Chapter 190 - Dark Veiled Sea 6 (2/2)
“An, an automatic defense system!?”
“How dangerous. If we approached it, we would be like mosquitoes flying towards a flame...”
That single shot had shown the overwhelming technological power of the Erendia Kingdom.
As the group stood and stared hesitantly, the sturgeon next to the submarine turned around and drew a circle.
It was expressing that it had a good idea.
Woohyuk nodded as a sign of permission.
“First, let’s see what he plans to do.”
“I’m worried for him. One misstep and he becomes a grilled shark.”
“Can’t we just send Triton?”
And now, a nameless sturgeon was more popular among the women than Triton himself.
As he lightly ignored their words, Woohyuk silently stared in the direction where the sturgeon had disappeared.
Maybe he was going to call someone else.
As expected, the sturgeon appeared with a creature with a red shell after a while.
“It's a lava turtle. Those can withstand high heat particle cannons.”
“Aren’t the defenses a bit too weak if they can get penetrated by a single animal?”
“Yes, but the fortress might use a different means of attack if the turtle gets too close.”
“… Then I’ll have to help it a little.”
Woohyuk walked toward the window of the captain's room.
When he raised his hand, the lava turtle was covered and protected by a black shield.
“Now it won’t get pierced by metal objects.”
“With Lord Asura’s demonic energy, it could withstand even the highest level of divine magic.”
The two women put their hands on their chests and sighed in relief.
After a while, the lava turtle swung its short limbs and headed towards the unknown building.
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
Booooooooooooooom!
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
Dozens of cannons fired red shells at the inoffensive animal.
However, the lava turtle continued to swim, facing the attacks as if they were nothing.
Soon, it arrived at its destination...
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Hundreds of smaller barrels popped out of the building’s surface, and countless bullets loaded with mana were fired.
If Woohyuk hadn't covered the turtle with demonic energy, the lava turtle would have become a beehive by now.
What was left now was to open the tightly closed entrance that resembled an iron gate.
[Code Red. Code Red. Only those with administrator privileges can access.]
[Enter the administrator verification code using the virtual keypad created in front of you. The time limit is 1 minute.]
[If the administrator verification is not authenticated within the time limit, unmanned magic soldier troops will be dispatched.]
The unmanned magic soldier troops literally meant AI infantry that were assembled with magic-engineered parts.
It was an incredible scientific achievement.
But now wasn't the time to admire the technology.
“We’re stuck now. They’re asking for a passcode...”
“Is there any other way? If it were a security system designed with runes, I would’ve gone there, but it all looks like magic engineering to me...”
Most importantly, the time limit was 1 minute.
As everyone panicked, Woohyuk took out the Hourglass of Time.
Afterwards, he placed it on top of the table at the center of the captain's room.
Rumble.
Golden sand began to flow down the narrow hole from the top of the hourglass.
“I reduced the passing of time by 300. It’s the most I can do with my current abilities.”
The maximum speed reduction was -1,000, but this was more than enough time for now.
What was originally one minute had increased to five hours.
“By 300? So we have five hours now. But how do we get the verification code?”
“I found this in the Golden Rose Society’s laboratory. At first I didn't know what it was, but now that I look at it, it's made up of the symbols and characters on the keypad.”
Woohyuk opened some kind of research journal on the table.
After reading it silently, Aris gasped in surprise.
“It's a very advanced cryptography theory. It looks like a document belonging to the person who designed that fortress.”
“Do you think the security code is written in there?”
“I’m not sure. We'll need to analyze it in depth. But the creator of this fortress probably left this behind for a reason.”
If the Erendia Kingdom received the Sea God's wrath, it would disappear from everyone's memory.
With that possibility in mind, the architect might have prepared this on his own.
During his last moment, he could have teleported his research journal somewhere on the Eeth Continent with a magic-engineered device.
The Golden Rose Society must have been found it by chance.
It was a simple guess, but it seemed believable.
Everyone nodded to Woohyuk's hypothesis.
“Now, let’s study this. We don't have any other clues.”
“I'll help if you find runes in there. It seems unlikely though since it’s the records of a magic engineer.”
As the two women clung to the journal, Woohyuk turned to Davy Jones.
“Is there anything you could help us with?”
“… I am illiterate. I was an orphan, and I couldn't even read children's books.”
Davy Jones was straightforward like most pirates.
Woohyuk then pulled out an old book from his pocket.
“Then you read this while we study the research journal.”
”Huh? But I just said that I can’t...”
“It is a magic book about the common language of the Eeth Continent. Even if you are illiterate, you can read it until the end. You just have to imbue it with mana and read with your mind.”
This was possible because the letters themselves consisted of mana.
Davy Jones grabbed Woohyuk's magic book in tears.
They were definitely not tears of joy.