Just as Lin Gui waited silently in the shadows for his chance.
The situation in front of the massive trapezoidal tomb below was changing rapidly.
Rona tightly held Linno, whose breath was growing fainter and fainter, in her arms.
She endured the excruciating pain radiating from her limbs.
She looked up at the Holy Knight John, her voice trembling with pain and weakness.
"Sir John... I have already brought you to the entrance of this ruin as agreed."
"Please... please honor your promise and let us live..."
Upon hearing this, the Holy Knight John only swept a contemptuous glance over her.
It was as if he were looking at an insignificant ant, a cold sneer curling the corner of his mouth.
"Oh no, my dear adventurer Rona, I think you have made a mistake."
He slowly stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist, his tone carrying a condescending mockery.
"How could someone of my status ever make an agreement with a lowly adventurer? You... are not worthy."
Rona's heart instantly sank to the bottom as cold despair spread through her.
She had known all along that these high-and-mighty figures would never let them go easily.
John changed his tone, his face displaying a hypocritical expression as if he were bestowing charity.
"However, in the spirit of knightly mercy and 'justice'."
"If you are willing to use your last bit of utility to lead the way and scout the path ahead in this ancient tomb for us..."
"I might just give you and that dying little thing a chance to live."
His words were like venomous snakes, coiling around Rona's heart.
"There's no need to worry, Madam Rona; haven't you already been inside once and come out 'safely'?"
John's voice carried an unabashed mix of temptation and threat.
"We believe you must know how to avoid those... little 'troubles' and lead us deep into this glorious burial ground to find the ancient treasures."
At this point, John's gaze turned once more toward the massive, silent entrance of the trapezoidal tomb.
The greed in his eyes was almost overflowing, no longer concealed in the slightest.
He had originally come here only to pacify Gorn, who was on the verge of a rampage after losing his beloved bow, Azure Echo.
But now, seeing with his own eyes this massive underground mausoleum complex that far exceeded the scale of the Carter Royal Tombs...
Feeling the desolation and mystery contained within the ancient stone...
John's heart began to beat violently and uncontrollably.
As a Legendary powerhouse and a member of the true top-tier strength of the Carter Kingdom.
He did not lack money.
But the Third Prince who supported him—that ambitious man who yearned to ascend the throne.
He was very, very short on money, and he also desperately craved power that could crush his other competitors!
Moreover, if this was not an ordinary ruin from the Golden Age.
But a remnant from the even more ancient and mysterious Primeval Era...
Then the ancient equipment, lost divine artifacts, rare magic scrolls, or even the secret of immortality that might exist inside...
Any one of those things would be enough to drive him and the entire Third Prince's faction into a frenzy!
It wasn't just him.
The other members of the knight order were also staring at the deep entrance of the tomb with burning eyes, their breathing heavy.
But none of them acted rashly.
Anyone who wasn't a fool knew.
A tomb constructed so deliberately and on such a grand scale.
It would inevitably be filled with lethal traps and unknown dangers.
The last ancient tomb was discovered five years ago in the Fairy Forest near the Emerald City-State.
Countless Transcendent adventurers and knight orders had entered to explore, and as a result, no one had come out alive.
It wasn't until the Epic Rank Archmage Merlo from the Magic City entered with his students that the tomb was opened to the public.
No one knew what Archmage Merlo had brought out.
The only thing known was that many wondrous pieces of magic technology had been circulating in various black markets since that day, selling for staggering prices.
And Archmage Merlo had climbed to the Mid-tier Epic rank within a single year, his rank breaking into the top ten human powerhouses.
Having an adventurer who had already entered once and survived lead the way.
This was, for John and the others.
Undoubtedly the easiest and safest choice.
At a sign from John and under the impatient coercion of Gorn.
Rona began the long climb up the stone steps toward the entrance of the trapezoidal tomb, one agonizing step at a time.
Every time she moved.
The steel needles embedded throughout her body ground against her muscles and bones, bringing a tearing, excruciating pain.
Cold sweat poured down her face, and her complexion became as white as paper.
She had just barely escaped the ruin with her life, only to be caught red-handed by John's Holy Knights near the exit.
Her Mid-tier Transcendent strength seemed so pale and powerless when surrounded by two Legendary figures and eight High-tier High Rank experts.
She was subdued almost instantly.
Gorn had personally driven steel needles into her vital points and joints with surgical precision.
Now, every time she tried to channel her battle force.
It felt as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at her meridians, a pain beyond endurance.
These needles seemed to pierce Rona's very soul.
Perhaps finding Rona's speed far too slow, Gorn completely lost his patience.
With a cold huff, he stepped forward abruptly.
He grabbed Rona's shoulder, which was pierced by steel needles and soaked in blood.
Ignoring the uncontrollable, shrill gasps of pain escaping her.
He dragged her roughly, covering the remaining stone steps in just a few strides.
They arrived before the massive, dark entrance of the trapezoidal tomb.
"Wait! Linno... Linno is still down there!"
Enduring the dizziness, Rona struggled to look back.
Gorn suddenly pinched her cheek, the force so great it almost crushed her cheekbones.
Those sinister eyes were filled with cruelty and violence.
"Forget about that piece of trash!" he growled, his voice like a bone-chilling wind.
"Now, get inside! Search! Find the divine artifact!"
"Otherwise, I'll chop you and that idiot down there into mincemeat to feed the rats right now!"
Rona eyes flashed with a flicker of resolute anger, her body instinctively wanting to resist.
But the moment her battle force stirred slightly.
Gorn's fingers moved like lightning, driving a new, even thicker steel needle into the Qihai point in her abdomen!
"Argh!!!"
Rona let out a short, agonized wail as her vision went black.
Gorn always knew exactly where to stop, pulling back at the very edge of her losing consciousness completely.
He kept her awake, forcing her to taste this ultimate agony.
Like discarding a piece of trash, he kicked Rona hard in the side of her waist.
The force sent her rolling and tumbling into the dark tunnel of the tomb.
"Get up, trash!" Gorn stood at the mouth of the tunnel, the shadows covering half his face, his voice bone-chilling.
"Now, crawl inside! Or... I'll tear you apart this instant and send you on your way with that bitch down there!"
The tomb tunnel was deathly silent, save for the faint sound of Rona's uncontrollable, pained gasping.
After a long while, under Gorn's increasingly impatient gaze.
A rustling friction sound finally came from deep within the dark tunnel.
Using every ounce of her strength and relying on her stubborn will.
Rona painfully and bit by bit propped up her broken body.
She suppressed all her anger, humiliation, and despair deep within her heart.
Those once-sharp eyes.
Now held nothing but an abyss-like silence and determination.
She began to move her body, which felt like it no longer belonged to her.
Into the unknown, death-filled darkness deep within the tomb tunnel, she slowly crawled.
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