"Something’s up!"

Ed warned in a low voice.

Raylo waved a hand, signaling for him to slow down.

They rounded a corner and found themselves in a spacious hall. Several skeletons in tattered armor staggered toward them, their rusted weapons carving arcs through the darkness.

Their already fragile skeletons had grown even more brittle with age. Though animated by some kind of Dark Magic, they were far less of a threat than they had been in life.

"Mere Undead."

Ed snorted coldly. His Long Sword became a silver streak, unerringly cleaving the foremost skeleton in two.

CRACK!

With the sound of shattering bones, the skeleton was slashed into countless fragments by Ed’s Blade of Fighting Spirit before it could even get close. The pieces scattered across the ground, returning to dust.

Ed didn’t pause. He weaved between the remaining skeletons, and with every flash of his blade, another skeleton fell.

The Power and speed of a Sky Knight were more than enough to deal with these reanimated Undead.

In less than a minute, all the skeletons had been hacked back into bone fragments, and the hall fell silent once more.

Along the way, they hadn’t encountered any real problems, aside from the corridors occasionally becoming a bit narrow, making it a tight squeeze for Sun’s eight-meter-long body.

It had to turn sideways and sometimes even lower its head just to get through.

"Damn it, was this tomb built for rats?!"

Sun growled impatiently. Its Dragon Tail accidentally scraped against the wall, knocking down a shower of dust.

About half an hour later, they reached the deepest part of the tomb.

The path ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a massive subterranean space.

A majestic and oppressive aura washed over them. It was the air of a superior being—one that still inspired awe even after a thousand years of silence.

This hall was far more spacious than any they had seen before. Its high, domed ceiling was carved with ancient, obscure murals depicting a civilization in its radiant prime.

In the center of the hall stood over a thousand Knights clad in heavy Full-Body Armor. They stood motionless like eternal statues, their weapons pointed forward, as if awaiting a specific moment.

At the heart of these Knights, a Golden Throne sat high and imposing.

A king in Golden Armor sat upon it, a golden crown on his head and his hands resting flat on his knees. Even in death, his body exuded the air of a sovereign who ruled the world.

Although his eyes were closed, the majesty this king possessed a thousand years ago was still visible in his features.

This was the "Sun King," Amun Ra.

However, what concerned Raylo more was something Lisbon hadn’t mentioned.

Behind the Golden Throne, standing against the tomb wall, were ten enormous Puppets, each twenty to thirty meters tall. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Their entire bodies were cast from an unknown golden metal, their forms rugged and powerful. Their arms were as thick as siege hammers, and even while motionless, they radiated a suffocating pressure.

’These... must be the Tier Five Domain Level Puppets.’

Raylo’s gaze lingered on the ten giant Puppets for a few seconds.

According to their prior intelligence, only one of these giant Puppets was supposed to be fully intact. This meant the other nine should be damaged.

"Sun, you’re up,"

Raylo said.

The Golden Dragon Sun’s body tensed instantly. Its golden eyes burned with battlelust as it stared intently at the figure on the Golden Throne.

"Watch me!"

Sun roared, the sound waves reverberating through the hall and even causing a few loose stones to fall.

"I’m going to smash him to bits! Besides the one hanging in the sky, there can only be one Sun in this world!"

It shook its body violently, its massive, folded membranous wings spreading slightly and kicking up a fierce gust of wind.

Raylo gently gripped the Soul Horn in his left hand, while his right rested on the hilt of the Divine Weapon Broken Flow.

Although Sun was the main combatant, he had to be ready to act at a moment’s notice.

After all, this was a former Catastrophe Level king. Raylo was prepared to play a few of his trump cards to take him down.

"Go."

Raylo uttered a single word. This time, it was the Golden Dragon Sun that took the first step.

The golden Dragon Shadow shot toward the Golden Throne like a cannonball fired from its barrel.

The armored guards standing around them did not stir at the arrival of Raylo’s group.

They remained perfectly still, like Undead frozen in time, showing no signs of life or intent to attack.

The Golden Dragon Sun’s massive body transformed into a streak of light, rushing unstoppably toward the figure seated high on the Golden Throne.

The air in the hall seemed to compress under the force of its charge, letting out a dull sonic boom.

Just as Sun was about to reach the throne, something unexpected happened.

Upon the throne, the body that had been silent for a millennium, the eyes that had been closed for a thousand years, opened without warning.

Within the dark, empty sockets, two orbs of pure, burning golden flame ignited.

VWOOM!

An invisible Spiritual Shock radiated from the throne, instantly sweeping across the entire underground hall.

Raylo felt countless fragmented images flash through his mind.

The Golden Empire under a blazing sun, its people bowing in unison, its banners as dense as a forest. A king, also clad in Golden Armor, stood atop a high tower, looking down upon his domain.

The Illusion vanished in a flash. Raylo’s formidable Spiritual Power allowed him to break free instantly, his eyes regaining their clarity.

Beside him, however, Ed let out a muffled grunt. His body swayed slightly, and his face turned pale in an instant.

A hint of confusion flickered in Ed’s eyes, but the willpower of a Sky Knight was not to be underestimated. He bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain shocking him back to his senses. He immediately raised his sword defensively in front of Raylo, warily scanning their surroundings.

Raylo noticed that the true target of the Spiritual Shock was actually the thousand motionless armored guards.

He and his companions were merely caught in the periphery.

KRR... KRAK...

The grating sound of scraping metal and twisting bone came from all directions.

The thousand statue-like guards all moved in unison at that very moment.

Beneath their hollow helmets, golden Soul Fires, identical to the king’s on the throne, ignited.

They turned their stiff necks, their gazes shifting in perfect unison toward Raylo’s group—the uninvited guests.

SHING!

It was impossible to tell which guard drew its weapon first. A moment later, the crisp sound of metal leaving sheaths merged into a single, murderous torrent.

They did not shriek or roar, only acted with silent, cold precision.

The front-rank guards raised their Tower Shields while the back-rank guards readied their Long Spears, forming an impenetrable steel phalanx. They advanced on Raylo with heavy, synchronized steps.

These were the true Personal Guards of the Sun King, the immortal Golden Legion!

ROAR!

Seeing this, the Golden Dragon Sun, which had been about to pounce on the throne, let out a furious roar.

It abruptly halted its charge, its huge body carving two deep trenches in the ground.

Immediately after, a surging Power of the Giant Dragon erupted from within it.

"Let me show you what real Power is!"

Sun’s eight-meter form, which it had maintained to navigate the narrow tomb passages, began to expand rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, a majestic Golden Dragon, a hundred meters long, now occupied the center of the hall.

Its massive head lowered, its golden, slitted pupils looking down on the armored guards approaching Raylo as if they were a colony of ants.

Instead of attacking the king on the throne, it whipped its body around. Its Dragon Tail, like a colossal siege hammer, swung out with a roar that tore through the air!

BOOM!

The steel formation crumbled instantly under the blow, as if it were a block of tofu struck by a boulder!

The dozens of armored guards at the very front were sent flying like scattered pebbles.

In the face of absolute Power, their heavy Armor was as fragile as paper-mâché, denting, twisting, and shattering.

These Undead Knights were torn to pieces in midair. Their heavy bodies slammed into the distant walls with a series of dull thuds, finally collapsing into a heap of mangled metal and bone fragments.