msmithbooks Chapter 565 Crack
Chapter 565 Crack
But on the west side, the lines of several main channels turned dark red, broke at the ends, and energy accumulated, flowed back, and then dissipated there.
Zhao Hao opened his eyes, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
Sweating in such an extremely cold environment indicates that he has expended a considerable amount of mental energy.
"The ice wall on the west side, about... two miles from here." Zhao Hao pointed in that direction, taking a breath.
"The crack is located in the lower middle part of the ice wall, about fifteen meters above the ground. The crack did not form naturally—the natural aging of the barrier should begin from the nodes, and the energy decay should be uniform, but that crack is localized and concentrated. It's like...like being pierced through from the outside by a very thin and hot thing."
He paused, then added:
"I also sensed another anomaly. To the east, about three miles away, an energy node has shifted from its original position. The shift is small, only a few centimeters, but it is this few centimeters of deviation that has caused the energy output of the entire rune array to decrease by more than 30 percent."
As Lin Tian listened to Zhao Hao's description, he quickly organized the information in his mind.
Two anomalies: one is a structural crack penetrated by external force, and the other is the failure of the self-healing function caused by the displacement of internal nodes.
The former is an "external injury," while the latter is an "internal injury." The combination of the two has led to the current situation where the integrity of the seal continues to decline.
He strode toward the western ice wall.
Zhao Hao quickly followed, his bare foot making a "splat" sound as it stepped on the ice.
The ice wall on the west side.
This is a massive ice wall nearly a hundred meters high, composed entirely of pure ice crystals, with countless ancient runes engraved inside. The runes vary in size, some as large as a washbasin, others only the size of a fingernail, arranged in an extremely complex array.
A thousand years ago, the sages of humanity laid this defensive line here, using the will of countless heroic spirits to establish its foundation and weaving an energy network for it with the most advanced runic techniques. It has guarded the northern border for a thousand years, blocking the invasion of countless high-level magical beasts.
But now, it's old.
Lin Tian stood in front of the ice wall, looking up at the cracks.
Large cracks stretched from the top of the ice wall to the bottom, like an ugly scar; smaller cracks, like a dense spider web, radiated outwards from the larger ones. The ice crystals at the edges of the cracks had lost their luster, turning grayish-white, like dead bones.
Among these chaotic cracks, one stands out particularly.
It wasn't long, only about the length of an arm, and no more than a finger's width, but it was extremely deep—Lin Tian's senses extended over it, and he discovered that the crack had almost penetrated the entire ice wall, just a few centimeters away from completely piercing through it.
The edges of the crack were so smooth they were almost unbelievable, like laser-cut glass, so smooth they could reflect light.
This was not caused by the Warcraft's shockwave.
Lin Tian reached out and touched the edge of the crack.
My fingertips touched a cool, almost mirror-smooth surface.
A system notification sounded in my ear.
[Damage to the core of the northerly wind barrier has been detected.]
[Current seal integrity: 62%]
[Warning: The integrity level is decreasing at a rate of approximately 1.5% per day. When it drops below 50%, the boss-level monster guarding the interior will break free from its seal.]
[Analysis of the cause of damage is in progress... Analysis complete.]
[Reason 1: Structural crack caused by external penetration. Crack location: western ice wall of the North Wind Barrier, coordinates (-172, 348, 09). Crack characteristics: smooth edges, exhibiting a high-temperature scorching appearance, suspected to have been caused by a high-energy beam-like attack. This crack has extended to the core layer of the barrier, causing the sealing energy to continuously leak out.]
[Reason 2: Energy supply node offset. The "Frost Rune Array" at coordinates (89, -237, 45) has shifted due to prolonged monster attacks, with an offset of 3.7 cm horizontally and 2.1 cm vertically. This offset causes the barrier's self-repair function to fail, reducing energy transmission efficiency by 37%.]
[Recommended Repair Solution 1: Use "Barrier Repair Stones" to repair structural cracks (requires 2 stones) and recalibrate energy nodes (requires an Advanced Runemaster). Repair Stones can be obtained from the Points Shop for 50,000 points each.]
[Recommended Repair Option Two: Directly eliminate the boss-level threat within the barrier. After the boss monster dies, the pressure inside the barrier will significantly decrease, and the self-repair function may be reactivated. Estimated success rate: 78%.]
After reading the prompt, Lin Tian withdrew his hand.
He turned around and looked at Zhao Hao.
Zhao Hao was squatting below the ice wall, running his fingers along the fine cracks on the ice surface. A pale golden light shimmered at his fingertips—his talent was at work.
"Here," Zhao Hao pointed to an inconspicuous thin crack on the ice, his tone somewhat excited, "this crack's direction is different from the others. Other cracks radiate outwards from the center, but this one—look—it runs from the outside in. This means it wasn't caused by internal pressure, but by external force."
Lin Tian walked over and glanced down at it.
This is true.
This crack is in the opposite direction to all the other cracks, like a nail driven in from the outside, carving a hole in the ice wall from the outside in.
Zhao Hao looked up at Lin Tian with a hint of worry in his eyes.
"Lin Tian... do you think the person who broke through the barrier from the outside might still be nearby?"
Lin Tian did not answer the question.
He gazed into the depths of the icy plains. There, a vast life force slumbered. Its heartbeat was slow yet powerful, its energy pulses dull and heavy, like an ancient beast lurking beneath the earth.
"That's not important," Lin Tian said.
He turned around, facing the depths of the icy plain.
"Let's take care of this guy first."
Zhao Hao followed Lin Tian's gaze—he couldn't see anything, but his talent allowed him to sense the heavy pressure, like a boulder pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Then... what level is that thing?" Zhao Hao's voice started to waver again.
"At least an 80-level boss," Lin Tian said.
Zhao Hao's face paled even more.
The boss is level 80. He's only level 35. One skill's aftershock could vaporize him ten times over.
He stood there, his hand holding the short sword trembling slightly before he gripped it tightly again.
"I...I followed behind," he said.
The voice was still trembling, but the foot had already taken the first step.
Lin Tian glanced at him, then turned away.
"Let's go."
He strode into the depths of the ice field, his boots leaving two clear footprints on the ice.
Zhao Hao took a deep breath, held the short sword horizontally in front of him, and followed after them with a limp.
Lin Tian stopped and turned to look at Zhao Hao.