The slightly deferential Luke Thompson and the furious Adam Bennett both became less hostile after their first conversation. Luke Thompson completely admitted defeat and gave up resisting, while Adam Bennett had thought of the most terrifying possibility and no longer had any interest in killing this last remaining “enemy.”

  “A one-way teleportation magic circle will send things to a designated destination, but it can’t bring them back. In other words, we can’t find an exit here—we’ll have to search for one.”

  “Ha, that doesn’t matter. As long as there’s a way in, there must be a way out…”

  “Shut up!”

  Just as Luke Thompson tried to ease the tension, he was angrily rebuked by Adam Bennett. Even when they were enemies, the young man from the Lundak family was always witty, but now he seemed extremely irritable.

  “Not every place has an exit!”

  “Then how do they get out? I mean, the people from the Great Stone Dynasty who built this labyrinth!”

  “There are some places where there’s no need to get out. For example, the tombs of ancient emperors!”

  At Adam Bennett’s cold words, Luke Thompson was instantly chilled to the bone, realizing this possibility. Adam Bennett continued coldly, with a hint of dark mockery in his tone: “If this really is a tomb, we can only go deeper and deeper, and eventually meet its owner. There’s no way we’ll find an exit!”

  “No way! That can’t be…” Having just escaped the shadow of death, Luke Thompson couldn’t accept such a conclusion; his lips trembled with agitation.

  “All right, servant Luke Thompson, come with me. Maybe we can still find a glimmer of hope!”

  If no one could get out, killing Luke Thompson would be pointless. The map in Adam Bennett’s hand didn’t indicate any other exits from this four-layer labyrinth. The second level was a rather spacious hall; judging by the area of the first floor, the hall should be at least five hundred paces square—enough to accommodate an army of tens of thousands.

  Because of this astonishingly huge hall, the second level didn’t have the complex passageways of the first. Adam Bennett still held out a sliver of hope, wishing to find a way out on this level, so as not to escape the pursuit of the Royal Guard only to end up trapped, becoming a neighbor to some ancient emperor.

  Influenced by Adam Bennett, Luke Thompson calmed down a bit. Though he had just pledged allegiance, this former captain of the Royal Guard felt his loyalty rising without limit. “As long as he can find an exit, I will never betray the Lundak family for the rest of my life.” Luke Thompson even made such a vow in his heart.

  Life’s encounters are always so strange—enemies who were at each other’s throats moments ago had now become each other’s only support.

  When Adam Bennett and Luke Thompson stepped into the very center of the second-level labyrinth hall, both were struck with incredulous awe.

  A vast space, high as a dome, stood without a single supporting pillar. The structure relied solely on its own strength, allowing this labyrinthine temple—so immense that a person standing on the far side would appear no larger than a thumb—to stand for a thousand years without collapsing.

  In this hall, which could only be called a miracle, cold moonlight shone down. Of course, it wasn’t real moonlight, but the glow of an enormous energy crystal embedded in the domed ceiling, casting a moonlike radiance over every corner. In this gigantic hexagonal space, at each vertex stood a statue of a deity, seated on a broad throne, coldly overlooking all beings.

  All six statues were towering, exuding the majesty of gods. Five of them resembled ancient emperors clad in armor, each radiating a different aura. The armor on each statue displayed the highest craftsmanship of a millennium ago. At their feet or behind them, their weapons lay quietly—once mighty arms, now washed by a thousand years, their power undiminished, their surfaces gleaming with a unique luster, unmarred by a single spot of rust.

  The statue farthest from the entrance, however, was a divine beast—a nine-headed demon dragon never recorded in any myth. The nine-headed dragon had a massive body, dragon heads with human bodies, and eighteen pairs of eyes—some emerald green, some fiery red, some dazzlingly multicolored—all radiating a chilling, ghostly light.

  A stray cold wind drifted by, and Adam Bennett suddenly had the thought that these statues were alive. The idea sent a chill down his spine and wouldn’t leave him.

Chapter Thirteen: Magitek Armament

  In the very center of this vast temple was a small hexagonal platform. After observing for a moment, Adam Bennett strode toward the platform, with Luke Thompson following closely behind. But now, Adam Bennett no longer worried that he posed any threat.

  Though the distance wasn’t far, Adam Bennett felt as if time stretched endlessly. When he stood beside the hexagonal platform, his eyes flashed with a sharp, intimidating light, and he barked, “Servant Luke Thompson, fall back ten paces!” Luke Thompson, who had been about to approach, immediately stopped and retreated some distance, staring in alarm at Adam Bennett’s back, not knowing why his young master was angry.