Chapter 18 Chapter 17 Ruins

what are you doing aaronHe couldn't help asking himself as he walked down the stairs into the deeper darkness below with a flickering torch in his hand.The sun was about to set, and the camp was still minutes away, but the steps exuded an indescribable allure for him. Both Kappa and Regan had warned him of the situation.Certain couriers cannot resist the lure of finding treasure among the ruins, and are willing to take unnecessary risks, foolish risks.Aaron knew he was one of those people, but he couldn't resist exploring "lost places on the map," as Reverend Langnell puts it.He used the fortune he earned as a courier to embark on these journeys, sometimes traveling days away from the road.But no matter how much effort he expended, he has not gained much.

His thoughts went back to the stack of ancient books that turned to ashes in his hands before he had time to read them, the flute sword that cut his arm and caused the wound to become infected and painful, suddenly collapsed and trapped him for three days, finally relying on his own The wine cellar that has regained its power, but didn't even bring out a bottle of wine.Exploring the ruins had never yielded any benefits, and he knew they would one day be his own grave. Go back, he urged himself.Eat something, check the sigil, and take a break. "The night will kill you." Aaron cursed himself, and hurried down the steps.

Feel sorry for yourself though.Aaron still couldn't bear the excitement in his heart.He felt the freedom and vitality that the free city-state lacked, which is why he aspired to become a messenger. He reached the bottom of the steps, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, took out a water bag and took a sip of water.With such a high temperature, it was really hard for him to imagine that the temperature in the desert would drop enough to freeze people to death after sunset. He made his way down a corridor of gravel and gravel, sticking torches against the walls, flames darting up and down like shadow demons.Are there shadow demons in the world?he thought.According to my luck, there should be, he sighed, there are too many things in the world that he doesn't know.

In the past three years, he has learned a lot, desperately absorbing the knowledge from other civilizations and the experience of fighting the monsters in the center of the earth like a sponge.In the Angels Forest, he spent weeks studying wood demons.In Renekton, he had seen boats larger than the two-person canoes of Tibe Creek, and to satisfy his curiosity about water demons, he had a raised scar on his arm.He was lucky enough to stand on his feet and tug at the water demon's tentacles, dragging it out of the water.Unable to bear the air of the land, the terrifying monster let go of Aaron and rushed back into the lake.He stayed there for several months to study the water magic seal.

Lysenburg is very similar to his hometown, not quite like a city, but more like a rural village, where everyone helps each other and cooperates to reduce the losses caused by the earth core monsters that crossed the magic seal post. But Fort Cracia, Desert Spear, is the city Aaron most yearns for.Krasia is windy all year round, with hot days and freezing nights that call sand demons from the dunes. Crassia, a tenacious city. The man of Crassia does not allow himself to give in to despair.They locked women and children in their homes every night, and took spears and nets to fight against the monsters in the center of the earth.Their weapons, like those carried by Aaron, could not pierce the hard shells of the inner-earth monsters, but they could sting the demons enough to drive them into the sigil trap, and then wait until the sun rose to reduce them to ashes.Their unwavering faith is inspiring.

But learning more just made Aaron crave more.Each city taught him something that the others couldn't—there must be somewhere in the world the answers he was looking for—and he stepped into the ruins.The ruins of Anaksan, half buried in the sand, have not been visited for hundreds of years.The city walls and buildings on the surface have collapsed and weathered under the erosion of wind and sand, but the part that goes deep into the ground is still well preserved. Aaron walked around the corner, holding his breath.With the help of the dim firelight, he saw that the stone pillars on both sides of the aisle in front of him were engraved with symbols—the magic seal.

