Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 286 Enemy 9

In the dark tomb passage, Caesars and the puppy continued walking for more than half an hour. At this time, his detection spell detected an abnormality. The wall of the tomb passage in front was too smooth.

After walking less than fifty meters, Caesars stopped and lightly touched the cold wall with his fingertips. The unique chill of metal immediately spread through his fingers. He frowned slightly - the tomb passage before him was no longer made of rough rock, but was cast from a single piece of steel.

The walls were as smooth as a mirror, with barely a visible seam, as if the entire passage had been hewn from a single, massive iron ingot. The light from the magical orb reflected off the metal, creating cold halos that cast an eerie, bluish-gray hue across the passage. Caesars leaned over to examine the ground, discovering that even the pavement beneath his feet was made of the same material, though the surface had been polished to a slightly rougher finish to prevent slipping.

"Iron tomb passage..." he muttered softly, his fingers slowly sliding along the wall, searching for any possible traps or magical patterns. This structure was anything but ordinary—the steel not only withstood the erosion of time but also blocked the penetration of magical energy, rendering any detection spell impervious. He had to be even more cautious, taking each step extremely slowly, fearing that he would trigger a deadly trap hidden beneath the metal.

A small amount of magic steel should have been added to these steels, so they are less likely to rust, and even after a long time, the surface remains as smooth as a mirror.

The air was filled with the faint smell of rusty metal, mixed with the unique dampness of the tomb. Caesars noticed that there were occasional tiny scratches on the wall, as if some sharp object had scraped across it. He squatted down and gently ran his fingertips over one of the marks, finding that the edge was still sharp—they were not ancient, and might even have been inscribed recently.

"It seems someone was here not long ago..."

He narrowed his eyes and glanced around warily. The iron tomb was silent, with only his own breathing and footsteps echoing in the confined space. He gripped the magic blade tightly, magic flowing through his body, ready to respond to any danger that might arise.

Kaisas pulled out a dozen bottles of acrid acid from his space ring. He narrowed his eyes as he studied the strange scratches on the metal tomb wall, his knuckles tapping the bottles unconsciously. He had a hunch that these scratches were definitely not caused by humans, but by a mechanism.

He suddenly flipped his wrist, and the crystal bottle filled with gray-green liquid was smashed against the walls on both sides. As the crystal bottle exploded, strong acid splashed out, and white smoke suddenly rose from the steel-forged walls. The walls of the tomb passage were dissolving and denting at a speed visible to the naked eye, making a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.

Just as he held his breath, awaiting the effects of corrosion, he felt a warm, wet sensation at his feet. The chubby puppy was rubbing its large head affectionately against his calf. Its saliva-soaked nose suddenly turned toward the depths of the tunnel, its short, fat front paws eagerly pointing forward.

"Ok?"

Kaisas looked in the direction indicated by the little guy - at the end of the dark tomb passage, on the dome about eighty meters away, he could vaguely see a head-sized protrusion emitting a faint magical glow.

"Damn, this distance..."

Cursing softly, Caesars raised his left hand, and three dazzling radiant light burst forth from his fingertips. The three balls of light chased each other, their intensity piercing the darkness. The protrusion suddenly refracted a rainbow of light, its crystal-clear surface gleaming like a diamond under the illumination of the balls.

"Crystal Lens!"

Caesar's pupils shrank, and he slammed his fist against the wall where a sophisticated peeping array lay. He could almost sense the sinister eyes in the darkness, perhaps grinning and manipulating the mechanism, waiting for him to step into the carefully laid death trap.

Two minutes later, the rustling of the acid gradually subsided, leaving only a few fist-sized holes in the steel wall, pungent white smoke rising from the edges. Caesars leaned in closer, peering through the holes. The wall was only about four inches thick, and inside was a dense network of precise gears, hinges, and transmission rods, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic sheen in the darkness.

"Sure enough, there are traps everywhere..." He muttered to himself, but a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. "But we're very close to the main tomb!"

The hole was too small to fit the alchemical bomb in. Without hesitation, Caesars pulled out several bottles of strong acid from his space ring and smashed them against the wall.

Gray-green liquid splashed out, the steel surface instantly boiled, and thick corrosive smoke surged up, quickly covering the entire tomb passage.

