare for the second exploration.
Faced with this proposal, Colin Iliad didn't say much, only emphasizing that the purpose of this exploration was to ascertain as much as possible about the " Giant King's Court " in order to accumulate sufficient information for subsequent actions.
Then, he had a team member named Antillna " Placate " those whose resolve was wavering.
Since Elder Lovia, the " Shepherd," also supported the Chief, the small number of exploration team members quickly adjusted their mindset and quietly followed the Chief.
After a while, they saw a huge stone staircase, which was grayish-white in color but tinged with orange light, both dazzling and serene.
Each step of the stairs is relatively high, and a normal human would definitely find it very difficult to climb. Fortunately, the shortest member of the exploration team, Elder Lovia, is nearly 1.9 meters tall and can also control the gale.
Above the massive steps stands a city wall so majestic that one must look up to see its top. It bears many signs of damage and burning, and in some places, arrows as thick as ordinary trees and several meters long are stuck in the ground, causing some of the stones to collapse.
In the middle of the city wall is a double gate, several tens of meters high, with a grayish-blue hue and gold nails embedded in it. Two guards stand outside, their mere presence creating an intense sense of oppression.
They were five or six meters tall, wearing exquisite and sturdy full-body silver armor. One held a greatsword, and the other had a giant axe planted on the ground. Behind their faceplates, a ball of orange-red light shone out, as if One-Eyed.
" Silver Knight..." " Demon Hunter " Colin raised his right hand, held his straight sword horizontally, and blocked the members of the exploration team behind him.
He had already drawn the two straight swords he was carrying and coated them with different medicines.
The Silver Knight... Derrick Berg's eyelids twitched slightly, and his heart skipped a beat.
He had only recently received some information from the chief that was only known to the higher-ups, learning that the Sequence 3 of the " Giant " pathway was called " Silver Knight," and that City of Silver lacked the correct Potion recipe, but possessed corresponding Beyonder Characteristic.
To Derrick's surprise and horror, the gatekeepers of the core of the " Giant King's Court " were actually two Sequence 3 Demigod, a level higher than the strongest force in City of Silver!
This is only the area around the royal court's gates; who knows what one might encounter if one ventures deeper.
After the initial shock, Derrick couldn't suppress a surge of anticipation:
Perhaps, within the " Giant King's Court," one can find the Potion recipes for the " Giant " pathway Sequence 4 and beyond.
In that case, the chief will have the potential to become a " Silver Knight," greatly enhancing the strength of City of Silver. At that time, he will be able to further explore the " Giant King's Court," find more Potion recipes, hunt more Monster, and obtain more and higher-level Beyonder Characteristic and magical materials.
Subconsciously, Derrick glanced around and found that the reactions of Joshua, Heim, Antillna, and the other members of the exploration team were basically the same as his own: tense and fearful, yet also tinged with a glimmer of hope.
At this moment, Elder Lovia, the " Shepherd," stepped forward and stood side by side with Colin Iliad, gazing up at the gray-blue gate and the two " Silver Knight " whose state of mind was unclear, and said:
"If there's only one, we have a chance to solve it."
Her real meaning was that there were now two " Silver Knight," and even if we were willing to suffer huge casualties, we wouldn't be able to eliminate the enemy. After all, even if the Chief could control the Mythical Creature Form and normally fight against Sequence 3, the environment here wouldn't allow him to make such an attempt— the Twilight had brought decay, and what we could bear before might not be able to bear now.
Colin Iliad nodded, glanced at Lovia and Derrick Berg respectively, observed the area ahead for a moment, and said:
"It seems that as long as we don't get close to that gate, the two guards won't attack us."
"Perhaps we could try luring one of the ' Silver Knight ' away and taking them out separately?" the female Warrior named Antillna suggested thoughtfully.
She has medium-length burgundy hair, and although her features are not particularly delicate, they combine to create a striking and radiant appearance.
In this exploration mission, her main task is to use a Sealed Artifact to treat the psychological problems of the team members and fight against enemies with mental abilities.
