Chapter 551 — A New Gate

"A treasure?"

Gao Yi froze for a moment, then turned his head and saw the half-elf lady bouncing excitedly a short distance away, holding something glittering aloft in her hand. From head to toe she radiated the eagerness of someone fishing for praise.

Greedy and fond of small advantages as this one always seemed to be, the instant she made a find, she had come bounding over to report it.

Gao Yang beckoned the half-elf lady over, eyeing her with open curiosity. "What have you found?"

"Look," Amber said, beaming as she handed him the object. "A ring!"

It was a silver-white band, plain in design and carrying a faint pulse of magical power—clearly a magical artifact. And the instant Gao Yang laid eyes on it, his gaze went still.

After a surge of overpowering familiarity, he finally remembered where he had seen something like this before.

This was a ring from the Mithril Vault! The communication rings given to the Vault's high-tier clients, used to contact their agents!

"This must be a token of the Mithril Vault, isn't it?" Amber had seen Gao Yang's Mithril Ring as well, and the half-elf possessed a dragon's acuity for anything bright and precious, so she had recognized it long ago. "I remember you have one too."

"It is indeed a token of the Mithril Vault..." Gao Yang murmured. "Dropped by that dragon? Could even the dragon race be clients of the Mithril Vault?"

"That... I'm afraid there's more to discuss," Amber said, sticking out her tongue. Then she fumbled behind her and produced another object. "Because it's not just this one ring I found..."

What Amber drew out was an exquisite metal box, about the size of a palm.

The box had clearly once been locked, but its lid had been smashed open and the clasp was twisted out of shape. Inside lay a neat row of Mithril Rings, each wedged into its own black groove one after another...

This time it was Gao Yang's turn to be left staring, dumbstruck.

"This whole box is full of Mithril Rings, isn't it?" Amber said, watching Gao Yang's expression shift. "Carrying a single ring, you could still say he was a client of the Mithril Vault. But carrying a whole box of rings..."

Gao Yang's expression turned grave. "Either that dragon robbed the Mithril Vault, or... he was one of its members—perhaps the one in charge of safekeeping the membership tokens."

The logic was simple enough: if a man carries a single door key, he's an ordinary fellow; if he carries several door keys, he might be a man of means; but if he carries half a catty of keys... then he's either a locksmith or a dormitory warden.

If that dragon really had left this box of Mithril Rings behind, the possibilities behind it were well worth pondering.

Of course, Gao Yang did not rule out the possibility that a dragon had robbed the Mithril Vault and made off with a box of communication devices. But instinct told him the likelier explanation was that the dragon race had some connection to the Mithril Vault.

And once that possibility surfaced, Gao Yang suddenly felt that many of the Mithril Vault's mysteries had found their answer—their power, their secrecy, their influence stretching across the continent for centuries, their immunity to the magic tides. All of it became comprehensible at once, because this organization had never been built by "mortals." Behind it stood the shadow of the dragon race.

Yet this in turn raised more questions: why would the dragon race, utterly mysterious and never revealing themselves to the world, build such a "commercial organization"? What was the purpose of their activities on the continent? Was the Mithril Vault truly just a "vault"? And were there other powers on this continent like the Mithril Vault—forces controlled or founded by hidden races?

Gao Yang's thoughts drifted far away, but he quickly forced those wild fancies back under control.

For now, all they had was a box of Mithril Rings, and those "tokens" had merely happened to appear in a place where a giant dragon had been active. The evidence was hardly sufficient. Even if the rings really had been left by that dragon, and even if that dragon really was a member of the Mithril Vault, there was more than one possible explanation. What if the fabulously wealthy Mithril Vault simply happened to employ a dragon?

With evidence so thin, it was premature to rashly conclude that "the dragons are the true masters of the Mithril Vault." But since he had at least some clues, Gao Yang tentatively linked the dragon race and the Mithril Vault—two equally mysterious powers—together. If he could find more clues about them later, he would continue investigating this matter.

After putting away the Mithril Rings, Gao Yi let out a faint breath and privately resolved to contact that senior agent named "Meiheng Pernia" again when the chance arose. Perhaps... he could glean something from her.

He raised his head and surveyed the scene around him: the steel rangers were standing guard nearby, while Suo Jilin led two soldiers in collecting material samples from the bottom of the crater and sketching the claw marks the giant dragon had left behind.

Beyond that, there were no more valuable clues in this impact crater, and it was already very late. Lingering further in the Black Forest would bring more uncertain risks.

Now was not the time to launch large-scale operations in the dangerous stretches covered by the Black Forest.

With that thought, Gao Yang called out to Suo Jilin: "Once the samples are collected, wrap up. We're heading back."

"Yes, sir!"

By the time the team returned to the Shadow Experiment Ground cave, the sky had long since gone completely dark.

A great number of portable mana crystal lamps had been set up inside and outside the cave opening. For the first time in centuries, the artificial lights of civilization illuminated this dark place. Building materials urgently requisitioned from Xuanyao City were being continuously delivered here, along with all manner of engineering machinery enchanted with weight-reduction spells and more engineering personnel.

When Gao Yang got back to the cave, Knight Byron was leading soldiers in guarding the temporary defensive line near the opening, while a burly middle-aged man in heavy work clothes and a full beard was directing workers in clearing the rubble near the opening, apparently preparing for the construction to come.

Gao Yang recognized the man—he had once been a stonemason of Cecil, named Gordon, and had received a special commendation for his outstanding performance during the first defense of Cecil. And now this master stonemason had become one of the heads of Xuanyao City's construction department.

"Master Gordon," Gao Yang said, approaching the construction chief, "how goes the progress?"

Gordon, once a stonemason and now one of the officials of the administrative hall, hastily bowed. "My lord! We've already cleared the open ground outside the cave. By this time tomorrow, my brothers and I will have a two-meter wall built."

"Excellent," Gao Yan nodded. "I'll have to trouble you all tonight. We must get the fortifications up as quickly as possible—this is no safe place out here."

At that, Gordon cast a slightly nervous, wary glance at the dark, brooding Black Forest in the distance. Tall and sturdy as he was, before the dreaded Black Forest any ordinary man would have his courage tested—but fortunately General Byron and the valiant Cecil Legion stood guard here, and there was the lord's personal encouragement besides. Trusty magic cannons and a legendary hero duke did more than anything to summon a man's courage.

He nodded firmly. "I guarantee the mission will be completed!!"

Gao Yan nodded and led Amber and Suo Jilin deeper into the cave. At the temporary rest area in the center of the cavern, he saw Hedy, who had been waiting there all along.