TRWSB – Chapter 216 Awakening of the Tomb Guardians

Countless strange warriors wearing iron helmets surged from the direction of the tomb.

The elite guards of Dilan City who had been blocking the road were suddenly thrown into chaos.

“What is that?” Qi Shaorong exclaimed in shock.

“Tomb guardians,” Zhuang Hao replied. “Legend has it that when the Flame Demon King died, he had 300,000 soldiers buried with him. If anyone tries to invade the tomb, these tomb guardians will awaken from their slumber to repel the intruders.”

Qi Shaorong’s eyes widened. “You mean there are three hundred thousand of those strange iron-helmeted warriors?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “In theory, yes.”

Qi Shaorong: “…” Three hundred thousand! Compared to that, Emperor Qin’s 3,000 terracotta warriors are just child’s play.

Geya grabbed her skirt and ran off in panic, screaming, “What are those things?!”

Her skirt got in the way, and her high heels were a hindrance. She quickly fell behind the others and was soon chased down by the tomb guardians.

Qi Shaorong waved his staff, and radiant light-based magic erupted.

The tomb guardians that were about to catch up with Geya were scattered by the blast.

Geya turned around, startled, and looked at Qi Shaorong. Under the sunlight, Qi Shaorong was bathed in holy light, appearing utterly divine.

“Sis, come on!” Golin shouted, pulling Geya along.

Zhuang Hao glanced at Qi Shaorong and said, “You’re awfully helpful today.”

Qi Shaorong smiled. “Well, she did treat us to a meal.”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “That’s true.”

Qi Shaorong waved his staff again, blasting through the rushing tomb guardians. “There may be a lot of them, but luckily, they’re not too strong.”

“Since we’re here, might as well take a look,” Zhuang Hao said, casting sevenfold elemental magic in seven different directions, opening up paths through the battlefield.

Because of Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao’s powerful displays, many tomb guardians turned their attention toward them.

Golin looked back at the pair, somewhat gleefully saying, “Sis, the tomb guardians are chasing those two weaklings instead.”

Geya frowned. “They’re not weaklings at all.”

Qi Shaorong’s light magic cleared a wide path, and he and Zhuang Hao began approaching the heart of the battle.

At the entrance to the tomb, Dilan City’s lord and eight ninth-level powerhouses were locked in fierce combat with the awakened tomb guardians. Above them, the necromancer riding a skeletal dragon looked down with amusement.

Suddenly, a group of winged warriors burst from the tomb, forcing even the aloof necromancer to join the battle.

Qi Shaorong waved his staff, and a dual-colored black-and-white magic barrier enveloped both him and Zhuang Hao, concealing their presence.

Zhuang Hao asked curiously, “What’s this?”

“A new spell I’ve been working on. It’s a Forbidden Magic Barrier that fuses light and dark elements. It blocks all aura and can also defend against magical attacks,” Qi Shaorong explained.

Zhuang Hao smiled. “Pretty impressive.”

“I thought so too.”

“Friends, would you mind lending a hand?” called out the City Lord of Dilan from the battlefield.

Qi Shaorong hesitated. “Watching a fight from the sidelines is dangerous—you might get roped into it. Should we go down?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Let’s help. They look like they’re struggling.”

Qi Shaorong took a deep breath and muttered to himself: If we’d arrived later, we might’ve let them all wear each other down…

Though reluctant, Qi Shaorong figured it would be wise to earn some goodwill from the City Lord of Dilan.

Among the tomb guardians, some were strong and others weak. The one fighting the city lord, Xuan Liang, was especially formidable.

Once Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao joined the fray, they relieved some of the pressure on Xuan Liang and his allies.

“Lord, I suggest we retreat for now,” said one of the ninth-level experts. “There could be more tomb guardians inside. We need to regroup and plan.”

Xuan Liang reluctantly looked back toward the tomb. “Very well. Fall back for now.”

———

With the main force retreating, Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao withdrew alongside the city’s troops.

“Young friends, where are you from? Your strength is impressive,” Xuan Liang approached the pair and asked.

“We’re from a small, remote country. You probably haven’t heard of it,” Zhuang Hao replied.

Xuan Liang chuckled. “Didn’t expect such strong young talents to come from a backwater nation.”

“You flatter us.”

“Are you here for the Flame Demon King’s tomb?”

