The cursing of the leader of the treants could not change anything. Those plants and vines that crossed the border and tried to invade the crater had been destroyed by the garrison of the Deep Blue Well. As the light beam swept across, the last bit of ash was blown away by the wind. This little test, like dozens of previous attempts, ended in failure.
Another treant next to the leader came forward. His branches were withered and twisted, but there was a powerful magic flowing in his withered canopy. The intertwined branches grew on top of the treant's head, forming a structure that looked like an expanding brain. It looked strange and disturbing.
The twisted creature with the brain canopy looked down at the crystal pillar hill in the crater. Seeing the magic light between the crystal pillars gradually dissipating, he shook his canopy, and the glimmering light in the canopy flickered. "We have successfully controlled several iron men, but through these iron soldiers, we can only penetrate the outermost line of defense. The soul in the deepest part of the Deep Blue Well is too vigilant. She has been constantly reconstructing the security mode inside the ruins, even though this place has not been invaded for seven hundred years."
The grand hierarch snorted, his voice low and gloomy. "Paranoid, stubborn, persecutory delusion. The soul has been entrenched in this tomb for seven hundred years. Maybe she has already gone mad."
"A thinking matrix will not go mad. The stability of steel and crystal is much more stable than your mental state, Mr. Grand Hierarch." Two female voices suddenly came from not far away. There was a hint of mockery in their voices as they interrupted the grand hierarch's cursing. "We just heard you cursing here. This is not like your usual demeanor."
The grand hierarch turned around. His tawny eyes reflected the figures of the two elves who were coming from not far away.
"Rayna, Firna …" he said in a low voice. "Are you here to watch the show?"
"Please calm down, Grand Hierarch." The elven twins came to the front of the treant leader. The sisters, who had the same appearance, had a gentle and sweet smile on their faces as they bowed slightly. "As a plant, you should have a more peaceful and steady state of mind. Being too agitated will damage your roots and canopy."
The grand hierarch snorted discontentedly. The dry branches rustled. "Save your witty words. You should pay attention to the facts in front of you. Look at these ruins. The energy of the Deep Blue Well is right in front of us, but after so long, we can only wander around the periphery of the defense circle. You promised to have a way to infiltrate the ancient defense system here, but in my opinion … your promise was not fully fulfilled. "
"We only promised to infiltrate a part of the mind of the iron men, not the entire defense system," the elven twins said in unison. Their faces were very calm. "We believe that your memory should not be so weak."
The grand hierarch's tawny eyes stared at the elven twins. But after a few seconds, he looked away. "You are right. But you also said that it is possible to bypass the matrix through the mental network of the iron men. Obviously, you have failed. The fact is that even if we control a few of the iron men echelons, we can't get into the depths of the ruins."
"No, this idea is indeed feasible. It just requires some luck and timing. That's why we told you to be patient," Rayna immediately said. "But don't worry, we are here today to tell you the good news. Forget about the little failure for now. The time has come for the next step of our infiltration."
"Hmm?" The grand hierarch's eyes turned serious. "You mean …"
"We have been indirectly observing the situation inside the Deep Blue Fortress through the captured mental cores of the iron men. And according to the data we just collected a few hours ago, we can be sure of one thing …" Firna had a sweet smile on her face. Her tone could not help but rise. "The efficiency of the Ophelia Matrix has dropped, Your Excellency."
"The efficiency of the Ophelia Matrix has dropped?!" The grand hierarch was stunned for a moment. There was a hint of disbelief in his voice. "Are you sure?"
"We are confident in our judgment, Grand Hierarch." Rayna stopped smiling and looked serious. "Since two days ago, we have found that the Ophelia Matrix has been fluctuating abnormally. It seems that there is an unusually large amount of data exchange and reorganization going on inside. We still don't know what it is doing, but since that data exchange, its efficiency has been dropping. It was not until a few hours ago that the rate of decline completely stabilized and has remained at a low level until now."
Rayna paused. Firna continued without delay. "According to the calculations we have just completed, if the Ophelia Matrix continues to operate at its current efficiency for forty-eight hours, there will be a very small loophole when it reconfigures the internal security mode. If it continues for a little longer … the loophole will become exploitable. We can push the infiltration line into the impact crater and even take over the outermost part of the energy conduits in the Deep Blue Well."
The grand hierarch's eyes fell on the elven twins. His wooden and gloomy face did not show any obvious expression, but the flickering light in his eyes showed that this seriously distorted life was in a relatively excited state. He let out a hoarse laugh, but soon he had a question. "Wait, if the change happened two days ago, why didn't you report it then?"
"We need to confirm. Although the Ophelia Matrix has been running smoothly for 700 years, it may experience temporary and normal fluctuations due to internal self-maintenance or the failure of some nodes. So we need to confirm that something is really wrong with the matrix before we can report to you," Pherna said frankly. "Unless you want to be disturbed by frequent and meaningless trifles again and again. In that case, we sisters can report all the details in detail."
The grand hierarch stared at the elven twins for a long time. It was not until a dozen seconds later that he looked away again.
"Well, I don't care about your 'details'. I respect our 'partnership'," he said flatly. "So now show me some sincerity as a partner. Tell me, how can we proceed further? We need the energy of the Deep Blue Well. Even if we can only control the outermost conduit, it will be a huge step forward."
Rayna and Firna smiled.
They raised their heads and looked at the Deep Blue Well in the distance. They watched as the pure energy gushed out from the top of the crystal pillar like a giant sword into the sky, piercing through the dirty clouds and stirring up the gloomy cyclone that covered the entire wasteland.
