Tomb Raiders

Outside a dark and ancient cave, covered with moss, hidden among the surrounding lush evergreen trees, the faint sounds of metal smashing against stones could consistently be heard from a distance. Inside the ancient cave, a group of four to five bare-bodied men, covered in profusely dripping sweat, were vigorously digging the interior wall of the cave using custom-made pickaxes designed for mining excavation.

These custom-made pickaxes cost the group of men a fortune from a famous weapon shop, but they did not regret the purchase as their effectiveness was nothing short of amazing. With a single tap, they could easily cut through any stone, regardless of size or texture.

The passionate group of men considered themselves archaeologists, although others would rather refer to them as tomb raiders. This was because they had a proclivity for raiding the tombs of influential families in search of treasures placed with the deceased.

During every raid, regardless of the size of the tombs they plundered, they made enormous fortunes from the treasures they acquired. They used the wealth from their heists to live extravagant and indulgent lives that could make even the wealthiest tycoons envious.

Their method of operation was quite simple. They disguised their identities and posed as genuine archaeologists, using counterfeit certifications. They would claim to want to study the tombs of influential people for historical research, but in truth, their only interest was in the potential treasures or valuable items hidden within the coffins of the deceased.

The group of self-proclaimed archaeologists believed that it was a waste to let such treasures and items remain hidden and rot away with their deceased owners. They criticized those who held conservative beliefs and selfishly desired to be buried with their precious possessions, as they believed it would only cause suffering and misery for future generations.

They believed that the deceased could no longer contribute to society, and burying their precious treasures with them would only have a detrimental effect on society as a whole.

With that in mind, they made it their mission to obtain those precious treasures and valuable items if no one else wanted them. Furthermore, they believed they desperately needed those treasures and items to enrich their lives.

With their philosophy and reasoning as their driving force, they made a habit of raiding and selling the treasures they plundered for exorbitant and lucrative prices, enough to outweigh the risks they took. That was how they made a living in a chaotic world full of misery and death.

However, their actions made them infamous throughout their city. Many deceived and influential families wanted them captured, but with their personal strengths and cunning means, they had always managed to elude their pursuers and survive to the present day.

Currently, they were digging through an ancient cavern they had discovered by accident in a cave they stumbled upon. Initially, they thought it was a normal cave, but it turned out to be an ancient cave instead. From the exterior, the ancient cave resembled an ordinary one, and one could easily assume the interior was the same, but they would be wrong.

With the expertise and experience gained from raiding many ancient tombs, the group of tomb raiders could instinctively sense a jackpot the moment they set foot inside the ancient cave and saw the complex cavern structure within. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the interior of the ancient cave was designed as though it was a hidden chamber of some powerful expert.

They had no idea to whom it belonged, but that didn't stop them from wanting to find out what potential secrets or treasures were hidden within it. They had a feeling that they were going to strike it big this time for sure.

However, after moments of thorough inspection, regardless of the complex structure of the ancient cave's interior or what their instincts may be hinting at, they couldn't quite figure out what was special about the ancient cavern, as it was covered in moss from the outside to the inside. Furthermore, aside from some strange designs on the walls, the interior was completely barren with no treasures in sight like they had thought.

That unexpected discovery left them puzzled for a while.

After a few minutes of tirelessly searching every nook and cranny, turning every piece of rock without missing a single detail, and repeating the process many times, only then did they manage to discover the peculiarity of the wall at the end of the cavern.

Initially, they had only wanted to use the ancient cave as their hideout to elude their pursuers. With that in mind, they didn't want to cause any commotion to alert the enemies of their whereabouts.

However, they immediately changed their minds when they entered the abode of the cave. Afterward, while they were searching for a hidden mechanism or compartment in the cavern, one of them accidentally scratched the wall with their pickaxe as he walked past it.

The sequence of events that transpired was too favorable for them that they had begun to wonder if their luck was exceptional on this day.

Through the scratch made by one of them, the group of tomb raiders discovered that the wall at the far end of the cavern was seemingly inlaid with gold and also had some strange red patterns that looked like dried blood. There were visible cracks on the wall, most likely due to aging, but it was still unusually sturdy. They couldn't have made a scratch on it with a regular pickaxe.

With that being the case, it was thanks to the sharpness of their treasured pickaxes that they managed to leave a scratch on the sturdy wall. The wall was made of some golden sand material with strange red patterns decorating its surface.

Fortunately, the mysterious golden wall was already forming cracks due to the ravages of the unknown, so they were able to find a corroded section on the wall and began digging away for hours on end with minimal progress.

Among the group of tomb raiders, one of them was a man with a pale complexion. He had dried black lips with cracks, making him look malnourished. He also had a pair of cruel and savage-looking deep black eyes, which he tried his best to conceal. Fluttering behind him was a long black coat that reached slightly below his knees.

The pale-skinned man stood behind the remaining members of the tomb raiding "Archaeologists", who were tirelessly digging through the sturdy golden wall as if their lives depended on it. However, he didn't move an inch and only stood in the same position.

Just by standing there, the pale-skinned man exuded a fierce and wild aura from his body, but he tried his best to suppress his turbulent aura. Judging by the fact that he was not bothering to dig through the wall of the cavern, he seemed to be the leader of the group of tomb raiders.

At this moment, he suddenly felt impatient and couldn't help but ask about the current progress.

"Paul, how is it? Can you make it by the end of today?"

"What do you think?!"

A voice replied loudly, followed by a clashing metallic sound.

"Can't you see how hard it is to dig through this damn wall? I reckon it will take us another full day for these pickaxes to break through them, even though these are the best ones we've got!"

The person called Paul seemed to be the vice leader of the group, judging by the way he was casually talking to the pale-skinned man.

Hearing this response, the pale-skinned man scowled, narrowed his eyes, and pondered for a moment. He then took out a steel pickaxe with golden patterns on it and casually gestured for Paul to take it.

"What? Where did you get this, Jason?"

Paul couldn't help but ask when he saw the intricate pickaxe for the first time.

Jason only laughed meaningfully and said: "I retrieved it from the box we got from that old blacksmith's tomb the other day."

"What? Why didn't you tell me about it earlier? I recall you said that you would find someone to open the box when we failed to open it that day, but you haven't said anything since then. Judging from this pickaxe's appearance, whether in terms of durability or sharpness, it is clearly better than the so-called masterpiece that we got from that supposedly renowned weapon shop. No, forget that. Why didn't you give it to me from the beginning? What are you thinking, Jason?"

Paul demanded an explanation with a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing."

Jason waved his hand dismissively and said nonchalantly: "I was going to tell you about this earlier, but I just forgot to mention it when we were on the last raid. Also, I just recalled that I brought it with me today. That's why I didn't give it to you from the beginning."

'Bullshit! You were clearly trying to keep it for yourself, then make up some excuses later and sell it behind our backs!'

Paul resentfully thought to himself, but he didn't dare say it out loud, afraid his words would bring down the morale of the other members who were busily digging other parts of the golden wall.

With that in mind, Paul changed the topic and said: "Anyway, step back! I'm going to try out this baby right away and see how sharp it is!"

The moment he finished speaking, he roared and swung the golden-patterned pickaxe at the sturdy golden wall. Strangely, there was no resistance at all, and he managed to bring down the entire wall in one clean strike, startling him. He nearly fell headlong from the excessive and unnecessary momentum he built up when he swung the golden-patterned pickaxe.