Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 905 - 898: The Person Buried with the Deceased

Chapter 905: Chapter 898: The Person Buried with the Deceased

Seeing these garments that were very characteristic of the Aud Empire, Baiyue couldn’t suppress her desire to document them. So, Luo’er had Hu Daoke accompany her to draw and record this information, while he himself led the others toward the main tomb chamber.

Most members of the Advance Team are staunch atheists, so they don’t particularly believe in ghosts and spirits. Although the laws of the world in the Otherworld differ from those on Earth, they still do not believe in the concept of ghosts and spirits.

The case of Fulajie’er made it very clear: once a body is damaged, the soul will dissipate into the world. Therefore, even if the Otherworld has environments where ghosts can exist, they would also dissipate due to the death of bodily functions.

As for the souls of the living, that’s no longer the concept of ghosts. Dead people don’t have souls unless they become gods; this is the experience the Advance Team has gathered over their long adventures in the Otherworld.

It wasn’t long before Luo’er and the others stumbled upon a skeleton crawling in the middle of the passage. Seeing this skeleton, Axia’s complexion visibly changed. She stepped forward and began to inspect the skeleton, frowning.

"What’s wrong?" Luo’er came to her side and crouched down to ask.

"This is an Elf skeleton," Axia said, continuing to examine the skull without lifting her head.

"How can you tell it’s an Elf skeleton?" Tangmo crouched beside Luo’er and asked curiously.

"You call me auntie, so naturally, I know more than you," Axia replied. Holding the skull in both hands, she presented it to both of them and explained, "Look at this skull. The eye sockets are clearly larger than those of the Human Race, the cheekbones are not as prominent, and the jawbone is relatively rounded. These features are in line with the physical traits of the Elf Race."

Hearing her words, Luo’er and Tangmo exchanged glances. Tangmo, overcome with curiosity, directly lifted Luo’er’s face in front of Axia to examine his bone structure.

"It seems to be the case," Tangmo said, her hand lingering on Luo’er’s face, unable to move away. His skin felt so good to the touch that she found it hard to let go every time.

"Okay, stop fooling around," Luo’er coughed softly, grabbed her hand from his face, and said in a lowered, bashful voice.

"Also, take a look at the teeth in this skull," Axia continued, unperturbed by their flirting, "These teeth are generally newer, but there are a few that are worn down quite severely."

After a pause, she continued, "Regarding dental growth, there’s a very clear difference between the Elf Race and the Human Race. The teeth of Elves continuously grow and replace themselves, otherwise, they would easily wear out over their long lifespans."

"I see," Tangmo nodded, then lifted Luo’er’s face again and approached with pursed lips, saying, "Luo’er, let me check your teeth."

"Stop messing around," Luo’er covered his mouth with one hand while pushing her away with the other.

Axia kept examining the skeleton and then mused, "This is a female Elf skeleton, probably around... two hundred years old..."

She sighed at this point, then shook her head and said, "If I’m not mistaken, she must have been a Snow Elf, captured by the Aud people during the invasion of the Aud Empire, and somehow ended up dead in this tomb."

The skeleton was curled up on the ground. Luo’er looked at its position and tried to imagine her pose while she was alive. That’s when he noticed something peculiar about the upper segments of her spine, which prompted a closer examination and led to a remarkable discovery.

"Look here," Luo’er pointed out the area he found and exclaimed, "Doesn’t this spine look a bit off to you?"

"Indeed, something is off," Axia said while picking up the spine and inspecting it closely. She then stated with a frown, "This section of the spine was chopped off, the cut is very clean, likely severed with a single swing."

"It might have been a burial sacrifice," Luo’er speculated. "She was held down, forced to kneel facing the main tomb chamber, and then the executioner quickly decapitated her, picking up her head afterward to place it beside her body. That’s why the skeleton appears in such a curled up and prone position."

"That seems about right," Axia said, gently putting down the skull and vertebrae. Her gaze also turned somber.

Luo’er understood how she felt; he himself was not taking it well either. After all, they were both from the Elf Race, and coming across such a scene, it was inevitable to feel a sense of compassion.

After a while, the group gathered their spirits again, stood up, and continued forward. The closer they got to the main tomb chamber, the more skeletons they found sprawled on the ground, and the majority of them were elven skeletons.

One could imagine that over a thousand years ago, a cruel and bloody sacrificial ritual had taken place here. These elves were forced to sacrifice themselves for the invaders’ burial, and the curled up skeletons on the ground bore witness to their unwilling struggle.

Of course, one cannot judge the ancients of over a thousand years ago with modern moral standards because Earth was not much better than Otherworld in those times—just as barbaric and ignorant.

However, since Earth entered the Industrial Age, its moral and civil standards have greatly improved. On the other hand, because Otherworld has always been in a feudal state, its moral and civil standards remained stagnant until it made contact with humans from Earth. The Otherworld over thirty years ago was much the same as more than a thousand years ago—just as ignorant and barbaric.

Stepping over these remains, the group continued to walk for more than ten meters, until they finally saw a sealed stone door. As they reached this point, they started to become tense, aware that the main tomb chamber was likely to have traps, especially those driven by magic.

In Otherworld, magic traps are quite troublesome to deal with. Not because they are powerful, but due to their difficulty to detect and their very long shelf life.

As mentioned before, magic traps, also known as Magic Array Traps, are quite moving in their ability to cause harm as they absorb ambient magic to unleash instantaneous damage. However, these traps have their unique advantage of nearly never malfunctioning in principle.

As long as the Magic Array is undamaged, these Magic Array Traps can be used in an infinite loop until the magic in the surrounding atmosphere is exhausted. It is for this reason that to avoid danger, it is best to detect and destroy such traps. Otherwise, you might miss them on the way in, but step on them on the way back out.

Generally, to compensate for the deficiency in these Magic Array Traps’ follow-through power, the Mage who sets up the Array might connect an external source of magic—a Magic Crystal for the output of magic power. The advantage of Magic Crystals is their ability to release all the magic within the crystal in an instant, resulting in very severe magic damage.

Considering that the deep pit where the Snow God resided contained a Magic Crystal Mine, Luo’er had reason to believe that the majority of the Magic Array Traps inside this tomb were likely connected to Magic Crystals, making them exceptionally dangerous.

So, upon reaching this point, everyone’s pace noticeably slowed down, and Tangmo began to check for the presence of Magic Array Traps around them.

As also mentioned previously, there are traditionally two ways to inscribe a Magic Array. One is to use magic-conducting powder to draw directly on the ground, and the other is to carve patterns into the ground and then fill them with the magic-conducting powder.

The first method’s advantage is its convenience, as Arrays can be drawn at any time, but its disadvantage is equally obvious—it’s not durable, and the Magic Array can easily become ineffective over time due to the loss of some of its patterns.

The second method is the most common approach for Magic Array Traps. Carving patterns in the ground and then filling them with magic-conducting powder allows for a nearly indestructible setup that can preserve its activation for a long time.

Some Mages, when using this method, would even seal the carved lines with materials like concrete to protect them from natural elements such as rain washing away the powder.

Since the magic is activated by the flow of the powder through the carvings, covering the patterns with a layer of concrete does not render the Magic Array ineffective.

However, it should be noted that if the Magic Array carved is of the passive type, it is generally not recommended to cover it with concrete, as it could easily be triggered by accident, activating the Array. In doing so, one ends up creating pitfalls for oneself, which is a loss not worth the gain.