Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 605 Bastion Castle (7)

Judging from the architectural style, the owner of this royal tomb, or the descendants responsible for burying him, was not extravagant. The entire royal tomb is not large, only about 20 square meters, which is very frugal compared to the lords or kings of the same period. There are not many furnishings inside the tomb, just a wooden coffin inlaid with gold and silver, two standing figures in armor holding weapons, and some murals and texts on the walls of the tomb, that's all. Even though it is not big, it looks a bit empty.

While the furnishings within the royal tombs are simple, they are not sloppy. The painting quality of the murals is exceptionally high. If a rubbing of the murals were made and placed in a museum, it would be a treasure, if not a treasure trove. Furthermore, the inscriptions within the murals and alongside them are meticulously crafted. Creating the inscriptions to their present state would have required months of work by specialized artisans.

As for the two suits of armor, they were even more remarkable. Even after Han Zu opened the royal tomb, they hadn't decayed rapidly. Some parts of them even retained their luster. While not as good as new, they looked like they hadn't been used much. Even though he couldn't use the contractor's equipment to scan them, Han Zu could tell from the feel and appearance alone that the materials used to make them were definitely not cheap. Furthermore, their defense should be quite high. After all, when the fireball-throwing skeleton blew himself up, it also hit the two suits, yet they didn't even leave a scratch.

"These are great things! It's a pity they're a little small for me, otherwise I could wear them."

As for the weapons held by the armors, they were not so lucky. Perhaps because of the material or the shape, they were not very strong. The long swords originally held by the two armors had now been blown off and turned from long swords into daggers. Han Zu smacked his lips, feeling a little regretful. After all, from the shape point of view, the two long swords were still very beautiful.

Han Zu's experience dealing with the skeletons just now made him realize that perhaps due to the peculiarities of Bastion Castle, even if he was powerful, his attacks against those monsters would often be much less effective. He could now shatter the protective wall of a nuclear bunker with a single punch, but it took several to knock down a single skeleton. This was clearly not right; a single skeleton could never be stronger than the protective wall of a nuclear bunker. However, if he could get his hands on one or two weapons, that would solve the problem. While he could still use his fists to blast his way through, it would be time-consuming.

As a video game geek (though he certainly didn't look like one), Han Zu had a slight interest in cold weapons like longswords, though he wasn't as fond of them as he was of guns. He also understood their coolness, and considering the medieval elements scattered throughout Bastienburg, he figured he'd get his hands on a cold weapon to try. And judging by his own experience, a weapon was definitely better than a fist, even a dagger would do. So Han Zu circled the two suits of armor twice, trying to see if there were any other weapons he could use, like daggers or one-handed hammers. Unfortunately, aside from the longswords shattered by the explosion, the two suits of armor didn't have any other weapons.

“Tsk…”

Smacking his lips in disappointment, Han Zu left the two suits of armor and headed towards the deepest part of the royal tomb, where he came to the wooden coffin inlaid with gold and silver. A quick inspection revealed that the coffin was relatively well-preserved, likely unaffected by the explosion. Restraining his strength, Han Zu gently pushed open the coffin, revealing the contents.

In addition to a pile of burial treasures, there was a corpse wearing a luxurious robe and a golden laurel crown in the wooden coffin. Its skull was incomplete and the right lower jaw was missing, but someone had carved out the missing part with stone and fitted it to the corpse. Although the position of the bone cut was a little blurred due to its age and the fitting of the stone, based on the angle of the missing position and the missing position, Han Zu could probably guess that the right lower jaw of the corpse must have been chopped off by something. There was no depression in the skull, which meant that it must have been chopped off by a long-pole weapon, such as a halberd.

"It seems he has participated in combat."

Lifting the luxurious robe from the corpse, one could see its right arm, which was also carved from stone. In addition, one could see some deep chopping marks on other parts of the corpse. Han Zu thought about the various scars on the corpse and roughly guessed the cause of death. It was probably hit on the head by a long-handled weapon on the battlefield, causing brain damage and death. There was no medical level to treat this level of injury in that era. Combined with the other scars, it could be seen that the corpse had many old injuries before, and these combined together should have ultimately led to its death.

The golden laurel wreath indicated that, even if the corpse wasn't a king, it was at least a great lord. Its burial in the only royal vault in Bastion Castle indicated its identity. Unfortunately, the grave goods within the coffin offered no clues to its identity. The murals and inscriptions on the tomb walls were simply artwork and poetry, and similarly offered no description of the remains within the royal coffin. After a thorough search, confirming the absence of any clues or other useful items, such as weapons and armor, Han Zu left the royal vault and returned to the cemetery.

The entire cemetery was divided into three sections. Han Zu had already surveyed two of them, and he planned to take a look at the last. However, upon arriving, he was clearly disappointed. Compared to the neatness and elegance of the first two sections, this section was almost indistinguishable from a mass grave. Many coffins were exposed above ground, and even many of the coffins and the dilapidated graves were filled with water. Even these places, which should have exuded a stench of decay, were almost odorless, indicating that the time for them to become rancid was past.

Han Zu scratched his head. If the first two cemeteries, clearly the burial grounds of princes, nobles, and castle owners, had yielded no clues, then there was no chance of finding any in this mass grave either. Furthermore, judging by the scattered skeletons and exposed coffins, and based on his previous experience, if he continued deeper, he'd likely find even more skeletons. Han Zu hadn't found a weapon yet, and he didn't really want to waste any more time here.

