A team operating in the vicinity lost contact and didn't even have time to release the worms, which alerted the Thorderlin team who were operating in the Dark Mountains.

In a secluded cave, the Typhon soldiers were taking time to rest, while several knights in the group whispered about the lost group, and the atmosphere was very serious.

"That team is so unlucky that they may have been exposed to the nearby Ansu army," said one of the knights, "and it is likely to be a large force of regular troops that can annihilate an elite squad in a short period of time, so that they don't even have time to release the slightest message." ”

"This neighborhood should be the pioneer established by the legendary 'Recovery Pioneer', right?" Another knight recalled the information he had before he set off, "Could it be that the 'Pioneer Duke' has already sealed off the mountains around the territory?" Didn't he just gain a foothold in the region? ”

"Maybe we are wrong, he has a lot of support from the Ansu royal family," the last knight guessed, "if he is going to rebuild the entire southern Ansu defense, then he should have brought a large number of troops with him......"

"The communication of the other teams is still normal......"

The knights whispered discussions, but their attention was more focused on Thorderlin, who was closing his eyes not far away.

The knights knew very well that although there were so many Imperial warriors active, in fact, the entire infiltration plan in the Dark Mountains was completely centered on this one elven commander - this high-level ranger was the mind of the whole operation, and the role of those ordinary soldiers and even knights and mages was only to collect intelligence for the mind and find out the way forward.

On the one hand, because the infiltration troops do not exist to fight the enemy head-on, and on the other hand, even if a group of strong people are sent to carry out the infiltration mission regardless of the cost, these strong men with high combat effectiveness may not be much stronger than experienced soldiers when collecting intelligence and drawing maps, but in the case of being intercepted and killed when the same identity is exposed, It is very difficult for a strong man trapped in the enemy's defense line to come back alive like an ordinary soldier, so the cost is frighteningly high but there will be no additional benefits, so in the entire infiltration operation, in addition to Thorderlin, a high-level ranger, there is only a middle-level mage in the other "side team".

Here, Thorderling is the backbone of them all.

The backbone didn't say anything after learning that a team had lost contact, and he just quietly thought about life on the sidelines.

"My lord," one of the mages in the team couldn't help himself, and he approached Thorderling, "we should take action—it's better to send back information or continue the search for clues to the missing team than to wait here." ”

Thorderling opened his eyes and said unhurriedly, "Do you think the rumored ancient duke who came back from the dead is true?" ”

"To be honest, I don't believe it," the mage was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "I've only heard of such things as resurrection from the dead, but mages are a pragmatic group, and I don't believe in this phenomenon that cannot be explained by theory unless I see it with my own eyes." ”

"Yes......" Sölderlin was noncommittal, and was silent for a moment before continuing, "but what Gauvin Cecil did best seven hundred years ago was to do things that defied conventions, and I really think ...... He had the ability to crawl out of the coffin after seven hundred years. ”

The mage listened inexplicably: "My lord? ”

"Don't worry," Thorderling shook his head, "Didn't I send two soldiers before—I was waiting for news from them." ”

As if waiting for Thorderlin's words, the two soldiers who had been sent out to reconnoiter the situation returned to the hideout.

"My lord," said one of the returning soldiers, hurried over to Thorderlin, "we have found an open-pit mine halfway up the mountain!" And it's working! ”

"An open-pit mine under construction"? The mage beside Thorderling was stunned for a moment, "In this winter? ”

Thorderling swept away his previous indifferent appearance, and he became energetic: "Bring me the map - where is the approximate location of the mine?" ”

Someone handed over a rough topographical map, and the soldier returning from reconnaissance roughly described the location of the mine: "In this place, between two mountain beams, there is a large open field—the mine is very large, and God knows how long it has been dug to get that big." There were a lot of people working in the mines, and there were many soldiers guarding the perimeter, so we didn't dare to approach for fear of exposure. ”

Thorderling immediately lowered his head and made it on the map: "The team that lost contact before had an accident on this route...... The mine is located in this location...... And so it was. ”

Several knights in the team had already come over at this time, and they quickly understood what Toldling meant: "The team that had the accident accidentally bumped into the guards around the mine?" ”

"That should be the case, but that's good news," Thorderling looked up, "it means that the Pioneer Lord didn't lock down the entire mountainous area, and the missing team was unlucky enough to crash into the opponent's stronghold. ”

"But in this way, the lords here should have raised their vigilance......"

