Tuesday evening, White Cliff Town.
This was an ordinary small town in the suburbs surrounding Backlund.
If there was anything distinctive about it, it would probably be the white stone cliff outside the town.
The Stortford River flowed through this area from the east, and upon hitting the white cliff, was forced to change direction, creating a river bend.
The river bend's existence caused silt to settle, bringing fertile fields to this area.
But thanks to the repeal of the Corn Laws, quite a few farmers here went bankrupt.
They sold their fields at rock-bottom prices and dragged their families into Backlund to make a living.
As a result, many of these fertile fields had already been abandoned and overgrown with weeds.
The crimson moon was embedded in the sky as several figures silently appeared at the base of the cliff, on the gentle slope of the river bend.
"That damn tomb is here?"
The speaker was a woman with a crude manner of speech.
She had a robust build, carried a greatsword on her back, and had an obvious scar on her face.
"Built into the mountain, this indeed meets the burial standards of the Amon family from the Fourth Epoch."
Beside her, a somewhat thin man wearing glasses spoke at an extremely rapid pace, appearing both excited and nervous.
"From the recent archaeological journal articles on related ruin explorations, we can know..."
"Save all that nonsense for when you get home."
The woman carrying the greatsword interrupted without courtesy.
"We're about to explore the tomb, so say something useful. Otherwise, there's no point in bringing you along."
"..."
The bespectacled man's expression froze.
He looked at her with considerable displeasure but didn't speak to refute her.
It wasn't just out of fear, but also a kind of arrogance and contempt that said "I won't lower myself to communicate with such a person."
"All right, you two."
A middle-aged gentleman with his hair slicked back let out a good-natured laugh.
"Arguing doesn't benefit any of us. Let's all get along peacefully."
"..."
Silas turned his head to look at Sharron, who was floating in midair beside him.
He didn't speak, but his eyes were asking: These are the reliable teammates you found?
"The tomb's hidden entrance is at the junction of the river bend and the cliff."
Sharron still wore her black court dress and small hat. Her features were delicate, her voice ethereal and illusory.
She looked as if she had emerged from some century-old castle, a beautiful ghost who had existed in wraith form for who knew how many years.
She didn't respond to Silas but used brief words to attract the three people's attention.
With her floating ahead to guide the way, the others followed to the river bend.
The Stortford River at night still flowed tirelessly, making splashing sounds.
The river bend's edge was very damp, with cold, clammy air penetrating through their clothes and gradually seeping into each person's body.
Fortunately, all of them were Beyonders and didn't mind this level of discomfort.
They just focused intently on searching for the tomb's entrance.
Silas fell back a few steps, assessing the people in the exploration team.
He and Sharron went without saying; both were Sequence 5 Beyonders.
Additionally, he could sense souls of similar rank from the middle-aged gentleman and the greatsword woman, indicating they were likely also Sequence 5 Beyonders.
As for the young man wearing glasses, his sequence should be lower, probably at most around Sequence 6.
But judging from his earlier performance, this young man should possess relevant knowledge and could provide theoretical support during the tomb exploration process.
Just as he was thinking this, the group had already arrived at the tomb under Sharron's guidance.
"Boom!"
The loosely closed mountain stones were forcefully pushed open by the crude woman with her greatsword, revealing black marble steps extending downward.
This place was some distance from the town, and with the added sound of the river, there was basically no need to worry about the noise attracting attention.
"So this is a tomb from a thousand years ago..."
The bespectacled youth named Best couldn't help but sigh after seeing the smooth, flat steps.
"It looks like it was just made yesterday."
The others weren't as moved as he was, only cautiously observing their surroundings.
"There are no mechanisms or dangerous creatures on the steps."
The spirit-form Sharron appeared before everyone. She had already made a round trip on these steps.
"At least this stretch is still safe."
Everyone descended the steps, walking all the way to the underground at the staircase's end.
What came into view were the asymmetrical stone pillars characteristic of the Fourth Epoch, along with peculiar patterns on the pillars that looked like axe cuts.
Silas had seen similar patterns in that underground ruin.
Thinking about that place again, what terrible luck...
Silas cursed silently in his heart and stepped forward.
Behind the stone pillars was the tomb's gate.
This deep gray stone door was massive and heavy, but it remained slightly open, with the gap wide enough for two adult men to pass through side by side.
"What the hell? It's already been opened?"
The woman carrying the greatsword, named Kate, couldn't help but let out a complaint.
"Compared to when I discovered it, there's no difference.
No one should have gone in... Even if someone did go in, they probably didn't come out."
Sharron said flatly.
As if frightened by her words, the bespectacled Best's eyes flickered slightly as he swallowed.
"Can't see inside clearly..."
The middle-aged gentleman with the slicked-back hair, who went to the door's edge, held up his lantern high and tried to shine it inside.
The orange light only illuminated a very small area. Where the light reached, there was only stone flooring similar to the outside.
During the earlier introductions, this gentleman had called himself "Zoroya."
The several Beyonders chatted while maintaining vigilance, with no one rashly going inside.
"Move aside."
Silas had the middle-aged gentleman Zoroya leave the doorway and walked over himself.
"Boom!"
Several crimson fireballs formed around him. He threw them one by one into the tomb, where they fell to the ground and burned steadily.
The tomb's antechamber was even larger than they had imagined.
The area illuminated by the flames was only a portion of it. But even so, everyone still saw many things reflected in the firelight.
Crimson exteriors, deformed limbs, shapes full of curses... Many extremely bizarre creatures were moving about in the antechamber.
After being accidentally illuminated by the flames, they either panicked or became angry, but all quickly scurried to the end of the light's reach and hid themselves.
"Shapeshifters, Red Blood Lizards, Cursed Straw Men, and some strange creatures I don't recognize..."
Best pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice, "Though their overall strength is mediocre, they're all very twisted creatures.
If you get entangled with them, it's hard to break free."
Everyone fell silent.
Among these monsters, Silas had only heard the name "Red Blood Lizard" before.
It was said that people licked by such lizards wouldn't heal from their wounds but would slowly corrode until the entire person melted, becoming nutrients for the monster.
It seemed the other extraordinary creatures were similarly troublesome.
"Let's just eliminate them all in one go."
He thought, drew out a small knife, and sliced open his wrist. Then with a "swish," he flung it, and blood mist immediately dispersed and entered the tomb.