The metallic smell of blood still lingered heavily throughout the chamber, and several runes still glowed faintly across the walls.

Four figures could be seen looking at the descending stairway beneath the dragon mural.

The atmosphere had grown awkward after Jayden’s humiliation.

Even though nobody openly spoke about it anymore, the tension between the humans had become visible enough that even the two Velhari noticed it clearly. Helen remained silent while Jayden avoided looking in Zich’s direction entirely.

Zich himself did not care much.

At least... not outwardly.

His gaze stayed fixed toward the dark stairway. The Elite Undead Knight stood beside him with its massive black sword resting against one shoulder. The summon looked not too different from a royal guard protecting a king.

The group slowly descended deeper underground afterward. Ancient stone steps stretched downward endlessly, and the silver lights embedded across the walls flickered dimly around them.

For some reason, the deeper they went, the colder the air became.

A cold wind occasionally swept across the stairway, carrying traces of dust and rust.

"This stairway is too deep," the shorter Velhari muttered.

Helen nodded. "I noticed too," she replied. "We already descended far below the castle itself."

Everyone, both the Velhari and the human side, was communicating except one person...Jayden.

At that moment, Zich glanced over briefly.

A strange light flashed across his eyes. Honestly, Jayden surviving the trial instead of breaking apart entirely made him slightly more interesting now. He did not have to hide his hostility anymore.

Not like he was hiding it before now...

After nearly ten more minutes of descending, the stairway finally ended.

The group expected another sealed chamber.

Instead...

Everyone froze.

Spread beneath the underground cavern was a vast ruined city.

The sight of it was both humbling and dreadful to behold.

Rows of marble roads stretched across the enormous underground expanse while collapsed homes, dried fountains, broken market stalls, and weathered watchtowers could be seen throughout the city below. Old stone bridges connected different sections while gigantic walls surrounded the settlement in the distance.

High above them, a strange red sky glowed faintly across the cavern ceiling.

It provided light.

Actual sunlight like illumination.

"What..." Helen whispered.

Even Zich’s eyes narrowed slightly, not expecting this.

This was not some small hidden ruin.

This was an actual civilization.

A vast and desolate expanse stretched beneath them while countless ancient structures filled the city. Several large warehouses remained sealed despite the passage of time, and distant statues of armored knights stood across old plazas.

For a few moments, nobody spoke.

The mood became strangely somber.

"It looks... lived in," the giant Velhari muttered, words not even it could comprehend.

"That was because it was," Helen replied, somehow understanding him.

Her eyes shone faintly as she studied the underground city spread beneath them. A gleam of excitement mixed with disbelief appeared on her face.

"This must be part of the old Ashen Dragon territory," she explained. "Not just military buildings... an actual settlement."

Varok folded his arms, observing the city carefully.

"So the knights truly ruled here."

Helen nodded. "It has to be. The statues and everything look familiar."

She looked toward the distant silhouette of a collapsed tower farther below.

"I think the courtyard and the hallways were the entrance, and this is the actual secret realm."

While the others were engrossed in listening to Helen, Zich’s attention had already shifted elsewhere.

Unlike Helen, who focused on the history, his eyes moved carefully across the structures below one after another. Corpse carts could be seen abandoned near old roads, and weapon racks still lined several ruined guard stations.

There were sealed storage buildings too.

And market vaults. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

A strange gleam flashed across his eyes instantly.

An abandoned city usually meant abandoned valuables...

Of course...

That was his first thought.

Helen noticed his expression right away and sighed.

"You’re thinking about looting already, aren’t you?"

Zich shrugged casually.

"Would be disrespectful to ignore free resources."

The giant Velhari burst into laughter afterward.

"Hah! Finally something sensible."

Jayden stared at Zich with a scowl from nearby but said nothing.

The Elite Undead Knight suddenly stepped forward without warning.

CLANG!

Its armored footsteps echoed across the underground entrance platform while crimson light flickered beneath the visor. The summon slowly looked across the ruined city below as though trying to remember something.

The atmosphere shifted again.

Everyone’s attention moved toward the undead knight.

Especially because this thing had once belonged to the Ashen Dragon Order itself.

Yes, they were not dumb. They had all figured that out from the moment the summon appeared.

Zich deliberately led them to think that way. As long as they did not know the true mechanism of his class, he was good.

Helen studied the summon for a few moments before speaking.

"Do you think it recognizes this place?"

Zich glanced toward his summon.

"Probably."

Varok observed the ruined city below for a few moments before speaking.

"This place is too wide for one group. We split and cover ground faster before more patrols come."

Helen looked toward him right away and frowned.

"I do not think it’s a good idea to split in a place we have no idea of," she replied, her eyes moving once more toward the dark streets below. "If something jumps from the ruins, one team could get cut off."

Zich did not look worried at all. He glanced over the broken market streets, the sealed warehouses, and the old towers, inwardly thinking that more groups searching only meant more things found before enemies arrived.

"Varok is right," Zich said. "If we move as one line, we will search slowly and miss half the place before the realm sends more enemies."

After some back and forth exchanges, the group finally agreed to split but stay within signal range so nobody could get lost too far inside the city.

Varok took the watchtower route with the giant Velhari beside him, while Jayden went with the shorter Velhari toward the old administrative district. Zich and Helen headed into the market district, with the Elite Undead Knight following behind them without making any sound.