That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Chapter 97 Detonation

Roland knew he had been used as a pawn.

On the surface, it was just a simple death of a person, a person hated by everyone, even his own father, but the impact was profound.

With the kingdom losing its most eager-to-win second son, the passage that was originally intended for a flanking attack has been seized by the empire, and the fall of the fortress is only a matter of time.

A day? Half a day?

No, in just a few hours, the Imperial Army can sweep through the Kingdom's main forces, suppress the Blue Crystal Mountains, and advance straight into the heart of the Kingdom, without even needing to wait for follow-up support.

Worse still, he had no idea what the masterminds behind all this were thinking.

The king's actions were highly contradictory.

First, he strengthened the army's fighting power before the war by increasing taxes and purging dissidents. Then, despite everyone's opposition, he refused to surrender and went to war with the empire.

Now, with the situation slightly improving and only needing to obtain the Blue Crystal Heart to gain a moment of respite, he decisively ordered the killing of his second son.

Why?

Roland couldn't find the answer, so he could only choose to complete the mission as soon as possible, resolve this trial, and then return to Broken Rock Town to continue his peaceful adventure.

Therefore, he gave up the extremely valuable forbidden sword, since this matter was extremely serious and if anyone were to investigate later, they would inevitably start with this sword.

In exchange, Roland took Casper's personal sword, which might give him an answer if things calmed down.

Now, he needs to survive first.

boom-

A violent explosion rang out, followed by a deafening roar from inside the mine. The rock walls trembled violently, and dark blue crystals rained down, splashing into the water on the ground and creating ripples.

Roland glanced back and saw that the magic stones on the dome were emitting an uncertain glow, clearly affected by the energy shock caused by the explosion.

Not hearing any footsteps, the imperial army chose to widen the entrance so that more soldiers could squeeze through the passage and storm the kingdom's fortress from the inside.

This is good news, giving him a brief respite.

Roland turned his head, casually tossed aside the life potion he had just finished drinking, and twisted his injured left shoulder.

A tingling sensation came from the wound, and countless granulation tissues were wrapped and wriggling. Although it looked a bit disgusting, it was a sign that the flesh and blood were regenerating.

I feel slightly unwell, but I'm already able to continue fighting.

He unfolded a map of the mine's interior, pondering how to find the Blue Crystal Heart.

The development of the Blue Crystal Mountains has continued for hundreds of years. The mine tunnels inside are like blood vessels, but they are not interconnected. The locations provided by Casplat all require starting from another mine tunnel entrance.

That mine entrance is now within the sphere of influence of the Imperial Army.

This is why Casper acted as a scout, refusing to turn back even when faced with multiple assassination attempts.

He knew that only by leaving this passage and reaching the area controlled by the Imperial Army could he enter the mine, find the Blue Crystal Heart, and improve the situation.

The same applies to Roland; he must first find a way to leave the mine tunnel and reach the top of the mountain before he can continue.

How do I leave?

"We can't go any further from either side of the entrance. The Imperial army has blocked the exit, and the key in my hand can't open the stone door from this side either."

As his fingertips traced the route map, the edges of the parchment trembled with the shaking of the mine, but Roland's eyes remained calm.

"In that case, we'll just have to create another way out ourselves."

Having made up his mind, he quickly turned around and headed toward a fork in the road.

The murky water splashed with each step, soaking the boots. The roar behind them grew closer, and they could vaguely hear sharp whistling and officers' commands echoing repeatedly in the narrow mine tunnel.

Imperial troops have begun to enter this passage, searching for an entrance to the interior of the fortress.

Roland quickened his pace, surveying his surroundings while mentally estimating the distance.

One hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters —

The increasing number of dark blue veins on the rock walls on both sides indicates that the mineral veins are becoming richer, the water underfoot is gradually becoming shallower, and the terrain is rising.

When the distance reached three miles, the fork in the road was blocked by a solid stone wall. The kingdom had only carved this far, with no further passage.

