Gianna rubbed her astringent eyes, pulled the floating ball of light closer, and looked more closely at the handwriting on the paper. She estimated that she had been working ten or twelve hours straight, but she didn't have time to look at the clock right now. After days of guessing, failing, and starting all over again, Gianna finally found the right idea, like a commander who had finally discovered the weakness of the wall that needed to be breached, and the excitement of approaching the mystery made her not feel tired at all.

"Okay," she said aloud to herself—no one would hear it anyway. Out of respect, the others were separated from her tent by a certain distance, "If I put this in this line, they would be more or less complete." As for this side......"

She dotted the area with her pen, then pulled over a blank piece of paper and began to list formulas on it. As she was about to fill the page, Gianna suddenly stopped to look up, quickly skimmed through the dense array of symbols and numbers, and gasped.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot a variable!"

Fortunately, she hasn't completely screwed up yet. The mage muttered, "I knew something was wrong," as he filled in the blank space with small print. If Antonidas had seen the messy piece of paper, he would have punished her for rewriting it. But now no one in the camp could read it except her, so it was just an inconsequential vignette.

Then she began to calculate and carefully recorded the results. She let out a small cheer as she drew the last line on the map and watched them meet flawlessly at one point.

"I'll have to tell Alsace about it." She said to herself, trying to get up from the table, but immediately felt a wave of dizziness. After the spirit relaxed, the fatigue that had been ignored suddenly regained its position, his neck stiffened, his shoulders hurt like pins and needles, and there was a feeling of nausea in his throat. She couldn't stop yawning, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Gianna reached for the cup containing the refreshing tea. The moist coolness of her fingertips made her turn her head to meet the tiny water elemental with a small petal on top of the teacup. The little light brown creature lay on the edge of the teacup and burped at her, spitting out a dry stalk of grass.

The mage remembered that she had knocked over a teacup in an hour and summoned a water elemental to save the soaked scratch paper. She sighed, commanded the other teacup to wash herself, then took a cup of tea from the teapot and handed it over.

I don't know how long it cools down, and the refreshing tea doesn't taste very good. Gianna added a few more drops of energy potion to it, and then she felt more comfortable. She rubbed her eyes, got up from her chair, grabbed the stack of papers, and walked out. Before she could lift the curtain, she hurried around again, took a mirror from under the pile of papers, looked at it, and shook her head in disbelief.

Gianna quickly took care of herself before stepping out of the tent. It was earlier than she expected, the sky had turned white, and the two moons were almost invisible, but the night had not completely faded, and a layer of mist gently spread through the mountains and forests, bringing a gentle coolness. The camp was silent, except for the sentries standing guard. Even the griffons huddled together quietly, only to open one eye and glance at her when they heard her move.

But Arthas was already seated on a bench in the center of the camp, fully dressed, his hammer resting on his lap, contemplating the embers of the fire. Dinen was there, too, as he was sharpening a piece of wood with his hunting knife, looking a little absent-minded. Despite this, the warrior spotted her arrival early, as always, and nodded at her, then tapped the paladin's gauntlet with the hilt of his sword as a reminder.

"Gianna!" Arthas immediately stood up to greet her, his pensive expression replaced by a happy smile, "You got up so early. Did you sleep well last night? ”

"Actually, I didn't sleep - but it doesn't matter, I found something to tell you two about the Titan ruins we found."

She showed them the map. Dineen stared at the numbers and formulas for a few seconds, then threw his head back sharply, as if trying to break free from some kind of deceptive trap. In a calm and desperate tone, he said, "Just tell me the conclusion." ”

Gianna sighed unexpectedly.

"I found patterns in the shape and location of those rocks, proving that they belonged to fragments of a large building. It is quite possible that an explosion caused them to fall off and be thrown to shore. ”

"So, the main body is here?" After carefully studying the map, Arthas asked, pointing to the meeting point.

Dinen glanced at the location he was pointing at and commented, "Same as Soladin said." ”

Gianna's eyes widened and she looked at the two of them in surprise.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'the same as Soladin said'?"

Arthas slumped on the bench.

"I was about to tell you about it." He said apologetically, "Last night Dineen and I found King Soladin, his ghost, to be exact, by the lake. He personally told us what was going on here - Gianna? ”

Gianna buried her face in her hands and was silent for a few moments. She couldn't help but think of smashed locks, severed knots, blasted labyrinth walls, and other acts of violence that completely ignored the puzzle itself. Even if the puzzle wasn't of her mind, the frustration she felt at this point was far greater than that.

"I'm really sorry, Gianna."

"It's not your fault." "You can't have expected this in advance," she said sullenly. Not all dead people become ghosts. ”

And not all ghosts can keep their sanity too. So a 3,000-year-old ghost who is still conscious is almost unique. It made her feel a little better to think about it, at least next time, when they weren't so lucky, her work would not be useless, but a safe guarantee to the truth.

Gianna took a loud breath, which was a bit rude but effective in calming her mind. Finally, she put down her hand, looked up, and said freely, "Well, at least I was happy when I got the answer, and I didn't waste too much time." ”

"I should have told you about it last night." Arthas said guiltily.

"Oh no, don't, that's worse." Gianna waved her hand repeatedly. She couldn't think of anything more irritating than being told the answer when she finally got her hands on it, "But next time you're going to have to call me along—oh my god, I missed the chance to meet such a legend!" By the way, what exactly did he say? ”

Whatever kind of obsession made the ancient king persist in lingering here for so long, it must be a very important reason. She was curious.

"The location you've calculated," Arthas explained, pointing to the markers on the map, "is a tomb built by the ancient Vikus, and it houses the Titan Guardian Tyr, and an enemy he has been battling but not killing. ”

Gianna finally resisted the urge to exclaim and listened to him.

