Ch – 6 What Is That?

The master of concealment and shadow manipulation- Amber, who was also a lover of grave robbing, fit the words,’ The path is right there; door is but a decoration. As long as you overcome your mind, even the royal treasury was merely a celery stalk away from being breached.’

Fine, this world probably didn’t have celery. However, as far as Amber was concerned, she didn’t even need celery to break into this ancient tomb.

With but a little skill in shadow arts, a little knowledge of ancient restrictions, and a teeny bit of luck, this little half-elf broke the restrictions of Cecil Clan’s Ancestral Tomb as if walking in a park. The secret passage, which even Heidi and Rebecca didn’t know, appeared before everybody.

Thereupon, everybody entered the secret passage under the lead of Amber.

The passages of the castle, which were made of rocks and Soul Suppressing Bricks, were much wider than what one might expect. Even Gawen and Byron, who were almost two meters tall, didn’t feel cramped inside the passage. The magic lanterns embedded in the walls had already been dried up, but following Heidi’s use of several magic spells in succession, these ancient lanterns lit up one by one, illuminating the path ahead of them.

“I’m but a small thief, barely able to feed myself.” Amber walked at the front and modestly spoke,”But as a descendant of forest elves, I’m very respectful to the spirits of ancestors. How could I do something such as grave robbing?”

Gawen disdained her words to no end,”Care to explain why are you so skillful, then?”

Perhaps truly believing that her life was no longer in danger, this half-elf’s skin thickened as much as the swing-up passage gate she’d just opened,”Lock-picking skills and infiltration are the staple of our profession. I’ve good basics. Is there something wrong with that?”

At this moment, Rebecca, who was walking in the middle, suddenly asked,”You are a citizen of Cecil Land?”

Amber thought for a moment before answering,”I’ve stayed here for several years, but never applied for official citizenship. According to your rules, those who’ve lived more than three years and paid taxes on time can be regarded as citizens….You tell me, am I considered one?”

Rebecca shook her head,”If you didn’t apply, no.”

“Ehhh….” Amber stretched her voice,”Why are you asking, then?”

“I’m the lord of this land,”Rebecca gravely said,”So if you are my citizen, I’ve an obligation to protect you.”

Amber,”…..Then you should have said so earlier! Can I still apply for one right now?”

Rebecca replied with a grave face,”No.”

Gawen switched his gaze back and forth between Rebecca’s grave face and shameless Amber and couldn’t help but let out a laugh of exasperation.

Although he’d found himself in this terrible mess as soon as he woke up, he was indeed feeling much better compared to his previous ghost-like state.

He glanced at Heidi behind him. This great great great…..granddaughter of his had been sneaking glances at him every few moments. He’d been waiting for her to speak, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of actually doing so. Thus, he could only take the initiative,”What are you thinking about? Just be out with it.”

Rebecca was slightly stunned, but she immediately sucked in a deep breath and calmed down. She then looked at Gawen’s face, which was the same as the portraits in the clans, and cautiously spoke,”Ancestor……I’m still having trouble believing that you’re really….”

“That’s all right. I’m really Gawen Cecil, the pioneer from seven hundreds ago. I can recount all my thirty years of experience, or I can tell you about other founders. But, in reality, all of these can’t really be considered clear evidence, right? You might even find an outstanding historian’s words more credible. After all, I’m not really that eloquent.” Gawen shrugged,”You want to confirm my identity, no?”

“Please forgive my suspicions,” Heidi immediately said,”This is really a little…….Although tales of reincarnation have been out there since the ancient era……but seeing one personally is a whole different matter. I’ve heard that some holy knights and silver moon elves can remain in the state of fake death for several years or even decades, relying on holy light and secret eleven arts to preserve their soul and life force. However, I’ve never heard of a human knight being able to do so, not to mention……you’ve been dead for seven hundred years.”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve no idea what happened either.” Gawen shook his head.” Although Gawen would very much like to make a flawless theory on the spot and feed it to this great great great…….granddaughter of his, be it his memories or Gawen Cecil’s, he could not think of a convincing argument. Therefore, he could only bluntly state his own ignorance,” I’ve received elemental blessings back in the day when we were marching through the wastelands. It might have changed my body.”

