To the east, the white sand hilly region.

An engineering team arrived at the mine with a train a few days earlier, and the destroyed mine facilities are now being rebuilt, and the white sand hills are immersed in a busy and orderly atmosphere, with lifting equipment, construction vehicles, construction frames, and separation nets everywhere, and there is one place that stands out from the rest:

Located near the Baishui River, the large-scale "God Crater".

Where the man-made god fell, the huge sinkhole had been closely monitored by Cecil's legions, with several makeshift watchtowers and fortifications monitoring all movement inside and outside the crater, and a small research station had been built near the "bones" at the bottom of the pit.

The terrible man-made god was now only a mutilated skeleton, twisted and mutated bone fragments standing on the ground in a formidable posture, and a small part was buried among the gravel and dirt at the bottom of the pit, and a large amount of flesh and blood remnants were scattered nearby, and those desecrated biological tissues seemed to still have a trace of life, still maintaining some vitality to this day, and constantly exuding a strong magical reaction.

These incredible remnants are undoubtedly valuable research samples.

Accompanied by several apprentices, soldiers, and officers, Pitman walked slowly among the massive skeletal fragments, the old druid with his hands behind his back, his back slightly hunched, his eyes swept over the disturbing wreckage of the neighborhood, some metal frames supporting the crumbling skeletons, and in several areas carved out by the metal frames, some signs inserted on the ground marked with words such as "sampled", "unsampled", "cleaned".

Pitman paused, staring at the skeletal structure in front of him, some of the remaining flesh slowly wriggling between the bones, making some kind of nauseous subtle sound, and falling into convulsions from time to time - as if the part of the biological tissue was still experiencing the phantom pain of battle.

"These things still twitch to this day," one of the officers on the tour whispered, "what a terrible creation......

"The tail of the blue-tailed swamp lizard still twitches and even bounces a week after it is cut off, and nature has shaped these incredible wonders of life, and it is not unusual in itself......" Pittman said casually, "The only thing in front of me is terrifying because it is so large." ”

He then turned to his apprentice: "Take a sample of this location - this should be close to its nerve center, maybe the remaining samples here can tell us if it has such a structure as a 'nerve center'." ”

A few apprentices boldly approached the still twitching and wriggling flesh and activated the cutting tools they carried—the Melting Sword, the Cutting Beam, and the High-Power Saw Blade—powerful and reliable tools that were good companions for the scientists—accompanied by a screeching noise that sparked sparks from the sampling location.

The seemingly soft flesh and fragile bones are actually terrifying in strength, and they can't be cut without some "professional tools".

A rustling creeping sound came from nearby, and the sea serpent in the form of Tyr arched over to Pitman and the others, and the Siren lady raised her head and looked at the scene where the druid apprentices were collecting samples, and her lips were lightly opened, and saliva flowed to the ground.

Then she commented: "I'm telling you, this position has the best taste, it's a rare chewy part of this pile of artificial meat, and it doesn't stuff your teeth......"

The officer beside Pittman suddenly looked strange and said helplessly: "Miss Till, didn't you say not to eat in the unsampled area?" Although your superiors have given you permission to eat here, at least don't interfere with our research......"

Tyr immediately waved his hand: "Out of the way, out of the way, I've tasted a little bit, and it definitely won't affect your work, right, Pittman?" ”

"As long as you don't eat in front of us—it's going to be detrimental to the mental health of my apprentices," Pitman said, glancing at the deep-sea salted fish, then turning his back and continuing to stare at the massive bones and twitching creatures...... It's hard to imagine how they made this ......."

"We have found the place where the giant deer first appeared, and have found a large scale of rifts and caves in the western part of Solinburg, which lead deep underground, where there seems to be an ancient underground complex, from which the monster must have come to the surface," said the accompanying officer, "but the underground situation is too complex and dangerous for further exploration for a while." ”

Pitman pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and said, "...... The lair of the Society of the End of the Dead is indeed underground, but it is a place that is older and more complex than the Fort of Disobedience, and you are right not to venture into it. ”

As a member of the Society of the Dead, he was aware of the existence of the underground facility - but only of it.

The mysterious subterranean complex is a product of antiquity, perhaps as old as the Fortress of Disobedience, but no one knows its true origin or purpose, and the cultists of the end of the world have built a complex network of vines within it to connect the various areas and control the passage to the surface, in addition to the countless traps and secret doors in the dungeon to ward off possible invasions - all of which are subject to change, as are the magic keys that enter the dungeon.

The underground facility may have been severely damaged after the giant deer lost control, but there are certainly a large number of traps remaining.

Pittman had been away from the Mortality for too long, and the information he had was outdated, so he didn't dare to explore it with anyone.

"Report the information, this is not up to us."

The accompanying officer bowed his head: "Yes, Master Pittman." ”

……

Jenny looked up slightly, the broad brim of her visor shielding herself from the intense sun around noon, and the breeze blew her white hair up in her ears.

In the bright skylight, the classical and majestic walls and towers of Saint-Sunil glittered in her sight, fluttering flags fluttered at the head of the city, mighty soldiers stood at their posts, and the quaint and Ansu streets stretched out in the sun, lined with old and jagged houses, and the streets were lined with hurried pedestrians.

The city didn't seem to have changed much from when she left, but it seemed to have changed a lot, and a feeling of familiarity and strangeness came over her, making the eyes of the chief rune master of Cecil inevitably complicated.

