Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 551 - 550: Dragon and the Great Pit

To be honest, Amber was not unfamiliar with the adventurer’s exploration process. Although she was not an adventurer herself, the number of adventurers she has cooperated with could almost conquer a Viscount’s territory. In her mind, when faced with exploration targets like the Magic Forest, Ancient Caves, or Secret Realm Palaces, the normal process starts with organizing a team, preparing supplies, and gathering intelligence. Then, they cautiously enter the target area, scout the way, map the terrain, disarm traps, fight non-human monsters. Basically, nine out of ten adventurers would do it this way, and the one with a reckless head typically dies halfway...

However, now Gawain had proven that most of the above process could essentially be compressed into half a load of ammunition...

The deafening roar of cannon fire shattered the savage order of the Black Forest that had stood for hundreds of years; the fire of a civilization more barbaric than barbarity burned away all vegetation at the forest’s edge, reducing all dangerous non-human monsters within range to ashes—poisonous plants, cunning monsters, greedy carnivores, and elusive soul eaters—all sublimated into art, cleanly and completely.

Safe, efficient, clean, without hidden dangers, the bombed secret realm had no traps, and the burned Black Forest had no non-human monsters.

Standing on a high ground in front of the Shadow Testing Ground Cave, Gawain looked with satisfaction at the road flattened by cannon fire—of course, this road full of craters wasn’t exactly "flat," but it was a lot easier to traverse than the Black Forest. Beside him was Amber, whose eyes were wide with astonishment, looking as if to say, "Are you kidding me?"

"You actually did it..." the half-elf lady felt like she had seen a whole new world. "Aren’t you afraid of attracting the non-human monsters in the Black Forest?"

"Non-human monsters? They should have been bombed to death," Gawain replied nonchalantly, "I’m not blindly commanding. No one knows the situation in the chaotic wave Contamination Zone better than I do. This area belongs to the low-pollution zone. The main hazards are these mutated plants and toxic water sources, along with some weak non-human monsters that don’t pose much threat. Truly powerful chaotic wave Beasts won’t gather in this kind of area; the sparse chaotic energy here can’t support their long-term activity."

Just as Gawain said, he ordered the bombardment after careful consideration and confirmation that the environment was suitable. In this dangerous Black Forest, using artillery fire to flatten everything is essentially the most appropriate method of clearing a path.

A team of elite Steel Cavalry was soon organized and, led personally by Soldrin, set off with Gawain and Amber.

Although Gawain’s "firepower reconnaissance" always felt somewhat off to people, Amber had to admit that the path cleared by artillery fire made the Black Forest seem much safer. She saw countless fragments of plants scattered between rubble and craters, plants that were dangerous poisons just a while ago, mixed with intimidating remains of monsters. Those twisted, mutated flesh parts were emitting swirling smoke; some remains were even still wriggling slightly—but now they sure couldn’t jump up and attack her.

With a short bow in hand, Soldrin led the team forward while keeping vigilant of the surroundings. Although the artillery fire had flattened a large area and most non-human monsters nearby would be intimidated by the power of the magic cannon, the chaotic wave’s influence meant many non-human monsters couldn’t be judged by rationality. Mutated monsters not afraid of death might charge out from the distant dense forest—pioneers who died in such ambushes once were not few.

Gawain confidently relied on Soldrin and the Steel Cavalry for vigilance, while he focused his energy on the satellite imagery in his mind.

The impact crater was already very close.

The "safe corridor" created by artillery fire bombing had reached its end, and ahead were tangled ancient trees and shrubs. The team had now entered deep within the Black Forest, at the edge of the bombed area. The human-made firestorm stopped here. As far as the eye could see, there were towering giantwoods and rampant tall thickets—it’s not that the "Righteous" magic cannon lacked range, but Gawain deliberately had Sir Byron’s artillerymen control the scope of the bombing, worried that a crucial clue might be destroyed under a volley of cannonballs.

But it didn’t matter; they were almost at the edge of the impact crater now.

Gawain looked up towards the dark depths of the forest. At this point, the sky was growing dim, and the already faint sunlight filtering through thin fog and layers of canopy and leaves only left a dim, hazy glow, but with the Transcendent visual enhancement, he could still see the situation in the distance clearly.

"It’s in that direction," he said, pulling out the Sword of Pioneers and speaking to Soldrin at his side, "Keep moving forward."

Soldrin nodded, raising a hand to give orders to the Cavalry Scouts Warriors beside him: "Continue forward—activate your scopes, stay alert!"

This high-ranked ranger could tell his old friend might be searching for something. That confident attitude and unwavering tone wasn’t just sensing an odd magical fluctuation, but indicated certainty of something ahead. However, seven hundred years of rapport kept him from asking more, and he immediately carried out Gawain’s orders.

The Steel Dragoon Warriors activated their tactical scopes one by one, the outer soldiers raised barriers, and the inner ones engaged the safeties on their Magic Transmission Terminals, always ready to respond to threats hidden in the forest. Meanwhile, at the forefront of the team, in the intertwining shadows of the forest, Amber’s figure flickered, constantly disappearing and reappearing in the air.

