Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 457 The End of the Road
"No problem, leave it to me."

Faced with the mage's questioning gaze, the Soul Splitter agreed without hesitation.

One, two, three, four, let's do it again.

After a sprint in the same manner, he was accurately struck in the designated spot by the swung meteor.

It was another loud bang, though slightly less powerful than before, but the subsequent reaction was much more intense.

After the second bombardment, the cracks caused by the newly added dents spread out, intertwining and merging with the previous marks to form deeper and denser textures.

The Soul Splitter stopped running and sprinting, instead swinging his flail and smashing it down on the boulder with a series of powerful blows, displaying a masterful use of the Eighteen Styles of Meteor Hammer Technique.

Accompanied by the sound of the demolition team wielding their sledgehammers, a short while later, the faint creaking of stones bearing the weight could be heard, along with the teeth-grinding sound of stones grinding together.

The rubble fell like hail, and the spreading marks became increasingly shocking, as if—no, as if it had already torn the boulder into several irregular large stones and countless pebbles!
It didn't take long for the roadblock, the dragon-severing gate, to turn into a pile of rubble in front of everyone, revealing the unseen path ahead.

The deep darkness could not stop their exploration, but when they learned that they were searching for a mage's tomb, everyone became more cautious.

Especially for those who lead the way, they have to consider their steps carefully before taking a step.

Fortunately, the Soul Splitter joined the vanguard, giving them a great sense of security. The group surrounded Balasen closely, leaving him with no choice but to follow the little guys slowly and steadily forward.

That was a great positioning move! You bunch of idiots.

As the lord, Lord Zhang naturally sat in the central palace, in the safest position, responsible for command and dispatch.

Although there are only a few people like that, there's really not much to assign...

Upon entering the tomb, they were greeted by a long passageway. The passageway was not narrow or cramped; in fact, it was even wider than the tomb entrance that allowed two minotaurs to enter side by side.

However, the people walking on this road felt increasingly heavy and depressed.

Although the passageway was wide, there were few superfluous carvings on both sides, only a few bas-reliefs. The scenes were dark and indistinct, and their meanings were difficult to understand. As one walked downwards, the path ahead was deep and dark, giving one an irresistible feeling of gradually entering the underworld.

A little bit of negative emotion could not shake the mage's will. Since the Word Bearers were born underground, they were not greatly affected by these environments, so it was not a big problem.

However, the strange structure inside the tomb cannot be ignored. A quick glance and estimation reveals that, given the size of the tomb as it appears, the part of the building exposed above ground is probably just an entrance. After walking for a long time, we still haven't seen the main burial chamber, or even a side hall.

Unexpectedly, there was a hidden path beneath what appeared to be an inconspicuous little, dilapidated grave. It was unknown how far this path would extend downwards, and even less could one predict what methods or backup plans the sorcerer, the owner of the tomb, had prepared here.

Compared to that, the darkness was nothing. In fact, Zhang Yuan had already sensed something was wrong after walking for so long. Even considering the angle of inclination, they had already covered the distance from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain. There was no reason to dig a tomb passage this deep, right?
The spatial structure of the Shadow Plane is significantly less stable than that of the Prime Plane. Distortions and deformations are not uncommon in certain areas. However, as the mage walked along, he vaguely felt that the space here had probably been specially expanded by magic.

The road came to an end amidst vigilance and speculation. The long journey had loosened the originally tight group. As the vanguard, Yi Niu stepped out of the exit first and realized that the stone walls of the tunnel ahead were no longer the almost unchanging passageway. The crimson aura emanating from the flail he was carrying could not cover its boundaries.

The group seemed to have arrived at a large hall and finally found the main character?
Before they could think further, the lights of the multi-meter array illuminated the area ahead, revealing the general structure of the entire tomb to the tomb raiders.

Logically speaking, being in darkness for a long time and then suddenly seeing light would inevitably cause severe visual discomfort, and it is normal to be unable to open one's eyes for a while, let alone for this group of light-sensitive Zhuo Er.

But for now, no one is affected. The eternal lamps burning in the tomb flicker with blue flames, not at all dazzling or even bright, but rather cold and desolate like ice reflecting moonlight, like struggling souls, bringing a little light to the tomb while also illuminating the entire hall in a dark blue hue.

Amidst the azure glow, a towering stone statue stood, its face hidden beneath a hood, its exposed fingers gripping a staff, the gem at its tip emitting a flickering, dark red light.

Zheng——!
A sharp, piercing, teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound suddenly rang out in the empty cavern, the sound coming from behind everyone.

The scene in the hall attracted most of the attention, including the mage himself, who focused his gaze on the staff that was clearly no ordinary object. Although he was wary, he did not expect that the danger would actually come from the passage he had already passed through.

Suddenly turning around to look behind him, he saw a hazy silver-gray figure being firmly blocked in front of him by the burning shadow. The Shadow Demon, who was responsible for covering the rear, raised his arms to parry the enemy's deadly attack.

It was a strangely shaped construct. Its silver metal shell must have undergone special treatment. Its silver-gray exterior had no reflection at all, and its completely matte shell seemed to absorb even light. The huge golem appeared somewhat blurry and unreal to everyone under the interplay of light and shadow.

Its appearance is also quite different from that of ordinary golems, which are either tall and mighty or clumsy and slow. Instead, it gives people a light and agile feeling. If the former is compared to a big-armed wrestler, the attacking latter is more like a dancer.

The metaphor is a bit strange, but the golem in front of us can truly be described as slender. It has no bulky outer armor, and it doesn't even carry any weapons. Its overall shape is sleek and streamlined.

Although it looks agile, one can imagine how terrifyingly heavy such a steel structure, which is more than three meters tall, is. Yet, this creation did not make a single sound during the entire process of launching its attack.

Whether it was the vibration of stepping on the ground or the friction noise generated by the machine's own movement, all of it fell silent.

The golem's attack method was its arms, or more precisely, its fingertips. Each of its five fingers, like armor-piercing spikes, came together and thrust out like a spear, launching a terrifying surprise attack.

Shadowsteel Golem!

The monk uttered these burning words, and his eyes also welled up with fervor.

Thank you to Eric Jin, Ssczy, Lejun Reckon, and Brother A-Yi for your monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)