In fact, the ancient ruins or ruins in Gawain's memory are not far from where the team camped - it is located on the north side of the Dark Mountain. Most of it is hidden in the mountain, and part of the structure is exposed on the mountain. Between the walls, in theory, as long as you look up at the dark mountains in the distance, you can see part of the structure of the ancient ruins between the rock walls hundreds of meters above the ground.
It’s just that the long passage of time has erased the traces of civilization. A large number of spreading vines and mountain vegetation covered the rock walls, covering up the ancient ruins layer by layer. In addition, the ruins themselves collapsed and the mountains The accumulation of earth and rocks and the structures exposed outside the mountain are now difficult to observe. Standing at the team's camp and looking at the mountain, I am afraid that no matter how good the eyesight is, it will be difficult for a hunter to immediately detect the abnormalities between the rocks and vines. place.
After arranging things for the camp, Gawain and his party set out for the mountains. A mere ten years would not change the natural terrain. With the help of the satellite view from ten years ago in their minds, , coupled with the route into the mountain in his memory, Gawain and his party found the way up the mountain smoothly.
Hubo looked a little worried: "I said... you are going to dig for treasures in the Dark Mountains. There are only four of us in total. Don't you think this team is a bit uncertain?"
< p>Gawain glanced at the half-elf: "What do you mean?"Amber gestured: "No matter what, a team of hundreds of people will be escorted along the way, a dozen master-level The ranger and the druid hold the line, the knight clears the way in front, the mage sits behind, and a master-level thief like me is responsible for sliding the door and picking the lock - isn't this the standard configuration for treasure hunting in the mountains?"
" You're the size of the standard!" Gao Wen originally thought this guy had any great ideas, but it turned out to be just nonsense, "Which treasure hunting team is configured according to the standard of the regular army! And it's easy for you to say - just organize one for me. A team like this will come out?"
"Okay, I'm exaggerating, but this is the Dark Mountain Range!" Amber waved his arms exaggeratedly, "It is said that every eight hundred meters. There is a demon lord living there! You just take three people into the mountain - and one of them can only fire balls..."
"Believe it or not, I can knock you down without using fireballs. !" Rebecca suddenly became furious and pointed at Amber, "Let you see how powerful the women of the Cecil family are!"
Gawain stopped the N+1 great-granddaughter, He glanced at Amber helplessly: "Sooner or later you will die with this mouth. And where did you hear that there are demon lords living every eight hundred meters in the dark mountains? Are these just ignorant villagers trying to scare children? Demons. If there were so many lords, they would have swept across Ansu."
As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at the winding mountain road ahead.
“The Dark Mountains are indeed a dangerous place, but most people exaggerate the danger here too seriously. In fact, during the Gondor Empire, this mountain range was just one of the ordinary northern mountains. 1. It is also called the Kaoling Mountains in the southern border of the mainland.There are two major mountain systems in the north and south of Loren. At that time, the Dark Mountains were not dark at all. Instead, they were known as the "gold-encrusted mountains" because of their rich products and the production of various minerals. Unfortunately, the evil tide broke out later, and the Dark Mountains happened to be facing them. The entire southern foothills of the mountain range, where the elemental storm hit the strongest, was eroded by the elements, forming a frightening black forest. This mountain range gradually became known as the Dark Mountain Range. "
Gawain said what he knew - part of it came from the memories in his mind, and the other part was the knowledge he had gained recently.
"The one on the other side of the mountain The Black Forest is indeed dangerous, but it is located on the south side of the mountain range. The mountain range is a natural barrier, almost blocking out the atmosphere from the wasteland of Gondor that diffuses through the magnificent wall. The vast majority of mutated monsters living in the Black Forest need to rely on chaotic magic energy to survive, so they will not leave the Black Forest at all, let alone cross the ridge and come to the northern part of the mountain that is suffocating for them. Therefore, The north side of the Dark Mountains is actually quite safe. ”
The route Gawain chose does not have much vegetation coverage, but you can still see some overgrown trees and vines spreading from the roadside from time to time. These are in the dark mountain area. The plants that grow stubbornly inside will be more or less affected by the smell of the wasteland - that is the trace amount of "elemental wind" that floats from the south along the airflow every year (that is, the unclean wind in the words of Viscount Andrew) , under the influence of those chaotic elemental forces, the plants appeared twisted and unusually thick, with a somewhat ferocious and terrifying meaning.
But Gawain knew very well that apart from their appearance, these things were a bit scary. In fact, there is no threat at all. They are just "stronger" plants. Those noble children who wandered around in the forest to the north of the Dark Mountain and then went back to brag that they had experienced the experience of the Black Forest were all exaggerating. The danger of this land - they have no idea what the real Black Forest looks like
The reason why he was able to confirm that the pollution in the northern part of the Dark Mountains had subsided was not because of memories or inquiries in his mind. The information came from the satellite view from ten years ago.