At the same time, in front of the main tomb chamber deep within the passage, a faint blue light curtain hovered in mid-air, illuminating the scene within. Standing before the curtain was a tall, thin figure dressed in elegant aristocratic robes. His fingers gripped the bronze lever of the control panel tightly, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

"Damn...why haven't you responded yet?"

He stared intently at the screen, his eyes flickering with anxiety. He had already sent a magical message to Blackrock City, but there had been no response. At that moment, the image on the screen was suddenly engulfed by swirling white smoke, and nothing could be seen clearly.

"Oh no!" His pupils suddenly contracted, and his fingers subconsciously wanted to pull the mechanism -

"boom--!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, shaking the entire tomb passage violently. Stone and metal fragments rained down like a torrential rain. The shock wave, carrying a scorching wave of air, swept madly along the passage.

Over two hundred meters away, Caesars and the chubby puppy clung tightly to the wall of a tomb passage, but even so, the violent gust of wind pushed them over ten meters away. Caesars grunted, protecting the fat dog in his arms, and gritted his teeth to hold on amidst the swirling dust.

"Those mechanical mechanisms should be damaged now. Even if there are magic traps, they should have been destroyed by the explosion just now."

More than ten minutes later, the smoke and dust finally dissipated. Without hesitation, Caesars walked quickly to the spot where the alchemical bomb had been placed. His heartbeat accelerated, unsure of what he would see.

As he approached, the sight before him made him gasp. The once sturdy steel passage was now completely warped and deformed, as if it had suffered a devastating disaster. The floor of the passage was littered with metal fragments, and numerous gears, chains, and other mechanical components were scattered across the ground, creating a shambles.

The over 100-meter-long steel tomb passage was completely destroyed. The originally straight passage now twisted and turned, with huge cracks appearing in some places. Deep in the tomb passage, the peeping array was not spared either, falling down from the violent explosion and shattering into a pile of fragments.

Caesars walked cautiously through the ruins, carefully observing his surroundings as he walked. After some exploration, he found that the mechanical mechanisms originally hidden in the tomb passage had completely lost their function, and the transmission devices had been destroyed beyond recognition.

After confirming it was safe, Caesars, holding the magic blade, continued to walk deeper into the tomb. His steps were light and firm, and the fat puppy followed closely behind him, as if it were his most loyal companion.

Two minutes later, a massive magic steel gate appeared before them, blocking their path. This gate seemed out of place among the surrounding tomb passages, which were heavily carved with patterns. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, without any magic patterns or decorative patterns, and it looked as if it had just been forged.

Caesars walked to the door and touched the cold magic steel, feeling its thickness and hardness. He tried to use his magic to explore the situation behind the door, but found that the magic seemed to be completely isolated by the door and could not penetrate at all.

It was obvious that alchemical bombs could no longer be used here, as the surrounding area was solid basalt. If the magic steel tomb door was forcibly blown open, it would likely cause the entire tomb passage to collapse. Caesar stood in front of the door, pondering how to deal with this extremely solid tomb door.

After a long time, Kaesus once again chose strong acid as his breakthrough point. However, this time, his target was no longer the indestructible magic steel door. After his previous experience, he knew that rather than confronting the tomb door head-on, he would find another way. The basalt on both sides of the tomb passage was strong, but it would eventually succumb to constant corrosion. More importantly, this roundabout approach would definitely give old Garen a "surprise." The old fox was as cunning as a slime in the mud. Since he had made such a big fuss about replacing the magic steel door, it would be strange if he didn't set a few deadly traps behind it.

He extended his right hand, shrouded in dark magic, and his fingertips condensed a gray-green corrosive spell, while in his left palm, a purple-black death coil brewed. The two spells landed precisely on the side of the tomb passage. The basalt surface immediately emitted a sizzling sound, and the rock sank at a visible speed, forming two downward-sloping funnel-shaped pits. Caesars withdrew three crystal bottles marked with skulls from his space ring. Gray-green liquid bubbled restlessly within the bottles. The moment the liquid was poured, a thick yellow-green smoke rose from the contact between the strong acid and the rock. The pungent odor was perceptible even through the mask. He quickly retreated to a safe distance, the lenses of his alchemist's mask reflecting the swirling poisonous mist.

