Chapter 386: Cracking It

Chapter 386: Cracking It

“The retreat path is cut off… What a headache!” Gale rubbed his head upon hearing the noises behind him. He looked at the cave which had a view to the outside. Jump out?

Well, that thought seemed unwise. The magic rune array on the ground wasn’t just for show. Jump over it? Did they really think the ripples were fake? Jumping over would feel like passing through a volcano spewing thick smoke. They’d probably be done for before even making it across. Of course, if the magic rune array wasn’t active, jumping over could be an option. An active magic rune array and a dormant one were two entirely different things.

Climb over from above? How was that any different from jumping?

Lena suggested, “What if we try calling out a few times?”

“Don’t… That might attract Wind Dragonflies,” Wood said. If this place really was connected to the Undying Witch, then there were definitely extra defenses here. In other places, calling out might attract Wind Dragonflies, but here… The chance of drawing them in was even greater. Once Wind Dragonflies rushed in, they’d be like mice in a wind box.

“Then we can’t just stay here forever, right? Waiting for the Sanctuary Church to find us, we might all be done for by then.” Lena raised her right hand, which casually bore two rings—rings meant to protect against the environmental effects of Windwhisper Valley. They had already wasted several hours in the passage. The rings’ effectiveness lasted only a day. Adding the time spent exploring Windwhisper Valley earlier, and subtracting the time needed to leave this place, they didn’t have much time left.

“Call for help. Use the Magic Weapon Summoning Book,” Oss sighed and pulled out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Fortunately, this thing was sturdy enough to work even in Windwhisper Valley’s harsh environment. He directly found the special post the Sanctuary Church had made on the Forum, described their situation, and soon received a response.

Outside Windwhisper Valley, Achille also received the relevant report. His expression turned slightly odd. There had just been a report about that cave in Windwhisper Valley. That place had already cost the Sanctuary Church several dispatched teams, and many Wind Dragonflies were circling there. Anyone approaching would be mercilessly attacked.

Yet someone had somehow managed to sneak in there unnoticed? Perhaps they were inside the cave, which was why they were still fine and hadn’t attracted Wind Dragonfly attacks. What really caught Achille’s attention was that those trapped in the cave were none other than Oss and his group. This guy again. How was his luck always so peculiar?

He always encountered special situations, and the timing was always so coincidental. The time they were trapped inside happened to be when the Sanctuary Church teams were attacked. If it had been any earlier, the commotion they left behind might have drawn the Wind Dragonflies over. Now, as long as they were careful, it wasn’t a big problem.

So… Perhaps the way to monitor him in the future should shift from surveillance to analyzing his patterns of movement?

At least such good luck often brought many benefits. Achille had already analyzed that magic rune array. It was highly likely to be the source of Windwhisper Valley’s anomaly. As long as they could find a way to dismantle that magic rune array, they could smoothly eliminate Windwhisper Valley’s harsh environment. Then, magic and similar methods could be used on a large scale there, further reducing the threat of Wind Dragonflies.

The only shortcoming was that the dispatched teams had retreated too hastily back then and hadn’t fully recorded that magic rune array. Now it was fine. Through Oss and the others, they could obtain first-hand, detailed information.

“Gather all our spellcasters proficient in setting up magic rune arrays,” Achille instructed his assistant. Using magic rune arrays and setting them up were somewhat different. It was like drawing. Before putting pen to paper, one could imagine various self-perceived perfect images, but when actually drawing… What the heck is this? Scribbles?

Then he directly replied to Oss with a new message through that Sanctuary Church’s exclusive post. They needn’t worry about the protective rings. Through the Trading Module of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, the Sanctuary Church would ensure an ample supply, with all expenses covered. He also requested Oss to provide comprehensive pictures of that magic rune array.

Soon, several complete pictures were transmitted back through his reply. Achille nodded, enlarged those pictures using the Image Retention Spell, and presented them to the gathered spellcasters proficient in setting up magic rune arrays. “Find a way to crack this thing.”

As long as they could remove the harsh environmental factors of Windwhisper Valley, the time needed to resolve matters there could be further compressed. Of course, exploration of the area beforehand still couldn’t be neglected. Achille couldn’t be sure if there was only this one magic rune array functioning in Windwhisper Valley. But since they encountered one, they could solve one at a time. Once they solved one and gained experience, even if there were others later, they could quickly dismantle them too.

