Even Ai Xiaoxiao, at the forefront, shrank back a bit.
"What should we do next?" Luo Yu asked, "Should we retreat for now?"
"Let's take a look ahead," Fang Hong pondered for a moment before replying.
The Dead Silence Zone was not a new concept to him. There were many peculiar places in Eteliria with Dead Silence Zones, some man-made, others not. So far, aside from their prevalent distribution near the Continental Bridge, no special pattern has been discovered.
Moreover, places that have Dead Silence Zones often mean they are rarely visited, possibly containing real treasures.
After all, what's adventure without taking any risks?
He took out the Communication Crystal and reported the situation over there, yet Miss Atira only advised caution and said nothing more.
Luo Hao suggested bringing the Seven Seas Traveler over, but Fang Hong refused, saying to wait until after the inspection.
There was nothing of interest left in the Captain's Room; the drawers in the surrounding cabinets, when opened, revealed nothing but darkness, seemingly filled with a drawer of dust.
Only some ancient coins were recovered under the mentality that even flies' meat is meat, but the quantity wasn't substantial.
The two skeletons didn't offer any valuable clues either, making it impossible to determine their identity.
Passing through the Captain's Room, there was a locked door up ahead. The door was rather exquisite, with some of its former hues discernible through the dust; perhaps the only colors besides the hazy gray they had seen since boarding.
Fang Hong stopped in front of the door. He knew that beyond it was the Captain's Room, but before opening it, he turned his head to look at Ai Xiaoxiao.
Ai Xiaoxiao caught on, shook her head, "No activity behind the door."
She described using lip movements.
The Captain's Room was sealed; Fang Hong had already confirmed it by flying the Clockwork Fairy around.
There were also no traps on the door, which Xiangzi confirmed with Detection Magic.
The traps in such locations were mostly temporary in nature; after all, no one would place something nonsensical like poisoned heavy crossbows in the areas of their daily routines.
After confirming these two points, Fang Hong cautiously ordered the Sword Bearer to advance, and slash open the Captain's Room door with a single sword strike.
It proved that his caution was not in vain, as the Sword Bearer stepped forward on his command and swung the sword to open the Captain's Room door—at that moment, when almost no one could see clearly, a silver light drew out from behind the shattered wooden door, hitting the Sword Bearer at the waist.
The Sword Bearer was directly severed in two, leaving the upper half maintaining the sword-swinging posture, separating from the lower half, flying sideways, crashing into the boards, and shattering along with them.
And the lower half rolled out shortly after, crashing into a pile of chairs.
After the silver light flashed, everyone saw a flash of dark red light behind the door, and another silver beam shot out from the dark hole of the door.
The silver beam was aimed right at Fang Hong among the crowd.
But by this time Xiangzi finally reacted, gripping the Short Staff, an invisible gray net expanded from the staff's tip.
The silver beam slowed upon passing through the invisible gray net, and Xiangzi stepped forward, swiftly drawing the Rapier in a reverse grip, with another silver light flashing in the dimness.
Sparks scattered in mid-air, the silver beam veering to the side, embedding itself into the wall panel, finally revealing its shape.
It was a silver glittering short spear.
Fang Hong glanced at Xiangzi; the Enchanting Poet could add four instant-cast arrays onto the Magic Guided Core Crystal, though this ability reduced maximum Mana, it truly was the best direction for pursuing both magic and martial arts.
Xiangzi also began his own path, striding further on the Magic Sword road. All things considered, he hadn't provided much advice; Lonely White Field truly had an eye for people.
In just an instant, a peculiar Construct had already crawled out from within the door, allowing everyone to see their opponent's appearance.
It was a Construct appearing quite unfamiliar to Fang Hong—
It had a slender frame, like an upright bamboo pole, topped with a pointed hat, beneath which flickered dark red light.
That was the dark red glow they saw earlier, which was the Construct's eyes.
The Construct generally retained a humanoid figure, but stood so tall it needed to hunch over to fit into the cramped space.
Its entire body was painted with black lacquer, surrounded by dark gold trim, some parts were corroded, and the exposed sections bore a copper hue.
The weapon of this Construct was a long knife hanging at its waist, sheathed within a Magic Guided Scabbard, connected via a leather tube to the Magic Guided Reactor behind it.
Indeed, this Construct was equipped with a Magic Guided Reactor. Although Fang Hong hadn't discerned the reactor's model yet, it was indeed the first time he'd seen a Construct equipped with a reactor.
The terrifying sword strike earlier had undoubtedly been delivered from this Magic Guided Scabbard.
The Sword Bearer's flexible construct could not withstand this strike.
Yet that sword was still not the main weapon of this Construct.
Since Fang Hong could see that it held in its copper-cast, slender hands an Imperial Eleventh Class Magic Guided Rifle, similarly connected to the reactor behind it, the black gun body reflecting cold glints at the edges, the dark crimson light points, emitting squeaky mechanical sounds aimed towards him.
The way it held the gun with both hands inexplicably reminded Fang Hong of the toy soldiers he had played with as a child.
Only this one in front of him was sleeker and much more hardcore than those toys.
A flare shot out in the darkness, gold-red bullets whirling through the gray web raised by the youth.
Since everything from the Construct's appearance, to raising the gun and firing, happened in the blink of an eye, Xiangzi only had time to turn back, a trace of surprise glimmering in his eyes:
"Ignoring magic!?"
"Cousin Ade, watch out!" Ai Xiaoxiao screamed fearfully.
But it was as if Fang Hong had already anticipated the crisis, almost instinctively stepping aside, letting the bullet pierce through the wall, punching a large hole.
Due to wind pressure, a buzzing echoed in Fang Hong's ear, blanking his mind for a moment before realizing it was again the Dark Blessing that saved his life.
The speed of that thing was so quick.
But more unsettling to him than this was—in the instant the Construct fired, he perceived a familiar resonance from its Core Crystal.
Rune Sentinels and Golem Statues never displayed such tangible signs of magical exposure—that was a Flexible Construct!
Without considering the oddity of using a Magic Guided Reactor in a Soul Construct, Fang Hong was taken aback that there were other Combat Artisans in this place?
He then heard Xiangzi's voice coming from ahead.
"None of you move, I can handle it alone!"
Clearly, the youth's fighting spirit had ignited.
...