Surprisingly, the dark red puppy with lava-like streaks on its skin didn't shy away. Instead, it sat comfortably in the center of the poisonous mist, its moist black nose twitching constantly, as if savoring something delicious. As a native species of the lava zones of the Abyss, this magical beast's lungs had long since adapted to all manner of toxic gases; the strong acid vapor was merely an appetizer.

Caesars retreated to a distance and waited. Less than two minutes later, a plump puppy burst out of the thinning poisonous mist. It stood up and gestured dramatically with its front paws: first mimicking the flow of liquid, then quaffing a drink, and finally, anxiously stamping its paws in the direction of the tomb entrance. Caesars understood and produced several more bottles of strong acid. The puppy immediately grabbed the corks from the crystal bottles, nimbly turning and dashing back into the poisonous mist. Soon, the hissing sound of corroding rock was mingled with the teeth-grinding sound of gnawing—the puppy's sharp claws, coated in crystals, widened the passage. The occasional "crunch" sound was the puppy's jagged fangs gnawing at the acid-softened rock.

An atmosphere of dread and oppression permeated the main tomb chamber. In the dim glow of the fire, a strange yellow-green smoke continuously seeped from the edges of the heavy tomb door, crafted from rare magic steel. This smoke twisted and squirmed like a living thing, weaving a deadly web through the air. Wherever it passed, even the solid stone walls emitted a sizzling corroded sound. Even more terrifying, the smoke was mixed with the piercing sound of some creature gnawing at the rock, a sound like thousands of insects and ants gnawing at one's nerves.

The man in the ornate robes paled. He was horrified to discover that the toxic fumes were not only deadly, but even more terrifyingly, they were corroding the edges of the tomb door at a visible rate. The cracks, once as thin as a hairline, were widening, and spiderweb-like erosion patterns appeared on the surface of the demon steel tomb door. As he retreated, a dark red claw suddenly pierced through the cracks. The sharp claws scraped against the metal door, sparking dazzling sparks and frantically tearing at the already fragile stone.

The claw suddenly retracted, replaced by a wet black nose, greedily sniffing the scent within the tomb. Without hesitation, the noble drew the longsword engraved with magic patterns from his waist. With a flash of cold light, the tip of the sword accurately pierced the sensitive nose.

"Ow—!"

A deafening cry of pain echoed, a sound reminiscent of the roar of a ground dragon. The injured creature, utterly enraged, erupted in dazzling crimson magic patterns. These lines, imbued with ancient magical energy, slithered across its surface like living creatures. Amidst the teeth-grinding crackling of bones, its body expanded and deformed at a terrifying rate. Even the surrounding, steel-hard gray-black basalt could not withstand the force, and began to crack and collapse extensively.

Caesars endured the burning sensation of the poisonous mist and rushed towards the tomb door, but the thick toxic smoke completely obscured his vision. When he released his magical tentacles to explore, he made an even more horrifying discovery—the entire thick magic steel tomb door had been separated from the tomb passage structure, and the surrounding tomb walls were covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

"Bang bang bang-"

The gray-black basalt surrounding the magic steel tomb door continued to crack and fall off, and the heavy tomb door had become shaky.

Then there was a "clang", and the basalt around the magic steel tomb door completely collapsed. The tomb door, which lost its support, fell backwards with a deafening sound.

As the tomb door collapsed, the surrounding poisonous fog instantly cleared. Caesars saw a puppy, slightly larger than a calf, squeeze out from the basalt. Its body was blazing with flames, its scarlet eyes fixed intently on the tomb.

"Your nose is bleeding, damn dog!"

A blood bead emitting a red glow condensed on the puppy's shiny black nose. When the puppy heard what Caesars said, its large scarlet tongue licked its nose and took the blood bead away.

The puppy rushed into the tomb, howling and yelping, like an angry bull.

"Don't kill him, damn dog! I want to talk to him!"

Just as Caesar was speaking, a figure in a noble robe was thrown out of the tomb and hit the wall of the tomb heavily.

"Hey, isn't this Earl Garlon? How could he be so careless? He even broke his arm after falling!"