The massacre in the mines spilled out, and even the guards outside of the mines had to retreat. The appearance of the Imp Troglodyte caused the front lines to collapse and led to the deaths of nearly eighty percent of the population.
The guards that waited outside had to push back as a group of slaves fled and led the Imp Troglodyte out and fought the guards.
The Champions assigned to guard the kingdom eventually had to retreat due to the dangerous number of enemies that appeared, along with some mages.
Worse was the appearance of a powerful Imp Demon!
Its appearance led to the critical injury of one of the Champions that guarded the exit.
With this, the secret of the troubles at the mines had spread all over the kingdom.
And when many high officials, investors, and rulers of other kingdoms demanded an answer, Duke Ressongraze then revealed the criminal responsible.
The disgraced mage, Perment, was at the center of this scandal.
Baron Elford and Mage Captain Torman stepped up to testify about their latest interaction with Perment. They hid the truth about the energy conversion circle and spoke of a dark spell that led to the death of Carlisto.
It had been a week since the massacre, and now an army had been pushing back to gain back the lost region.
For some reason, the imp hordes had moved back and disappeared. The scouts had noticed signs of a huge army inside, and there were attempts to build a new barricade inside the cave.
But for some reason, the entire army retreated with haste.
No one knew why this was so. But in the current circumstance, the mine could not function.
Duke Ressongraze looked exhausted and irritable as he watched the army guard the place.
The scouts he sent had returned.
"Report!"
"Sir... This mine has transformed. The imp's retreat is due to war against an orc army!"
"An orc army?!" Duke Ressongraze shouted in surprise.
He couldn't understand what had happened. The initial team that explored the mines found very few monsters and found a few paths when the mana within this underground region grew.
But now, the monsters of different breeds and kinds were now inside!
"Yes, your grace. Our scouts further explored the region and noted that the underground world is wider than we thought. To the west, the once empty path leading to western mountains now has a lot of goblins!"
"Even goblins!"
"The East has lizardman beasts. The same ones in the Waterscorn Planet! We don't know how they got here!"
The reports instilled greater fear and pain in Duke Rossengraze. Although the prime offender was Mage Perment, he was still regarded as the one at fault and had to answer for not warning of such a threat! Now the three nearby kingdoms where the mountain range underworld led to were all in danger of war!
"Duke Rossengraze!" An angry man arrived.
"Count Werryz..." The Duke turned and found a count of another country.
While the Duke held greater power, the Count Werryz of the Flying Continent held greater power. They had Cardinals in abundance, and their leader was a Crown!
In terms of power, Count Werryz could slay several Rossengraze!
"I need the report! When can the mine resume operations? We have expended a great deal of money on this!"
"Apologies, Count. But the situation in the mountains is far greater than we thought. It is home to not only one but four monster races! All of which brought an army! Among them are Lizardman beasts!"
"Lizardman beasts?!"
"Do you have recordings?" The Duke asked his scouts.
The scouts all revealed their recordings, and a small projection of the image appeared from the magical device.
The expression of the Count turned strange as he saw it.
"How is it possible?! The Waterscorn planet pushed the lizardkin folks so that they would have no being above Cardinals! Why would they even be here!" The Count frowned.
"I need a gathering of all my sponsors. Count Werryz. We've invested too much to let this mine go. Is it possible that this mine is under attack by another planet?" The Duke used the shocked expression of the Count and made an even wilder question.
"That...!"
The Count had not considered it. The mine would elevate their planet's status and strengthen the kingdoms' quality. It was an unprecedented development that could alter the hierarchy of the Tri-Planet.
"...Then we need to launch an attack on this army. If your theory is true, then something could be at stake here."
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm "The public will panic. If the people hear that lizardkin is here, then panic will appear. And... maybe the Waterscorn planet will accuse us of opening an illegal portal!" The Duke countered with many possibilities.
"...Then we have to attack the mines and eliminate all! You speak of rumors that the source of all this trouble is a rogue mage?"
"Yes."
"Find him. Soon, the other nobles from other planets will be visiting here! If you cannot find the mage, discover what is happening inside! Surely, a portal to another world is there!"
