But before that, there was one more thing Lind needed to do by himself.
For the past few days, a voice has been constantly echoing in Linde's mind.
Lind knew in his heart that this was an oracle from the god of magic summoning him.
He must go to the magic network node at the previous ruins.
Linde was currently very confident in his abilities and was exploring the ancient ruins that had collapsed midway through his journey.
Linde left the winter hustle and bustle and vitality of Blackrock Territory far behind.
He galloped on his horse, the biting wind cutting like a knife in his face, but it could not cool the burning desire in his heart, drawn by the divine oracle, and the yearning to uncover the truth.
The worried or understanding looks from his three companions, and Astaire's unspoken concern, were all temporarily sealed away in his heart. He had to go alone on this journey.
After crossing familiar mountain ridges, the hidden mountain valley remained desolate and silent, the entrance to the ruins like a forgotten scar on the earth, unchanged since ancient times.
Without the slightest hesitation, Linde slipped into the deep tunnel.
The cold metal walls, the faint glow of the remaining energy circuits, the dust and magical aura that had settled for millennia in the air... everything seemed frozen in time.
The only thing missing was that watchful gaze that had been lurking in the shadows last time.
He knew the way well and arrived at the entrance to the passage that had been completely collapsed due to the self-destruction of the mechs last time.
"Deconstruction".
With a slight thought, Lin De unleashed an invisible [Deconstruction Aura], like the most precise flow of energy, across the mountain of metal ruins before him.
Silently, the hard alloys, twisted pipes, and shattered crystals melted and disintegrated like snow under the sun under the decomposing power of the halo, turning into the most basic particles of dust.
A straight and unobstructed passage quickly took shape before him, leading directly to the buried core of the ruins.
Linde strode in, stepping over the still slightly warm metal powder left after the decomposition.
The sudden, open view before him still took his breath away, even though he was mentally prepared.
This is a spherical space so vast it's almost suffocating.
Countless thick or thin metal pipes and energy lines shimmering with a deep blue or silvery light, like the roots and blood vessels of a giant tree, intertwine, entwine, and converge, ultimately connecting to the enormous magical device in the very center of the space that cannot be described in words.
Like a heart forged from cold metal with an extremely complex structure, it floats quietly in the center of space, beating silently.
The surface of the device is covered with a deep blue light unique to liquid magic, which circulates in the intricate patterns, exuding an ancient, powerful, and almost eternal energy aura.
An indescribable sense of order and a cold sense of oppression washed over me.
Linde's gaze fell downwards onto the device.
The bottom layer was covered with countless extraction ports, like a honeycomb, and below the ports was a vast platform.
On the platform, thousands of relic mechs, like the most loyal worker ants, work tirelessly.
They silently carried the enormous, transparent tanks filled with liquefied magic, inserting them precisely and efficiently into the extraction ports.
With a slight hiss and the hum of energy flow, the viscous liquid magic inside the tank, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations, was rapidly drawn away and continuously transported through the thick pipes to the huge "heart" above.
However, what Linde found extremely strange was that the energy flowed into the huge "heart" like rivers flowing into the sea, but there was no sign of any output.
It was like a bottomless abyss, greedily devouring the vast magical power that had been supplied day after day for millennia, yet it remained silent, offering no feedback, activating no visible facilities, or lighting up any extra light.
It is "eating," but it doesn't know "what it is doing."
"Deconstruct!" Linde silently chanted, maximizing the perception of the [Deconstruction Aura] and focusing on the massive magic core device.
Information streams cascaded across my vision like a waterfall:
> **Target: Type 52 Liquid Magic Transfer Device**
> **Status: Running (Efficiency 99.87%)**
> **Material: Silent Stone coating, unknown material...**
> **Function: High-purity liquid magic transfer and stabilization treatment**
> **Note: Design purpose - Transmitting magic. Target receiving port: Unknown (Target receiving information is encrypted/erased)**
"Transmitting magic power... Target receiving port unknown?"
