644: Vessels of Kingship! And the Mysterious Iron Ball!
"Bang~"
The Dragon Book transformed into a Paper-Folded Fire-Breathing Dragon, falling from the high altitude like a fireball to the ground.
At the most critical moment, Warwick used "Summoning the Demon God," fully utilizing all the historical materials within his own sovereign book, summoning a Paper-Folded Demon God.
Simultaneously, the Paper-Folded Demon God used the Demon God's curse on the ground, transforming the ground into soft black cotton, which protected the four of them from sustaining any injuries during the rapid descent.
As the Paper-Folded Demon God disappeared, the ground returned to its original state.
Warwick carefully checked the ground to ensure that Locke's choice to descend suddenly had not caused any damage to the ground of this city.
Warwick said: "This city is so precious and holds so many great discoveries; it must not suffer any damage."
"Even if it comes to that, the four of us can continue to explore this city; even if we form a small club for this, it would definitely not be an exaggeration."
Warwick said: "We must try our best to protect this city so it won't be affected. Of course, if we really encounter danger, we won't be able to care about that much."
Locke looked toward where they had fallen, seeing that it was in front of a giant statue.
The statue was also crafted from M-type magic granite; it was a statue of a woman that looked vivid and lifelike.
She was wearing the formal attire of the Age of Stars.
In front of her were three magic pet dogs, each holding a magic leash; these leashes were not statues but some kind of real material sealed by magic.
At the same time, next to the statue of the Weaving Princess was a prototype of a weaving machine and a prototype of a steam engine. At the feet of the statue, there were some strange gadgets offered as tributes.
However, as time passed, the magic on them had faded with the days and months, and the tools themselves had decayed into junk.
Witch Shirley observed the three leashes and said: "These leashes... seem to be some kind of rubber band. Did the Age of Stars already have such high-strength artificial polymers?"
Warwick said: "Moreover, there are prototypes of steam engines and weaving machines here, and it is written on them—'Dedicated to the Princess who developed these things.'"
"If that is the case, this Weaving Princess should be one of the sources of the historical fragment where steam machines were rampant in history."
He rubbed his hands together. "This is truly a great discovery."
"It was truly a trip worth taking."
Locke looked at the statue of this Weaving Princess; her face was beautiful, but her eyes were ethereal. The sculpting wizard had vividly captured that touch of melancholy in the princess's expression back then.
At this moment, the princess seemed to be looking into the distance, waiting for someone who could never return.
The princess waited bitterly, but that person could never return.
The princess looked sad, using her eyes to accuse fate of being ruthless.
Locke saw a sentence carved at the feet of the princess statue—'People of later generations should express your respect to the Princess who pioneered a great era; this is a respect for those who walk the path of seeking truth.'
'Please bow to the Princess once to show your respect.'
Witch Shirley also followed Locke's gaze and saw the words above. "This tomb has tried to kill us several times, yet it has the nerve to ask us to express respect to the Princess."
Locke sighed. "It's just a means to guard against tomb raiders. However, since that's the case, bowing once is no big deal."
"It should be considered a sign of respect for a fellow traveler on the path of exploring truth. The dead are to be respected."
Locke bowed once to the statue.
Witch Shirley thought for a moment and followed Locke in bowing to the statue, and Wizard Warwick followed suit as well.
Only Wizard McKinley sneered and did not make any movement.
When Locke raised his head, he saw three lines of text carved on the inside of the princess statue's skirt.
If one didn't bow, it would probably be hard to discover them at the first moment.
This angle was too tricky.
I'm afraid it could only be discovered when investigating carefully in the future.
The first line of 'text' was—'He left, and he will never return. My heart died with his departure.'
The second line of 'text' was—'He thought everything in this era was too simple for him. He believed himself to be the protagonist of this world, so he stirred up the clouds and rain. I acted with him, and the long success made us truly believe we were gods. But we encountered a real crisis for the first time, the Black Sun Tower hidden behind the Age of Stars...'
