Chapter 342 Hammerfall Fortress (Two chapters in one)
After more than four hours of flying, Bloodfeather Hippogryph began to feel tired.
A few minutes later.
In a clearing beside a forest lake, Ryan and Anna sat around a campfire, roasting bacon and pickled salmon for dinner, and by the way, let Bloodfeather take a good rest.
"Ryan, if I was in danger this time, you would also come from so far away." At this point, Anna couldn't help blushing and stopped talking.
"Of course." Ryan nodded affirmatively and said with a smile.
"Yeah!"
Considering that a set of mithril carved plate armor was too conspicuous, Ryan put on a gray-white wizard robe on the outside, which just happened to cover up the silver-white color of mithril.
At the same time, he didn't wear any weapons behind him or around his waist, but only held a dark cane in his hand, which was transformed from hardened adamantium. He put the rest of the metal on Bloodfeather.
Anna was dressed in the same way, so from the outside, he and Anna looked like two wizard lovers.
A few hours later.
"Look, Ryan, what a majestic mountain range!" Anna pointed her white finger at the gray-black peaks that stood like blades in front of her, and couldn't help but exclaimed.
Ryan looked in the direction Anna pointed, and couldn't help but exclaimed.
He didn't expect that there would be such a strange mountain in this world.
The bare gray-black mountain body had few plants on it, but it was covered with large patches of black fog. The top of the mountain was gray and misty, stretching into the distance with the mountain range.
As the blood-feathered horned beast approached, Ryan's keen perception could vaguely perceive the danger hidden in the huge black air mass, which was bright and dark, and the fog was surging.
"Is this the black fog cyclone?"
"It is said that there are a lot of black fog monsters in it. This is a strange elemental creature that cannot be completely eliminated and will continue to regenerate. But fortunately, the other party's range of activities is around the peak of the Hammerfall Mountains."
"No wonder Olena suggested that I choose to cross through the Hammerfall Tunnel." Ryan thought to himself as he looked at the above scene.
"Anna, the Hammerfall Fortress should be down there, let's look for it."
"Yes." Anna nodded.
Anna had already learned about the general itinerary from Ryan at the campfire before.
She could also feel that the unknown risks were hidden in the black mist of various sizes in front of her, so she naturally had no objection.
"It should be over there."
Ryan controlled the Blood Feather and landed towards the lower left.
In the sky, he could clearly see the winding road behind, leading to somewhere in the lower left. Obviously, that should be the road leading to the Hammerfall Fortress.
"Huh? Why are there so many people?" Still hovering in the air, Ryan saw at a glance that there seemed to be a lot of people blocking the entrance of the magnificent Hammerfall Fortress.
Looking closely, it seemed that they were caravans and travelers coming and going.
This gave Ryan a bad feeling.
Could it be that something happened to the Hammerfall Fortress?
The landing of the Blood Feather Hippogryph naturally attracted the attention of almost everyone at the scene.
After all, those who can ride a flying mount are obviously not ordinary people.
Just when Ryan had just stopped and was about to ask someone, suddenly, a fat middle-aged man with a big belly and wearing a silk robe walked up quickly, bowed respectfully, and said:
"Hello, sir, my name is Yannis, the head of the Cameron caravan. May I ask if you two are also going to go through the Hammerfall Tunnel to the Moselle Province?"
Ryan looked at the other person and confirmed that he was just an ordinary person.
The other person just came from the caravan. It seems that he should be the head of a caravan.
Ryan looked at the map and knew that after passing through the Hammerfall Tunnel, the opposite side is the territory of the Moselle Province.
In addition, when he and Anna came to the Hammerfall Fortress, any normal person could see that the two were going to go through the tunnel. There was nothing to hide.
"Yes, may I ask, what happened here?"
"You came at an unfortunate time. The tunnel was urgently closed two days ago due to the outbreak of underground lava snakes. It will not be opened until the Empire sends a special team to clear it out."
"The Hammerfall Tunnel is closed?" Ryan couldn't help but frown.
This is very troublesome, because it only takes two or three hours to reach the other side through the tunnel through the Hammerfall Mountains.
But if it is a detour, even if Ryan takes a flying mount, it will take nearly two more days.
"By the way, are lava snakes very powerful?" Ryan couldn't help asking.
"Well, lava snakes are a kind of lava-type creatures with strength close to that of the ferocious species. A formal knight can basically deal with one one-on-one." "
But the problem is that every time the lava snakes appear, there are a large number of them. It is estimated that there are piles of them in the tunnel, at least hundreds of lava snakes." Fatty Yannis introduced very happily.