"Three thousand years ago, King Soladin and his retinue followed legend and found this place. Out of curiosity, they broke in, an act that awakened the monster. Despite his efforts to make amends for his mistake after realizing his mistake, King Soladin, like Tyr, failed to kill his opponent completely. So he stayed, even in his ghostly form, to find," Arthas gestured to Dinein, "a warrior who can do that." ”

"He stuck his sword in the head of the thing." Dinen added calmly, "It looks like I don't have a choice. ”

"So we've promised him." Glancing at the sky, Alsace said, "When the sun rises, we start to prepare." ”

Then he turned to Dinen and said equally calmly, "If you dare to propose that I stay in the camp, I will break your nose." ”

Dinen didn't say anything, but suddenly he looked like he was about to explode. If he was a lion, he would have had his claws exposed at this time, his mane standing upside down, and he would have to roar wildly the next moment. Gianna was amazed that Arthas was still sitting so calmly and facing him. At least she flinched back involuntarily as Dineen slammed to her feet.

But he just strode away without saying a word, the hunting knife still in his hand, as if he were on his way to kill someone. Gianna looked at Dineen's back worriedly and whispered, "He's just worried about you." ”

"I know, Gianna." Arthas replied. Although his voice was still soft, the look on his face showed that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

So she stopped talking, but sat quietly with him, watching as the morning sun gradually dyed the sky golden.

***

Of course he knew Dineen was worried. He has the blood of a king in his veins, and he will become a king in the future. This is destined to have people who will always worry about him and hope that he can stay away from danger.

But he wasn't just a future king. He is, and hopes to always be, a fighter and a friend. The character cultivated by his education made him unwilling to take action while others were at risk, and the pride cultivated by his training and hard work could not tolerate this.

Alsace looked at the lake. The water was so clear that he could see the straight black shadow underneath the water. Although the approximate extent has been delineated, the exact location of the mausoleum still needs to be explored. Scouts carry ropes with them when they dive into the water, anchoring them to the bottom of the lake at intervals so that they and those who come after them don't get lost.

"They sent a signal back, Your Highness." Farrick reported, "We can go down." ”

Arthas nodded. He stepped into the lake and let the water gradually overflow him. Going into the water in armor is undoubtedly a fool's errand, but not if you have a mage to help you. Gianna cast spells on everyone so that they could move freely underwater. When the water level rose to his mouth, he inhaled cautiously, did not choke, and swam deeper with confidence.

He wasn't worried about any danger, and the scout team led by Dineen would never leave hidden dangers behind. As the water grew deeper and the light began to dim, Arthas followed the rope as the others followed him.

Before reaching the end of the rope, he saw his destination. A large disk at the bottom of the lake, as large as a square, the same texture as the one they found in the woods, had been torn apart, revealing the cavern sealed below. The rope was driven to the bottom of a nearby lake, where a scout stood by and motioned to them.

The corridor under the disc is overgrown with aquatic plants, and the unobscured part of the wall has been deliberately polished. At first the tunnel was downward, and Arthas thought they had to stay in the water, but after a while it turned upward again, and finally came out of the water. He heard Farrick sigh of relief behind him, and it was clear that he wasn't the only one who wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

But he immediately smelled blood, and saw Dinen standing next to a corpse, and the other scouts gathered behind him, sitting or standing, each wounded. Arthas immediately took the hammer in his hand and walked briskly up the ramps and steps, not even having time to look around: "What's going on?" ”

Dinein's face was gloomy and contorted with disgust, and he gestured to the corpse with the shield in his hand and replied, "The Faceless One." ”

The corpse was about two people tall, covered in spiked carapaces in places, and the rest was smooth and tough pink muscles, like the tentacles of an octopus. On both arms are several bifurcated tentacles with blue glowing lines on the inside, and only two fingers on both feet. The monstrous creature was dying face down, so Arthas had no way of knowing if it was literally faceless. He held back his disgust and looked at it cautiously, "Have you ever encountered something like this?" ”

Dineen snorted: "More than once." ”

Arthas relaxed a little, at least some of them had something to know about this enemy: "I'll go and see the wounded first." ”

The men who followed him were already ahead of him, treating the wounds that could be treated with bandages and potions. Arthas healed a man's arm, and his bones were almost all shattered. It was only after he was done that he remembered to observe his surroundings.

The antechamber they were in was extremely wide, with two flights of stairs wide enough for carriages to pass through, and the steps seemed to have been designed for giants, each requiring two extra steps. The staircase was flanked by imposing statues, the top of which was too dark to see in the dome, and Arthas could guarantee that they would not be able to reach their height. There is still a wide area further outward from the statue, and the light of the torch cannot reach the boundary. Everything they could see had a platinum-like hue, elegant lines and a majestic spirit. He couldn't help but think of what Soladin had said.

When I saw the antechamber, I knew I had made a big discovery. The door was unusually familiar, as if it had come from a long-lost memory. ’

Now Arthas understands him. He had never seen or even heard of anything like it in his life. But at this time, it felt quite familiar. He looked at the place in a daze, and in a trance he couldn't figure out whether he was witnessing it himself or looking through someone else's eyes.

There was only one place where he felt uncomfortable. On either side of the front door, there are bowl-shaped bases, each holding a ball that emits a purple-black light, and the light is disgusting. It didn't take anyone to ask Arthas to know that it was a symbol of corruption, a product of the same origin as the dead monster. A natural anger arose at the defilement of this sacred and solemn place. He looked at the others and saw the same emotion in their eyes.

"Come on, partner." Dinen said, "Let's go and finish this battle." ”