After thinking for a while, Han Zu made a decision. He did not continue to go deeper into this area, but returned to the starting point with the suspension bridge behind him, and began to think about which direction to go next.

On the left is the royal mausoleum area of ​​the cemetery, and on the left is the outer wall of Fort Bastia. Going forward is the mass grave. Han Zu did not see any roads leading to other areas in these two places, so there should be no way to explore the left side. Without leaving Fort Bastia, Han Zu can either go right or go directly through the first part of the cemetery and continue moving forward.

But in reality, Han Zu's only option now was to explore to the right. He had indeed found a path forward past the cemetery, but it was currently blocked. The debris of the cemetery wall blocked the path. While he couldn't fly for the time being, Han Zu could climb over it. However, he felt that climbing up wasn't a good idea, so he abandoned the idea. As for smashing through the wreckage, Han Zu hadn't tried it yet. Based on his previous experience, this method was unlikely to work, and even if it did, it would undoubtedly create a lot of noise. Han Zu didn't have any idea of ​​his surroundings, nor did he know what strange things were inside Bastion Castle. To be on the safe side, he decided to avoid causing any unnecessary disturbance.

After ruling out other ideas, Han Zu quickly made a decision. He headed toward the passage on the right, which was a corridor supported by stone pillars. Although the pillars had already peeled off several layers due to weathering, judging by the precious metal fragments scattered on the ground, these pillars were once very ornate, likely carved with magnificent patterns and possessing awe-inspiring shapes. However, now, they were no different from ordinary stone pillars, perhaps even less solid than normal ones.

After walking through a corridor supported by stone pillars, Han Zu arrived at a large area. This was supposed to be a huge room with a roof, but now its wooden roof had completely rotted away, leaving not a single intact plank. If it weren't for some metal-protected corner fragments stuck in the ground, Han Zu probably wouldn't have guessed the roof was originally made of wood. After walking around here, Han Zu roughly understood what this area was originally used for. This was probably the armory of Bastinburg, or at least one of its armories.

The armory's location next to the royal cemetery wasn't surprising. Due to the royal cemetery's unique nature, access was limited to royalty and nobility. Furthermore, its quietness made it a popular venue for royal nobles, even kings and overlords, to conspire or confer. Naturally, individuals of these statures had their enemies, so this place was a prime target for assassins and the like. For their own safety, these high-ranking individuals naturally required protection. However, bringing in their trusted guards wasn't practical for anyone other than overlords and kings. Placing the armory next to the royal cemetery could, to some extent, address this issue.

The importance of the armory is undeniable, so it must be patrolled and guarded by experienced soldiers, equipped with a vast supply of weapons. Any disturbance within the royal cemetery would prompt them to respond instantly, allowing fully armed soldiers to storm the grounds in less than a minute. Under these circumstances, an assassin, aware of this, would certainly not choose to target the royal cemetery. After all, even the most skilled assassins seeking to infiltrate Bastienburg would not be fully armed, requiring only daggers or concealed weapons that would be difficult to detect. Furthermore, to minimize noise, they would be unable to wear adequate metal armor, at best, leather. With such limited protection, for one or more assassins to defeat an entire squadron of soldiers clad in plate or chain mail, armed with swords, spears, and halberds, head-on would be practically suicidal. The mere presence of these soldiers, even without even a charge, would be enough to deter those with ulterior motives.

The armory wasn't in great shape right now. Many parts had collapsed, and the storage containers that once held armor and weapons were almost completely destroyed. But for Han Zu, even in its current state, it was still useful. He could at least find something useful among the piles of scrap metal, saving him from constant fist-fighting.

However, there was a small problem. Within this area of ​​the Bastion Fort Armory, a large number of skeletons lay on the ground. Judging by their number, there were at least thirty skeletons wielding various weapons. Furthermore, in some corners, there were massive bats, each as long as a meter. Besides their enormous size, Han Zu sensed a considerable amount of energy stored within them. Converting this energy into attack power, they could inflict nearly the same damage as the fireball thrown by the skeleton earlier. Most importantly, these winged beasts wouldn't approach him from the ground like the skeleton did. Instead, they would use their wings to launch attacks. For Han Zu, who couldn't fly, their mobility was even more of a problem than their energy.

Han Zu also noticed something else. Inside the armory, in front of or beside the walls that hadn't completely collapsed, there were still a lot of armor on display. But around these armored figures holding weapons and at their feet, Han Zu saw clear signs of life, proving that the armor was likely alive. These living armored figures might move even slower than the white skeletons, but Han Zu guessed they were definitely more resilient than the skeletons. If you want to deal with them, it's best not to use your fists.

This was the problem. If Han Zu wanted to deal with them successfully, he needed a suitable weapon. However, the weapon storage containers and the weapon pile were located in the deepest part of the armory, flanked by walls that had not yet collapsed. Therefore, Han Zu could not, as he had done when observing the armory himself, circumvent the skeletons and living armor that might rise up. He could only pass through the middle. The consequence of doing so would likely wake up every monster in the armory at once. Given Bastinburg's influence on Han Zu, it would take him at least an hour to deal with so many enemies. However, this defeated his original intention of saving time in the battle.

"How do we do this?"

Han Zu stopped, leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and began to think about what he should do next. Should he try to avoid fighting as much as possible and get a usable weapon, or should he avoid trouble and leave this place for the time being and continue exploring? He had plenty of time, so he was not in a hurry for the time being.