Gawain couldn’t help but smile wryly as he glanced at Amber, who was scouting ahead for the team—this half-elf always complained about work, but once in working mode, she had never missed any critical task. Sometimes he couldn’t tell whether her lazy and slacking demeanor was real or just a facade.

No wonder someone at the Administrative Office commented that Cecil Clan had two things that were the most elusive: Aunt Heidi’s dark circles and Amber’s slacking attitude. This Intelligence Agency director was the only person in the territory who claimed every day she wanted to skip work, yet when tallying attendance, she had full attendance month after month, behaving practically like a model worker.

But no matter whether Amber was actually slacking off, Gawain could be sure of one thing: this seemingly lackadaisical disgrace of an elf was actually quite reliable.

As Gawain pondered these thoughts, Amber’s figure suddenly materialized beside him out of thin air.

The half-elf lady had obviously discovered something significant, staring wide-eyed and speaking in a tone of amazement, "Old man!! There’s a huge pit ahead!!"

"Really? Then it seems we’re on the right track," Gawain raised an eyebrow and then waved his hand, "Everyone, pick up the pace!"

Amber started slightly, then quickly sped up to keep pace with Gawain: "Huh? Did you already know about this? Why are you not surprised?"

Gawain ignored Amber’s chatter, striding forward over uneven pits and annoying vines in the dense forest. The scorching magical flame rose on the Sword of Pioneers, reducing all bushes and rocky obstacles to ashes in a flash, drastically increasing their pace. During the advance, Soldrin noted the change in the surroundings—

Large bushes were neatly pushed back, with more fragile trees snapped at the waist by some unseen force, even the towering giantwoods were tilted and leaning—

He was not unfamiliar with this phenomenon.

This was caused by a powerful shockwave.

Gawain stopped in his tracks: "We’ve arrived."

Soldrin stared, mouth agape, at the scene before them, and the elite Cavalry Scouts Warriors also let out low cries of surprise.

A massive impact crater, large enough to engulf half a city block, surrounded by countless boulders turned to dust, the earth cracking inch by inch, and giant trees snapped at the waist. Inside the crater, half-melted rocks and burnt soil fused into a blackened, hardened state, indicating the hellish temperatures once present here.

"Spirit of the Forest..." Soldrin exclaimed, "Was this place bombed by the Annihilation Seed?"

"Annihilation Seed wouldn’t create such a neat and singular impact crater," Gawain shook his head, looking up at the increasingly dim sky, "Something fell down from above."

"Something? A meteor?" Soldrin paused, then looked at the bottom of the crater, "Perhaps there might be a Star Core..."

Beside them, Amber sprang up excitedly: "A Star Core? The kind that could buy half a castle for just a palm-sized piece?!"

Gawain casually pushed Amber’s head back down: "Even if there is a Star Core, it must be handed over to the Duchy. What’s got you so worked up?"

Afterward, he ignored the loudly babbling Amber and stepped into the impact crater.

Soldrin and the Steel Cavalry followed closely behind.

Gawain scanned the large crater, whispering to himself, "No fragments, no wreckage..."

Inside the crater, all that could be found were the blackened substances formed from melted rock and soil, aside from these, there was no notable wreckage or fragments. The mysterious Extra-Terrestrial Object (if it existed) had left nothing behind.

Could it have been taken by the dragon? Such a clean sweep?

Gawain felt a deep sense of doubt because he had personally witnessed the dragon land in the crater; its stay was brief, and even if it took something, it would have only taken away the largest and easiest-to-collect pieces. How could not a single fragment be left?

Could it be that there was no Extra-Terrestrial Object, and this was merely an energy explosion, hence no fragments? Or...perhaps the Extra-Terrestrial Object didn’t break apart after such a dreadful impact and explosion, but was instead taken away intact by the dragon?

Gawain made various speculations while continuously using a satellite view to scan the surroundings, hoping to find traces left by the dragon. Meanwhile, Soldrin and the soldiers searched various parts of the crater, quickly, a Steel Cavalry Warrior called out in surprise: "Commander! Look at this!"

Soldrin swiftly approached the soldier, immediately seeing what had caused the exclamation:

On the blackened, hardened ground at the crater bottom, several giant claw prints were scattered somewhat chaotically.

These claw prints clearly did not attempt to conceal themselves; each was nearly the size of a human torso, deeply indented into the ground over ten centimeters. From these prints alone, Soldrin could easily deduce the terrifying size of the enormous creature that had briefly rested here.

The Cavalry Scouts Warrior who first discovered the claw prints mumbled: "What kind of thing left this..."

"A dragon," Gawain had arrived beside Soldrin and the soldiers unnoticed, "I’ve seen dragons; only those massive creatures could leave such large prints."

Soldrin stared wide-eyed at Gawain: "Are you sure?"

Gawain was definitely sure, for he had seen it firsthand, yet he restrained his words here: "Eighty percent sure. Don’t think dragonkin are mere myths; they truly exist. The old Cecil was once burned by dragon’s flames, and even now, it’s still scorched earth infused with dragon magic."

"Even dragons have appeared..." Soldrin murmured, "This place truly is the frontier of civilization."

At that moment, Amber, who had wandered off after being ignored by Gawain, shouted suddenly: "Old man!! I’ve found a treasure!!"