"Yes, he must have increased his vigilance, the mine and the surrounding area will definitely be more closely guarded than before, but we must go over and see," Toldlin pointed to the general location of the mine on the map, "The price to be paid for starting work in the winter and mining deep in the mountains is huge, and there are very strong guards around this mine, this place must be very important!" ”

The military mage next to him also realized the importance of the open-pit mine, and couldn't help but speak: "Even the Ansu royal family specially sent a 'founding duke' to this place to explore, maybe it is also for this mine...... Are they hiding from others? ”

Thorderling put away the map: "Put out the campfire, cover up the traces, and let's find out what the Ansu are doing in this mountain range." ”

Knowing what had happened to them, Thorderling's team approached the open-pit mine hidden deep in the mountains in a more cautious way, dodging all possible patrols, navigating between steep rocks and vines, relying on elven magic, the team made this incredible leap, and finally lurked at one of the best observation points near the mine.

As the scout said, it was indeed a very large quarry - it was hidden deep in the mountains (and it was not hidden), I am afraid that it had been developed for a long time to have such a scale (it took two and a half days to bomb), a large number of unfortunate mine slave laborers were mining under the supervision of the soldiers in the cold wind (they were all reported in line for half a day at the government affairs hall), and in the area around the mine, God knows how many Ansu troops (only a few patrols) guarding this secret mine were still hidden.

It looks like there are tons of secrets hidden, and I'm afraid that there are ancient seals buried under the mine that can summon evil gods.

"Can't get any closer, there are a few watchtowers around the mine, see?" Thorderling reminded the mage beside him, "Summon a mage's eye and see if you can sneak around the underside of the watchtower and see what those men are digging in the mountains." ”

"Understood." The mage nodded, silently chanting a brief incantation, and then a glimmering mage's eye, barely visible during the day, emerged from the air beside him.

The mage manipulated the Eye to slowly approach the quarry, and as he passed the watchtowers, he couldn't help but wonder: the soldiers on the watchtowers were looking around with a strange-looking metal tube attached to them, what was that?

There is no magic reaction, so you shouldn't care.

The mage who manipulated the MONOCULUS put aside the soldiers on the watchtower and concentrated on controlling the mage's eye to slowly bypass the base of the watchtower, but at this moment, a strange "click" sound suddenly came from nearby, which startled him in his heart, and the spell guidance was interrupted.

And before the click sounded, Thorderling had already sensed the aura that suddenly appeared in all directions, he instantly realized that he and his own people had been exposed, so he no longer lurked but jumped up directly, and at the same time he had already lifted the short bow in his hand, and the three feathered arrows surrounded by the pale green cyclone had been on the bowstring at some point, and there was no aiming process at all, he raised his hand and shot three arrows in a row, shooting at the direction where the most powerful breath in his perception was, and at the same time shouted a warning: "Prepare for battle!" ”

Immediately after, there were three crisp sounds in the distance, which was the sound of the feathered arrows wrapped in magic being blocked by the personality, and Thorderling and the Typhon warriors who had just reacted looked up and saw a tall, heavily armed man standing on a boulder in the distance, holding a long black sword in his hand, his eyes sharp and calm, and behind him and around him, one soldier after another stood up - the soldiers quickly formed a siege network.

Gawain looked at the blonde elf standing between Typhon's soldiers from a distance, a little surprised and a little amused: "I guessed right, Thorderlin - why are you in this place?" ”

Compared to Gawain's relative calmness, Sölderlin was closer to shock when he saw Gawain, he stared at the familiar figure, and the cold and indifferent image he had maintained for a long time almost didn't hold back: "You are—"

"Elves shouldn't have a bad memory, right," Gawain spread his hands, "The old boss has forgotten?" ”

"Are you really that Gawain Cecil?" The high-level elf ranger's face quickly calmed down, his eyes became extremely serious and sharp, he didn't put down the short bow in his hand, but put a feather arrow on the bowstring again, "You really came back from the dead?" ”

Not only that, but the Typhon warriors around him were ready for battle one by one—although they had already heard that their commander and the Ansu Lord in the distance were old acquaintances, and that the Ansu Lord was probably the legendary hero from seven hundred years ago, both of which shocked them, but their long-trained instincts and loyalty to the Empire made them clench their swords and staff almost reflexively.