noveltune Chapter 186 The Visitor
Chapter 186 The Visitor
Chapter 186 The Visitor
Rolin carefully scanned the scratched area with his Insight Ring. The echo unit detected a faint, almost negligible, peculiar energy lingering in the air.
It is neither fire, nor earth, nor common elemental energy; rather, it is more like a complex energy that has undergone high transformation and compression, with properties leaning towards order and extraction, and indeed contains a hint of discordant coldness.
"It's not from native organisms, nor is it an energy source commonly used by known wizarding schools," Rowling said in a low voice, making his judgment.
"The other party was very cautious and concealed most of their features."
"Continue to track the trail," Wizard Horn ordered.
The trail pointed to the rift valley below. The rift valley was narrow and deep, only wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side, and dimly lit, with only a sliver of dark red sunlight shining down from above.
The air was even more stifling, and the sense of chaos in the energy background was slightly enhanced.
The team entered the rift valley one by one, maintaining a high level of vigilance.
The rock lizard led the way; its skin seemed to subtly change color and texture, making it almost invisible among the dimly lit rock walls. It specialized in tracking and providing early warning in complex terrain.
The ground inside the rift valley is uneven and scattered with gravel.
Tracking becomes more difficult, but the rock lizard can always find the direction of the faint trace from the almost imperceptible displacement of rubble or the fine dust on the rock wall.
The other party had obviously noticed the concealment, but in this complex environment, completely erasing the traces was almost impossible.
After descending about two hundred meters, the rift valley began to branch off.
The traces became blurred at the main intersection, seemingly scattered in several directions.
"Did they split up? Or is this just a smokescreen?" Cassan frowned.
Luo Lin walked to the center of the fork in the road, closed his eyes, and maximized the perception of the Insight Ring, while simultaneously activating the active scanning mode of the [Rift Perception Patch] on his wrist.
Invisible perceptual ripples spread like mercury across the ground, meticulously examining the energy environment and spatial structure at the entrance of each fork in the road.
At the corner of the rock wall at the entrance to the second fork in the road on the left, he caught a trace of unnatural energy that was clearer and colder than before.
Moreover, the spatial structure seems to have an extremely faint, unnatural wrinkle, as if it has been gently "squeezed" by something and has not yet fully recovered its smoothness.
"This way," Rowling pointed to the fork in the road.
"The residual energy is more obvious, and there are also subtle disturbances in the space."
"It could be the main path, or—the other party used some kind of short-range spatial movement or obstacle-crossing technique here, leaving a deeper trace."
Wizard Horn and Cassan exchanged a glance and nodded.
"Take this route! Stay alert, the opponent may possess spatial abilities or equipment."
The group turned onto a narrower, more winding side road.
Not far ahead, the rock lizard scouting ahead issued another warning: "Thirty meters ahead, around the corner, there's a faint, unnatural, and stable light source; it's likely a camp or temporary outpost!"
Everyone immediately stopped, extinguished all unnecessary energy flashes, and entered stealth mode.
Wizard Horn gave a gesture, and Nightshade and Rock Lizard climbed the rock wall silently like geckos, sneaking forward from the shadows above to scout.
A moment later, Nightshade relayed a message: "Small temporary camp confirmed."
"Three—no, four goals."
"Form — Non-human! Humanoid, but its body is covered with a dark gray, smooth carapace or exoskeleton, and there is a faint glow at the joints."
"They are operating around a suspended, constantly rotating dark silver polyhedral device."
"The device emits a stable cold light, and the surrounding energy is extracted in an orderly manner."
"No obvious sentry posts were found, but there was a faint energy shield around the camp."
Non-human?
Humanoid?
Dark silver polyhedral device?
A thought struck Rowling, and he immediately thought of the style of the Observer's Relics!
Could these visitors be related to the ancient Observer civilization?
Or perhaps it's some otherworldly being that inherited the observer's technology?
Wizard Horn had clearly thought of this as well, and his expression became even more serious.
"Can you tell the difference in strength?"
"The energy fluctuations are well-converged, making them difficult to judge precisely."
"But based on the initial assessment of the demeanor and the oppressive feeling of the energy field, it is at least equivalent to the second ring, and possibly stronger."
"That device—its energy response is very peculiar. It doesn't seem like an attack or defense type; it's more like—a scanning or communication node," Nightshade reported.
Four non-human beings with at least the strength of the second ring, carrying devices resembling those of the Observer, established temporary scanning points at the edge of the debris.
"We can't force our way in," Cassan whispered.
"Our strength and objectives are unclear. If a conflict breaks out, we may not have the upper hand and could even expose our whereabouts."
Wizard Horn nodded: "Record the footage, gather as much characteristic data as possible about the device and the target, then retreat."
"Be careful not to disturb the energy shielding field."
Roland immediately took out a high-precision, energy spectrum recording stealth imaging crystal and, guided by Nightshade and Rock Lizard, carefully adjusted the angle to aim at the camp behind the corner.
With the magnified view provided by the imaging crystal, the campsite was clearly displayed on a small screen shared by everyone via the communication crystal.
Those were indeed four non-human beings.
They are about the same height as humans, but more slender, covered with streamlined, smooth, dark gray carapaces, with crystal nodes that emit a faint blue light embedded at their joints.
It has no obvious facial features; its face is a smooth, curved surface with a visual organ in the center that resembles a compound eye, composed of countless tiny hexagonal lattices, shimmering with a calm, eerie light.
They move silently, their shells seemingly able to absorb and deflect most energy fluctuations.
In the center of the camp, a dark silver polyhedral device, about half the height of a person, floats in the air. Its surface is smooth, and it rotates slowly, emitting a soft, milky white cold light.
The light was not dazzling, but when it shone on the surrounding rock walls, the energy veins inside the rock walls could be clearly seen, as if through X-ray vision.
Several thin beams of light extend from the bottom of the device, connecting to several small, similarly styled receivers on the ground, clearly continuously scanning and analyzing the surrounding geological and energy structures.
A non-human being is rapidly tapping on the surface of the device with its slender "fingers" that seem to extend from a carapace. The interface is projected into the air as a light screen, displaying constantly scrolling complex symbols and energy diagrams.
The style of those symbols is similar to that of the Observer runes, but they are more concise and abstract!
"They're scanning the ley lines and the structure of space—what are they looking for?" Ella whispered.
Just then, the non-human entity operating the device suddenly stopped, and its compound eye organs turned towards the corner where Rolin and the others were hiding!
Although separated by an energy shield and rock walls, the chilling gaze sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
Discovered?
Or is it a routine scan?
The non-human beings communicated a few times in their own unique, rapid, and silent manner. Then one of them walked to the edge of the camp and raised its arm in the direction of Rolin and the others.
The armor at the front of the arm slid open, revealing an embedded, complex dark blue crystal firing port!
"Prepare for defense! We may have been exposed!" Wizard Horn whispered.
However, the non-human entity did not launch any offensive energy. Instead, it shot out an extremely thin, almost invisible pale blue scanning beam from the crystal's emission port. As if it were alive, the beam began to move slowly along the rock wall, scanning the area outside the energy-shrouded field!
It's an active detection scan!
They are suspicious!