You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

The two guards at the gate stood ramrod straight; they were clearly not ordinary soldiers.

Viser gestured to the people behind him, and the three of them circled around to the side, approaching silently.

The first person covered the mouth, the second person slit the throat, and the third person threw away the sack, wrapped the body up, and dragged it into a dead corner of the passage.

His movements were as practiced as eating and drinking.

Viser walked to the iron gate and pressed the lock.

The lock wasn't broken, but it was very sturdy and could only be opened with a key.

"He was right."

"The key is in the hands of the castle lord."

He cursed under his breath and turned to leave.

"Change the plan, push upwards."

"Kill the lord and take the key."

The ground battle has also reached a fever pitch.

As soon as the second round of explosions landed, the gate finally collapsed.

It didn't collapse completely, but only half of it collapsed.

The other half was blown off and crashed into a wall inside the fortress, shattering the bones of two guards.

Ron's eyelids twitched, and he shouted, "Go in!"

The wasteland cavalry charged in first, leaping over the collapsed stone wall, followed by illusion soldiers who changed shapes to create illusions and confuse the enemy's judgment.

Chaos reigned inside the fortress.

The defending troops were originally set up according to the floors, but now they were pushed in directly from the main entrance, causing chaos.

Ron led his personal guard forward, cutting through streets and alleys, and fought his way to the main tower.

Outside the main tower, a dozen guards stood in formation to block the way.

A man in black armor stood on the steps, staring coldly at Ron.

"You think that by taking this fortress, you can control the outer realms?"

"You don't know what you touched."

Ron didn't answer. He stepped forward with his bone blade, kicked two guards aside, and swung the blade horizontally at the black-armored man.

The opponent was also a master; he raised his shield to block, and then turned around to deliver a counter-attack with a slash.

But no matter how fast he moved, he couldn't outrun Ron's explosive bone claws.

Just as the two were locked in close combat, Ron flicked his left hand, and a bone needle popped out from his sleeve, piercing straight into his opponent's neck.

puff.

As the needle entered his throat, the man in black armor trembled, his limbs went weak, and he staggered back three steps before collapsing to his knees.

"key."

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Ron reached into his waistband and pulled out a brass token.

The front is engraved with the character "裂" (crack), and the back has the access number to the underground core.

"Take it with you."

He waved his hand, signaling his adjutant to catch it, then turned and roared, "Pass it to Viser—it's ready to move."

Underground tunnel.

Viser had just climbed to the third floor and was preparing to launch a full-scale attack when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.

He turned his head and saw the token handed to him by a messenger.

"got it."

A glint of light flashed in Viser's eyes: "Then let's stop stalling."

He turned around and gestured: "Move."

The fourth iron gate popped open automatically when the token was swept.

Behind the door was an oval-shaped stone chamber, surrounded by old imperial transmission lines. A fist-sized gray crystal core floated in the center, emitting rings of light.

Without saying a word, Viser went up and pulled out the four main wires, then pointed at the demolition soldiers in the team.

"Stick the fried meatballs."

"Three minutes."

"go!"

On the ground, Ron stood on the high platform of the main tower, looking at the distant sky.

Three minutes later, the ground suddenly shook.

The entire rock-cracked fortress sank half a meter, the floor tiles cracked, the towers tilted, and the fortress wall in front collapsed with a roar.

The enemy forces were completely routed.

He watched this scene and said softly:

"It collapsed."

The moment the ground was blasted, the entire Rift Fortress seemed to suddenly break its bones.

The main tower lay askew on the street inside the fortress, half resting on the roof of the warehouse, the other half having collapsed the barracks wall. From a distance, it looked as if someone had punched it hard, causing half of the fortress to sink.

Dust filled the air, and the fire was still burning.

When Viser led his men out of the tunnel, they were covered in mud and had dust in their hair, looking like they had crawled out of a grave.

"Done." He plopped down on the ground and took off his hood.

"The main crystal core below has completely collapsed, all the connected energy pipelines have been severed, and the main castle's internal circulation system has also been completely destroyed."

"This fortress is completely finished."

Ron stood to the side and nodded.

He wasn't just looking at whether it had collapsed or not; he was more concerned about whether there was anything else beneath the fort.

"Go investigate." He turned to his adjutant and ordered, "Have the underground rift reconnaissance team take the Bone Blade squad and dig three meters down from the fourth level."

"Let's see if there are any remaining pulses."

Two hours later, the reconnaissance team reported back.

"It's down below."

"There is another tunnel, which is not connected to the main energy system, but contains sealing runes left over from the old empire."

Ron raised an eyebrow: "Take me to see."

Four and a half underground floors.

No one had mentioned this before. Behind the crystal core, a faint metallic sheen was affixed to a rock wall.

The scout chopped twice with his axe, making a "buzzing" sound.

That wasn't a rock; it was a sealed "wall storage room."

Ron stepped forward, took out the snake bone awl, inserted it into the gap, and gently pried it open.

With a snap, the metal plate came loose.

Chapter 163

Inside were neither weapons nor treasures, but rows of record scrolls.

He randomly picked one out, opened it, and saw that the handwriting was very old and the paper was so brittle that it would crumble at the slightest touch, but it was still legible.

"The remains of the seventh batch of deep-ground architects in the old capital..."

"Ripstone Fortress was originally one of the three fortresses controlling a transit station..."

"Sealing failed. We recommend moving the underground core to the edge of the wasteland..."

Ron's heart skipped a beat after reading those few sentences.

He closed the scroll in his hand and ordered, "Take it all back."

At night, the last embers of the main fortress were extinguished.

Claudia arrived with his men, and stared at the ruins in the distance. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "You really collapsed it."

"Deep-fried?"

“Yes.” Ron said casually, “There’s an old core underground. If we pull it out, this thing won’t be able to hold on.”

Claudia frowned: "So how do you plan to take over? This place is in such a state of collapse that it's impossible to live here."

"Can't stop."

"I'm not here to take over territory, I'm here to build a front line."

She was stunned.

Ron continued:

"There's no need to restore Rift Rock Fortress to its original state. Just clear away the collapsed half and convert it into a supply and transshipment port."

"Resources sent from Snake Bone Valley and Phantom City are transferred here before being sent to the northern route."

"As for the remaining half of the tower, we'll repair it if we can, and if that's not possible, we'll just build an underground storage facility."

"We're not fighting a war now, we're fighting a front."

"Whoever connects first will control the north."

Claudia was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Then I'll go and arrange for a construction team to come over now."

Ron hummed in agreement, then took out the tattered scroll he had dug up from the ground and showed it to her.

Claudia took it and read two lines, then her expression changed immediately.