Chapter 25: Myth and Legend

"Legends? What legends?" Charles asked curiously, welcoming a story to pass the time on their journey.

Uldir chuckled, "I heard it from the old hunters in the village a long time ago. There's a legend that long ago, the human race and the snake people tribes had a tremendous war. The human champion, known as 'Ares the War God', and the snake queen Medusa faced off right here at Remarkable Rock Summit..."

Uldir's storytelling ability was undeniable, and Charles listened with rapt attention.

"...The fierce battle between Ares and Medusa lasted three days and nights, ending with both of them dying. Ares, petrified upon death, turned into what is now known as Remarkable Rock Summit, while Medusa's dying blood became the pool at the mountain's base, known as the [Bloody Pool]." As he finished the myth, Uldir looked toward a distant human-shaped mountain peak, his face filled with reverence.

Charles couldn't help but praise the tale, "That's a fantastic legend! It does explain why the Ferocious Beast Mountains are a no-man's land, since neither humans nor snake people truly defeated the other."

Uldir waved his hand dismissively, "But don't take it too seriously. Legends are, after all, just legends. If it were true, why wouldn't there be any record of this war in the history books?"

Their engaging story attracted several nearby hunters, one of whom laughed and said, "Speaking of legends, I heard from the Boss that this year the Bloody Pool will dry up, revealing a tomb containing the relics of War God Ares..."

The hunter was about to continue when a cough from Felix up ahead made him abruptly stop speaking.

With this warning from the Second Boss, no one else dared to speak, and the journey became boring once more. However, Charles suddenly realized that the path Felix was leading seemed familiar.

As they passed through the bushes, wasn't this the very place he had seen Aria bathing last night? But how had the pond... disappeared?

"Could the legend of the great battle between humans and snake people be real? Is this actually the legendary Bloody Pool?" Charles muttered under his breath.

It was strange; just last night there had been a significant pond here, how could it have dried up so quickly?

Rumbling—

A loud engine noise came from a distance.

Charles looked over and saw several high-powered diesel pumps tirelessly drawing water from the bloody pool and channeling it into a nearby stream. Witnessing this scene, Charles found it hard to keep his composure. Could it be... that these pumps were also foretold in the mythological prophecies?

As the water was drained, the soft mud and sand beneath became exposed. Charles watched his step to avoid sinking.

Following the crowd towards the middle of the drained pond, Charles spotted a depression in the ground that seemed indeed to be a tomb!

In the now dry pond, hundreds of fierce-looking individuals stood, each armed, swarming into the passage.

Seeing this, Felix clenched his teeth in anger: "I had my eye on this tomb half a year ago, and the Big Boss kept delaying the dig. I have no idea who leaked the information, but why are so many people here today?"

Felix's words, spoken in front of Charles, were an admission of his involvement in tomb raiding. Caught up in his frustration, he seemed to care little about discretion at that moment.

One by one, grave robbers emerged from the entrance of the tomb, each displaying a look of disappointment, apparently finding nothing of value.

By the time it was Felix and his group's turn to descend, it was already the afternoon.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Charles followed Felix's team into the tomb chamber.

The stone steps underfoot, overgrown with aquatic plants, required careful navigation to prevent slipping.

As Charles entered the chamber, a chill air enveloped him.

The tomb chamber was not large, in fact, it was quite plain. One sarcophagus bore inscriptions resembling 'stop the war here', while another was empty, marked with inscriptions Charles could not understand.

At that moment, Aria was transfixed by a bronze division vessel in front of the sarcophagus, seemingly lost in thought.

After searching the chamber and finding nothing, Felix began cursing out loud. Suddenly, his attention turned to the skeleton in the sarcophagus: "This coffin contains the bones of an ancient power, still imbued with substantial elemental energy. Take these remains out of here!"

Charles was stunned by this revelation!

Why would they want to take the remains back—could the bones of this ancient being actually be used for something like making potions?

