Chapter 979 979 The Impossible Stronghold
"I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad sign."
Standing at the head of the group, Marcus stared at what was most certainly a stretch of land that extended directly into the giant lake.
It was completely flat like a road and was exactly seven kilometers wide.
Without a doubt it was too large to be natural and had been placed here to allow for passage to the center of the island without having to brave the dangerous waters.
Still, Marcus felt a sense of foreboding looking at this obvious invitation to the very core of the island.
'Is it some sort of trap? Or are there threats just as dangerous as that lake monster waiting for us down this path?'
Clearly it was supposed to be difficult to navigate this island due to the fog and the multitude of dangerous entities that called it home. Finally seeing a straight path that seemed to hold no danger was more unnerving than coming face to face with a powerful beast or monster. The unknown of it all meant that anything could be waiting for them.
Nevertheless, one of their main objectives was to reach the center of the island and it was obvious that they would follow this land bridge to wherever it led. Afterall, braving the unknown was what true adventurers yearned for.
Putting aside his trepidations, Marcus thought back to when he had first arrived on Mirrion and remembered the exhilaration he had felt at the prospect of exploring this world.
So far, he had already seen many wonderous sights, and the center of this island was sure to be added to that list.
It took the expedition squad a few minutes to decide on how they would proceed across the land bridge, but eventually they concluded that keeping to the center would be the safest course of action.
Surely it made it more likely that they would encounter any terrestrial creatures that lived on the land road, but frankly none of them wanted to be anywhere near the water where the beasts and monsters of the lake's depths might sense them.
To that end they bunched up in a tight formation with Miguel in the center. As his summoned creature was the only means they had to see farther through the fog he was acting as their lookout.
However, despite their wariness, they did not encounter a single beast or monster during their first day walking along the path that cut through the lake. In fact, they did not even come across a single tree or see a stray stone. The land bridge was completely clear except for a thin layer of grass that grew over it.
'This is definitely not like any other part of the island. Sure, the ever-present fog is unusual, but the environment felt normal enough. There is no way something like this could ever occur in nature. Is it just an easy path for those that searched around the lake or is it more sinister. Though, maybe it is just a joke and will just end in the middle of the lake and we will have wasted our time.' Marcus thought as they camped out for the first night.
So far this had been the most peaceful part of their expedition, and he was unsure of how to feel about it.
Most everyone else was in high spirits though. After skirting the edge of the lake for a fairly long time, finally a land route to the center of the island had presented itself. Even if it was highly unusual.
"I know you don't have to eat, but you have barely touched your food. I find it hard to believe that it is not to your tastes since you made it." Mrazivy whispered to Marcus.
Sighing, Marcus explained his thoughts to Mrazivy.
"Yeah, I am sure most everyone is thinking the same thing. Still, fretting over the possibility that something baleful is waiting for us won't help. We have already prepared what we can, and our group is made up of the best the adventurers guild members under level eighty. At this point, all we can do is trust in our skills and experience."
"You're right, and I want to see what is at the center of this island. But I can't shake this feeling I have. That we aren't ready."
Seeing that Marcus was nervous, Mrazivy stuck with him and helped him get his nerves under control by retelling all the times he had jumped into unknown dangers and come out victorious.
Thanks to her encouragement, Marcus was able to repress the unease he was feeling and focus on their goal.
The next day, they resumed their journey, but night came before they reached the center.
This same process persisted for several days. The expedition squad would walk all day, rest at night, the repeat.
Slowly they started to relax as they had not encountered a single enemy during their journey across the land bridge.
Expect, on the seventh day, something other than the grass path appeared in front of them.
After having traveled exactly seven hundred and seventy-seven kilometers a massive metal wall blocked their way forward.
"Miguel, can you see the end of it?" Mrazivy asked.
Unfortunately, he simply shook his head to indicate that the wall went at least a kilometer.
Cautiously, they approached the wall and Marcus placed his hand against it to gauge what sort of material it was made out of.
