Chapter 2176 - 62: The Underground Riddle

A new type of construct? Is it from ancient Numelin alchemy? Or a legacy from the Dark Saints? Somehow, a word naturally sprang to Fang Hong's mind—Abyssal Sea. But according to Lord Anluose, the Abyssal Sea Manuscript is also a legacy of the Numelin Elves. Fang Hong was slightly stunned and suddenly realized he had always overlooked a blind spot—if the Abyssal Sea Manuscript is from Numelin's legacy, why do people avoid discussing it? Even though knowledge is determined by those who wield it, the mere acknowledgment of the Abyssal Sea Manuscript's origin seems not so simple. What exactly is the Abyssal Sea Manuscript? What do the texts on those slates from the Numelin Era actually describe? Fang Hong couldn't help but think of Princess Rupert's biological mother, the Queen, and the notes she recorded before her death—but unfortunately, he gleaned little information from those chaotic notes. Nevertheless, this didn't stop him from making connections about the series of conflicts surrounding that manuscript and every person drawn into them—Morning Dawn Star a decade ago, scholars, those twelve individuals who left only different codenames, even the Super Competitive League, Stargate Port, Blind Followers, Wandering Alchemist, and the Istania Royal Family.

So many elements, already enough to illustrate the hidden secrets behind the Abyssal Sea Manuscript, and those pitch-black celestial bodies he saw in the High Tower Illusion, could they be related? If not, then it seems hard to explain why they would suddenly appear in the illusion representing the legacy of Numelin alchemy. But if they are related, what kind of message did the creator of the illusion convey to future generations? What does this kind of construct that faded into the dust of history signify, a technological legacy, or something deeper?

Fang Hong looked at the remnants in his hand, and due to its presence here, he found it hard not to make connections. Rolin had shown them once, and this was the second time. The Dark Followers seem to have mastered these strange constructs, but technology always leaves a trace and doesn't create gaps out of thin air. From where did the Dark Followers acquire such a technology?

Is it the Abyssal Sea Manuscript too?

It's possible; this could explain why people turn pale at the mention of the Abyssal Sea Manuscript. Defining the users of this knowledge as Dark Followers, conversely, could also use the same label to identify who might be a Dark Follower.

Fang Hong reviewed the knowledge he had about the Abyssal Sea Manuscript—whether it was Multiple Parallel or Margin, it seemed unrelated to these constructs. Or was what he knew just a superficial part of the Abyssal Sea Manuscript? From that daunting manuscript, it didn't seem impossible.

As he pondered, he found it hard to notice the subtle changes occurring in the remnants in his hand. Suddenly, it lunged toward his throat, but a hand reached out from the side, yanked it away, and forcibly smashed it against the wall.

The remnants shattered against the wall, but the remaining parts still writhed on the ground, like a dying, struggling snake. Fang Hong watched this scene with a bit of shock. He had never encountered such a situation before; how did that thing start moving? Where was its power source?

"Tha...thank you," he turned around and thanked Xiesta, who wore a poker face. However, Miss Maid glanced at him and treated him like air.

"This thing doesn't look like a construct at all, rather like some kind of creature." Parker was also startled, looking at the twisting metal on the ground with some horror.

"...It's rare to hear such an insightful remark from you, Parker."

"Is that so, then should I say a bit more?"

"No need."

Fang Hong interrupted the Papalar who was about to launch into a lengthy discourse, frowning as he looked at the thing. He had planned to take it out for examination, but safety seemed to be a big concern. Still, he hadn't figured out how this thing moved. After thinking for a moment, he walked over, picked up the smallest piece from the shattered remnants, and layered it with a cloth.

"Let's keep moving forward," he said to the others.

"But are you sure this thing is safe?"

"I don't know, but we have to take a look."

The deeper they went along the rugged road, the more remnants appeared on the ground. Another type of remnant appeared—the corpse of a Crystalysis Beast. The three carefully navigated through various remnants, and Parker couldn't help but click his tongue, "It seems like a battlefield here."

Fang Hong nodded, but he also discerned that it was not just a battlefield, but the battle occurred from inside to outside, so the closer to the outside, the fewer traces of combat there were.

Soon, they saw for the first time the relatively complete corpse of that mysterious construct. When its shadow appeared at the edge of the torchlight, Parker couldn't help but gasp. What kind of creature was this?—people like to design constructs in their image; it seems to be a nature. The remaining constructs mostly mimic some animals, as each animal surviving today is nature's greatest masterpiece, and bionics is one of the most practical sciences. But this metallic aberration before them, it almost had no fixed shape, its upper body swollen, lower body slender, and the metal appendages entwined around it sprawled like twisted intestines on the ground, with two gigantic arms also slumped there, making it hard at a glance to tell where the head was, and where the tail was.