Chapter 377 — Soljirin's Exploration
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 3
Another testing ground beyond the gate?
Surprised and curious, Soljirin looked at the purple-steel gate, then at once realized what was unusual about this so-called "Shadow Testing Ground."
What isolated the "Shadow Testing Ground" from the main body of the Fortress of Defiance was a "Class III gate"—a gate theoretically capable of serving as a main portal of the fortress, extremely sturdy and possessed of extraordinary magic resistance!
Drawing on seven hundred years of experience traveling across the continent, Soljirin immediately judged the gate before him: though its scale resembled a fortress entrance, this gate was probably not the southern boundary of the Fortress of Defiance. It was likely only an especially reinforced protective barrier. Beyond it lay another important region of the fortress!
"Sir, should we try to open this gate?" one soldier asked. Dark-red light flickered in his eyepiece. "Magical power is still flowing inside the gate. The access control seems intact."
Soljirin thought briefly, then shook his head decisively. "Mark it on the map. Leave a magic-web unit and lighting here, then return. We'll come back after full preparations."
"Yes!"
The soldiers obeyed. Soljirin turned and cast one last look at the purple-steel gate.
He was in fact more eager than the soldiers to know what lay beyond that door, but he had not forgotten that this was only a trial exploration mission. He had brought the Steel Ranger trainees into the ruins partly to drill them and partly to field-test the newly designed equipment. This was already a rather bold undertaking, for even with the technical prowess of Nicci? Egg-Boss and the oversight of a high-ranking ranger like himself, soldiers using test equipment still ran considerable risks. The possibility of encountering danger in the ruins and suffering a sudden equipment failure at the same time had been under consideration from the very start. So before setting out, Su Jilin had received Gao Song's orders: explore for one week at most, one area at most, do not enter high-risk zones, and when encountering combat, prioritize retreat.
Now, faced with the "Shadow Proving Grounds" of unknown nature, he decided to obey Gao Song's orders and withdraw for the time being. Once back, he would first report the situation here to his superiors, then make preparations and return.
That would not take long. Although the party had spent a full six days advancing to this point, that was because they had been continuously drawing maps, exploring side paths, and setting up guide lights along the way. At full speed, the round trip would take only a day.
...
At this same moment, in the study of the Cecil lord's manor, Gao Yang finished reviewing his documents. He leaned back in his broad chair and, after confirming that no one was likely to disturb him for a while, allowed his mind to drift slightly empty as he traced in his thoughts the communication channel to the surveillance satellite.
The surveillance feed from geosynchronous orbit slowly emerged, forming a stable image within Gao Song's mind. From that bird's-eye view, he clearly saw the mountains and plains of the northern region of the Loren Continent.
He began gradually drawing the perspective closer, constantly fine-tuning the area the satellite view observed.
His field of vision swept across the southern frontier of Ansu, then slowly moved northeast, gradually passing over the Gerlan domain, over the eastern frontier of Ansu...
The image stopped moving and slowly zoomed in, magnified. On a stretch of fairly gentle small plain, he saw a somewhat blurred fortress standing upon a stone plateau.
Covenant Keep.
Gao Yang shifted into a more comfortable position and began patiently adjusting the surveillance satellite's image, which had grown slightly out of focus from age.
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