Black Sail
Chapter 310: CCCX. Tomb Raider

Chapter 310: CCCX. Tomb Raider

Celeste could not outmaneuver Liszt in the end.

The trio set out for the Central Temple at their usual walking pace, conserving energy to meet the dangers that lay ahead.

They were thirty miles from the Central Temple.

The terrain became increasingly level, and the surrounding stone-built houses and ruins grew larger in scale, suggesting that this area once boasted the greatest prosperity around the Central Temple.

Liszt’s face was solemn as his boots crunched over the vine-covered ground.

"You can still regret this now. Though I’ve never been an adventurer, this is too weird. Not even a bug in sight, just the faint sound of the wind."

Liszt wiped the rainwater off his hair; earlier, there had been a heavy downpour, but now it had stopped, the sky remaining overcast.

This place was somewhat ominous.

"Don’t worry about me. I’m rather curious about your partner here."

Celeste was very interested in Haywood. Through the blood-red skin on his wrist and neck, she discovered that this man named Brother Hai was out of the ordinary.

"Curious, huh? I admire your courage, and you’re one of us now. But some secrets, once you know, you can’t get away. Do you understand? Once you know his identity, you’ll have to stay. Are you prepared for that?"

Liszt didn’t make it an ultimatum, but she was smart enough to guess that if she knew and still wanted to run, there would be consequences.

"Is this the secret that influences the world that you mentioned?"

"Not really. There’s a lot more where that came from. I’m grooming you to join the management team, big sis."

"Fine. I’ll work for the Black Sail. If I ever feel like running away, you can slash or kill me as you see fit."

Celeste spoke boldly. To learn about Dragon Lady’s information, she would eventually reach this point; might as well earn their trust sooner.

Besides, playing mind games with these professional spies, Liszt wasn’t up to the task. Undercover operations could last three to five years; she had plenty of time to infiltrate and consume the enemy from within.

Once Celeste became a high-ranking officer, one of Black Sail’s limbs, and began incorporating her own people, she would slowly bring them down. Small forces have their ways, and major powers have their long-term strategies.

Liszt gasped, wondering what spell this woman had cast on him; she was a sister after his own heart indeed.

"Brother Hai, show her something eye-opening."

Liszt motioned for Haywood to remove his helmet.

"Uh..."

Haywood didn’t know how to respond, carrying a heavy responsibility and now facing a woman he had just met less than a week ago.

"That’s fine. But lady, this is no joke. Even though in the East Sea, we go by verbal agreements, they are taken more seriously than written contracts. Do you understand what I mean?"

Haywood inquired.

"Mhm."

Celeste pretended to be docile, using her physical appeal.

Haywood took off his helmet and quickly put it back on.

"Haha, you looked so scared."

Liszt patted Celeste’s shoulder.

She was completely stunned, unable to move. In the intelligence organization’s underground storage, there were fossils of various life forms, including the very ancient, but this was evidently a genuine... living Demon.

This was no longer just the Triad Gang. KB organization? Cult? Pedan Puppets... What exactly were these people doing?

Celeste’s mental fortitude was shaken. She needed to infiltrate for a long time, rise to a high-level position, and thoroughly unearth all their secrets.

"No worries, he’s just not that handsome. In fact, he’s very Assyrian."

Liszt evaluated, then, upon further thought, could Haywood actually be the most decent person on board? Remarkable.

"Is this really a question of good looks?"

Celeste had no words in return.

"We need to move faster, some vines on the ground are broken, someone must have arrived here before us, most likely Doringger and his team,"

Haywood deduced.

Liszt dared not delay.

Roughly an hour later, the trio finally reached the very center of the ancient civilization’s capital ruins, an immensely grand temple, surrounded by bluestone steps, archaic to the core; at first glance one felt an extreme solemnity and austerity, the thousand steps of stone stairs imbuing a sense of pilgrimage.

"Hey, this place is so big, it could indeed accommodate a dragon!"

Liszt scuffed the the edges of the stone stairs with the dirt under his boots, then paused on the spot, contemplating whether to ascend or not.

Haywood, who actually rarely used weapons, was also prepared for battle.

He pulled out the "Rebel Blade" gifted to him by Rein, grasping it in his hand.

"Here it comes, the Tile Hero!"

Liszt suddenly felt a full sense of security, fast forwarding directly to the Dragon’s Cry.

Celeste found the dialogue inexplicable, but had grown accustomed over the past few days; it was normal for one’s mind to be affected by the severe isolation of long sea voyages.

Without any further ado, the three of them climbed the bluestone steps and arrived at the entrance of the grand palace, which lacked the majestic door they had imagined but had a huge gap instead, the breach over a hundred meters long astonishingly ominous.

Liszt swallowed hard; clearly, this was the entrance the Dragon Lord used.

He wanted to say something.

But Celeste quieted him with a gesture, requesting silence; she then took off her cloak, wearing only specially made tight attire with a white tie belt around her waist, adorned with a dagger and some fanciful small tools—tweezers, card pliers, Hook, and the like—bravely entering the colossal gap first.

Liszt observed her silhouette, the tall curves and the enchanting waist-to-hip ratio; this was no longer a crisis of desire, but a fascination of beautiful shadows.

Haywood stayed silent; what kind of spell had this woman cast on Liszt, whose eyeballs rolled uncontrollably? They were risking their lives now!

He followed closely behind, with Liszt catching up.

The structure within the palace was completely ruined, not so much an exploration in a large labyrinth due to collapses, foundation sinking, and various other reasons.

Like a cavern, it was a continuous descent; before long, it became dim, the ground littered with huge fragments of ruined rocks.

After turning the corner of the only discoverable pathway for deeper exploration, they faced utter darkness, unable to see their own hands.

This put the trio in a predicament, not expecting the interior to be so dim during the day, without any lighting, yet because they were sneaking in secretly, they didn’t dare make too much noise.

Celeste was about to give up, unsure of what might happen if they ventured further.

Liszt, not willing to return empty-handed, risking the chance of being discovered and initiating combat, followed the scent of phosphorus and struck a match, proceeding forward.

He was caught in a fixed way of thinking; this lone passage seemed relatively narrow—less than ten meters. It wouldn’t accommodate a dragon, which might indeed have come and turned around here in the past but was likely long gone by now.

"Uh..."

Seeing that Liszt was proceeding in this manner, Celeste had no choice but to continue exploring. The scholarly Magic Technique, consuming her "concentration," caused a white prismatic crystal to appear on her fingertips. It wasn’t so much a crystal as it was a transparent energy form, providing light for about ten meters around them.

"I didn’t expect you to be versed in magic,"

Liszt said, both surprised and delighted, as if he had stumbled upon a treasure. This group together could rival General Fen—what an idea General Fen was, a veritable Human Rights Card. And now they were joined by a strong team; it was all too perfect, truly spot-on.

"It’s just a minor skill,"

Celeste said casually, leading the way. As Lostra’s intelligence agency Sergeant, she was freakishly skilled in arcane magic, Body Skill Swordsmanship, Fighting Skills, knowledge reserves, and psychological fortitude.

The trio continued deeper, advancing through the profound darkness.

Finally, Liszt’s foot kicked something; he looked down and saw, under the illumination... a gleaming, golden item.