Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 544 - 329: Memory Fragments 2
Chapter 544: Chapter 329: Memory Fragments 2
Hearing Lambert’s response, Louis quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Last time, he slept for ten days straight. This time… perhaps that purple fog was much weaker than the crimson red, and with the platinum galaxy standing beside the red mist, he didn’t fall into a deeper slumber.
Louis nodded, his tone understated: “Maybe I’ve been too tired lately… The underground rumbling disturbed me, and everything went black, just fell over.”
Lambert nodded but wasn’t truly at ease.
This was the second time. The last was during the ultimate battle against the Barbarian Race.
Louis looked up and saw the unease in Lambert’s eyes.
He slightly smiled, his tone calm: “Rest assured, compared to last time, this doesn’t even count as a faint. Just too tired.”
Lambert remained silent for a moment, whispering: “I am still worried.”
“I understand.” Louis shook his head and shifted the topic, “How’s the situation? How’s the aftermath handling?”
Lambert immediately straightened his posture and reported: “Everyone has returned to the camp and is awaiting your instructions. Several knights were injured, but fortunately, none were killed.”
“Very good.” Louis nodded, though his brows didn’t relax, “Send people to investigate the explosion site again tomorrow. No need to take risks tonight.”
He paused and added, “Regarding the Magic Explosion Bullet… have Hillco and the others work on improving the barrel. The range needs to be further, and the power must be fully controllable.”
Lambert whispered in response: “As you command.”
……
At dawn the next day, as the sky barely turned light, Louis set off with the team of knights.
The knights were fully armed, their helmets tightly closed, the sound of hoofs thudding heavily in the snow-covered canyon.
Louis rode in the middle, turned back, and asked, “Hillco, last night’s explosion… what do you think?”
“Its power… far exceeded my expectations, which led to the distance being misjudged.” Hillco adjusted his goggles, unable to suppress the tremor in his voice, yet a hint of excitement gleaming in his eyes.
At that moment, the air still lingering with the smell of scorch, residual smoke mingling with the cold wind, carried a sharp scent of burnt flesh.
The permafrost below their feet cracked into countless faults, rubble and debris scattered everywhere.
Ahead, the ground had collapsed into a massive pit, as if struck by a meteor, the ice at the fringes shattered and radiating outward.
The mountain walls presented an even more shocking sight.
The thick rock layers scorched by intense heat and shock wave bore large patches of charred marks as if licked by flames.
Sharp fissures extended to the edge of sight, snow trickling from the cracks, plummeting into the bottomless pit.
Louis reined his horse to a stop, silently gazing at the expanse of charred ruins.
This is the might of the third-generation Magic Explosion Bullet.
He marveled silently at its power, yet kept any emotion off his face.
The knight team first set up a perimeter around the explosion pit, eyes sharp, alert to any lurking monsters or residual black fog.
Several knights probed into the rubble heaps with spears, carefully ensuring no further collapse would occur.
The search continued for half an hour until the perimeter was deemed safe, before someone slowly descended into the pit.
Louis always remained at the hundreds of meters high point, overlooking the entire ruins with a calm gaze.
Lambert stayed close at his side, his expression tense, more concerned about Louis suddenly fainting again than any immediate danger.
They divided into three lines, descending gradually along the sloped collapse.
“Put your masks on.” The leading knight lowered his voice.
At the word, everyone took out transparent masks wrapped in silver frames from their backpacks. The inner wall of the mask harbored a pale blue liquid, which diffused into thin mist inside the visor as soon as it was secured.
This is the Frost Leaf Vine Air Purifier recently refined by the Red Tide Territory’s artisan workshop, reportedly initially designed by Lord Louis himself.
It can isolate spores and hallucinogenic gases briefly, ensuring clarity even facing the Nest’s residual black fog.
“Breathe deeply, don’t panic.” Someone softly reminded. The breaths echoed groggily through the mask.
The ice soil beneath was brittle, every step accompanied by the sound of cracking, threatening to crumble at any moment.
