Chapter 97: Chapter 92: Descent into the Forgotten Depths
The next morning arrived with unusual tension hanging over Kar’Dum.
Even before the city’s forges fully awakened, dwarven warriors were already gathering throughout the lower districts.
Word had spread quickly.
The Dragon of Greenwood.
The Slayer of the Stone Maw.
The ally of Kar’Dum.
He was leading an expedition into the forbidden depths.
And that meant one thing.
Danger.
A lot of danger.
---
John stood near the southern gate of the city, observing the preparations.
Massive supply carts were being loaded.
Warriors checked weapons.
Engineers inspected mining equipment.
Runesmiths distributed enchanted lanterns capable of burning for months.
The dwarves were taking this seriously.
Very seriously.
Which only reinforced how dangerous the expedition would likely be.
---
**[Quest Active]**
**Secrets Beneath the Mountain**
Objective:
Investigate Ancient Ruins
Current Progress: 0%
Threat Assessment:
Extreme
---
John stared at the notification.
The system rarely labeled anything as "Extreme."
Usually it simply warned him that something might kill him.
This felt different.
Almost...
Anticipatory.
As if even the system was interested in what waited below.
---
"You look worried."
John glanced sideways.
Lythriel appeared carrying a large pack.
The elf warrior grinned.
"That’s new."
"I’m not worried."
"You are."
"I’m thinking."
"Same thing."
"No."
"Close enough."
---
Before John could respond, Aerion arrived.
The swordsman looked as calm as ever.
Which was honestly impressive considering the situation.
"Everything is ready."
Sylvara joined moments later.
The forest mage looked surprisingly excited.
"Ancient ruins."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Excited?"
She nodded.
"Do you know how much knowledge could be hidden down there?"
Lythriel groaned.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"The scholar mode activated."
Sylvara rolled her eyes.
---
Thargrum soon approached with nearly fifty heavily armed dwarven warriors.
Unlike ordinary soldiers, these dwarves radiated experience.
Veterans.
Each one carried enchanted armor and weapons.
Several possessed visible mana signatures comparable to high Tier Eight creatures.
Kar’Dum wasn’t sending cannon fodder.
They were sending their best.
---
The old dwarf stopped before John.
"Ready?"
John nodded.
"Let’s see what’s hiding beneath your mountain."
Thargrum smiled.
For a dwarf, that was practically a celebration.
---
## Into the Deep Roads
The expedition departed shortly afterward.
They moved through parts of Kar’Dum John had never seen before.
The deeper districts.
Ancient sections of the city.
Massive stone highways stretched through enormous caverns.
Some passages were so large that John’s full dragon form could comfortably walk through them.
Others showed signs of battles long ago.
Broken walls.
Collapsed tunnels.
Ancient scars carved into stone.
Evidence that Kar’Dum had not always been safe.
---
Several hours passed.
The city gradually disappeared behind them.
The warm glow of civilization faded.
Darkness returned.
Only enchanted lanterns illuminated the path ahead.
---
Eventually one of the dwarven scouts stopped.
"We’re here."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
John felt it.
Everyone did.
---
Before them stood an enormous stone gate.
Ancient.
Massive.
Covered in symbols unlike any language John had encountered.
The gate was partially broken.
One side hung open.
The other remained sealed.
---
Lythriel whistled.
"That’s not ominous at all."
"No," Aerion replied dryly.
"Not even slightly."
---
John approached.
The closer he got, the stranger he felt.
Something about the gate seemed...
Familiar.
Which made absolutely no sense.
He had never been here before.
---
The system suddenly activated.
**[Unknown Energy Signature Detected]**
**[Ancient Origin Confirmed]**
**[Warning: Similarity Detected]**
John froze.
Similarity?
Similarity to what?
---
Before he could ask—
The notification vanished.
---
"...System?"
No response.
---
John’s eyes narrowed.
That had never happened before.
---
Thargrum interrupted his thoughts.
"This is where we found the ruins."
The old dwarf pointed toward the darkness beyond.
"We lost forty-seven warriors."
Silence followed.
---
John looked deeper into the darkness.
Then he nodded.
"Let’s move."
---
## The Forgotten City
The moment they crossed the gate—
Everyone stopped.
---
"...Impossible."
Sylvara whispered the words first.
John couldn’t blame her.
The sight was breathtaking.
---
A city.
An entire city.
Buried beneath the mountain.
Stretching farther than anyone could see.
Towering black structures rose from the cavern floor.
Massive bridges connected distant platforms.
Ancient roads crisscrossed the darkness.
Even after thousands of years, much of it remained intact.
---
The scale rivaled Kar’Dum itself.
Perhaps exceeded it.
---
"No records mention this..."
Sylvara’s voice trembled slightly.
"This shouldn’t exist."
---
Aerion slowly scanned the ruins.
"Yet it does."
---
John stared silently.
Something about the place felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Wrong.
As if reality itself had been slightly distorted.
---
The city was dead.
But not entirely abandoned.
He could feel something moving.
Far away.
Watching.
---
The system chimed.
**[Quest Progress Updated]**
Secrets Beneath the Mountain
Progress: 10%
New Objective:
Explore the Ancient City
---
The expedition advanced carefully.
No one wanted to become the forty-eighth casualty.
---
Hours passed.
The deeper they traveled, the more evidence they found.
Ancient tools.
Broken machinery.
Collapsed buildings.
Strange crystalline formations embedded into walls.
---
Then they found bodies.
---
Not dwarves.
Not elves.
Not humans.
---
Skeletons unlike anything John had ever seen.
Tall.
Thin.
Four-armed.
Humanoid.
Their bones shimmered faintly with silver light.
Even after thousands of years.
---
Sylvara carefully examined one.
"Incredible..."
"What?"
She looked up.
