Siegel didn't want Janet to take the risk, but he was worried that she would sneak along, so he had to go into the cave together. The mage's wand kept shining and walked in front, and Janet walked gently behind with a dragon's tooth dagger. The outer cavern had been scouted many times, and it was nothing more than a simple, dwarven-style stone hall, rough, sturdy, and majestic. The air was damp and cold, mixed with the smell of dirt, rotting leaves, and garbage, only slightly better than the camp outside.

However, with the help of magic, the two of them saw a different scene: there was a black stone slab on the ground, full of esoteric and difficult dwarven runes, unharmed by the wear and tear of time, glowing faintly in the magical vision. Between the two conical pillars, a metal gate decorated with a dragon head is hidden, the rings on which are rusted, but the gate itself has been protected from the erosion of time. Siegel stepped forward and reached out to pull the knocker. With a slight tremble, the faucet let out a low whin, and a passable gap emerged from between the two doors.

The deep, pitch-black passage was hidden behind the gate, and a hot and dry wind blew out of it, blowing across Siegel's face, giving him the illusion that he was back in summer. He reached in first and raised the sound of the incantation. The light grew brighter and farther away, but still couldn't reach the end of the passage.

The two corpses lay quietly by the stone walls of the passageway, their faces blue, the blood from their eyes, noses, and ears long since dried but still visible, and with their backward twisted fingers and open mouths, Siegel could tell that they had died of bone blast, a plague spread through contact with wounds.

He pulled a rope from his backpack and tied it to the feet of the two corpses, careful not to make direct contact. He then threw the other end of the rope out and wrote a note explaining the situation. Upon entering the gate, Siegel discovered that the two of them were affected by the runic circle here, also known as the invisible and silent existence, as if they were in another world. The people outside couldn't see the metal gate, and they couldn't see or hear Siegel and Janet now, but they could find the rope and find the note. As soon as the rope is pulled, the two bodies will be dragged out and properly disposed of outside according to the instructions on the note.

"Why don't you let them in along the rope?" asked Janet, taking Siegel by the arm, "There is strength in numbers." ”

"It's not just the doorway that has spells to deceive the senses, it's also inside the passageway. When they come in, they are no different from the blind, and we can't take care of them, and they add useless trouble. ”

The two men walked forward in pairs, taking a closer look at their surroundings. This passage is semi-circular in shape, more than three meters high, and even if you jump, you can't reach the top. The ground was spotless, so Siegel couldn't track the footprints. The walls on both sides of the passage were decorated with many long, thick bones, and the two men took a closer look and guessed that they were keels.

"It's like that red dragon skeleton of the Jackdaw Tribe. Janet said, "It's just a little smaller. ”

"It's better not to move. Siegel took Janet's hand. "I still remember the record in "Jia Kun's Travels" that whenever there is a skull on the wall, you must knock it between your eyes, otherwise you will be attacked with poisonous needles and slashers. ”

Two men cautiously walked forward, one focusing on the wall on one side. They walked a full two hundred meters and finally found a large pile of corpses in the passage. They were all beheaded and dismembered, with seven hired knights and a Dawn Guard. Their corpses were so hard that they didn't stench even when their internal organs were spilled on the ground. Siegel speculated that it might have something to do with the strange heat and dryness of the place, or some special effect of the rune spell.

On the wall next to the pile of corpses, there was a complete orc head embedded in the center of a pile of dragon bones, and its forehead part appeared unusually smooth and flat. Siegel walked over and tapped it lightly with his wand. I only heard a click in the wall, followed by a rhythmic thump, thump.

"Go over first, after the knock is over, the mechanism here will be restored, and you can only pass through it by knocking the skull again. Siegel took Janet's hand, took two quick steps, and left the danger area before saying, "Just now there were 7 mercenary knights, plus two at the door, and the number of missing mercenaries is only one person." One of the Guardians of Dawn died, but His Highness should have passed through here and continued on his way. ”

"Siegel, what will I do when I go back? Will there be this mechanism again?" asked Janet.

"Yes, pay attention to beating the skull. Siegel said, "Knock knock means you can pass and it's safe." It's the sound of a heartbeat, which represents life, if you hear a whining sound, it's the sound of breathing, let you run, if you hear a roar, it's the sound of a dragon, get down and avoid the dragon's breath. Remember that, follow me. ”

The two men walked slowly, using the light of magic to go deeper into the cavern. The passage became narrower and narrower, from eight people abreast of each other to only two people walking together. It's like a canyon outside, with a huge entrance and a tightened inside, a trap. Siegel was a little worried. He stopped, and once again recalled the record in the book "Jia Kun's Travels": the front should be the dragon's throat, and only the blood of the true dragon and the blood of the true king can pass through.

They kept moving forward, watching the endless stream of bones on both sides, finding the skulls of various monsters inside, beating them, and then jumping over the traps. The journey seems monotonous and tedious, and the passage never seems to end. Siegel held his wand, and the light could only shine more than ten meters in front of him and behind him, and beyond that it was darkness. In this oppressive environment, the two young adventurers didn't want to talk either, they just held hands tightly and relied on each other's presence to stay strong.

Here, it is difficult to calculate both distance and time, so they do not know how long they have walked. When they were hungry, the two of them stopped and took out dry food and ate a few bites. In the empty and deep passage, the sound of chewing wheat cakes became an echo, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled, feeling much more relaxed.

"Why did the dwarves kill so many dragons?" asked Janet, stroking the bones on the wall.

