CHAPTER 187: CHAPTER 187: IN THE SHADOW OF THE EARTH

Days had passed since Mordred had begun his study of runes, and now, lying on the cold floor of the ancient underground prison, his body covered in sweat and dust, he contemplated with satisfaction the stone ceiling above him. He could still feel the energy of the last runes vibrating slightly in his fingers, and an exhausted but victorious smile slowly stretched across his lips.

- "Even with so much power within me, it took me this long," he murmured, short of breath. "What a difficult art..."

Mordred remained like this for a few minutes, savoring this moment of respite after so much effort. Each rune had demanded absolute control of his mana, surgical precision in his gestures, and above all, a deep understanding of the infinite subtleties of this ancient art. The path had been rough, but the result was there: he now perfectly mastered the concealment enchantments that had made this prison invisible to dragons.

Finally, he slowly sat up, his aching muscles silently protesting against each movement. His gaze fell on Livia, who was watching him calmly from the entrance of the room, a discreet smile on her face.

- "You finally made it," she said with obvious pride.

Mordred nodded gently, his gaze determined.

- "Yes, but the real work is just beginning."

Indeed, mastering the runes was only the first step of a much more ambitious plan: building a network of invisible tunnels under Paris, allowing human slaves to find refuge, a secret training place, and ultimately a way to escape draconic domination.

The first step would be to determine precisely the direction this complex underground network would take. For this, Mordred knew he needed a reliable reference point to correctly orient each tunnel.

At nightfall, when dragons became rarer on the surface, Mordred decided to go out discreetly to observe the stars and precisely locate the direction of north. He silently climbed the narrow staircase leading to the secret exit, hidden under a heavy stone slab in an abandoned alley, far from prying eyes.

The night was cold and clear, the stars shining intensely in the dark sky, immutable despite the chaos on earth. Mordred slowly raised his eyes to the firmament, his analytical mind quickly finding the familiar constellations. Carefully, he spotted Polaris, the North Star, brilliantly motionless at the center of the night sky.

Making mental note of this direction, he immediately descended back to their underground hideout. He quickly rejoined Livia, who was waiting near an improvised table on which a blank parchment was spread, ready to receive their future plans.

- "North is precisely in this direction," he declared, drawing a clear straight line on the parchment, definitively marking the reference point. "From there, we can determine exactly the direction to give each tunnel."

Livia observed the diagram attentively, intrigued:

- "How do you plan to precisely measure the distances to travel underground?"

Mordred nodded slowly, already prepared for this question:

- "I have an idea for that. Each tunnel will have a length measured according to my own pace. I’ve precisely estimated that one of my steps is about 80 centimeters. I’ll therefore draw a clear scale: 100 steps, 80 meters, then 1 kilometer, and so on."

Quickly, he carefully drew this scale at the bottom of the diagram, creating a clear, precise, and perfectly reliable reference system. Livia nodded slowly, impressed by Mordred’s methodical rigor.

- "Perfect. So, let’s begin without delay," she declared with determination.

Their first step was to choose the precise location of the first slave camp to connect to their underground refuge. Thanks to the precise information they had collected, they decided to orient the first tunnel toward one of the largest camps located west of their current position, at an estimated distance of about 800 meters according to their previous observations.

They went to the bottom of the prison, where Mordred had already begun to dig slightly to test the soil’s solidity. He placed his hands on the cold stones before him, briefly closed his eyes to concentrate, then slowly opened them, his intense gaze shining with unwavering determination.

- "Let’s go," he said, activating his dragon scales.

By combining his physical strength, superhuman speed, and the durability of his scales, Mordred began a methodical breakthrough through the dense rock, advancing with impressive speed despite the colossal effort. Each punch, each gesture was perfectly controlled to minimize vibrations and noise.

Immediately after each meter dug, Mordred carefully drew the runes he had mastered on the freshly excavated walls, using his mana with absolute precision to make the tunnel completely undetectable to the sharp magical senses of dragons.

Each rune was drawn according to a precise configuration: a series of symbols representing invisibility, silence, and magical neutralization, forming a complex and harmonious network. Mordred knew that the slightest error could compromise the entire operation. He therefore advanced slowly, methodically, linking each rune with surgical care, his mind always alert and vigilant.

Livia followed him closely, illuminating their progress with a small mana lamp whose soft light clearly revealed each runic tracing.

Hours passed this way, slowly but surely, while Mordred advanced step by step, meter by meter, the tunnel gradually extending behind them in total but secure darkness.

Each time he finished a series of runes, Mordred carefully checked his work, testing the effectiveness of his enchantments by magically probing each wall. Each time, he felt deep relief in noting that everything was perfect: the tunnels were completely invisible to external magical senses.

This methodical work continued for several nights, Mordred mentally marking each distance traveled by precisely counting each of his steps. The scale he had drawn on the parchment came to life before his eyes, becoming a tangible reality under their feet.