As long as we compare the satellite view with the data in our memory, we can easily determine that this is actually a safe zone. /p>
“People’s fear of this place actually only stems from two points. The first is the fear of the Gondor Wasteland. Although the sentry towers and magnificent walls built by the elves have sealed the vastness of the Gondor Wasteland, In some areas, that layer of magic barrier can only isolate 70% to 80% of the chaotic magic energy. The corrupt power that seeps out from the Gondor wasteland every year is the biggest threat to the border areas of the four countries. Even now that the aftermath of the magic wave has subsided, the border The fear and pressure accumulated from generations of people will not dissipate so quickly - these scary and strange stories in the border areas have been circulated for seven hundred years and have long become a part of almost traditional culture," Gawain said while chopping the obstacles along the way. Lu Zhizhi said casually, "The second... is the fear of the unknown. ”
“Unknown? Amber asked with a frown.
"Yes, unknown." How many years has it been since the Kingdom of Anzu stopped exploring the south? ”
The answer was Rebecca: “If you count from the time when the order to stop development is signed, it will be more than two hundred years; if you count from the time when all settlements are cancelled, it will be one hundred years.” "
"Yes, it will take a hundred years to say the least. This place has been classified as a forbidden area for a hundred years. Except for those 'adventurers' who brag to others when they go back, no one dares to get close to this place, and no one knows what it is like here. They can only understand this place from the horror stories passed down from generation to generation and the adventure stories told by adventurers. How could they not be afraid? ”
After listening to Gawain’s long list of popular science, Amber finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Huh... So the scary stories about the Dark Mountains are just spread out. In fact, we are very safe here. ? "
Gawain thought for a while, and suddenly approached the half-elf lady with a very scary expression: "Actually, I lied to you - this place is dark, dangerous, chaotic and terrifying, and there are people living every eight hundred meters. with a demon lord. "
Amber: "...Eeeeeeeeeeeey! ! ”
“It’s shameful that he’s a master thief,” Gawain laughed with satisfaction, raised his hand and patted Rebecca’s head next to him, and pointed at a fallen tree not far away. The tree trunk on the ground, "There's a place for your fireball technique - blow that thing apart. If I remember correctly, it's in the front. ”
Rebecca had been waiting for this moment for a long time. She immediately nodded happily, raised her staff, and a fireball as big as her head flew straight forward.
I always felt that this girl was calling The speed of the fireball was faster than before...
"Bang——"
After a loud noise, the fireball exploded, and the already rotten and fragile tree trunk was blown apart. The two pieces became unbalanced and rolled down the hillside, and the road ahead suddenly opened up.
An open space hidden in the mountain appeared in front of everyone's eyes. It had been deliberately smoothed by someone, and the rocks were cut into incredibly neat shapes. Between the rocks, you can see ancient arches and collapsed walls, which were "embedded" in huge pieces as if they were integrated with the mountain. Among the rocky cliffs, it even gives people the illusion that there was once a magnificent fortress here, which was swallowed up by the surrounding stones.
But in fact, this ancient ruins. It is built inside the mountain, and about two-thirds of its structure is hidden behind the stone wall.
Whether it is Amber who has been timid along the way, or he has been listening carefully to the instructions of his ancestors. Rebecca, who was still the Byron Knight on full alert, couldn't help but widen her eyes when she saw this ancient ruin hidden in the mountain.
They looked at this incredible land in amazement. Ancient ruins.
Gawain's eyes wandered around, and suddenly stopped beside a piece of collapsed rubble.
He came.When he arrived at the rubble pile, there was a black thing stuck in the pile of rocks that was almost unrecognizable from its original appearance. After carefully distinguishing it for a long time, he realized that it was a broken sword that had been severely rusted and rotted. .
On the ground next to the stone pile, you can see a line of carvings. The carvings are so deep that they are still clearly visible after seven hundred years of weathering: No. 16 Squadron, where Cole is buried. Here it is.
Rebecca's voice came from behind: "What is this?"
"When the team crossed the Baishui River, they encountered pursuers. The 16th Squadron was responsible for the rear. No one survived," Gawain said slowly. "It should be that the last surviving soldiers retreated to this place when there was no hope of breaking out. It's a pity... At that time, the demonic tide was raging, and the entire Dark Mountain was shrouded in corrupt power. In my lifetime, we have not been able to recapture this area, and when the demonic tide naturally subsides, no one will remember this place..."
Knight Byron took off his sword and held it. Holding the long sword against his chest, he bowed to the simple tomb.
There is still a tomb for the soldier buried here, but it is difficult to find even the slightest trace of the soldier who built the tomb and left the mark.
Gawain was silent for a while in front of the grave, then picked up a piece of gravel from the side and pressed it on the top of the pile of stones: "Don't worry, everyone survived."
At this moment, he wished he had spoken this sentence in the tone of Gawain Cecil rather than the time traveler Gawain.
Then he walked towards the arch not far away: "Follow me, and I will show you what your ancestors left here."