Aaron moved closer to the torch for a closer look.These sigils are very old, very old, exuding the smell of corruption accumulated over hundreds of years.He took out paper and charcoal from his backpack and started rubbing, then swallowed his throat, and continued to walk in, each step was small and tried not to stir up the old dust. He came to a stone door at the end of the corridor.There were mottled magic seals carved on the door, and Aaron could only recognize a few of them. He took out his notebook, copied down the recognizable magic seals, and began to study the door. It was more like a slab than a door, and Aaron soon discovered that he had nothing to support him except its own weight.Taking out his spear as a lever, he thrust the point into the gap between the wall and the stone slabs, and gave it a hard swipe; the point broke instantly.

"Night!" Aaron cursed. Metal was very expensive and rare so far from Miln.Unwilling to give up, he took out a chisel and hammer from his backpack and began to chisel the wall.He chipped away a good deal of sand and stone with ease, and in a few moments he had made a gap that would allow the shaft of his spear to reach into the rear room.Aaron inserted the thick and hard spear handle into the gap, and pushed it up with all his body weight, the large stone slab was slightly loose.The large stone slab is still too heavy, and the wooden handle may break before pushing the large stone slab away.Aaron continued to use the chisel to pry open the floor stone below the stone door, digging a trench big enough to insert the point of the chisel.Now that there is a way to move the slate, it can use its own inertia to keep it moving.

Returning to the spear, he pushed hard again.The slate didn't move, but Aaron gritted his teeth and pressed.Finally, with a deafening crash, the stone slab fell, leaving a narrow crack in the wall and sending dust flying everywhere. Aaron enters a basement that looks like a tomb.The air smelled of old decay, but fresh air was already pouring in from the walkway outside.He held up the torch and found that the wall was covered with many images of villains with folk customs, depicting the scene of ancient humans fighting demons. Seems to be the time when humans are at the edge. In the center of the room lay a black sarcophagus, roughly carved into a man holding a spear.Aaron came to the sarcophagus and noticed that the entire coffin was engraved with magic seals.He reached out to touch them, only to realize his hands were shaking.

He knew that there was only a little time left before the sun went down, but at this moment, even if all the demons from the Inner Earth Demon Realm crawled out to find him, he was unwilling to turn around and leave.He took a deep breath, walked to the head of the sarcophagus, and pushed the lid hard, trying to open the sarcophagus without breaking the lid.Aaron suddenly felt that he should copy the pattern of the magic seal first, and then open the coffin to find the treasure tomorrow, but he was full of curiosity and couldn't bear the suffering. Aaron kicked hard on the wall behind him, the veins on his muscles were erect, and his face was flushed.The heavy coffin lid was slowly opened, and with a roar echoing in the corridor, the coffin lid slid open and fell to the ground.

