Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 856: The Tomb That Drew Them All

The figures below formed an overwhelming tide of Carnage Faction players, spread across the valley like ants swarming a carcass. That alone explained why the surrounding area was eerily empty of monsters. Everything along their path had already been systematically wiped out.

From his vantage point in the air, Ethan watched as the ground farther ahead began to convulse. Graves burst open one after another, coffins shattering as undead figures clawed their way out. Every single one was a Level 60 Elite. That finally explained the broken coffins they had noticed earlier, though it was clear not every grave was spawning a creature.

The players were advancing, but at a painfully slow pace. It was obvious they had spent a long time pushing this far into the valley. That meant the monsters here were not on a respawn cycle. Once cleared, they stayed gone.

Another detail caught Ethan’s attention. Despite their sheer numbers, easily tens of thousands, this was not a unified force. Guild banners were scattered and inconsistent, and many players fought alone or in loose, improvised groups. There was little coordination, no central command. Yet all of them were moving in the same direction, pressing deeper into the valley.

Why push inward like this, unless something was waiting at the end?

The thought settled heavily in his mind. Ethan immediately opened his interface and sent Leo a message. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Leo, listen up. About ten klicks ahead there’s a massive Carnage Faction push, at least ten thousand players, moving toward the valley’s center. Stay where you are. I’m heading back for you. We’re flying over them. Whatever’s at the end looks important, and it might be tied to your quest."

Minutes later, Ethan was airborne again, Leo clinging to his back in Eagle Form as they soared above the grinding Carnage players below. None of them noticed the shadow passing overhead as the two cut straight toward the heart of the valley.

Another ten kilometers brought the terrain to an abrupt end. The valley terminated in a sheer cliff face that rose like a wall, cutting off any further path forward.

Ethan slowed and descended. Set into the rock face was a massive opening, freshly blasted open. The ground below was littered with shattered stone, boulders cracked apart and scattered outward.

He landed and crouched near the debris, brushing his hand over a fractured rock. "This was blown open," he said quietly. "Someone’s already inside."

The sharp, acrid scent of black powder still clung to the stone. Ethan was not a Rogue, but he had enough experience to know the explosion was recent.

Hearing this, Leo’s expression darkened. From the air, the structure of the cliff had already stood out to him. This was not a natural cave. It was a tomb, large and deliberate in its construction. And that meant there was no doubt about it. This was the resting place mentioned in his quest, the burial site of the Brewmaster’s apprentice.

A surge of frustration hit him all at once. He had been wandering around like a fool, digging up random graves scattered across the valley. If Ethan had not been able to scout from above, Leo might have wasted weeks chasing false leads, only to discover the real target had been taken by someone else.

He resisted the urge to smack himself.

"Let’s go," Leo said, urgency bleeding into his voice. He pointed upward at the cliff face. Dozens of ropes still hung down from above, swaying slightly. Clear proof that many people had already entered.

Ethan nodded, and together they stepped into the gaping entrance.

The moment they crossed the threshold, a bone-deep chill seeped into them, unnatural and immediate, as though the air itself rejected their presence.

"Bodies," Ethan said softly.

Just a dozen meters in, three corpses lay sprawled across the stone floor. Their owners had already released their spirits and respawned, but Ethereal only cleared physical remains during the daily server reset. Judging by the state of the bodies, they had died less than an hour ago.

Ethan crouched to examine them. Their equipment was solid, nothing flashy but clearly high-level, likely players in the forty-five to fifty range. Yet they were dead.

"Did someone kill them after they got inside?" Leo asked, frowning. "Or were they the first ones in?"

He knelt closer, studying the wounds, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Wait," Leo said slowly. "These injuries... they’re wrong."

Ethan looked up. "Wrong how?"

"Angles," Leo replied, pointing. "Side strikes. Back strikes. This wasn’t a fair fight. They were hit from behind."

Ethan straightened. "You’re saying they turned on each other?"

"Not each other," Leo said, shaking his head. "Their own people. Someone followed them in and ambushed them."

That explanation clicked immediately.

"The ones outside probably got tipped off," Ethan said. "These three find the tomb, die, respawn, and spread the word. Reinforcements rush in, and the first group gets wiped to clear the path."

He glanced deeper into the darkness ahead. "We need to move. Fast. There’s no telling how many more are coming."

They pressed forward, moving several hundred meters into the tomb. The darkness inside was far thicker than the gloomy fog outside, swallowing light rather than reflecting it. Without Leo’s Dark Vision gear, they would have been blind beyond a few steps. Even now, their visibility extended no more than twenty meters before dissolving into pitch-black nothingness.

Eventually, the tunnel opened into a junction that split into three separate paths.

"This one," Ethan said immediately, turning left without hesitation.

Leo hurried after him. "You didn’t even think about it. How do you know?"

Ethan slowed just enough to gesture downward. "Footprints. The other two paths have tracks going in and out. This one only has prints going in. Nobody’s come back."

Leo stopped and looked more closely. He sucked in a breath. Ethan was right. The conclusion was obvious. Whatever lay ahead, no one who entered this passage had returned.

"Damn," Leo muttered. "Good catch."

"You’re rattled," Ethan said calmly. "Otherwise you would’ve noticed. You didn’t survive the military by missing things like this."

Leo scratched the back of his head and gave a crooked smile, not bothering to argue.

They continued another two hundred meters. The darkness grew heavier, almost thick enough to feel, as though the stone itself was devouring the light. Ethan ran his hand along the wall, fingers brushing over something strange.

"Pigment," he said. "Light-absorbent."

He frowned, eyes narrowing. "This isn’t some nobody’s grave. Whoever this apprentice was, he wasn’t insignificant. If this is truly his tomb, then he died with power. Maybe even as a lord."

The atmosphere pressed down harder with every step. Leo had drawn his black-iron staff, gripping it tightly, knuckles pale. His breathing was shallow, his shoulders tense.

"You alright?" Ethan asked, noticing the sweat forming on Leo’s brow despite the cold.

"I... I don’t know," Leo admitted. "Something feels wrong."

"Claustrophobia?" Ethan asked, watching him carefully.

"No way," Leo said quickly. "I couldn’t have served if I had that. It’s not the space. It’s... something else. It feels heavy."

"Dread?" Ethan prompted. "Shortness of breath?"

Leo hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah."

"That’s still how claustrophobia can start," Ethan said, stepping closer and placing a steadying hand against Leo’s chest. "Slow down. Breathe. Control your heart rate. I used to deal with it too."

Leo shook his head firmly, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. "No. This isn’t in my head. I feel it now. It’s coming from deeper inside. A presence. Like something powerful is pressing down on me."

His gaze strained forward, piercing only a few meters into the black.

Ethan stopped moving. He felt nothing at all.