The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World

Chapter 690- Capital Of The Ancient Kingdom & Clues About The Seven Gods (2)

”Powerful winged creatures called dragons that can level entire cities?”

”It’s really hard to imagine such things exist.”

The humanity of the current era was too isolated. It was no wonder they were having difficulty accepting the existence of another continent and never before seen species.

Reinhardt shook his head slightly. ”We still cannot verify everything yet. Much of the information comes from a civilian’s diary and fragmented records. However, one thing is for certain. Humanity of the Ancient Era was far more powerful.”

It could be glimpsed from the diary and the technologies that the people of the ancient era were as powerful, if not more powerful, than the humanity of the current era.

Then again, this begged the question: if the people of that era were so powerful, how did they fall to the demons?

Given the existence of the Seven Gods, the Arcanists, and the dragons, it was baffling how demonkind suppressed them all.

Perhaps the answer to this lay in the Epoch War mentioned in the diary, Reinhardt reckoned.

Before long, the collapsed section was fully excavated, and a path was cleared.

”Maintain defensive formation.”

”Scouting units ahead.”

”Do not touch unidentified devices.”

Heroes continuously shouted instructions. Knights moved in disciplined coordination, torches and mana lamps lit up to illuminate the darkness.

Since the current base within the ruins could not be left undefended, several heroes remained stationed behind to respond to emergencies and oversee the camps.

Meanwhile, the exploration force finally began advancing deeper.

At the forefront walked Reinhardt. Beside him were Erza, Vanessa, Brutus, Gareth, Orion, and several other powerful heroes of the Allied Knight Order.

Behind them marched thousands of knights, carefully maintaining formation.

The deeper they progressed, the slower their pace became. This section of the ruins was far more devastated than the previous areas.

Entire tunnels had collapsed inward. In some places, the path ahead was completely buried, forcing the knights to spend hours clearing only several dozen meters.

And more importantly, the demonic energy here was unbelievably dense.

The black corruption coating the surroundings almost resembled living tar. The saturation of demonic energy here was enough to even give an Extreme Knight a headache.

If not for the branches of the World Tree planted periodically throughout their route, they might not have been able to proceed at all.

The immense vitality of the World Tree caused the black corruption to hiss and evaporate. With the demonic energy gone, pure mana flowed in once more, and the air turned breathable again.

If viewed from above, the Dawnbringers’ progress would look like a thin string of light cutting through the sea of darkness of the Tainted Lands.

.

Time passed. New and new areas were cleared out, and the exploration progressed steadily.

While advancing, several knights noticed something beneath the rubble covered floor.

”Rails?” Brutus crouched slightly and brushed away dust from the metallic lines buried beneath their feet.

Two long tracks extended endlessly into the darkness ahead. Unlike ordinary carts or carriages, the rails were smooth, polished, and made of some strange material.

Reinhardt observed them thoughtfully. ”So this was one of their transportation systems...”

The records they discovered earlier had already mentioned high speed rail travel. Seeing it personally now only reinforced how advanced the Ancient Era truly was.

Far behind, the members of Team Silvia looked at their surroundings in amazement.

”Whoa?! What are these things?” Kevin stared at the rails on the ground.

”It appears to be some kind of road used in the ancient era,” Silvia explained, looking at the rusty remains of a train.

The march continued. Eventually, the narrow tunnels ahead suddenly opened to give way to a large valley.

Towering mountain walls stretched endlessly to both sides, and engraved upon those colossal cliffs were countless murals and ancient drawings large enough to cover the entire mountainside.

Everyone instinctively slowed down. The sight before them was that astonishing.

One by one, they descended and investigated the place.

”Incredible,” Vanessa murmured softly, running her hand across the surface of the murals.

Even after thousands of years, the drawings on the mountainside had yet to deteriorate. They still radiated the majesty of that era.

Reinhardt slowly surveyed the murals. Many of the images immediately confirmed the information recorded within the diary.

