Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The people of the Tower of Dusk were also quite excited. Basel, who was known as the Hermit of Doland City, Connoris, who was a self-proclaimed deity, and Angelano, who was originally reluctant to come along on the expedition, were just as agitated as the people from the Glittergold Trade Union. In the face of the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, no one could keep calm, even if they had explored the Sky Castle and Osric’s mausoleum. They could not contain their excitement.
However, Lin Li had experienced all sorts of major occasions, and apart from being excited, he couldn’t help but think of another problem. If it were the ruins of a palace, there would definitely be all kinds of top-level protective and defensive measures. However, there would definitely be shortcuts available. After all, the royal family still had to live in the palace, and it would be impossible to make the entrances and exits too complicated.
However, a mausoleum was different. One would not expect to come out again after entering. Some would even trap their craftsmen in the mausoleums as burial objects. Given the importance of mausoleums to the High Elves, especially the royals, their protective measures were definitely the best.
At the same time that Lin Li was guessing that the ruin might be a mausoleum, he couldn’t help but think of the fact that the expedition team had been attacked by a large number of Undead creatures outside the huge canyon for no obvious reason. He wondered if there was a link between the two.
Regardless, everyone finally regained their composure and peace after a while, and they were more careful about the exploration and excavation. Everyone knew that since they were in the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, in addition to the massive wealth that they might unearth, the danger they might face could be 10,000 times higher than that in ordinary ruins.
“It seems that we can’t enter this ruin easily. Even Sanctuary powerhouses would probably suffer losses if they were to barge into the mausoleum of the High Elves in an unruly manner.” Hoffman looked away from the huge canyon, and said to the senior executives of the two forces beside him, “It will be best if we can verify the identity of the owner of the mausoleum. That way, if we’re lucky, we might be able to get a little more insurance.”
Although Hoffman’s idea was good, things didn’t always go according to plan in reality. After exploring for about half a day, they unearthed many objects, but there were only a few that could really provide useful information. More than a dozen similar stone scepters were unearthed. Some were intact, but some were broken. However, those alone could not prove the identity of the owner of the mausoleum.
“President Hoffman, have you ever heard of Davos?” Lin Li asked all of a sudden.
“Davos? Are you referring to the academic master Davos? He’s the most authoritative archaeologist in the entire Felan Kingdom. How could I not have heard of him? However, it is said that he has been missing for more than 20 years. Otherwise, I would definitely invite him along this time.” Hoffman was a little surprised at first, but he seemed to have thought of something, and then asked Lin Li, “Do you know him, Master Felic?”
“Hehe, I don’t know him very well, but Master Basel is very familiar with him. If you don’t mind, Master Basel can invite him here to take a look,” Lin Li said smilingly. After all, the operation this time was a cooperation between the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union. The piece of news was provided by the Glittergold Trade Union. Hence, in order to avoid letting the information leak from his side, Lin Li had not asked Basel to invite Davos to participate in the expedition. However, now that the Mithril Alliance’s and the Caesar Family’s team had arrived, it wasn’t too necessary to keep it a secret. Still, out of respect, Lin Li still had to seek Hoffman’s opinion first.
“Really? That’s great. Davos is an expert and an authoritative figure in the field of archeology. If we can invite him here, maybe we’ll be able to find some clues.” Hoffman was surprised when he heard Lin Li’s words. Although there was no shortage of archaeological experts in the expedition team this time, and Hoffman could also be considered an authoritative and prestigious archaeologist, everyone saw things from a different perspective. Perhaps Master Davos might have some unique insights.
After Basel and Davos returned from exploring the Arctic areas, Basel returned to Doland in consideration of the agreement he had made with Lin Li. Meanwhile, Davos might have fallen in love with living with the dwarves, or still had some thoughts about the ruins. Hence, he chose to stay with the tribe. The dwarven tribe was not that far away from Gargas canyon, and as a Legendary-mage, Basel could totally fly back and forth using his Power of Flight.
However, it was naturally impossible for Lin Li to make Basel fly over while carrying Davos. Hence, he summoned the Crimson Dragon from his Summoning Lamp, and got Basel to ride it to Davos and pick him up. The Crimson Dragon itself was a tyrant in the sky, and it had more advantages than the Power of Flight in terms of directions and navigation. In about half a day, the Crimson Dragon reappeared in the sky above the expedition, flapping its fleshy wings and slowly descending.
After the Crimson Dragon landed, Basel jumped off the dragon’s back together with a bearded middle-aged man who was dressed in a robe made of animal hide.
“Is… Is this Master Davos?” Hoffman asked Lin Li softly. He couldn’t believe his eyes at all.
Seeing the middle-aged man looking around with excitement while following Basel, Lin Li couldn’t help but nod with a wry smile and say, “I think you’re right. Master Basel once said that Master Davos has been living in a dwarven tribe for more than 20 years. He seems to have already groomed himself before coming.”
“Hoffman, Felic, this is Master Davos,” Basel introduced briefly as he led Davos to Lin Li and Hoffman.
Upon hearing Basel’s introduction, Hoffman finally put away his doubts and greeted Davos enthusiastically. “Master Davos, there was no news from you for more than 20 years, and everyone thought that you had gotten into an accident. I didn’t expect to see you again. It’s a great honor for me.”
“Oh, hello. Didn’t you say that you have found something? Show it to me, hurry.” Davos was indeed an authoritative figure in the field of archeology. He was almost obsessed with archeology, and he completely ignored the fact that Hoffman was the President of the Glittergold Trade Union. He simply answered him perfunctorily, and then eagerly asked to take a look at the item that they had discovered.
