CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 62: OLDER THAN THE EMPIRE

Dorothy also noticed those spheres. "What are those?"

As she was about to step forward, Li Ang stopped her, pointing to the floor. "Beware of traps."

"Traps? I know some ruins have trap mechanisms, are you saying there are traps here too? I can’t see any at all."

The lady tilted her head, her ginger hair adding a silly touch to her.

"Traps aren’t set up for you to easily notice them. However, there are both Magical and purely mechanical trap mechanisms."

Li Ang explained, "In the Ancient Ruins and Supernatural Forbidden Land tackled by the High-tier Air Cavalry Corps, traps are a big problem, but here they are clearly just ordinary traps meant for grave robbers or desecrators."

"Ordinary? Not dangerous?"

"Probably just flames, poisonous gas, arrows, retractable blades; with your delicate and tender body, you might instantly turn into a dried corpse or get skewered."

Upon hearing Li Ang mention her body, Dorothy initially laughed lightly with her hands on her hips, but she couldn’t laugh upon hearing the latter part.

"I won’t die...but it would definitely be painful, never mind, I’m too scared to move, you lead the way."

"It’s not just about pain, this is not just your issue alone, exploration in adventure should also consider the adaptability of other members of the team."

Li Ang had seen entire teams with excellent defense and fearlessness against poison gas breaking through traps by sheer force. But most teams don’t have those conditions, so they have a thief carrying various tools to handle regular traps.

Since there’s no such preparation now, it’s necessary to use experience to discern and avoid possibly trapped areas.

Li Ang pointed to the ground. "The tiles around the altar, the statues in the niches, the rows of hanging oil lamps, these are the most likely places for mechanisms in this room."

He pointed again to the ventilation openings at the bottom of the wall. "That’s been exposed."

Some of the vents have grids covered with dust, while the vents nearby also have dust but significantly less, suggesting that these heavily dust-laden "vents" have no airflow and are essentially flame or poison gas mechanisms.

"If there wasn’t dust, they would be harder to detect, but no one has been here for too long, and the concealment has nearly failed.

"Since we know some mechanism locations, the trigger for them should generally be nearby, dictated by craftsmanship levels and cost control. Based on this thought, check the nearby tiles. These ordinary traps might show raised or sunken tiles over time, or there might be noticeable gaps between them and other tiles."

Li Ang explained to Dorothy as he stepped carefully on safe spots, moving deeper inside.

He’s not afraid of ordinary traps; with the Wind Chaser’s Holy Bell, the Excellence Realm Wind Element Shield can be used freely, making trap damage negligible. However, this tomb chamber is already beneath the Count’s Mansion, and the noise from triggered traps might alert others.

However, as he got closer, he realized these traps had already been dismantled.

Turning back, the lady was cautiously tiptoeing, pausing with each step. Li Ang initially thought she was overly tense, but then he noticed she was avoiding some bones and spider webs on the ground.

"Come in, the traps here should have been deactivated."

"Why?" Dorothy asked.

"I initially thought this was the tomb of the Feinat Clan, but there’s someone else in charge, and Feinat might be the one who disabled the traps."

"Whose tomb chamber is this?"

"That should be my question to you." Li Ang turned back and said, "You’ve worked in Spark Port for so long, haven’t you learned the history of the land under the Count’s Mansion? Gathering information is also a necessary part of adventures."

Dorothy twisted her fingers together.

"I don’t know, sorry."

"This tomb records information about the Sleeper," Li Ang pointed to the side and said.

Below the sculpture corresponding to the sarcophagus were inscriptions, and the stone walls between the different sculptures were also covered with reliefs. The paint was precious, only slightly peeling, but even if it completely faded, it wouldn’t matter because the reliefs’ high artistic quality fully told the recorded story, a family history.

The sarcophagi and statues were in an evident sequence, the oldest ones were rather primitive in craftsmanship, while the last one, despite being made, had not been used for burial, and all subsequent positions were left empty.

The epitaph below the first person’s statue read, "Here sleeps the pioneer Linden, who landed on Spark Island with adventurous companions, helped the residents here defeat the Dragons that could spew sparks with each breath, earning their veneration, thus laying the family’s glory."

"Adventurous companions" might be beautified; they could have been adventurers, or maybe sky pirates or roaming marauders.

"Hogati Linden, builder of the port, brought prosperity to Spark Island, ensuring the family’s substantial foundation."

"Lena Moon Linden, dragon tamer. Brought the family the method of taming the Mars Dragon, intimidating all forces coveting Spark Island’s key locations, letting the family endure securely and lastingly."

...

"Kaban Linden. Loving grandfather, strict father, brave warrior. Honorably sacrificed in the battle against Barbarian Kekrus’s troops, we shall inherit his legacy, protecting the family’s territory."

"Ducas Wall Linden. Reformed prodigal, took his father’s legacy, and resisted the Barbarians with the people. Beheaded several Red haired Barbarian leaders. In his final moments, protected the Fire Dragon Ranch amid the barbarians’ intrigues."

"Little Ducas Linden. Artist,"

The text below the final statue had only a beginning, and the unsealed empty coffin implies this artist was not buried here; perhaps burial was impossible, or there was no one left to preside over the process.

"The Linden Clan?" Dorothy mused, pinching her chin in thought.

"This family were the earliest builders and rulers of Spark Port, it must be a long time ago, I’ve never heard of them, let alone about some Fire Dragon on this island," Li Ang said.

Nowadays, even the edges of Spark Island are developed into towns, without a trace of a "Fire Dragon Ranch."

"I might actually know something about this."

Dorothy pointed to Kaban Linden’s epitaph. "The name Kekrus has been mentioned often in the past one or two years. Someone later told me he was the Founding Emperor of the Holy Speriel Empire."

"In that case, it seems the Feinat Clan followed the empire to conquer Spark Island, eliminating its original rulers."

According to recent information Li Ang learned from Lanslow, the empire had existed for at least eight hundred years, far earlier than the establishment of the Knight Guild.

Most contemporary individuals, even living in the Ignis Sky Realm, wouldn’t have any tangible sense of the land once belonging to the empire, much less knowledge of history predating the empire’s conquests.

Being a Sky Knight, Li Ang’s understanding of a Sky Island centered more on what resources and uses it could offer.

This ancient tomb chamber seemed to exist merely as a phantom in the void of time, and even the Empire’s Founding Emperor could be said to be like this.

If not for a place with such heritage as Spark Port, there wouldn’t be anyone bringing him up.

Simultaneously, Li Ang didn’t believe the "city’s underlayers" system shown to him could be that ancient. Those tunnels were likely constructed by the Feinat Clan later on, and numerous records of subsequent wars are documented in many texts.

The Feinat Clan discovered this tomb chamber during their construction, connecting it with the tunnels.

After the tunnels were no longer needed, they intentionally abandoned some of the areas beyond exits, maintaining them under their control and supervision.

Li Ang asked Dorothy, "Is the house you live in part of the Feinat family’s estate?"

"Yes, many mansions are theirs, but I pay rent, so I don’t consider myself associated with their family!"

Li Ang nodded, feeling his guess was correct.

If the Feinat family followed the empire founders battling across lands, this would also explain why they immediately became vanguards when the empire rose again.

Dorothy teased with a smile, "Why ask this all of a sudden, do you care?"

Li Ang didn’t respond to her, moving instead toward the altar in the center of the tomb chamber.