The leading knight signaled caution while probing the soil layer with a seismic spear.
Each jab transmitted subtle vibrations through the spear shaft to confirm if the ground below was hollow.
Once convinced it was stable after numerous probes, they proceeded to descend.
The intertwined glow of torches and Fighting Energy illuminated the bottom of the pit, revealing an utterly charred wasteland.
They searched through the scorched earth and soon found scattered insect shells.
The shapes were bizarre, some resembling armor, others barely the size of a palm, mostly charred and brittle, shattering at the slightest touch.
A few fragments retained a purple gleam, emitting a faint hum upon approaching, making one uncomfortable.
“Don’t touch too long.” A knight frowned, nudging the fragment aside, “This thing’s dead but not clean.”
The team promptly retrieved a sealing jar provided by Mage Forest.
The jar, hefty and lined with special runes inside, could slow the decay or energy dispersion of unknown objects.
They cautiously collected several fragments, sealed the jar, and the rune’s glow flickered, providing temporary safety.
Continuing forward, twisted humanoid corpses came into view.
Their flesh torn by shock waves, limbs adhered to the rocks, arms retaining vine-like structures, deformed skulls full of sharp teeth.
Ahead of them lay a pile of collapsed boulders.
Several pieces of stone retained complex symbols and grooves, but most had ruptured or been scorched, nearly impossible to recognize.
“Remnants of an old altar,” the leading knight whispered, “It’s hard to see its former appearance.”
Amongst the sweet scent was rot, interspersed with a fleeting floral fragrance.
“Residue of black fog.” Someone immediately tightened their masks, their tone grave.
Several knights’ breathing grew heavier, yet they showed no signs of losing control or poisoning. The team quickly judged: “The odor has nearly dissipated, posing little threat.”
They exchanged a glance, each feeling a tinge of relief.
Had it not been for the Red Tide Territory’s air purifier protection, who knew if these odors would invade their minds.
By the end of the search, the knights returned almost empty-handed.
The power of yesterday’s magic high-explosive bullet was so incredible that both the altar and the underground palace turned into ruins.
Even the stone surface that once bore ancient murals had been shattered, fragments lost amidst the scorched earth.
The team could only bring back a few fragments: charred insect shells, twisted limbs, and cracked stone pieces.
All of this was cautiously stowed into sealing jars and respectfully handed over to Lambert.
“Lord Louis.” Lambert took one jar, saw the insect shell within through the flickering light, and his expression sharpened.
Its shape was unmistakable, nearly identical to the remnants left from the Nest before.
His brows furrowed deeply, the worst thought emerging: Could the remnants of the Nest still be lurking deep within the Northern Territory?
Yet besides him, Louis knew that the purple fog had been purified by his own Primordial Heart, and the Daily Intelligence System had indicated that the Desperate Witch was dead.
But Louis could not convey any of this.
He could only allow Lambert to remain worried.
Standing beside Lambert, Louis just calmly received the report.
Insect shell remnants, inactive.
Monster limbs, similar to human structure, confirmed to be contaminated.
Altar stone pieces, severely damaged, hard to identify.
Residual weak black fog odor in the air, but no direct harm.
The investigation’s conclusion was unsurprising.
Louis secretly regretted that all clues were destroyed, and there was nothing more to pursue.
Louis took one last look from the height, suppressing all lingering doubts within.
No matter the true nature of the fog, for now, the most important matters for the Red Tide Territory lay in the South, at the port soon to lead into the sea.
“Leave a few to continue the investigation, the rest recall the team.” He ordered, calm without a hint of fluctuation, “There’s nothing here worth staying for, let’s go.”
The group responded and promptly began withdrawing.
The team turned through the canyon, the hoofbeat thunderous as they headed south.
The canyon gradually returned to silence, with only the charred pit standing quietly like a colossal scar, a reminder to all that the power of the third-generation Magic Explosion Bullet was sufficient to level anything.
