At that moment, Starlight also caught a rustling sound quietly coming from the darkness in the distance, as if many feet were slowly crawling across the solid floor.
However, just as the two were fully focused and on high alert, the faint crawling sound vanished abruptly following a dull thud, and the entire tomb fell back into a deathly silence.
“...Did it leave?” Starlight murmured thoughtfully. “It’s a pity I couldn’t see what that thing was, nor do I know how it vanished into thin air.”
A moment later, the two moved cautiously along the passage, groping toward the direction the sound had come from, but they ultimately found nothing. They only discovered a long scratch on the ground, as if something had been dragged across the floor.
Po Kong frowned as he looked down at the mark, then leaned over to touch the dust on the floor with his finger.
The dragging mark suddenly disappeared in front of a stone wall. No matter how much the two studied it, they couldn't find any clues nearby.
He tapped the wall in front of him with the hilt of his sword and whispered, “Judging by the sound, there doesn’t seem to be a hidden space behind this, and there’s nothing unusual around here. Could it be a ghost...?”
“Don’t go scaring yourself.” Starlight shook his head, decisively dismissing his guess. “Those incorporeal ghost-type monsters might be able to pass through stone walls, but they could never make the sound we just heard. We definitely missed something.”
With that, he gestured with his fingers, commanding the light orbs to scatter and illuminate the surroundings as brightly as possible.
Sure enough, they found a worn leather bracer in an inconspicuous corner; in the dim environment, it looked as unremarkable as a stone.
Po Kong cautiously picked it up with the tip of his sword and examined it closely, saying in confusion, “Is this a relic from the tomb? It looks quite old.”
Starlight also leaned in curiously, taking the damaged bracer from the tip of Po Kong’s sword. After a brief investigation, he offered his opinion.
“This bracer should be a recent product. I can feel the lingering aura of dark elements on it. It seems to have been eroded by some kind of corrosion magic, which is why it looks so old.”
“Like what we encountered at the mountain stronghold? So, someone has already walked this path before us and even encountered something capable of using corrosion magic?” Po Kong reacted quickly, his gaze turning toward the depths of the darkness nearby.
“Exactly. But no signs of battle were found nearby, so they must have headed deeper. I hope they don't run into any trouble. Let's catch up.”
With that, Starlight tossed the damaged bracer aside and continued heading deeper into the tomb.
However, neither of them noticed that after they left, a pitch-black shadow quietly appeared on the ceiling, a pair of crimson eyes watching the direction they had gone.
The figure stayed on the ceiling for a few seconds before merging back into the darkness, as if it had never appeared at all.
After their discovery, both of them instinctively quickened their pace, but after traveling through the darkness for another dozen minutes, they still hadn't seen a single person. Unknowingly, they had reached the entrance to the fourth layer.
“Those people ahead are moving really fast! We still haven't caught up! We didn't even waste any time along the way.” Po Kong scanned the surroundings to ensure there were no other hidden forks in the road before returning to the stairs that wound downward.
The two soon descended the stairs to the fourth underground layer, but the moment they entered the fourth layer, Starlight noticed something was off.
Ahead of the stairs was still a long corridor, no different from the upper layers, but the dark element aura that had been quite dense on the third layer suddenly became thin here. Even the illumination range of the light orbs increased several times over.
Although the surroundings were brighter, the atmosphere had become exceptionally oppressive. Both of them had a feeling that something was lurking nearby, watching them.
Even more unsettling was that a faint, metallic sweet scent began to waft through the tomb, which should have been filled with the smell of decay. If Starlight wasn't mistaken, it was the scent of fresh blood.
This smell couldn't help but remind him of the underground altar inside the mountain, though the scent here was nowhere near as concentrated as it had been then.
“That's the smell of blood, right? It seems we’re getting closer to our target!” Po Kong whispered.
His whisper was like flipping a switch. A series of clicking sounds erupted from the surrounding walls. In just a few seconds, the two were surrounded by white figures emerging from the ancient burial chambers.
“Skeleton soldiers... there are about a hundred of them... Po Kong, are you okay?” Starlight moved closer to Po Kong and asked in a low voice.
“Hmph. Skeletons are different from ghosts. As long as I can hit them, there’s no problem!” With that, Po Kong gave a low growl, raised his shield, and charged forward.
Although the skeleton soldiers were still wearing the equipment from when they were alive, the gear had long since become decayed and dilapidated from lack of maintenance over the years. It couldn't possibly stop Po Kong’s tank-like charge.
With just one round of Po Kong’s impact, more than a dozen skeleton soldiers were scattered across the ground. Just as he turned back with a look of triumph, he saw the shattered bone frames slowly reassembling themselves, piecing together ten bodies from the intact parts.
“Something’s wrong. These skeletons weren't formed naturally!” Seeing this scene, the usually silent Noah suddenly shouted.
“You mean they’re being controlled? If it’s a summoning spell, then the caster must be nearby! Po Kong, move aside!” Starlight immediately realized something. He clapped his hands together, and dozens of light cones instantly formed around him, flying toward the passage ahead.
Given the current terrain, if there really was a caster, they could only be hiding in the darkness in the distance. Starlight intended to use this carpet-bombing attack to force them out.
Just as he expected, under the hail of light cones, many skeleton soldiers were instantly defeated, turning into piles of broken bones on the ground.
However, a few skeletons made an unusual move. They used their bodies to block a certain spot, as if protecting something.
“Stop playing tricks! Come out!” Starlight quickly locked onto these few skeletons acting abnormally and immediately threw a pre-condensed fireball at their position.
The moment the fireball bloomed with bright red light, those skeleton soldiers wobbled as they raised their weapons to meet the flames.
The searing fire elements exploded the instant they made contact, directly covering an area of over a dozen meters.
The skeletons at the center of the explosion were reduced to ash along with their equipment without any resistance. However, due to their interference, the fireball did not hit the position Starlight had intended.
But under the impact of the explosive flames, a figure trailing black smoke quickly rushed out of the sea of fire and fled into the depths of the passage without looking back.
“Po Kong, forget those skeletons. Chase him!” Seeing the fleeting figure, Starlight waved his hand, and more light cones appeared in the air.
Under his precise control, the light cones pierced toward the skeleton soldiers ahead like arrows, directly skewering their skulls.
The skeleton soldiers who lost their heads instantly became like headless flies, swaying aimlessly in place. Po Kong took the opportunity to charge, easily carving out a path ahead.
Starlight also immediately followed through the gap. A dozen seconds later, a right-angle turn appeared in the tomb corridor. After the two quickly rounded the corner, they both froze at the same time.
The figure controlling the skeleton soldiers hadn't continued to flee. Instead, he stood not far away, quietly waiting for them.
“Why have you stopped running? Who exactly are you!” Po Kong roared at the hooded figure.
“Hehehe, it seems you two are the biggest variables. For the sake of the Lord’s plan proceeding smoothly, you should just stay here!”
A raspy laugh came from beneath the mysterious figure's hood. The piercing voice echoed through the tomb, making their skin crawl.
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