Chapter 629: Another Vengeful Spirit
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Thunder and lightning filled Thunder Peak as endless thunderstorms continuously raged across the mountain. The closer they got to the massive cylinders of black stone, the more they could feel the massive pressure brought on by the huge, ancient equipment.
Galazur swooped past the floating rings of rock, while Lily poked her head out and saw some houses as well as spires on one of the rings of rock. The houses and spires looked like a mini town protected from the thunderstorms outside by a thin layer of hemispherical shields. She curiously asked, "Is there someone living there?"
"That's the base belonging to the magicians of Quilcidora. Quilcidora is the magic city on this continent. Most of the people in the city are magicians. They are the only mortal race who have successfully explored the periphery of Thunder Peak and built a base here," replied Galazur in a loud voice. "But they can only establish their base on the first magnetic ring; the environment is much worse farther inside, where only dragons can enter."
"What are they doing in this place?" Nangong Sanba was a bit puzzled.
"To study magic. The first magnetic ring is an endless treasure house for electromancers. They built their magic towers here to collect lightning and analyze the elemental powers of Thunder Peak. They are all very adventurous and that deserves our respect. People are dying here every year, but the magicians just keep coming."
Hao Ren asked loudly, "You wanna say hello to them?"
"Say hello? Many people would have sleepless nights if a dragon queen were to visit them unsolicited," said Galazur, shaking her head. "They already see us, but it's nota problem since we're flying far away. Everyone, please hold on tightly, we're going to pass through the space between the second magnetic ring and the cooling tower!"
The golden dragon roared as a layer of translucent film, which looked like a magic shield was triggered on her body. She then headed directly into the forest of thunder and lightning. There were a few beams of light flashing in the Quilcidora base on the first ring of rocks. It was a gesture of tribute by the magicians. A few old wizards with white hair were measuring lightning readings from Thunder Peak on the platform at the top of the magic tower. They looked in astonishment as the golden dragon, possibly the most powerful creature in the world, bolted into the thunderstorm. "The dragon queen is here again?"
"I remember her coming a few days ago—is she building a nest in Thunder Peak?"
"I hope not... by the way, I just saw a few people on her back..."
"Oh, your eye drops are on the rack. Get it yourself."
Meanwhile, Hao Ren and the others had already entered the inner layer of Thunder Peak. Amid the ubiquitous thunderstorms, the golden dragon maneuvered along the gaps between the black pillars. Lily looked at the spectacular scenery and could not help but exclaim in awe.
Hao Ren reached to touch Lily's tail. Her beautiful silver-white tail had completely puffed up. "There's a lot of static in this place."
"Don't touch my tail, it's ticklish." Lily wagged her tail as the bright lightning was reflected in her eyes. "Is this giant generator even safe?"
"I'm sure it's not. So the first thing I did when I became an inspector a few thousand years ago was to secretly engage the Fairy Void Consortium. I got them to send their engineers to modify the core of the reactor in Thunder Peak, eliminating the hidden dangers while ensuring the mountain's safety. Otherwise, this relic of the previous civilization may have blown up and destroyed half of the continent," Galazur's voice sounded a bit depressed. "Those cunning businessmen... charged an exorbitant price for merely repairing a reactor core."
Hao Ren nodded sympathetically. From her words, he could feel his colleague.
Rollie looked at the lightning and thunder in awe and fear. She involuntarily snuggled up to Lily. The two long-haired creatures appeared even lovelier now as the static made their fur puffier than usual. Of course, Lily was the most eye-catching as the static caused her tail to puff up to the size of a person.
They were now inside the giant reactor. This was a forbidden place where no one in the world except a few dragons could enter. High-voltage power was only an insignificant risk factor there; there were many more deadly things. This fusion reactor was unlike any facilities designed by humans on Earth; it was magic-driven, and it broke down mineral rocks in its base during operation. This led to highly toxic gases accumulating internally; at the same time, the unique electromagnetic environment also caused almost all magic to backfire. This phenomenon was also known as Mage Purgatory. If lucky warriors could only withstand the environment for a few moments, then the mages' only reward would be instant death. The reactor's strong electromagnetic environment would instantly ignite the magical energy in their body and explode.
"Interestingly, the operating principle of a famous forbidden curse by a human mage called Laven's Forbidden Magic Field, is very similar to this reactor," Galazur told her new friends about various things in the world. Perhaps the dragon was bored; when she found someone to chat with she became particularly talkative. "Using a strong magnetic field to trigger a wide range of magical backlash is very different from using usual human or elven magic. So, I suspect there was once a lucky magician who managed to circle the inside of Thunder Peak... Of course, it's just a guess. Oh, we've arrived."
The golden dragon flew them into a brightly lit hall. Well, it was not a hall per se; they were at the bottom of a huge hollow tube, surrounded by a circle of walls with closed ends at the top. The walls were lined with neat pipes and metal rails, while in the center, a light beam ran through the entire pipe. The floor of the hall was made of a kind of transparent material, which was inlaid with a complex structure of metal lines. Those metal lines were obviously not just for decoration. They were probably magic symbols of some sort.
Lily looked down and saw a large number of giant discs spinning slowly. She also saw a fireball that looked like the sun below the transparent floor. She pondered for a moment, and her legs shivered. She then decided to crawl instead of walk…
There was no thunder, or lightning in there. Electrical energy was transmitted from the side tubes to the guide rails, leaving the core area very calm and quiet.
"The temperature below reaches millions of degrees, but we won't be able to feel it. The insulation consists only of two layers of crystalline material, which are a few millimeters thick," said Galazur, who looked emotional. "This planet once had a very advanced civilization. Unfortunately, it ended prematurely. Life is hard… Okay, let's not talk about that. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the vengeful spirit."
Galazur pointed her chin at the center of the hall. Next to the gigantic light beam, there were several magic stones suspended in the air. Those magic stones took energy from the light beam to form a strong magnetic field. On the inside of the magnetic field, there was a restrained, raging being.
The MDT immediately flew back and forth, checking. "...Well, it's very energetic. It looks better than the one we caught."
"Better?" That caught Hao Ren's attention. It was definitely the best news he had heard. "That means it's easier to read it?"
"In theory, yes. It depends on the data." The MDT shook a little. "But it should be easier to deal with than the one we caught. You know, your daughter almost shattered it with her hum. But this one here is clearly still intact."
"Have you tried to analyze it?" Hao Ren looked up at Galazur.
The dragon queen transformed back into her humanoid form before she came up and entered some signals using the dragon runes next to the magic stones. "I tried a few times, but with little success. My MDT isn't very good at decoding... Is it true that you've invented an instrument that can communicate with the vengeful spirit?"
Hao Ren did not say a word. The MDT immediately rose up proudly. "I was the one who came up with the ingenious design…"
Hao Ren flicked it aside. "Go and play with your friend—Oh, I do have the special equipment here, but it's on my spaceship. Let me take it out."
The MDT was upset, but went up to Galazur's MDT, albeit unwillingly. "You see, he's really boring... You wanna talk?"
"Request denied. Unworthy behavior. It is recommended that you check your logic database."
"Damn, you're not that smart either."