Chapter 669: Willow Wood Tomb Guardians

After quietly comparing the equipment and attributes of Soulfire’s elites, Marcus and the others entered the first level of Jasper’s Tomb.

The tomb was constructed entirely from bluestone, with everlasting oil lamps flickering softly along the walls and casting a dim glow over the long, silent corridors. The architecture was unmistakably that of the Dreamland Continent’s nobility, the sort of extravagant construction that wealthy and powerful families considered perfectly ordinary.

The elite class of Dreamland was particularly superstitious and placed great importance on feng shui. After death, they would choose a location with excellent spiritual energy and construct an elaborate tomb there to house their remains. Depending on the wealth and status of the deceased, such tombs could have three, five, eight, ten, or even more levels.

The actual remains were usually placed on the lowest level. The floors above were constructed as elaborate mazes filled with traps, concealed weapons, and specially crafted tomb guardians, all designed to prevent grave robbers from stealing the deceased’s burial treasures or disturbing the family’s carefully arranged feng shui.

It was said that this tradition dated back eight thousand years to the First Emperor and the construction of his tomb. The royal family was even more particular about such matters. The current Dragon Dynasty’s imperial mausoleum was strictly forbidden territory, guarded by a Divine Beast and two Mythic Beasts. Ordinary players would have no chance of getting anywhere near it.

After descending only a short distance through the bluestone corridor, they encountered the Dragon Dynasty’s specially crafted wooden tomb guardians. There were also iron, steel, and gold variants, but those had to be purchased directly from the Dragon Dynasty with real money.

Jasper’s Tomb was clearly at the lowest end of the scale. It had only three levels, which meant Jasper had either never cared much about appearances or had been an unusually honest official who had not accumulated much wealth through his position. Either way, the tomb was relatively simple.

That simplicity was actually a blessing. There was no need for an assassin or rogue to scout ahead. In tombs with eight or more levels, a single wrong step could trigger a trap powerful enough to kill even a Level 50 player instantly, and without a rogue capable of detecting and disarming those traps, trying to navigate such a maze was practically suicidal.

They had barely advanced before it became clear that combat was about to begin. The Soulfire members immediately summoned their pets, and every one of them was Grade 7 or higher. SoulfireBlade’s Golden Bow Skeleton Ghost and SoulSync’s Ironstone Stun Bear were especially impressive. Both were Grade 8 pets.

’Damn.’ Marcus could not help sighing inwardly. Guild power really was something else. The old saying was right, there really was strength in numbers. He glanced at the current Pet Leaderboard.

—

First: Divine Beast, Yin-Yang Giant Panda. Owner: Name Hidden.

Second: Mythic Beast, Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat. Owner: Name Hidden.

Third: Mythic Beast, Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm. Owner: Name Hidden.

Fourth: Grade 9 Pet, Shadow-Stained Gryphon King. Owner: Name Hidden.

Fifth: Grade 9 Pet, Four-Winged Tiger. Owner: Name Hidden.

Sixth: Grade 8 Pet, Darkfire Phoenix. Owner: Name Hidden.

Seventh: Grade 8 Pet, Ferocious Gold Wolf. Owner: Name Hidden.

Eighth: Grade 8 Pet, Lightning Dual-Blade Crab. Owner: Name Hidden.

Ninth: Grade 8 Pet, Three-Winged Dark Gold Bat King. Owner: Name Hidden.

Tenth: Grade 8 Pet, Black-Faced Demon Wolf. Owner: Name Hidden.

—

Looking at the list, Marcus almost felt a little amused. His pets occupied half of the rankings, and the top four were all his. Even the tenth-ranked pet was only Grade 8, yet here SoulfireBlade and SoulSync both had Grade 8 pets, while several of Soulfire’s other elites had Grade 7 pets. The power of a major guild really was difficult to underestimate.

What amused him most, however, was something much more trivial. Thanks to his own habit of keeping his name hidden, every single owner on the Pet Leaderboard was now listed as "Name Hidden." Interesting.

Marcus was still feeling rather pleased with himself when a crackling sound suddenly came from beside him, the unmistakable buzz of electricity filling the corridor. He turned his head. Lydia was summoning her pet.

A huge crab, roughly the size of a tiger, appeared beside her. Its body was protected by a thick, gleaming shell, while two enormous pincers extended from its sides. Blue lightning constantly crackled across its body, occasionally jumping between its claws with sharp flashes of light. The combination of the massive pincers and surging electricity made it impossible to mistake for an ordinary crab.

Lightning Crab. Something stirred in Marcus’s memory. He glanced at Lydia and saw that she was watching him with a faintly smug smile, obviously waiting for him to ask what kind of pet it was. Marcus could not be bothered to give her the satisfaction, so he quietly used Insight instead, and the information appeared immediately.

"Lightning Dual-Blade Crab!" Marcus could not help blurting out the name. No wonder it looked familiar. It was the eighth-ranked pet on the current Pet Leaderboard.

Damn. So this was Lydia’s pet. Marcus’s assessment of her strength immediately rose another notch. Now he understood why SoulfireBlade and SoulSync had been so pleased when they heard that Lydia wanted to join the expedition.

But what surprised him even more was the pet’s evolution history. The Grade 8 Lightning Dual-Blade Crab had evolved from a Grade 6 Lightning Bubble Crab.

Lightning Bubble Crab? Marcus’s eyes narrowed slightly as the memory clicked into place. That was the juvenile form of the dual-pincer crabs that lived in Crab Lake. Lydia had once fished one out of the lake, and that single event had triggered the enormous player conflict there. So that was how it had turned out. He really had underestimated this fox.

Lydia had even told him that she needed his protection. Now Marcus understood that she had probably been deliberately showing off from the beginning, trying to provoke him and see how he would react. Sure enough, she looked at him again with that faintly seductive expression.

"Stone, where’s your pet?"

Marcus merely smiled. "Lydia, if things get dangerous, just remember to stay close. I’ll protect you."

Without waiting for her response, he summoned his own pet, and the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King appeared beside him in a burst of dark flames.

"Screech!"

Its sharp cry echoed through the tomb as its enormous golden wings spread wide. The majestic creature was so large that its presence alone seemed to make the narrow corridor feel even more cramped, and the dark flames surrounding its golden body made it impossible to mistake it for an ordinary Grade 9 pet.

"Gryphon!" The Soulfire members immediately reacted, and Lydia’s expression also changed, for they had all thought of the same thing.

The Dark Immortal Golden Eagle King. None of them had actually seen it before, but the pet that had dominated the leaderboard for so long had become famous throughout Dreamland. Even players who had never encountered it knew its name.

"Stone, is that the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King?" Lydia could not hold herself back any longer.

Unfortunately for her, Marcus had already urged his Royal Pegasus forward. The Royal Pegasus surged down the corridor while the Dark Immortal Golden Eagle King swept forward beside him, its enormous wings spread as it charged toward the wooden tomb guardians waiting ahead.

"Stone, I’m talking to you!" Lydia glared at his back before hurriedly following, and the rest of the Soulfire party quickly moved after them.

Marcus paid no attention to Lydia’s complaint. His attention had already shifted to the wooden guardian standing in the corridor ahead, and he quietly used Insight.

—

Willow Wood Tomb Guardian: Level 50. HP: 35,000.

A guardian crafted by the Dragon Dynasty from specially treated willow wood. Sustained by the dark energy within the tomb, it protects the dead and attacks any intruder on sight.

—

’Only Level 50.’

Marcus did not even bother checking its skills. He immediately activated the knight skill Taunt, raised his Adamant Shield, and charged straight toward the wooden tomb guardian.