Chapter 96: The War That Forged an Era

Watching Nolan walk forward with the ease of someone strolling through his own home, Little Donnie, Vivi, and Renee could only stare blankly in disbelief.

Ancient ruins were places even veteran adventuring parties treated with extreme caution, yet Nolan seemed absurdly familiar with every inch of this one.

After seeing a strip of dried meat instantly reduced to ash, however, none of them dared lower their guard again. They obediently followed behind Nolan, carefully stepping exactly where he stepped.

Romina said nothing, but even she had instinctively grown more cautious and stayed close behind him. The corridor was clearly filled with deadly traps. Even with her heightened senses, she could only vaguely detect traces of dangerous magical fluctuations and had no way of locating them precisely. Yet this human moved as though he could see through everything.

How exactly was he doing this?

Nolan himself only remembered the rough positions of the traps. It had been far too long since his last visit for his memory to remain perfect. Fortunately, his Level 9 【Dungeon Knowledge】 specialty was shining brilliantly in this environment. Combined with his memories, every magical mechanism and physical trap became painfully obvious to his sharpened instincts.

“Watch your footing. Three steps to the left is a trigger-type magical tripmine. Little Donnie, throw a ration over there and trigger it first.”

“Vivi, shoot the loose stone on the ceiling to your front-right. That’s the activator for a disintegration-ray trap.”

“Romina, ten meters ahead there’s a small raised section on the floor. Destroy it with an arrow. That’s the activation point for an armor-piercing magic array.”

Nolan issued instructions one after another like a seasoned guide leading tourists through a dangerous ruin.

Though the group was somewhat clumsy in carrying out his orders, they managed to dismantle every hidden trap without incident.

The farther they advanced, the more alarmed they became.

This corridor, only a few hundred meters long, was practically a road to death. Every trap linked seamlessly to the next, making the entire passage nearly impossible to survive unaided.

Without Nolan, they likely would not have made it even ten meters before being wiped out.

While the others nervously dealt with traps, Nolan remained relaxed. As he walked, he occasionally pointed at the relief carvings on the walls and casually explained them.

“Nolan, who’s that winged figure?” Little Donnie asked curiously, pointing toward a group of armored warriors diving from the sky with wings spread wide. “They look incredible.”

“That was one branch of the beastfolk, the Holy Whitewing Clan. Legends say every member was born with Gold-rank strength, but the entire race was wiped out during the War of Heaven.”

Vivi sucked in a breath. “Good heavens…”

“These reliefs depict the war that shaped the current structure of the Vaughn Continent.”

“So this happened a very, very long time ago?” Vivi asked while cautiously stepping around a magical spike trap.

“Exactly.” Nolan nodded. “It was a war from the ancient era, older even than the Age of Dragons. Back then, none of the races we know today ruled the world.”

“At the time, the mighty dragon legions and the original Tyrian sages united all the Primordials of every race against a hostile force that came from beyond the world itself.”

“And what happened to them?” Renee asked softly, though she already suspected the answer.

“As you can see now, most of them vanished.” Nolan’s gaze drifted across the wall carvings. “The winged clans, giants, elemental descendants, spirit beastfolk, golden dwarves… countless powerful races united like never before, but the war was too devastating. Most of them were completely exterminated. Afterward, the balance of power across the world was reshaped. Only then did races like humans, elves, terrestrial beastfolk, and dwarves, races that started weaker but possessed extraordinary growth potential, gain the opportunity to become the continent’s dominant powers.”

Vivi disabled another hidden mechanism and nearly had her tail skewered by a spear that shot past with a shrill whistle. “Then what kind of enemy could destroy so many powerful races?”

“There are no detailed records describing the true enemy,” Nolan replied. “We only know it was certainly not a single faction. Ancient texts specifically mention the Enerkin, energy lifeforms from the Outer Abyss, as well as the demon lords of the Sulfur Abyss, ancient enemies of the races of order.” He paused briefly before continuing, “But even they were only frontline commanders during that war. They were merely the ones personally leading charges into battle. As for the greater truth, perhaps only fragments still remain hidden within the Grand Library of the Tyrian Mage Towers.”

