The spiral staircase led straight up to the core control area at the very top.
Shi Feng climbed who knew how many flights of stairs before finally reaching the corridor that led to the core area. Ancient magical runes were carved into the walls on both sides of the passage. Even after nearly a thousand years, the corridor still emitted a faint glow — though in some places the decay was so severe that the carved magic circuits had been disrupted, plunging those sections into total darkness. Fortunately, not too many of the magic circuits had deteriorated, so it was still possible to make out the long, labyrinth-like layout of the passage.
The moment Shi Feng stepped into the corridor, the alarm blared once again.
"Alert, alert. An intruder has breached Sector A of the fortress. Magic energy corridor. Defensive golems activated. Expel all intruders."
A tremendous rumble echoed through the corridor, as if some massive machine had begun to move.
Shi Feng dared not proceed slowly any longer. He immediately used a Speed Scroll and sprinted through the magic energy corridor.
After rounding several turns, he spotted a small machine glowing with red light. It was only about the size of a soccer ball, but it kept emitting warning signals — it seemed to be the device used to guide the defensive golems.
Vigilance Guard. Normal mob, Level 10, 200 HP.
Shi Feng instantly understood why he had been discovered so easily. The Vigilance Guard functioned like a radar, detecting enemies within a five-hundred-yard radius. Once an intruder was found, it would sound the alarm. The corridor entrance was roughly five hundred yards from here, which was exactly how he had been spotted. If he could take it out, the alarm for this area would be disabled.
However, the thing was extremely alert and would not let any enemy get within thirty yards. A single attack would send it fleeing for its life while simultaneously accelerating the rate at which it called for reinforcements, never giving a second chance to strike. It was a real pain to deal with.
"No choice — I have to try," Shi Feng said, drawing his twin swords. He could already hear the roars of the defensive golems behind him. In such a confined space, with his current strength, staying put meant certain death. The only chance to shake off the golems was to kill the Vigilance Guard.
Just as he closed to within thirty yards and the Vigilance Guard was about to bolt — Shi Feng's eyes locked onto the target with laser focus. His arms bulged slightly as he channeled every ounce of strength and hurled both swords forward.
Whoosh! They streaked toward the Vigilance Guard.
Precise Throw!
The throwing distance was exactly thirty yards, dealing 150% weapon damage.
The Vigilance Guard was remarkably nimble. Its body darted sideways, easily evading the first Blood Edge as it flew past — but in doing so, it moved directly into the path of the second sword, the Abyssal.
Crack!
The Abyssal punched clean through the Vigilance Guard, dealing 211 points of damage and killing it instantly.
System: Vigilance Guard slain. Killed a mob 4 levels above you. Experience bonus: 400%. Experience gained: 800 points.
Shi Feng activated Wind Walk, boosting his speed another notch. He yanked both swords from the ground and charged toward the exit of the magic energy corridor. Without the Vigilance Guard to guide them, the defensive golems were like flies without eyes, stumbling around blindly with no way to locate him.
After more than ten minutes — during which he killed three more Vigilance Guards — Shi Feng finally made it out of the magic energy corridor and into the control room.
At the center of the control room stood a massive barrier. Inside the barrier sat a dark gray metal object — the heart of the entire Steel Shell Fortress, the source of all its power: the Titan Heart.
"I never thought that after all these years, someone would still come here."
Before Shi Feng had a chance to examine the control room in detail, a cold, sinister laugh drifted from the entrance of the central barrier. The voice was bone-chillingly icy, nothing a human could produce — more like the emotionless sound that might come from some puppet or corpse.