Just as Charles was about to turn away and leave, his gaze landed on the bronze division censer that Aria had been looking at. Suddenly, a few lines of information flashed before his eyes.

[Sacrificial Censer: Made of bronze division material, it appears to be used for burning incense in rituals but actually serves as a switch to open a secret passage.]

Seeing this prompt, Charles shivered: Could there be a hidden compartment in this tomb?

If the legend Uldir mentioned was true, there might be treasures hidden below!

Charles wasn't particularly squeamish, and since the tomb had already been discovered, if there were treasures to be found and he didn't take them, they would inevitably be taken by other grave robbers.

Charles was indeed eager to go treasure hunting immediately, but with so many people around and after the lesson from the [lightning demon ape], he decided not to share this discovery with anyone.

Keeping a found treasure to oneself—only a fool would do otherwise.

After leaving the tomb, the group returned to the camp.

Sitting by the campfire, Felix chuckled and passed a skewer of roasted meat to Charles: "Charlie, I'll be honest with you, I've been in the tomb raiding business for over a decade, disguising it as a hunting party. If you don't mind, you could join me. I can't promise much, but within three years you'll have a big house and a beautiful wife. What do you say?"

"Thank you for the offer, Second Boss, but I have prior commitments with friends. And I'm rather faint-hearted; tomb raiding isn't for me." Charles bowed politely to Felix and then turned to head to his own tent.

Watching Charles walk away, Felix's expression turned sinister: "He knows what I do and still refuses to join? Does he want to stay alive?"

He gulped down a drink, then signaled to someone nearby: "Keep an eye on him, don't let him get away!"

"Yes, Second Boss!"

---

Lying in his tent, Charles peered through the zipper gap towards the campfire.

"Felix is ruthless, and now that I know his secret, he probably won't let me go easily."

With the night long and full of dreams, Charles planned to escape under the cover of darkness, grab the treasures from the Bloody Pool tomb first, and then meet up with the main forces from Lsengard.

As for Aria... Charles couldn't concern himself with her now, and with her capabilities, Felix might not be a match for her.

Having planned his escape, Charles stuffed all his personal belongings into his [storage space], leaving only the tent bedding and a dummy fashioned from blankets under the covers.

After the tomb-raiding team had eaten and drunk their fill, they gradually returned to their tents.

Tonight was a moonless night, with clouds covering the sky, and in the pitch-dark woods, only the dying embers of the campfire provided any light.

Waiting until the snores around him grew steady, Charles silently slipped out of the tent and stealthily left the camp, darting into the woods and then sprinting towards the direction of the Bloody Pool.

Charles pushed himself to his limit speed.

Though he had camouflaged his tent, a simple check would reveal the deception, and Felix would surely lead a group towards the Bloody Pool once he discovered the ruse.

Charles knew he needed to speed up.

Running away might have been the safer option, but risk often correlates with reward, and Charles was willing to take that gamble!

Gasping for breath, Charles finally reached the Bloody Pool after half an hour of relentless running. The area was deserted, the large diesel engines previously there had disappeared.

He guessed the tomb raiders, seeing no profit to be made here, had moved on to another location.

Charles cautiously approached the center of the pond.

Without the pumps, water was slowly seeping back into the pond, but at this rate, Charles estimated it wouldn't flood before daylight.

After triple-checking that no one was around, Charles darted into the tomb chamber.

Truth be told, visiting a tomb in the middle of the night was somewhat terrifying, but as someone who had transmigrated, Charles didn't believe in ghosts or goblins.

He carefully approached the bronze division censer, first checking for any hidden traps, before finally placing his hands on it.

"Click, click—"

Due to the sediment blockage, Charles had to use all his strength to turn the censer. After it had rotated a full circle, a slight tremor occurred in the tomb.

A hidden entrance appeared in the center of the tomb!

Just as Charles was about to enter, sudden footsteps sounded from behind...