“Difficult!” One spellcaster proficient in magic rune arrays stared at the magic rune array for a moment, then slightly frowned. The complex magic rune array contained mysterious, patterned power that made some of these spellcasters feel dizzy. Even he, after staring at it for too long, would get a headache from overthinking. This would greatly interfere with the progress of cracking the magic rune array.

The reason many magic rune arrays required many people working together to crack wasn’t just due to their complex nature, but also to share the mental strain. However, because these were just pictures, they couldn’t analyze it as if they were on-site—not only analyzing the magic rune array but also studying the power fluctuations there to truly crack it. This was a magic rune array left by a Witch. If they could easily crack it just from a few pictures,

would they still need to follow Achille’s orders? They’d have already attained status close to that of a Saintess.

“How long will it take?”

“A conservative estimate, over half a month. If we were on-site, we could reduce the cracking time somewhat,” the speaking spellcaster pondered for a while before answering.

“…” Achille immediately shook his head. Half a month? If the element crystals beneath Windwhisper Valley hadn’t been taken, he might have considered it. But now? Dragging it out that long would be pointless. Rather than waiting that long, it was better to use a more direct and decisive method to disperse that storm. The remaining spellcasters stationed here could slowly work on cracking it. Without the storm spreading, the fog’s affected area in Windwhisper Valley would be limited to just that spot.

But going head-on would incur too many losses. He wasn’t indecisive, but with a better alternative, he considered a compromise. Of course, if it took too long and proved unfeasible, he would also choose a more reckless approach.

“Mobilize all spellcaster resources. Resolve this within three days.”

“That’s impossible… We’ll do our best to try,” the spellcaster first shook his head, then nodded upon seeing Achille’s unchanged expression. They really found it hard to resist such temptation. A magic rune array left by a Witch. If they could crack it, it would greatly enhance their own abilities. Achille had laid it out like this. If they refused again, then clearly this magic rune array had little to do with them.

“We don’t have to worry about the protective rings anymore, but we might have to stay here a bit longer,” Oss said to Gale and Wood, who had returned, after reading the latest reply in the post.

“That’s kind of good news,” Gale said somewhat regretfully, glancing at the passage behind. “Forget about the retreat path. It’s basically sealed shut. No way out through the passage.”

“Then let’s wait for the Sanctuary Church’s follow-up reply first,” Oss said. Being trapped here didn’t drive them to despair. The Sanctuary Church covered all expenses. Food? Ordering takeout was enough. Clothes? No problem. Water? They could buy it. Apart from being unable to leave, there was no survival pressure at all.

“Captain, come here, look at this,” Lena, sitting on a rock, suddenly stood up, waving her Magic Weapon Summoning Book in front of everyone. Oss and the others gathered around and were immediately speechless… They all stared at Lena in astonishment. Gale even muttered,

“Those novels always describe noble kids as foolish. That’s so misleading…”

Lena clicked into a professional post on the Magic Weapon Forum that was always pinned at the top. She showed the information about the magic rune array to the post’s owner, ‘Seven Luminaries Magus.’ The other party maintained a very professional style, giving a quite helpful reply. The entire reply was extremely professional and concise. Even outsiders like Gale and the others could see some sense in it and found it particularly reliable!

“Right, no one said we must seek help from the Sanctuary Church,” Rick also nodded. But old habits made them choose the Sanctuary Church first, just like how ordinary people’s first thought when encountering trouble was to call the police. “But is such a reply reliable?”

“If you doubt its reliability, do you know the post owner’s approval rating?” Lena lightly humphed.

Wood slightly shook his head. “This is very likely a magic rune array left by a Witch. The other party gave an answer so easily… What exactly is her identity?”

“…” Apart from Lena’s relatively normal expression, Oss and the others all looked solemn. A Witch’s things weren’t so easily obtained… Well, there were some exceptions, but knowledge-wise, there were no exceptions. Yet now, there was such an exception. A magic rune array left by a Witch was cracked by another person. The range of guesses about what kind of being she was became much narrower!

“Why are you all thinking about that? Whether it’s true or not, wouldn’t we know by trying? Captain, your eyes can see things ordinary people can’t, right? Why not observe according to what was said first?”