"Rise, Lisbon."

Raylo set down his quill.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better, my lord."

Lisbon rose to his feet, a bitter expression on his face.

"It’s just... there are some things I can’t forget."

Raylo gestured for him to sit, while Ed stood silently behind Raylo like a statue.

The study was quiet, with only the faint crackling of the flame in the fireplace.

Moonlight, who was dozing on the rug before the fireplace, lazily lifted her eyelids. Her pale gold eyes glanced at Lisbon before closing again.

"Tell me, what exactly did you encounter in the Black Stone Mountain Range?"

Raylo got straight to the point.

Lisbon’s body tensed instinctively, as if he had been plunged back into a memory he couldn’t bear to revisit.

He was silent for a moment before he slowly began to speak.

"We went for an ancient ruin. An old mercenary in the corps happened upon a partial map that pointed to an ancient tomb deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range. It was said that an ancient monarch was buried inside, with burial goods enough to drive a kingdom mad."

"Our Corps Leader, ’Iron Fist’ Rosde, was a powerful Sky Knight. Under his leadership, over a hundred elites of our Mercenary Corps marched into the mountains in a great procession."

At this, deep sorrow filled Lisbon’s eyes.

"We found the tomb’s entrance, but from the moment we stepped into the passage, everything became a nightmare. Countless skeletons crawled out from the ground, still clad in decaying armor and wielding rusted weapons, charging us without fear of death. They weren’t ordinary skeletal Undead; they were swift, their coordination was flawless, like a well-trained army."

"We lost nearly half our brothers, fighting our way to the depths of the tomb over the bones of our comrades."

Lisbon’s voice began to tremble, and his breathing grew ragged.

"That... that wasn’t a tomb, my lord... It was a barracks, a barracks for the dead. A massive underground cavern, filled with an army. Thousands upon thousands of them, all Knights in jet-black armor. They stood there silently, motionless, like statues."

"And at the very front of the army, on the highest point, was a throne carved from gold."

Raylo leaned forward slightly. He knew the crucial part was coming.

"Someone was sitting on the throne."

Lisbon’s pupils contracted abruptly as fear washed over him once more.

"He was clad in a suit of Full Body Armor made of gold. Its golden light was so piercing in the dim underground space."

"The Corps Leader thought we had found the ultimate treasure. He wanted to go up and inspect the golden armor. But the moment he approached the throne..."

Lisbon gasped sharply, as if that terrifying scene was replaying right before his eyes.

"It... It opened its eyes."

"I’m not even sure if they were eyes. In the shadows above the throne, two points of golden light flared, like molten gold. Then, my head felt like it was smashed by an invisible Battle Hammer. The whole world started spinning, and my ears were filled with frantic shrieking. I saw my comrades around me fall one by one, clutching their heads and screaming, bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth."

"My last memory is of our Corps Leader. He roared, erupting with all his Fighting Spirit, and charged the golden figure on the throne. After that... I don’t know anything else."

Lisbon clutched his head with both hands, his body trembling violently. Clearly, the mere memory was enough to push him to the brink of collapse again.

A dead silence fell over the study.

’A golden king, walking armor...’

The mad ramblings of the vagrant finally had a clear explanation.

Just the gaze of it awakening was enough to instantly shatter the minds of the dozens of elite Mercenaries present, leaving them either dead or driven mad.

He lifted his head, his gaze turning to the rolling Black Stone Mountain Range outside the window.

’An Undead Monarch... who has slept for a thousand years?’

A fiery glint flashed in Raylo’s eyes.

According to Lisbon’s description, the tomb was indeed very dangerous. Only a Knight at Tier Four Sky Knight or above could withstand the Spiritual Shock within.

And since ’Iron Fist’, a Tier Four Sky Knight, dared to charge this ’golden king’, the king’s Power should be no higher than Domain Level at most.

Based on prior intelligence, this golden king should be the ’Sun King’, Amun Ra.

Raylo had looked up information on this ’Sun King’. This king was once a powerful Catastrophe Level Knight who ruled a Kingdom with brutal Power before vanishing into history.

