Chapter 229: Arkaim

At the Pentagon, a technical officer handed a printout to an officer wearing camouflage combat gear. "Colonel, one of our Keyhole satellites suddenly lost contact while passing over the Soviet Union. This is the last image it captured."

The colonel glanced at the image in his hand. "Why is it so blurry?"

"The signal was subjected to extremely strong interference. This is already the image after technical restoration."

"What are these black things?"

"They look like storms."

"Six storms forming a hexagon?"

"Sorry, Colonel, we don't know."

"Is it possible that it's a weapon? For example, a laser weapon specifically targeting satellites?"

"This..." The technical officer hesitated for a moment. "This possibility cannot be ruled out..."

"Are there images from other satellites?"

"Our other satellite attempted to take photos, but... the signal was even blurrier, almost without any image that could be restored. It's as if that place can shield our observation."

"What are they hiding? Could it be a new military base?"

"..."

The colonel pondered for a while. "Continue the investigation, prepare the materials, and I will go report to the Joint Chiefs."

However, a few minutes later, the colonel returned with a puzzled expression. "There is no need to investigate this matter further. The Minister has issued an order; this matter involves state secrets."

Soviet Union, South Ural region, Arkaim Basin.

For a long time, various mysterious legends have circulated here. Here, people's clocks will malfunction, magnetic fields will become chaotic, people's heart rates, blood pressure, and body temperature will all undergo sudden mutations, and the air temperature will also jump significantly in a very short period of time.

Some say this is a base for extraterrestrial civilization flying saucers to take off and land. People have also discovered extremely ancient city ruins here, which are composed of many concentric circles, like a huge city ruin that looks like a mysterious magic array.

But in a dimension that ordinary people cannot see, an incomparably magnificent city stands here.

It seems as if it was once a mountain range, but the east and west sides were hollowed out, and it was filled with various buildings layer by layer like a pyramid.

And at the highest point of this city mountain, a huge golden-roofed castle sits as if in the clouds, overlooking the entire city.

Powerful and ancient magic keeps this palace, named "Spring Palace," at a temperature of about 20-30 degrees forever, eternal spring throughout the four seasons.

At this moment, a young wizard rushed into the palace in a panic. He was wearing robes made of patches of various colors and a headdress with feathers. He bumped into someone and shouted, "I want to see Grand Duke Ivan!"

Before long, he was brought before a tall and handsome middle-aged wizard. "Azir? What's wrong, so panicked?"

"Grand Duke Ivan, Great Shaman Alexei has passed away."

"What?"

"The Deer Spirit brought the news of his death. It is absolutely certain."

"How did he die?" As one of the most prestigious Great Shamans of the Arkaim Shaman Council, Alexei had significant political significance for this magic city. Whether it was him as the city administrator or the Emperor residing in the inner palace of the Spring Palace, neither could ignore his influence.

"Our people are investigating, but according to the news sent back, the Great Shaman fought with a terrifying power in the Bryansk Forest where he cultivated."

"You mean, someone killed him?" Grand Duke Ivan was stunned. "Who could do such a thing?"

Unlike wizards in most European countries who live scattered among Muggles, in the vast land of Siberia, there is only one city where wizards gather, and that is the Holy City of Arkaim.

In order to resist the persecution of the Holy See, hundreds of years ago, countless wizards gathered here and established this place of refuge.

In this city inhabited by hundreds of thousands of wizards, the most powerful combat wizards are in the Emperor's Guard, and nearly half of them have received Alexei's teachings.

That Great Shaman could summon the spirits of the four great elements and could even make all things in an area obey his orders through "True Words."

In the hearts of many Arkaim wizards, Great Shaman Alexei was like a god walking on earth.

Who has the ability to kill such a person?

"Go, investigate clearly, be quick!" Grand Duke Ivan said.

His Majesty the Emperor is about to come of age, and the dispute over whether he should begin to rule has become increasingly fierce. Soon, the Shaman Council will be convened to discuss this matter. The opinion of the always-neutral Alexei is particularly important, but he happened to die at this time?

This might be an opportunity, but it could also be a trap. He must get to the bottom of the matter before His Majesty the Emperor!

Azir left the side hall and was about to head to the Sky Street Terrace, which was the only place on the outskirts of this palace where one could travel through the spirit world.

But suddenly, a voice called out to him, "Azir, long time no see."

Bryansk Forest.

Azir suddenly appeared from a whirlwind.

But beside him, there was also an exceptionally beautiful boy of fourteen or fifteen years old.

As soon as the two appeared, they smelled the burnt stench in the air, and besides that, there was a coldness that made one's hair stand on end.

"Shaman Azir." A wizard greeted them.

"How is the situation? Have you figured out what's going on?" Azir asked.

The latter glanced at the boy beside him and hesitated for a moment. "Something very terrible happened here, and the whole forest has become very strange... I'd better take you to see it."

Azir took the boy and followed behind the wizard. Soon, they understood the other person's words.

This forest seemed to have been twisted by an extremely terrible power.

Most of the trees had been burned into charcoal, but some seemed to have burned more thoroughly, becoming upright ashes. They even saw a grayish-white tree that maintained its original leaf shape, but upon touching it, it collapsed into a pile of white ash.

This was still within the range of understanding, but soon, they saw oak trees with crystals growing from the branches, beech trees with leaves made of fire that wouldn't burn themselves out, and camphor pines twisting like whirlpools.

The earth cracked with countless fissures, and in those fissures, some surged with electricity, some gushed with fire, and some whistled with wind.

"Elements..." Azir suddenly said. "The elements in this area have become completely chaotic."

"Great Spirit of the Sky, Niebolev, please respond to me..." He tried to call out the true name of the nearby Spirit of the Sky, but received no response.

The spirit world, which should have been very lively, was empty at this moment, as if everything had been flooded by a great flood.

The further they walked, the stronger the coldness that made one's hair stand on end became. Gradually, a touch of green appeared before their eyes. It was another tree, but it was strangely split with countless fissures, and a cold and terrifying magic power flowed in the fissures, flashing with emerald colors.

Azir reached out his hand, but was suddenly pulled back by the boy behind him.

The boy's voice was very pleasant. "Don't touch it. You will die."

"This is a death curse."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 230 =====