Everyone fell silent in shock.

Even demon lords had only been officers on the front lines. What kind of terrifying existence had stood above them?

“Oh, right.” Nolan suddenly looked toward Romina. “Do you know how the Borderlands Forest above us, the one four or five times larger than the entire Elfin Kingdom, came into existence?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Even Romina looked completely lost. To the Wood Elves, the forest had simply always existed. It was their mother and their home. None of them had ever considered where it came from.

“The vast forest you know today was once one of the central battlefields of the War of Heaven.”

“What?” Vivi’s eyes widened. “But the forest is enormous!”

“Exactly. Calling that war earth-shattering isn’t exaggeration. The forces unleashed there nearly flattened the surface of the world itself. Even the deep underground rock layers were torn apart and dragged upward. After the war ended, the battlefield became a barren wasteland. Over countless years, however, life slowly returned. Because the deep subterranean soil had been turned to the surface, the land became extraordinarily fertile. That was how the endless forest eventually came to exist. And the violent magical residue left behind by the war still affects the environment even ten thousand years later. That’s why the Borderlands Forest contains far more magical beasts, both in variety and number, than anywhere else on the continent.”

His words shook everyone deeply. For a moment, they almost felt as though they were witnessing that apocalyptic ancient war with their own eyes.

“I’m not telling you this just for the sake of storytelling.” Nolan glanced toward Romina. “Do you know the secrets hidden in the deepest parts of the forest? The modern world understands less than a tenth of it, and that includes the Wood Elves. I just thought of something. There may be an opportunity here that could benefit all of us immensely. When you return, ask your elders whether they’ve ever heard the name ‘Isengard.’ Think carefully about it. I know you don’t trust outsiders, but cooperation creates mutual prosperity. This is an age of conflict. No one can survive alone.”

“How… how do you know all this?” Romina was the first to recover from her shock, voicing the question everyone else was thinking. Even the wisest elven elders had likely never heard such secrets.

Nolan merely spread his hands. “Treat it as a story if you want. So much time has passed that history became legend, legend became myth, and myth became distortion. Victors write the epics they want remembered, while the defeated vanish into time alongside their bones.” He glanced toward the reliefs on the walls. “And who can truly say how much of these carvings is real, and how much is fabrication? The purpose of uncovering history isn’t to live in the past. It’s to use the legacy of the past to strengthen the present.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“My battlefield, our battlefield, lies in the future.”

The others fell into thoughtful silence.

Under Nolan’s flawless guidance, the group finally reached the end of the corridor without suffering a single casualty.

Ahead of them stood an enormous circular hall, far larger than the entrance chamber they had first arrived in.

A suffocating pressure radiated from the center of the room.

Everyone raised their torches and looked forward.

Towering there was a gigantic stone figure nearly eight meters tall.

Its appearance was bizarre. It possessed the head of an eagle and wings carved from solid stone. Its torso and arms resembled those of a powerfully built human, while its legs bent backward like those of a beast, radiating explosive strength.

Both hands rested atop a massive stone battle axe. Though the weapon itself appeared carved from rock, the blade gleamed with cold metallic light, clearly forged from real metal.

“Whoa…” Little Donnie stared at the imposing figure in awe. “That statue looks incredible. Just looking at it gives me chills.”

“That’s not a statue.” Nolan’s words instantly shattered his fantasy. “That’s the third challenge waiting for us, and the hardest one yet.”

Looking at the lifelike construct before him, Nolan strangely felt as though he were reuniting with an old friend.

“Doesn’t it perfectly match Tyrian aesthetics?” he said with a faint smile. “This is one of the greatest achievements of their magitech, the Eagle-Headed Golem.”