Zhuang Hao shook his head. “We came to admire the magical culture of Dilan City. The tomb was just… incidental.”

“I see,” Xuan Liang said with a smile.

Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao followed Xuan Liang and the others to a base camp where many mercenary teams had gathered.

“Fourth Uncle!” Geya and Golin excitedly ran toward one of the men with Xuan Liang.

Gehong frowned and snapped, “What are you two doing here?!”

Geya gave an awkward smile. “We came to explore the Flame Demon King’s tomb.”

Gehong scolded, “Nonsense! Did you come here to die? Get back home now!”

Golin muttered, “Uncle, we came all this way. Isn’t going back just like admitting defeat?”

“So you’d rather die here than be embarrassed?” Gehong growled.

Golin glanced toward Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao. Qi Shaorong was leaning on Zhuang Hao’s shoulder while Zhuang Hao was roasting meat, clearly not intending to come over.

Gehong followed Golin’s gaze and looked at the two. “If you two were even half as capable as them, I wouldn’t be sending you back.”

Golin’s face turned red. “Those two came here with us.”

Gehong looked surprised. “You know them?”

“Big sis treated them to a meal, but…” Golin trailed off.

Gehong: “…”

Gohong led Golin and Goya over to Qishao Rong and Zhuang Hao.
“Thank you both for your help earlier,” he said sincerely.

Zhuang Hao replied nonchalantly, “It was just a small favor.”

“I heard you’re acquainted with my niece and nephew. Seems fate has brought us together,” Gohong remarked.

Zhuang Hao smiled faintly. “You could say that.”

“Back in that town,” Goya asked suddenly, “was there some kind of vengeful spirit?”

So many buildings had collapsed, and yet none of them had noticed anything. The second mercenary group, along with her and her brother, had all overslept—it just didn’t add up.

“It wasn’t a vengeful spirit,” Qishao Rong replied. “It was an undead skeleton mage riding a drakehawk.”

Goya froze. “A necromancer came and we didn’t even notice?”

Qishao Rong shrugged. “That’s because you all slept like pigs. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t your fault—you were under the spell of Eternal Night’s Descent.”

Goya: “……”

Gohong’s eyes widened in disbelief. “A skeleton riding a drakehawk?”

Qishao Rong nodded. “Yep.”

Gohong frowned. “It might’ve been the necromancer Gao De. He’s the one who turned the town into a dead city. They say he likes capturing travelers for his undead experiments.”

Hearing that, Goya felt a chill creep up her spine. If not for these two, would she have already died once?

“What happened to that necromancer?” Gohong asked.

Qishao Rong shrugged. “Not much. He fought Ahao for a while, then left.”

Goya: “……”

“What are your plans now?” Gohong asked.

Qishao Rong shrugged again. “Just wandering around.”

Gohong nodded. “There are many famous sights in Dilan City. I’m sure it won’t be a wasted trip.”

Golin looked at the two curiously. “Uncle said you’re both really strong. Why didn’t you help out earlier on the road?”

“Golin!” Goya shot her brother a glare.

Qishao Rong laughed. “I paid a million for a mercenary team to protect us. If I still had to act, wouldn’t that be money wasted?”

Goya: “……”

Golin: “……”

Gohong chuckled. “You’re quite humorous. I imagine you felt it simply wasn’t necessary to intervene back then.”

Qishao Rong tilted his head thoughtfully. “That too.”

Gohong then looked at the quiet Zhuang Hao and said, “Your abilities exceed that of a typical ninth-rank mage. Have you perhaps touched upon… the threshold?”

Zhuang Hao glanced at him and shook his head. “Not yet. You overestimate me.”

Gohong shook his head. “I think you’re being modest.”

Goya suddenly blushed, staring at Zhuang Hao in disbelief. The threshold—could he be referring to the Saint-rank barrier?

“Uncle, what are you doing here anyway?” Golin asked.

“I was invited by the city lord to join the exploration of the Flame Demon King’s territory,” Gohong answered.

“How’s the expedition going?” Golin asked eagerly.

Gohong sighed. “Not too smoothly.”

“Uncle, those two guys… are they really that strong?” Golin asked.

“Absolutely. One of them has probably reached the semi-Saint level. And they’re so young too… I wonder where they came from,” Gohong said in amazement.

Goya took a deep breath and gave a bitter smile. To think I once thought they were just helpless fools…