Lin Gui controlled his staff, carrying Elvia as they floated silently above the heads of Duke Joseph and Prince Charles.
Two pitch-black ravens led the way in the front.
Under Duke Joseph's lead, they passed through several winding secret corridors, finally stopping before a seemingly ordinary stone wall.
"The treasure vault is right beneath the mansion?" Prince Charles asked, somewhat surprised.
This hiding place was unexpectedly ordinary.
"Hehe, Your Highness, please stay calm."
Duke Joseph smiled, a trace of self-satisfaction on his face.
He stepped forward and began to operate several extremely hidden magic mechanisms on the wall that had to be triggered by him personally.
With a series of low clicking sounds from the gears, the stone wall slowly slid open, revealing deep, dark stairs leading downward.
"All of you, guard the entrance; no one is allowed to enter without my order."
The Duke dismissed all the guards, taking only Prince Charles with him as he stepped onto the hidden stone staircase descending into the depths.
Before starting the final mechanism, Duke Joseph came to a halt.
He looked back at Charles, his tone carrying an unprecedented gravity.
"Charles, what I am about to show you is the greatest reliance of my Joseph family, which has stood firm through a thousand years of wind and rain!"
Having said that, he forcefully pressed an inconspicuous stone button in his hand.
Rumble...
The entire section of the stone staircase beneath their feet shook violently, beginning to descend steadily like an elevator.
The process of the staircase descending was unimaginably long.
Even after ten minutes, there was no sign of it slowing down.
The surrounding walls gradually changed from rough rock into a strange metal shimmering with a faint silver light.
The passage was exceptionally silent, save for the faint sound of wind whistling as the staircase plummeted.
"Is this... Stellar Stone?"
Prince Charles recognized the material of the walls and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
This nearly indestructible ore, capable of isolating energy detection, was worth a fortune per gram.
It was typically only used for forging Stellar-tier weapons, yet here... it was actually used to pave the entire tunnel?!
As the depth continued to increase, the surrounding air began to turn warm and humid.
A slight sweat appeared on Prince Charles's forehead.
Above him, Elvia, lying on Lin Gui's back, also felt the abnormal temperature and whispered.
"This depth... is too exaggerated; it must be nearly a kilometer."
After an unknown amount of time, the stone staircase finally came to a gradual halt.
The view before them suddenly opened up!
A massive underground space was revealed before their eyes.
The vaulting ceiling of this space was so high it seemed to have no end.
Looking out, its width was sufficient to easily accommodate several Carter Palaces.
A person standing within it felt as tiny as a speck of dust.
The first thing to catch the eye was that literal "gold mountain" in the distance.
It was piled high with countless gold coins.
In the darkness, it emitted a suffocating golden glow, its scale comparable to a small hill.
And around the gold mountain, countless boxes and cabinets shimmering with various magical lusters were placed.
Clearly, they contained even more precious treasures within.
Looking at the scene before him, despite being mentally prepared, Prince Charles was still deeply shocked.
Elvia's brow, however, furrowed slightly.
She wasn't focused on those treasures, but on the space itself.
"This place... is too large, it's irrationally large..."
A bizarre feeling welled up in her heart.
"The Duke's mansion and the palace are both in the First Ring; to excavate a space of this scale at such a depth without anyone noticing is simply impossible."
Her gaze fixed intensely on the massive, uniform stone bricks on the cavern walls.
They bore obvious traces of artificial excavation.
Lin Gui had little interest in the secrets of this place.
His gaze swept over the gold mountain and the surrounding magic treasure chests.
He spoke indifferently to Elvia on his back.
"Stop daydreaming; hurry up and take the money. We have limited time."
His gaze locked onto the mountain of gold coins.
Those gold coins piled loosely without special magical protection were their best targets.
As for the treasures, they had magical protection; the slightest touch would trigger an alarm.
Lin Gui could dismantle them, but they didn't have the luxury of time.
While Duke Joseph had his back turned to the gold mountain, proudly introducing the various rare treasures to Prince Charles, Lin Gui moved.
He floated behind the gold mountain and slightly raised his right hand; Levitation was silently activated.
In an instant, a small golden "stream" quietly separated from the base of the gold mountain.
It floated up without a sound, merging into the range covered by the Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
One cold gold coin after another, like bees returning to a hive, hovered tightly around Elvia and Lin Gui, wrapping them up.
Lin Gui didn't stop until he felt he was reaching the limit of what the Shroud of the Gloomy Night could perfectly conceal.
Without the slightest lingering attachment, he controlled his staff and flew rapidly back up the deep Stellar Stone tunnel.
At this depth, if they were trapped here, Lin Gui and Elvia would only meet a dead end.
It was nearly impossible to dig a hole through wall tiles paved with Stellar Stone.
...
Inside the treasury, Duke Joseph finally led Prince Charles on a rough tour of his collection.
Finally, they arrived before the most direct and impactful gold mountain.
"Please look, Your Highness," the Duke opened his arms, his tone filled with pride.
"The gold coins stored here, by a rough estimate, exceed several billion! This is true confidence!"
Looking at the glittering mountain, a trace of heat inevitably flickered in Prince Charles's eyes.
However, Duke Joseph's smile suddenly stiffened for a moment.
He instinctively rubbed his eyes and moved closer.
Did it seem... much, much shorter than the last time he came to see it?
Was it an illusion?
He frowned, then laughed at himself.
It must be that he had been too tired lately; he was getting old and his eyes were playing tricks on him.
In this absolutely secure treasury, could the gold coins have grown legs and run away themselves?
He shook his head, casting aside the ridiculous thought, and guided the Prince to another side.
Near the cave wall, many weapon racks and equipment stands were placed.
They displayed magical equipment emitting powerful fluctuations.
There were even two demi-artifacts of the same level as Azure Echo.
Yet, Prince Charles's gaze was drawn to a mural on the wall.
Unlike the other carefully framed and hung oil paintings, this one was drawn directly onto the mottled, ancient Stellar Stone.
It carried inexplicable traces of time.
In the scene, a Queen wearing a thorn crown and holding a scepter stood with her head held high; her eyes were firm yet sorrowful.
Beside her, a Hero in tattered armor knelt on one knee, holding a broken longsword before her.
Behind them were burning cities and endless darkness.
"Duke, this painting is..." Prince Charles pointed curiously at the mural.
Duke Joseph's pupils shrank suddenly, but he immediately masked it. He gave a dry cough and waved his hand dismissively with a relaxed tone.
"Oh, that... it's just a random scribble by some child in the family."
"Drawing some fairy tales of knights and princesses; it's not fit for elegant circles. I apologize for the poor display, Your Highness."
He shifted the topic naturally, drawing Prince Charles's attention to another piece of Legendary battle armor shimmering with lightning.
Charles, however, raised an eyebrow curiously; this was Stellar Stone...
What kind of child could chisel a mural into such hard stone?
Was that child a Legendary expert?
Rate on N.U.
