Chapter 410 - Chapter 410: Clear the Ruin, Enchanted Anchor Points,
Chapter 410: Clear the Ruin, Enchanted Anchor Points,
Wilderness Ambitions (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Ji Chen certainly had no idea what the simple-minded Andar was thinking at this moment. If he had known, he would probably have just sneered.
After dealing with the wild creatures occupying this area, the Ocean Crown Army continued to move forward, following the faintly visible path.
After crossing a fallen stone pillar, a spacious square surrounded by hundreds of tall stone pillars suddenly appeared in front of them. From a distance, there was nothing noteworthy except for a towering arch in the center.
Ji Chen felt somewhat disappointed. It didn’t seem like there was any treasure buried here, despite this place being called a ruin.
However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of regret.
He gave the command, “Apart from the Guardian Legion and the Dragonblood Legion, all other legions should spread out and explore whether there are any other notable areas in this ruin.”
“The Naga Legion is responsible for the west of the ruin,
the Dragon Blood Legion is responsible for the east,
the Soul Servants Legion is responsible for the north,
the Lobster Guardian Knights are responsible for the south,
and the Guardian Legion are responsible for this square.
Pay special attention to relatively well-preserved buildings, and don’t leave any corner unchecked!”
Faced with the order, the five legions executed it without hesitation, rushing to their respective areas. Even Alice urged the Soul Servants Legion to start searching the northern ruins.
Ji Chen, on the other hand, stood still with the Dragonblood Legion, patiently waiting.
This ruin was quite large, and even with several thousand units from the Ocean Crown Legion, it took a considerable amount of time to search it thoroughly.
The result was – they found nothing.
Perhaps it was due to the passage of time, which had worn everything down to a state of continuous ruins, or perhaps the humans or civilization that built this place had taken away everything valuable when they left.
In any case, besides worthless stones, the ruin was filled with the corpses of lizards.
The Naga Guardian Legion did discover the lair of the underwater lizards in the west, where there were also many newly hatched lizard hatchlings.
To eradicate the threat completely, they decided to eliminate them all.
This made Andar glare angrily again. Clearly, these lizard hatchlings posed no threat, so why did they have to be cruelly killed?
But this time, he had grown wiser and kept it to himself, letting his conviction about his previous thoughts strengthen even further.
Fortunately, Andar didn’t voice it out; otherwise, Ji Chen would have given him a big scolding.
“There’s nothing in the east.”
“In the west, apart from the lair of the underwater lizards, we found nothing.”
“No gains in the north.”
“The same for the south…”
As the various legions returned, the news they brought back was not particularly cheerful.
Ji Chen felt somewhat frustrated. Had they fought in vain just now?
At this moment, the Guardian Legion, who had set out last, returned with news that lifted his spirits.
“The outer layer of the arch in the center of the square has fallen off, revealing metal inside.”
Metal?
Just the word made Ji Chen feel something was amiss. Without wasting any time, he waved his hand and rode the Tyrant Azure Dragon towards the center of the square.
The square located at the center of the entire ruin was quite large, entirely constructed from neatly arranged white stone, and could easily accommodate at least a hundred thousand people.
The arch positioned in the center of the square was a staggering thirty meters tall and eighteen meters wide, resembling a majestic little mountain peak.
On the right side of the arch, a section of white stone detached, revealing a peculiarly patterned metal beneath.
The stone was merely an outer shell, concealing what lay beneath, the metal.
Ji Chen’s interest surged, “Anina, break open this layer of stone!”
Upon hearing this, Anina excitedly nodded and clenched her fist to strike it.
Under the relentless barrage of punches, the arch shivered, and the enclosing stone crumbled like dust, gradually revealing the underlying metal.
A few minutes later, the final piece of stone fell, and the arch assumed its true form.
Compared to before, the arch, now devoid of its outer shell, appeared somewhat slender but still towering. The metal surface was adorned with intricate runic patterns, and embedded within it were metallic protrusions resembling nodes, indicating that it wasn’t just a decorative design.