Locke's pupils shrank suddenly.
Because he had heard of the Black Sun Tower.
Only heard of it once.
When he was still a mortal, on the Corfu Continent, he heard Count Augustine tell him that his mother was hunted by the Black Sun Tower, fled in a hurry to the Corfu Continent, and married him.
The two gave birth to three children.
Big brother, himself, and little sister.
"Black Sun Tower..." Locke muttered to himself, "I didn't expect that such a name would appear in an ancient tomb of the Age of Stars."
"Could it be that the Black Sun Tower is not a force of the Modern Magic Era at all?"
"But if that's the case, why would my mother in this body... say that she was being hunted by the Black Sun Tower?"
"What exactly does she want!"
Locke looked at the third line of text, which was a warning.
'People of later generations who express respect to me. As a reward and pity for your respect, do not touch any of the tributes under this statue; that is a trap that summons death.'
Locke was suddenly shocked, but at this moment, Wizard McKinley had already walked in front of the statue and put on a pair of gloves, touching the mechanism tribute in front of the statue.
Wizard McKinley's eyes flashed with interest. "Look at this crossbow bolt embedded with a magic gem. This crossbow bolt is made with a special rubber band. I dare say some Alchemy School magic of later generations was definitely influenced by it."
"This... ah..."
The moment his palm touched the crossbow bolt, his entire right hand was immediately gnawed by some kind of red insect from the place he touched, and his entire right hand turned into white bone in an instant, simultaneously spreading toward his body.
Wizard Warwick was shocked. "It's magic from the Insect Curse school!"
"The Insect Curse school has life-homologous magic that can bypass the Eternal Defense Field! The moment the wizard made contact, it launched an Insect Curse based on physical contact. The insect curse is like the wizard's own limb, so it can ignore the Eternal Defense Field! How can there be such a high-level trap in this ancient tomb!"
The next moment, Wizard McKinley held a wizard sword in his left hand and cut off his right arm, which finally stopped the spread of the Insect Curse.
It was fortunate that he was decisive; otherwise, his entire body would have been eroded clean.
However, countless insects with elytra grew from his severed arm, and these insects flew directly toward Wizard McKinley's face.
In an instant, Wizard McKinley's expression changed drastically.
But the next moment, countless insects collided with the wall composed of the emerald green Life Force Field.
These insects were only homologous to Wizard McKinley, so they were identified as his own limbs by his Eternal Defense Field, and thus could ignore his Eternal Defense Field.
But they could not pass through Locke's Eternal Defense Field.
At this moment, these insects collided with the Life Force Field like a car traveling at full speed hitting a wall, immediately breaking their heads and bleeding, dying one by one.
And Wizard McKinley was still panting heavily. "Thank you... Wizard Augustine."
Warwick said: "Everyone, don't let your guard down. Damn it, McKinley, you bastard."
"The trap has been activated..."
I saw that at this moment, the ground beneath their feet was heaving like sunken plasticine, and at the same time, pieces of granite bricks and stones were falling downward.
I saw that beneath their feet was actually a Bottomless Abyss.
It was pitch black.
And at this moment, there was a no-fly formation of the Protection School here.
Moreover, all the streets centered on this statue collapsed downward in an instant.
Therefore, the four could only fall down.
Warwick said: "McKinley, you damn troublemaker."
Wizard McKinley also looked pale. "How would I know that there would be such a high-level Insect Curse here!"
"How can there be a trap with a killing move at every step? I have already worn specially treated magic gloves. The design level of this city is far beyond the ancient tombs of the same era!"
Locke said: "The plant groups below in various places..."
At this moment, below were actually all kinds of ancient First Ring level Cannibal Flowers, and there were even a few Second Ring level Cannibal Flowers. These types of Cannibal Flowers were primitive and numerous; some were plants that had already gone extinct in the modern era.
