The shadowy figure flashed and disappeared in the darkness. Brando hesitated for a moment before raising his sword to give chase. The passage seemed endless, with the glow of fluorite extending forward, always revealing gray-white walls in sight. This color indicated that the rocks were coated with a lime paint, a common method used in most tomb passages to prevent water erosion.

The sound of footsteps quickly amplified ahead, indicating a hollow space appeared ahead. Brando slowed his pace down. A flicker in front, the crystal statue he had seen before suddenly appeared in his way, raising its hand to shoot two crystal spikes.

"Damn!"

Brando raised his sword, shattering the spikes with two ’clinks’, then gritted his teeth and shook his hand. By Martha, the brute strength of this creature was terrifying. Seeing its strike fail, the monster immediately retreated. Though not fast, it disappeared with the help of the shadow.

Brando cursed from the bottom of his heart, a curse that would chill even the designer of this scene, hastily giving chase. But after taking a few steps, he stopped, turned back, raised the fluorite, and watched as its dim light seemed to break through the confines of the narrow space, spreading in all directions, illuminating a deep corridor.

He had unknowingly rushed out of the long passage.

In front of him was a corridor so wide it resembled a hall, with rows of columns standing in the profound darkness. The glow from the fluorite in Brando’s hand only managed to illuminate a small area nearby, far less than one percent of the space. The corridor stretched forward, the floor paved with black and white marble, covered in dust and cracks, yet one could imagine this was once a grand underground hall.

"..."

Brando couldn’t help but hold his breath. This place didn’t look like a tomb; even a king’s tomb wouldn’t be built like this. "Huh?" he suddenly uttered a soft sound, realizing that the ground and lower parts of the columns were covered in patterns. He initially thought they were murals, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that the so-called patterns were inlaid in grooves in the marble with silver runes.

Brando had a sudden urge to kneel and use the Earth Sword to dig out the shiny silver runes because he recognized it as Mithril—only Mithril would be used to create such things:

A Rune Array.

But he forcefully held back. He lifted his head, casting his gaze across the entire hall, where it seemed that a kind of overwhelming power lurked in the silent darkness, leaving one speechless: This giant-like corridor was actually a rune array! Suddenly, he recalled his past experience of delving into the Winter Temple—a sanctuary of the North Wind Goddess Jupis, a Frostwinter Holy Sanctuary protected by four holy images of the goddess, with golden runes stretching for miles, creating a never-ending barrage of violent north winds—equally majestic and magnificent.

Only the array before him seemed more like a graveyard. The silver runes on the corridor floor appeared long inactive, an overwhelming quiet stretching into the distance.

"What is this place?" Brando murmured to himself. Curious, he followed the marble floor covered in silver runes that looked like worms, his footsteps echoing lonely in the darkness, a small light dot moving slowly in the boundless pitch-black world.

The legend said the Winter Temple was the main sanctuary of the North Wind Goddess, secluded far from the mortal realm, located in today’s Distant Mist Mountains. But who constructed this tomb, hiding such an astonishingly grand building underground?

After walking for a while, he suddenly remembered something and summoned Otarais, asking softly: "Lord Otarais, are you there?"

"Yes, I’m always here." A calm voice of the female knight resonated in his mind: "Are you planning to go in and take a look?"

Brando nodded.

"Have you ever heard of this place before, Lord Otarais?"

"I don’t recognize it, haven’t seen it before." Otarais also became curious: "But this place has a significant background, the runes on the ground seem to be more ancient than in my time. Young one, you certainly stumble upon some incredible things by chance."

Brando smiled wryly.

"Shh," Otarais suddenly said: "That thing is near you."

"That thing?"

Brando suddenly realized it was the crystal statue. He cursed its persistence under his breath and was about to turn around, but Otarais stopped him: "Don’t move, it’s behind you. Pretend to walk forward, and wait for my signal."