Olivia shifted her gaze away from the mountain of bones and looked toward a phantom figure lying prostrate nearby.
The figure looked somewhat like a ghost and was equally ethereal, but its form was different. It resembled some strange beast, resting on all fours and currently deep in sleep.
Through the magic mirror, Olivia knew that this was a phantom demon.
This was a strange magical creature born inexplicably from the ethereal realm. It was a type of undead that possessed an extremely powerful ability to create illusions.
The gold, silver, and jewels before them were created by this phantom demon. According to the magic mirror, even if a Skywalker were to come here, they would be unable to see through such an illusion without special abilities or methods.
At the very least, Thales did not have the ability to see through it.
This was the site the magic mirror had provided for Olivia, a place where Thales could be killed.
This also indirectly showed how terrifying the phantom demon staying here truly was; it was a horrifying existence sufficient to do battle with an Evolver.
The reason Olivia had rushed over was that the magic mirror had told her that this phantom demon was sleeping and would not wake easily.
It would only be startled awake if an aura of an excessively high caliber appeared.
Simply put, it would take at least the appearance of a Skywalker to wake this phantom demon.
Olivia and Freya were only Transcenders, and even Gerard's true form was only a Domainist, so they naturally did not meet the requirement.
However, even if the phantom demon did not wake, the "gold, silver, and jewels" here were not something that could be taken away just by asking.
After all, these things were actually just bones. Once someone attempted to take them, those bones would come to life and launch an attack on the person trying to remove them.
At this moment, Gerard could not help but reach out his hand, grasping toward a gold bar.
But the moment his hand caught the gold bar, it suddenly jerked and slipped out of his hand, then swung down toward his head like a club.
Accompanied by a crisp sound, although Gerard was not hit due to his protective barrier, the barrier around him began to shake even more violently. A very obvious crack even appeared where it had been struck.
Such a scene caused Gerard's expression to change, and he hastily retreated.
"Miss Stella, what is going on?"
Olivia shook her head: "I am not very clear either. If I could have taken these gold and silver treasures, I would have already taken them and handed them over to the organization."
"But just as you are unable to obtain these treasures, Count Gerard, I have no way of taking them away either."
"Once you try to take them, you will be attacked, and the attack comes from the treasures themselves."
"Based on my judgment, some strange ritual might have been set up here to protect these treasures and prevent them from falling into the hands of others."
"This is a very reasonable conjecture. Wherever treasure is placed, there will naturally be various security measures for protection."
Hearing Olivia say this, Gerard thought about it and felt that this explanation seemed to have no issues.
Ordinary people would take good care of their own wealth, let alone someone who possessed such a vast amount of treasure.
Seeing that Olivia had already indicated she had no way to crack the mechanism here, Gerard could only try to think of a way himself.
He asked Freya: "Freya, you pirates dealt with treasure often in the past, right? Do you have any thoughts on the situation before us?"
Freya spoke upon hearing this: "I can make some attempts, but I cannot be certain whether they will be effective."
"Give it a try. Regardless of what ideas you have, try them all."
As he spoke, Gerard himself had already begun to move.
A fortune that could be considered vast lay right before his eyes, making it truly impossible to ignore. Gerard felt he had to do everything in his power to obtain it, no matter what.
The remaining two individuals began making all sorts of attempts.
But no matter what means they used or what methods they employed, they could not change the situation before them.
The treasure remained there, tantalizingly out of reach.
After trying for about an hour or so, Gerard had to give up.
Of course, he was not giving up his claim on these treasures. He simply felt that with his own current abilities, he was likely unable to obtain them, so he would have to let a stronger power acquire them.
The first person he thought of was Thales.
As the strongest transcendent Gerard could currently come into contact with, it was only natural for him to think of Thales.
Although even stronger individuals existed within the Frederick family's royal space, even Gerard had no way to contact those people at will.
All of this was, naturally, within Olivia's expectations.
"Let us leave for now. Remember this place; we can come back again later."
Gerard took a deep look at the numerous gold and silver treasures before finally choosing to retreat with great reluctance.
The three of them immediately headed back the way they came, and it did not take long for them to leave these underground ruins.
Afterward, Gerard brought the two of them directly back to his estate.
Upon his return, he was surprised to find that Thales had actually come to visit and had already entered his estate.
This filled him with joy, and he immediately went to greet him: "Mr. Thales, your arrival is truly a coincidence. I was just about to go looking for you. By the way, is there something you need from me?"
Seeing Olivia's group of three together, Thales was also a bit surprised.
"I have come to ask you for some money. You know the organization is very short on funds. As a count, you should still have quite a bit of wealth in your hands, right?"
Hearing that Thales had come for this reason, Gerard could not help but laugh.
If he had heard this request from Thales before, even Gerard would have had to give a bitter smile because he really did not have much money left on him.
But now, he was not particularly worried.
"Mr. Thales, the issue of money is no longer an issue. I originally sought you out to discuss this very matter."
Next, Gerard spoke about the underground ruins.
However, after Thales finished listening, his eyes were filled with skepticism: "Is the existence of such ruins credible? Do you truly believe a vast amount of gold, silver, and jewels is buried there?"
"Mr. Thales, I have personally gone to see it, so how could it be false? Moreover, that was just a short while ago. Miss Stella and Miss Freya both went to see it with me."
"Since that is the case, let us go take a look now. I must see it with my own eyes to confirm if it is true."
Seeing Gerard's look of conviction, Thales could not help but feel a stir of interest in his heart.
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