The plan was set; what was needed now was the ammunition to execute it.
Victor glanced at the sluggish Comet, knowing that in its current state, it couldn’t generate enough Dragon Essence Crystals.
“Mealtime first,” he commanded simply.
Man and dragon began a sweeping scavenge, carefully avoiding the dangers lurking in the ruins and the mutated monsters roaming the periphery.
Victor’s target was crystal clear: anything containing iron, copper, or bronze.
A broken, rusted knight’s sword; a damaged cuirass reduced to half its size; a flattened bronze doorknob carved with intricate patterns…
To others, these were useless trash, but to Comet, they were the most delicious delicacies.
Unpicky, the dragon swallowed the scrap metal piece by piece.
Inside its body, an ultra-efficient biological furnace seemed to break down, purify, and convert the metal into pure energy.
As it ate, the crimson cores at Comet’s wingtips blazed brighter.
Finally, after devouring a last shattered shield, it let out a satisfied burp.
Opening its maw, it spat out five pigeon-egg-sized crystals, completely translucent as if carved from the purest rubies.
Magma seemed to flow slowly within them, radiating intimidating pulses of energy.
“Good job!” Victor praised generously.
Carefully stowing these five high-energy explosives, he led Comet back to the marked demolition site.
Instead of rushing to place the crystals, Victor retrieved a broken dagger-sized sword found in the ruins.
Using the blade, he painstakingly dug into the four marked spots.
His movements were patient, like a sculptor at work.
The pits he dug were shallow—only a dozen centimeters deep—but their angles and positions were strategically placed along natural fissures in the rock layer or stress concentration points between intersecting stones.
Only then did he carefully embed four of the Dragon Essence Crystals into the shallow holes, as if setting precious gems.
Comet watched curiously from the side, unable to comprehend why Victor was stuffing tasty candy into rock crevices.
Sensing its thoughts, Victor adjusted the angles of the crystals while explaining patiently through their mental bond—partly to instruct the dragon, and partly as a final check for himself.
“Listen, Comet.
We’re not blowing this open with brute force.
That would cause too much noise and could trigger a collapse that buries us alive.
What we’re doing is resonance.” “Look, this entire slab sealing the entrance acts as a single system with its own natural frequency.
Strong as it is, if we strike it at the exact frequency it naturally vibrates at, we’ll trigger resonance, breaking down its internal structure at a microscopic level.” Pointing to the four crystals, he continued, “These four crystals are our vibration sources.
In a moment, you shouldn’t detonate all their energy at once.
Instead, feed them a continuous, high-frequency energy pulse.
Keep the frequency as high as possible, and make sure the frequency and output of all four pulses are perfectly synchronized—just like a single heartbeat.
Understood?
We aren’t just blasting; we’re building an ultrasonic crusher.” Though Comet couldn’t grasp complex physics like resonance or frequency, it clearly felt the precise visual instructions Victor transmitted regarding energy output.
Nodding, the dragon spread its reddish wings slightly.
An invisible energy link formed between its wingtip cores and the four crystals.
Victor gripped the fifth crystal firmly in his hand—his contingency reserve.
He retreated to what he deemed a safe distance behind a massive stone pillar, poking out only half his head.
“Begin!” At his command, Comet’s wings flared brightly!
There was no earth-shattering boom.
No terrifying spectacle of sky-high flames.
None of the expected violence occurred.
Instead, only a deep, dull *thump*—like a giant’s heartbeat—echoed from deep underground.
Followed immediately by a second, a third…
*Thump…
thump…
thump…
thump…* The tempo accelerated, growing urgent like a death drumbeat from the depths of the earth.
The four embedded crystals beat like pulsing hearts, casting an eerie crimson glow that stained the surrounding rocks blood-red.
Victor could feel the ground trembling beneath his feet.
He kept his eyes locked onto the shield-like obsidian slab sealing the entrance.
Ten seconds later, the change came.
*Crack…* A faint snapping sound echoed.
A hairline crack appeared right in the middle of the obsidian slab.
Then came a chain reaction.
*Crack!
Crack!
Crack!* A second, a third, a tenth, a hundredth…
A web of countless fissures spread frantically across the entire obsidian surface at visible speed!
The impenetrable rock that had endured doom and cataclysm now shattered like glass struck by a sledgehammer!
*Rumble—clatter!* Finally, as the rhythmic resonance peaked, the entire obsidian slab lost all structural support.
With a roar, it collapsed inward, shattering into heaps of stone.
A pitch-black, bottomless opening appeared before Victor.
The entire process, from start to finish, took less than thirty seconds.
Clean, neat, efficient.
Not even a tiny pebble fell from the surrounding debris.
Fortunately, it hadn’t attracted the attention of any lurking monsters.
Victor gazed at his masterpiece.
Even though he had simulated this scenario countless times in his mind, he was still awestruck by the result.
This was the power of knowledge.
This was the miracle born from combining his intellect with the raw force of a dragon!
Comet proudly raised its silver-armored head, running up to Victor to rub against his leg, clearly seeking praise.
“Brilliant job!” Victor praised heartily, giving its large head an affectionate rub.
This intellectual thrill of orchestrating victory from behind the scenes was far more satisfying and exhilarating than breaking down a door through sheer force.
A draft of air, smelling of centuries of dust and heavy metal, wafted out from the dark shaft.
In the darkness, faint golden gleams seemed to shimmer.
Victor retrieved a dry, grease-dipped stick from his pack, drew a faint energy spark from Comet’s wingtip, and lit it.
The flame illuminated the burning desire in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he held up his makeshift torch and stepped inside first.
“Come on, Comet.
Time to pick up our package.”