"Of course," the elven twins said in unison. "We will get the energy of the Deep Blue Well."
…
The connection with the land had been completely cut off just now.
Gwen got up from the dragon's back and looked at the special equipment behind Melita's shoulder blade. The equipment was no longer transmitting signals from the land. The holographic projection was showing an error sign, and part of the base runes had dimmed. It was a sign that the basic response signal had completely disappeared. And all of this happened faster than the technicians had expected.
He frowned. It seemed that even the most powerful and sensitive special equipment could not maintain contact with the land after crossing the coastal demarcation line. If they wanted the magic network to continue to work in the sea, they would have to set up a transit node in the sea, or set up a communication facility under the sea.
As for launching a communication satellite … it was probably too early to think about it.
The whistling sea breeze brushed past Melita's protective barrier. By the time the whistling sound reached her ears, it was already very weak. The surface of the sea glowed under the setting sun, presenting a magnificent beauty that those who lived on land would find hard to imagine.
Melita had lowered her altitude twice in a row. Now she was almost flying at a low altitude.
"The signal has been cut off." Amber scratched her head. "The signal in the sea is decaying faster than on land. The large hub at the north port should be able to cover here."
"I can lower my altitude a little more. I'm good at ultra-low altitude flying." Melita's voice came from the front. "Flying close to the sea can shorten the straight-line distance between your communication equipment and the land, and the interference will be less."
"Then I'll have to trouble you." Gwen did not refuse her kindness. After all, he did want to collect more data. "Lower your altitude."
"It's a piece of cake. It's just a flap of my wings."
Melita said casually. Then the powerful Giant Dragon stretched out its wings, adjusted its overall flying posture, and lowered its altitude to almost the level of flying close to the sea. The waves rolled under the Giant Dragon's wings, and the sudden airflow swept up the foam and debris floating on the water, forming a broken white trail behind the Giant Dragon.
A buzzing sound came from the few devices. Two of them, which were used to detect the response signal and identify the remote hub, were automatically turned on. The holographic projection above them trembled and some characters jumped out. Just as Melita said, the interference of magic power was improved near the surface of the sea. However, it did not last long.
Just a few minutes later, the connection was cut off again. This time, it was really impossible to connect.
"Do you need me to hover for a while?" Melita asked thoughtfully. "Maybe we can find a more precise 'dividing point'."
"… No need." Gwen thought for a moment and shook his head. "The device has automatically recorded the relevant data. The technicians will analyze it when we get back. The situation on the sea changes rapidly. The data you collect after hovering here is not very useful. "
"Well, then I'm going to increase the altitude." Melita shook her head. "I don't have to worry about the sea if I fly higher. There are a few islands nearby. If I continue to fly low, I'm afraid I'll hit the mountains."
As she spoke, the Giant Dragon flapped her wings. With a slight tilt and acceleration, the sea and sky in Gwen's field of vision began to sink. Amber curiously asked, "Hey, you've hit the mountains before?"
"Of course not," Melita said immediately. "My flying skills are the best among my peers!"
Amber came up to Gwen and whispered, "I don't know why, but I feel that she's not telling the truth …"
Gwen maintained his dignified state and did not say a word.
But he felt that what Amber said made sense …
At this moment, Veronica, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly stood up.
The 'Saintess Princess' stepped forward and came to Gwen's side. She looked into the distance and whispered, "We're close to the storm …"
"Oh my God!" Amber, who was beside Gwen, exclaimed. "Are we going to go straight through it?"
In front of Melita's flight path, a magnificent cloud wall had already stood at the end of the sea. As they got closer, the details of the magnificent cloud wall were clearly presented before everyone's eyes. It connected the sea and the sky. On the surface, there was a large scale of clouds moving horizontally. Under the suction of the storm, a large amount of seawater was sucked up into the air and then fell back down again in the middle of the cloud wall, forming a long-term storm outside the storm ring. Even though they were still some distance away, Gwen could clearly see the amazing power of the storm and the storm above. No doubt, it was a natural wonder that humans at this stage could not challenge.
Even the strongest and most powerful warship of the Cecil Empire could not do it.
At this moment, Melita was flying straight towards the storm!
"Of course, we're going to go through it." The Giant Dragon's deep voice came from the front. Her tone was light and indifferent. "The scale of this storm is amazing. It will take a lot of effort and a lot of time to go around it."
As she spoke, she had already flapped her giant wings once more. The primordial runes on the edges of her wings lit up one after another. Propelled by magic, she began to soar rapidly while the Stormy Cloud Wall in the distance rapidly descended in front of Gawain and the others.
"Can we go through the storm from the cloud wall?" Gwen immediately asked.
"Ah … If we want to completely go through the storm ring, we have to fly near the boundary between the turbulence layer and the steady-state limit layer. That is a height where even the Giant Dragon can't stay for a long time." Melita's tone seemed to have a hint of a smile. "We won't fly that high. Just to the middle of the turbulence layer."
Gwen frowned subconsciously. He instinctively felt that the structure of the Eternal Storm would be a bit weird according to what Melita said. "At that height, the storm is weaker?"
"That's right, the power of the storm will be weaker there. Of course, it's still very dangerous for ordinary flying creatures, but for the dragons, it's already a 'gale' that they can withstand," Melita said proudly. "I'll use my magic shield to protect you, so just sit tight when the time comes. Enjoy the rest of the journey. I think it will be spectacular for you. "
The wind is weaker at high altitude? Is the 'power source' of the Eternal Storm not the upper atmosphere, but … near the sea?
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