Chapter 871: Behind the Door
The Thunder and Fire Magical Domain which Joseph cast instantaneously with the King of Flames Staff managed to entrap the four Ghost Warriors with mad streaks of lightning and balls of fire. These spells fell on the body of the Ghost Warriors, and it was obvious that the Ghost Warriors would not be able to sustain it for long despite having defense stronger than dragons.
As for the three other patriarchs, one of them was the Legendary-mage who cast the Thunderstorm Disaster Magical Domain, and the other two were Sword Sages of the Legendary-level who radiated golden combat energy.
The elder from the Dida Family was slightly different. Although he walked like Elvis and had cast the same Ice Storm as him, he summoned a Legendary-level Abyssal Demon.
Yet, that Abyssal Demon was not as powerful as the Demon Lord. It was the most common Ice Demon from the 21st level of the abyss. Although it was only a Legendary-level Ice Demon, it was only at the peak of level-20.
It was said that the Ashen Warlock had once owed the Dida Family a favor. Hence, he gave them the spell to summon one of the Abyssal Demons. However, this summoning spell had a problem: the summoner had to defeat the Abyssal Demon he summoned in order to be recognized as the master. That was probably what happened to the Ice Demon that was summoned by the elder from the Dida Family.
As compared to the Mithril Alliance, the performance of the Caesar Family was less impressive. Apart from Patriarch Claus who was at the peak of level-23, the other Legendary powerhouses there were only around level-21 and level-22. However, Lin Li did not believe that Caesar Family would dare to collaborate with the Mithril Alliance with such a low capability. He presumed that the Caesar Family had been holding back their trump cards as well.
“Master Felic, since our men are in the state of alert now, let’s end this battle quickly, shall we?” suggested Hoffman smilingly after he saw Lin Li looking away from the battlefield.
When Lin Li was observing the ability of his competitors, Hoffman was not idle, either. Frankly speaking, although he was aware that they were hiding their potential, he could not help but be stunned by their ability. However, after noticing Lin Li’s calm expression, Hoffman became composed immediately. Although he did not know how many trump cards Lin Li had, he was certain that Lin Li was not someone who would settle for less. As his ally, he was convinced that he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage as long as he followed in the footsteps of the Tower of Dusk.
“Sure,” replied Lin Li as he returned a smile. He took his Helios’ Scepter, and flew to the edge of the battlefield. At the same time, he cast the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness that was made up of the laws of ice as its foundation.
These Ghost Warriors did not warrant Lin Li to use his full power. Hence, he did not cast his Light and Darkness Domain that was already embedded with Sanctuary-level energy. Instead, he used the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness—something that everyone in the Breezy Plains knew about.
Immediately, the region under the Magical Domain turned white. The snow that accumulated formed many powerful frost magical beasts. There were even Angels of Light and Dark that flapped their wings in the air, and they swooped towards those Ghost Warriors.
At the same time, the other Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk increased the intensity of their attacks. Ujfalusi, Norfeller, Basel, and Connoris displayed their formidable methods and forced their opponents to the edge.
There was only one man who did not participate in the battle. He was the timid goblin—Angelano. Of course, this was not out of his cowardice, but due to Lin Li’s arrangement. After all, his Alchemy Colossus was a titan-level machine. It had the ability of powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm. At the same time, that thing was really destructive equipment. Lin Li did not want to destroy the mausoleum right at the start of the exploration.
As for the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman really lived up to his status as the owner of the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. The Vengeance Staff in his hands continued to flash, and the never-ending glow of curse spell that emerged started to engulf the Ghost Warriors. The Ghost Warriors who fell under the curse glowed with an array of colors. All sorts of spells with the effect to suppress their energy restrained their abilities immediately.
Lin Li glanced at the scene, and he could not help but feel sympathetic for those Ghost Warriors. How is this still a battle? This is just like the most straightforward torture.
This explained why people who had ability that surpassed many would not want to be an enemy of Hoffman. It was not just because of the Glittergold Trade Union, but also the fear of that particular curse. Even if they would not lose their lives due to the curse, the fact that it had zero boundaries would definitely torture them into madness.
However, Hoffman was not the most powerful man within the Glittergold Trade Union. He was just the most difficult to deal with. The most powerful person was Legendary-mage Thomas, the man who’d built the Glittergold Trade Union single-handedly.
After all, not long after Thomas entered the Legendary-realm, he participated in the war against the Retribution Knight Rodhart and the team of Death Knights. There were many Legendary powerhouses who perished in that catastrophe. His ability to survive it was not merely based on luck.
The Magical Domain created by Thomas was an Element Domain that was made up of the elemental laws of earth, fire, water, and wind. These four laws were considered the foundation of everything related to magic. This Element Domain had the potential to raise the impact of any spells used within the region to a terrifying level.
Thomas was standing in his Element Domain. Despite only casting the most common and low-level fireballs and icicles, they had great impact within the Element Domain. The domain allowed men who were in level-15 and level-16 to cast Legendary-level spells. Although the Ghost Warriors had great immunity to magic, it was not a flawless resistance. If the spell were to exceed their tolerance level, all they needed to fall was time.
Lin Li had seen the same Element Domain from Rosen from the Supreme Council. He could tell that a common problem Thomas and Rosen had was their broad goals. Although the most common ticket to the Sanctuary-realm was the comprehension of the basic laws of the world, it seemed like it would be almost impossible for one to master the four great laws.
