novelraw Chapter 72 - Entering the General's Tomb
Chapter 72 - Entering the General's Tomb
Chapter 72: Entering the General’s Tomb
“Next, you saw what happened, my lord. The tomb guardians who came with me—many were killed or injured. We were no match for it at all…”
The NPC let out a sigh.
Jiang Chen stroked his chin in thought.
It was clear now that the monster had been released on purpose, most likely by Hall.
But that man’s movements were erratic and difficult to track. Still, if he had already sent out so many monsters, it implied that the General’s Tomb was still relatively safe for the time being.
Jiang Chen needed to retrieve the golden treasure chest inside the tomb before Hall could make his move.
Confronting Hall head-on wasn’t in his plans. Anyone capable of troubling even the Lord of Yunhuang City behind the scenes was far beyond what he could handle at this stage.
“I see. I now understand what has happened here at the General’s Tomb. I’ll report the deeds of you tomb guardians truthfully to the city lord. You should focus on healing for now.”
Jiang Chen stood up, his gaze shifting toward the distance. “But before that, I must enter the tomb to investigate what’s inside.”
“The city lord?”
The tomb guardian NPC looked at him in shock, asking in surprise, “My lord, you were dispatched here on official business from Yunhuang City?”
Jiang Chen nodded. “Correct. I’ve come at the command of the Yunhuang City Lord to investigate the situation at the General’s Tomb. The central city already had some predictions about the changes here; it just wasn’t confirmed yet.”
“That’s wonderful! So the great Lord of the City is already aware of what’s happening here!”
The NPC was visibly moved, genuinely overjoyed. So the city lord hadn’t forgotten them, these guardians who had remained steadfast for ten years. At last, their efforts were not in vain.
“My lord, there have indeed been some strange occurrences in the General’s Tomb lately. On several nights, intense moonlight has shone into the tomb. We’ve been so busy driving off the monsters that we haven’t had time to investigate.”
“Now that you’ve arrived, we leave everything in your hands.”
“But my lord, do be very careful in the tomb. There are many traps and mechanisms inside. I have a marked map here; I hope it can assist you. Also, the interior is extremely dark—please take this luminous pearl as well.”
The tomb guardian NPC handed over a luminous pearl and a special map to Jiang Chen. These were mission items.
It seemed that choosing to save the NPC had been the right decision. Without this intel and these tools, venturing into the tomb would have been extremely dangerous.
With what he needed secured, Jiang Chen left without delay.
With Hall lurking nearby, he couldn’t afford to waste time.
…
The mountain path leading to the General’s Tomb was difficult to walk—bumpy terrain littered with rocks and jagged stones.
He followed the map for nearly half an hour before reaching the vicinity of the tomb’s entrance. Pushing aside a thick clump of shrubs, Jiang Chen saw a pitch-black cave, about as tall as a person.
He stepped closer, and with each step forward, a chill seeped into his bones. Then a nauseating stench of decay assaulted his senses.
Jiang Chen fought back the urge to retch, lowered his sense of smell, and cautiously continued onward.
The deeper he went, the darker it became. After a short distance, visibility dropped to barely a meter. Jiang Chen pulled the luminous pearl from his backpack, instantly illuminating about twenty meters in both directions.
He also brought out the trap-marked map the NPC had given him and carefully followed the safe routes indicated. Soon, Jiang Chen arrived at the main burial chamber on the first level of the General’s Tomb.
“Tap tap tap…”
Suddenly, from the darkness of the corridor, came the sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps. The source of the sound quickly appeared in Jiang Chen’s field of vision—a group of skeletal soldiers, wielding gleaming broadswords and eerie-glowing shields.
[Silver Dragon Blade Guards] (Elite Monster)
Level: LV30
HP: ???
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Skills: [Flurry Slash], [Alternating Offense and Defense], [Wild Cleave]
Description: Loyal warriors who pledged their lives to serve General Silver Dragon. Even after the general’s death, these soldiers chose to be buried alongside him. Their unwavering loyalty allows their skeletal forms to once again raise blades against intruders.
…
“High-level monsters? The NPC never mentioned these skeleton soldiers… Could it be that a necromancer has already made it in here?”
Jiang Chen had a bad feeling. Necromancers excel at summoning skeletons—and reanimating corpses. If these enemies were part of someone’s spellwork, it meant that someone had already set foot in the tomb.
Let’s hope things aren’t that dire…
As for these Silver Dragon Blade Guards, their level wasn’t too high. As long as he didn’t get hit by too many [Flurry Slash] attacks, he should be fine.
“Zzzzz—”
With so many monsters converging, Jiang Chen activated [Lightning Infusion], then began launching a flurry of arrows overhead.
[Triple Arrow Rain]!
-2815!
-1407!
-1407!
-4980!
-2490!
-2490!
…
The ground ahead turned into a field of lightning—purple-white arcs of electricity bouncing between the monsters, generating massive damage numbers. A moment later, a swath of the creatures fell to the ground.
Against Jiang Chen in his current state, the Silver Dragon Blade Guards’ defense was no better than paper. Most didn’t last five seconds.
Within a dozen seconds, Jiang Chen was already stepping over a carpet of skeletal remains as he pressed deeper into the tomb.
The tomb was vast. Jiang Chen’s 20-meter field of vision wasn’t enough to capture its full layout. After exploring for five minutes, he estimated that the tomb chamber spanned around 100 meters in diameter—a massive underground palace.
More waves of Silver Dragon Blade Guards charged at him during this time.
Occasionally, he even ran into one or two pseudo-bosses. But to Jiang Chen, they were just more experience to collect.
At last…
After nearly half an hour of slaughter, Jiang Chen finally found the passage leading to the next level.
The monsters on the first floor alone had yielded him close to 500,000 experience points—elite monsters and pseudo-bosses truly gave generous EXP.
Loot collected: 40 gold coins, 11 silver-tier equipment items, 1 gold-tier equipment item, 1 gold-tier warrior skill book, 7 silver-tier skill books for various classes.
Such a bountiful haul was all thanks to his 200 points of luck.
Entering the corridor, Jiang Chen quickly reached the second level of the General’s Tomb.
The underground chamber now emitted a greenish-blue glow, dimly revealing the surrounding structure. The source of the light was likely phosphorescence from the remains, but the entire scene had grown increasingly eerie.
Sensing the presence of an outsider, the tomb greeted Jiang Chen with even more terror—strange creaking sounds echoed around him, and a cold wind began to blow inside the tomb, chilling him to the bone.
From the ghostly, bluish-green soil ahead, dark shadows began to slowly rise…