Chapter 67: Underground Cavern
The sun rose and set, time passed, and dusk once again enveloped the earth.
Dark clouds churned, obscuring the stars and moon, a cold atmosphere spreading as chaos expanded.
High in the sky, a massive formation composed of ten interlocking rings rotated like gears, each ring inscribed with ancient runes that formed a [Meaning].
Flood, Volcano, Earthquake, Eternal Night, Great Wind, Meteor, Drought, Blizzard, Tsunami, and Dust Mist.
The name [Ten Plagues] flickered at the zenith of the heavens, and now, the two brightest rings represented [Dust Mist] and [Eternal Night]. Thus, a haze of countless dust particles and the all-encompassing dark clouds covered the entire world, the murky air absorbing all light.
Even the sun, moon, and stars had dimmed.
Except for the roar of thunder tearing across the night sky, there was no sound in the world. Purple lightning illuminated the land, leaving once-thriving cities and villages as nothing but pale ruins. Apart from the most heavily defended province, the Bay Central District, all other regions had fallen.
And even in the Central District, chaos reigned due to the disappearance of the High Commander, the supreme leader. They had fully retreated, relying on the permanent fortifications in the mountains and underground for defense.
A tense atmosphere filled the underground communications room. Operators futilely called out to other provinces' channels, but they were destined to receive no response—only their own echoes, sharp static, and meaningless buzzing.
"This is Bay Central District, calling Delang Province, please respond!"
"This is Bay Central District, calling Babel Province, please respond!"
"This is Bay..."
"..."
Gradually, all the operators stopped their actions. They exchanged glances, smiled bitterly, and then, with trembling hands, shut down their communication consoles.
These people had realized a terrifying truth—perhaps only they were left in this world.
In just three days and two nights, since the submarine volcano erupted at Sapphire Harbor and the Apocalypse Array descended, bringing countless stone golems, the entire world had been overrun by the power of chaos. Millions of lives had perished in an instant, cities destroyed, civilization trampled. Now, there were no screams or wails on the surface, because all who could make sound had lost their lives. Only the elves hiding deep in underground shelters covered their mouths, trembling, desperately waiting for death to come.
The silent, marching stone golems, after roughly clearing all life from the surface, began to advance in a unified direction. Their synchronized steps inspired fear; the tramping of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of magical constructs caused earthquakes, making the land tremble.
And their target was that mountain range bathed in cyan light.
The Origin Mountains.
And while the vast majority of elves remained in their final shelters, not daring to go out, let alone fight, one group of elves was still roaming the outside world.
On the elite airship reserved for the High Commander, the guards remained above the capital of the fallen dynasty, waiting for the return of the one they served—the current supreme leader of the Elven Federation, Urken Uranor.
Shortly after the High Commander disappeared alone into the depths of this ruin, a fresh wind rose from deep within the mountains, turning all the stone golems into statues entwined with vines and grass. They firmly believed this phenomenon was caused by the High Commander, that he had taken advantage of the dense elemental concentration to activate some ancient weapons left behind by the Elven Dynasty, which had previously been unusable due to a lack of mana.
Moreover, as the sacred land of Ilgna Elven mythology, the Origin Mountains must conceal great secrets. Though they didn't fully believe those fantastical tales, they still clung to a sliver of hope.
But before the High Commander returned, the guards first noticed a massive creature speeding toward them in the distance. However, due to the pervasive dust mist, they couldn't make out what it was.
"What is that thing?"
"A stone golem?"
"All the stone golems should be immobilized..."
"It wasn't immobilized? Isn't it a stone golem?"
They exchanged hurried words, but no one knew what the figure hidden in the dust and smoke was. Since the disaster began, these guards had followed Urken into the Origin Mountains, so they naturally had no idea what was happening outside.
Only one guard, who had always stayed by the High Commander's side, vaguely guessed a possibility. Hesitant, he said, "Do you think... it could be that?"
"That what?" the others asked in confusion, urging him, "Spit it out!"
Shaking his head, pressured by his companions, the guard could only voice his guess: "Do you think it could be the Volcano Dragon?"
Joshua's group had already approached the Origin Mountains.
"This place is completely different from everywhere else!"
Loranda quickly noticed the difference from the rest of the Ilgna world. Standing up from the black dragon's back, he looked around in surprise—unlike other areas covered in dust mist, dark clouds, and withered vegetation, the Origin Mountains were full of life. The wind, the swaying grass and leaves, all brimmed with vitality, making the paladin, who had long been in chaos-corrupted territory, feel as if he had stepped from dark shadows into bright sunlight.
