The suffocating negative energy concentration in the burial room finally decreased a little, but the coldness and depression that had accumulated for thousands of years still lingered.
Mark panted slightly, leaning on the huge cross hammer. The full-strength outburst of Holy Judgment just now consumed a lot of his magic power and mental strength, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
The colorful black light slowly converged on the war hammer.
"Are you okay?" Monica approached quickly and glanced at Mark's slightly pale face.
"It's okay, it was just a bit of a drain." Mark shook his head, his eyes warily scanning the burial chamber that had returned to its dead silence. "Clean it up and see if there are any clues."
It is said that adventurers who have taken on this quest in the past have made the highest progress, and those who have returned safely have entered the core area of the royal tomb.
However, they possessed special magic items and realized that entering the core location might lead to the annihilation of the entire adventure group, so they decisively gave up the mission.
Mark didn't think his team was stronger than the adventure group that had all moved to one of the top five adventure towns.
To ensure that the mission can be completed safely, the most important thing is to understand this royal tomb.
In the tombs of kings and nobles, there are usually records of information about the tomb owner.
The more thoroughly they search and research, the more help they will have in completing the next task.
Everyone began to search among the scattered remains of burial objects.
Anna's emerald green pupils were like the most sophisticated detectors, scanning every corner.
Enzo used his hammer to carefully remove the larger pieces of decay.
Xiao Mu lay on Anna's shoulder, with light flowing on his body, continuously releasing holy light to dispel the negative energy in the tomb for the team members.
"Mark, over here!" Monica's voice rang out from a corner of the burial room.
There was only a relatively complete black stone tablet leaning against the corner of the wall. Although the surface was covered with moss and water stains, the ancient Lumi characters and relief patterns on it were still clearly preserved.
A faint light flashed on Monica's fingertips as she carefully brushed away the dirt on the surface. The identification array in her wine-red pupils ran at high speed, deciphering the ancient text.
"What's recorded above is... a eulogy to the great Astaroth, the last King of Lumi." Monica's voice was tinged with cold mockery. "It claims that he unified the chaotic kingdom with the power of 'Holy Light' and brought supreme order...
"It was also predicted that after his death, he would wear the 'Pale Crown' and rest in the heart of the 'Hall of Darkness'. His will and power would live on through the crown, and he would continue to rule his kingdom in the name of Holy Light...
"Even if the kingdom turns to dust, the Holy Light will establish a Kingdom of God on Earth, and those who wear the Pale Crown will be chosen to be the agents of the Holy Light's Kingdom of God on Earth..."
Her fingertips slid across the main relief pattern on the stone tablet - a majestic king wearing a pale bone crown inlaid with seven dazzling gems, accepting the worship of countless subjects below.
And the forms of those subjects... were blurry and distorted. They looked more like struggling and wailing ghosts than human beings!
"What a wishful thinking." Mark didn't know where this Astaroth got the confidence to think that he could become the agent of holy light.
Even the contemporary Pope of the Church of Holy Light only dares to call himself the most loyal servant of the Holy Light.
However, there was one thing that made Mark feel that there was something special about the Lumi Kingdom.
That was the era when all religions seemed to be yearning for heaven, and the concept of the kingdom of God on earth did not exist at all.
Unexpectedly, the last king already had the idea of establishing a kingdom of God on earth.
Overall, Mark even suspected that the contemporary Pope knew the last king's last wish and secretly allowed the unfaithful adventurers to steal the Pale Crown in order to destroy the king's prophecy.
While Monica was interpreting the stele, Anna's sharp eyes fell on the ground near the stele.
There were some decaying debris scattered there, but beneath the debris...
"Brother Mark, Sister Monica, look here!" Anna's voice was solemn.
Everyone gathered around.
On the wet ground, above the thick dust and calcifications, there were several relatively clear footprints!
The footprints were large, with broad soles, thick toes, and obvious claw marks on the front—typical orc footprints!
Next to the footprints, there were a few drops of dark green sticky liquid that had long since dried up.
It exuded an extremely faint fishy smell that did not belong to the undead, mixed with the strong smell of decay. It would be almost impossible to detect it if it were not for Anna the elf's keen sense of smell.
"Orc blood? Or some potion residue?" Monica squatted down, dipped her fingertips into a little of the dried green mucus, and the identification array flickered slightly. "The composition is complex... There are traces of a powerful anti-curse potion, and the unique fishy smell of orc blood. This trace... is very recent! No more than three days old!"
She raised her head and looked deep into the burial chamber, her eyes sharply fixed on the dark entrance deeper into the chamber.
It was a huge staircase extending downwards, with strange relief carvings on both sides. "There's another team! It must be the orc squad! They entered before us! Since they've come to the tomb of the Lumi Kingdom... their goal is probably the 'Pale Skull Crown'!"
Just when everyone was astonished that a team of orcs actually traveled thousands of miles from the Orc Kingdom to the Warcraft Forest.
The cross necklace on Mark's chest suddenly felt an extremely faint but unusually clear throbbing!
Faint ripples of colorful black light rippled slightly on his chest!
His perception was like the surface of water into which a stone had been thrown, clearly capturing an indescribable cold majesty, with a terrifying aura honed by time and curses.
It is spreading up from the bottomless darkness below the stairs!
That breath was like real ice, instantly penetrating Mark's holy light shield and heavy armor, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
At the same time, Anna's pointed ears trembled slightly, and her emerald pupils suddenly contracted, catching a long sigh in the wind that was filled with endless pain, unwillingness, and some twisted obsession.
"Wow..."
The sigh seemed to come from the bottom of hell, with the power to penetrate the soul, making everyone's heart tighten.
Xiao Mu suddenly stood up from Anna's shoulder, and the shadows of three pairs of wings flapped restlessly on its body. The three-colored light flashed violently, and it made a quick and vigilant "mumu" sound.
The little pink body was tense, staring at the entrance of the stairs leading to the abyss.
The long-fuzzy reliefs on both sides of the stairs seemed to come alive under the illumination of the faint blue phosphorescent light, and their distorted faces seemed to carry silent mockery and warning.
In the deeper darkness, the terrifying aura of the old king, like a dormant ancient beast, has been alarmed.
This royal tomb is indeed not simple. The skeletons and evil spirits they are encountering now are just appetizers.
How could a star-level mission that hadn't been completed in over thirty years be so easy to accomplish?!
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