Novel East
Chapter 823: Layout
"The 'Twilight Dynasty Palace' has seven floors. Seated on a throne crafted from gold, the former king sat, now turned into a skeleton, yet still exuding dignity. Bubu Wang circled the throne several times, finding no anomalies. This made him a bit more courageous.
Looking at the throne made of pure gold, Bubu Wang wagged his tail, seemingly contemplating some mischievous idea. He walked to the side of the throne, lifting one hind leg.
Psst... A liquid trickled onto the throne. Yes, this goofball, Bubu Wang, was retaliating against those dried bones. Just as Bubu Wang was having fun, a surge of electricity suddenly gushed from beneath the throne.
Crackling... Bubu Wang convulsed. "Ow!" Bubu Wang howled, tucked his tail, and limped down to the lower floor, both hind legs clamped tightly, moving in a strange gait. Su Xiao leaped above the palace, jumping onto the seventh floor through a window.
"Bubu?" Due to an unknown energy suppression, Su Xiao was unsure of Bubu Wang's location. Bubu Wang peeked around the staircase, still trembling on its hind legs.
"What just happened?" Upon hearing Su Xiao's question, Bubu Wang looked skyward with an expression that said, "Nothing much."
"What's that strange smell?" Su Xiao's nose twitched, and a faint scent pervaded the seventh floor. Bubu Wang at the staircase looked outside as if saying, "Today's weather is nice." Su Xiao surveyed the surroundings but found no anomalies.
Currently, 'Twilight Palace' houses only him. The contract holders of the Reincarnation Park would arrive within 10 to 20 hours, whereas the ones from the Apocalypse Park would be slower.
Even if they reached the 'Autrank' ancient ruins early, they couldn't enter the ruins. That was the consequence of not seizing the World Core. Su Xiao started to roam the 'Twilight Palace,' intending to memorize its layout entirely.
If the two sides were to engage in battle within the ruins, the main battlefield would be the 'Twilight Palace' and the surrounding second area. The 'Twilight Palace' internal structure was complex, accommodating several hundred contract holders for battles without issues.
As for the second area, its terrain was even more complicated. Numerous ruins and collapsed stone structures would form a natural maze. The Reincarnation Parkside was the defending force responsible for guarding the World Core, while the Apocalypse Parkside was the attacking force aiming to seize the World Source.
...
Three hours later, Su Xiao simulated the 'Twilight Palace' internal structure into a rough sketch. The first to third floors of the 'Twilight Palace' contained numerous rooms interconnected by doors. Entering these rooms recklessly posed a big question about getting out.
The fourth to sixth floors were scattered with numerous corridors and passages, much more complicated than the first three. If the contract holders from Apocalypse Park invaded the 'Twilight Palace,' blocking their access to the seventh floor was a possible strategy.
The 'Twilight Palace' had two channels to reach the seventh floor: a winding stone staircase at the center and a staircase on each floor leading upwards. In the current situation, it was simple for Apocalypse Park's contract holders to reach the seventh floor through the central staircase or climb the outer wall.
However, using the staircases between feet was the most challenging method because each floor's staircase was in a different location. Su Xiao enlarged the 'Twilight Palace' in the simulation map of the ruins.
"The Supreme Hall, the Hidden Chamber, the Control Mechanism Room?" Su Xiao noticed an inconspicuous room on the sixth floor, the Control Mechanism Room. Following the map, he hurried towards that room.
After a while, Su Xiao, feeling slightly dizzy, reached the Control Mechanism Room. Upon entering the room about ten square meters in size, he saw an old-style control panel with dozens of metal rods. Each metal rod had ancient inscriptions below it.
With his temporary skill of Universal Language Lv.40, Su Xiao understood these inscriptions, each representing functions such as mechanism defense, temple sinking, passage sealing, bridge elevation, and many more.
Su Xiao rubbed his chin and attempted to pull down the metal rod representing 'mechanism defense.'
Click. He pulled it down, but nothing happened. The palace was too ancient; the highly destructive mechanism had long been eroded by time. Avoiding the 'temple sinking' metal rod, Su Xiao tried activating the defensive mechanism. After pulling down the metal rod representing 'passage sealing,' the palace shook.
Rumble, rumble. The stone floor began to tremble. Su Xiao rushed out of the Control Mechanism Room. A stone wall appeared just as he was about to check the situation on the seventh floor. He was confident that this wall hadn't existed before.
Su Xiao began to explore the changes in the 'Twilight Palace.' After observing for about an hour, Su Xiao's face revealed a pleased expression. Activating the 'passage sealing' mechanism, all windows of the 'Twilight Palace' and the winding stone staircase at the center were sealed layer by layer with slabs. nπππlππst.πππ
Now, the only way to reach the seventh floor from the first was through the passages between each floor. Now, if the contract holders from Apocalypse Park wished to reach the seventh floor, they could only climb bed by foot, without any other shortcuts, unless someone could penetrate the walls.
As for forceful dismantling, it was out of the question. Even using Apollo couldn't guarantee it. Even detonating a nuclear bomb inside the 'Twilight Palace' would only blast through a few walls at most; forcefully breaking through was almost impossible.
Su Xiao returned to the Control Mechanism Room and attempted to destroy the control panel. However, the control panel was rigid and susceptible to damage. Even with a full-force strike, the most he achieved was scattering some rocks. Under the protection of that unknown energy, it was challenging to cause destruction here.
Su Xiao was partially without means. If he activated the 'Azure Steel Shadow' during the strike, it wouldn't take long for the unknown energy in the palace to be significantly eroded, as the Azure Steel Shadow was an energy killer.
However, doing so did more harm than good. The Reincarnation Park was the defending side, meaning the more robust the 'Twilight Palace,' the more advantageous it was for the Reincarnation Park. If Su Xiao eroded too much of that unknown energy, the overall robustness of the palace would decrease.
Although he couldn't destroy the console, Su Xiao had other ways. First, he collected a large amount of fine sand from outside the palace and mixed it in several alchemical reagents. He poured this mixture into the seams around the metal rods. ππvπlπast.cππ
He poured about half a ton of sand into the control console. Su Xiao patiently waited half an hour, and the alchemical reagents mixed in the sand gradually reacted. After half an hour, the loose sand had consolidated. Su Xiao attempted to push those metal rods.
Click, click... The sound of brutal friction echoed. Su Xiao's veins bulged in his hands, but those metal rods remained motionless, seemingly welded in place. After completing all this, Su Xiao didn't remain idle. He removed several steel wires, a few pounds of iron beads, and three alchemical bombs.
Twenty minutes later, Su Xiao slowly exited the Control Mechanism Room. The room seemed normal, but it was filled with deadly traps. If someone dared to intrude, they might not leave their life intact.
After completing everything, Su Xiao found a random room and waited quietly. Bubu Wang, on the other hand, had become much calmer. Previously wandering inside the ruins, it was now sleeping on one side. What puzzled Su Xiao was that Bubu Wang, this goofball, occasionally made whimpering sounds, its hind legs clamped together, seemingly having a nightmare in its throat."
Visit πππ¦π¦πΈπ¦ππ―ππ·π¦π.π€ππ for the best novel reading experience