Chapter 898: Surnames
Everyone was curious about what Leon was doing, but no one dared to disturb him. Just glancing at the growing pile of manuscript pages covered in his handwriting, it was clear Leon was working on something important. Even William came over specifically to keep people away.
For three days straight, Leon practically walked every inch of Radiance Fortress, only stopping after what looked like aimless wandering.
“This place is actually an alchemical array—the entire Radiance Fortress is an alchemical array!”
After three days of massive calculations and meticulous checking, Leon finally included every corner of Radiance Fortress in his analysis. The results matched his initial suspicion exactly—the fortress itself was an alchemical array!
Now Leon was beginning to understand why Radiance Fortress was built so differently from ordinary Blazeforge Orc fortresses. At the very least, it looked sturdier and was made from much rarer materials.
Even the supposedly crude walls of Radiance Fortress weren’t just made of thick logs—they also included the unique hard black stone found only in the Blazeforge Realm.
The entire Radiance Fortress forms a colossal alchemical array, whose greatest function is to draw power from the Abyss across realms!
Trying to extract Abyssal power for long periods without opening an Abyssal Gate is no simple matter. It could even attract the attention of powerful Abyssal beings, providing demons with a coordinate to descend.
And if the amount of power drawn is too little, it’s useless; too much, and exposure is inevitable.
The only way was to turn the entire Radiance Fortress into a colossal alchemical array. Only an array of such scale could suppress these fluctuations, allowing for the long-term extraction of Abyssal power without opening a gate to the Abyss—and without attracting the attention of Abyssal lords.
The greatest function of the extracted power was to support that formidable barrier. To maintain the powerful barrier enveloping Radiance Fortress, the amount of energy required was far beyond what a few mages could provide.
Beyond that, the array's even greater purpose was to help the Black Iron Orcs grow stronger.
Half of the Black Iron Orcs' bloodline came from an Abyssal Overlord, so they could absorb Abyssal power too. Through an ancient ritual, the alchemical array accelerated their advancement in rank.
Just as an alchemical array that intensifies magical energy is invaluable to mages, this array meant that for the Black Iron Orcs, staying here was like living in a place saturated with magic.
That’s one major reason why Black Iron Orcs are so powerful. Adult Black Iron Orc warriors rarely rank below Greatsword Master—the proportion of elite fighters here is terrifying.
Leon had deduced this outcome on the very first day, but something still felt off. Based on his calculations, the barrier sustained by the alchemical array’s Abyssal extraction should have been far stronger than the one he’d seen before.
Moreover, the array’s extracted power wasn’t being funneled underground—it was dispersed throughout Radiance Fortress, making the Abyssal aura here especially dense.
Staring at the constantly shifting drafts before him, a glimmer of understanding flashed in Leon’s eyes.
“So that’s it. There really is another alchemical array hidden here!”
Through careful comparison, Leon discovered that within the massive alchemical array formed by Radiance Fortress, there was indeed a hidden array—one so subtle that it would be overlooked without close scrutiny.
Calling it a hidden array isn’t entirely accurate, since this concealed array is actually part of the main Radiance Array, serving the same function as the original.
But whoever set up Radiance Fortress used a clever method, allowing a segment of the original array to combine into another separate array.
A single node could simultaneously be part of two alchemical arrays, with each array unaffected by the other—almost like two sides of the same coin.
This is the true brilliance of the array’s creator. If a master-level alchemist with deep expertise examined it more closely, they’d immediately see that Radiance Fortress itself was a giant alchemical array, and even discern its purpose.
Yet it’s extremely difficult to spot the sections that look like ordinary parts of the array—once combined, they form another hidden array entirely!
Everything here is laid bare, nothing is truly concealed—and that makes the hidden array even harder to notice.
The array’s architect wasn’t just a master of alchemy—his skill was nearly saintly—but more importantly, he understood the psychology of alchemists perfectly.
Any alchemist would ignore what’s placed in plain sight, instead chasing after what appears hidden.
