In the distance, within the deep tomb tunnel.
Rona endured the agonizing pain from the steel needle.
She led John's Holy Knight order, cautiously passing through one "deadly" trap zone after another.
The energy fluctuations emitted by those traps were extremely dangerous.
Rona had no doubt that any one of them would be enough to tear a Transcendent adventurer to shreds.
Yet, the strange part was that they were all excessively "safe."
They were entirely exposed on the surface, as if they were terrified that an intruder might miss them.
The knights following behind did not suspect anything.
They naturally assumed that Rona had sabotaged them herself when she first broke in to ensure her own safe retreat.
But only Rona knew the truth.
She had never set foot here before!
The ruin Catherine had lured her into was not this place at all.
Even though the same switch had been turned, the final passage it led to was completely different.
Who exactly had altered the final destination of the passage after her and Catherine?
And who had laid out these traps that looked dangerous but were actually "considerate" guides?
Rona suppressed the doubts churning within her, not daring to let the knights behind her sense even a hint of anything being wrong.
No matter what the purpose was of the person hiding in the dark, guiding her—or rather, guiding this knight order—to this place...
She no longer had a choice.
At the very least... even if she died, she would drag these knightly lords from the Royal Capital, who had abandoned Linnor, down to hell with her.
With that resolute thought.
She finally led the knight order to the core area of this trapezoidal tomb.
The space ahead suddenly opened up into a vast, empty underground hall.
There were no mountains of gold and silver or glowing artifacts as one might imagine.
Instead, there were rows upon rows of neatly arranged coffins, standing like a silent army guarding the center.
And the most eye-catching one was not the massive crystal coffin in the center—whose lid had already been pushed aside and which was emitting a dazzling light.
Rather, it was an ordinary coffin near the entrance that looked dilapidated, its wood already rotten.
It stood out because it was surrounded by mountains of skeletons!
Mounds of skeletons were stacked layer upon layer, numbering perhaps in the thousands.
All the skeletons maintained a strange, forward-crawling posture.
Without exception, their necks were twisted at unnatural angles or even snapped.
Their hollow eye sockets were all "looking" toward that dilapidated coffin together.
Rona was completely cowed by this scene, which looked like nothing less than a slaughterhouse.
A chill raced from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She could not imagine what kind of tragic and horrific battle could have resulted in such a sight.
John's Knights, following close behind, were also shaken by the view.
Gorn's expression was dark, and John's brow was furrowed.
Although the souls of these remains had long since dissipated, it was not difficult to deduce how powerful they had been in life from the equipment they left behind.
Gorn and John even keenly noticed that on several pieces of equipment scattered among the corpses, there were engraved Stellar-tier runes that only Legendary powerhouses could drive—now dimmed and lusterless!
"Where is the artifact!" Gorn growled irritably.
His eyes scanned the entire hall like a hawk.
Finally, his gaze locked onto the opened crystal coffin in the center.
"There! The coffin has been opened!"
John also looked toward the crystal coffin.
The prestige of the equipment faintly emanating from it was something even he could clearly feel; it was certainly no ordinary item.
It was just that this light... wasn't it a bit too dazzling?
Gorn was excited and wanted to rush forward, but John grabbed him.
"Wait," John's voice carried an unquestionable calm as his gaze turned to the pale-faced Rona, "Ladies first."
Rona swallowed hard, knowing she could not refuse; she was about to brace herself and go forward.
"Thump... Thump... Thump..."
A series of dull sounds, like someone striking rotten wood, abruptly echoed through the deathly silent hall!
Everyone jumped, their nerves instantly tightening!
The source of the sound was exactly that broken coffin covered in skeletons not far ahead!
Gorn and John quickly exchanged a look.
Looking again at the strange way the skeletons on the ground had died, it seemed they had all been bisected or shredded instantly by some extremely sharp weapon!
The bodies of Transcendent Rank warriors were incredibly tough; they could never be cut through so cleanly and easily.
Even as a Mid-tier Legendary Holy Knight, John knew he could never achieve such a clean and widespread slaughter!
What's more, there were even a few remains belonging to Legendary powerhouses among the corpses.
John signaled with his eyes.
The entire knight order moved in unison, slowly retreating to form a defensive formation.
Rona also wanted to retreat, but she was pinned by one of Gorn’s steel needles, which was ready to fire.
"You, go up!" Gorn’s voice was cold and cruel.
"Draw out whatever 'thing' is inside that coffin!"
Rona’s face was as white as paper, but she had no choice.
She moved her feet slowly, carefully avoiding the skeletons on the ground.
She picked up a somewhat intact scout's dagger from beside the remains of a Transcendent warrior and held it tight.
