383: Runes on the twelve stone pillars

Su Han crouched down, carefully examining the grooves on the ground using the faint light from the rusted sword in Bi Yao's hand.

These grooves varied in depth, and their edges were carved with patterns resembling gears, subtly echoing the structure on the central mechanical device.

He took out a piece of broken stone from his waist and gently traced the outline of the grooves.

"Bi Yao, do you think these grooves could be trigger points for some mechanism?"

Bi Yao pressed her ear against a stone pillar, trying to find clues through the frequency of the rune vibrations.

Her hair fell down, reflecting a silver-blue sheen in the dim light. "The resonance of the runes sounds like an ancient language. I've seen records of similar sound waves in ancient texts. Perhaps a specific rhythm is needed to activate it."

Before she finished speaking, the Monster King roared again. This time, its tail swept across, hitting the right side of the rock wall, causing it to collapse and reveal densely packed murals behind it.

The patterns on the murals were bizarre and unpredictable, depicting scenes of armored giants battling winged Monsters.

Su Han's gaze was drawn to one of them—the weapon held by the giant had the same dark gold patterns as Bi Yao's rusted sword.

"There are clues hidden in these murals!"

He reached out to touch, but found the surface of the mural covered in a layer of cold, viscous fluid, emitting a nauseating 腥氣.

The Monster King's footsteps grew closer, and the ground trembled more violently.

Bi Yao suddenly grabbed Su Han's wrist and pulled him behind a stone pillar.

They saw the Monster King's massive body brush past the stone pillar. The eerie light on its scales cast distorted shadows on the stone wall, as if countless hideous faces were wriggling.

Su Han smelled a pungent stench, which was the breath sprayed by the Monster. Wherever it went, the air rippled with strange purple waves.

"It seems to be preventing us from getting close to the murals."

Bi Yao lowered her voice, and the rusted sword in her hand suddenly hummed, its tip pointing at a glowing symbol on the mural.

That symbol looked like it was woven from countless chains, and at this moment, it was slowly rotating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Su Han noticed that the Monster King's gaze occasionally flickered towards the symbol, and each time they made eye contact, it would let out an angry roar.

The two maneuvered between the stone pillars, carefully avoiding the Monster's attack range.

Su Han found that whenever they approached a specific rune, the Monster's attacks would become more frantic.

A sudden idea struck him. "Bi Yao, try touching those runes with your sword, and I'll distract the Monster!"

Without waiting for Bi Yao's response, he had already rushed out with his dagger, deliberately waving it in front of the Monster to attract its attention.

As expected, the Monster King was enraged, and its huge claw swatted towards Su Han.

Su Han flexibly rolled and dodged, narrowly avoiding the attacks each time, while closing the distance to another stone pillar.

Bi Yao seized the opportunity to rush to the rune, took a deep breath, and gently pressed the rusted sword onto the rune.

In an instant, the rune burst into dazzling light. All twelve stone pillars lit up simultaneously, forming a golden beam of light that shot straight into the sky.

The Monster King let out a painful howl. The scales on its body began to peel off one by one, and dark purple blood gushed out.

However, at this moment, the mechanical device emitted a harsh roar. Countless gears began to spin wildly, and the grooves on the ground also lit up with red light.

Su Han and Bi Yao were unable to open their eyes due to the sudden strong light. After they adjusted to the light, they found that the central mechanical device was slowly rising, revealing a deep pit filled with sharp spikes below.

"This is impossible..."

Bi Yao murmured to herself. The rusted sword in her hand glowed brightly, and the dark gold patterns on the blade seemed to come alive, spreading upwards along her arm.

Su Han felt a powerful force surging in the deep pit. That force carried a heart-pounding sense of oppression, as if it was a summons from another world.

Although the Monster King was severely injured, it still stubbornly blocked the front of the deep pit. There was no longer any hesitation in its eyes, replaced by frantic killing intent.

Su Han gripped his dagger, standing in front of Bi Yao.

He could feel his heart pounding violently in his chest. Sweat dripped down his forehead, blurring his vision.

Low vibrations came from the deep pit. The grinding sound of the mechanical device's gears became faster and faster, and the runes on the twelve stone pillars also began to flash rapidly. (End of Chapter)