It was peculiar, magnificent, and visually stunning.
Ji Chen spotted a metal pillar about half a person’s height on the left side of the arch. It had a slot at the top that looked like a keyhole.
[Mystic Realm Anchor Point]
[Effect]: Insert a dimensional key and provide a substantial and stable energy source to permanently anchor the entrance of the Mystic Realm. The anchor point for the main world’s Mystic Realm gate needs to be secured with a dimensional key.
[A device that can be used to initiate a permanently anchored Mystic Realm gate, seemingly left behind by a departed civilization, with the dimensional key lost somewhere in this Mystic Realm.]
Mystic Realm Anchor Point?
Could it generate a permanently existing Mystic Realm gate?
This had some potential.
Ji Chen’s mind raced as he considered the pros and cons of this discovery.
Originally, this was just a temporarily opened Mystic Realm, so he initially planned to reap some benefits and leave.
However, the appearance of this Mystic Realm Anchor Point changed his plans.
If he could directly bind the Mystic Realm gate of the Great Luminescent Sea Mystic Realm near the New Moon Islands, wouldn’t the Ocean Crown gain a rear base similar to the Skeleton Mystic Realm?
Moreover, compared to the lifelessness and desolation of the Skeleton Realm, the Great Luminescent Sea Mystic Realm was teeming with life. It was abundantly rich in resources, with most areas being underwater environments, perfectly suited to the Ocean Crown’s characteristics.
The more Ji Chen thought about it, the more he felt that this had potential.
Once he was certain of this, his mindset quickly shifted from merely reaping some benefits and leaving to how to make the Ocean Crown the sole authority in the Great Luminescent Sea.
He began pondering the next steps of his plan.
Since he intended to carry out the Ocean Crown’s will, he knew that eventually, he would have to contend with the Dragon King City and the Coral Palace, the two local powers in the region.
He had two options. Either back one side while eliminating the other, thereby making the remaining faction the representative of the Ocean Crown in the Great Luminescent Sea and enabling continuous resource extraction.
Or maintain a balance between the two and profit from their conflicts.
Or simply and forcefully wipe out both factions, clearing the field, and have the Ocean Crown take charge personally.
All three options were viable, but the main considerations were the costs and the time involved…
However, what was more critical was finding a dimensional key to anchor the densely anchored Mystic Realm gate.
Otherwise, once these remaining ten-plus days passed, the Great Luminescent Sea Mystic Realm would disconnect from the main world, drifting aimlessly in the boundless void, with almost zero chances of encountering it again.
Considering this, the upcoming ten or so days started to feel somewhat pressing. How could he locate that dimensional key?
Judging by the explanation of the arch in this ruin, the dimensional key might have been taken away by the civilization that built this city when they departed. Their descendants were likely a human civilization on the surface of the sea.
Secondly, it could be stored in the Dragon King City or the Coral Palace. They were the two largest powers beneath the sea, and logically, they were the most likely candidates to possess the dimensional key.
In that case, he had to make contact with both sides.
The thought of reaping a vibrant, resource-rich Mystic Realm as spoils of war made Ji Chen’s heart race with excitement.
However, at this moment, Andar asked in a low voice, sounding weak, “What is this arch? Has something happened?”
“Nothing…”
Ji Chen looked at the fallen prince with a vengeful past. After changing his plan, the promises made by Andar seemed less important.
After all, if, in the end, the Great Luminescent Sea became his possession, then wouldn’t everything here belong to him?
Why bother making an effort to send this naive prince back to his throne?
However, Andar still had some utility, and perhaps the dimensional key was in that so-called secret treasury.
Andar seemed to sense a change in Ji Chen’s gaze and suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Could this human be planning to eliminate me?
But he quickly dismissed that thought.
It was impossible. This human still wanted me to tell him the secret treasury of the Dragon King City. There was no way he would act against me now.
But Andar had no idea.
Ji Chen’s mindset had shifted from the initial plan of just reaping some benefits to a grand ambition of swallowing the entire Great Luminescent Sea..