Aaron ignored the coffin lid, just staring at the scene in the sarcophagus.The corpse inside was well preserved, but the corpse did not catch his eye.All Aaron could see was a metal spear held in its cloth-covered hands. Aaron removed the weapon reverently from the corpse's thick hand, marveling at its lightness.The spear was fully seven feet long from end to end, with a shaft over an inch in diameter.The spearhead is still sharp after years of dust.Aaron had never seen such metal, but the thought did not linger in his mind, for another thing attracted him—the sigil engraved on the spear.The sigil is carved along the silver shaft, a lost technique.These sigils were very different from the ones he had learned. When Aaron realized how important this discovery was, he also realized how close he was to death.The sun gradually went down.It would be meaningless if he hadn't lived to bring these antiques back to civilization. Aaron grabbed the torch, rushed out of the tomb, and raced down the corridor, up several steps at a time.He used his intuition to shuttle through the maze-like corridors, secretly praying that he didn't go the wrong way.Finally, he saw the dusty street outside the exit, but there was no sunlight shining outside the door.When he came to the door, he found that the sky was still slightly colored.The sun had just set.The camp has been imprinted in sight, and the monsters in the center of the earth have just begun to show up. Aaron didn't hesitate at all. The sand demon was smaller in size and more dexterous in its movements, but it was still one of the strongest species with the hardest shell among all the earth core monsters.They have small, sharp scales, a dirty yellow color, and are inconspicuous in the desert, unlike the large dark gray carapaces on their expressive stone demons, and they walk on all fours, while the stone demons use Stand on both feet. But they look exactly the same; two rows of sharp teeth protrude from the lower jaw like an animal's snout, and the nostrils are thick and far apart, very close to the big eyes without eyelids above them.The bones on the forehead protrude high, like sharp animal horns growing between the scales.They will keep shaking their heads as they walk to shake off the never-ending wind and sand. What is more frightening than the huge size is that the sand demons prey collectively.They unite and cooperate, and will not give up until they achieve their goals. Aaron's heart beat fast, and he completely forgot about the surprise just now, and moved quickly through the ruins with agility, jumped over the collapsed stone pillars and stones, and dodged the gradually forming demons left and right. Before the demon could sort out the situation on the surface, Aaron rushed towards his magic circle.He kicked one of the demons in the back of the knee, knocking it to the ground, and passed quickly.Then he sprinted straight at the other demon, only to step aside at the last moment, the demon's claws slicing through the empty air. As the magic circle gradually approached, Aaron advanced at full speed, but a demon stood in front of him, and he was unable to dodge.Nearly four feet tall, it sprawled on all fours, hissing hungrily as it prepared to strike prey that rushed straight in front of it. Aaron was very close to his destination—his precious sigil circle was only a few feet away.All he could do now was defeat the demon and roll into the sigil before it killed him. He thrust his steel spear as he leaped to his feet and rammed the demon.There was a strong flash of light when the spear hit the demon, and Aaron landed heavily on a piece of sand, and rushed into the magic circle without looking back, finally out of danger. Panting heavily, Aaron raised his head and looked at the sand demons surrounding him through the silhouette of the desert in the twilight.They hissed and attacked his sigil, their claws slashing the field with blinding magic light. Through one of the flashes, Aaron saw the demon he had just knocked over.It was moving away from Aaron and his companion step by step, leaving a deep black trail on the sand. Aaron's eyes widened.Slowly, he looked down at the spear still in his hand.The spearhead was smeared with demonic ichor. Aaron resisted the urge to laugh and looked back at the injured demon.One by one, the demon companions stopped attacking Aaron's sigil and began sniffing the air.They turned, staring at the trail of bile on the ground, then turned to the wounded demon.Shouting, the demons fell on the wounded demon and tore it to pieces. The chill of the desert night finally forced Aaron to take his eyes off the metal spear.When he set up camp before, he had already set up piles of firewood. Now he lit some sparks into it, built a campfire to keep warm, and cooked food along the way.In the afternoon, Aaron had bound the Dawn Runners in the runes, covered them with blankets, brushed their manes, and fed them before leaving camp to explore the ruins. As on every night for the past three years, the one-armed demon appeared immediately after moonrise, crossed the desert, drove away the inner earth monsters in the way, and stood in front of Aaron's sigil circle.Aaron clapped his palms at it as usual, and the one-armed demon roared angrily at him. When he first left Miln, Aaron had suspected that he might not be able to sleep to the sound of the one-armed demon attacking the circle, but now he was used to the sound.Over the years, his sigil circle had proved unbreakable, and Aaron still repaired it with great care, mending ropes and polishing wooden signs. He hated the demon, and years of confrontation hadn't given him the same sense of familiarity with it as the Milne Wall