"Then aid me! We have to attack the mines! I need... Commanders!"
"...That will be difficult. Moving commanders would instill suspicion in the rest. I will plead to my Duke to send Champions. But you have better resolve this! Our advantage could turn into a curse!"
Meanwhile, deep inside the underground world, in the far western cave...
The massive underground world had humongous pits that endlessly fell into the dark abyss. Many layers and levels of the underground world remained.
But what was surprising was that in this strange drop to the abyss was a small tunnel that could not reach it. It was impossible to spot. Emeros knew about it from the memories of Mage Rorcast. Rorcast did not understand most of what the ruins he found spoke of. But Emeros knew.
Emeros and his team had to climb down using the vines of the slain Mage Rorcast. The vine tied to a massive stalagmite was covered so that monsters passing through the cliff won't notice it.
What waited for them was a small ruin! It was a temple crafted in the middle of the cliff. Its dimensions were of perfect shape, and numerous pillars stood by.
And even though they had dropped nearly twenty meters down the cliff, they had to move and cut out some of the pillars that had fallen over in time.
Everyone finally had an opportunity to rest. Most didn't care about the ruins and the altar. They saw that it was abandoned, old, and did not reek of death and bones. The past week was exhausting, and they hadn't slept in the past three days due to the many dangers that chased them.
Don was already asleep.
Perment could not give in to the fatigue. Though he had higher vitality, what kept him awake was the mysterious language written in. He was amazed at the strange temple and could not understand what the markings were. It was written in a strange unknown language.
"What language is this? These hieroglyphics seemed so different!" Perment frowned.
"It's Elven."
"Elven? What's elven?" Perment was confused.
Emeros ignored Perment. Either the Tri-Planet did not have an elven race, or Perment was too weak and unlearned to know.
"This ruin speaks of... an abode," Emeros answered.
"What's an abode?"
"My master spoke of it. Powerful beings from Crowns and onward could harness their great magic and create an Abode. It is a reflection of their very power. It is said that gods and the fallen would all create temples of worship for themselves. But a powerful Celestial was a man of great ambition. He crafted an Abode that became the envy of Gods and Fallen. And so this magnificent Abode was destroyed, and only the remnant of his power and might remained."
"Where is this abode?"
"We are living in it. This madman used three planets to create the abode." Emeros revealed.
"What?! When?"
"Eons ago. Who knows?" Emeros could only answer.
"It seems that this is the reason why abodes were no longer allowed. Apart from the Nephilim, I have not seen another Abode that harnesses the powers of the gods and fallen. And why do I feel that the mystery of this abode is connected to him? Is this abode related to the God Oikos? Only someone who is the God of the Abodes could craft something so grand. Or could it be related... to Vasilius?" Emeros wondered.
"This is insane... The three planets are simply a house for one man?"
"...This is way beyond us. We are here for something else. Through Rorcast memories and " Emeros moved to a pillar at the center.
"This? What's this? What did he learn from here?"
"It was a ruse. The book was a fake and was only meant to keep possible mage explorers to stay and study and spend the night before Rorcast would eat them. This place tells us a key point where a great amount of mana would naturally surge out of the ground."
"Where is it?"
"We had been in one of them. It was the very secret base of Rorcast! That's why Rorcast's secret base never decayed or lost its magical power because of the thick mana surging through it."
"What? Then why did we go here?"
Emeros took his hand and began to draw a strange curve. He drew a quarter circle that intersected the dot at the very circle of the pillar.
When Emeros drew it, Perment instantly understood.
"An Energy Conversion circle?!" Perment exclaimed.
"Correct. This place is an energy conversion circle. In Rorcast's memories, when he figured out the mystery of this place, the other mages also managed to figure out the circle through another pillar they found somewhere deep in this underground world. Four key energy points in a massive conversion circle were the first seal. One was the very place where Rorcast was. Three others remain. We will use this map and the other pillars to map the entire region. If it's an energy conversion circle, I would be able to estimate where the other three seals are!"
"And those three seals are potential hideouts of the other mages!" Emeros exclaimed.
"Correct!"
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