Inside the core command center of the Xinghuo Base, the atmosphere was as heavy as frozen amber.
Astaire executed Lind's every instruction efficiently.
Once the "Silent Sentinel" protocol was activated, the entire Blackrock Territory and its vast, influential machinery began to operate silently at full speed.
The energy sensing towers scattered throughout the territory adjusted their scanning frequencies, focusing on capturing those previously ignored, faint "inert" energy signals; Narosh's Shadowbinds, like drops of water merging into the ocean, silently spread throughout the land, investigating any clues that might be related to "ancient knowledge" or "construct out of control"; while the intelligence analysis department began frantically reviewing all forbidden records about the northern ice plains.
Linde stood before the enormous holographic map of the continent, his gaze like an icicle piercing the icy region marked as the "Ancient Forbidden Land."
On the map, with the Starfire Base as the center, countless tiny red dots representing abnormal energy reactions are being marked one after another. They are sparsely distributed throughout the continent, but the density of red dots increases the further north you go, especially north of the Eversong Forest, where a blurry red area is almost formed.
“My lord,” Aster’s voice was slightly hoarse as he held an ancient scroll, sealed with special encryption runes, that had just been decrypted. “This is some information retrieved from the deepest part of the Elven ‘Hall of Forbidden Knowledge.’ Records about the ‘Silent Weavers’ are extremely rare and mostly vague, and they are considered ‘primordial legends’ that predate the Age of Gods.”
Lind took the dossier, and as his fingertips touched the ancient material, he could feel the faint traces of time and magic lingering on it. He quickly scanned the text written in ancient Elvish and the blurred symbols drawn on it.
"...neither a god nor an elemental spirit...born in the gaps of the world's dream, wielding the power of 'tranquility' and 'forgetfulness'...its form is unpredictable, its voice is without wavering, often using the form of 'weaving a net' to comb through the world's overflowing thoughts and memories..."
"...There was an ancient pact with 'Mother of a Thousand Roots' Elessia, designating the area north of Eversong Forest as her 'slumbering place,' where elves were forbidden to venture, and she would not disturb the elves in return..."
"...Its power can quell madness and also bring all things to death...Legend has it that it was damaged in the 'last epoch change' and fell into a near-eternal slumber, its dreams dissipating and turning into 'dust of reality'..."
“Dust of Reality…” Lin De repeated the word softly, a cold glint flashing in his purple eyes, subtly corresponding to the characteristics of the “inert energy dust” enveloping the continent that he sensed. This dust could interfere with perception and weaken connections; wasn’t it a kind of power of “tranquility” and “forgetting”?
At the end of the file was a verse written in an even more ancient, nearly lost language of elven prophets, which seemed both prophetic and warning:
When the whispers of the stars pass through the curtain of dreams,
When the sleeping weaver is no longer content with forgetting,
The fabric of reality will be rewoven.
All things fall into its eternal web of silence.
“Whispers of the stars…” Lind immediately thought of the tempting and twisted mental pollution of the extraterrestrial evil god! And “the sleeping weaver is no longer satisfied with forgetting” points to the fact that this “silent weaver” may have changed its inherent behavior pattern for some reason (such as the stimulation of the evil god’s whispers, or its own need for recovery)!
It is not an evil god, but its power characteristics are being stimulated and exploited by something (most likely the spiritual pollution of an evil god, or the pressure of the absolute order of the Arbiter of Order), and it may even be... being eroded or induced!
It has laid down this "dust of reality" (energy dust) that covers the continent and set up countless "activation nodes" (such as mutated constructs), and its purpose is by no means benevolent! It is very likely to weave a huge "net" to pull the entire continent of Til into its "eternal net of silence"—a dream realm that it completely controls and returns to death!
Allen's construct mutation was merely a localized event that was triggered prematurely, exposing only the tip of the iceberg of this grand conspiracy!
“Alessia…” Lind repeated the name, his tone icy. As an ancient ally, the Mother of a Thousand Roots couldn't possibly be unaware of such a large-scale energy anomaly occurring next to her territory. Was she aware of it but choosing not to report it, or… was she also in trouble?
Just then, the door to the command room was pushed open. Allen's face was still somewhat pale, but his eyes had regained their usual composure and sharpness, though a trace of fear still lingered deep within. He held a data crystal core in his hand.
“Father, these are the complete design blueprints for the ‘Tunneler Type IV,’ a list of all materials procured over the past three months, and records of personnel contacted.” Allen handed over the crystal core, his tone filled with self-reproach and determination. “The core’s energy circuit underwent an upgrade three days ago, using a material from the Eversong Forest called ‘Tranquility Crystal.’ It’s said to be a new product traded by the Elven race, capable of stabilizing the energy fluctuations of the core and improving efficiency. I… I checked it, and there were no problems at the time.”
