Steel steam and flame

It was a very vague connection. Cassia thought about it for a while, but in the end she didn't get anything. Sighing, he withdrew his hand and stood on the stone steps looking at the circular hole where the underground river came out. There were still traces of digging on it. The cave network Grote mentioned was not naturally formed. It contained many artificial elements, as if it was a place used by some people to store certain things or hold events. Taking a closer look, Cassia ruled out the possibility that this was an option created by the group of prospectors. It is a very particular and delicate excavation method. Compared with the group of prospectors, if there is any obstacle that blocks them, directional blasting will be their first choice.

Cassia now sees that Groat's choice to place the second-generation Holy Sword here was not a random move. I didn't think much of it before, but all the signs here show that Grote had already guessed his future ending when he chose to place the second-generation holy sword. And there is another thing that makes Cassia even more confused, that is, when the agreement was reached in the spiritual dream, one of the two conditions could be said to have not been realized.

There are two conditions in exchange for the second-generation Holy Sword. One is to protect the safety of a contemporary saint, Doris, who has gone to other continents, and the second is to let Cassia use his skull. Throw it into the endless sea. It can be said that it was done, but when the skull was thrown into the endless sea, Cassia was sure that Groat's spirit had disappeared from the skull.

But these are not very important. Cassia feels suspicious about another point - why the skull was thrown into the endless sea. Grote was not from a coastal area, so he might have some admiration for the sea, but as the first generation of knight king of the empire, Cassia did not believe that he had never seen the sea.

"Could it be other reasons?" Cassia was sure of this, but she couldn't imagine what the reason would be.

In the past millennium, except for some spaces or ruins hidden under the ground, or some special locations in extreme areas, the empire has explored all the explorable Later Phase Continent. But only the Endless Sea is a special region that is listed separately, and the other two continents are no exception.

"The Endless Sea has no boundaries. Hundreds of years after Avalon perfected the airship and the giant cruise ship on the sea, these steel behemoths that conquered the offshore sea and the deep blue sky have still not been able to explore the edge of the Endless Sea. . In the process of continuous sailing, although many island groups or islands comparable in size to small countries were discovered, everyone knows that this is not the result that the explorers and the empire wanted..." In the introduction of the Endless Sea There is often such a sentence in books.

As an ocean surrounding three continents, the area of ​​the Endless Sea that has been explored has already exceeded the area of ​​the three continents combined by hundreds of times. As its name suggests, there is really no limit, only islands exist, and it also shows the existence and infinite possibilities in its depths.

Just after a few hundred years, even though there is no shortage of enthusiastic young explorers in every era, the expansion of exploration of the Endless Sea has become increasingly weak. The further away from the mainland, the more dangerous it becomes. When the wave reached its highest, a voyage team led by the empire set sail. At that time, the team owned dozens of huge cruise ships, equipped with an equal number of airships, and various types of explorers who had been strictly screened. Among them, the empire and the military even secretly helped behind the scenes, sending the elites of the army. as force protection.

But in the end it disappeared into the everlasting deep blue skyline of the Endless Sea. It was from then on that the term "Endless Sea" truly took on meaning.

It not only represents no end, it also represents mystery and mankind’s fear of the unknown so far, or it may symbolize power.

Cassia could only look sideways to find the reason why Groat asked him to throw the skull into the endless sea. It's not possible to guess Grote's thoughts, or there is a serious lack of information. As the first generation of Knight King after the establishment of the empire, Grote, with his power and strength, had access to much more secret knowledge than himself at that time.

Instead of spending time on this, Cassia looked at the mechanical watch. The time was only around two o'clock in the afternoon, which was still plenty. He returned to the steps and picked up the fire gun. After checking that his condition was good, he walked towards the cave entrance where the underground river flowed out. As for the piles of diamonds and jewels in the dragon skulls, he figured he still had plenty of time to move them away.

The diameter of the cave is about one and a half meters, and Cassia can go in with a slight bow. The water in the underground river was so fast that it could splash directly into his face.

It was not entirely dug manually. It was a semi-natural cave that was subsequently carefully dug and processed. After advancing less than two or three meters, in the darkness that was dispersed a little bit, Cassia discovered the bottom tip of the wedge embedded in the rock and corroded on the stone wall. The preparations made by the group of prospectors to walk in the rapid underground river.

Soon after, Cassia even discovered a broken waterproof light fixture. After advancing very far, one or two hundred meters later, you can still see the line fixed on the stone wall. But this cave seems to have no end, and the underground river is becoming more and more rapid. In the dark and dry cave, there is only the sound of torrent that constantly echoes in the ears.

After advancing diagonally upwards for several hundred meters, a spacious underground space appeared in front of them, with a height of seven or eight meters and a length of about twenty or thirty meters. There are several caves of different sizes connected here, and the underground rivers converge here, forming a small pool of water in the lower depressions, with surging water.

Beside the water is a flat land composed of relatively dry gravel, where there are several collapsed tents. Fortunately, I found unused solid fuel on the edge, and the fire soon illuminated the surrounding area. The stone walls have been dug manually, and there are not only strange characters and symbols on them, but also several consecutive simple pictures. There are also obvious traces of fixed-point blasting and knock marks from excavation.

The group of prospectors found something on the stone wall. The creatures in the sketch were all missing their eyes. They should be diamonds and jewelry, Cassia judged. On the way here, he occasionally saw less obvious explosion craters on the cave walls. Perhaps it was these diamonds and jewelry that drove the group of people to explore here through the long cave.

The words on the stone wall were unclear, but Cassia could still understand some of the pictures. There are six simple stone paintings in total. The first one should be a common starry sky, but there are many shooting star-like things under the starry sky, as if the stars have fallen and landed. The second picture had no meaning. It was six circles of different sizes, but through the star-like spots on the side, Cassia judged that it should be the moon, but why were there six. Or rather, it was something else.

The third picture shows a huge whale breaking through the sea and leaping in mid-air. It's a giant whale, Cassia immediately thought.

The fourth picture seemed to be a mountain. When Cassia looked carefully, she realized that it was not a mountain peak, but a big tree that was far more majestic than the mountain peak. Huge trees penetrate the sky and the earth, and the continuous mountains are just its foundation.

The fifth painting seems to be related to the fourth painting. A person stands on the branches of a big tree. Her long hair and exaggerated breasts indicate that she is a woman. He held the scepter in his hand, emitting a dazzling light, and was looking at the sea of ​​clouds rolling in front of him. The woman in the stone painting is no ordinary human being. There are two sets of wings behind her, as light as insect wings. Even though this is a simplified painting, it still reveals the beauty of the two pairs of wings.

The last picture is the creature Cassia is most familiar with, which is a dragon. Although it is missing its eyes, the fangs in its mouth and the flames splashing from its body can still feel ferocious and terrifying. The dragon was flying in the sky, its body covering the sun, but below, there was a group of kneeling people worshiping sincerely. In front of this group of people, there are six shelves with six women hanging on them. Just like the ones described in the fourth painting, they are all women with two pairs of wings!

"This is a sacrificial event!"

Cassia knew from some history books that in a long time ago, people at that time used this kind of ritual to please the gods they believed in.