The Ghost Warriors were definitely powerful and in great strength. Had the two adventure teams not partnered up at the beginning, they would have had to end their exploration, and risk perishing here. However, although the two teams were not on friendly terms, they had the same goal: to continue their exploration of Prince Brahere’s mausoleum. No one would do anything to steer away from this goal at such a timing.
After the higher-ups entered, they brought the battle to an end very quickly. The Ghost Warriors who had been standing guard in this mausoleum for God knew how many years could only dissipate after letting out some indignant cries.
When everything calmed down, Lin Li raised his Helios’ Scepter and sent a gigantic Solar Sphere to the ceiling of the hall. Then, the sphere divided into fragments that flew off to every part of the hall. They lit the place as bright as in daytime.
While this was only an illumination spell, it was the first time that Hoffman and Joseph witnessed such a utilization of the spell.
After lighting up the entire hall, the men noticed doors lined up on both sides of the hall, some of which were wide open and had to be where the Ghost Warriors had come from. They did not know what was behind the tightly closed doors. While everyone was still questioning Lin Li’s unusual actions, they could not help but be excited due to the possibility that there would be research treasures behind the closed doors.
However, it was as if their enthusiasm were flushed with cold water with the opening of each door. Their passion decreased to the freezing point after they saw spacious rooms behind those doors. They were without treasures, housing just the bones of magical beasts. There were many kinds of bones that belonged to the magical beasts of Anril, including some that none of the men could recognize.
“Does this mausoleum belong to Brahere or magical beasts? Why did he have to plant these here?” Hoffman muttered with furrowed brows.
“Could it be that he wanted to use them to guard the mausoleum, but did not expect them to die a long time ago?” Joseph asked curiously. Although he had acquired Brahere’s diary, they could not give a convincing reason when faced with such a situation.
“Can’t you see that these bones are different?” Lin Li said as he knocked on the gigantic skull in front of him. He continued, “This seems to belong to a Chimaera, but I’ve never heard that they can have such a huge head.”
Lin Li’s reminder encouraged Hoffman to scrutinize the skeletons around him again. He pointed to a set of skeletons, and hesitantly said, “This seems to belong to a Leviathan Gorilla, but why does it have wing bones?”
After looking through the rooms on both sides of the hall, all the men noticed something in common. They realized that each of these skeletons seemed to have gone through mutation. This included skeletons with wings and horns nobody would expect them to have. Even pythons were seen to have grown four limbs. The scene was like an erratic animal exhibit.
“There were many noble High Elves who loved to collect mutated magical beasts. As he’s a prince of the High Elves, it is not unusual for Brahere to possess them, either. I think we can continue with our exploration now,” urged Joseph impatiently.
Joseph’s explanation was not without basis, either. There were many historical records that noted that the High Elves enjoyed keeping mutated magical beasts. There was no helping it. If not for their incredibly long lifespan, the High Elves would have found better things to do.
Lin Li was only filled with doubts. He did not have an answer to this. Not seeing the value of those skeletons, he turned to Hoffman.
“Let’s continue with the exploration. However, we have to be very vigilant. I don’t think this mausoleum is as simple as it seems,” warned Lin Li.
“Isn’t it obvious that Prince Brahere’s mausoleum is not to be trifled with?” sneered Charles sarcastically, but he became silent the moment he felt Claus’ fiery glare.
Unlike the indifference shown by the others, Lin Li’s words had extreme gravity for Hoffman. Not to mention that the skeletons were in eccentric forms, even if Lin Li were to present his guesses that had zero basis, Hoffman would choose to believe Lin Li without a reason. After all, Lin Li was a man who had ventured into a Sky Castle and Osric’s mausoleum. His experience was not what anyone could match up with.
Due to the earlier confrontation with the Ghost Warriors, the rest of the magic gears and traps had all been automatically shut down. This helped to speed up the mission greatly. Very soon, the team reached the passageway that would lead them to the next level. However, after they entered the passageway, they needed Angelano again. The passageway was so spacious that it would even fit a wyrm, yet it was still packed with gears and traps.
However, as Lin Li watched Angelano help to deactivate the traps and gears, a frown gradually appeared on his face.
“Felic, have you noticed something fishy?” asked Connoris. Although he was not as competent in the deactivation of magic gears and traps as compared to Angelano, he was an ancient deity in charge of conspiracy and deception, after all. He would have an eye for such situations.
“Did you notice anything amiss?” Lin Li asked Connoris as he seemed to be engaged in deep thoughts.
“Most of those magic gears and traps seem to only have been added to the mausoleum after it had been built,” spoke Connoris in a low voice.
In the blueprints for mausoleums, there would usually be segments dedicated to all sorts of magic gears and traps, which would only be added to their planned spaces after the completion of the main structure. That helped the gears and traps integrate seamlessly with the mausoleum and prevent intruders from discovering and deactivating them.
However, Lin Li could tell that the magic gears and traps which Angelano helped deactivate were all constructed rather unnaturally. It was as if there were never part of the plan of the construction at all. It would not be that much of a great deal if this was built in the present era, but this was Prince Brahere’s mausoleum. Would the High Elves commit such a mistake in the building of their prince’s mausoleum?
Finally, the pathfinder team got to the end of the passageway. They slowly opened the tight door, and trod past it. The third level of the mausoleum was as large as the previous level, but not as spacious as before. Instead, there were all sorts of unusual installations around the hall.
“C-could this… Could this be the incubation room?” Hoffman and the others gasped in awe, after getting closer.
“Seems like it,” Lin Li replied, and nodded his head.