An accompanying officer came to Jenny's side and saluted, "Master Jenny, are you going to report directly to Silver Castle?" ”

In Cecil, all the senior technical researchers and master craftsmen had the title of "master", and Jenny was one of the first to receive this title.

"I'd like to go somewhere first," Jenny smiled softly as she looked at the officer with the knightly insignia, "and you take the others to the castle first." ”

"Yes, Master—I'll arrange your escort."

Jenny was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously waved her hand: "Guard? No, I'm familiar with the situation here, I'll just go myself......"

The officer showed a look of embarrassment: "Master, this is an order from the superiors, this city has not yet lifted its special status, and your actions here need to be protected by the military......"

Jenny looked at the knight who had accompanied her all the way from the south to the royal capital, her gentle nature and dislike of causing trouble made her not insist on her opinion, she nodded: "That...... I've done it for you, Mr. Knight. ”

A few minutes later, two black wizard cars with Cecil's insignia left the southern city of St. Sunil and headed down the centuries-old Iron Cross towards the mage quarter of the inner city.

Outside the car window, the old and mottled houses kept receding, the wheels crushed the uneven stone pavement, and the slight bumps seemed to stir Jenny's unquiet thoughts, she leaned against the window, her eyes slowly swept over the familiar streets and buildings with the vehicle moving forward, and swept over the people who still had some vague impressions.

There were fewer pedestrians on the streets than remembered, still dressed in patched, monotonous burlap clothes, hurried and numb, and every now and then someone stopped in the corner of the alley, stretched their necks in the direction of the magic guide car and stared at them in amazement, but soon they would bow their heads in awe, as if they did not dare to look at these "magic monsters" made of steel.

The streets of the civilian area are so narrow that there are crowds even if there are not many pedestrians, and the mechanics who drive the car occasionally honk their horns, and many passers-by bend their necks and bow to the strange steel machine, so much so that some even forgot to give way, and the soldiers had to poke their heads out of the windows and shout loud warnings to passers-by to dodge.

In order to prevent injury to passers-by, the car drove very slowly, and some children curiously approached the magic guide car and pointed at the machines on the side of the road, but they were soon slapped by the adults and dragged home by the ears.

"Although we have been in the city for half a month, we are still very uncomfortable with these new things," said a female magic combat soldier sitting next to Jenny, who was one of the soldiers who followed the First Legion north and took over St. Sunil, and was now incorporated into Jenny's bodyguard, protecting Jenny on the one hand, and acting as a guide for the other soldiers, "The situation is much better now...... On the first day, there were even civilians kneeling in front of the magic guide car and kissing the ground. ”

Jenny sighed softly, "This needs to change...... We've all been through this period. ”

"Yes, we've all been there—when the first magic pump was installed in the village, my father even forbade us to go near the fields for fear that it would eat people, but after only a year, he wanted to scrape together money with his neighbors to buy a threshing machine, because there are never enough machines at the agricultural machinery management station, and the queue is always long, and this year there will be so much food that the manpower will not be able to keep it busy," the soldier laughed, looking at Jenny with respect, "This is all thanks to a master like you." ”

Jenny didn't know how to answer for a while, she was introverted by nature and always addicted to the research room, she was not good at facing this kind of direct praise and tribute, so she had to bow her head and whisper: "Thank you...... But there are more people than me. ”

As they spoke, they had already passed through the civilian quarters of the outer city and entered the more prosperous and prosperous parts of the inner city.

The narrow streets suddenly widened and the houses around them looked much taller and neater, and the roadside began to see well-dressed citizens walking with their heads held high, and at the end of the street, some tall minarets and shiny runes floating above the streets were already in Jenny's eyes.

She took a soft breath.

The mage quarter of Saint-Sunil has arrived.

The two cars passed through the streets of the wealthy district and made a beeline for the mage quarter, where the guards of the entire area had been taken over by the Cecil legion, and the magic guide car with the military marker was unhindered in the mage district.

Under Jenny's guidance, the car eventually stopped in front of a mage tower about four or five stories tall with a lilac spire and an off-white façade.

It is a typical traditional magic tower, built on a solid stone base, with faint magic patterns on the surface of the gray-white façade, heavy and rich oak doors blocked by magical barriers, and above the spire, floating crystals and metal structures slowly rotate around the spire - those crystals and structures have many functions such as surveillance, early warning, combat, etc., Jenny knows them very well.

A small group of soldiers got out of the car and followed Jenny to the magic tower, where the surface of the rune-blocked oak door flickered a few times, and then the runes dispersed and the door slowly opened.

There's no need to knock on the door - the artificial intelligence that controls the tower will recognize visitors and alert the guards.

After waiting for a moment, Jenny saw an apprentice in a dark gray robe emerge from the dark doorway.

His name was Mark, one of the mentor's apprentices.

Not a slave apprentice, a true apprentice.

Jenny didn't have a good impression of him, but he wasn't bad either—he was a young man of average talent, but at least he was worth more than a slave, and that's all Jenny had of him.

Mark came out with his head down, and did not raise his head slightly until he came to Jenny, and he quickly saw the appearance of the person in front of him, and then he noticed the group of heavily armed soldiers behind Jenny, and the two magic guide cars parked not far away.

The young man's expression was a little stunned for a moment, and then he shrunk his neck, and his tone was complicated and embarrassed: "Jenny, you...... Is it really you? ”

"It's me. Go tell the mentor that I'm back. ”