Chapter 1253 — Dark Ripples
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"And this is precisely the pathetic and ironic part—they knew only that this was a convenient focal point of magic, where energy from the Deep Blue Well could easily be controlled and converted, yet they never discovered the deep connection between this focal point and the Deep Blue network... Not even until the eve of their destruction did they vaguely sense the vast 'planetary power system' behind the Deep Blue Well... They squandered the chance for their civilization to leap further, never even knowing what they had missed, and remained smug about the crude fruits of their civilization's development."
Lerna turned her head, her gaze sweeping over the ruins of the ancient city that time had reduced to fragments, over those former high towers and palaces and temples. A mocking expression appeared on her face, and her tone carried a contempt that bordered on anger: "One sheet of paper away from the truth, one small step away from success, and they struggled their whole lives only to fall at the final moment before reaching the end... Always the same, cycle after cycle."
"Weak and incompetent," Firna said faintly. "Pathetic and lamentable."
The vines moved slowly across the platform, the sound of plant scraping against concrete harsh and grating. Bolken's yellow-brown pupils fixed on the elven twins before him, and he let out a hoarse laugh. "Ha, it's rare indeed to hear such spicy, direct language from those false, honeyed lips of yours. Truly worthy of elves who have lived through long ages and witnessed the Defiance Plan—your assessment of this world comes from a novel angle... But I'm curious: saying all this, are you trying to tell me that I too will meet failure at the final moment before success?"
"You?" Lerna glanced at the vine face before her, the corners of her mouth curving up. "Of course not, my Grand Chancellor. How could your plan fail? It's no longer merely your plan..."
Bolken gave a cold snort, but had no interest in quibbling over the elven twins' customary snide manner of speaking—his true body was at that moment still in the distant valley headquarters, handling all manner of important affairs. What was here was merely "a line of sight" projected through his underground root network that spread in all directions, used to monitor the progress of the work at this node. Until there were substantive results here, he had no spare energy to tangle with two elven sisters who never spoke like civilized beings.
And just then, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the excavation site, drawing Bolken's attention and the gazes of the elven twins on the platform.
They saw the mutated giants successfully dismantle the last portion of the dome fragments covering the ruins, and then, as ordered, activate some ancient mechanism beneath the ruins. From deep within the ruins, dead silent for seven hundred years, there really did come a low resonant hum. Accompanied by a slight trembling of the earth, wisps of escaping blue radiance spilled out from the cracks in the ground near the building ruins, sharply stinging every eye on the scene.
"...How beautiful," Firna said, watching the increasingly bright radiance, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Do you see it, Grand Chancellor? This is the radiance of pure magic... It has slept beneath here for seven hundred years."
Bolken's eyes stared fixedly at the light flowing out from the cracks in the ground, and he suddenly reacted, shouting a loud warning to the elven twins who were still taking their leisure: "What are you standing around for?! This focal point is losing control! Damn it, the containment equipment here burned out long ago—the fissures you've opened will melt down this place, and the ensuing explosion will draw the entire Iron Man Legion here!! Do something to stop this!"