Step by step, she moved with difficulty toward the broken coffin that was constantly emitting the thumping sound.
Sweat slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the cold skeletons.
The thumping seemed to strike directly at her heart.
Every time it sounded, her whole body trembled.
Behind her, Gorn continued to threaten her with his steel needle and his gaze, urging her to hurry.
Rona gritted her teeth and took a large stride, finally reaching the broken coffin!
Perhaps because it sensed someone approaching, the thumping inside the coffin abruptly stopped.
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
Rona could even clearly hear her own heart thundering.
She reached out with a trembling hand, her fingertips about to touch the rotten wood.
Suddenly!
"Creak—!"
The coffin lid was violently pushed open from the inside, leaving a gap!
A slender, pale hand, with a strange eye pattern drawn on the back, reached out like lightning and grabbed Rona’s wrist in a death grip!
The dagger in her hand fell with a clang.
To Rona’s absolute horror, the coffin was pushed completely open from the inside.
A "corpse" wearing a battered, broken helmet was slowly and jerkily sitting up from the coffin!
The corpse’s neck made a grinding, sickening sound, as if its bones were clicking into place or as if it were laughing.
Rona stared at him in terror.
His two arms were clearly hanging limply at his sides!
Where had the third hand grabbing her wrist come from?!
The corpse’s cackling grew louder, echoing in the empty hall, only to suddenly stop once more.
It turned its head stiffly, and from the shadow beneath the broken helmet, it seemed like two gazes locked onto Rona.
Then, it pulled something out from the depths of the coffin and stuffed it into Rona’s captured hand.
Rona swallowed and instinctively looked down.
It was a... piece of paper.
Written on the paper was...
【Recall Letter. Sender: Caran City Adventurer's Guild.】
"????"
Rona was completely stunned, her mind going blank.
At that moment, the terrifying corpse leaned close to her ear.
A voice, suppressed to a very low whisper, sounded:
"If you don't want to die, hurry up and think 'sign for it' in your mind!"
Rona was even more bewildered by these words, which stood in such stark contrast to the horrifying scene before her.
But her survival instinct made her do as she was told.
Sign for it!
The moment the thought arose, she felt the strange hand gripping her wrist pull with immense force!
"Ah!"
She cried out as she was yanked down by a massive power and dragged directly into the broken coffin.
"Bang!"
The coffin lid slammed shut behind her!
Silence returned to the area.
Only the broken coffin and the piles of skeletons remained, silently facing the suspicious and vigilant Holy Knight order.
The moment Rona was dragged into the coffin and the lid shut, something even more bizarre happened.
That dilapidated wooden coffin simply vanished into thin air before everyone's eyes, as if it had been wiped away by an eraser!
It left behind only the mountains of skeletons and the deathly silence of the hall.
The knights watched this incomprehensible scene in terror.
Even the experienced Holy Knight John felt his pupils shrink at the incredible sight.
Everyone, that is, except for Gorn.
His face was dark.
His eyes, as sharp as a hawk's, showed not a hint of confusion, only cold killing intent and precise judgment.
He moved almost the instant the coffin vanished!
The powerful battle force of a Low-tier Legendary archer exploded.
He violently drew the spare longbow in his hand, the string humming.
Ten battle force arrows containing terrifying piercing power poured out.
They were not aimed at where the coffin had disappeared.
Instead, they covered the entire entrance area of the tomb tunnel!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The arrows struck the stone walls and the ground, triggering a series of violent explosions and roars.
Debris flew, and dust filled the air.
However, one of the arrows seemed to hit something in mid-air, producing a strangely heavy impact sound!
Immediately after, in the smoke of the explosion, three figures were suddenly forced out as if they had been squeezed out of a water screen.
It was Lin Gui, whose Shroud of the Gloomy Night had been forcibly broken.
There was Elvia, who had vomited blood after being heavily injured while facing the Legendary arrow.
And then there was Rona, who had just finished "signing" and was still unconscious!
This sudden turn of events not only shocked the Holy Knight order but sent a jolt of shock through Lin Gui’s heart as well!
Since binding the system, this was the first time the Shroud of the Gloomy Night had been seen through!
It was also the third time since Lin Gui had created the Shroud of the Gloomy Night that it had been seen through.
The system notification in his mind saying, 【Special Commission completed, rewards being distributed...】 had not even fully faded.
Without time to check, Lin Gui shouted at Elvia.
"El!! Quick! The emergency plan."
The emergency plan was a plan Lin Gui had made before entering the trapezoidal tomb for several possible accidents.
And having the Shroud of the Gloomy Night seen through was one of the worst-case scenarios.