"I don't know. Siegel shook his head and replied with a frown, "It is very strange that the scale of the war or the number of dragons killed has never been mentioned in the historical records. Although the dragons are not related to each other, and most of them are solitary creatures, if such a large number of dragons were killed, the dragons would have banded together to wage a war of revenge. The dwarven kingdom is strong, but it's not as good as the dragons—why is that?"

Siegel stopped suddenly, and Janet was also grabbed by him, and her hands hurt from tugging. She looked at Siegel with a frightened and nervous expression, and suddenly became nervous in the night, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?

"How far have we gone?" Siegel lowered his voice and a drop of sweat ran down his forehead, and he asked again, "How far have we gone?"

"I don't know, but it's a long way off. ”

"It's long overdue to be out of the circle's sphere of influence. Siegel pointed to his eyes and then to his surroundings, "Are you sure what you're seeing is still true?"

The two men looked at each other, drew their weapons, and stood back to back. "What now, can you still cast spells to break the illusion?" asked Janet.

"No, I don't have enough materials to cast that spell again. If you don't want to quit, you can only move forward. Come, tie the rope around our waists. Siegel said.

They walked more slowly. Siegel shook off his long whip - the longest weapon on his hand - and slammed the ground and walls in his direction, finding his way with a ferocious thump. The passage reverberated with a "pop" sound, which continued to vibrate, and finally turned into a roar.

Fortunately, the passage is not infinitely extended, and they soon see the end. A circular metal gate emerges in the light, decorated with a dragon head struck by an axe. A fist-sized ruby adorns the sky in one corner of the motif, symbolizing the position of the sun. The axe was thrown from the sun and killed the dragon.

In the lower part of the motif, blood made of silver flows from the dragon's shattered skull, converging in the keyhole beneath the round door. It was a small palm-shaped tray with the words "Dragon's Blood of the Contributors, True Blood of the Ruler" written in Mora Dwarven language next to it.

"Dwarves are a very blood-based society, and their power is hidden in the bloodline, passed down from generation to generation. The proverb 'born to be a blacksmith' is for dwarves. Therefore, the dwarves believe that the True King clan must be a clan of blood inheritance. Siegel said.

"And how do you get in this door?" asked Janet, "where did the blood of the dwarven royal family come from?"

"As mentioned, he invented a bloodline key technique to get through this gate, but I have a better way. Siegel pulled out a vial, about a finger's length, from his backpack, containing a dark red, semi-condensated solid. "This is the blood of that red dragon, I collected several bottles, and I thought it would be better to keep it as a spellcasting material. Since you can use the contributor's dragon blood here, it's time to give it a try. ”

Janet grabbed him. As a spy, Kitten is often required to enter some hidden and protected areas to operate, and she is more cautious. Although this experience could not be told to Siegel, Janet admonished him in other ways: "You say that a mage who can invent spells is very strong?"

"Of course that's right, Jia Kun is naturally very strong. Siegel replied.

"Will he have no dragon blood?"

Siegel paused for a moment, and he took the dragon blood vial back, as he understood what Janet meant. You can't be too careful when dealing with these mysterious mechanisms. A mage like Jia Kun who can invent his own spells should have multiple ways to open a door: lava, ice, teleportation, and transformation. But he still honestly went back and invented the bloodline key technique used to deceive the mechanism.

"I'm here to use Jia Kun's spells, but this is also risky, my magic skills are definitely not as good as his, and the effect of the spell may be greatly affected. Siegel placed a cup on the floor, mixed pearl powder, cat grass root, and his own blood, lit jasmine incense, stirred the ingredients with his wand, and chanted incantations. The spell was complex and lengthy, but Siegel had a good memory, and every fragment was imprinted in his mind. It took about fifteen minutes for the mantra to finish. The material in the cup turned into some silvery-white, odorless liquid.

"Let's both have a little bit, I think it's enough. Drinking this potion was like scraping the throat with a file, and both of them curled up in pain. After a short while, the potion began to take effect, and the first feeling of the two people was that the body odor on each other's body was completely gone, and the breath exhaled from their mouths no longer tasted. After another moment, Siegel was completely unaware of the characteristics of Janet's demonic bloodline.

"Well, I'm guessing it's all the result of the spell taking effect. Let's try it. Siegel pressed his palm against the tray beneath the metal round door, and a tingling pain came from his fingertips. Then, after a long while, the door did not move, and there was no intention of opening it at all.

"Aren't spells useful?" said Janet as she approached the door and nudged lightly. The unusually heavy metal door shook like a ripple of water, and Janet's hand went straight through it.

"Is this an illusion or the right way to pass it?" Siegel didn't understand. He was about to step forward to inspect the gate when he saw Janet looking horrified in the direction they had come.

At the edge of the light, at the junction of darkness and light, the two felt a shadow rise. Siegel strengthened the brightness of his wand, and then looked as hard as he could, and sure enough, there was a growing shadow. Soon, a tall figure stood up, at the same height as the passage, and looked down at the two of them. The dark body sucked in the light, and the surrounding scene distorted. Siegel felt the fingers touching his wand begin to tingle, like a chillbite from the cold. A vicious hiss echoed in his ears, like the last greedy breath of a dying man. Just looking at this shadow made the two of them tear up and their heads split. Then, the shadow began to move slowly.

Janet clung to Siegel, and the cold bodies of both of them trembled violently. They had experienced Long Wei, and it was a dangerous feeling of fear, but this black shadow was different. In the darkness there is only the breath of pure death. Death can be given many titles, the sacred, the great, the lowly, the forgotten. But Siegel had only one feeling from the dark shadow—an unstoppable death.

Flesh and blood will die.

"We can't beat it. Siegel took out the vial of dragon's blood and smashed it on the tray, unaware of the punctured palm. He grabbed Janet's arm and shouted, "Run!"