In the barren wasteland near the frontline base, the ancient facility that remained intact stood quietly in the sunset. As the purification device continued to extend into the wasteland, the turbid clouds above the area had been gradually dispersed as the energy field changed. Normal sunlight shone on the land for the first time in centuries. Under the setting sun, the mottled ancient buildings were like giants standing silently on the land, casting a long shadow into the depths of the wasteland.
A fully-armed command vehicle and two heavy tanks were parked in the shadows near the buildings. The soldiers had set up several temporary outposts to monitor the wasteland. In the command vehicle, Philip's holographic projection was showing a clear image.
Warrior Sala's team was approaching the only entrance at the bottom of the building. The ancient door had been damaged, the slanted door had fallen into the dust nearby. The space behind the door was like a dark cave. It quietly opened its huge mouth in the dusk as if waiting for reckless people to approach. In the background of the image, Philip could also hear the heavy breathing of the soldiers under their full-coverage helmets.
"We have arrived at the entrance. The heat source alarm and life detection are not responding." Warrior Sala's voice rang from outside the image. "There are no moving targets in sight. We are not under attack."
"Look around the entrance and take in all the images," Philip said to the communication device. "Then move forward in alert formation. Be careful."
"Yes, General." The warrior's voice came. At the same time, the image on the holographic projection began to move. The mottled outer wall and the fallen building materials slowly moved in front of everyone in the command vehicle. Then, the image began to move towards the dark 'cave'. A scout turned on the light, and a bright beam of light shone into the door.
At this moment, the middle-aged scholar standing beside Philip suddenly spoke. "Stop for a moment. Turn back to that place. In the middle of the pile of rubble, where the light shone, is there something there?"
As the voice of the expert trailed off, the image transmitted by the communication device moved. A pile of broken items scattered on the ground and a half-buried rectangular plate appeared in front of Philip and the others. A soldier pointed at the pile of wreckage and said, "Yes, this looks like a sign... There seems to be something on the surface. Should we take it out? It looks very fragile. "
Philip spoke in a low voice. "Take it out. Handle it carefully. There are words on it." "Yes, General."
The thin board that was half-buried in the ruins was carefully taken out. A cloud of dust and debris fell from its surface. The soldier carefully turned it over and placed the side that seemed to have words in the middle of the picture. The lines were severely worn and weathered, and ordinary people could no longer recognize them, but they could still see that it was the language of the ancient Gondor Empire. Philip immediately turned to look at the middle-aged scholar beside him. "Can you see what's written on it?"
"We are trying." The middle-aged scholar frowned. A few other experts also came over. These people, who knew a lot about the relics of Gondor, carefully identified the symbols on the screen and whispered from time to time. They then took out a map of the ancient Gondor Empire and made a few gestures on it, as if to confirm the location of this facility in history. After a while, one of the scholars said in a low voice, "Is this the Vipranton Observatory?"
"Vipranton Observatory?" Philip immediately raised his eyebrows. He vaguely remembered that he had heard this name before. "Why does it sound familiar?"
"It is one of the largest astronomical observatories in the ancient Gondor period. It is located in the northern part of the ancient empire. It is said that extraterrestrial objects fell in this area thousands of years ago, so this observatory is also a research facility for Gondor scholars to study 'extraterrestrial objects'," the middle-aged scholar explained. "Most of the words on the sign are unrecognizable, but we can still make out the words' Observatory '. We have just checked the ancient map. We are now near the ancient Gondor County of Vipranton."
"I remember now! His Majesty has mentioned this place to me before. "Philip had a look of realization as he nodded. He remembered that Gwen had mentioned that after the destruction of the Kingdom of Gondor, the northern expedition army had passed by this Vipranton Observatory. His Majesty's legendary Shield of the Guardian of the Kingdom was obtained by the expedition army from a facility in the Vipranton area. It was said that the shield was even one of the legendary 'extraterrestrial objects'.
"This observatory is still here, and the main structure doesn't show any signs of collapse …" After realizing that this ancient facility might be extraordinary, Philip's expression became more serious than before. "We have to report this to the higher-ups …"
"General, do we still need to go deeper?" Just then, Warrior Sala's voice came from the communication device again. "There is a very wide space here, but the magic reaction is still deeper in the facility. Do you want to find a way to go further?"
"… Continue," Philip ordered after thinking for a while. "Keep an eye on the readings of the detection equipment."
The soldiers received the order and began to move in this ancient facility that had been silent for centuries. In the image sent back, they saw that they first entered a roughly circular hall. All the equipment in the hall was damaged and silent. Obviously, it could not be the source of the mysterious energy reaction. The lighting system in the facility was completely broken. After checking some of the remaining energy lines, the technical experts concluded that the energy system of the observatory was completely shut down.
"From the outside, we can still sense the energy reaction somewhere inside the observatory, and this energy reaction is very stable. It did not react to the expedition team's actions," a technical expert said. "So this energy reaction may have nothing to do with the observatory itself. I suspect that it is some kind of external energy source. For example, some kind of ancient relic is stored in that facility and has been operating for years."
"It can continuously release energy for seven centuries. No matter what it is, it can only be described as amazing." Philip frowned and shook his head. "Even the cutting-edge technology left behind by the Kingdom of Gondor is difficult to —"
"General, we found a way to the upper floor, on the side of the hall. It looks like a spare staircase." Sala's voice suddenly came from outside the image, interrupting Philip's soliloquy. "We are going up, there seems to be a door in front of us."
Philip's gaze immediately returned to the holographic projection. He saw two soldiers walking up a rather steep staircase, and the steps that had been in disrepair for a long time still looked quite stable. At the end of the steep staircase, there was a small platform, and on the wall on the other side of the platform, there was a dark metal door. It was tightly shut, and on the door frame, there was a rusty sign.
