Chapter 1278 - 1277: Empty Shell

Chapter 1278: Chapter 1277: Empty Shell

The Typhon Empire can’t possibly be excluded from the outcomes of the "Door Project," which not only includes the exploration of the kingdom itself but also the unexpected discoveries during the exploration. As one of the initiators of the project and a key leader of the alliance, Gawain certainly has no intention of kicking his allies aside under such circumstances.

But now he suspects that the origin of the "Steel Earth" might be related to the Voyager and might even connect with his own form in space, which worries him greatly. He is concerned that this exploration might lead to unforeseeable situations, not suitable to reveal to strangers.

Although Melita Ponia isn’t necessarily an insider of the Cecil Empire, at least she’s a friend with known roots and is knowledgeable about the Voyager affairs. Windsor Maple is different. Gawain knows nothing about this Typhon scholar—he’s unsure what uncontrollable reactions she might have if he reveals too much about the "Steel Earth" or activates Voyager technology.

Daniel, who hadn’t spoken much, stepped forward.

"I should go," the old mage said calmly, glancing at his former apprentice. "You, who are used to researching in stable environments, won’t manage in an exploration requiring versatility and experience—regardless of personal strength. I’ve had some adventurous experiences since leaving the Royal Mage Association."

He paused and looked at his other apprentice: "Besides, Mary can come along with me."

Windsor Maple looked unexpectedly at her mentor, hesitating slightly, until Daniel casually added: "The ’door’ needs someone who can oversee the technical aspects left outside."

"Yes, your suggestion makes sense, I understand," Windsor immediately responded, nodded earnestly at her mentor, "I’ll remain outside with the technical supervisors; be sure to stay safe."

Daniel nodded lightly, while Gawain simply stood by observing with an expressionless face. Meanwhile, Melita Ponia entrusted two young dragons to Noletta’s care.

"You stay here with these little ones—there’s no need for Melita and Noletta to risk anything unrelated to the Deep Blue Rift," she said solemnly to her friend, "if everything goes well, we’ll be back in two days."

"Take care, protect yourselves, be adaptable," as a dragon who has shared a coming-of-age ceremony, Noletta had no wasted words, only reminding her friend to stay safe, "follow Gawain’s lead—he has much connection with the Voyager legacy."

"Don’t worry, I know—I have a ’close’ relationship with him." Melita laughed, reached down to press the curious young dragons watching her, then quickly tousled Noletta’s snowy long hair, rushing away before the latter could get angry. Then a colorful light curtain descended from the sky, under which her slender figure swiftly transformed into a dragon form.

In the distant sea of dust clouds, a colossal steel creature, carrying an astounding momentum, approached the border of the divine realm. The silvery alloy armor and the shimmering lines along its edges became clearer in the dim light. Undulating waves appeared in the cloud sea, as sand was lifted by the edge of the Steel Earth and cascaded down like a waterfall, accompanied by a deep rumbling sound, moving ever closer—not loud but enough to make first-time listeners feel the immense energy contained within the Steel Earth, thrilling them.

An indistinct feeling suddenly surged from the depths of Gawain’s heart; he instinctively looked at the steel giant drawing near. Amidst its imposing pressure, he saw countless streams of light flowing inside the giant entity and some indescribable, illusory projections—similar to what he felt upon contacting the Tower of the Inversion Tide, yet slightly different.

This thing is indeed a legacy left by the Voyager, and... it’s still "alive," just like the Firmament Station or Tower of the Inversion Tide.

Heavy footsteps echoed from behind. Dragon-formed Melita arrived at the fragmented border of the divine realm, lowered her head with magical glowing eyes to gaze at the tiny "passengers" at her feet, her voice rumbling, "I’m ready, climb on."

The personnel scheduled for the exploration mission to the "Steel Earth" immediately stepped forward, while Gawain glanced over the entire scouting team (including Melita as the flying carrier), feeling more at ease.