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
With a single glance, Locke saw ancient and powerful cannibalistic magic plants, such as the Venus Giant Pitcher Plant, the Exploding Seed Sandbox Tree, and the Molten Throat Big-Mouthed Cannibal Flower.
Moreover, at this moment, a massive amount of Abyss Energy appeared behind these primitive cannibalistic plants, and all of them were being corroded by it.
Or rather, the area beneath this trap was originally a naturally occurring cannibalistic flower environment.
The moment the trap was triggered, the Abyss Energy erupted instantly, infecting all the plants and significantly enhancing these magic plants within a short period.
It transformed this primitive cannibalistic magic plant ecosystem into an Abyssal magic plant ecosystem.
Although this ecosystem was destined to be destroyed afterward, at this moment, it was so powerful that all four of them were enveloped in a massive wave of malice.
Wizard Warwick, McKinley, Locke, and Witch Shirley all summoned their sovereign books and utilized Summoning the Demon God.
They summoned the Paper-Folded Demon God, the Paper-Folded Fire-Breathing Dragon, the Paper-Folded Thunderbird, and the Paper-Folded Phoenix.
Witch Shirley's sovereign book was a Phoenix Book.
Even with the four Paper-Folded Demon Gods, they were still besieged by the swarm of cannibalistic flowers; it looked as if the four of them were about to be overwhelmed by the endless tide of plants.
Warwick used the Innate Magic Eye of the Abyssal Werewolf—the Eye of Wisdom—to scan the entire trap. His expression immediately darkened. "No, there are too many cannibalistic flowers. Their combined magic pressure is far too powerful."
"We must find a path to fight our way out."
Witch Shirley shouted, "Fight our way out? Easier said than done!"
Witch Shirley slashed down a cannibalistic flower with her sword while quickly moving toward Locke. Clearly, in this moment of crisis, she couldn't care about much else and only wanted to protect herself and Locke first.
Wizard McKinley's expression was grim. "Everyone, think of something quickly!"
"Damn it, flight is forbidden here, otherwise we could just fly up. Wait... this Cannibal Flower Jungle seems to have been enchanted with some kind of magic; it has the property of automatic recovery..."
They watched as the cannibalistic flowers they had destroyed quickly restored themselves under the empowerment of a magical force.
Wizard Warwick's Eye of Wisdom swept over the area, quickly analyzing the situation. "These magic plants are afraid of water. Only flooding them can wipe them out. But this land has been placed under a Drought Curse; if we summon water, the ground will just swallow it up."
"We need a massive amount of water! We have to break the Drought Curse here!"
"Oh no, that second ring magic plant cannibal flower is looking this way."
A cannibalistic flower resembling a giant Abyssal worm turned toward them. Its mouth-like center gaped open, and internal spikes churned and rolled inward.
A massive suction force was applied toward the four of them.
Wizard Warwick's face changed drastically. "There's one more move. I can use Sealing Magic on all four of us simultaneously to dimensionally exile us, but that would send us back to a demiplane, and we'd have to find a way to come back in again."
"Everyone, give me ten minutes to cast the exile magic on you."
Locke glanced at him. "Warwick, I didn't know you were such a joker."
"We finally made it here with great difficulty."
"If it's magic plants, I have a way."
Locke chanted an incantation, and the Porcelain Moon inside the astral ring flew out automatically. A full moon that seemed to come from ancient times emerged behind Locke.
Under the illumination of this full moon's moonlight, the magic pressure of the surrounding cannibalistic magic plants reached its limit in an instant, and under the infection of Abyss Energy, their aggressiveness also reached its peak.
They launched a violent assault on the four of them.
The four of them suffered miserably.
However, such an attack only lasted for a moment.
In the next instant, all the cannibalistic magic plants began to wither rapidly, and one after another, the magic plants began to self-destruct because of the Abyss Energy.
Demonic energy overflowed everywhere.
