Chương 92: CHAPTER 90: SHOCK AND PORCELAIN

The frantic ringing of the northern watchtower bells finally stopped, leaving the border forest in an eerie, unnatural quiet. High above the trees, the night sky was clear and cold, filled with pale moonlight that cast long, sharp shadows across the rocky mountain ridges. But down along the lower valley trails, five miles north of the delta slums, there was no wind, no rustling leaves, and no animal calls. The forest seemed to have lost its voice.

Moving carefully through the dark timber stood the elite guild squad known across the entire northern province as Asura Blade. At the front of the formation walked Garrett, the squad leader and veteran frontline vanguard. He was a tall, heavily built man clad in thick alchemical steel armor that clinked faintly with each deliberate step. In his right hand, he carried a massive broadsword with its tip lowered toward the ground, while his left forearm rested against the leather strap of a heavy vanguard shield.

Beside him stepped Lyra, the squad grand mage of the silver-wood elves. Her slender form was wrapped in deep midnight-blue traveler robes embroidered with silver mana thread. In her grip was a long, polished ash-wood staff, its crown mounted with a pale cyan mana crystal that now showed multiple fine cracks across its smooth surface.

Behind the two leaders followed four seasoned squad members: Karen, the squad frontline priestess, holding a round silver-rimmed buckler close to her chest; Kael and Ren, two veteran scouts with composite shortbows drawn and notched with iron-head arrows; and Toby, a young guild messenger who carried a heavy brass rescue lantern. Every single member of Asura Blade had spent years hunting high-tier monsters, clearing subterranean cave-ins, and surviving dangerous border skirmishes.

They were familiar with blood, fire, broken bones, and the heavy stench of open battle. Yet as their boots crossed the outer ridge into the Sector 9 basin, none of them had ever witnessed a sight like the one spread out before their eyes. The entire forest floor was completely covered in a thick, uniform layer of pale gray ash. There was no blood on the stones. There were no severed limbs, no torn entrails, no shattered bones, and no gouged dirt from frantic monster claws.

The ground looked as if a quiet winter snowstorm had fallen over the woods, except every single flake was made of dry, odorless mineral dust. Massive fifty-foot pine trees remained standing in neat rows, but they had lost every trace of their deep green needles and dark brown bark. The trunks had turned a dull, chalky gray. Their branches were completely bare and brittle, resembling delicate statues sculpted from dried clay.

Whenever the faint mountain air stirred, small pieces of tree bark snapped without a sound, crumbling into fine powder before touching the dirt.

"Keep your shields close and watch your step," Garrett whispered through his open visor. His deep, rough voice sounded strangely flat in the dead air.

"Step lightly. We do not know what kind of curse or trap caused this." He took a slow step forward. His heavy iron boot landed on a rounded gray mound resting directly in the middle of the logging path. The shape clearly resembled a Level-40 iron-clawed cave crawler frozen in a full sprint, with its legs tucked under its body and its jaws opened wide. The moment Garrett boot made contact, the form gave way. CRUNCH. The entire beast collapsed into a flat, dry pile of gray powder with a soft, hollow sound.

There was no flesh inside, no liquid marrow, and no smell of burnt meat or scorched hide. It was simply gone, reduced entirely to cold ash.

"Merciful heavens..." Karen whispered, her knuckles turning white against her silver buckler.

"The watchtower report stated that more than two hundred mid-tier beasts poured out of the Sector 9 cavern mouth when the ceiling collapsed. Even if three arch-mages dropped high-tier fire storms into this valley, there would be charred carcasses, melted iron carts, and thick black smoke. How can thousands of pounds of living muscle and thick bone turn into cold dust without leaving a single drop of blood?"

"Because heat had nothing to do with it," Lyra answered quietly. Her slender elven ears twitched, straining to catch any trace of life in the silent woods, but finding none. She stopped at the edge of a wide rocky rise, lifting her ash-wood staff slightly. The cracked cyan crystal at the top flickered with a faint, dying glow before going dark once more.

"My mana sense is completely blank," Lyra continued, her voice carrying a deep, cold shiver.

"There is no elemental residue here. No fire heat, no wind pressure, no dark spiritual rot, and not even the natural life aura that constantly flows through damp forest soil. Everything within a two-mile circle had its internal life energy completely wiped out in less than twenty seconds."

