The road with a strong sense of space contrast is even longer than imagined.
With the enhancement of Wind’s Force, the group has walked for nearly five minutes and still hasn’t seen the end. The oppressive feeling is growing, and although Angel and the others are not greatly affected, they gradually become silent, maintaining a state of silence.
This silent atmosphere persisted until the first narrow passage.
The road couldn’t possibly become wider, for reverence and smallness also have thresholds. So, after walking a long segment of the "avenue," they finally reached the first narrow passage—the road began to develop narrowly.
This passage has no branches, but on both ends, there stands a pair of statues.
The statue on the left has been completely destroyed, leaving only the base. The statue on the right has also been damaged but retained a half-body. From this half-body and some fragments on the ground, they can reconstruct that the right statue should be a centaur holding a round shield and a chain hammer.
The centaur, purely as a magical creature, doesn’t actually exist in the Southern Domain; even if there are any, they have smuggled in from the Abyss.
However, stories about centaurs are often circulated among the people, like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus in Earth’s fairy tales, deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.
In folklore, the symbol of centaurs is not the terrifying creature from the Abyss but a symbol of loyalty and steadfastness.
Because in tales of centaurs, it’s always the brave warriors fighting against evil dragons, and centaurs are the solid support standing behind the warriors.
Who originally created these centaur stories has long disappeared into the annals of history, and whether they have seen the Abyssal centaurs remains a mystery.
But it must be said that the stories of centaurs have spread very widely, and even in the Wizards’ Realm, despite knowing centaurs are Abyssal creatures, many are fond of their image.
A friend Angel knows—Viking—has the image of a centaur below his waist. Of course, he was forced to transplant this image on himself, but since Viking does not reject this image, one can know the trend in the Wizards’ Realm towards centaurs.
Under such a trend, the statue of centaurs is endowed with quite a lot of positive connotations.
From the actions and posture of this centaur statue in front of them, it’s a typical stance of alertness, warning later comers to "halt."
The so-called halt usually has only two meanings: either a warning that danger lies ahead, or it’s an important place where entry is forbidden without permission.
Which of these two meanings would it be?
Angel was the first to break the silence and voice his doubts.
"Perhaps, it’s both," came the cold voice with a hint of nasal tone, without a doubt, spoken by the Black Earl.
"I also think the Black Earl is right." This time, it was Kaier who spoke.
Kaier had been squatting beside the completely shattered base of the left statue, wearing protective goggles, and using very professional archaeological tools, including a custom-made magnifying glass and a pheromone amplifier, looking quite the part.
However, when he spoke, Kaier took off the goggles and let out a long breath: "Although I only captured a small portion of pheromones, it’s basically confirmed that the destruction of the statue was not by humans but by some kind of creature with a dark aura."
"This magical creature might inherently possess corrosion abilities. I extracted signs of corrosion from some fragments. But the statue itself wasn’t destroyed by corrosion; it was smashed with great force. So I guess this creature has some corrosion ability and considerable strength."
"Additionally, the most important point is that since I can extract some pheromones, it indicates that the destruction of these statues was not long ago, not exceeding half a year."
"So, I agree with the Black Earl’s statement. The original meaning of this centaur statue might have been to indicate to visitors that the place ahead is an important institution, forbidden without permission. But now, since there are creatures appearing nearby, it also suggests possible danger ahead."
"The coexistence of both possibilities is not contradictory."
Angel also agreed with Kaier’s analysis because his analysis was based on his findings. Having evidence always brings more peace of mind.
Angel: "Is there a record of the pheromones? If so, let me have a look."
Kaier nodded and handed over the valuable pheromone amplifier directly to Angel. If it were anyone else, even Dox, he wouldn’t have given it so easily, but Angel is recognized as an Academy Faction "researcher," and naturally, he wouldn’t refuse him.
After Angel got the pheromone amplifier, he immediately started operating it.
Watching Angel’s precise and graceful operation, Kaier once again affirmed that his perception wasn’t wrong. It’s worth noting that the pheromone amplifier is a niche instrument that’s extremely intricate to operate, with any mishap potentially causing errors.
Angel’s operation was remarkably smooth, even more fluid than Kaier’s.
Soon, Angel saw the traces and records of pheromones that Kaier previously extracted.
After putting down the pheromone amplifier, Angel fell into a state of contemplation.
Everyone knew Angel wanted to see the pheromone record to identify the magical creature that destroyed the statue.
But after Angel finished looking, he didn’t speak immediately, causing some itchiness of curiosity among the crowd.
Vay even approached Dox and suggested, "Why don’t you check the pheromone records too? Two people mean more ideas."
"Are you suggesting Angel’s insight is insufficient to recognize that magical creature?" Dox countered.
Vay indeed had this suspicion in his heart, but as an idol fan, he wouldn’t voice it. He’d only suggest Dox help, prevent the idol from failing to recognize it and face embarrassment.
But Dox pointed out his thoughts directly, causing Vay to wave his hands repeatedly: "How is that possible! The noble, handsome, powerful, and grand Chaowei Lord is the most knowledgeable wizard I’ve ever seen!"
Dox: "...You’ve given him too many prefixes..."
Vay’s face flushed: "I’m speaking the truth."
Dox looked skeptically at his old friend—could this guy have been brainwashed by Angel? Why was he acting so strange today?
However, Dox didn’t voice his doubts aloud; stopping the topic here was fine. If Vay continued to insist he operate the pheromone amplifier, it wouldn’t be Angel facing embarrassment; the Joker would be him.
Indeed, Dox diverted the topic because he didn’t want to admit he couldn’t operate the pheromone amplifier.
Of course, besides Kaier and Angel, there was another person capable of handling the pheromone amplifier—the Black Earl. Still, no one except Angel dared to ask the Black Earl for anything. Although Dox previously dared to retort to the Black Earl, he wouldn’t now as it would expose his lack of knowledge.
"Huh?" During the silent waiting, the Black Earl suddenly made a puzzled sound.
Everyone immediately looked towards the Black Earl, but he said nothing, instead falling into contemplation.
This time, Angel and Black Earl both fell into contemplation...
Time passed second by second, and after two minutes, Black Earl was the first to return to his senses, though he still said nothing. Another minute later, Angel finally lifted his head, rubbed his temples, and let out a long breath.