The guide and the liaison immediately declined the invitation, especially the former, who had unknowingly moved away from the entrance. If not for the soldiers watching him, he would have run away.
Rother, however, did not choose to wear the weird suit. "I don't need it. I'll keep one as a backup."
"Are you sure?" Sean frowned.
"The Scourge's resistance and self-healing ability are much stronger than that of ordinary people. Common demonic plagues and poisons don't work on us. I don't think a disease that can take a mortal ten years to live can threaten the God's Punishment Body, which is the most common thing in the ruins." She shrugged and said, "On the contrary, this kind of jumpsuit will make it difficult for me to move and lower my perception. Wearing it in an unknown place will undoubtedly tie my hands and feet. Besides, if we are really in a dilemma, having a spare set of clothes will make it easier for the people outside to come to our rescue — although the chances of that happening are very small. "
This was a very good reason. The God's Punishment Witches could only perceive the environment with their sight and hearing, so they were very dependent on them. After hundreds of years of training, they could even judge the moisture and flexibility of the soil by the sound of their footsteps. Azima had already seen this on the way here.
Because of this, a protective suit that only slightly covered the ears and eyes of an ordinary person would probably have a much more serious impact on the God's Punishment Witches.
"But what if... it really is a curse from the gods?" Azima asked worriedly.
Rother smiled — just like before, with the corners of her mouth curling into a ferocious smile. "Let's not talk about whether a leather suit can resist the gods. If it really is a curse, let it come at me. I'd like to see what the gods can curse us with when millions of Taquila people are buried on the Fertile Plains! "
"I see." Sean nodded after a moment of silence. "Let's go."
Azima took a deep breath and followed the guard into the stone door.
The inside of the ruins was not as wet as they had imagined. Sand seeped in from the entrance and occupied most of the space in the passage. At first, they had to bend their bodies to move forward, but as they went deeper, the passage gradually became wider. Although they were still descending, the slope had become much gentler.
Under the illumination of the torch, he could see that the stone walls on both sides were severely damaged. Tree roots and plant vines had pried open the layers of brick cracks and extended in from the outside, blocking the passage in disorder. Rother, who was at the front, hacked and hacked with her axe, clearing a path for the others. Had it not been for the God's Punishment Witches, it would have taken them more than half a day to get down the slope.
"It's true that this place has been abandoned for a long time, but it's not exactly like what Knaff said. It's not closed because of the team's curse," Sean said suddenly. "At least for a period of time, it should be frequented."
"What did you see?" Rother asked curiously.
"There are torches on the wall." He pointed to the middle of the wall. "The lines on the chiseled surface are much clearer than on the wall, which means that the two were formed a long time apart. If it's just a temporary shelter from the rain, they don't have to leave a torch on the wall every ten steps, do they? "
There was no doubt that it was necessary to chisel the torches only when people needed to come and go frequently and for a long time.
"Heh, as I said, as long as there are treasures, how can the local lord not be interested?" Rother sneered. "That mortal guide may not be lying, but the rumor itself has been altered."
"What I'm worried about is whether the thing His Majesty wants us to find is the treasure he mentioned..." Sean said thoughtfully. "If there are many sources, how many have been transported over the past 100 years and where have they been transported to? According to His Majesty, that's the key to the creation of the Glory of the Sun. We can't let it fall into the hands of others. "
"We can't come to a conclusion until Miss Azima takes us to the first source." Rother suddenly paused. "... I think we're not far from our goal."
The soil under their feet finally receded, revealing the buried stone steps below.
The group of people immediately sped up a lot.
About half an hour later, the ground in front of them, which was illuminated by the torch, was suddenly swallowed by darkness, as if there was a black wall that isolated everything.
"That's..." Azima said in surprise.
"A big hole." Rother walked into the darkness with the torch in her hand and immediately disappeared without a trace.
Sean followed her.
"Please watch your step," the soldier in charge of guarding the rear reminded.
"Okay." Azima took a deep breath and walked into the darkness. Before she agreed to His Majesty's request, she always thought that she was brave. But now it seemed that she was not as brave as Sean and Rother. Perhaps it was because of this gap that she had never made up her mind to leave Sleeping Island.
"To put it bluntly, it's just cowardice. "
Nightingale's words echoed in her ears again.
But this time, it was not simple sarcasm, but a different meaning.
Darkness enveloped her.
After a few breaths, her eyes finally adapted to the thick darkness. The torches of the two people in front of her were reflected in her eyes again, but the light seemed to have shrunk a lot, leaving only a dim orange-red circle.
"Is this the bottom of the ruins?" Rother looked around and at the same time, a faint echo came from above her head. "It's not that big. It's no more than 200 steps."
"Can you see the boundary?" Sean asked.
"It's nothing for us. As long as we stay underground for hundreds of years, we'll either adapt to the environment or become completely blind."
At this time, Azima finally understood what Sean meant by "a big hole". After entering through the passage, as the space suddenly expanded, the light lost the reflection of the stone wall and became much dimmer. Moreover, there was a certain angle between the passage and the cave, so the people walking in front of her seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
"How far is the source from us?" Rother looked back at her.
Azima hurriedly took out the coin from her pocket, and a green light instantly filled her vision! From the dome to her feet, countless emerald light spots flowed cheerfully, outlining the entire ruins. It seemed to be a fictional world. The dark underground, which was originally boundless, became clear and bright. With the outline of the light spots, she could even see the shape of each floor tile!
The surrounding walls were engraved with grotesque fluorescent murals. It was a scene that she could not describe in words. The content of the murals was crazy and chaotic, definitely not the work of human beings. Below the murals were rows of iron cages, in which bones were piled up like mountains. She wondered how many lives had been imprisoned here and then died in despair.
About 100 steps away from them, the ground caved in and formed a huge pit. A dazzling beam of light rose from the pit and intertwined with the coin in her hand, but it was many times brighter.
It was the first time she had seen such a spectacle!
"Azima?" Seeing that she did not answer, Sean also turned around. "Are you okay?"
Azima could not help but feel a little dry in her throat. She licked her lips and replied with difficulty, "We... have arrived."
"Ah? You mean you found the source? "Rother spread out her hands." Where is it? "
"We are now... in the source."
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