"But do you already know what we are truly facing?" King Darius finally asked while staring directly toward Morvain. Frustration had already begun surfacing clearly within his voice. "Because if not, this will become extremely difficult. I do not even know what kind of orders I should give my warriors anymore."

Morvain slowly exhaled while lowering one of the ancient metallic fragments he had been studying.

"That is precisely the problem, Your Majesty," the old Archmage answered heavily. "None of us truly know."

The glowing crystals surrounding the underground cavern flickered faintly while silence briefly settled between them.

"We only heard from the Dragonborn that this entity exists far beyond our comprehension," Morvain continued afterward. "They said they would handle it. But even I did not expect the scale of this disaster to spread across the entire world like this. This entity truly is beyond our comprehension."

His expression darkened further.

King Darius slowly clenched his fists.

"Then what exactly are we supposed to do now?" he demanded. "Communication with the other kingdoms has collapsed. We do not know what is happening to the expeditions. We cannot predict what will happen next."

The frustration inside him became increasingly obvious now. The fire of a warrior slowly reignited within his eyes while tension hardened across his entire posture.

Morvain quietly watched him. Honestly, the old Archmage could not blame the king at all.

"I understand, Your Majesty," Morvain finally said calmly. "But right now, all we can do is defend our kingdom as best as possible. The other kingdoms are most likely experiencing the same situation."

He then looked back toward the partially dismantled constructs surrounding the archive chamber.

"I will continue my research here," he said firmly. "So when all the fragments are finally gathered, we can immediately move as quickly as possible to rewrite the Sky Anchor."

King Darius began pacing in frustration afterward. He looked around the underground chamber before finally releasing a sharp breath through his nose.

"Alright then," he said curtly.

The tone alone made it obvious he no longer wished to continue discussing uncertainty. His focus had already shifted completely toward action.

Without another word, King Darius stepped back into the teleportation circle.

Blue Magic light immediately swallowed his body.

Moments later, he reappeared atop the battlements beneath the dark rainy skies once again.

The defenders immediately straightened the moment they saw him return.

King Darius wasted no time.

"Prepare scouting squads immediately," he ordered firmly. "I want eyes on those mountains now."

Several captains instantly moved.

Throughout the fortress, knights and scouts rapidly gathered near the outer gate while rain continued pouring lightly across their armor. Fast-moving reconnaissance squads equipped with light armor, tracking artifacts, and communication spirits quickly assembled into formation.

Some tightened the straps around their weapons while others checked spirit compasses and enchanted maps one final time.

Despite their calm appearances, tension remained obvious across all of their faces.

There were fifteen scouts selected for the mission. Every one of them belonged to the best reconnaissance squads within Valdros and specialized in speed, tracking, and stealth movement across dangerous terrain.

Unlike normal soldiers, these men and women wore much lighter armor reinforced with compact Magic formations to enhance agility rather than defense. Thin enchanted cloaks rested over their shoulders while spirit communication artifacts hung near their waists beside curved blades and short spears designed for rapid combat.

Rainwater slid down their armor while they gathered before the outer gate in complete silence.

King Darius himself approached them afterward. The king’s sharp gaze moved across every scout standing there before he finally spoke.

"You are not being sent out there to fight," he said firmly. "Your priority is observation and survival."

The scouts listened carefully without moving.

"If the situation becomes dangerous, retreat immediately," King Darius continued. "I do not care if your progress becomes slow as long as you remain careful." His expression hardened further afterward. "We still do not understand what we are facing. Do not underestimate anything you see out there."

The fifteen scouts immediately nodded their heads.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Moments later, the massive outer gates slowly opened.

Cold wind and light rain immediately swept inside the fortress entrance while the dark mountain range loomed in the far distance like gigantic black walls beneath the dark sky.

Without hesitation, the scouting squad departed. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Their movements were fast and disciplined as they crossed the rocky outer terrain surrounding Valdros. Enhancement Magic quietly flowed through their bodies while they leaped across uneven ground and moved between massive stone formations with practiced precision.

At first, everything seemed normal.

But the farther they traveled away from the kingdom walls, the stranger the atmosphere became.

The silence deepened. No beast roars echoed from the mountains anymore. No insects buzzed between the rocks. Not even birds appeared in the skies above them. Only the sound of rain and distant wind remained.

Several scouts gradually tightened their grips around their weapons. The unnatural silence made the pressure inside their chests grow heavier with every passing minute.

Eventually, the squad finally reached the lower areas of the mountain range. That was when they began noticing something wrong. There were cracks there.

Enormous fractures had spread across parts of the rocky mountains themselves. Some of the cracks stretched dozens of meters across the stone walls while faint streams of dark mist continuously leaked out from within the openings like something inside it was boiling hot.

The moment the scouts saw the black mist, their expressions immediately changed because the energy leaking from those cracks felt disturbingly similar to corruption.

The scouting squad immediately slowed their movements after discovering the first cracks spreading throughout the mountain walls. Several scouts instinctively stepped back slightly.

"That energy feels similar to the corruption the Dragonborn described before," one of them muttered uneasily.

The leader of the squad remained silent for several moments while observing the black mist carefully. Rainwater continued dripping from his hood while tension slowly hardened across his face.

Then he finally spoke. "We continue moving."

Several scouts immediately looked toward him.

"Captain, if this truly is corruption—"

"I know," the leader interrupted firmly. "That is exactly why we need to see how far this has spread."

His hand slowly moved toward the sword hanging at his waist.

"Stay alert. No unnecessary noise. The moment anything feels wrong, we retreat immediately."

The squad quickly nodded. After that, the fifteen scouts carefully advanced deeper into the mountain range.

The farther they climbed, the worse the situation became.

More cracks began appearing across the rocky terrain around them. Some of them spread along the cliffs or split directly through the mountain paths beneath their feet. Every single fracture emitted dark mist.

The corruption leaking from them also grew increasingly dense.

Several scouts began noticing strange discoloration spreading through parts of the stone. Black and red veins slowly crawled across the mountains.

The air became scarier and heavier. Even breathing started feeling uncomfortable.

One of the scouts suddenly stopped moving.

"Captain..." he called quietly.

The leader immediately turned toward him.

The scout slowly pointed farther ahead toward the upper mountain cliffs.

Everyone’s expressions immediately stiffened.

They saw that the cracks there were no longer small anymore. Entire sections of the mountain had split apart. Massive fractures stretched across the cliffs like gigantic wounds while enormous quantities of black mist continuously poured outward from the darkness inside them.

—