Chapter 679: The Ancient Abyss

In the world of Vales, the land can be divided into two layers of space: "outside" and "inside".

Human beings and most animals and plants live in the surface world and cannot do without the nourishment of sunlight and rain; but in the depths of the earth's crust, where the sun does not shine, there is also an underground world consisting of countless tunnels and domes. It is the "dark region", which is also commonly known as "Svartheim" by the natives of the New World, which means "the kingdom of the dark elves".

The "immemorial abyss" Jinlunga is actually the transition zone between the "surface world" and the "underground world". There are countless natural tunnels leading to the dark area at the bottom of the abyss.

These tunnels, collectively known as the "umbilical", provide humans with a path to enter the underground world for exploration, and at the same time provide a channel for those underground creatures living in the dark regions to drill out of the surface and hunt humans.

After nearly a century of exploration, at the cost of countless bloody sacrifices, people now know something about the Underdark, but they are still far from painting the whole picture of the underground world.

The "Jinlunga Complete Map" obtained by Hailar through the "Sons of Liberty Association" can be regarded as the most accurate and detailed map among all similar maps. But Qiao An observed the map a little and found that the areas that humans have explored only accounted for a small part of the entire map, and more areas were still in darkness.

Joan sat at the dining table and listened carefully to Hailar's introduction to the map.

The whole map is classified according to the environmental characteristics, which can be divided into eight major areas, of which only the "first area" is completely under the control of humans, and most of the proven magic crystal mines are also distributed in the first area, so it is also called "mining area". "Zone" or "Safety Zone", where the base camp of the expedition team is located.

Except for the "first area", the other seven areas are all in the dark area, there is no sunlight, air and water cannot be guaranteed, and there are almost no human settlements.

In these seven areas shrouded in darkness, only a few rough lines are drawn on the map, providing very limited information, which is of little reference value for explorers.

The "Second Zone" is said to be covered with anophoretic fungi and blood-red moss, some of which grow as huge as trees in the surface world, so this area is also named "Underground Jungle Zone".

The "third area" has abundant water sources, and the underground rivers are criss-crossed like dense spider webs. It is said that in a certain cave as huge as the sky, there is an underground lake called "Giant's Cup", in which mysterious strange fish live.

The "Fourth District" is adjacent to the "Third District". The soft soil is irrigated by underground rivers all the year round and has evolved into a vast swamp, so it is also called the "Abyssal Swamp Area".

Adjacent to the "Abyss Swamp" is the "Fifth District".

There are countless underground caves distributed here. It is said that the water quality is polluted by acidic minerals and is highly corrosive, and the air is also filled with acidic poisonous fog. If the explorer falls into the pond in the karst cave carefully, it is like falling into a sulfuric acid pool, and he will be corroded into a bone in a blink of an eye.

The geographical environment of the "Sixth District" is even more special. The towering underground mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, and countless caves have been dug out of the bare hills. Weird and evil cavemen build their homes here, and there are countless strange monsters and mutants. Spiders lurk in dark valleys, quietly waiting for their prey to come.

The map of the "Seventh District" is even simpler. It is said that huge stalagmites can be seen everywhere in the area, like a huge underground tower forest, where explorers can easily lose their way.

Occasionally, architectural ruins and weird rock altars can be seen in the stalagmite forest, which seems to be the remains of an underground ancient civilization, so this area is also named the "relic area".

On the entire map, the most special one is the "Eighth District". Different from the other seven areas, the eighth area is not a contiguous area, but an index of intelligent creature settlements distributed in every corner of the dark area. The common feature of these areas is that they all exist in the form of "underground cities". And a society with a high degree of civilization was established, so they are collectively called "underground urban areas".

There are currently five dungeons that have been discovered, namely the "Oknir Dungeon" under the rule of the dark elves, the "Sudri Stone City" where the underground gnomes live, and the "Glastor Dungeon" where the gray dwarves live. , the underground city "Blimir" of stone giants, and the spiritual city "Odes" occupied by a large group of mind flayers.

It is not known whether there are dungeons built by other intelligent creatures besides the five major dungeons.

The above-mentioned eight areas, no matter they are in the "first area" under the sunshine, or the other seven areas where there are few natural light sources, are not isolated territories, and there are countless unexplored "umbilical cords" between each other Connected, there may be a foreign enemy invasion at any time, and a melee will break out.

In addition to these eight regions, there are still a large number of unknown regions on the map, which are completely shrouded in darkness. So far, no expedition team has been able to reach these regions and come back alive. Of course, there is no information for Joan and the others to refer to.

At this time, footsteps came from the door of the restaurant, and four young people walked in one after another.

Judging from the uniforms they wore, they belonged to three different schools.

After these four people came in, the atmosphere in the restaurant changed subtly. Most of the students stopped talking, and turned their eyes to the door in unison, as if they were watching some great big shot.

This change aroused Joan's curiosity, and he also looked up at the new group of four. Among them, the two youngest-looking boys were wearing the short cape-style robes of the Austrian Law School, vaguely familiar.

Joan recalled it, and remembered that he had met them in the re-examination of the admissions of the Austrian Institute of Law. The taller boy was named Angel, and the shorter boy was named Ryan. They both performed very well in the re-examination, and were later accepted as disciples by Dean Franklin.

Angor and Ryan's companion was a seminary boy in a pastor's uniform. He was fair-looking, with a smile on his face, and looked very kind.

There is also an arcane knight in black military uniform, who seems to be the leader of the four, with fluffy blond hair like a lion's mane, deep facial features like marble sculptures, and a tall and strong physique that gives people a sense of oppression like a wild beast .

When Holden saw the black knight, he immediately turned his head to show a teasing smile at his sister, and said in a low voice:

"Here comes the man with whom you were rumored to be having an affair."

"Don't believe the rumors, there is no shadow." Audrey denied it lightly.

"People say that Arnold is actively pursuing you. You really don't want to give him a chance?" Holden teased his sister with a playful smile.

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