After several days of intense work, Mordred suddenly felt a slight change in the texture of the stone before him. He immediately stopped, gently placing his hand on the wall.

- "We’re almost there," he murmured cautiously. "The camp can’t be far now."

His heart beat faster, aware that the next step would be crucial: discreetly opening an entrance into the camp, without being spotted by the dragons who closely monitored every movement.

He carefully marked their current position on the diagram, precisely noting the distance traveled from their refuge, and turned to Livia, looking grave but determined.

- "In a few days, we’ll open an entrance into the camp. But we’ll have to be extremely careful. The slightest misstep could compromise everything. First, let’s dig another tunnel opposite this one, not too far, and widen everything to make a training room."

Livia nodded slowly, her determination echoing his:

- "I’ll be ready, Mordred. We must give them this hope."

They remained silent for a moment, contemplating the now perfectly traced and enchanted tunnel that stretched behind them, aware of the immense risk they would soon face.

Mordred observed the diagram spread before them, carefully tracing with his finger the direction opposite to that of the first tunnel:

- "First, let’s dig another tunnel opposite this one, not too far, then widen everything to create this training room."

He frowned slightly, aware of the technical challenges this implied:

- "However, we must also think about the stability of the walls. Without adequate material to reinforce the tunnels, we’ll have to be extremely careful in our excavations. The slightest error could cause a collapse."

Livia nodded gravely, sharing the same concern:

- "Without physical supports, only magic remains to stabilize the walls. Your runes will have to be absolutely perfect to maintain the solidity and discretion of each passage."

Mordred nodded slowly, his face marked by deep determination but also by a certain apprehension. He knew perfectly well what this meant: each meter dug would require not only perfect control of his mana, but also mental and physical rigor even more intense than before.

With a deep breath, Mordred took up his katana Narukami, aware that this new step would be trying at all levels:

- "Very well, let’s begin right now."

He advanced toward the opposite direction of the first tunnel, determined, gently placing his hand against the rocky wall that would mark the beginning of this new passage. He briefly closed his eyes, then began the laborious process of digging.

Each punch, each movement was thoughtful, controlled, calibrated. His knuckles methodically cut through the dense stone, his fingers imbued with a slight thread of mana to facilitate the cutting. Despite this, the necessary physical effort was enormous, his muscles contracting painfully with each movement.

After each new excavation, Mordred immediately stopped, placing his hands against the freshly exposed walls to carefully trace the runes necessary for their stabilization and concealment. This time, the runes had to be even more complex, combining both structural stability and magical invisibility.

Each rune drawn required a monumental mental effort from Mordred. He had to precisely calculate the exact amount of mana to inject into each symbol, each tracing, each segment. Too weak a dosage would result in fatal instability, while an excess of mana risked causing destructive overload.

The difficulty mainly lay in the subtle balance between these two extremes. His mind had to constantly measure each fluctuation of his mana, his concentration reaching unprecedented levels.

Quickly, Mordred felt the crushing weight of this task fall upon him. Drops of sweat flowed abundantly on his forehead, each breath became heavier, and his mind threatened to become exhausted faced with this incessant control.

Despite everything, he continued, determined to succeed at all costs.

After several hours of intense effort, the new tunnel had taken shape, slowly and solidly extending from their refuge toward a natural underground room they had spotted. Mordred and Livia then undertook to carefully widen this space to make it a true training room.

Each widened wall was immediately reinforced by a complex network of stabilizing runes. Mordred now physically felt the difficulty of maintaining such concentration for prolonged periods. His mana fluctuated dangerously, constantly threatening to tip toward instability.

After a while, exhausted, Mordred suddenly stopped, leaning against the freshly enchanted wall to catch his breath, his vision slightly troubled by the intense effort.

- "These runes..." he murmured weakly to himself, "...their complexity is almost infernal. Every minute, every second, I must be perfectly concentrated... A single instant of inattention could ruin all the work already accomplished."

Livia approached slowly, her gaze filled with concern:

- "Perhaps you should take a break, Mordred. You’re pushing your body and mind to their limits."

But Mordred gently shook his head, determined:

- "No, Livia. I must succeed. This room must be perfectly stable and invisible to dragons. We have no right to error."

With a deep breath, he slowly pushed back his fatigue, his determination taking over his exhaustion. Mordred slowly straightened his body, his eyes shining with renewed will, and immediately resumed his meticulous and rigorous work.

Each additional rune drawn, each reinforced wall, was one more step toward their final objective. Despite the crushing exhaustion, Mordred continued to advance, step by step, rune by rune, until the room slowly began to take shape.

The walls were finally completely reinforced, covered with a harmonious network of magical symbols whose effectiveness was immediately perceptible. Mordred could clearly feel the magical stability now anchored in every square centimeter of stone around them.

Exhausted but deeply satisfied, Mordred slowly stepped back, contemplating with pride this training room now perfectly secured.

- "It’s done," he breathed with an exhausted smile. "This space is now invisible and perfectly stable."