Lind frowned.
This enormous device, this energy transmission that has lasted for tens of thousands of years, is only for the purpose of "transporting" liquid magic to "somewhere".
Where is that place? Who is the recipient? What is the purpose of such a massive amount of pure magic?
Just as Linde was attempting to further analyze the encrypted or erased receiver information and explore the deeper structure of the device—
Buzz!
An invisible wave swept across the entire underground space in an instant!
On the platform below, all the relic mechs that were in operation froze as if a pause button had been pressed, their movements completely synchronized!
Their single-eye sensors, emitting a ghostly blue light, instantly detached from their original fixed targets and, like cold searchlights, focused on Linde, who was hovering at the entrance of the passage!
Thousands of cold blue lights locked onto the target, the air seemed to freeze instantly, and the killing intent spread like solid ice water.
Linde's muscles tensed instantly, his internal power silently coursing through him, preparing him for a fierce battle.
While the individual strength of these mechs may be limited, their sheer number, combined with the eerie environment of this ruin, makes them a force to be reckoned with.
However, the anticipated attack did not occur.
After a few breaths of stalemate, a mech of the same size as the others, but with a single eye that seemed to glow slightly brighter, slowly "walked out" from the group of mechs.
Its movements were deliberately slow and mimicking of a living being, passing through its statue-like, still companions until it reached the center of the platform below Linde before stopping.
It raised its head, its cold, single eye fixed on Lind in mid-air.
Buzz... Buzz...
The single eye's light flickered a few times, and a blurry, distorted holographic projection, seemingly with an extremely unstable signal, struggled to coalesce in the air in front of the mech.
The projected image was extremely bizarre—it had a human-shaped outline, but the details were completely indistinct.
Faces, limbs, clothing... everything is constantly distorting, flickering, and recombining, as if viewed through a layer of boiling steam, or as if its very existence is being interfered with and erased by some higher force, unable to be stably presented in the real dimension. One can only vaguely sense the form of an "intelligent being."
“Identify… outsider… high-level… fluctuation…”
A cold, emotionless voice with a distinctly electronic synthesized quality emanated intermittently from inside the mech.
The voice used the common language that Linde was familiar with, but the tone was stiff and the vocabulary seemed clumsy, as if a beginner was struggling to piece together a sentence.
"Language...sample...analysis...completion...communication...establishment."
The voice seemed to have stabilized somewhat; although it was still mechanical, the expression was much clearer.
The blurry figure in the projection seemed to move slightly.
"You...you're back..."
The mech spoke to Lind in its newly learned language, its single eye flashing steadily, "It carries... the... aura of the 'key'..."
Linde's pupils contracted slightly.
"Key"? Does it refer to the Oracle's identity? Or the deconstruction aura within him? Or perhaps... the aura of god-slaying metal? How could the other party sense all of this?
"Who are you? What is this device doing? Who is it supplying energy to?"
Linde asked in a deep voice, his voice echoing in the empty space.
The blurry projection seemed to be "watching" Lind, remaining silent for a few seconds, as if organizing more complex language.
“We… are the last… survivors of the Watchers.”
The mech's voice carried an indescribable desolation, as if it had transcended endless time, "This is... the 'Throat of the Ruins'... It is... 'feeding'..."
"Eating?" Linde pressed. "Who is eating? And what is their purpose?"
The mech's single eye flickered violently a few times, and the blurry figure in the projection seemed to become even more unstable, as if it had touched some kind of taboo.
"The truth...is...a shackle...and also...destruction..."
The mech pilot's voice became unusually strained, each word seemingly struggling against an invisible pressure.
"The 'god' you seek... His... shadow... looms over... the past... and... the future..."
It paused, and the projection fluctuated violently, almost collapsing.
"...The secret of this place..."
The mech's voice suddenly dropped, carrying an almost mournful electronic noise, "...concerning...the foundation...of the world...and...the countdown to...the end..."
"Knowing it... you... will have no way out."
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