Chapter 68 The Lost Palace (1/2)

It was a ruin.

At first glance, the whole underground cave appeared cube-shaped. A gorgeous palace rested in the center. A moat filled with water surrounded the palace as though it was guarding it. The only way out of here was the stairway that the duo found previously.

”What in the world is this place...?”

Marlene stared speechlessly at the scene. Rhode fared slightly better because he had experienced much more than her. Compared to how Marlene reacted, Rhode stood still and silently recalled his knowledge about the origin of this ruin.

Although the two were considered the brightest amongst the youths, they were not omniscient beings after all. Rhode's knowledge was from the game, and Marlene's forte was magic. None of them were well-versed in archaeology. If there was a scholar with them, then perhaps he could figure out their location.

”Did you find any clues?”

Rhode calmed down. He waved his hand and signaled the black hound to scout ahead while they followed a distance behind. Nevertheless, Rhode didn't drop his guard even the slightest bit as he constantly swept his eyes over his surroundings.

The whole palace emitted a luxurious atmosphere. The pillars were intricately carved, and it appeared completely intact as though it was just built. A magic sphere was floating in the air. Under its brilliance, the shadows slowly melted away.

There were no corpse, no furniture, and no weapons.

Empty.

That was the first impression Rhode had when he toured the place.

In fact, the 'ruins' can't even be considered as ruins as they were largely intact without any blemishes. Strangely though, the place housed no everyday objects other than staircases, pillars, and sculptures.

Back in the game, Rhode had seen almost a thousand types of ruins. Although each of them was unique in their own way, at least they had weapons, armors or broken furniture lying around. All of them had traces of living activity of one kind of another. But this place is different. Everything was... seemingly dead. It was as if the entire area was devoid of life. Even the surrounding moat water didn't make a sound when it flowed.

”This place sure is strange.”

Rhode put down his sword and walked to a nearby pillar. His eyes scrutinized the complex text and patterns carved into the stone. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any clue about their situation. Just a little behind Rhode, Marlene was doing the same thing as well, but she actually found a clue faster than Rhode.

”I think it was built during the Fascarl Kingdom's era, Mr. Rhode.”

The Fascarl Kingdom was a mysterious kingdom at the beginning of the Creation Era. Despite being one of the strongest kingdoms at that time, it suddenly disappeared one day. Even in the historical records had only a few manuscripts about this kingdom.

The strange thing was how a country as powerful as they suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke. And no matter how hard the people searched, the Fascarl Kingdom's relics and ruins were nowhere to be found. Not even the Country of Light and Darkness had found the remains of the Fascarl Kingdom.

Regardless any country's wealth of knowledge, no one had the records of the Fascarl Kingdom even though the name of 'Fascarl' derived from a dragon spell in the Ancient Era.

A country that was this mysterious should contain valuable equipment.

”But there appears to be nothing in this place...”

With the help of the magic light, Rhode could see the end of the palace.

No treasure chest. No swords. No nothing. Only a lonely stone altar stood erect which made Rhode somehow feel sorry for it.

Just beside the altar were two knight sculptures. They wore a full plate armor with swords lifted towards the sky. It looked as though they were welcoming visitors as well as displaying their strength.

”Since there's nothing here, we should leave.”

Rhode was the type who wouldn't leave empty-handed, but this place was just too strange, and it made Rhode feel uneasy. If he died in the game, he still could resurrect. But he couldn't do that now, so he felt that if there was nothing worth spending time on, then retreating would be the best option.

Marlene was slightly discontented with Rhode's unfounded wariness, but she still followed his order and kept silent. When she stood up and planned to leave, at this moment, her squirrel familiar appeared from the darkness and ran towards her, squeaking frantically. Marlene's expression immediately changed.

”Mr. Rhode, they are here!”

F*ck it!

Rhode cursed inwardly but still maintained his calm exterior. He had predicted that those black-cloaked men would follow them into the cave. Frankly, it was the best place to bury them once he killed them since no one would know. Alas, their timing was unfavorable. If everything went according to plan, there wouldn't be a problem, but now they had accidentally uncovered an unknown ruin which was a hidden factor that Rhode didn't anticipate!