Chapter 773: Third Border Town
The entrance to the underground cave was located directly north of Neverwinter City, at the intersection of the city and the mountains, while the hillside above was the site of the perpetually busy mine shafts and kiln areas.
As they approached the foot of the mountain, a sturdy concrete wall appeared before them, with watchtowers at its four corners and barbed wire strung along the top. At the entrance stood two jiqiang bunkers. Although some facilities were still under construction, this area had become the most heavily guarded in Neverwinter City.
Under the saluting gaze of the guarding soldiers, Roland walked into the courtyard.
Just a wall apart, he felt a sense of crossing more than a thousand years.
The scene inside should absolutely not have appeared in this era—it was a huge cave wrapped in concrete, more than ten meters wide and five meters high. On either side were two magnificent iron gates, not only exceeding the size of the cave entrance but also with an astonishing thickness of one meter. Although not solid cast, but pieced together by several layers of steel plates, the combined armor thickness exceeded half a meter, completely the kind of heavy partition doors only found in modern military fortresses.
Because the weight of the iron gates was too astonishing, the cave entrance had to be reinforced, and sliding rails were installed on the ground. Even so, it was impossible to push it by manpower alone.
Therefore, two steam engines were placed on one side of the courtyard, one of which was responsible for providing power to open and close the gate.
Once the demonic beasts broke through the defenses set up by the witches of Taquila, after evacuating the God's Relics, this gate would block any pursuing demonic beasts behind it.
To build it, Neverwinter City consumed almost a third of its steel production for the entire winter. The square shape looked like it had no technical content, but "massive" meant technology in the engineering itself. Standing in front of the building-like partition door, Roland could feel the thick power it contained.
On the day the gate was installed, he personally witnessed the scene of the iron gate opening and closing. The steam engine emitted a dull roar, the harsh friction of the wheel rails, and the slowly approaching behemoth, it was like controlling an entrance to the end of the world.
On either side of the iron gate were rows of distorted characters, which, when combined, meant Third Border Town.
The group walked into the cave, and the light dimmed instantly.
Phyllis took out a luminous magic stone and walked to the front of the group, leading everyone to the deep underground cave.
"Your Majesty, I've never quite understood why you call this place the Third Border Town," Wendy said, puzzled, "If the outer border area is considered the first city, then where is the Second Border Town?"
"Because three is suitable," Roland replied.
"Huh?"
"Anyway, don't you think the ordinal number third goes well with the fortress... Besides, the name doesn't matter, as long as people can remember it," he spread his hands.
"Okay, if you like it," Wendy pouted.
After the conversation stopped, only the echoing footsteps and the sound of dripping water remained in the cave.
Due to the lack of concrete spraying tools, only the ground of this passage had been hardened. On both sides were drainage ditches and mine rails. When transporting supplies and food, the steam engine installed in the cave would pull a series of trailers for transportation. Roland had heard Phyllis mention that some God's Punishment Witches were also interested in how much strength this machine had. As a result, they found that even if five people held a hemp rope together, they could not stop the steam engine from pulling them step by step to the end.
Since the walls and the top of the cave could not be covered with concrete, seepage was inevitable. Fortunately, the temperature inside the mountain was not too low, and the road surface would not freeze. And the place where the Devouring Worm crawled would also leave a mucus, which would glue the soil together after drying, like a layer of paste, so there was no need to worry about the cave collapsing.
After walking for about half an hour, the front gradually brightened up.
"We're almost there," Phyllis slowed down, "Your Majesty, do you need..."
Roland knew what she wanted to say, "It's okay, take me there now."
The God's Punishment Witch looked back,
Gave him a deep look, "...Yes, I understand."
Walking out of the cave, the field of vision suddenly opened up, and a spacious arched hall appeared in front of everyone, about the size of a football field. Dozens of beams of light could be seen entering the cave from the top, casting patches of light on the ground. With the help of the skylights, even though it was located deep in the mountains, it did not feel oppressive. Guarding here were not only witches, but also many First Army soldiers—each of them had been reviewed by Nightingale and was the most steadfast group of people in the team towards Roland.
But even they were now as far away from the hall as possible. In the center of the huge open space, there were only a few rhombus-shaped magic cores, and three high-level witches of Taquila... or rather, the Original Vessels.
He smiled and walked towards the three, extending his right hand towards the leading fleshy monster, "We have finally met, you are Pasha, right?"
In an instant, Roland felt his breathing quicken behind him, and a hand had already rested on his shoulder. As long as there was anything wrong, Nightingale would undoubtedly pull him into the mist.
The fleshy monster was silent for a while before a familiar voice sounded in his mind, "It surprises me, Your Majesty. If before we were talking with illusion cores, and the fabricated scene was not so daunting, then the composure you are showing now is simply incredible—to be honest, you are the first person to see this body and still be nonchalant. Even the witches of Taquila, when they first saw the unactivated Original Vessels, were far less calm than you. I am very curious, are you not afraid at all?" She paused, then extended a tentacle and gently intertwined it with his palm, "But you guessed right, I am Pasha, thank you for your support of the witches of Taquila."
"He hasn't supported us yet. Just sending a team of mortals to escort the relics can be said to be either help or surveillance," another cold consciousness interjected, "These words can wait until after exploring the Great Snow Mountain."
"Eal瑕! We agreed before!" a third voice interrupted.
"Okay, I won't mention it."
It seemed that the other two were Eal瑕 and Celine, who often appeared beside Pasha. Roland didn't mind the other party's tone. First, these ancient witches themselves lived in an era where witches were supreme, so it would definitely not be easy to change their minds immediately. Second, compared to superficial attitudes, he hoped for more substantial gains.
"One of the most famous explorers in the Fjords said that fear comes from the unknown. No matter what you look like, your souls belong to the witches of Taquila." Roland smiled, "And I am no stranger to the latter. Agatha has become an indispensable member of the Witch Union and is deeply trusted and loved by everyone."
The tentacle felt quite rough, and the surface was not as dry as it looked, but slightly moist, probably due to burrowing in the soil. And he could clearly feel the temperature contained under the skin—there was no doubt that the huge fleshy tumor in front of him was still a living organism.
"...So that's how it is," Pasha's voice seemed a little emotional, "You're right, our cooperation actually started a long time ago."
"In the face of the threat of demons, everyone should put aside their prejudices and unite as much as possible." Roland said a few polite words, then turned to the main topic, "By the way, the God's Relics should have been transferred here, right? Can you let me see what the thing that determines the fate of mankind looks like?"
Pasha swayed the main tentacle on top of her head, "Of course, please come with me."