“Oh……” Heidi declined to comment, then suddenly raised her head, looking at the path ahead.

“Airflow……” She spoke in a low voice,”And a distinct mana reaction. This should be the end of the tomb section.”

Gawen faintly nodded and clenched Founding Sword. He’d an inexplicable feeling that they would face danger ahead.

“Raise your guard,” Knight Byron, who had been walking at the front with Amber, seemed to have felt the same. He pulled out his steel broadsword and gently swiped his other hand over it. A faint silver glow immediately covered the sword’s blade,”You three, cover the back.”

Metal clinking sounds rang out. The three soldiers had already entered their battle mode. Although they were only fighters of the most basic profession, they were the ultimate survivors from the fight against the monsters and also the elite warriors carefully nurtured by Cecil Clan. Their fearless and calm appearance let the slightly nervous Amber and the little maid, who was protected in the middle, calm down.

The tomb’s passage ran quite deep, but they finally covered it. The Soul Suppressing Stones embedded on both walls at every ten meters was the mark of the tomb section. When these stones disappeared, a rather wide crossroads like region appeared before them.

This was the intersection of the castle’s base and the tomb. It was also the connection hub of these ancient secret passages.

Amber pointed at a crossroad and said,”I entered from there. It opens to a water well outside the castle. But that place is most likely occupied by monsters now.”

Gawen turned to Heidi and asked,”Which way is west?”

Heidi drew a simple magic rune in the air with her hand. The rune turned into a flag and swayed in a particular direction.

“This way.” As soon as Gawen spoke, a sense crisis assaulted his mind.

He’d no time to think, but his experienced body was one step ahead of his mind. He almost subconsciously raised Founding Sword and blocked. He immediately felt as if being struck by a hammer.

His body slightly swayed for a moment. The next moment, his body stabilized but the attacker also appeared before everybody accompanied by an indistinct murmuring. Three tall and swaying figures appeared from one of the dark crossroads!

It was an appearance that no natural creature could have. They seemed more like monsters created jointly by necromancers and demonic arts practitioners. They were three meters tall and looked like deformed and shriveled human giants. However, their bodies seemed to be made of some sort of slurry substance like mud. This slurry substance was pulsating at their outer bodies, even forming huge cavities every few moments. Inside the cavities, crimson bones could be clearly seen.

“Ah!” The moment three monsters appeared, Rebecca let out a short cry, and Betty bit her lips, seeming as if she would start weeping at any moment. Heidi raised her wand and heavily tapped it on the ground, using a weak mind clearing spell. It weakened the terrorizing effect brought by the monsters on everybody. At the same time she hurriedly spoke to Gawen,”Ancestor, these are the monsters!”

By this moment, Gawen had already snapped out of the impact of facing such non-human monsters for the first time. The relevant memories immediately appeared in his mind,”It’s these things!”

The three monsters launched their assault again. Amidst constant murmurs that sounded like someone’s sleep talking, two of the monsters charged towards Gawen’s party, while the third raised his arm, condensed a dark energy arrow before his arm within a second, and flew straight towards Amber who was standing at the forefront.

“Ai!” Amber let out a cry before her entire being shrunk into the shadow behind Knight Byron, then appeared into another shadow ten meters away. Meanwhile, Knight Byron raised his glowing silver broadsword and roared, taking the initiative to charge at one the incoming monsters.

“Heidi, Rebecca, you two take care of the dark arrows! Avoid using arcane arts, it’s almost useless on these things! Amber, you and soldiers protect the casters!” Gawen roared and raised his sword, preparing himself for the face-off.

He’d never fought with a sword.

He’d never any such monsters either.

Even after rebirth, this was the first time he was standing in this world on his own two legs.

Therefore, he had no clue how much he could accomplish relying on the remnant battle instinct of his body, battle techniques from his memories, and an ancient sword which had completely lost its magic power.

However, life often doesn’t give you the option of choice.

You are here, and monsters are  right there. There is nowhere for you to run. Your hand holds a seven hundred year old sword. There was a shield too, but it was lost by a prodigal descendant. But what can you do?

Fuck!

Aren’t they just deformed bodies?

Gawen Cecil from seven hundred years ago could destroy a hundred of them on his own!

Now there are only three! You think I’ll still fail?!