’He was Catastrophe Level in life. After death and the erosion of time, it would be impressive if he maintained Domain Level Power.’

Raylo decided to personally lead an expedition to this ’Sun King’s’ tomb.

He wouldn’t need many people, but they had to be elites at Tier Four or above. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Sun, Moonlight, Coal Ball, and Ed would be enough.

Except for himself, everyone in the party was Tier Four or higher.

But with his two contracted Giant Dragon partners, his own Spiritual Power was sufficient to resist the Spiritual Shock of a Catastrophe Level Magical Beast, so he could naturally handle this tomb.

The only consideration was whether the Golden Dragon Sun’s eight-meter-long body could enter the tomb.

After all, as the only Domain Level being in the expedition team, Sun was the decisive Power.

Fortunately, after seeing Sun’s body transformed by Moonlight’s Transformation Technique, Lisbon confirmed that while the entrance was rather narrow, the tomb’s interior was very spacious. Aside from the slightly cramped passageways, the other areas were large enough for the transformed mini-Golden Dragon to fight in.

In the deepest part of the tomb, even the Golden Dragon’s true hundred-meter-long draconic form wouldn’t be hindered in battle.

Raylo had always been decisive and swift. Since he had decided to investigate the Sun King’s tomb, he didn’t dally in the slightest.

「The next morning」

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the cold morning wind still carried the dampness of the mountains.

On the highest platform of Black Stone Castle, two magnificent Griffins were already prepared.

Raylo mounted his steed, Baofeng. The Storm Griffin King shook out its yellowish-brown Iron Feathers and let out a clear, piercing cry that seemed powerful enough to shatter clouds and stone.

Ed mounted his Thunderboltous Griffin, following closely behind.

Behind him, Lisbon, clutching the saddle tightly, had a pale face, whether from fear of heights or of returning to the ruin.

Beside them was a "petite" Golden Dragon.

Sun’s originally magnificent hundred-meter-long draconic body had been compressed to about eight meters by Moonlight’s Transformation Technique.

Although its size was reduced, the majesty originating from its Giant Dragon Blood was not diminished in the least.

"Let’s go."

Raylo gave the order.

Baofeng beat its wings forcefully, stirring up a powerful gust of air as its massive body shot into the sky.

Ed’s Thunderboltous Griffin followed right after, and the two Griffins quickly became two small dots on the horizon.

Behind them, several members of the Griffin Guard followed.

On the ground, Sun let out a low roar, spread its wings, and likewise kicked up a gale as it flew into the sky.

The silhouette of the Black Stone Mountain Range sped by below them, the continuous mountain ranges like the spine of the earth, majestic and desolate.

The wind at high altitude was extremely fierce, making their robes flap loudly.

The five-hour flight was tedious and long.

Lisbon huddled behind Ed, going from initial terror to mid-flight numbness, and now to complete exhaustion.

He forced himself to stay alert, trying to identify the terrain below and intermittently guiding them.

"My lord... it should... it should be in this area."

Lisbon’s voice was tinged with uncertainty.

"I remember that peak. It looks like a broken Long Spear."

Baofeng slowly descended, circling down to land in a relatively flat mountain hollow.

Sun also folded its wings and landed with a THUD, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The area was desolate, with only jagged, strange rocks and gnarled pine trees growing tenaciously in the crevices.

The surroundings were deathly still, with only the wind echoing through the valley, making a wailing sound.

"Where is the entrance?"

Ed asked in a low voice, holding up Lisbon, who could barely stand.

Lisbon looked around.

"I... I can’t remember clearly. It was dark then, and we were following the Mage from the corps... He used the map to find... a spot below a vine-covered cliff."

Raylo didn’t press him, merely observing the surroundings calmly.

Ed, meanwhile, gripped the hilt of his sword warily, scanning for any potential threats.

Just then, Moonlight, who had been dozing on Raylo’s shoulder, suddenly moved.

She leaped down gracefully, landing silently on the ground.

Moonlight stretched lazily, her pale gold, slitted pupils sweeping over the surrounding rock faces.