But we're already close enough to the ground here.

Without the slightest hesitation, Roland took out a wooden box from his dimensional bag.

The moment the lid was lifted, a dark blue aura burst forth, and dozens of magic crystal projectiles were neatly arranged. Each one was the size of a fist, with fine patterns covering its surface, and flickered with an unstable glow in the cave.

He picked it up casually when he left the hall. The magic crystal cannon was well protected by the magic circle, but the cannonball only had tracking runes attached to it, which gave him an opportunity.

Under normal circumstances, this thing cannot be activated by means other than magic crystal cannons; it requires extremely strong directional impact force to activate.

But he had his own way.

Roland took out a shell, closed his eyes slightly, and calmed his mind, quickly finding a familiar feeling.

Magic perception.

The flow of energy around them became clear, and bursts of energy surged behind them like a tidal wave, full of restlessness—the engineering magic of the Imperial Army.

In contrast, the seemingly unstable magic crystal cannonball in front of them was unusually quiet inside, curled up like a newborn wild beast cub.

Roland's perception continued to deepen, exploring the energy core that was compressed into a ball inside, where countless magical forces flowed naturally, intertwined and mixed like tree roots, like a carefully woven spider web.

It's very stable, but—as a shell, it must have a "fuse".

Roland found it.

At the edge of the magically woven network, there is a magical node that connects all the lines, maintaining balance, yet it is extremely fragile; the slightest touch can trigger a chain reaction.

"Hopefully it will work."

Roland took out a shell, looked up and embedded it in the thick layer of soil diagonally above him, took two steps back, and took out a coin from his inner breast pocket.

The item is still the same as before, slightly cold to the touch, with severely worn edges and dents all over.

Normally, Roland uses it to track enemy tracks or detect lies, but now he wants it to serve the same purpose in the Black Ash Dungeon, when encountering that door.

—Energy disturbance.

The shaking inside the passageway grew more and more severe, and the roots of the plants hanging overhead began to tremble. The sounds of fighting came from afar; the imperial army had already stormed into the fortress.

Roland no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and locked his gaze on a certain spot on the outer shell of the magic crystal cannonball, which corresponded to the energy node inside.

Ding!

The dark gold coin traced a straight path, struck the shell casing, and bounced back into Roland's hand.

With a crisp clanging sound, the fine patterns on the surface of the magic crystal cannonball began to glow.

Roland was right; the coin did indeed have the effect of disrupting magic, saving the risky action of triggering it with a longsword attack.

He turned and ran away.

A faint buzzing sound came from behind, like the low growl of a giant beast before it awakens. The surging light illuminated what was behind it, obscuring the brilliance of the magic stone.

The water beneath his feet burst open, splashing cold mud and water onto Roland with every step, yet he dared not stop for a moment, one hundred meters, two hundred meters—until he rounded a bend and hid behind a thick rock wall.

Stop, catch your breath, and listen.

First came silence.

One.

two.

three.

boom-!!!

The murky air was torn apart in an instant, and the shock wave, carrying rubble and mud, surged from the depths of the passage. The rock walls, which were thought to be strong enough to withstand the explosion, could not withstand two breaths and knocked Roland to the ground, with a violent roar echoing.

A few minutes later.

Smoke and mist filled the air, and his eardrums rang. Roland stumbled to his feet, coughing as he walked toward the site of the explosion.

He could already hear the footsteps of the Imperial soldiers behind him.

Fortunately, the explosion was successful. Although the rock wall was still intact, a huge gap appeared in the dome, extending diagonally forward. Grayish-white snowflakes fell, and the icy wind that rushed in made robes flutter loudly.

Roland dared not delay, and climbed upwards using both his hands and feet, with the scattered tree roots becoming the best support points.

As he climbed higher and higher, the wind and snow grew stronger, covering his entire body in a layer of gray and white.

Finally, he stood in the blue crystal forest.

They stood in the middle of the battlefield.