Before the throne, Mozo quickly organized his thoughts and arrived at a highly feasible conclusion.
Without hesitation, he sat down on the throne.
And began his operation.
Meanwhile, above in the underground hall, Count Hahn had already led the group into the Cromwell-era ruins.
Looking around at the remaining winches, iron chains, wooden supports, and the many unopened crates of excavation tools, it was clear what had happened.
The noble who discovered this place had likely only just uncovered the ruins below before being sent to the guillotine by Duke Cromwell.
Even so, that noble had managed to open a passage leading down to the underground elven ruins.
And had even installed a sturdy mining ladder.
This saved Hahn and the others a great deal of effort.
Still, as he looked at the scene, Count Hahn frowned and said,
"Such a massive operation, yet the Empire knew nothing about it. These parasites had no regard for the Empire's interests at all. They deserved the guillotine."
The other Beyonders remained silent, merely pretending to stay alert.
Matters between powerful nobles and the Empire were not something they could comment on.
It was also for this reason that Duke Cromwell, known as the Butcher of Nobles, remained a controversial figure in history.
Though he had executed countless nobles without clear justification, the Empire had undeniably grown stronger afterward, reclaiming centralized power and sealed artifacts under his control.
And it was only because the Empress later executed Duke Cromwell that the once-weakened royal family regained overwhelming support from the noble class.
After venting a few words, Count Hahn wasted no time and descended the mining ladder first.
Only then did the other teams, each led by a Sequence 5, follow.
Strictly speaking, as both a Sequence 3 and the overall commander, Hahn could have let others go first while he stayed behind.
There would have been nothing wrong with that.
Yet he chose to lead from the front.
It was confidence in his strength.
And perhaps, consideration for his subordinates.
Once below, the intricate carvings and ancient script etched into the walls confirmed it once again.
This was indeed an elven ruin.
The question was… why was it here?
Even at their peak, elves had never colonized this region. Their domain had always been centered around the ancient forest of the Twin Sacred Trees.
After scanning the surroundings, Count Hahn raised a hand and released countless hawks, sending them flying down the corridors.
Moments later, relying on their feedback, he quickened his pace.
The others followed closely behind.
Some of the Beyonders studied the inscriptions on the walls with confusion.
The writing clearly had the elegance and fluidity of Elvish.
And this was obviously an elven ruin.
So why couldn't they recognize a single word?
Noticing their confusion, one of the team leaders, the same one who had previously given advice, smiled and explained,
"These are from the ancient era. The Elvish you know is modern. It's normal that you can't read these."
That explanation brought understanding to many.
And also made them more serious.
Ancient Elvish.
Even if they couldn't read it, they knew what it meant.
Its presence indicated that this ruin dated back to the era of the Sun King.
After the Sun King's death, the elves had abandoned this script in mourning.
That era was older than several churches combined.
If a ruin from that time still stood intact today, it meant enormous resources and mystical materials had been invested into its construction.
And usually, the more well-funded a place was,
the more dangerous it would be.
Not to mention, a great being was said to return here.
The more they thought about it, the worse it felt.
Just seeing the ruin had already made quite a few members regret not leaving behind a will.
As they ventured deeper, someone with sharp eyes noticed something.
Nothing had happened so far.
Yet the Count's expression was growing increasingly grim.
The atmosphere became heavier.
And it reached its peak when they discovered two recently deceased Beyonders.
Strangely, the two seemed to have killed each other.
One had a wound in the back.
The other was bleeding from all seven orifices.
Had they fallen victim to some terrifying illusion?
Thinking this, the group silently took out anti-illusion runes and potions.
At the same time, within the underground chamber, Mozo observed everything from the throne.
He looked at the two corpses with confusion.
If nothing unexpected had happened, those should be the "World" and the "Hanged Man" mentioned by the White Dove.
There were indeed maintenance constructs within the outer layers of this ruin.
They had some combat capability.
But setting aside the fact that only one of them was still functional,
just looking at how those two had died, it didn't seem like they had been killed by anything external.
One stabbed in the back.
One bleeding from every orifice.
Could they have turned on each other over some treasure?
But there was nothing valuable nearby.
As for illusions, that was even less likely.
This ruin didn't have that kind of mechanism.
Scratching his head, Mozo decided not to dwell on it.
The dead couldn't be revived.
If they were still alive, he might have been able to manipulate things and guide them safely out.
But now,
it was better to focus on the present.
Under Mozo's observation and subtle control, Count Hahn and his group finally reached the final gate safely and intact.
A massive bronze door stood before them.
Sealed shut from within.
Without controlling the Golden Legion, even Mozo had no way to open it.
So the rest was up to them.
Yes.
The reason Count Hahn's group had made it this far so smoothly was twofold.
First, the ruin truly lacked much remaining defense.
Second,
Mozo had deliberately allowed them in.
Otherwise, according to the ruin's original design, they would have triggered defensive mechanisms at several key points.
And been buried alive under tons of collapsing earth.
Of course, if Hahn had been a higher Sequence, he might not have been wiped out so easily.
But it certainly wouldn't have been this smooth.
As for why Mozo had let them in so willingly,
that was simple.
He intended to take advantage of the authorities.
And squeeze some benefits out of them.