Entering the main gate, a deep corridor lay within.
Every five meters, two Golem Soldiers stood guard on either side. They remained motionless, only their blue magic energy flowing momentarily beneath their helmet visors as people passed.
Reaching the end of the corridor, the group entered a grand hall.
The surroundings were covered in red carpet, making the entire hall seem as if it were immersed in a blood pool. In the corners stood weapon racks, adorned with exquisite armor and intricately patterned longswords.
Yet, the hall was empty.
Not even Golem Soldiers were present.
Two more dark corridors led to unknown places, one to the left and one to the right. Through the windows in the corridors, one could see the sky and waterfalls outside, with the occasional passing of a bird, proving these windows were real and not mere wall decorations.
In the center of the hall stood a colossal statue.
It was a knight statue, about ten meters tall, clad in heavy armor. Its broad shoulder guards resembled wings, and its hands held a sword, the tip of which was embedded in a steel throne.
Nobody knew this throne.
It belonged to the King of Winter.
The Winterbreaking Organization’s ambition was evident.
They intended to overthrow the King of Winter’s rule.
And establish a new order on the ruins of the Wintery Empire.
Balner stopped before the knight statue.
He knelt on the red carpet and tapped a spot on the carpet three times with his right hand.
With a low hum.
The floor below cracked and tilted downwards.
Then, a lever as thick as an adult’s arm rose from the opening. Above the lever was a vessel resembling a cup.
Nobody’s eyelid twitched.
He had already witnessed Balner’s incredible feat of eating bird droppings.
Could there be something even more bizarre to come?
Perhaps defecating into the cup-shaped container?
Or maybe urinating into it?
It wasn’t surprising for him to think that.
It was mainly because the mastermind behind the Winterbreaking Organization was incredibly formidable.
Balner loosened his belt. Just as everyone retreated two steps, preparing to witness Balner’s performance, Balner drew a dagger from behind his waist.
Nobody’s eye twitched even more violently.
Was Balner planning to cut open his own anus?
Oh, that would be truly stimulating.
However, the anticipated scene did not materialize. Balner merely used the dagger to cut his own wrist.
Blood flowed from his fingers into the vessel until it was full. Then, he used a simple recovery spell on himself, and the bleeding quickly stopped.
The blood-filled vessel retracted back into the floor.
After a moment of waiting, the entire hall shuddered. Then, the giant knight statue before them emitted a hum, and blue light illuminated the V-shaped visor slit of its helmet.
This scene was somewhat reminiscent of a robot activating.
It looked similar to those Golem creatures.
Nobody was greatly alarmed. Such a large Golem creature would likely possess immense strength.
He glanced at it a few times using appraisal technique.
No very useful information was obtained, only the material of the knight statue was discernible.
“Balner!”
At this moment, the knight statue spoke.
Upon hearing the majestic voice, Balner’s legs went weak, and he knelt down, trembling. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he buried his head in the ground, not daring to move.
The knight statue continued to speak:
“If I’ve calculated correctly, you should be transporting the last batch of equipment from Pine City by now. Following the normal procedure, you shouldn’t be returning to headquarters until a week later, but you’ve returned ahead of schedule…”
The voice grew increasingly sinister, filled with an oppressive aura.
“If the news you bring is bad, I will list at least 100 ways for you to die. You may choose freely; don’t be polite with me!”
Balner shivered. He knew the news he brought was indeed bad, but he had no choice. Since he had returned, he had to explain everything he had experienced to that lord. Failing the mission meant death, but speaking it might offer a sliver of hope.
“My lord, after Platyr rendezvoused with me, we immediately began transporting that batch of equipment. However, during the transportation, we were attacked by mysterious forces. Each of them wore pig-faced masks, their equipment had flashy light effects, and their hair was dyed in various colors. Even though we fought with all our might, we couldn’t defeat so many enemies. Even the two Templar Knights accompanying the convoy were killed…”
Balner wished to explain the entire incident in great detail, but he knew that his lord was not a very patient person, so he could only speak concisely, summarizing the key points as much as possible.
The knight statue remained silent for a moment.
Then, the majestic middle-aged male voice spoke:
“The strange enemies you described, can they revive? Do they not leave corpses after death but gradually disappear?”
Hearing this, Balner recalled the scene of the battle. He no longer remembered if the enemies could revive, but it was obvious that his necromancy spells could not summon undead warriors after killing enemies. No undead warriors meant that they left no corpses upon death.
“My lord, they are indeed very strange,” Balner replied. “My necromancy spells are almost entirely ineffective; I can only summon ready-made undead from the undead plane. After these people die, they indeed do not leave corpses, but they do leave trivial items like pebbles and twigs.”
After saying this.
Balner fell silent. A strange silence descended upon the hall.
Nobody looked up at the knight statue. The V-shaped visor stripe on the helmet had completely dimmed, indicating that the person controlling the knight statue had left.
…
…
At the same time.
In a dimly lit hall.
A group of cloaked figures sat around a mahogany round table. In the center of the table was a miniature version of the knight statue, only about the size of a newborn infant.
“My Lords have heard. As I guessed, the King of Winter has indeed dispatched his peculiar legion. Our Winterbreaking Organization might no longer be able to remain hidden.”
The speaker was a tall, mysterious figure.
His physique was more robust than anyone else present; he was clearly a knight. However, according to the seating arrangement at the round table, his status was below average. The person sitting at the head of the table was surprisingly petite. Judging by her graceful body curves, she was clearly a girl.
“Mr. Tulas, are you perhaps lacking confidence in our Winterbreaking Organization?”
The mysterious person speaking sat beside the person at the head of the table. He was slender and tall, with a feminine voice. His sentences ended with a slight upward lilt, making him sound somewhat frivolous.
“Even if you don’t believe in the Winterbreaking Organization, you should believe in Kalun. We are the foremost alchemical nation on the South Continent. With this top-tier alchemy, you need not worry about the plan at all.”
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