Almost as soon as he spoke, Elvia, who was standing at the very front and had instinctively raised a salvaged heavy shield to block the arrows, felt an indescribable, massive force slam into the shield!
"Crack! Bang!"
The high-quality shield exploded instantly!
Elvia felt as if she had been hit by a heavy blow; she was knocked backward, and the blood she spat out drew a sharp red line in the air.
Fortunately, that terrifying arrow did not pierce her; she had diverted its force to the side.
"Make me fly!" she roared at Lin Gui while flying backward.
Lin Gui’s staff tapped the air.
The light of Levitation instantly enveloped Elvia, canceling out most of her impact.
Elvia forced a breath and kicked off the ceiling of the tomb tunnel.
She used the momentum to twist her body, and the honorary saber in her hand erupted with an unprecedented, dazzling golden light, reflecting on her blood-stained face like a Valkyrie descending.
"Holy Light Slash!!"
She shouted fiercely, pouring all her remaining battle force into this one strike.
A condensed golden blade energy, which seemed capable of tearing through the darkness, slashed toward Gorn, who was raising his bow again.
Strangely, the blade disappeared the moment it left the scabbard.
Lin Gui took the opportunity to manipulate his staff and rush forward.
He caught the heavily injured and weakened Elvia with one hand and grabbed the unconscious Rona with the other.
He pushed Levitation to its limit and fled toward the exit of the tomb tunnel without looking back!
Behind him, Gorn let out a cold snort.
He could sense several thin entities moving through the tomb tunnel within his soul sea.
He drew his bow again, locking onto his prey once more.
Just as his bow was nearly fully drawn, a golden blade energy appeared out of thin air right in front of his face.
Gorn’s pupils shrank.
His superb reflexes as a Legendary archer allowed him to violently dodge to the side at the critical moment!
"Rip!"
The blade energy grazed his shoulder guard, carving a gap into the hard stone wall behind him!
Gorn looked at the cut, a rare look of dazed disbelief appearing on his face.
"When did...?!"
"Why couldn't I sense a single hint of battle force?"
This blade energy appearing out of thin air was far beyond his expectations.
It was as if he had seen a ghost.
"What happened?!" John and the others only now fully reacted and hurried forward.
"We were played by a few petty thieves!" Gorn’s face was livid.
He stopped dwelling on the strange scene that had just occurred and, without much explanation, his figure blurred as he rushed into the tomb tunnel like a gale, pursuing Lin Gui!
A Mid-tier High Rank mage and a High-tier High Rank knight actually dared to snatch his prey under his nose?!
To let them escape would be the greatest insult to Gorn!
However, the moment Gorn rushed into the tomb tunnel...
"Rumble—!"
The entire trapezoidal tomb suddenly began to shake violently!
The stone walls on both sides made a grinding sound and began to slowly close inward!
On the ground, the walls, the ceiling... countless traps that had not been revealed before and were emitting truly lethal auras popped out and activated from their hiding places!
Poison arrows, falling rocks, ground spikes, twisted arcane traps... the once "safe" passage instantly turned into a labyrinth of death!
The other members of the knight order turned pale at the sight; they could no longer care about anything else and tried to follow Gorn.
But John stopped them.
John said flatly, "Don't chase. I took a look just now; that little thief playing ghost is very weak."
"Besides, this is Gorn's own prey. If you want to interrupt his hunt, feel free."
The other members immediately shook their heads.
Interrupt that lunatic's hunt? They wanted to live a few more years.
"But, Commander, the traps are active and the tomb is about to collapse. If we don't leave, we'll be buried alive."
Knight John looked at the mage who asked the question with a speechless expression.
"Do you think my Legendary strength is for show?"
"Even if this entire tomb collapses, it's better than trying to charge through those traps. While it hasn't completely fallen, hurry up and find some valuable treasure."
"That old man of a King who won't stay dead... without the Umbral Tree Flower, he won't last long. Very soon, this struggle for the throne will reach its end."
After ordering his subordinates to quickly find valuables in the tomb, he went to the stone coffin in the center.
He looked forward with excitement, only to see that the stone coffin was filled with dazzling... magic glowstones.
John nearly cursed out loud, but just as he was about to leave, a movement came from within the coffin.
John was stunned; he sensed the faint afterglow of an artifact.
He rushed back to the stone coffin; as several magic glowstones fell away, he saw a sliver of a blade exposed beneath them.
John was overjoyed; the light-element mana emitted by the magic glowstones was naturally capable of masking the afterglow of an artifact.
He had almost been fooled.
John excitedly reached his hand inside. Within the stone coffin, where he could not see, a drawing of a black eyeball silently watched this scene.
Rate on N.U.
