The entrance to the tomb was near the bottom of the valley. A few broken pillars stood amidst the dense shrubs, covered all over with climbing vines. If one didn't look closely, one would simply take them for greenish rock. But Brand felt the passage the mercenaries had dug out was quite professional; he had often dug this kind of passage himself, since this kind of hard labor was originally the work of warriors, and he could be called an expert at it.

He observed briefly: the stone of the pillars was badly corroded, and the fine patterns upon them resembled writing. It was neither Kruz Language nor Elf Language, which meant it most likely came from the history of the mountain people. Before the Silver Elf Empire and the Erune Kingdom had successively ruled this region, the original inhabitants here were also the mountain people. That stretch of history had to be traced back to before the Saint War; this tomb very likely did have quite a long history.

Unfortunately, he hadn't invested many points in historical knowledge; most of his Scholar Level was in Heraldry Knowledge and Noble Knowledge. Back then it was in order to disguise himself as a noble; thinking about it now, it really hadn't been worth the candle.

The Wizards under Lei Lian had already chanted a Spell and produced a Magic Light Ball. The group entered the tomb. The sunken air inside the tomb had long since been vented out, yet a rotten smell still lingered. The lighting was somewhat dim; following that faint glow, they entered a tomb. On both sides of the passage, rows of lateral wall niches began to appear, filled with skeleton remains lying inside, some of which had already been destroyed.

The cards in Brand's hand had been found in these very niches. However, when he sensed around now, he found nothing at all; instead, the faint Magic aura coming from ahead made his heart give a little jolt. Char lagged a step behind and walked abreast with him, Qian and Yuta flanking them left and right. The Maid Corps Commander had her hand on her Longsword; her green eyes, under the Magic glow, seemed as if they were burning with a cold jade fire. Qian gripped the spear in her hands tightly, and through her amber-colored eyes, the girl silently watched the movements hidden in the Dark.

The stench of decay grew ever stronger, gradually making people uneasy. Romantic gripped his hand tightly, yet her eyes were bright, a little excited, darting about in curiosity.

The sand and mud piled up in the tomb had now already been dug out, and soon there was light ahead. As they drew closer, Brand finally saw that agate-colored light barrier; rows of runes flickered upon it, thick in the middle and thin at the sides. At a glance, it was clearly a kind of Magic Barrier.

"Is this that Magic Protection?" he turned back and asked. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Yes, Lord, we've tried every method, but we still can't take down this Protection," Lei Lian replied hastily.

No wonder; this Spell was a Chaos Crystal Barrier, a Six-Circle Law Spell. The Caster was at least a Level 40 Law Mage. It would be strange if the apprentices and Jianghu Mage under Lei Lian could break it.

"Can you break it?" Brand turned back to ask Char.

"Easy," Char answered in a relaxed tone. "Right now?"

Brand nodded.

The young Wizard's Attendant began his chant; he extended his hand and gently touched the Magic Barrier. Centered on his fingertip, a Black Hole appeared on the agate-colored light barrier. The area of the Black Hole quickly expanded, and in an instant the entire Magic Barrier vanished into thin air.

For a moment, the tomb fell utterly silent.

"Piece of cake, the other side should only be a Six-Circle Wizard," Char said. He himself was a Seven-circles Master; even a one-ring suppression already meant a world of difference.

"This Spell doesn't look like Protection to me; it looks more like Sealing," Brand said instead.

"Why?" Char was puzzled.

"Because the Chaos Crystal Barrier is a Spell with very strong defensive properties. It's more like something meant to prevent outside things from entering. If it were a Protection facility, it would at least have some offensive capability."

Of course Char didn't know that Brand had seen many such defensive Spells set up in Underground Cities. "You even know this Spell, Lord?"

"Of course, I'm a Highland Knight after all," Brand replied indifferently.

This time it was Char's turn to feel a twinge in his teeth.

He clearly knew that the master standing before him was absolutely not any Highland Wizard—

Yet the people around them believed it firmly. Besides a Highland Knight, who else would swagger about with a Wizard's Attendant in tow, and be so knowledgeable about mysterious Magic?

After breaking through the Magic Barrier, Brand led everyone forward again. This time he was much more cautious. Sealing and Protection were not the same: Protection itself was the danger, whereas Sealing meant that within this tomb there was an unknown danger.

Moreover, Sealing more or less carried a hint of mystery. Throughout Erune, there were not many places used to suppress Evil Spirits. The most famous of them was that Public Tomb beneath Ambeser.