Sidekicks, toadies, devoted friends, fanatical followers, seasoned 25ers, rookie 25ers—it’s quite reassuring.

The dragon soared, amidst fierce air currents and turbulence, breaking away from the borders of the kingdom. Those left behind in the kingdom looked toward the dragon’s departure direction, mentally wishing for the safety and success of the mission.

"Hope the legendary Gawain Cecil can resolve this mystery," Windsor Maple said softly, "the farther we go, it seems the more unknown we confront..."

"The essence of exploration and research is to delineate the boundaries of ignorance, making us more aware of the world’s vastness," Noletta’s gaze stayed on Melita’s silhouette, yet she responded to Windsor’s sentiments, the two young dragons, one clinging to her leg with their front paws, the other trying to hang onto her shoulder, "dim-witted and narrow-minded people are least confused, for they never venture beyond their understanding, never encountering anything that might ignite doubt or thought. It’s the pioneers who frequently accompany confusion because every day they negotiate the borders of civilization."

As a learned scholar, Windsor Maple naturally understood this truth, so she merely smiled slightly, refocused her gaze on the distance, while in a corner of her view, Malm Dunite’s figure had appeared on a tattered, sword and shield-decorated high platform, gazing far into the cloud sea’s horizon.

This "ghost," who has intertwined with the kingdom, doesn’t always reveal himself in front of people. Most of the time, he wanders elsewhere in the kingdom, seemingly maintaining and patrolling this silent city of the gods. He won’t interrupt the explorers’ activities here nor actively engage with those entering; yet when explorers do something of interest, he may silently appear, watching from afar.

What is he watching? A world now foreign to him? Or perhaps he’s substituting for his "master," watching these souls invading the kingdom, seeing where they’re heading?

Such thoughts aren’t the concern of the explorers. Windsor Maple only glanced once more at the former War God Pope, nodded in courtesy, then averted her gaze.

...

The spectacular yet unsettling "Border Sea of Clouds" surged beneath the dragon, gradually receding, while the silvery armored and intricately structured "Steel Earth" expanded in view. Amber and Modir widened their eyes, staring intently at the destination vast approaching, while Gawain patted the scales beneath him, asking Melita, "Are you okay? The turbulence was quite severe during takeoff—I almost thought you’d fall."

"Lacking magic power in the environment of the War God’s Divine Realm left me less adaptable," Melita’s voice followed, "I could only rely on my own magic power to launch during takeoff, until leaving the kingdom’s area, allowing normal flight—it appears the process requires more practice."

"I see." Gawain nodded, feeling at ease once he understood the reason.

Dragons’ flight doesn’t conform to "aerodynamics," nor is it solely reliant on flapping their wings to stir up air currents for lift. This is a fact that the current genuine "dragon scholars" are gradually comprehending—these massive creatures require assistance from both air currents and "magical ripples" to lift off. The lift provided solely by wing flapping is far from enough. Their wings have complex innate magic symbol structures, making their flying process essentially a sort of "spellcasting."

"It seems even the special environment of the War God’s Divine Realm is particularly unfriendly to you," said Kamel, who also understood the secret of dragons’ flight, "You probably can’t fly for long here."

"Even gliding is exhausting," Melita Ponia said helplessly, "But fortunately, once we leave that place, everything returns to normal—Alright, everyone hold tight, we’re about to land!"

The explorers on the dragon’s back immediately tensed up. In the next second, they noticed themselves passing through a thin, transparent energy field screen covering the Steel Ground. The sensation of crossing this icy curtain vanished in an instant. Moments later, the enormous dragon’s body landed on a relatively flat and spacious metal platform with a steady impact.

No automatic retaliatory anti-air fire was triggered, nor did hostile mechanical Garrison Troops emerge—just like when Explorer Golem landed earlier, the bad scenario didn’t occur.

