The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 365: Volume 7: Spring Thunder Awakens the Hibernating Creatures, - 2: Puppet_2

Chapter 365: Volume 7: Spring Thunder Awakens the Hibernating Creatures, Chapter 2: Puppet_2

With the bright light of the Light Ball, Komer clearly saw that the incoming dark shadows were actually blood-red bats the size of washbasins, their screeches coming from their mouths and the vibration of their bat membranes. The Mage and the Dark Knight reacted just as quickly, sleeves whirling, countless Magic Fires of Soul Refining burst forth, forming a dense net of fire. Many Red Ice Bats screamed as they tumbled down amid the Magic Fire, while the Dark Knight’s movements were even more straightforward and efficient. With the sword at his waist shining like rippling water, he silently took down one Red Ice Bat after another, and when the blade, as serene as Autumn Water, pointed to the ground, there wasn’t a single trace of blood.

"Red Ice Bats!" Mr. Rebry’s face lit up with a hint of pleasure as he closely examined the creature that had fallen to the Dark Knight’s sword. The huge membranous wings, the dark little eyes, the sharp beak, and the deadly claws, especially with the sting-like slender bone spur at the end of its tail, spoke of the creature’s extraordinary aggressiveness.

This was a mutated creature somewhere between Magical Beasts and ordinary animals. It wouldn’t be wrong to classify it as a Magical Beast because, a few hundred years ago, such creatures did not exist on the Blue Continent. With the influx of various Magical Beasts, these mutants, bred from ordinary blood-sucking bats and hell giant bats from Magical Beasts, emerged. They carried a considerable amount of Ice Magic power, though low in energy, and retained their taste for drinking hot-blooded creatures’ blood. However, the presence of such creatures in this darkness also proved that the Eye of Darkness was indeed located beneath this Castle, otherwise creatures like the Red Ice Bats would not reside here.

"Looks like our guess was right, the Eye of Darkness is indeed here. Red Ice Bats cannot live in the warm southern regions; only specific areas are suitable for their survival. From what we can see so far, this Castle shows no other abnormalities apart from being ancient, which only proves this point." Mr. Rebry smacked his lips with some excitement. The Eye of Darkness was already a Holy Land for the cultivation of dark and ice magic, and who knows how many dark undead or mutant creatures were nesting here. Just thinking about the possible existence of an Underground Palace beneath the Castle made Rebry tremble with excitement.

Komer was not so interested in what they called the Eye of Darkness; he was more concerned about whether he could truly own this Castle and live in it boldly and safely. The Dark Sky Path seemed a bit too distant for him at the moment. How to consolidate his rule in Caucasus and prevent threats from the north were the real issues he needed to confront directly.

The Puppet had already leaped out of the Passage while the three were exchanging opinions. The Red Ice Bats either fled or died under Mr. Rebry’s overwhelming Soul Refining Magic Fire. Suddenly, the space opened up and the three were surprised at the sight—what an imposing Square!

The Square, more than a hundred meters long and about eighty meters wide, was immediately breathtaking at first glance. Right in the middle of the Square stood a tall, proud Obelisk, adorned with sculptures in various places. In the distance, the slightly blurred statues had even smoother and more lively lines, and the slightly elevated area was probably the central region of the Square.

Surrounding this central area was a band of grassland several meters wide, probably meant to demarcate areas. The thick and dense weeds were already half a person tall, giving the place a somewhat bleak and desolate look, while other areas were paved with broad and flat bluestone slabs, tightly jointed and arranged neatly, though some stubborn seeds managed to sprout through the gaps.

The warm Sunshine cast over the Square, but the three felt not a trace of warmth. The aura emanating from the center of the Square gave them a sense that this was more like an ancient ruin, as if more secrets awaited their exploration. Komer’s gaze swept across the Castle’s interior, searching for the cold presence that had once confronted him outside the Castle, but it had not appeared since the moment they entered the Castle. Whether it was due to the overwhelming combined strength of the three of them or some other reason, Komer could not find any trace of that mysterious presence, no matter how he searched.

The elliptical colonnade is the primary architectural expression along the interior perimeter of the castle, starting from the entrance of the passage, where every six meters a round stone column supports the entire structure. This colonnade forms the outer halls of the first floor of the castle, and behind it lie various rooms and grand halls, and of course, there are spiral staircases leading up to the second floor here and there. Komer meticulously searched everything, but apart from the staircases being somewhat sinister, there seemed to be nothing else noteworthy. Nearly every column was inlaid with a group of bronze wall lamps, each with a different design, whose lavishness even surprised Komer, considering the wealth of the builders of the day.

The Puppet hastened its pace and began running around the square after entering it. It seemed that Rebry intended for it to bear all the risks on behalf of the trio, deliberately directing it towards every corner, or what seemed to be suspicious places, while the trio’s gazes slowly shifted from the colonnades and sunlit corridors lining the castle periphery back to the obelisk in the central area.

The design of the obelisk was quite unique, with a small base but an elongated trapezoidal shape. It became more slender as it rose in height, with sharp edges, and at the top transformed into a gourd-shaped support point, with the highest point being an angel statue soaring into the air. However, due to the passage of time and years of exposure to wind and rain, the statue had acquired a weathered look. But if you stood below the obelisk and looked up, you could still clearly see the vibrant pose of the statue with its wings spread, ascending to the skies.

Rebry walked along the slightly raised central area with a solemn expression, occasionally inspecting the ground. Around the group of sculptures was a ring of shallow recessed areas that seemed to have been pools or fountain zones. This recessed area covered a significantly large range, not only encompassing the obelisk and the sculptures but also extending outward, forming a massive core area. Rebry appeared uninterested in the buildings within the region but paid close attention to something hidden along the edge of the recessed area, constantly bending and searching for something.

"Mr. Rebry, it seems you’re hoping to find something, aren’t you?" Komer, a bit bored, had quietly narrowed the search range of the Eye of Dark Spirit around the trio to conserve his magic power. Meanwhile, the indefatigable Puppet followed the instructions given by its caster, walking step by step along the colonnade and personally visiting almost every corner, stopping briefly at places considered suspicious to test for any dangers, utterly tireless.

Raising his head slowly, the pensive look on Rebry’s face seemed to be declaring something to Komer and the Dark Knight. However, he seemed reluctant to answer Komer’s question. After a long time, he replied in a morose tone, "This appears to be a huge ancient magic teleportation array. I can sense that there once was a release of powerful magic power here, although it’s been a very long time since then."

"Oh? A magic teleportation array, does that mean this place was once inhabited by magicians?" asked Komer, raising an eyebrow, and also casting a sideways glance at the Dark Knight, who had remained silent all along.

"It’s hard to say; this castle seems to be filled with oddities and secrets. Some of the symbols inscribed here are ancient magic words I can’t recognize. Look, this obelisk should be precisely at the midpoint of the central axis of the castle, and beneath it should be the core of the Eye of Darkness. If this is an ancient magic array, it means the designers and builders were well aware of the wonderful uses of the Eye of Darkness. According to records, it seems that besides the lord himself, no other person participated in its construction, which is quite strange."