"Could it have been an imperial super weapon?" Kael asked from the rear, his bowstring held taut as his sharp eyes scanned the silent gray trees.

"The guild received word that Duke Vane brought high-ranking imperial envoys and alchemical researchers into Sector 9 earlier today."

"No imperial weapon works like this," Garrett grunted, shaking his head slowly.

"Imperial siege artifacts rely on concentrated fire magic or heavy explosive powder. They leave deep craters, shattered stone, and burning tree trunks. Look around you, Kael. The granite boulders are completely intact. The wooden support frames near the quarry are unbroken. The physical terrain took zero damage. Only the living creatures were erased."

"Doctor Shin was down in that cavern when the collapse happened," Toby said, his voice trembling as he held up the rescue lantern. The yellow light of the lantern fell across the endless gray ground, making the wasteland look even more ghostly.

"The envoy guards said he jumped straight into the Mother Slime pit with silver needles and a jar of alchemical powder. If he was still down there when this white light erupted, what happened to him?"

"Nothing human could survive a wave that dissolves iron-clawed beasts into dust," Ren muttered grimly, his hand resting on the spare daggers strapped to his belt.

"A human body is mostly water and soft tissue. If a rock-skinned golem turned into powder, a doctor in a cloth coat would vanish without a trace."

"We move forward," Lyra said firmly, her golden eyes fixed on the center of the valley.

"The central point of the light wave was right ahead, near the old granite archway leading into the primary mining shaft. If whatever caused this phenomenon left behind an artifact, a core, or a residue, we must secure it before the imperial scouts arrive." Garrett nodded in agreement.

"Tight formation. Scouts watch our flanks. Priestess stays in the center. Let us move." Asura Blade advanced through the ash-covered clearing. Their heavy boots left dark, clear footprints in the thick layer of white dust, breaking the pristine gray blanket that covered the earth. With every twenty yards they traveled, they passed the crumbling outlines of more monsters.

There were giant two-headed forest wolves, massive cave bears with thick bone armor, and long centipede-like crawlers, all frozen in mid-stride and turned to dry dust. Each one crumbled into powder the moment the adventurers brushed past them, drifting into the cold night air like gray mist. After five minutes of tense marching, the squad reached the wide, circular clearing at the base of the primary Sector 9 entrance.

The iron elevator mechanism was completely smashed, buried beneath tons of fallen stone from the upper ceiling collapse. But right in the middle of the open clearing, where the ground was flat and the granite arches stood tall, the lead scout suddenly raised his clenched fist. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Hold!" Kael hissed, dropping into a low crouch behind a fallen tree trunk.

"Movement at twelve o'clock, near the base of the central granite pillar." Garrett immediately stepped up, planting his heavy boots wide and raising his broadsword to cover Lyra. Karen stepped up beside him, locking her silver buckler with Garrett armor to form a solid defense line.

"Is it a surviving beast?" Garrett asked in a low growl, his eyes narrowing through his iron visor.

"No," Kael replied, squinting through the moonlight.

"It is not a beast. It looks like a person lying on the ground." The six adventurers held their breath, their eyes straining against the dim light. At the base of the tall granite pillar, resting quietly on the bed of gray ash, lay a solitary human figure. The person was lying flat on his back, his legs stretched straight and his arms resting naturally at his sides, as if he were merely taking a deep, peaceful rest after a long day of work.

"Advance with care," Garrett commanded softly.

"Keep your weapons ready. Do not break formation." The squad moved forward step by step, their boots crunching softly in the dust. The tension in the air was so thick that even the breathing of the scouts sounded loud. But as they closed the distance to within ten feet, the details of the fallen figure became completely visible, leaving every member of Asura Blade frozen in utter disbelief. It was Doctor Shin. He was entirely motionless, his dark leather traveler coat spread neatly beneath him.

At his side rested his canvas medical satchel and his padded travel pack, both completely undamaged. His boots were clean, showing only a light dusting of gray powder around the soles. Even more shocking was his physical condition. Around him for hundreds of yards, ancient trees had turned to chalk and ferocious monsters had dissolved into thin air. Yet Shin body bore no wounds, no burns, and no signs of decay.

His clothing had no tears, the brass buckles on his straps were polished and bright, and his hair was neatly arranged. His unique area-of-effect skill had strictly protected its caster from the decay wave. While the rest of the forest had dissolved around him, Shin himself had remained completely untouched. Covering his entire face was his iconic full-face porcelain mask. The smooth white surface of the mask was clean and pristine, catching the pale moonlight with a faint, polished shine.