Once the alchemist finds those clues deliberately left to be discovered, the most obvious clues end up overlooked.
And this hidden alchemical array, Leon realized, was the most crucial part of all.
Its sole purpose was to divert a portion of the Abyssal power drawn by the massive array, channeling it into the depths beneath Radiance Fortress.
The Abyssal power extracted by the huge array was immense—far beyond what any titled Archmage could muster.
This energy not only sustained Radiance Fortress’s defenses, but also aided every Black Iron Orc here in cultivating their battle aura, strengthening their bloodline.
The sheer amount of magic consumed was incalculable, yet now at least thirty percent was being diverted underground. Was there something below that required such power?
It might seem like only thirty percent, but if you converted that to soul magic crystals, the daily consumption would bankrupt even a power like the Black Tower. Within a year, the Black Tower itself would collapse.
Leon fell into deep thought. When he first came to Radiance Fortress, it wasn’t out of any real desire to trade, but because he recalled certain things about this place.
In fact, if not for hearing the name Radiance Fortress and learning about the Black Iron Orcs, Leon might never have remembered it at all.
Back in the Desolate Library, he hadn’t seen the name Radiance Fortress, but rather a place in the Furyflame Plane known as the Origin of Furyflame Radiance.
It was only when others mentioned Radiance Fortress that he realized this desolate place was what the Furyflame Orcs called the Origin of Furyflame Radiance.
The fact that this place was recorded at all was thanks to a powerful historian-mage during the peak of the Northend World, who uncovered a secret here involving a Sky Rank mage at the pinnacle of his power. It was even determined that the relic left behind by that mage was right here.
But due to unforeseen events, no one ever had the chance to excavate that mage’s relic.
That mage was named Bill George—a mighty Sky Rank mage!
He was once a prince of the Third Dynasty, a contemporary of Barov. Yet his early life was far from glorious; as a prince, his power was unimpressive, and he seemed destined for tragedy.
For reasons unknown—none of which were ever documented—he lost his royal status. Afterward, he was exiled from the Northend World.
Bill George vanished from the Northend World for many years. When he finally returned, he was already a formidable Sky Rank mage.
Upon his return, Bill George didn’t seek to reclaim his royal identity. Instead, he established a force in what is now the Stoneland Kingdom.
Now, Leon was certain that something was amiss beneath Radiance Fortress—whether it was the hidden array within the massive alchemical array, or the thirty percent of power funneled underground.
All of this suggested that the unverified record in the Desolate Library was likely true!
Leon couldn’t believe that anyone but a Sky Rank mage could have left such a grand design here. And it was hardly likely that another Sky Rank mage’s relic would just happen to be discovered by chance.
Those Black Iron Orcs with half a brain of muscle and half of molten rock could never, not in a hundred thousand years, create such a vast and intricate alchemical array.
And after coming here, when Leon met Wagner, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of suspicion.
Because of Wagner’s surname!
George!
Across the entire Northend World, there are countless people with the surname George. But as for a family—a true mage family, even a top-tier mage force—bearing the name George, there’s only one.
Although the George family now resides in the Odin Kingdom, Leon had checked their history. The family originally rose to prominence in the Stoneland Kingdom. Despite their long years in Odin, their roots trace back to Stoneland.
So, it’s almost certain that Wagner is a descendant of Bill George. After all, the only powerful family left with the surname George is Bill George’s line. In fact, the surname George was adopted by Bill George himself after returning to the Northend World.
He chose the most ordinary surname, which somehow became the most prominent and unique.
It’s precisely because of the George surname that Leon tolerated Wagner’s shameless persistence in tagging along.
If this really is Bill George’s relic, Wagner might yet prove useful.
Having confirmed the existence of a relic beneath Radiance Fortress, Leon began gathering people to start the excavation. Calculations showed that the entrance to the underground relic should lie at the very heart of Radiance Fortress.
There, an altar belonging to the Black Iron Orcs sat, suppressing the area so thoroughly that no entrance could be found.