"Oh? If that's the case, it should be difficult to pass. Why are so many of you gathered here?"
"Is it about to open?"
"No, we don't know how long it will take for the empire's mopping-up team to arrive. Unlike you, sir, we don't have flying mounts. It will take our caravan nearly half a month to go around."
"So, we plan to organize our own team to cross. Do you want to join? On behalf of the Cameron Family Caravan, I am willing to pay you two a fee."
"By the way, we already have three official wizards here, plus a very powerful Cones mercenary group."
"I think if you two are included, we should be ready to set off." Fatty Giannis said with a big smile on his face, and finally explained his purpose.
Ryan nodded, and at the same time, he glanced at the group of people behind Fatty Giannis.
The dozen or so men dressed as mercenaries looked quite tough. They should be the Cones Mercenaries that Fatty Yannis mentioned.
The three wizards, two men and one woman, seemed to be unfamiliar with each other. They all stood in their own place. However, the female wizard was wearing a white robe, with a good figure and fair face.
As for strength, the three seemed to deliberately conceal the fluctuations of their mental power. For a moment, Ryan could not tell the strength of the three.
After thinking for a while, Ryan shook his head and said, "Thank you, but no need."
"Sir, do you want to ride your flying mount to bypass?"
"But in this case, you will have to spend at least two more days, and if we go directly through, we can reach the other end of the tunnel in four hours at most." Fatty Yannis still persuaded unwillingly.
Ryan naturally knew this.
The map that Olena gave him also specially marked why he had to take the Hammerfall Tunnel. If he wanted to bypass it, he would indeed have to fly a big turn and bypass the long and towering Hammerfall Mountains.
But the problem is that Ryan did not intend to bypass it.
Because if the lava snakes were only at the level of formal knights, then even if there were more of them, they would not pose any threat to him. He could just pass through directly, and there would be no need to join the other team.
Seeing that Ryan disagreed, Fatty Yannis returned to the crowd in frustration.
"Alas~ This lord seems to despise the reward I offered, Lady Melita, it seems we have to wait a little longer."
"That's normal. If I had a flying mount, I would not accept your invitation." The white-robed female wizard looked at Ryan's blood-feathered horned beast with envy and said.
"This flying mount looks like some kind of horned beast, it's really beautiful."
"Huh? The other party didn't leave, what's this?" Suddenly, the female wizard's eyes paused.
"Huh?" Fatty Yannis followed Melita's line of sight and found that the two people just now did not leave on the horned beast, but turned to the direction of the fortress gate.
"It seems that the other party also has urgent matters, otherwise, they would have flown away like the previous few people." Seeing this scene, the female wizard laughed.
"Sir, our caravan is familiar with the garrison of Stone Hammer Fortress. Although you are powerful, they will not open the door for you." Fatty Yannis seemed a little unwilling and shouted from behind.
But Ryan seemed to have not heard it and continued to walk towards Stone Hammer Fortress.
"Don't worry, Yannis, the other party should be back soon after hitting a wall."
"By the way, you can still bargain for a price, isn't that a good thing?" The witch named Melita teased.
"Uh"
As Ryan approached Stone Hammer Fortress, the whole picture of the fortress came into his sight.
Stone Hammer Fortress is located above the tunnel gate more than ten meters high. It seems that a small part of the mountain has been hollowed out, revealing a bulge similar to a balcony on the second floor.
And dozens of elite guards wearing chain mail and holding bows and arrows are stationed at this important traffic route from a high position.
"Please stop, both of you. The Stone Hammer Tunnel is closed and it will take a few days to open." A guard wearing chain mail and holding a bow and arrow shouted.
It seems that because of seeing the blood feather, the guard knew that the two people in front of him should be of high status, so the words used by the guard were still relatively polite.
"I have an official letter that needs to be passed." Ryan said calmly.
This is the advantage of having an official letter.
As long as the official power of the empire can reach, Ryan can get convenience.
As for the sword holder emblem, it is more known within the sword holder system. If it is in other departments or lower-level official organizations, many people are not familiar with the sword holder.
"Official letter?" The guard's face was slightly moved.
He quickly said something to his companion beside him, and at the same time, he shouted to Ryan: "Please wait for a moment, both adults, please show me the official letter."
Soon, a hanging basket was lowered, and Ryan put the official letter in the hanging basket.
A minute later, a middle-aged man dressed like a knight came out and checked Ryan's official letter.
"Hey, it's really an official letter. Diamond-star Swordbearer Ryan. The issuer is Imperial Admiral Edward."
"Hiss~"
Soon, the knight captain, along with two guards, quickly left the fortress and came to Ryan's side, saying:
"Lord Ryan, hello, I am Lehman, the garrison captain of Hammerfall Fortress."