Guards.Just like the one-armed devil remembers who cut off his arm, Aaron has never forgotten who grabbed the wrinkled scar on his back, and who almost took his life back then.He also remembered that Miln had lost nine runes, thirty-seven guards, two disciples, three herbalists, and eighteen commoners at its hands.He stared at the demon coldly, subconsciously stroking the new spear in his hand.What would happen if he took the initiative to attack?The weapon stabbed a Sand Demon.Can the sigil on it also harm the stone demon? He fought with all his strength against the urge to jump out of the sigil and fight. The sunlight drove the demon back to the Demon Realm of the Earth. Aaron almost stayed up all night, but he still got up from the ground with high spirits.After breakfast, he took out his records and examined the spear, intently transcribing all the sigils and studying the pattern of their interconnection on the butt and point. After finishing the work at hand, the sun is already high in the sky.He took another torch and went back to the catacombs to rub the sigil carved on the sarcophagus.There were other tombs below, and he was desperate to pry them open one by one.But even if he stayed an extra day, his food would run out before he reached the Oasis of Dawn.He originally expected to find a well in Anaksan City with a gamble mentality, and he found it, but the nearby plants were sparse and unfit for consumption. Aaron sighed.This ruin has stood for hundreds of years, and it will still be here when he comes next time, only hoping that he will bring a whole team of Krasian sigilists with him.Back on earth, the sun has gradually moved westward.Aaron took some time to move his body, feed the dawn runners, cook himself a dinner, and figure out his situation. The Krasians would demand evidence, and the spears were inscribed with evidence of killing demons.They are warriors, not ruin explorers, and they will not release any combat-capable men to participate in expeditions without sufficient reasons. Proof, he thought.Of course it should be brought up by him. With just an hour until sunset, Aaron started setting up camp.He tied up the horse again, inspecting the portable sigil around the horse.He prepared his ten-foot magic circle as usual, then took out many magic seal stones from his backpack, and began to erect a large magic circle with a diameter of forty feet outside the magic circle.He slightly widened the distance between the rune stones.Carefully calculate their positions.There was also a portable spell circle in the saddlebag - Aaron always liked to have an extra - which he also set up in the camp, on the inside of the outer ring, along the edge. After finishing his work, Aaron sat on his knees in the inner circle with his spear by his side, took a deep breath, and purified his soul.He did not open his eyes to see the setting sun, the reflected twilight of the desert horizon, and the falling night. The small sand demons appeared first, and Aaron listened to the magic light and impact sound from the magic seal force field on the outer circle, blocking their attacks.After a while, he heard the cry of the one-armed demon, pushed away the little demon blocking his way, and came to Aaron's outer circle.Aaron ignored him, continued to take a deep breath, closed his eyes and meditated.This dismissive expression made the one-armed demon furious, and it began to attack the magic seal circle desperately. For a while, the magic light blazed, and even though he closed his eyes tightly, he could still see the light.But the demon did not continue to attack immediately.Seeing the one-armed demon looking sideways curiously, Aaron showed a sneer. The one-armed demon attacked the sigil again, then stopped again.This time, the demon let out a sharp roar, stretched out its claws, and swung its intact arm at the magic seal force field.The demon body leaned forward, as if pushing against an invisible wall, increasing its strength repeatedly amidst painful roars.Where its claws touched the force field, a violent magic light net bloomed. As the demon strengthened its strength, the magic seal force field began to shrink inward. In the sound that made Aaron tremble with fear, the stone demon straightened his feet, stepped through the magic seal net, and fell between the two magic seal circles.The Dawn Runner hissed and wailed, trying to free himself from the rope. Aaron and the Stone Demon stood up at the same time, their eyes met.The weak sand demon tried its best to imitate the appearance of the one-armed demon, but the interval between the magic stones was so precise that it was impossible for the sand demon to break in with its strength alone.They howled in frustration toward the mana field, and stepped aside to witness the conflict within the sigil circle. Aaron was much taller now than when he first met, but the one-armed demon seemed to be as tall as he was in that horrible night.The stone demon was over fifteen feet from head to toe, taller than the two men combined.Aaron had to look up to see the monster staring into his eyes. The one-armed demon opened its mouth wide, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, drooling, and stretched its dagger-like claws provocatively.It straightened out its hard chest, covered with a hard black shell that ordinary weapons could not penetrate, and its spiked tail flicked back and forth with enough force to kill a horse.Its body was covered with scorched marks and smoke from passing through the magic mark, but these obvious wounds only made the monster in the center of the earth look more dangerous, like a giant maddened by pain. Aaron gripped the metal spear tightly and stepped out of the magic circle.