“You two, follow me.”
Ultimately, Balin let out a deep sigh and turned to lead the way with Grom.
Lin Gui and Theia exchanged a glance and followed behind.
They trailed Balin through a labyrinth of intricate tunnels, twisting and turning,
until they reached the Fortress Lord’s manor nestled deep within the mountain's core.
Balin’s office was not extravagant.
The walls were rough-hewn rock, covered in maps and design sketches.
A heavy metal desk occupied the center, piled high with documents.
A few sturdy stone chairs were arranged around the desk.
“Sit.”
Balin pointed to the chairs and sat down heavily first.
He clasped his hands on the desk, his expression solemn.
“Lin Gui lad, you are determined to go to the Wall of Sighs.”
“But... do you really know how terrifying that place is?”
Lin Gui settled into a stone chair, recalling his information.
He thought of the intelligence provided by Eli the scholar.
“I know a bit.”
“The Wall of Sighs was once the largest Forbidden Zone on the Akara Continent.”
Why did he say “once”?
Because after the Dark Tide two years ago,
a Forbidden Zone far more terrifying than it had been born.
The eternally burning “Hell Mountains,” the Heras Mountains.
Lin Gui continued, his voice steady:
“As for the Wall of Sighs itself...”
He paused, his voice dropping an octave.
“It cuts off the north-south passage on the western side of the continent.”
“To this day, no one has successfully crossed it.”
“Not even the most experienced pioneering teams of the Golden Route,”
“nor even those of Epic rank.”
He raised his eyes to look at Balin.
“The weak who attempt to cross it lose their minds shortly after stepping inside.”
“Ultimately, they end their own lives in madness.”
“And the powerful explorers...”
Lin Gui shook his head.
“In the end, they too completely lose their way,”
“and die trapped amidst that dense mist and eerie echoes.”
The office fell silent.
Only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard.
“I’ve heard the only way to stay there temporarily...”
Lin Gui added slowly,
“is to use the ‘dying’ as guides.”
“By utilizing the fading aura of life on them,”
“one can maintain a brief safe path within the wall.”
After finishing, he looked at Balin.
Surprise flickered in Balin’s eyes.
He had originally thought Lin Gui was just acting on hot-headed impulse, knowing nothing of that desperate land,
but he hadn't expected the other to have such deep knowledge,
even knowing secrets like the “dying as guides.”
Seeing Balin’s astonishment, Lin Gui added:
“The scholar from the North Wind caravan told me all of this.”
Upon hearing that, Balin couldn't help but marvel:
“It seems that little lass Freya has recruited quite a remarkable young fellow.”
He tapped his thick fingers against the desktop.
“That bit of information is kept tightly under wraps by the campaign forces on the front lines.”
“For that scholar to know it... he’s no ordinary man.”
In a long-distance transport team, the status of a scholar was of paramount importance.
They were not only responsible for planning the safest and most efficient routes,
but also for identifying potential risks along the way—weather, terrain, and demon habits.
They used their vast knowledge to assist the team in decision-making,
and acted as the “eyes” and “warning system” for the party when facing unknown dangers.
In the short time he spent with Eli, Lin Gui had experienced this firsthand.
The way the scholar would push up his glasses and speak eloquently,
possessing a wealth of knowledge as if he knew every Forbidden Zone’s history, demon ecology, and ancient ruins by heart.
It had caused Lin Gui more than once to feel a strong urge
to pull such a talent into his own team.
Even if they were only temporary companions, it would be a massive help
for both his own improvement and the party's progress.
Theia, beside him, keenly caught the flicker of longing in Lin Gui’s eyes.
How could she not understand by now?
This guy was dwelling on that “hateful” scholar again!
She quietly looked down at her own graceful figure,
then glanced at Lin Gui’s thoughtful profile.
Ultimately, she could only let out a soft sigh.
In the gaze she turned toward Lin Gui, there was an extra hint of faint resentment.
Perhaps she should be grateful that the scholar was a man and already had a girlfriend.
“Indeed.”
Balin nodded, his rugged face turning grim.
“The invisible, intangible ‘things’ in the Wall of Sighs loathe approaching the dying,”
“especially old people whose flames of life are about to be extinguished.”