There was not a single crack, scratch, or speck of ash on the white ceramic. Beneath the mask, no words or groans escaped—only the slow, rhythmic sound of steady breathing.

"By the gods..." Garrett breathed, lowering his broadsword slightly as he stared at the resting doctor.

"He is completely in one piece." Karen stepped forward, sinking down to one knee in the soft ash beside Shin. She reached out with her right hand, hovering her glowing silver priestess talisman three inches above his chest to examine his vital state. A soft, warm light bathed Shin upper body as Karen focused her recovery magic.

"How is he, Karen?" Garrett asked, his eyes still scanning the silent clearing.

"Is he wounded internally?"

"No," Karen replied, her voice filled with deep relief and shock.

"His heart rate is thirty-eight beats per minute. His breathing is very slow and shallow, but completely steady. He has no broken bones, no internal bleeding, and no organ failure. He is simply in a deep sleep caused by total stamina and energy depletion. His body has shut down conscious activity to allow his core to recover."

"Total energy exhaustion..." Lyra murmured, stepping closer until she stood right beside Shin head. Her golden elven eyes moved down to his right arm. The dark-iron prosthetic hand rested quietly against the gray dust. Its dark metallic fingers were relaxed, and the small brass valves along the wrist were cold. Thin, faint wisps of harmless white vapor were slowly venting from tiny release holes near the wrist joint, indicating that the internal mechanisms had completely cooled down.

"He fought the entire horde alone," Lyra said softly, her voice filled with wonder and intense curiosity.

"He absorbed the kinetic force of the cave collapse, gathered the energy signatures of one hundred mid-tier monsters into his prosthetic limb, and released an omnidirectional wave that wiped out every living beast in the valley. That level of power and control does not belong to a simple border doctor."

"Whatever his power is, he saved the lower delta slums and the border town tonight," Garrett said firmly. He turned toward the two scouts.

"Kael, Ren, unroll the canvas travel cot. We need to secure Doctor Shin and carry him back to the guild medical ward before the morning patrols arrive."

"Yes, captain," Kael responded, unhooking the straps of the folded stretcher from his backpack.

"Wait a moment," Lyra said suddenly, her voice quiet and focused. Garrett paused, looking over at the elven mage with a frown.

"What is it, Lyra?" Lyra remained standing directly over Shin. Her gaze was locked entirely onto the smooth, featureless porcelain mask covering his face. For the past several weeks, rumors about the mysterious masked doctor of the lower delta slums had spread through every tavern, market, and guild outpost in the region. Some claimed he was an exiled court surgeon from the northern empire who had fled political execution.

Others whispered that he was an ancient alchemical construct, or a fallen noble living in hiding. Despite treating hundreds of slum residents and solving difficult illnesses, no one in the province had ever seen the face behind the white porcelain. Now, he lay completely unresponsive, helpless, and defenseless right at her feet.

"Lyra," Garrett warned, his tone turning sharp as he recognized the look in her eyes.

"Leave the mask alone. The man just saved this entire valley from a Class-A disaster. If he wishes to keep his identity hidden from the world, that is his right."

"I am only thinking of his safety, Garrett," Lyra replied smoothly, though the eager curiosity in her voice was clear to everyone in the squad.

"He just released a massive energy wave. If his body suffered internal mana backfire, his facial airways could swell. Leaving a tightly fitted full-face mask on an unconscious person restricts proper airflow and makes it impossible to monitor his condition."

"Karen already checked his breathing," Garrett countered, stepping forward to put a firm hand on Lyra shoulder.

"His airway is clear and his breathing is completely stable. There is no medical reason to remove his mask. Step back and let the scouts put him on the stretcher."

"It will only take two seconds," Lyra insisted, gently shaking off Garrett hand.

"We are guild veterans. We need to know who we are harboring in our town. If he is an imperial fugitive or an unregistered high-tier mage, the guild master will need a full description." Before Garrett could grab her arm again, Lyra leaned down over Shin motionless form. Her long silver hair fell forward over her shoulders as she reached out her right hand. Her slender, pale fingers moved toward the side of the porcelain mask, aiming for the thin leather seam running along his left jawline.

