An hour later, the ground vibrated. A desperate Aethelgard supply convoy approached the mesa. Three armored wagons pulled by domesticated sand-drakes halted near the entrance. The drivers saw the breached main gates and the blood staining the sand.

They immediately noticed the unguarded eastern ramp loaded with intact wooden barrels.

"Secure the cargo!" the lead driver yelled, snapping his reins.

A dozen Fourth Continent soldiers scrambled out of the wagons. They frantically loaded the poisoned barrels onto their transports. They constantly checked over their shoulders, gripping their spears tight against the perceived threat of the beastmen emerging from the dark cavern.

Krax watched from a high balcony, completely hidden in the shadows. He gripped his greataxe tightly. "I could jump down there and cleave the wagons in half."

"Let them run," Iron-Scale ordered. He tracked the convoy as the drivers whipped the sand-drakes and fled back into the Sea of Glass.

Some time passed, and the teams were wandering and exploring the cavern.

Torix scrambled down the sheer stone wall of the central cavern. His black-chitin legs clicked against the sandstone as he bypassed the massive iron water vats. He reached the lowest level of the hollow mesa, where the natural light from the glowing ceiling crystals entirely faded into darkness.

’The enemy engineers spent too much time digging here,’ Torix calculated, his six eyes adjusting to the shadows. ’They must have hid something under the foundation.’

He signaled a pair of his Deep-Weave Hunters. The giant spiders dragged their abdomens across the floor, sweeping away decades of accumulated dust. The clearing revealed a massive circular slab of obsidian embedded directly into the bedrock. Arcane golden locks crisscrossed the dark stone.

Torix tapped his communication crystal. "Commander Iron-Scale. I found a sealed subterranean vault directly beneath the primary water reserves."

Iron-Scale arrived at the lower level a few minutes later, followed closely by Gulag and Krax. He inspected the glowing magical locks binding the obsidian door.

"They buried it deep," Iron-Scale noted. He looked at Gulag. "Crack it open."

Gulag stepped forward and cracked her knuckles. She completely ignored the complex arcane locks and placed her hands flat against the surrounding sandstone floor. Her amber core flared brightly within her chest.

She commanded the foundation itself to tear apart.

The bedrock groaned violently. The stone split wide open, ripping the obsidian door completely out of its frame. The intricate golden locks shattered into useless sparks as the physical earth displaced the magical barrier.

Krax peered down into the newly opened vault. He jumped into the dark pit, his plated boots landing with a metallic thud.

"It is just a bunch of rocks," Krax called up from the darkness. He tossed a fist-sized object out of the hole.

Iron-Scale caught the item mid-air. It was a perfectly spherical crystal, radiating a mesmerizing violet glow. The stone pulsed with an immense concentration of pure mana.

Syra materialized from the shadow cast by Krax’s exit hole. She took the violet crystal from Iron-Scale and held it up to her silver eyes.

"These are not ordinary rocks," Syra corrected, turning the sphere in her hand. "These are Ley-Crystals. Highly condensed runestones used by arch-mages to manually override regional mana grids. Aethelgard must have been excavating the mesa to harvest them for their mobile fortresses."

Torix climbed down into the vault to inspect the cache. "There are thousands of them stacked in these crates."

Up in the sanctuary, Red leaned forward on his obsidian throne. The planetary sensory grid highlighted the vault with a blinding blue icon.

[ System Notification: Ley-Crystals Discovered. ]

[ Item Classification: Mythic-Tier Magical Catalyst. ]

’Voranthar was sitting on a goldmine and using them as basic batteries,’ Red realized, a cold smile forming on his face. ’If I integrate those crystals into the Vanguard’s equipment using my Rebate loop, I can permanently amplify their newly awakened mana cores.’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Load every single crate into the transport wagons," Iron-Scale Commanded. "Do not leave a single crystal behind. I want them integrated into your armor before we hit the next target."

Krax grinned and began hurling the wooden crates up through the hole. "Looks like we get an upgrade."

Iron-Scale secured the violet crystal into his belt pouch. He looked toward the eastern exit of the mesa. The Vanguard had the water, the map, and now the Fourth Continent’s secret arsenal.

The Vanguard infantry hauled dozens of wooden crates up from the subterranean vault, stacking them neatly in the center of the hollow mesa’s main plaza. Violet light spilled through the cracks in the wood to illuminate the cavern walls.

Red watched the live feed from his sanctuary. He activated the Divine Conduit through his console, establishing a direct magical tether to the newly acquired Ley-Crystals.

’These catalysts are meant to alter entire regional grids,’ Red calculated, rapidly inputting the command sequences. ’Feeding them directly into an awakened mana core will forcefully evolve the magical output. Let us see how far we can push their limits.’

[ Stand near the crates and brace yourselves, ] Red instructed them. [ I am initiating the integration. ]

Iron-Scale, Gulag, and Syra stepped into the center of the plaza. Krax leaned his greataxe against a nearby stone pillar and took a step back to watch the process.

Red triggered the remote connection. The wooden crates violently splintered apart. Thousands of spherical Ley-Crystals levitated over the sandstone floor. The immense concentration of violet mana instantly dissolved into flowing streams of liquid energy. The brilliant currents surged forward and struck the chests of the three Vanguard commanders.

Iron-Scale threw his arms out as the pure magic flooded his body. His emerald core flared blindingly bright through his scaled chest. A raging cyclone erupted outward, tearing the surrounding transport wagons to splinters.

He drew his dagger and slashed horizontally at the empty space. A massive crescent of condensed wind effortlessly cleaved a towering iron vat completely in half from fifty yards away. Water spilled onto the floor while he inspected the pristine cut.

"The wind responds instantly," Iron-Scale observed. He sheathed his dagger and flexed his claws. "I do not even need to channel the core. The element simply exists around me."

’This time too, Iron-Scale was the first one to break through.’ Red thought. ’His adaptivity and intelligence far exceeds anyone in the entire seventeenth continent.’