"We naturally dare not stop you from passing through the Hammerfall Tunnel. But the problem is that there is a riot of lava creatures inside, so your safety is at stake." After hesitating, the knight captain still reminded.
"Don't worry, Captain Lehman, it shouldn't be a big problem."
"Okay, then wait a moment, I'll open the door. If you feel something is wrong, you can come back at any time and knock on the door three times."
"Thank you." Ryan smiled.
"Boom!"
As the ten-meter-high stone door was pushed open a gap, Ryan immediately took Anna and Xueyu and walked in.
In the caravan not far away, the fat man Yannis's eyes suddenly widened and he said in a lost voice: "Huh? How is this possible? The defenders of Stone Hammer Fortress actually opened the door for him?"
"Interesting, it seems that the other party is an official of the empire, and his status is not low." The witch smiled and expressed her own judgment.
"Yannis, let's catch up in a few minutes. Since there is this person leading the way, it will be a lot easier for us."
"Why not catch up right away?" Fat Yannis couldn't help asking.
"Haha, if you get too close and offend this lord, don't blame me for not reminding you." Melita couldn't help but smile.
Five minutes later.
As Fatty Giannis and the others and the caravan entered, it didn't take long for them to look at the scene in front of them in shock.
The tall and spacious tunnel was now emitting a wisp of hot air. Under the illumination of two rows of torches on the rock walls several meters high, there were dozens of lava snake corpses in front of them, scattered all the way, extending deep into the tunnel.
"This, this." Fatty Giannis was numb!
They came in less than five minutes late, and the other party killed so many lava snakes?
Killing a chicken is not that fast, right? !
The female wizard Melita looked at this scene with a solemn face, and was stunned for a few seconds before she came back to her senses.
The other two male wizards were also obviously shocked.
At this time, the two leather-armored men in front of the caravan had quickly stepped forward, each looking through the corpses of the lava snakes and carefully examining them.
These lava snakes are about three or four meters long, shaped like pythons, but thicker, with palm-sized pieces of red rock armor on their bodies, which have high defense.
But at this moment, these lava snakes are lying motionless on the ground of the tunnel, and from the outside, there are no obvious scars.
"Sir, they were all killed in one blow. It should be that the sharp weapon penetrated the hardest skull of the lava snake."
"To be precise, it penetrated, stabbed from the front of the skull and poked out from the back. This level of attack power."
Soon, the three wizards looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.
Although they can easily kill lava snakes, that is relying on witchcraft.
But mental power is limited. If they want to kill so many lava snakes, I am afraid that any one of them will have to use up almost all of their mental power, and they will not be able to go on the subsequent road.
So, this is why they have to form a team to enter.
"At least an attack force of more than 25 degrees can achieve this effect, which is almost close to the power of first-level magic." A male wizard said solemnly.
"Casting dozens of zero-level magics in a row? Impossible," said another male wizard, shaking his head.
"But the killing of dozens of lava snakes obviously does not seem to be the effect of group magic, but rather a feeling of being killed one by one with a sword." Melita said.
Suddenly, the three of them were silent.
"Could the opponent be a second-level liquefied wizard?" The male wizard said in a deep voice.
A second-level liquefied wizard is already a big shot. No matter where he is, in the empire or in the major wizard schools, he is a middle-to-high level.
"It's possible." Melita nodded and said.
Just now, she looked at the faces of Ryan and Anna. They looked very young, so it should not be possible for them to be second-level liquefied wizards.
But now it seems that it is not certain.
At this time, hundreds of meters ahead, the long sword in Ryan's hand flashed a silver light, and then, with a "puff", it pierced the forehead of a lava snake that rushed over as easily as piercing tofu.
Then, it was pulled out with a "swish".
The whole figure flashed, and it came to another lava snake and pierced it again.
The speed was so fast that Anna, who was standing by, felt that Ryan had split into three or four clones in an instant and killed several lava snakes at the same time.
"Has Ryan's strength reached this level?"
"It's really amazing."
The girl's beautiful eyes stared at Ryan without blinking, not worrying that she would be attacked by the lava snakes around her.
Because as long as there is a lava snake within a ten-meter range nearby, it will be shot in the head by Ryan's sword in the next second.
"Chi~Chi~"
and Xueyu chirped happily a few times, then pecked open a part of the lava snake's body with its iron beak, and swallowed a red and fiery ellipsoidal thing.
Ryan was killing in front, and it was eating in the back, so happy.
But at this moment, Ryan paused slightly, stopped, and looked back.
