[Thaade's Twelve Treasure Vaults - Vault No. 5] (Harvested)

Difficulty: Insect Enthusiast

Fame: 1,837,300

Treasure Information: Sade due to...(Perfect)

Treasure Harvest: Valuable Items × N, Insect Disc. ]

The white dot on the map had disappeared.

Looking at the blue dot, Ed knew today was the day to collect it.

He carefully rolled up the map, placed it in his inventory, and slung his nearly empty backpack over his shoulder, a prop to hide his magical storage. By reaching into the bag to retrieve items, he maintained the illusion that his gear came from there rather than a mysterious space on his person. Then, he pushed open the wooden door of his cabin and stepped onto the deck.

The ship had secretly approached Meister Island under cover of darkness the previous night, now hidden within a recess of the island's surrounding reef.

"Alright, let's go ashore. Stay hidden and don't draw attention," Andre said, taking the lead by jumping from the deck toward the distant reef.

With a few agile leaps, he crossed the rocky outcropping, reached the base of the sea cliff, and began to climb. Elena and Vanessa followed closely behind.

At that moment, Old Bobby grabbed Jason's wrist. "Old folks hate this kind of strenuous exercise. If you don't mind, carry me."

Hearing Bobby's request and seeing his slight smile, Jason rolled his eyes helplessly and squatted down. "Alright, alright. Old folks always know how to boss people around." He hoisted Bobby onto his back and followed the others.

Ed glanced at Elena, who had carried him the last two times he was injured, wondering if he should ask for help again.

Perhaps feeling his gaze, Elena looked back. As their eyes met, a smile appeared on her face.

"Want a ride?" She asked, patting her shoulder.

Looking at her playful yet murderous smile, Ed honestly turned to Sankaka, gave him a nod, and left the ship on his own.

Sankaka was, naturally, responsible for guarding the vessel. Unless the ship was anchored in an extremely secluded location or a perfectly safe port, a core member always stayed behind.

The group scaled the sea cliff, crossed over the mountain ridge, and entered the island's interior.

They moved swiftly and silently, using the gray morning mist as cover. Their rapid pace soon brought them to the entrance of the treasure vault.

Ed looked around. Sure enough, it was the mountain with the abandoned watchtower.

"It's in here, Bobby," Andre said, turning his gaze to Old Bobby.

Bobby nodded and walked to the edge of the dilapidated watchtower. He retrieved several thumb-sized bullets from a pouch at his waist and placed them on the watchtower's ledge. Next, he took a palm-sized wooden stick from his backpack and wedged it into the corner of the doorway before giving it a tap.

It was an alarm system, designed to alert Bobby instantly if anyone approached, even indicating their number and whether they had touched anything.

"Let's go in," Andre said, leading the group into the ruined structure.

The watchtower had long been abandoned, its interior choked with weeds and various plants. The stone staircase to the upper level had collapsed, and the steps along the edges were unusable.

Andre walked to the center and waved his hand over the ground. Blue ripples emanated from him, pushing aside the plants and a thin layer of soil, piling them around the edges.

As the vegetation and dirt dispersed, the stone slab beneath their feet was revealed, its edge marked by a clear circular crack.

Andre punched the ground, dislodging several pieces of gravel along with accumulated dirt and grime. A circular hole, perfectly sized for the disc key, appeared in the slab's center.

He took the palm-shaped disc from his backpack and carefully fitted it into the hole.

As the disc locked into place, a faint vibration came from below. Dust and lime billowed upward as a massive circular stone slab, two to three meters in radius, began to sink.

In just over ten seconds, the slab had descended about six or seven meters. The team had already lit their lanterns, revealing a large, circular metal door ahead.

The door was engraved with intricate patterns and featured a circular indentation at its center. Andre took out the Insect Disc he had obtained earlier and placed it into the depression.

Boom!

With a resonant sound, a distinct magical glow erupted from the iron door. The disc split in two, merging completely with the metal, and the doors swung open to either side. Inside, magical flames ignited, flooding the chamber with a pale blue light.

They were greeted by a vast, open arena paved with exceptionally smooth stone slabs. In the center stood three knight statues clad in metal armor, swords at the ready.

Seeing the statues, everyone grew alert. These were likely the trial guardians. Could they move? Ed wondered. Following the usual routine, they probably would.

He entertained a fleeting thought: Could I store them in my inventory? Logically, they're inanimate objects. I could take them out during a fight, and they'd attack everyone, saving me a lot of trouble. The plan sounded surprisingly feasible. I'll have to try that someday.

"Wait, wait," Old Bobby called out abruptly, halting the group's advance.

He pulled a small monocular telescope from his pocket, held it to his eye, and peered inside. "Wow, a very old model. I didn't expect to see one here. The craftsmanship is quite good, remarkably well preserved, almost never used. A pity; now it only has collector's value," he muttered in a technical language the others couldn't fully follow.

He put the telescope away and explained. "Those three are Spell Guardians, products of the Sun Empire's forging workshop. Their strength is around the one-spiral level, with strong defense but no other outstanding abilities."

"You mean they'll attack us if we go in?" Andre asked.

Bobby nodded, his face full of excitement.

Elena couldn't help but ask, "Are they valuable?"

"Of course they're valuable, extraordinarily so. One of these statues is worth at least twelve Gold Sails. Now they're even rarer; many wealthy collectors would pay fifteen, even eighteen Gold Sails for one with the right connections."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes gleamed with visions of gold.

After a moment of silent avarice, seeing the group's excitement, Bobby poured cold water on their enthusiasm with an evil smile. "There's a reason they're so expensive. These three have likely already been activated, so our only option is to smash them to pieces. Keeping them intact is nearly impossible. Otherwise, why do you think they command such prices now?"

"What a pity!" Elena said, gazing at the statues. It went against a treasure hunter's nature to destroy something worth over thirty Gold Sails.

"Alright, prepare for battle," Andre commanded.

Hearing this, everyone nodded, their expressions turning serious. They assumed fighting stances and slowly entered the arena.

The moment they stepped inside, the three statues stirred to life. Blue light flashed within their helmets as they took up the greatswords resting before them.

With a clang of metal, the three knights charged the group from different directions.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.