Beyond that, the golden-haired paladin noticed another peculiarity—through his Holy Light senses, he detected countless souls gathering from all directions and sinking into the depths of the mountains. Loranda recalled what he had observed while rescuing local elves in Babel Province.
Although filled with hatred for the stone golems, the elves' souls did not linger where they died. Instead, they were summoned away by some force. Now, it seemed that force was located in the Origin Mountains, possibly what Joshua called the "Forest Soul."
He wasn't wrong.
Joshua could also see the drifting soul-light. These souls of dead elves were filled with unwillingness, helplessness, resentment, and confusion. Days ago, these people had lived peaceful lives, but now they were all dead, killed by stone golems. Everything was so sudden that no elf could accept their death. They would have become earthbound spirits, hating all living things, but now, guided by the Forest Soul, they came here.
In the faintly flickering cyan light of life, the resentment of the vengeful spirits was purified, and the pure souls sank into the earth, deep underground.
The black dragon also followed its instinct, racing straight toward the center of the mountain range. Among the forests, the remains of giant stone statues and stone roads long covered in vines and moss were faintly visible. This was the former capital of the Elven Dynasty. Even though no one had set foot here for nearly a century, the ruins still retained a certain grandeur.
Soon, they arrived at a city ruin that had been ravaged by fire.
It was overgrown with weeds, littered with piles of charred stones and remnants of buildings. Ivy and shrubs clung to them. The wind howled through the ruins, producing a mournful sound among the broken walls.
"This is it."
Joshua gave the command, making the black dragon stop. He turned to observe the surroundings, then said, "Now, we just wait."
"But there's nothing here but ruins..."
Standing at the edge of the black dragon's back, the silver-haired girl frowned as she looked around, but aside from the remains of towers and halls, she found nothing. Lin, beside her, was also observing, but his sharp eyes caught something special—among the ruins of a hall, there was a massive statue, and its image seemed to be an ancient tree supporting the heavens and earth.
"An ancient tree?"
The boy's mind always worked a bit faster than his sister's. Lin murmured thoughtfully, "Forest Soul..."
He seemed to have guessed something.
"How long do we have to wait?"
After more than ten minutes, Loranda grew a bit anxious. His patience wasn't usually this poor, but the unsettling sense of crisis kept him from waiting calmly. Joshua shrugged, watching the soul-light sink into the earth one by one, and said calmly, "Our friend is still dealing with some important matters. Don't worry—it's been watching us. We just need to wait until it has a free hand."
On the airship, the elves clearly saw Joshua's group enter the Origin Mountains. They watched them speed forward, even reaching the center of the range.
"It's the Volcano Dragon! And there are people on its back!"
"What are they going there for? Does anyone know what that place is?"
Sharp-eyed guards quickly identified the half-dragon, but they couldn't make out how many people were on its back. Many were curious about where the Volcano Dragon was headed.
"I know what that place is."
A middle-aged guard happened to know. This elf, who looked more mature than the other younger, stronger guards, frowned and said, "That's where the Elven Dynasty used to worship the Mother Tree, the former Great Temple... What is the Volcano Dragon doing there? Does it worship the Mother Tree too?"
Saying this, he laughed and shook his head, denying his own idea: "Maybe it just ended up there by chance. After all, the Origin Mountains are the safest place in the world right now."
Perhaps that was the case. Even if some were curious about the half-dragon's movements, the vast majority of guards had no spare energy to focus on what the Volcano Dragon was up to. They watched it stay at the former Great Temple site but had no intention of going to communicate.
The Origin Mountains fell silent again, leaving only the wind brushing through the forests and the surging sound of the sea of trees.
This tranquility lasted until, more than ten minutes later, the earth began to rumble.
Under the shocked gaze of the elves on the airship, the ground slowly shook. Starting from the Great Temple site at the center of the mountains, a crack slowly split open in the peak. Countless tendrils, like tree roots, emerged from the gaps in the mud and stone. They writhed, tearing the earth apart, revealing a vast, unfamiliar underground cavern hidden beneath the mountain.
Inside the cavern, countless green orbs flickered with light, floating and rotating in the air, bringing waves of fresh, sharp wind.
Before any of the elves on the airships could react, countless root-like tendrils writhed, forming a giant hand that grabbed the "Volcano Dragon" and everyone on its back, pulling them down into the underground cavern!