“Step back!” Leo waved his hand, and the vampires retreated to the edge of the platform.
Soon, with a rumbling sound, the platform began to sink into the ground.
In just a few seconds, the platform with the giant coffin disappeared, replaced by an oval-shaped opening.
It was clear that this opening led to an underground passage.
Leo exchanged glances with the vampires before they all leaned forward to look inside, seeing a spiral staircase leading deep underground.
Elder Archibald exclaimed, “I never imagined there would be a secret passage beneath the tomb!”
The appearance of the passage made Leo feel that the treasure was within his grasp. “If nothing goes wrong, we’ll soon see the legendary treasure of King Solomon.”
“Congratulations, Master!” The vampires quickly praised him.
Leo waved his hand downward. “Let’s go down.”
The spiral staircase was long and deep. It took them about seven or eight minutes to reach the bottom.
The air at the bottom was damp and smelled musty.
Leo conjured a fireball for illumination.
When they saw their surroundings clearly, Leo and the vampires were stunned again.
The underground layout seemed to be a temple.
On both sides of the temple were twelve statues of ancient warriors.
The statues had wings on their backs and heads that were a mix of human and wolf. Especially their eyes, which reflected a bloodthirsty gleam in the firelight.
At the front of the temple was a large altar with a massive statue that was even more terrifying than the warrior statues.
At a glance, the statue on the altar seemed to be a grotesque hybrid of a human and a scorpion.
Moreover, the statue’s surface wasn’t stone-gray but had a deep metallic color.
“What’s with these creepy things?” Leo was puzzled.
Elder Archibald had already walked up to the altar and started reading an inscription on it.
Soon, Elder Archibald turned back excitedly. “Master, I know now. This is Harmon, the god of death worshipped by the ancient Nabateans.”
“Oh, that explains it,” Leo nodded.
Many cultures placed statues of death gods in their tombs.
“Do Muslims worship death gods? Aren’t they monotheistic and only believe in Allah?” Duke Angus couldn’t help but ask.
“Islam emerged in the 6th to 7th centuries AD. The Nabatean Kingdom predates it by far, so they had their own unique beliefs,” Elder Archibald explained.
“Then why does Kazni Temple worship Islamic prophets and Allah?” Duke Angus asked again.
“Petra had many rulers after the Nabatean Kingdom, leading to some religious integration,” Elder Archibald explained again.
“Enough with this useless talk,” Leo said impatiently. “Finding the treasure is more important.”
The vampires spread out and began searching the hall.
Soon, Duke Barnett excitedly shouted, “I found it! Over here!”
Leo and the vampires quickly walked over and saw a large stone door behind Harmon’s terrifying figure, silently closed.
Leo pushed open the stone door, revealing a deep tunnel filled with an unpleasant musty smell.
Another tunnel. Leo felt a headache coming on but could only stride forward guided by the firelight.
After about twenty or thirty steps, they entered a massive hall, at least a thousand square meters in size.
In this uneven hall were hundreds of rusty wooden and iron chests covered in dust and cobwebs.
Faintly, corners of rotting wooden chests glimmered with golden light in the fire’s reflection!
“Hurry, open them,” Leo said, barely containing his excitement.
The vampires couldn’t hold back either and quickly opened over ten chests.
With a dull thud, dust rose into the air, revealing a dazzling glow.
The golden glow came from gold bricks, heavy and solid.
The silver glow came from exquisitely crafted silverware and decorations.
The colorful glow came from diamonds, each one breathtakingly brilliant.
For a moment, everyone was mesmerized by this mountain of treasure.
Any one of these chests contained enough wealth for someone to live lavishly for ten lifetimes.
In total, the wealth in these hundreds of chests was astronomical!
After a long while, Leo finally exclaimed, “King Solomon’s treasure! Wealth that has slept for over two thousand years is finally in my hands.”
“Congratulations, Master,” Prince Devon said with a tinge of bitterness but forced a smile on his face.
“But this wealth is secondary. What we really want is The Ark of the Covenant. Open all the chests,” Leo said eagerly as he remembered their main goal.
“Yes, Master.” The vampires immediately got to work opening all the chests.
In an instant, despite the rising dust, the alluring glow of wealth almost blinded them.
Leo’s face darkened. “It’s not here? The Ark of the Covenant should be with the treasure. Did it grow legs and walk away? Search everywhere!”
“Yes.” The vampires were also puzzled and began searching around.
Soon, Duke Aubrey called out, “Look! There’s another cave here. But it’s strange.”
Leo and the vampires quickly walked over to see a heavy stone door in front of them.
What Duke Aubrey found strange were the odd symbols on the door, which seemed to be some kind of seal!
“Master, this looks like a seal,” Elder Archibald said.
“A seal?” Leo’s heart skipped a beat. “Could The Ark of the Covenant be inside?”
Angus stepped forward eagerly. “Master, let me break the seal.”
Leo nodded and stepped back with the other vampires.
Angus carefully examined the stone door before raising his hands.
A blood mist-like aura appeared between Angus’s hands, growing thicker until it looked like solidified blood floating in mid-air.
Then Angus shouted and thrust his hands forward.
The solidified blood mist shot out powerful blood light, striking the seal on the stone door.
With a dull sound, the stone door trembled. At the same time, the seal on it glowed faintly gold, resisting the blood light’s impact.
Three seconds later, Angus screamed as he was thrown back by a powerful counterforce, white smoke rising from his body.