Chapter 183 Secret Operation
The battle in the arena was still going on, and waves of killings aroused huge cheers. Zhao Mai didn't need to look at the specific details of the venue at all. He only needed to listen to the sound of the mountains and the tsunami to know the number of deaths on the sand. He wanted to stop and see if his friend was okay, but he had more important things to do.
"Follow me, Dojian." Zhao Mai took the former Templar to the bottom of the stands in the noble area. There are one of the few bathrooms in the entire arena, and it is the only place where he can complete his plan.
The templar warriors in the corridor cast questioning glances. Zhao Mai did not make contact with those eyes at all, but left enough room for imagination for the guards about a man, a woman and a dog. He pulled Duojian into the bathroom, and after making sure there was no one inside, he locked it from the inside. "Take off your coat." Zhao Mai said.
Dogian obediently took off his veil, blouse and long skirt. Underneath was actually a set of high-level templar clothes. This set of clothes belongs to Tai Xi'an, but I guess Tai Xi'an doesn't particularly care whether he has more or less uniforms. The two people are about the same height, but their body shapes are quite different. When Dojian put on this dress, it was tight in some places and loose in other places, which looked quite thrilling.
It’s still the old trick, use your mobile phone to play background music, the cheers and screams in the arena are the best cover. If you don’t go to the stands in the noble area to collect the music on the spot, you won’t be able to capture such a loud volume. Zhao Mai needs to let it play in a loop and use the sudden shout to cover his actions.
"According to the drawings, there should be a new passage here." Zhao Mai tapped the masonry wall with his fingers, and then heard an empty sound. It seemed that this was the place. He closed his eyes and thought about holding a huge ax in his hand. From the style, weight, touch and texture, every detail must withstand scrutiny. This is how the creation of the mind mobilizes energy to fulfill the instructions of the manifester. This is very similar to the principle of Druid using the natural force to cast spells, except that it only consumes Zhao Mai's own power.
Zhao Mai opened his eyes a few seconds later, holding a fire ax in his hand. On Earth, this kind of ax can break down walls and doors, and can also cut through ordinary iron pipes. It is a very powerful tool. Zhao Mai can only create things that he thinks are reasonable. He cannot create things like high-frequency vibrating plasma knives. The fire ax is his best choice.
The sound played by the mobile phone was mixed with the noise outside, and no one could hear the problem. It was just that there were more screams in the background, and they all repeated in a regular cycle. Zhao Mai followed this pattern and swung the fire ax rhythmically in response to the sudden shout. After a dozen times, he knocked a crack in the wall that was large enough to squeeze through.
Looking down, beneath the falling dust and sand, a "drainage channel" paved with strips of stone appeared in view. Zhao Mai took a deep breath, took the fire ax back into his body, and restored it to part of his psychic powers to replenish his own consumption. After that, he chose a long-recorded sound of men and women exercising, repeated the same trick, and let it play on a loop, so that people outside could fully understand how "impulsive, passionate and endurance" the people inside were. Since the slaves in the Taishian slave camp would be fooled, the guards and spectators here should not notice that something is wrong. And there's more than one bathroom, and not many people would go down there to waste time while the fight is still going on. Atas does not have a TV station, let alone replay the game, so once you miss it, you will never see those wonderful shots again. In short, Zhao Mai caught this gap. Although it is not big, it is just enough. Unexpectedly, no one discovered it here.
Zhao Mai carried the reserve grain on his back, and then he and Duojian squeezed out of the slit one after another, climbed down along the support structure of the arena, and came to this "water channel". It is about a meter deep and runs along the east side just below the arena and into the foundations of the temple tower. These strip stones were brought back from Taixi'an after a long journey, but Zhao Mai had never seen them on the temple tower construction site. Later, he recalled the construction plans he had seen and believed that there should be a passage connecting the temple tower and the arena, otherwise this huge magic circle that absorbs life force would be incomplete. He spent two weeks, using his different identities as slaves, gladiators, animal trainers, and construction workers, to go around the entire arena before roughly determining the location of the channel.
Every day, Witch King Karak goes to the temple tower to check his magic circle, so acting in advance will definitely be exposed. Even on the day of a competitive match, the Witch King may conduct a surprise inspection at any time. Only when the gladiatorial meeting began and the Witch King was sitting on the throne of the arena and making sure to watch the game, did Zhao Mai dare to act like this. He squatted down and checked the "drainage channel", and sure enough he discovered the hidden magic array patterns.
This will be a "water channel" that transports magic spells and life energy. The Witch King will use the water inside to water his dragon transformation magic, thereby sublimating himself into an Athas dragon. As the competition begins, this magic water channel is already in "standby" operation, and the lines of the magic circle hidden in the stones are glowing slightly. Now this light is not much brighter than the light of fireflies, but when it is operating at full strength, the lives of tens of thousands of people will make this place as dazzling as the noon sun.
"Follow me." Zhao Mai waved his hand and asked Duoji'an and the food reserves to follow. The Witch King set up a magic barrier in the temple tower and placed many guards, but he would not place much defensive force in this water channel. As for channels, accessibility is the primary consideration, and barriers will hinder circulation. Moreover, the Witch King does not want anyone to know the existence of this water channel to avoid causing too many "associations", so it will also reduce the escape of magical energy.
This is almost the only way to enter the temple tower. The Witch King never imagined that someone would remember the entire construction process of the temple tower and plan everything carefully from the beginning. The only templar warrior who could see all the drawings was Dogian, so the Witch King found a reason to erase her mind after the main part of the construction was completed. The other Templars are all scattered in different positions, and it is impossible to get a complete picture. As for the slaves and overseers who first started working, they all died due to harsh work, cruel punishment, and even stranger reasons. Not many slaves were literate, let alone distracted by such a heavy workload to record everything.
Except Zhao Mai.
The two men were running in this water channel with their waists bent, and in some places they had to climb down and get through. From below, Zhao Mai passed through the center of the arena and saw a more complex magic circle. If he had time, he would really like to record this magic circle. Among the various fantasy worlds he knew, this was the largest life-force-draining magic circle, and the knowledge contained in it—regardless of the level of evil—was quite astonishing. Fortunately, he is a druid, and his curiosity and desire for knowledge are not that great.
When the vibrations above his head began to weaken, Zhao Mai knew that he had left the arena area and came to the bottom of the temple tower. Here, the water channel folds upward and becomes an upward shaft. Zhao Mai got in and looked up. It was dark and there seemed to be nothing there.
But things will never be that simple. Zhao Mai doesn't believe that there is no magic circle for detection and protection here. Even if this passage is not specifically defended, the protection of the temple tower itself will cover it. So he took the staff over, peeled off the casing, and unwrapped the runecloth.
A heartwood spear lies in his palm, which will suppress all magic and psychic barriers.