Antillna's specific plan was for her and the other members to lure away one of the " Silver Knight," using the terrain and teamwork to maneuver around it, while the Chief and Elder Lovia would join forces to deal with the remaining one, hoping to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
This is a textbook example of how City of Silver handles similar situations.
"Even with just one ' Silver Knight,' it will be very difficult, and there's no guarantee that the ' Silver Knight ' you've lured away won't directly reveal its Mythical Creature Form." " Demon Hunter " Colin calmly rejected Antillna's suggestion.
Not to mention the Silver Knight's own powerful and extraordinary abilities, once it reveals its Mythical Creature Form, most members of the City of Silver exploration team will be unable to look directly at it and will be affected, making it impossible for them to contend with it.
Before the other team members could speak, Colin Iliad glanced back and said:
"Let's take another route."
" Derrick discovered some documents in the reflection world of Afternoon Town, which described a passage in the area behind the ' Giant King's Court '."
Elder Lovia, the " Shepherd," then turned her gaze to Derrick Berg, her expression indifferent, calm, and devoid of any emotion.
Derrick instinctively raised the " Unshadowed Crucifix " in his hand slightly higher, suppressing an indescribable tremor.
"Okay." Lovia agreed with Colin Iliad's suggestion.
So the exploration team exited the massive stone staircase and went around to the left.
Before long, they came to see a rugged path, with towering cliffs on the right and bottomless clouds bathed in the glow of Twilight on the left.
Of course, the narrow path was only relative to the Giant; for the members of the City of Silver exploration team, it was still relatively spacious.
As they walked forward, Derrick and the others were simultaneously struck by Spirit Intuition and instinctively looked to their sides.
At the edge of the cliff, countless swollen, gray-blue hands emerged from the orange-red clouds, grasping at the ground.
If these are all Giant, even if they are only Sequence 7 6 Giant, their sheer number would be enough to annihilate the City of Silver exploration team here.
Just as Colin Iliad was about to swing his straight sword, Derrick suddenly had a subtle feeling. He quickly raised the " Unshadowed Crucifix " in his hand even higher and pressed a finger against a thorn, from which bright red blood seeped out.
The Twilight light emanating from the pure cross suddenly brightened, as if it had returned to midday, and surged intensely toward the edge of the cliff, enveloping the gray-blue Giant who were trying to climb up.
These Giant froze in place, their bodies fading inch by inch until they quickly dissolved and disappeared.
They are not real Giant, but rather the Wraith Specter left behind after the Giant died tragically. That is why the " Unshadowed Crucifix " sensed them.
It is a sacred-level Sealed Artifact in the " The Sun " realm, and the nemesis of Wraith, Specter, and Evil Spirit.
After easily defeating the Monster, the City of Silver exploration team continued cautiously forward. After a while, they finally bypassed the mountain walls and cliffs and saw a dark forest.
The trees in that forest were tens of meters tall and extremely thick, but their bark was peeling off, their trunks were rotting, and their branches and leaves were withered, giving people a direct sense of decay.
The branches and leaves should have intertwined, forming a canopy in mid-air to block the light of Twilight and darken the interior. But now, due to the collapse and breakage of many trees, the orange-red light has spread to most of the visible area inside the forest.
"This is the ' Forest of Decay ' where the Progenitor the Giant, the parents of the Giant King, are buried." Derrick looked ahead, silently calculating how much longer he could use the " Unshadowed Crucifix," and then spoke to the leader and his teammates.
Colin Iliad gazed at the forest for a moment and said:
"It's already been destroyed. Even if there are still residual dangers, they won't be too strong. We can try to explore it."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Derrick replied without hesitation. "My cross can withstand the conditions here. I'll go first."
He remembered that Mr. World had warned him that there might be some kind of pollution lurking in that forest, and that the " Unshadowed Crucifix " could provide an effective warning.
Colin, with his graying hair, nodded slightly and said:
Be careful of your surroundings.
Derrick took a silent breath, strode forward, and walked into the " Forest of Decay."
At the same time, taking advantage of being ahead, he quietly recited the honorific name of " The Fool ".
Then, after being blinded by the Twilight and disconnected for a while, Klein was finally able to see the specific situation, but he couldn't expand his field of vision too much.