At this moment, The Queen was tightly holding William Carter's hand, as if signaling him not to be too nervous.

Clack... clack... clack. Next, the dragon head's eyes lit up brightly. A series of metallic scraping sounds followed. The door to the secret chamber finally opened slowly. William Carter and The Queen, still holding hands, waited for a while and, seeing nothing unusual, slowly passed through the entrance and entered the chamber.

What met his eyes first was a huge hall. The hall was lavishly decorated, but apart from a gilded statue standing at the far end and a stone stele, there was nothing else.

"That's the golden statue of the Great Ancestor." Upon seeing the statue, The Queen's expression immediately became reverent and solemn. Holding William Carter's hand, she quickly walked over and knelt devoutly before the statue: "I, the fifteenth-generation granddaughter-in-law, pay my respects to the Great Ancestor."

Seeing that William Carter did not kneel, The Queen anxiously tugged at him to kneel together. Originally, William Carter would never have performed a kneeling ceremony to a mere statue. But seeing The Queen like this, he couldn't bear to disappoint her. So, following her wishes, he knelt beside her, albeit a bit reluctantly. Besides, the country founded by the Great Ancestor had at least been passed down to him, and the ancestor had thoughtfully built such a secret chamber. Paying respects once was not unreasonable.

William Carter looked around with a grin: "Say, The Queen, don't we look like we're getting married right now?"

"Your Majesty, do not be so disrespectful before the Great Ancestor." The Queen's face was more serious and dignified than ever, and she turned to the statue to pray devoutly. Her voice was soft and indistinct, but it seemed she was praying for the peace of the nation, the well-being of the people, and blessings for the emperor. She repeated her prayers over and over.

Listening, William Carter felt slightly moved. His expression became a bit more solemn as he looked at the stone stele. The calligraphy was wild and unrestrained, making it hard to decipher. He could only roughly tell that it was praising some of the Great Ancestor's famous achievements.

A quarter of an hour later, after The Queen had kowtowed nine times, she pulled William Carter up.

They circled the hall of the secret chamber and saw several passageways, each with inscriptions above. The names were all things like Armory Hall and Hall of Rare Treasures. They casually chose the nearest Armory Hall and entered. After walking through a wide corridor, a magnificent hall appeared before them. Rows upon rows of rectangular chests were neatly arranged, filling the entire hall.

William Carter stepped forward and, after some effort, opened one of the chests. Inside, he found a broad-backed long saber soaked in oil and a set of folded pitch-black armor. He reached in, grasped the slick handle of the broad-bladed saber, and lifted it from a distance. The blade, gleaming with oil, was covered in fine scratches, quite different from the new weapon he had imagined. Judging by its appearance, it seemed to have been used for a long time. The pommel was shaped like a fierce, menacing tiger's head. There was burlap at the edge of the chest; he took it and carefully wiped the blade clean. Only then did he hold the broad-bladed saber in his hand, examining it closely. The blade was heavy and slightly curved, clearly designed for powerful chopping motions. Holding it, he felt a murderous aura surge through his body, and an urge to strike someone arose within him.

"This... this seems to be the saber and armor of the Tiger Fang Army under the Great Ancestor!" The Queen exclaimed in astonishment, covering her mouth.

"Tiger Fang Army?" William Carter asked with some curiosity, "What kind of army is that, and why are their sabers and armor kept in the Armory Hall?"

"The Tiger Fang Army was the most elite and powerful force under the Great Ancestor," The Queen composed herself and explained to William Carter, "There were not many of them, only about three thousand. But every single one was a top-notch warrior, one in a hundred. They followed the Great Ancestor through life and death, swept across the land, undefeated in battle, unstoppable in attack, and achieved countless glorious victories. In the end, when the Great Ancestor unified the country, only three hundred of the Tiger Fang Army remained." The Queen glanced around at the chests in the hall, estimating that the number matched, and sighed, "Later, I heard that after the Great Ancestor passed away, those three hundred Tiger Fang soldiers, who served as imperial guards, followed him into the imperial mausoleum and never came out again. Unexpectedly, the Great Ancestor had left their armor and sabers in the Armory Hall beforehand."

With just a few words, The Queen brought that ferocious and valiant army vividly to life before William Carter's eyes. Clad in black armor, riding fierce steeds, wielding heavy, sharp sabers, their expressions cold and lifeless, they slaughtered their enemies one by one. Undefeated in battle—ah, a surge of hot blood seemed to rush to his heart. The Tiger Fang Army, the Tiger Fang Army... Just how powerful was this force?

At the end of the hall stood a massive stone wall. William Carter walked forward slowly and examined it carefully. Names were carved into the stone, one after another. He didn't count them, but it seemed there were about three thousand names. At the end of the wall, some words were inscribed, presumably by the Great Ancestor. The writing was rather obscure. William Carter could only roughly understand that the Great Ancestor had established the Tiger Fang Army to create a country where the common people could live in peace. Every fallen soldier caused him deep pain. Now that the world was at peace, the Tiger Fang Army, steeped in bloodshed, was no longer needed. Descendants were forbidden to use this armor and these sabers without permission. Only if chaos broke out in the world again, or if foreign invaders could not be repelled, could the armor be used to reestablish the Tiger Fang Army.