Chapter 859: Royal Mausoleum
However, after discussing how to get along with each other, Hoffman and Lin Li did not have their mood affected, and they focused on their own discoveries instead.
“Master Felic, Master Basel, please take a look at this stone tablet. The inscription on the stone tablets might have become blurry, but it’s obvious that only the royal High Elves had the right to use it.” Pointing at the halves of the stone tablets, Hoffman could not hide his joy at all.
Although they could make some speculations from the items that the expedition team had brought back, and guess that they had something to do with the High Elves, they were, after all, just fragments of a magical accessory. It was not impossible for them to have been left behind by a High Elven craftsman or originate from a private collection of the relics of the High Elves. However, the stone tablet before them was a majestic one with inscriptions that only the royal High Elves could use. If the ruins had belonged to ordinary High Elves, they would probably have been completely erased by the real royals.
As more and more things were discovered, there was also more and more evidence to link the ruins to the royal High Elves. However, in addition to the excitement, everyone began to look more and more solemn. If the ruins really belong to the royals of the High Elves, it would mean that the danger of the real ruins was definitely extraordinary.
In the Dark Age, the royal High Elves were absolutely standing on the top of the world. Their royal bloodline allowed them to possess unrivaled strength without much effort. Besides, their royal status made them superior, and no one could compare to them except for the High Elven queen. Even the Highlord Osric could not.
Although the number of royal families amongst the High Elves was small, they enjoyed most of the resources of the entire world. They liked having the extremes of everything. They lived in the most luxurious palaces, used the most exquisite objects, appreciated the best art, and also guarded everything they had with the most powerful force at the same time. Although almost no one dared to offend the royals of the High Elves at that time, let alone break into their palaces, holding greater power to guard everything was more of an indispensable status symbol.
Although not all royal families had the inheritance of the Immortal King like Osric and peak-level accomplishments in all fields, the top talents of all fields would work for them as long as they issued an order. Legend had it that even Osric couldn’t refuse their invitation sometimes. Every palace of the royal High Elves could be considered an a.s.sembly of peak-level masterpieces of various fields. They had Guru-level Alchemy Arrays, Guru-level magic traps, and Guru-level magic gears. It was hard to imagine how terrifying their protective measures would be.
The Glittergold Trade Union had long started with the excavation of ruins, but it was their first time activating such huge manpower, and also their first time exploring the ruins of the High Elven royals. It was precisely because of that that although none of the things found by the expedition team had any practical value, they did not give up continuing to explore the area. They, too, did not rush to explore the deeper areas of the canyon immediately. They wanted to get more clues, and it would be best to be able to determine the true owner of the ruins, which would likely provide them with great convenience when delving deeper.
The other party’s team seemed to have the same idea. Everyone split up and searched the ground inch by inch, as if they had spread their net open. They were very careful, and did not miss any clues. Lin Li and the rest did not know what they found, but they knew that there were definitely archaeological experts who were knowledgeable about the High Elves’ culture in their team.
Although they were careful, they were still advancing slowly during the search. They turned over almost all of the land behind them, causing it to seem like a farming field. Fortunately, they were all powerhouses above level-15. Weaker people might not be able to dig through the ground that had been frozen for tens of thousands of years.
When Lin Li was talking to Basel about a piece of stone that he was holding, a mage from the Tower of Dusk suddenly walked over quickly, holding a stick-like object that was stained with mud in his hand.
“President, we just found this thing over there, but it doesn’t seem to be a magic staff. There are no magical waves on it,” the mage said while handing the stick-like object over.
From the beginning of the exploration, they had been discovering debris, fragments, and broken statues. It was the first object that seemed to be complete. Lin Li couldn’t help but be curious. He grabbed the item from the mage, and directly cast Earth Escape, which immediately cleared the dirt from the item, revealing its true appearance.
“This… looks familiar.” Lin Li looked at the object in his hand. It was a scepter that was carved out of some type of stone, and there were exquisite patterns carved on it. There was also an ornament on top that was in the shape of the Tree of Eternity, which came with a stone sphere on its crown. Lin Li could tell from the shape that it should have been some staff, but it would be impossible to carve a scepter out of stone. However, the Tree of Eternity ornament had proven that the ruins were owned by a royal.