The clearing was deathly still. Shin did not flinch, groan, or shift his position. He remained deep in his comatose state, his slow, rhythmic breathing undisturbed by the presence of the adventurers around him. Lyra fingertips came within half an inch of the smooth porcelain edge.

"Lyra, do not touch it!" Karen called out from the side, sensing an unnatural chill in the air. Lyra ignored the warning. Driven by overwhelming curiosity, her index and middle fingers pressed lightly against the outer rim of the white porcelain mask, preparing to lift it away from his face. The moment her skin made physical contact with the cold ceramic, a soft sound clicked from inside the mask. CLICK. Deep within the dark-iron inner lining of the mask, a microscopic pressure switch engaged.

Shin passive defense protocol flared to life inside his dark-iron arm. [SECURITY ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED CONTACT DETECTED] [Target Point: Primary Facial Concealment Matrix] [Host State: Comatose / Energy Depleted] [Contingency Protocol: High-Voltage Defensive Discharge Engaged] In less than a fraction of a second, the pristine white porcelain mask flared with brilliant, crackling blue energy. CRACK-BOOOOOOM!

A violent burst of concentrated, high-voltage lightning exploded directly from the surface of the porcelain mask. The electrical shock hit Lyra hand with the force of a battering ram. Bright blue and purple lightning wrapped around her fingers, tearing through her arm and surging across her entire body in a blinding flash of raw energy.

"AHHHHHHH!" Lyra let out a sharp, piercing scream as the intense electrical power lifted her slender body off the ground and threw her backward through the air. The force of the blast sent a cloud of gray ash billowing upward into the moonlight.

"LYRA!" Garrett roared. The veteran vanguard reacted instantly. Dropping his heavy broadsword into the dust, he lunged backward with his arms outstretched, catching the flying elven mage right before she slammed into the jagged granite rocks behind them. The impact hit Garrett chest plate with heavy momentum, forcing him back three long paces before his iron boots dug into the dirt to stop the slide.

Residual blue static sparks jumped from Lyra robes onto Garrett steel armor, rattling his gauntlets with sharp, stinging shocks.

"Get back! Defensive wall!" Kael yelled in absolute panic, dropping his stretcher and pulling his bow to full draw, aiming his iron-tipped arrow straight at Shin chest. Ren drew both of his combat daggers, dropping into a low combat stance beside Kael.

"The doctor is attacking! Karen, get behind us!"

"Hold your fire! All of you, hold your fire right now!" Garrett commanded, his powerful voice cutting through the panic like a war horn. He knelt down in the ash, carefully resting the limp body of the elven mage against his armored knee. Lyra was completely unconscious. Her midnight-blue robes were lightly smoking along the right sleeve, and her right hand was blackened and red from the electrical shock.

Her fingers were still twitching faintly from the residual current, and her breath came in rapid, shallow gasps. Karen rushed over, placing her glowing hands on Lyra chest to cast a soothing healing prayer.

"She took a massive electrical shock directly to her nervous system! Her heart is racing, but the energy did not damage her internal organs. She will survive, but she is completely knocked out!"

"Did the doctor cast that?" Kael asked, his hands shaking slightly on his bowstring as he kept his aim locked onto the figure by the pillar.

"Look at him, you fool!" Garrett snapped, gesturing toward the center of the clearing. Kael and Ren looked over. Shin had not moved a single inch. He was still lying flat on his back near the base of the granite pillar, his dark-iron hand resting limp in the dust, his breathing slow, shallow, and undisturbed. He had not raised a finger, chanted a spell, or opened his eyes. The pristine white porcelain mask sat over his face, completely undisturbed, gleaming cleanly under the cold light of the moon.

"It was not an active attack," Garrett said grimly, letting out a heavy breath as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

"It was an automated trap built directly into the mask. The moment an unauthorized person tries to remove it while he is unconscious, the device discharges a lethal shock." Garrett looked down at the unconscious elven mage in his arms, then back at the motionless doctor lying in the ash.

"A man who prepares a lethal countermeasure for his own face while in a coma is not an ordinary healer," Garrett muttered quietly to himself.

"Do not touch that mask again. Put him on the transport cot by the leather straps of his coat, and let us get out of this graveyard before the imperial envoys arrive." The scouts carefully approached Shin, lifting him gently onto the canvas cot without daring to touch his head. Asura Blade turned around, carrying the comatose doctor and their injured mage away from the silent, ash-covered valley of Sector 9, heading back toward the safety of the border town.