There, on a large portion of the mountainside, he could see a gigantic nation spanning a vast amount of land. Numerous islands floated above it, and gigantic vessels crossed the skies.

Looking at the grandeur and technological power, it could be assumed that this was the Empire mentioned in the diary.

Looking around, he saw countless nations kneeling beneath a central banner. And above them all, seven enormous figures stood at the apex of the world.

Needless to say, they were the Seven Gods. Even within the murals, they were drawn differently from all other beings.

Then, further along the cliffside, the murals depicted massive winged creatures covering the heavens. Their scales resembled mountains, and their wings blotted out sunlight.

Reinhardt’s eyes shone. There was no doubt, these creatures really were dragons. The murals did not just depict one dragon, but entire skies filled with them.

Several murals depicted vast oceans separating distant lands from Valdonia. One particular continent was repeatedly shown alongside dragons and strange fortress like cities built into mountains.

”Is that the continent of Draconia?” Erza, beside him and also investigating the murals, muttered to herself.

Reinhardt nodded slowly. Although he did not doubt this part of the diary, now that he had seen the other continent depicted in the murals, he was certain.

That was Draconia. And given the drawings around that part, the ruling race was most definitely the dragons.

That was not all. The murals were filled with an abundance of images, enough to give one a sensory overload.

For example, on the land that depicted Valdonia, a colossal tree could be seen reaching toward the heavens. Its roots spread across continents while its branches touched the clouds.

The World Tree.

Below it was a nation, thriving and bustling... Elfenheim.

Another section showed an enormous black mountain range stretching endlessly across the horizon. Countless dwarf warriors marched beneath it.

”Mount Cragdor...” Reinhardt slowly muttered.

Then there was also a vast wilderness painted in shades of crimson and black. The Duskrun Expanse... a place filled with ferocious wild beasts and also home to many Cien’thrope and Therianthrope tribes.

The murals seemed to depict the major powers and territories of that ancient world.

However, not everything could be understood. Several drawings appeared entirely incomprehensible.

One mural in particular drew Reinhardt’s attention.

At the extreme northwest of Valdonia, between the territory of the Empire and Federation, a place in the middle of nowhere, stood a strange stone unlike anything else depicted nearby.

It floated unnaturally above the ground, and four figures surrounded it. Given the image, it appeared that they were wearing robes, and their figures could not be seen properly.

It was even unknown whether they were human or demi human. There were several strange points about this drawing. Like how the world around it was scorched and caved in. Large crevices covered the lands, and space was weirdly distorted.

However, because there were too many things to focus on at once in the mural, this detail went unnoticed.

What’s more, there were countless similar mysteries scattered throughout the valley walls. Some depicted strange celestial bodies, others showed cities sinking beneath the ocean. T

here were even several murals portraying wars of epic proportions. The Epoch War.

As the Allied Knight Order travelled further along the valley, more and more murals greeted their eyes.

There was so much information contained within them that it was impossible to understand them all at once.

In the end, the knights carefully began creating rubbings and copies of the murals for later study.

As for Reinhardt, the heroes, and the Dawnbringers, they could only continue advancing deeper into the ruins.

It would be much later, but when humanity investigated the copies of these murals, they would notice one strange point appearing on almost every page.

And that was... high above all the murals, overlooking every kingdom, every war, every god, and every creature, was the same symbol repeated again and again.

A solar eclipse. And beside it, another star descending from the heavens.

.

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A couple of days later, the expedition finally reached its destination. Before them lay the capital of the Ancient Kingdom.

Or rather, what remained of it.

An enormous city stretched endlessly across the horizon. Even in ruin, its scale was breathtaking.

Towers pierced the skies, and gigantic bridges connected lands suspended above deep abysses.

Ancient rail systems crisscrossed throughout the city. Even in ruins, the city boasted a time far more prosperous than any city of the current era.

Of course, the city was dead. Yet somehow, it still carried the oppressive grandeur of a civilization that once stood at the peak of the world.

”This...”

Everyone could tell. Compared to the ruins they had explored so far, this place was entirely different.