"The mana concentration."
John frowned.
"What about it?"
"It hasn’t dispersed."
Silence.
---
That wasn’t normal.
Mana always dispersed eventually.
Always.
---
Yet somehow...
These skeletons still retained power.
---
That should have been impossible.
---
Which meant one thing.
These ruins were far older and stranger than anyone realized.
---
## The Ambush
The first attack came without warning.
---
One moment everything was quiet.
The next—
A dwarf screamed.
---
"CONTACT!"
---
BOOM!
The stone road exploded.
---
Something burst from below.
Fast.
Violent.
Monstrous.
---
John moved instantly.
His claws intercepted the creature mid-air.
CRASH!
The collision shook the entire street.
---
The creature hissed.
A horrifying sound.
---
Then John finally saw it.
---
The thing resembled a giant insect.
But wrong.
Far too large.
Nearly twenty feet long.
Its body was covered in black crystalline armor.
Multiple glowing eyes covered its head.
Razor-sharp limbs twitched constantly.
---
**[Analysis Complete]**
Species:
Void Burrower
Tier:
9
Threat:
High
---
The system wasn’t finished.
---
**[Multiple Lifeforms Detected]**
---
John’s eyes widened.
"Everyone move!"
---
The ground exploded.
Again.
And again.
And again.
---
Hundreds of creatures erupted from beneath the city.
---
The expedition instantly descended into chaos.
---
## Battle for Survival
The dwarves reacted first.
"SHIELDS!"
Rows of warriors formed defensive lines.
Massive tower shields slammed together.
---
Moments later—
The swarm hit.
---
BOOOOOOM!
---
The impact echoed throughout the ruins.
---
Several dwarves were thrown backward.
Others held their ground.
Barely.
---
The Void Burrowers attacked relentlessly.
Claws.
Fangs.
Crystalline spikes.
Everything about them existed to kill.
---
John roared.
The sound thundered across the ancient city.
---
"Abyssal Breath!"
---
Dark energy erupted from his jaws.
A massive beam swept across the battlefield.
---
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
---
Entire sections of the swarm vanished.
Dozens of monsters disintegrated instantly.
---
Yet more kept coming.
---
Far too many.
---
Lythriel laughed.
Actually laughed.
---
Finally.
Something she could fight.
---
The elf launched herself directly into the swarm.
Her spear flashed.
---
SLASH!
THRUST!
SPIN!
---
Three creatures died instantly.
A fourth lost its head.
A fifth exploded from mana-enhanced impact.
---
"COME ON!"
She grinned wildly.
"IS THAT ALL?"
---
The universe immediately answered.
---
A gigantic Void Burrower emerged.
Twice the size of the others.
---
Lythriel’s grin widened.
"Much better."
---
The monster lunged.
---
CRASH!
---
Spear met claw.
Shockwaves exploded outward.
Stone shattered.
---
The battle intensified.
---
Nearby, Aerion became a silver blur.
---
His sword danced through the swarm.
Every strike killed.
Every movement flowed perfectly.
---
One creature leaped toward him.
---
SLASH.
---
Cut in half.
---
Another attacked.
---
SLASH.
---
Dead.
---
Three more surrounded him.
---
For a brief moment—
They thought they had him.
---
Then Aerion vanished.
---
Silver light flashed.
---
The three monsters froze.
---
Their bodies separated into pieces.
---
The swordsman calmly sheathed his blade.
---
The corpses collapsed.
---
"Predictable."
---
Elsewhere, Sylvara unleashed devastation.
---
Massive roots erupted from the streets.
---
CRAAAAACK!
---
Dozens of monsters became trapped instantly.
---
"Bloom."
---
The roots exploded.
---
Hundreds of razor-sharp thorns erupted outward.
---
The trapped creatures were shredded.
---
Blood stained the ancient streets.
---
The battlefield became a massacre.
---
Yet the swarm continued.
---
More emerged.
More attacked.
More died.
---
And still they came.
---
John noticed something.
---
The monsters weren’t attacking randomly.
---
They were directing their assaults.
Coordinating.
Strategizing.
---
Someone was controlling them.
---
Or something.
---
The realization sent chills through him.
---
Because that meant intelligence.
---
And intelligence meant a leader.
---
A commander.
---
A stronger threat.
---
Then—
A roar echoed through the city.
---
Every monster immediately froze.
---
The battlefield fell silent.
---
Even the Void Burrowers stopped moving.
---
Then they retreated.
---
All of them.
---
Without hesitation.
---
Without resistance.
---
They simply turned and disappeared into the darkness.
---
Leaving behind hundreds of corpses.
---
And complete silence.
---
No one spoke.
---
No one moved.
---
Because every warrior present had reached the same conclusion.
---
Those creatures hadn’t fled.
---
They had been ordered to leave.
---
Something deeper within the ruins had just revealed itself.
---
And whatever it was...
It controlled an army of Tier Nine monsters.
---
The system chimed once more.
---
**[Warning]**
**High-Rank Entity Detected**
**Threat Assessment Updating...**
**Threat Level: Extreme**
---
John slowly looked toward the darkness beyond the ruined city.
---
Far away.
Hidden among ancient structures.
Two enormous glowing eyes stared back.
---
Watching.
---
Waiting.
---
And for the first time since entering the ruins—
John felt genuine excitement.
---
A powerful enemy.
A mystery.
A challenge worthy of his growing strength.
---
His claws dug into the ancient stone.
A grin spread across his draconic face.
---
The expedition had finally reached the heart of the danger.
And somewhere ahead...
Awaiting him in the darkness...
Was a creature powerful enough to command an entire army.
A creature that might hold the secrets of the ancient civilization.
A creature that might even know the truth behind Tier Ten.
The real battle was about to begin.
---
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200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter
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