Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Since the Wintery Break Organization Headquarters had appeared, everyone had nothing else to hesitate about. After the entire fortress completely emerged from the spatial rift, a long stone bridge extended before everyone.
Compared to this massive fortress, the stone bridge looked like a branch from a towering giant tree. The long city wall stretched almost to the end of the river, while the other end pierced the sky from above the waterfall.
It was hard to imagine.
On the territory ruled by the King of Winter, a base for such a huge opposing force had silently appeared.
How many people were in this fortress?
If all the soldiers in this fortress were to come out, how much turmoil would it bring to the newly established Wintery Empire?
They didn’t dare to think too much.
But they could imagine the outcome would likely not be pleasant.
Xi Wei, who was diligently working in the orchard, saw the grand fortress through his statue and was equally stunned, almost dropping his hoe.
Fortunately, under Loli’s control, the soil remained tightly wrapped around the hoe. Although the hoe didn’t move, the soil began to wriggle on its own, becoming more and more intense.
“Clack—”
At the end of the stone bridge, a gate with a strong mechanical texture opened. A light blue magic screen shimmered at the entrance for a moment, and then two fully armored soldiers walked out from inside.
They simply stood on either side of the gate, silent.
“Let’s go.” Balner smiled triumphantly.
He saw the shocked expressions of Nobody Does Human Things and (Player Name) (M). He had been constantly shocked on the way, and now it was finally his turn to show it back. Compared to newcomers like Nobody Does Human Things, he was already a frequent visitor to this Wintery Break fortress.
Nobody Does Human Things and the members of the Candy Super Sweet Mercenary Group followed Balner onto the stone bridge.
Although it looked like a stone bridge from the outside, the bridge deck was actually paved with steel. A faint blue unknown energy connected every section of the bridge, giving the feeling of being on an elevator as they walked.
Out of curiosity, Nobody Does Human Things cast an appraisal technique on the connection point of the bridge, and two completely unfamiliar information pop-ups appeared.
[Mana chains]
[Magic Gold and Stone Bridge Surface (a piece)]
They couldn’t understand it at all.
But this was definitely not technology that the Wintery Empire could possess.
Although the Wintery Empire had many mages, they were basically supported by the players, and there were very few native mages. Most of the mages were born into noble families. Unfortunately, the nobles of the Wintery Empire had almost all been reshuffled. Under the high-pressure policy of the King of Winter, the new nobles found it difficult to accumulate the wealth needed to train a mage.
This led to an even smaller number of native mages.
In such a country with an extreme shortage of mages, a super fortress suspended in the sky by mana chains appeared. It was impossible for there to be no trickery involved.
Xi Wei’s gaze also became serious. However, his hoe continued to swing forward with firm determination, and his mind began to sift through information.
Mana chains came from the South Continent.
Almost all mage empires on the South Continent had floating cities and floating islands.
The construction of these floating cities and floating islands was inseparable from mana chains. This was a spell array composed of pure wind element, but this spell array was shaped into a chain by its genius inventor.
This spell array had strong buoyancy.
When multiple spell arrays were gathered together, they would also produce a stacking effect.
This ultimately achieved the feat of lifting heavy buildings into the sky.
It was like a spider web supporting a leaf.
The mana chains required to build such a floating fortress were immeasurable, and the time consumed was also incalculable.
This meant that.
This floating fortress likely existed long before the Kolon Empire was destroyed.
But why did this group not appear when they attacked Dragonflame City?
In the image.
Nobody Does Human Things had already reached the gate. The two stationary armored soldiers suddenly activated, drawing their long swords and clashing them together in a cross shape, blocking the way.
It was then that Nobody Does Human Things realized that these armored soldiers did not seem to be living beings. Although they were covered in armor, the gaps between the armor plates were empty, with only a faint blue light flowing within.
[This is a golem creature.]
(Player Name) (M) sent a private message to Nobody Does Human Things.
He had seen these before.
In the Whirlwind Dunes, those mages from the South Continent were accompanied by these golem warriors. They looked mighty and tall, and their combat strength was also terrifying. They were fearless, felt no pain, and were simply cold killing machines.
[Galan Soldier Type 3]
This was the information Nobody Does Human Things saw.
(Player Name) (M) had already sent the specific details.
Golem creatures were specifically made by alchemists on the South Continent to serve the mages. Mages were ranged professions, and only a very small number of mages could also handle melee combat. Therefore, to compensate for the shortcomings of most mages, golem creatures were developed.
They generally had hard external armor, and their movements relied on an energy core and a soul core. The energy core usually used magic cores of monsters or high-level magic crystals, while the soul core was the souls of some brainwashed death row inmates or stowaways.
Golem creatures came in various forms, mostly humanoid, with a small minority being beast-shaped for both combat and mount purposes. The two guarding the entrance were typical humanoid combat golem creatures.
“Please show your pass.”
A mechanical, stiff voice came from the cold helmet of the golem soldier, sounding like a middle-aged man, from the soul core hidden within it.
Balner skillfully took off the necklace around his neck.
It was a sword embedded in a throne.
He pulled the sword out.
The blade was inlaid with a small, rice-sized blue gemstone. He then extended the sword, which was no longer than a thumb, forward.
The golem soldier’s V-shaped helmet emitted a red energy beam.
This beam shone on the blue gemstone, producing a “humming” sound.
“Identity verification complete, welcome back, Balner!”
The golem soldier sheathed his sword, clenched his fist, and bowed.
Then, he respectfully took a step back.
Clearing the path to the interior of the Wintery Break fortress.
Balner reassembled the necklace and put it back on, looking smug.
Platyr, standing beside him, looked at the necklace with envy and longing in his eyes.
Nobody Does Human Things secretly took note.
This necklace was probably a symbol of status within the Wintery Break Organization. It might be a key that could unlock more permissions. Otherwise, how to explain Platyr’s longing?