From its color and luster made it appear to be steel, but without getting a feel for it he would be unable to tell for sure.
Yet, before his hand could touch it, he felt his hand pierce some sort of field.
Immediately he jerked back since he had no clue what the strange sensation was.
"This wall is emitting some sort of energy. It doesn't feel magical in nature though. I'm not really sure what it is though." Marcus said with contemplative expression.
Nevertheless, he felt like it was somewhat familiar, he just could not place it immediately.
Eventually, he remembered where he had felt the sensation before.
'It's an electromagnetic field. I haven't used the extreme magnetism spell in a while, but it definitely feels similar.'
But before Marcus could relay this information, something more pressing appeared.
"There is a figure approaching from a top the wall!" Miguel said with alarm.
Immediately everyone cast their gazes upwards and waited until the entity came into view.
The moment it became visible, Mrazivy used her dragon eyes to look at the figure's status, but once she had she tilted her head in confusion.
"It is apparently called a Rob-ot." Mrazivy said hesitantly, unsure of the pronunciation. "Apparently, its level is eighty, but all of its skills are things I have never seen before. I'm not really sure what to make of this thing."
However, there were two members of the expedition squad that recognized this entity and knew that Mrazivy had pronounced its name wrong.
lightsΝοvel.cοm 'What the hell is a robot doing here? I would have accepted it if it was called a golem, but why a robot?' Marcus thought, baffled.
Sadly, he did not have much time to think about the oddity of this situation.
As soon as the robot had positioned itself directly above them a compartment on its shoulder opened up and a device Marcus never expected to see on Mirrion.
"Everyone get down and use your best defensive abilities!" Marcus shouted.
As he gave his warning, he also used his iron ramparts spell to give them as much cover before the robot's attack began.
"BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
All at once a hail of bullets being fired out of the minigun on the robot's shoulder.
Of course, these were not normal bullets, if there were, no one in the expedition squad would have been in any danger. The bullets would have simply bounced off their bodies.
No, these bullets were each enchanted and packed enough power behind them to be equivalent to tier three spells. And while a single tier three spell wasn't particularly dangerous, having fifty fired at you every second posed quite a threat.
Thankfully, everyone followed Marcus' advice and protected themselves with their skills and magic.
The sound of gunfire never ceased as the robot seemed to have an infinite supply of ammo for its gun.
"I'm not about to be beaten at a ranged battle!" Fianna yelled, jumping out from behind the protective spells that were blocking her line of sight.
The moment she was in view, the robot turned its gun on her and rained down the entire force of its main weapon on Fianna.
Using her spider agility, Fianna leapt around the area and kept ahead of the robot's ability to track her and aim its weapon.
At the same time, she pulled back her bow and fired an arrow.
There was the crack of a sonic boom and the projectile Fianna had fired flew directly for the robot's head.
Yet, just before impact a barrier erected around the robot and deflected the arrow away from it.
Sensing the threat that Fianna posed to it, the robot held up both of its arms and multiple compartments opened up.
Out of these new compartments, eight rockets appeared, four on each arm.
While maintaining its fire with its minigun, launched the eight rockets over the area.
'Shit.'
Realizing that these small rockets likely contained a far greater payload than their size would suggest, Marcus poked out behind the protective wall and used his laser spell to intercept them.
As the laser passed through them the rockets prematurely exploded and released blasts equivalent to tier six fire magic spells.
The entire area was bathed in flames, but thanks to Marcus' quick action the worst of the explosions detonated far above them.
Slightly singed Fianna jumped out of the raging fire ball with another arrow knocked in her bow.
This time she was not holding anything back and activated one of her unique skills to give her arrow enough power to push past the robot's defenses.
Her arrow flew faster than the arrow could react, and by the time it detected what had happened a massive hole had been blasted through its torso.
The once lively and imposing machine lost all function and collapsed on top of the wall.
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