Even that large magic plant that looked like a giant Abyssal worm began to sprout holes on its body surface, from which demonic energy surged out.
Then, the entire magic plant exploded.
The Porcelain Moon behind Locke also underwent eight consecutive lunar phase changes.
Under the changes in lunar gravity, the second ring magic plant cannibal flower, which had been severely infected by Abyss Energy, was completely detonated.
Locke gritted his teeth; trying to pull the second ring magic plant felt like using a small cart to pull a massive mountain.
If his Porcelain Moon hadn't been perfected to a certain extent, and if there hadn't been a design flaw in the trap itself—the Abyss Energy being far more ferocious than the designer had imagined—his Porcelain Moon would not have been able to affect a second ring magic plant.
The cannibalistic flower suddenly lifted its roots from beneath the soil; among them were real plant roots and many imaginary roots!
An iron ball flew out the moment it lifted its roots from the mud. Shirley lunged and caught it, not letting the iron ball from under the soil fly away.
At the same time, that Second Ring cannibal flower finally couldn't hold on any longer. Under the illumination of the Porcelain Moon Growth, the imaginary roots were also overrun by the Abyss Energy.
Then, all the roots exploded.
Locke took the opportunity to observe this scene, witnessing the self-destruction of this second ring magic plant.
This phenomenon was very rare for him at his current level.
To clearly see every part of a second ring magic plant perish step by step under the erosion of Abyss Energy was quite a luxury for a Breeder.
Without such a special coincidence, it would be difficult to see this normally.
Witch Shirley tossed the iron ball to Locke. "Here. You're the wizard who dealt with this second ring magic plant, so this thing should be yours."
By now, all the cannibalistic flowers on the ground had withered under the Porcelain Moon Growth.
The four of them were also covered in wounds.
They stood in the large pit filled with plant corpses and permeated with Abyss Energy, panting softly.
This trap... was truly brutal.
Every move was lethal.
Locke looked toward the spot where the second ring magic plant had fallen and saw a hidden statue of a little princess beneath the rotting plant parts.
The princess on the statue was still gazing into the distance while holding a crown in her hands.
Warwick and the others followed Locke's gaze and saw the crown.
Warwick looked at the crown, his throat bobbing. "No way. This couldn't be the crown of the Nameless King, could it?"
On the base of the statue, Locke saw an inscription: "My King, your expedition has concluded. The Black Sun Tower descended, destroying everything we built in an instant."
"This Vessel of Kingship has also turned to decay."
"I have preserved it for the next era. I have set layer upon layer of traps; will they be enough to shut out the gaze of the Black Sun Tower? Or does the Black Sun Tower no longer care for it?"
"The decayed Vessel of Kingship can no longer lead the era. Can it endure the ravages of time to be preserved and discovered by those of later generations?"
As Locke finished reading the text, the so-called Vessel of Kingship actually began to crumble.
Locke, Warwick, and the other two immediately opened their sovereign books to scan the crown, recording its negative energy particle field information before it completely disintegrated.
Warwick was incredibly excited. "I was wondering why these traps were so terrifying and lethal. It turns out such a huge secret was buried behind them. A Vessel of Kingship... in the archaeological discoveries of the Age of Stars, such a thing was never mentioned."
"What exactly is this thing?"
"Although it's a pity the Vessel of Kingship has decayed, the four of us have all preserved its negative energy field information. We'll compare notes later to see if there are any recording errors."
"It's just that these traps are meant to kill grave robbers of later generations, yet this princess seems to want people of the future to discover it."
Locke was silent for a moment before saying, "I might be able to understand the princess's conflicted mindset. She detests those who intrude upon her final resting place, but as someone who achieved something in that era, she also wants future generations to see everything she and her husband created."
"Or perhaps the princess had to put on a front, claiming these were mechanisms to prevent intrusion, while she actually wanted to tell future generations something. Things that were not permitted to be told to those who came after."