His tone shifted, growing heavy.
“But the ‘rules’ inside are extremely demanding regarding the definition of ‘dying.’”
“Every guide capable of opening a safe passage for a team...”
Balin held up three fingers, his eyes sharp.
“Almost all of them must have a lifespan precise to ‘dying of old age naturally within three days.’”
“How could anyone ever be certain of such a thing?”
He shook his head with a deep sense of helplessness.
“Even if your luck is good and you find an elder who meets the requirement,”
“three days to cross a minimum straight-line distance of hundreds of kilometers through the Wall of Sighs?”
Balin looked at Lin Gui, emphasizing his words.
“It’s simply impossible.”
His gaze swept over Lin Gui and then glanced at the outline of the flying vessel visible through the window.
“Don’t think about using that flying vessel of yours to just charge through recklessly.”
“What exactly is inside the Wall of Sighs...”
“To this day, no one truly knows.”
He deliberately pointed this out
because he was all too aware of the flying vessel’s potential.
If that human girl continuously supplied it with energy,
and they used the full thrust of the wind pressure cannon, a several-hundred-kilometer death zone
might, perhaps, not actually require three days.
One day, or even less, and they might forcibly break through.
As the one who had personally “maxed out the speed” of this vehicle,
Balin understood its terrifying top speed better than anyone.
He was also afraid that Lin Gui would just take an old man and bulldoze right through.
“Do you know?”
Balin leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
“In order to pioneer that Golden Route across the Wall of Sighs,”
“what price did our Dwarven Kingdom... promise?”
Theia blinked and asked tentatively:
“One hundred million gold coins?”
Balin looked at her speechlessly, his beard twitching.
“Little girl, one hundred million gold coins?”
“Forget a legendary Forbidden Zone like the Wall of Sighs,”
“that might not even be enough for a Golden Route between ordinary city-states.”
Theia tilted her head:
“Then... what exactly was promised?”
Balin slowly extended one thick finger.
Theia frowned:
“Ten billion gold coins?”
“Money-grubbing little brat.”
Balin spoke in a low voice, every word falling like a hammer strike.
“It is a divine artifact.”
“To cross that damned Wall of Sighs,”
“to open a lifeblood path for the Dwarven Kingdom,”
“our noble Mountain King promised”
“to grant the supreme treasure of the dwarven race, our only divine artifact...”
He took a deep breath.
“The ‘Heart of the Towering Mountain,’ to whoever succeeds in pioneering it.”
Theia’s eyes lit up, and she blurted out:
“I know that one!”
“It’s the most useless one among the Ten Divine Artifacts!”
The air instantly froze.
The expressions of Balin and Grom both stiffened.
In the next second,
“Utter nonsense!!!”
The two dwarves slammed the table and stood up, their eyes wide with rage.
Their spittle nearly flew into Theia’s face.
“That is the purest gemstone, containing the most profound mysteries!”
Balin roared so hard his beard shook.
“One can even peer into the domain of the gods through it!”
Grom also added with a flushed face:
“It is the stepping stone to the Demigod realm!”
Theia hurriedly wiped her face in disgust.
She blinked and threw out a fatal question:
“Since it can break through to Demigod...”
“Then why don't you dwarves keep it for your own use?”
In an instant,
Balin and Grom acted as if they had been strangled.
All their roars caught in their throats.
The two of them exchanged a glance and sat back down in their chairs with stiff movements.
Balin picked up his teacup, feigning elegance as he took a sip.
Grom lowered his head to adjust his collar, which wasn't even messy.
“Cough, cough... anyway, in order to receive the Mountain King’s reward,”
“a great many powerful individuals have come forward one after another, trying to carve out a Golden Route in that lifeless land.”
The two of them clumsily changed the subject.
Beside them, Lin Gui, who had been watching in silence,
finally couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
Why not keep it for themselves?
Because throughout a thousand years of dwarven history,
no one had ever achieved a breakthrough to Demigod by relying on the Heart of the Towering Mountain.
Forget the dwarves;
on this Akara Continent, aside from the demons,
the absolute peak for all living beings was firmly welded at
High-tier Epic.
That invisible wall remained truly unbroken to this day.
Rate on N.U.
