This discovery delighted Professor Orlando and the others. It seemed that this ancient tomb hadn’t been plundered by grave robbers, and the burial items were exceptionally well-preserved.
Accompanied by Professor Orlando, Leo explored the area and noticed that, apart from daily necessities, all the burial items were exclusively women’s belongings. Could this ancient tomb belong to a woman?
However, the most crucial matter wasn’t examining the tomb but realizing that Frederic was nowhere in this stone chamber.
After inspecting the area with a flashlight, Leo discovered that, aside from the passage they came through, there were two additional exits from this stone chamber!
Typically, such a chamber would only have one exit leading to the main chamber. The appearance of two opposing exits in the west and east corners complicated things.
Inside the ancient tomb, there were numerous traps, and taking the wrong path could be life-threatening. In such a situation, using the Dragon-Seeking Ruler for positioning was the best option. Leo asked Professor Orlando, “Do you have the Dragon-Seeking Ruler in your toolkit?”
Professor Orlando nodded, “Yes, but Frederic is carrying the toolkit with him. The compass and Dragon-Seeking Ruler are inside. Leo, what should we do now?”
Hearing this, Leo became even more distressed. The talismans had already been used up while searching for the entrance, and without the Dragon-Seeking Ruler or compass, it was like cooking without rice.
Now, there seemed to be only one solution.
Leo turned to the three people and asked, “Does anyone have a one-dollar coin?”
After rummaging in their pockets, Rita handed him a coin. Leo took the coin, muttered a few words under his breath, then tossed it into the air. He used his right hand to press it against his left hand’s back. After slowly moving his hand away, the coin’s reverse side was revealed.
“Head east for the obverse, west for the reverse. Let’s head west!”
Upon hearing this, Professor Orlando and the others were left speechless. The four exited the earthen chamber and proceeded into the tomb passage heading west.
The tomb passage lacked murals on the walls, and there were no luminous stones on the ceiling. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, providing a refreshing sensation upon inhalation.
Despite the unique fragrance, Leo felt a sense of vigilance. “It smells so good,” Rita couldn’t help but exclaim, taking quick steps forward into a stone chamber at the end of the tomb passage.
The others followed suit.
Once they saw the scene inside the stone chamber, Leo was shocked to the point of almost dropping his jaw. The scene couldn’t be described simply as eerie; it was downright supernatural and eerie in a terrifying way.
In the center of the chamber was an iron throne, and seated on it was a nude female sculpture. The sculpture’s face was obscured, and it wore a black crown of an unknown material.
Surrounding the throne in a circular pattern were three rows of kneeling, nude male sculptures. They held their hands up, lips parted, gazing at the female sculpture on the throne with an expression of devotion.
“Rita, don’t touch the crown!” Leo shouted, but it was too late.
Rita ascended the steps leading to the throne, approached it, removed the crown from the female sculpture’s head, and placed it on her own.
As soon as she put it on, the crown emitted three black beams of light, simultaneously targeting Leo, Professor Orlando, and Brook.
Leo felt his body warming up, and the entire stone chamber turned into a sauna. Then, uncontrollably, they began stripping off their clothes.
Professor Orlando and Brook experienced the same. In no time, the three of them stood completely naked, staring fixedly at Rita, who was standing on the steps of the throne.
Rita’s eyes were pitch-black, and her face bore a peculiar smile.
Leo and the others slowly knelt down, raising their hands high and parting their lips simultaneously.
At this moment, a black ribbon-like breath emanated from the black crown, entering their mouths and connecting them to the crown.
Leo felt his life and consciousness slowly draining away, like sand slipping through an hourglass.
In Leo’s mind, consciousness suddenly struck, and his heart trembled. Then, awareness returned, and the black ribbon linking him vanished.
Witnessing this bizarre scene and realizing the mischief of the black crown, Leo hurriedly dashed to the throne, removed the crown from Rita’s head, and forcefully threw it to the ground, shattering it.
Rita collapsed on the floor, and Professor Orlando and Brook also fell unconscious.
Leo first woke Rita up. “What happened to me? It was so strange. I seemed to have a dream. I was crowned as a queen, and my subjects devoutly worshiped me,” Rita mumbled to herself after waking up.
Leo then checked Professor Orlando and Brook’s conditions. After using spiritual energy to stimulate their minds, the two only stirred slightly but didn’t wake up.
Leo knew that the two had absorbed too much spiritual energy from the black crown. It would take some time for them to recover, so he told Rita, “Rita, stay here and watch over Professor Orlando and Brook. They’ll wake up shortly. I’ll go find Frederic.”
After saying that, Leo left the stone chamber and entered the passage.
Leo now sensed that they were nearing the main tomb of the ancient tomb. Judging from the peculiar chamber, the tomb’s occupant was unlikely to be an emperor or noble. Leo had a conjecture, but its accuracy could only be confirmed upon entering the main tomb.
Frederic probably didn’t take the same passage as Leo and Professor Orlando. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have escaped the bewitching effect of the black crown. Leo hoped that guy was okay.
It was another quiet passage, not too long, without any traps. Using a flashlight, Leo traversed it safely until he entered the main tomb.
The main tomb was spacious, and shining the flashlight around didn’t reveal the overall outline. In the center of the main tomb was a circular structure resembling a pool, with something seemingly floating on top. Leo walked toward it.
Approaching, Leo couldn’t help but retch when he saw the scene and smelled the pungent odor.
Before him was a circular pool, but it wasn’t filled with water; it was blood!
Thick, nauseating blood emitted a repugnant smell.
This pool of blood made Leo shudder, and his spine chilled. This ancient tomb had a history of at least several hundred years, yet this blood pool hadn’t dried up. How was that possible?
What was even more terrifying was the sight of a floating coffin on the blood pool.
A wooden coffin lay peacefully on the blood, covered in complex and strange patterns. The colors of the patterns matched the blood in the pool, and upon closer inspection, those patterns seemed to be flowing.
Blood pool and floating coffin-this tomb was anything but ordinary!
Walking to the other side of the coffin, Leo suddenly saw a person sitting by the edge of the blood pool. If not Frederic, then who?
Leo called out to him a couple of times, but there was no response. As he approached, he saw Frederic sitting there, pale-faced, lifeless eyes, devoid of any expression, with his right hand reaching into the blood pool, a bloodstain visible on his wrist as fresh blood continuously dripped into the pool.