Chapter 55: The Bronze Gate

A group of people entered through the mist, led by Pascal.

"No time for chit-chat. Let's get the injured out first," Pascal said, waving his hand.

Six stretchers quickly carried away the injured team members, but Pascal and five other members stayed behind. They were there to replace the injured team members and ensure the group maintained a total of twelve.

"Pascal, these eight lizard creatures must be the guardians of the temple," Elena said.

"Are there any other guardians?" Pascal asked.

"No, I don't think so," Li Xiang replied, pointing behind them. "The main gate is right there."

He had discovered the location of the gate during his battle with Sapp. The magical waves from their clash had rebounded at a specific point, indicating some kind of barrier or obstruction nearby. Since it wasn't far, he had gone to check while they waited for Pascal to arrive.

Pascal stroked his beard, pondering. "Based on the level of these guardians, the scale of this temple might not be as large as we think."

"Let's go and find out," Elena suggested. "Maybe their power has waned over time."

"That's possible," Pascal nodded.

The twelve of them approached the massive gate.

The bronze gate stood as tall as the columns, about twenty meters in height. Its left and right sides were embedded into the walls. Under the glare of their flashlights, they could see four panels engraved with simple images.

A vertical crack ran down the center of the gate, where a large fish-shaped lock once held it shut. However, the lock was broken—its mouth and tail no longer connected, and the keyhole had a noticeable crack as if someone had forcefully damaged it.

"A bronze gate this large is rare," Elena remarked. In Western archaeology, most bronze artifacts found are small and lightweight. The largest known artifact was a double-handled spout cup found in a Celtic princess's tomb in France, dating back to the 6th century BCE.

Elena's gaze moved to the images engraved on the door, which still followed a simple, sketch-like style, but these were not scenes of Valkyries going to war.

The first image depicted a flock of crows surrounding an island. The landscape resembled Franann Island.

In the second image, a lead crow stood atop a high point, directing the other crows in the sky.

The third image showed the crows circling over a city, while knights below appeared terrified.

The fourth image featured Morgan le Fay herself, handing a dead crow to one of her knights. In the next moment, a temple rose from the ground.

It was a simple narrative: the story of Morgan le Fay's familiar crows in battle. After the death of one crow, she ordered her knight to build a temple to commemorate it.

Li Xiang sighed inwardly, feeling a deeper connection to the story. After all, he had lived through the life of a crow in that illusion. For all her cruelty, Morgan le Fay had a soft spot for her crows.

After examining the images, Elena shifted her focus to the damaged lock. "It looks like someone got here before us."

"That doesn't make sense," Pascal interjected. "If someone had come before us, why are the guardians still present?"

Li Xiang's thoughts immediately turned to Sapp, the guardian who had possessed his body. Out of the eight lizard creatures, one had taken over Sapp's form. If someone had entered before them, it would explain why one of the creatures had been damaged.

Elena thought for a moment but didn't respond. She cast a levitation spell on herself, easily removing the broken fish-shaped key from the lock.

"The mist is clearing?"

Li Xiang noticed his vision widening. He turned to look back at the temple's interior. The once-dark space gradually brightened as though the sun was slowly rising. Neatly arranged marble columns became visible to everyone.

"Broken statues?"

Li Xiang spotted the remains of a statue about five meters away, lying at the base of one of the columns. He quickly scanned the area and found seven other statues in similar disrepair.

Recalling what Elena had said about the glowing stones, he guessed these statues had served as conduits for energy, or perhaps they were directly connected to the guardians' souls, allowing them to survive.

Approaching the nearest statue, Li Xiang immediately noticed something odd—a distinct hole in the center of the base, as though something like a spear had been thrust into it.

He let out a quiet hum of surprise and rushed to check the other statues, but none of them had similar damage.

"What did you find, Li Xiang?" Elena asked, noticing his odd behavior.

"You were right—someone was here before us," Li Xiang explained, returning to the bronze gate as the others looked on. "These eight statues served as energy converters for the eight guardians. They were likely magical artifacts, similar to the El-Melloi family's *Lunar Mare Elixir.* Since one of the statues was damaged, one of the guardians had no body and had to possess Sapp."

Elena thought for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go inside and see for ourselves."

She gave the bronze gate a gentle push.

With the sound of grinding gears, the massive door slowly slid inward, scraping the floor as it opened.

"Careful!"

Inside, they were greeted by a dense flock of crows. Elena immediately thought back to the terrifying experience on the ship and was about to cast a spell when Li Xiang spoke.

"They're just statues."

Elena blinked, then let out a relieved sigh, patting her chest. "Statues... of course."

The temple's interior was vast and empty, save for the countless statues of crows. Twelve people spread out, searching the temple for hidden doors or mechanisms.

Li Xiang, following the familiar line of crow statues, reached the center of the room. There, he saw the crow he had once inhabited during the illusion. This particular statue's pedestal was ten centimeters taller than the others, making it appear as though the other crows were bowing before their king.

Given what he knew about Morgan le Fay, Li Xiang doubted she would leave any unnecessary decorations. This temple likely had no secrets beyond the statues themselves.

Instead of searching further, he crouched down to inspect the craftsmanship of the statues. The bronze work was exquisite—almost an exact likeness of the crow he had inhabited in the illusion. While most people might think all crows looked the same, Li Xiang could see the individuality in this one.

"Wait a minute, there's an inscription here."

Li Xiang noticed something engraved on the pedestal of the crow statue. Previously, the statue had obscured it, but crouching down made the inscription visible.

He took a closer look at the writing—it was in a language he didn't recognize, an ancient script.

"Elena, I found an inscription. Can you send this to the archaeology department for translation?"