Basel took a look at the spot beside him, and pondered for a moment before saying, “I remember seeing something similar mentioned in a doc.u.ment that recorded the etiquette of the High Elves. This should be… for sacrificial offerings, I suppose? No, they’re utensils for memorials!”
After being reminded by Basel, Lin Li also suddenly remembered that he had indeed seen something similar to the stone staff in his hand when he was in Osric’s mausoleum. However, the ornamentation on the top of the stone scepter in Osric’s mausoleum was not in the shape of the Tree of Eternity, but the branches and leaves of the Tree of Eternity. It was neatly placed in the square in front of the mausoleum’s entrance.
“So, this ruin is probably the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, right?” Lin Li looked at the stone scepter in his hand for a while before proceeding to the area searched by the Glittergold Trade Union together with Basel. They found Hoffman, who was trying to identify some fragment.
“President Felic, what did you discover…?” Hoffman asked. He had already seen the stone scepter in Lin Li’s hand. He suddenly widened his eyes that had already been narrowed into slits. They gleamed with excitement, and he said, “Did… Did you just discover this? Is it a scepter used by the High Elves during memorial ceremonies!?”
Hoffman’s exclamation immediately attracted several other senior executives of the Glittergold Trade Union. Thomas was also a knowledgeable mage; hence, he confirmed the use of the stone-carved scepter. At this moment, everyone was a little bit overwhelmed with excitement. If it weren’t for the presence of the Mithril Alliance’s and Caesar Family’s team, they would have rejoiced and cheered immediately.
Since it was a scepter used in memorial ceremonies, the ruins in the canyon were likely to be the mausoleum of the royals of the High Elves. A mausoleum was rather different from ordinary ruins. If it were just a palace, the contents would probably have been removed by the High Elves at the end of the Dark Age, leaving behind just deadly traps. However, mausoleums would be different. Even if the High Elves were in desperation, they wouldn’t dig the mausoleums of their predecessors, especially those of the royals.
During the era when the High Elves ruled Anril, the royals could be considered to have been supported by all the races they ruled over, and occupied almost all the wealth of the entire mainland. Osric’s ma.s.sive wealth was acc.u.mulated by his efforts in commanding the Magic Legion. However, the royal High Elves almost didn’t have to do anything to enjoy the great wealth created by the race.
The High Elves were extremely enthusiastic about burial rituals, especially the royal families that were at the top of the entire hierarchy. They demanded everything of theirs to be at the extremes; hence, the burial objects in their mausoleums were often surprisingly luxurious. The treasure vaults belonging to humans now probably could not compare to them.
Rumor had it that shortly after the end of the Dark Age, the rebels had unearthed a mausoleum belonging to a High Elven royal, and the luxury of it was completely beyond everyone’s imagination. The dome of the mausoleum that served as the sky was made of magical crystals, and was embellished with countless superior magical gemstones. There were Sanctuary-realm Dragon Crystals that hung on both sides of the dome, radiating light like the sun and the moon. There was fine sand that was made of ground up magical metals piled up into peaks and paving the ground. Countless Legendary magical crystals of various colors flowed in the river. A random grab in the water would bring about valuable treasures.
However, in addition to the precious magical materials, the most precious items among the burial objects of the High Elves were the magical objects that had been created with the top skills of every field. There was a variety of powerful magical weapons, gorgeous suits of armor and robes inscribed with complex mageweaths, and exquisite magical accessories that contained amazing power, all of which were peak Guru-level masterpieces. Even the most common works of art displayed in the mausoleum contained amazing powers that would drive anyone crazy.
Therefore, when the appearance of the stone scepter hinted to everyone that the ruins they were exploring were probably the mausoleum of the royal High Elves, almost no one could keep calm. As the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman had an astonis.h.i.+ng amount of wealth, but he was still blus.h.i.+ng at this moment, and was a little out of breath. Not to mention other people, even Master Thomas who was the most stable could not hide the enthusiasm in his eyes.