Hoffman was not angry with Davos’ perfunctory attitude, and courteously said, “Master Davos, please come here. The items we have discovered lately are all placed here.” Hoffman gestured for Davos to follow him to the place where the relics were placed.
After seeing the objects that had been unearthed, Davos’ eyes lit up immediately, and he looked like a hungry tiger that had just seen its prey. He picked up the objects and observed them carefully. He was engrossed in scrutinizing them, and it was as if everyone around him had disappeared at this moment.
“Master Davos, we reckon that this ruin was probably owned by a royal family of the High Elves. In order to ensure more safety in our future explorations, we hope to verify the real owner of the mausoleum using the objects that we have unearthed…” Hoffman explained the purpose of inviting Davos as he followed him carefully.
“Yes, it is indeed a relic of a High Elven royal family. Did you mention that this is a mausoleum?” Davos put down the stone in his hand, picked up the stone scepter that was placed near him, and said, “It’s because you found this, isn’t it? The ritual objects used by the High Elves during memorials are symbols of the owner’s status when he was alive. However, now that you have found this, do you still not know who the owner is?”
“This…” Hoffman’s face was flushed, and he could not help but think to himself, If we’d already verified the identity of the owner of the mausoleum, would we still have had to invite you here? However, he had also deduced something from Davos’ words. It seemed that the identity of the owner of the mausoleum had something to do with the stone scepter.
Davos straightened his body and looked at Hoffman and the others who had followed him. He then pointed at the ornamentation on the top of the stone scepter, and said, “The High Elves have a strong concept of hierarchy. This is not just reflected in the major aspects, but also in the trivial matters and issues. Take this stone scepter as an example. The Tree of Eternity ornamentation can only be used by the royals. However, there are also differences in status between royal families. The difference in number of branches and leaves on the Tree of Eternity ornamentation signifies a difference in status.”
“You can tell from the stone scepter? So the owner of this mausoleum…” Hoffman did not expect such a simple carving to be so detailed.
Davos glanced at Hoffman, and sternly said, “Take one scepter and count the number of leaves and branches. The Tree of Eternity carving on this stone scepter has 13 main branches and 37 leaves, which symbolize the 13 surnames of the High Elves and the 37 nobles. Such a pattern status of the master of the mausoleum is only one level below that of the High Elven queen. In the history of the High Elves, there had always been very few royal families, and it was rare for any of them to have such a high status, so…”
“Could it be… Could it be the High Elven queen’s younger brother, Prince Brahere?” asked Hoffman, who had, after all, studied and researched the history of the High Elves. After hearing Davos’ clear hint, a name suddenly came to his mind.
“Well, it seems that you have done a good job studying the history of the High Elves, President Hoffman. In the history of the High Elves, only Brahere, the younger brother of the High Elven queen, can hold such a position.” Davos nodded, and put the stone scepter back in place.
As for the others, they couldn’t help but gasp after hearing the name mentioned by Hoffman. Understanding history was the most basic requirement for archaeologists. The people who were present might not have superhuman accomplishments in archeology, but with their historical knowledge, they definitely knew about Brahere.
In the era when the High Elves ruled Anril, the High Elven queen was the most powerful, followed by her younger brother, Prince Brahere. He was truly above everyone else. In the entire history of the High Elves, no one except Prince Brahere could hold such a prominent position.
It was said that the areas that Prince Brahere was in charge of back then included the Dwarf Kingdoms and the Orc Kingdoms. However, unlike other High Elven lords, Prince Brahere was not very keen on ruling. He basically ignored everything that happened in his territory, and focused all his energy on painting, sculpting, music, and other fields of art. He had extremely high attainments in various fields.
In the era that was named after darkness, Prince Brahere’s indifferent way of ruling was undoubtedly quite unusual compared to other High Elven lords. Life for the various races under his rule was just like in paradise compared to other regions, for the rules were less harsh. When dealing with the dwarves, he did not even station any army in the Dwarf Kingdom, and simply allowed them to live and develop freely in the Arctic snowfield. Some people even said that if it weren’t for Brahere’s death, the dwarves would probably not join the rebellion forces.
Unlike the Highlord Osric who created history with the lives and blood of the other races, most of the historical events involving Prince Brahere revolved around achievements in the field of art. Even now, there were still many of his artworks, such as poems and music, that were widely circulated in Anril. The people did not resent Prince Brahere like they resented other High Elves.
However, just because Brahere devoted all his energy to art, it did not mean that he was a weak person who needed to rely on others to protect him. His noble blood allowed him to effortlessly reach a height that ordinary people could not.
Legend had it that Brahere had gone into the Endless Abyss more than once in search of creative inspiration. It could be seen from the works about the Endless Abyss that he had created that he had a better understanding of it than the Highlord Osric.
They had basically determined that the owner of the mausoleum was Prince Brahere, who had a history of high attainments in art. The massive machinery of the Glittergold Trade Union immediately spread the information. The Glittergold Trade Union had indeed started off as excavators of ruins. It only took three days for the Legendary Assassin Gia to return with a massive load of information.
In the tents of the makeshift camp, the senior executives of the Glittergold Trade Union and Tower of Dusk sat around the table, on which there was a thick pile of materials. The most conspicuous one was singled out, and there were a few drawings that seemed to be torn. The drawings were acquired from a dwarf by the Glittergold Trade Union. Although torn and obviously incomplete, everyone could tell that it was a sketch of a mausoleum.