Daniel was the first to rise, casting the Levitation spell to land on the platform—he deliberately minimized interactions with Gawain, though Amber and Victoria were aware of the inner details, Modir and Melita Ponia were unaware of the "Agent #25" situation. Therefore, on the surface, he maintained his identity as the "Typhon technology representative."

One by one, the explorers left the dragon’s back. Gawain was the last to step onto the ground. Before doing so, he couldn’t help but glance back at the My Little Pony, who was lowering its wings and said offhandedly, "Your landing was smooth this time—I had mentally prepared myself to tumble a bit."

"I’m not always causing trouble!" Melita Ponia replied in dissatisfaction, "I just have a slight eyesight issue—I wouldn’t miss such a large area! And about falling into the sea before, haven’t I apologized for that?"

What followed was a bunch of terms like "limited deceleration," "danger avoidance flight," and "Dragonkin’s forced landing isn’t a crash," things partially understood, soon filling the platform with a lively atmosphere.

However, this lively atmosphere didn’t make the explorers drop their guard, nor did it diminish their observational skills.

Gawain raised his head and saw a translucent energy field screen clearly visible in his vision, blocking the swirling dust cloud outside. Within his view was an expanse of silver-white or silver-gray steel planks extending into the distance, attached to which were clusters of structures resembling buildings.

Yes, he used the word "planks" to refer to this so-called "Steel Ground."

He believed this thing was a ship, a spacecraft cruising according to a scheduled program in the Divine Realm’s domain.

The place wasn’t silent; some ancient mechanical devices emitted humming or vibrating sounds from various directions, reminding the intruders that something within this "Ground" was pulsing with power, while on its upper deck, lights of various sizes created lines of demarcation throughout the facilities. Gawain lifted his head, looking toward the end of this straight metal road, and in the distance still shrouded in chaos, he saw glowing silhouettes burning quietly in the darkness—like the tail flames produced by a propulsion device.

Amber stretched her neck to look around, whispering to Gawain as she recalled the scene she had seen from the dragon’s back: "Hey, do you think this thing is bigger than our ’Project 115’?"

Project 115, currently the largest scale weapon manufacturing plan of the Cecil Empire, is an empty sky fortress being assembled at the foot of the Dark Mountain Range—its assembly has entered the latter phase, even unfinished, its scale is already remarkable.

That is the largest man-made "device" Amber can think of.

Yet even Project 115 seems hard to compare with this thing... even if they are merely comparing in terms of size.

"This thing is larger in scale, possibly even more significant than the Sacred Stars Temple," Gawain said in a deep voice, "It’s beyond what today’s technology can create... whether internally or structurally, it surpasses the technical limits of this era."

"Is this... something left by the Voyagers?" The already-humanized Melita Ponia swallowed nervously, "I feel the style is somewhat..."

Gawain didn’t wait for the blue dragon lady to continue: "Yes, this is a legacy of the Voyagers."

Melita Ponia opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to express something, but ultimately said nothing. The others around also had tense expressions, fully focused on this ancient legacy extremely alien to mortals.

Gawain then slightly squinted his eyes, connecting with the satellite entity in the material world’s space, and Firmament Station’s main system. After confirming everything was connected properly, he began to leverage his experiences accumulated at the Tower of the Inversion Tide, attempting to establish some sort of communication with the "super ship" below, autonomously cruising under some automatic program control.

In truth, he had no idea of how to establish communication, or whether this thing could respond to him, but generally speaking... as long as it’s a legacy of the Voyagers, some sort of resonance is bound to exist between them. Even if constrained by permissions, when he comes into contact with it, he should receive some feedback.

Yet he didn’t "hear" anything. When he attempted to probe his magical power into the super steel ship below, he sensed only a void—it’s a cold shell, running aimlessly according to the most primitive program setting, akin to the simple machines manufactured by mortals of this era... it lacks a "control system" capable of responding to Voyager recognition signals.

This is unlike any Voyager legacy Gawain has ever encountered.