Lin Gui waited silently in the shadows for the right opportunity.
Meanwhile, the situation in front of the massive square tomb below was changing rapidly.
Rona tightly held Linno, whose breath was growing weaker and weaker, in her arms.
She endured the agonizing pain shooting from her limbs.
She looked up at Holy Knight John, her voice trembling with pain and weakness.
“Lord John... I have already fulfilled our agreement and brought you to the entrance of these ruins.”
“Please... please keep your promise and spare our lives...”
Hearing this, Holy Knight John merely cast a contemptuous glance at her.
As if looking at an insignificant ant, a cold sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.
“Oh no, my dear adventurer Rona, I think you have misunderstood.”
He slowly caressed the hilt of the sword at his waist, his tone dripping with condescending mockery.
“With my status, how could I possibly make any agreement with a lowly adventurer? You... are not worthy.”
Rona's heart instantly sank to the bottom, and a cold despair spread through her.
She had known all along that these high-and-mighty figures would never let them off easily.
John changed the subject, a hypocritical, almost charitable expression appearing on his face.
“However, in the spirit of knightly mercy and ‘justice’...”
“If you are willing to make yourself useful one last time and lead the way to scout the path ahead in this ancient tomb...”
“I might give you, and this dying little thing, a chance to live.”
His words were like venomous snakes wrapping around Rona's heart.
“Do not worry, Lady Rona. Haven't you already been inside once and come out ‘safely’?”
John's voice carried unconcealed temptation and threat.
“We believe you must know how to avoid those... minor ‘troubles’ and lead us deep into this glorious mausoleum to find the ancient treasures.”
Saying this, John turned his gaze back to the entrance of the massive, silent square tomb.
The greed in his eyes was almost overflowing, no longer concealed in the slightest.
He had originally come here only to appease Gorn, who was on the verge of a rampage after losing his beloved bow, Azure Echo.
But now, he was witnessing this massive underground mausoleum complex that far exceeded the scale of the Carter Royal Tombs with his own eyes.
He could feel the ancient history and mystery contained within the ancient stones.
John's heart beat violently out of control.
He was a Legendary powerhouse, one of the true top-tier forces of the Carter Kingdom.
He did not lack money.
But the Third Prince who backed him was an ambitious man who yearned to ascend the throne.
He was extremely short of money and desperately craved power that could crush his competitors!
Furthermore, this might not be an ordinary ruin from the Golden Age.
It could be a far more ancient and mysterious relic of the Primeval Era.
The ancient equipment, lost artifacts, rare magic scrolls, and even the secrets of immortality that might exist within...
Any single one of them would be enough to drive him and the entire Third Prince faction mad!
And he was not the only one.
The other members of the Holy Knight order around him also stared hotly at the deep, dark tomb entrance, their breathing heavy.
But none of them made a rash move.
Unless they were fools, they all knew the truth.
A grand mausoleum deliberately constructed on such a scale would be dangerous.
Its interior would inevitably be filled with lethal traps and unknown dangers.
The last ancient tomb had been discovered five years ago in the Emerald City-State of the Fairy Forest.
Countless Transcendent adventurers and knight orders had entered to explore, but not a single person had come out alive.
It was not until the Epic Rank Grand Mage Merlo from the Magic City entered with his students that the tomb inside was finally opened up.
No one knew what Grand Mage Merlo had brought out.
The only thing known was that from that day on, many magical magitech items began to circulate in major black markets, selling for astronomical prices.
And Grand Mage Merlo had climbed to the Mid-tier Epic Rank in just one short year, squeezing his rank into the top ten of human powerhouses.
They wanted to have an adventurer who had already been inside once and come out alive lead the way.
For John and his men, this was the ideal strategy.
It was undoubtedly the easiest and safest choice.
John signaled with his eyes, while Gorn pushed her forward impatiently.
Rona began to climb the long stone steps leading to the entrance of the square tomb with great difficulty, step by step.
Every single movement she made was agony.
The steel needles piercing her entire body grated against her muscles and bones, bringing a tearing, excruciating pain.
It made cold sweat pour down her face, which was as pale as paper.
She had only just escaped from the ruins with her life, only to be caught red-handed by John's Holy Knights near the exit.
Her Mid-tier Transcendent strength seemed utterly powerless when surrounded by two Legendary powerhouses and eight High-tier Transcendent knights.
She had been subdued almost instantly.
Gorn had personally driven steel needles precisely into her vital points and joints.
Now, every attempt to channel her inner energy was pure torture.
It felt as if tens of thousands of ants were gnawing at her meridians, causing unbearable agony.
These needles felt as if they had pierced Rona's very soul.
Perhaps finding Rona's speed far too slow, Gorn completely lost his patience.
With a cold snort, he stepped forward abruptly.
He grabbed Rona's blood-soaked shoulder, which was pierced by steel needles.
He paid no heed to her sharp, uncontrollable gasps of agony.
He dragged her brutally, covering the remaining stone steps in just a few strides.
They arrived before the massive, dark entrance of the square tomb.
“Wait! Linno... Linno is still down there!”
Rona fought through her dizziness, struggling to look back.
Gorn suddenly squeezed her cheeks, his grip so tight it nearly crushed her cheekbones.
His sinister eyes were filled with ferocity and brutality.
“Stop worrying about that fucking useless piece of trash!” he growled, his voice like a bone-chilling wind.
“Now, get inside! Search! Find the artifact!”
“Otherwise, I'll chop you and that idiot down there into mincemeat to feed the rats right now!”
A flash of resolute anger crossed Rona's eyes, and her body instinctively wanted to resist.
But the moment her inner energy stirred slightly, pain flared.
Gorn's fingers moved like lightning, plunging a new, thicker steel needle straight into the Qihai point in her abdomen!
“Ugh... ah!!!”
Rona let out a sharp, painful cry, her vision turning black.
Gorn always managed to gauge the limit perfectly, stopping just as she was on the verge of completely passing out.
He kept her conscious, forcing her to savor the extreme agony.
Like throwing away a piece of garbage, he kicked Rona hard in the side.
The kick sent her tumbling into the dark passage of the tomb.
“Get up, useless trash!” Gorn stood at the entrance of the passage, shadows draping over half of his face, his voice bone-chillingly cold.
“Now, crawl inside! Or... I'll tear you apart right now and send you on your way with that bitch down there!”
The passage was deathly silent, save for the faint sound of Rona's stifled, painful gasps.
A long while passed under Gorn's increasingly impatient gaze.
A rustling friction sound finally echoed from the depths of the dark passage.
Rona summoned every ounce of her strength, relying on her sheer willpower.
She struggled to prop up her agonizing body, bit by bit.
She buried all her anger, humiliation, and despair deep within her heart.
Her eyes had once been incredibly sharp.
Now they held nothing but an abyss-like silence and determination.
She began to move her body, which felt as if it no longer belonged to her.
She slowly crawled toward the unknown, death-filled depths of the dark passage.
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