Just now, he heard the sound of the door opening again.
"Ryan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, there should be someone coming from behind." Ryan shook his head and said.
"Is it that caravan?" Anna immediately thought of the fat man Yannis who had just invited Ryan and her.
"It should be."
Ryan didn't mind others taking the opportunity to follow him through the tunnel.
Although it was a tunnel, Ryan found out as soon as he came in that this tunnel was actually most appropriately described as a hall.
At this moment, he and Anna were walking in the central aisle of the underground hall.
There were towering circular columns on both sides, and between the columns, there were circular arched walls, and the torches were installed at the intersection of the arched walls and the columns. It
was obviously not a huge project that could be done in a short time to dig out such an open space underground.
Moreover, Ryan also saw the ancient patterns on the walls of the arch, which looked very old and did not look like the architectural style of the Dragun Empire.
"After I go back, I can learn more about the history of Hammerfall Fortress." Ryan said to himself.
This time, he came a little hurriedly, and did not learn about some of the dangerous places along the way very carefully.
"Ryan, this seems to be the architectural style of the ancient dwarves." Anna said.
"Ancient dwarves?"
"Well, I have seen the introduction of the ancient races in the Druid Ring, and there are similar patterns in it." Anna nodded affirmatively.
Ryan nodded.
The elves have a long life span. Even ordinary elves have a life span similar to that of human wizards, not to mention the high-level elves. Therefore, the books handed down are the most complete.
"I wonder if I will have the opportunity to visit them in the future. If I can take a look at the elves' collection of books, I will definitely gain something."
"Who knows, I can find rare metal witchcraft." Ryan thought to himself.
Ryan opened the way a few meters ahead, followed by Xueyu and Anna.
Facing the attacking lava snake, Ryan killed it quickly like cutting melons and vegetables.
Soon, the two had walked about one-third of the journey in the Hammerfall Tunnel.
At this time, the air became hotter and hotter, and Ryan's front suddenly became clear. He saw a lot of dark red light on the ground in front.
Ryan walked a few steps forward and found that there was a long stone bridge in front of him. Hundreds of meters below the stone bridge were high and low, uneven rock buildings, most of which were abandoned, and part of the bottom floor had sunk into the magma.
However, it can be vaguely discerned that this seems to be a fully functional city from ancient times.
It's just that for some unknown reason, it was abandoned here.
"Anna, you're right. This should be the original city of the ancient dwarves."
"Huh?"
At this time, Ryan raised his hand and signaled Anna to stop. At the same time, he looked at the darkness on the left side of the bridge head with a little more seriousness.
"Roar!"
A vicious dog with a body the size of a calf and a ferocious face, burning with blazing flames, suddenly jumped out from the ground and rushed towards Ryan.
"Swoosh!"
At the same time, a fireball the size of a basin suddenly shot out from the opponent's open bloody mouth.
"Bang!"
A demonized silver kite shield suddenly appeared in front of Ryan, resisting the damage of the fireball, and then a silver arc of light flashed.
"Puff!"
A big sword pierced into the vicious dog's head.
The opponent twitched twice and immediately fell to the ground.
"Hey, how can there be such a thing?" Ryan couldn't help but look at the lava creature he killed with some confusion.
Obviously, the opponent was not a lava snake.
Moreover, in terms of strength, it was much stronger than the lava snake. Not only did it have the innate ability, that is, the ability to spit fireballs from its mouth, but it also had both speed and strength.
At the same time, the female wizard Melita suddenly shouted: "Stop!"
"Did you hear any sound just now?"
"Huh?" Fatty Yannis immediately waved his hand to signal, and the entire caravan began to slowly stop.
"The sound just now seemed to be..." Melita looked forward with a serious expression.
Then, another sound similar to the roar of an animal came, and Melita immediately turned around and said to the people behind her:
"Not good! This is the sound of a lava dog!"
"Lava dog?"
"An elemental creature with strength comparable to that of a formal wizard?" The other two male wizards couldn't help but change their faces and said.
"That's right!"
"Then should we withdraw now?" A male wizard asked anxiously.
"It's too late! Lava dogs are social animals. If one appears, a group will appear soon! And this is not the most troublesome thing." Melita murmured to herself.
"What should we do?" asked another male wizard.
"There is only one choice now. Hurry up and follow!" Melita pointed to the front and said.
"Ah? Lady Melita, didn't you just tell us not to get too close?" Fatty Giannis didn't quite understand and said.
"The situation is different now. Hurry up and let the caravan speed up."
"Yes, sir."
"Come on, everyone, speed up!"
The grooms whipped their whips and controlled the horses to pull the goods forward quickly.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
