Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 421: Tribes Beneath the Snow Mountain
At dawn, the exploration team set out from the refugee camp and flew towards the snow-capped mountains according to the guidance of old man Gabu.

The airship operates in the most fuel-efficient way, always keeping the flight altitude within a hundred meters and can be assisted by wind power.

Around noon, after a simple meal in the airship pod, everyone could already see the outline of snow-capped mountains in the distance. Duncan speculated that the so-called beacon tower was most likely an ancient outpost on the border of the Kingdom of Eternal Night. The large wizard families that migrated here in the past must have set up some defense lines to resist the evil orcs and demons whose forces were spread all over the wasteland.

As for the human refugees who have lived there permanently, they are more likely to be the surviving descendants of the Kingdom of Eternal Night. If we can find the elders and leaders of the refugee tribes and ask them, we may be able to get clues about the location of the ruins of the Kingdom of Eternal Night from the historical legends passed down by them.

"Teacher, are the spellcasters from the wasteland different from us?" the astrologer asked curiously. "Will our rash approach to them arouse hostility?"

Duncan chuckled and explained, "Before setting off, I followed the city lord's instructions and spoke with many officials in the city who were once refugees from the wasteland. According to them... the rules in the wasteland have always been to accept the strong and exclude the weak. Spellcasters like us are especially warmly welcomed by them."

But to be on the safe side, they decided to land early when they were close to the snow mountain settlement, hide the airship outside, leave Michelle, Blake and White behind to prevent any accidents, and only Duncan and his two disciples entered the settlement to gather information.

"We must return to the airship by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. If we exceed that time... we must immediately use this magic brain device to contact Spark City and ask for help from the city lord!" The astrologer confirmed the details of the operation with the three young mages who stayed behind.

The Eye of Illusion laughed and said, "You're making a fuss out of nothing. I don't believe that a small refugee settlement can actually produce a high-level spellcaster."

"Arrogant young man!" Duncan frowned and scolded, "Have you forgotten what Mr. Astaron told you before you left? Ancient wizards didn't differentiate between combat mages and research mages. The descendants of these wizards are very likely to have inherited their traditions, and everyone is a combat spellcaster with rich combat experience."

The Eye of Illusion then curled its lips and stood obediently behind the teacher. The three of them used flying magic to rush towards the snow-capped mountain settlement several miles away.

……

The situation was just as they expected. As soon as they approached the settlement... the three of them were immediately discovered by the migrant sentinels hiding in the dense forest. Sharp whistles resounded through the sky. Fortunately, they discovered that the newcomers were fellow humans, and the militiamen who gradually surrounded them did not make any aggressive moves.

"Please inform the leader of the settlement... We are spellcasters from the southern border." Duncan had just finished speaking when he saw the gate of the camp in the distance open. A group of refugees wearing thick animal skins, surrounded by a man who was obviously their leader, hurriedly walked towards them.

"A spellcaster from the southern border?" The dark-haired, sturdy leader of the refugees frowned in disbelief. "How is that possible? How did you manage to reach the depths of the wasteland?"

An old man beside him, wearing a cotton robe and with sparse, pale hair, waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Perhaps he is a descendant of the Dragon Chaser, a sky mage with a complete witchcraft heritage..."

"What is a Dragon Chaser? And what is a Sky Mage?" Eye of Illusion couldn't help but mutter, realizing that this old man was obviously also traveling with him and was just talking about things he couldn't understand.

The astrologer quickly tugged at his sleeve, telling him to shut up and not interrupt.

Duncan placed one hand on his chest and gave the other party an ancient wizard salute. He said sincerely, "No matter how you arrived here, please believe that we have absolutely no ill intentions... We are simply searching for the remains of the Kingdom of Eternal Night, destroyed by the demon invasion hundreds of years ago."

The white-haired old man nodded and returned the wizard's greeting. He slowed down his tone and said, "Guests from the South, welcome. Please follow us in..."

...After entering the settlement, Duncan and the other two discovered that this snow-capped mountain camp where the refugees lived permanently was much larger than they had imagined. Almost the entire valley was occupied, and there was only one valley entrance leading to the outside world. Not only was it easy to defend but difficult to attack... If it weren't for detection from the sky, it would be difficult to find the location of the camp on the ground.

The refugees who have lived here for a long time do not build temporary or semi-permanent simple dwellings with animal skin tents like other refugee settlements. Instead, they have dug a large number of earthen caves along the cliffs, which can accommodate at least a thousand people at a glance.

The refugee leader and the old wizard took them to the largest earthen cave halfway up the mountain.

"Chief Xiong Zong, Elder Wu Li..." After the refugee leader asked the three to sit down on the animal skin mat, he raised his hand and introduced them.

The elderly wizard known as Elder Uli sighed softly and said, "We haven't had any outside spellcasters visit us in about ten years."

Bear Mane narrowed his eyes and asked in a gruff voice, "How did you find the entrance to the camp? Did you rely on divination?"

Duncan smiled and explained, "No... We first visited the refugee settlement in the dense forest valley. Unfortunately, the people there had already migrated south. An old man named Gabe, who stayed in the valley, showed us the way here."

Elder Wu Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Gabe... I remember him. God, he's still alive."

Having said that, Chief Bearmane and Elder Uli finally let down their guard and no longer had any doubts about the identities and origins of Duncan and the other two.

"Dear wizard guest, our tribe has thrived here for hundreds of years. We have never heard of the Kingdom of Eternal Night that you speak of, and there are no ancient ruins around the snow-capped mountains..."

The Eye of Illusion, already filled with questions, finally couldn't help but ask before its teacher could: "Then why do you want to live here permanently? And why do you have to guard that beacon tower on the top of the snowy mountain?"

Chief Bearmane and Elder Uli looked at each other, then each took out a piece of animal skin with torn edges from their arms, pieced them together and spread them out in front of everyone.

"Our tribe has experienced numerous invasions by fel orcs, and much of our ancient heritage and history has been lost. All we have left is this scroll, and the mission entrusted to us by successive leaders and elders...to guard the Snow Mountain Beacon Tower."

Duncan leaned in closer and looked down, only to discover that the animal skin depicted a stone tower towering on the top of a mountain, but the scene depicted was a bit strange - the twisted lines above the stone tower indicated that it was in a burning state, and the group of people below who were responsible for lighting the stone tower's beacon fire were actually mixed with tall demons with deep red skin!
These humans and demons mixed together all had expressions of fear and despair on their faces, and they looked lifelike under the crude lines drawn with mineral pigments.

The beacon fires of the stone towers were lit... Demons and humans lived together...

Duncan felt his heart skip a beat, as if he had glimpsed an incredible ancient secret from the animal skin scroll - he instantly recalled the historical truth that was lost in the long river of time and that the city lord Harvey had told them after he swallowed the magic core.

This place is not the remnant of the Kingdom of Eternal Night at all... but a warning outpost left here by human ancestors who migrated from the "center of the continent" in a more distant time to defend against foreign enemies from the north!
But why did the demons mix in?
Duncan subconsciously turned to look at his two students and found that they also understood the implicit content of the scroll, and their faces looked particularly pale at this moment.

He said decisively: "Please take us to the beacon tower on the top of the snow mountain!"

(End of this chapter)