The sign was obviously in much better condition than the sign at the entrance of the facility. The words on it were vaguely discernible. The middle-aged scholar standing next to Philip quickly recognized the handwriting. "The upper floor of the observatory. Behind the door should be the most important part of the observatory."
"You can try to open the door," another scholar said. "In theory, there should not be any traps behind the door. This is a research facility, there is no need to install any weapons near the observatory."
The soldiers who entered the observatory received the order. One of them stepped forward, put his hand on the heavy metal door, and pushed it slightly. The next second, a flowing glimmer suddenly appeared on the surface of the door!
The glimmer flowed on the surface of the door as if some kind of "will" that had been sleeping for many years had suddenly awakened. The soldier who pushed the door could not help but exclaim in a low voice. Philip and several technical experts who were monitoring the scene through the communication device were also shocked. The door still had energy?
Then, before anyone could say anything, the glimmer on the door quickly gathered together and turned into a light curtain floating in front of the door. Clear characters jumped on the light curtain.
Philip immediately looked at the expert next to him. Before the general could say anything, the expert translated, "Identity authentication is not valid. General, this is an access control system. It is still functioning normally, and it requires authorization to open the door."
"This is something from 700 years ago. Where can we find the authorization to open the door?" Another scholar suddenly said. "It seems that we have to find a way to crack this antique. The door still has energy, and the structure of the facility behind it is likely to still have energy. If we forcibly destroy the door, we don't know if it will trigger some kind of self-destruction mechanism. Usually, such a confidential research facility has an automatic self-destruction mechanism."
"Wait a minute." Philip, who had been frowning, suddenly interrupted the conversation of the scholars. "Don't rush to stimulate the door. Let's report the situation here. If we have the authorization, I'm afraid there is a way to solve it."
…
"The First Legion led by Philip found the Vipranton Observatory in the highlands southeast of the Magic Scorch." In the blue velvet study, Gwen put down the information he had just received and told Amber, who was helping to sort out the information. "And the observatory is in good condition. The main structure is intact."
Upon hearing this, Amber's eyes widened. "Damn! Then they have found something good! Philip is so talented in this field? "
"… I think the 'talent' you mentioned is not what I'm thinking at the moment." Gwen glanced at the former outstanding grave robber. "But as long as you're happy."
"Sigh, that's not important." Amber waved her hand casually. She then rolled her eyes. "By the way, I remember you found the shield in Vipranton. You said so before."
"That's right. The Shield of the Guardian of the Kingdom was indeed found in an underground facility in Vipranton." Gawain nodded. "But strictly speaking, Charlie and I only found a very strong metal plate. Later, we really couldn't figure out what that thing was, but we felt that its size, shape, and hardness were just right, so we welded it together and used it as a shield …"
Gwen was indeed talking about the origin of the legendary shield, which was as famous as the Sword of the Pioneers. But he did not mention any other details.
The main body of the Shield of the Guardian of the Kingdom, the super-strong metal plate of unknown origin, was actually one of the fragments that fell to the surface during the Vipranton 'meteorite shower' incident. The fragments were debris that fell from the space station when Amoun crashed into the Firmament Station 3,000 years ago. The ancient Gondor people regarded the debris as' extraterrestrial objects'. Later, with the development of the Gondor civilization, scholars set up a series of research facilities, including the Vipranton Observatory, to study the debris. As time passed, Gondor was destroyed. One of the fragments from the Firmament Station coincidentally fell into the hands of Charlie and Gwen, who led the team to the north at that time, and was processed into a shield. All of this was like an invisible thread that tied together 3,000 years of history.
Sometimes, when he thought of the fall of Gwen Cecil 3,000 years ago, the 'meteorite shower' in the Vipranton area, and the fact that the pioneers processed the fragments into Gwen Cecil's shield, Gwen could not help but continue to think. Was it because of the years of contact with the fragment from the Firmament Station that Gwen Cecil underwent some kind of 'change' 700 years ago, which led to him establishing a certain connection with the Voyager's legacy in space and indirectly contacting himself as a 'satellite spirit' at that time? As the strongest Knight, Gwen Cecil died in the prime of his life, leaving behind an immortal body. Hanging high in space, Hao Ren was reborn on the surface and occupied the body that once held the Voyager's fragment. All of this was like a deal that had been made long ago.
Today, many of the mysteries about Gwen Cecil and the Voyager's legacy had been revealed, but this most crucial part was still a blank in Gwen's memory.
"Hey … hey hey," Amber's voice suddenly came from the side, startling Gwen out of his daze. "Are you okay? You're in a trance all of a sudden. Are you distracted again? "
"It's nothing. I just accidentally remembered something from the past," Gwen said, shaking his head. "Where were we?"
"Speaking of your shield, I got it from a box in a basement in Vipranton. It was originally just a metal plate of unknown use, but you guys welded it together and used it as a shield …" Amber blabbered. He then glanced at the report that Gawain had thrown on the table. "How's Philip doing now? What did they find in the observatory? "
"They found an ancient access control system that requires some kind of authorization to enter. The upper level of the observatory is blocked by that thing, and the explorers can't get in," Gwen said in a low voice. "The access control system is still running, which means that there may be other things on the upper level of the observatory that are still running. Rashly destroying the door is very likely to lead to the destruction of the data in the facility, so Philip is now waiting for further instructions."
"Holy sh * t, there's still a lock in a tomb that's seven hundred years old. That's …" Hu Po was shocked, but quickly reacted. "Wait, authentication authority … I remember …"
"Yes, I need to contact our neighbors now." Gwen smiled. "Augustus may have such 'authorization', and they should be very interested in the observatory."
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