"Tranquility Crystal..." Lin De took the crystal core, his mental energy instantly scanning the massive amount of data within, quickly locking onto the key point. The so-called "Tranquility Crystal" possessed an energy signature highly similar to the "Dust of Reality" enveloping the continent and the parasitic program within the construct's core! It was the carrier, the "seed"!
Something leaked from the elves? Was it at Alessia's behest, or is there a problem within the elves themselves?
“Aster,” Lind commanded, “focus your investigation on the source, production, and distribution of the ‘Tranquility Crystal’ in Eversong Forest. Conduct this in secrecy, without alerting them.”
"Understood!" Astaire immediately turned to make the arrangements.
Lind looked at Allen, his gaze sharp as a knife: "It's a miracle you survived. That thing's parasitic speed far exceeded your reaction limits."
Allen nodded with lingering fear: "It was the workshop's emergency purification array and a talisman my mother gave me that saved me."
The amulet activated automatically the moment the pollution touched my soul, forming a temporary barrier. At the same time, the purification array activated at maximum power, barely slowing down its assimilation speed, so I had time to send out a distress signal…
A barely perceptible flicker crossed Linde's eyes. Alice's amulet... a little trinket he had left her years ago, containing a faint trace of the power of the light vein's origin. He hadn't expected it to come in handy at such a crucial moment.
The power of order in the light veins seems to have a certain restraining effect on this dream power that leans towards "tranquility" and "forgetting".
“Remember this lesson.” Linde’s voice remained cold. “Unknown technologies and materials require utmost caution. Your spirit of exploration is commendable, but recklessness and ignorance can kill you and potentially implicate the entire territory.”
“Yes, Father.” Allen lowered his head, his hands clasped tightly. This experience made him fully understand the gap between himself and real danger, and also gave him a deeper understanding of “creation” and “responsibility.”
Suddenly, the communication array in the command room emitted a rapid, deliberately suppressed buzz. An intelligence officer's voice came through:
"My lord! Urgent intelligence! From the 'Shadow Raven' outpost on the border of Eversong Forest! They report... report that the concentration of energy dust above Eversong Forest spiked abnormally half an hour ago, and at the same time, an extremely strong but brief mental shockwave was emanating from within the forest, suggesting a conflict among powerful high elves! Subsequently, the mist along the northern border of the forest... began to spread southward! Not fast, but unstoppable!"
An anomaly has occurred in the Eversong Forest! The border mist has shifted southward!
Something really did happen in Alessia's domain!
The last trace of hesitation in Linde's eyes vanished, replaced by a resolute, cold glint.
"Aster, maintain the 'Silent Sentinel' protocol and continue to monitor nodes across the continent, especially the reactions of other Supreme Beings' spheres of influence."
"Allen, stay at the base and assist Astaire in analyzing the data. Without my orders, you are not to leave the core area, and you are not to touch any items related to the 'Tranquility Crystal' again."
"Notify Nazra and Leonis to raise the territory's alert level and activate all defense matrices, especially those against mental erosion and dream interference."
As a series of orders were issued, Lind's figure began to blur.
"Father, are you going to Eversong Forest?" Allen couldn't help but ask.
Linde's figure almost completely vanished, leaving only his cold voice behind:
"I'm going to see that 'old friend' and see what kind of web she's weaving in her forest."
Before the sound faded, the person had vanished.
The next moment, Linde's figure appeared above the Starfire Base. Without any unnecessary movements, he transformed into a streak of light that tore through the sky, ignoring the energy dust that tried to block his senses, and sped off towards the Eternal Song Forest in the south!
Its speed surpassed that of a sonic boom, leaving only a lingering, distorted trail of air behind it.
He no longer concealed his whereabouts, nor did he proceed with a slow investigation.
He wanted to storm into the heart of the Eversong Forest, confront Alessia, and find out the truth!
If the awakening and conspiracy of this "Silent Weaver" truly had Alessia's tacit approval or even involvement, then he wouldn't mind letting this ancient "Mother of a Thousand Roots" understand who is one of the true rulers of the order of this continent.
If Alessia is also a victim... then he wouldn't mind "purifying" the so-called "weaver" who dared to extend its tentacles near his territory.
The threat from the stars, the arbiter of order, the evil god from beyond the realms... and now, a native, ancient being driven mad...
The situation on the continent of Tyre has never been so complex and dangerous.
But Linde's will had never been so firm and cold.
His return is the storm itself.
And this storm will first sweep across that land of eternal ballads.
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