Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 260 - 258: The Secret of the Pyramid

Chapter 260: Chapter 258: The Secret of the Pyramid

Tassera only hesitated for a moment before quickly reverting to her Dragon Form and joining the group.

After all, she was the second-ranked Blue Dragon among the Colorful Dragons, a title befitting a formidable Evil Dragon.

Tassera flapped her wings and flew to the top of the pyramid. After glancing around, she announced, "Don’t move recklessly! Follow my orders."

"Who are you? Are you the leader?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow at the Blue Dragon. "Why should we listen to you?"

"Because I know more about pyramids than you do," Tassera flicked her tongue, clearly unamused. "If you carelessly destroy a pyramid like some fools, you’ll ruin the treasures inside. Are you even aware of that?"

Cecilia opened her mouth slightly, ready to counter, but even she had to admit that Tassera was far more knowledgeable than herself. Although when it came to wit, human dynamics, and persuasion, Cecilia was sure she held the upper hand. She remarked, "Keep convincing me."

"I don’t need to convince you."

Tassera flicked her broad, flat tail and crawled over to Leon’s side. She explained, "A pyramid is the tomb of a Pharaoh from an Ancient Fallen Empire. These Pharaohs indulged in opulence during their lifetimes and sought to dominate the world even in death, sparing no expense to have pyramids built for themselves."

Clawing away a piece of stone, Tassera continued, "The Ancient Fallen Empire’s devout belief in the gods formed a deeply ingrained afterlife culture at a very early stage. Influenced by this, the people of the empire sincerely and confidently prepared for the afterlife while still alive..."

"Why should you listen to my commands?" Tassera lifted her neck as she spoke. Truth be told, her neck as a Blue Dragon was somewhat short, making it impressive how elegant and long it appeared in her human form.

"Pyramids were primarily constructed with stone. To embellish and decorate these plain stones, the artisans of the Ancient Fallen Empire employed various techniques, such as polishing granite and limestone, decorating with gold and silver, embedding gemstones, using pigments, and creating unparalleled works of art."

"Some philistines only value gold and jewels without realizing that the artwork is far more valuable," Tassera glanced sideways at Cecilia.

"We can, of course, break into the pyramid from the outside, but we must carefully avoid damaging the burial chambers, destroying the murals on the walls, statues, and other knickknacks in these chambers." Tassera scanned her surroundings. "That’s all I’m saying. Does anyone have any objections?"

Cecilia remained silent, letting out only a faint snort.

"I have no objections," Salovis—notorious even among dragons for her haughty demeanor—remarked, sparing no warmth toward either Blue Dragons or Green Dragons despite often appearing allied with Cecilia.

"We’ll follow your plan," Leon said. "Whatever you say, we’ll do."

"First, dismantle the top of the pyramid. Don’t touch any other parts," Tassera instructed.

Leon, initially positioned midway down the pyramid and ready to tear it apart from the middle, listened to Tassera and climbed back up to the top.

Four people couldn’t easily tear down a building, but four dragons dismantling a pyramid was effortless.

Not to mention, Leon was able to use the "Downy Hairs" technique, stripping off two scales to summon two Red Dragon avatars to help with the work. Unfortunately, the avatars lacked self-awareness and required Leon’s line of sight to function, otherwise, they could have even handled adventures on their own.

Working together, it wasn’t long before they uncovered a burial chamber, where a massive crystal hovered in the center.

At the moment the crystal appeared, Salovis almost immediately extended a claw toward it. However, Leon quickly pressed her down and demanded, "What are you doing?"

"I—I... What was I about to do?" Salovis blinked, appearing to have just snapped out of a trance.

"Follow the plan. Don’t act rashly," Leon said, glancing at Tassera. Despite the excitement of seeing such a massive crystal, Leon maintained remarkable composure.

Such a large crystal—it even captivated Tassera, the Storage Dragon who wasn’t particularly greedy for wealth. After all, what dragon—or woman—could resist such a dazzling, shining thing? After a long pause to calm herself, Tassera finally declared, "This crystal... This isn’t just a crystal. This is the Focusing Eye."

"What’s the Focusing Eye?" Leon asked. He had never heard of it in any lore or manual but was already used to this world being loosely based on DND settings.

"The Focusing Eye is a type of Magic Weapon, usually crafted from crystal. It gathers energy to emit a blinding white beam, so powerful and destructive that it annihilates everything in its path," Tassera explained, staring intently at the Focusing Eye. "A pyramid—a tomb—should not have a Focusing Eye in it."

"Unless this pyramid serves a purpose beyond just being a tomb..." Tassera narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"What other purpose could a pyramid have besides being a tomb?" Leon asked curiously.

"It’s just a guess—I don’t know for sure," Tassera replied, sniffing the air. "Staring at me like that won’t change anything... The Ancient Fallen Empire existed thousands upon thousands of years ago. Even the elven libraries scarcely have records about that period."

Leon hesitated briefly before saying, "Forget the backstory. What I want to know is, can we take this Focusing Eye?"

"Of course we can take it." Tassera reached out and grabbed the Focusing Eye in her claw, examining it lovingly. "Isn’t this exactly why we’re here?"

"Can it still be used?" Leon asked. "That’s what I care about."

"It needs study," Tassera responded.

"Then let’s take it back to study thoroughly," Leon said, noticing the eager gazes from both Cecilia and Salovis fixed on the Focusing Eye. "Once you’re done looking at it, let them have a look too... Everyone gets a turn before returning it to me. After we clear this dungeon, we’ll split the treasure equally."

Cecilia, the last to admire the Focusing Eye, reluctantly handed it back to Leon.

Leon gave it a final look before casually tossing it into the small space within his "Sleeve of the Universe." As his strength grew, the space within the Sleeve of the Universe expanded accordingly. "A great start. Let’s keep going—there must be more good stuff below."

The discovery of the Focusing Eye reinvigorated the group. They soon uncovered another burial chamber, filled with books and teeming with magical traps.

Suddenly, ghostly apparitions began materializing, radiating an unnatural chill.

Startled, Salovis nearly tumbled off the pyramid. "What the hell are these things?" she exclaimed.

"Those are ghosts," Tassera replied.

"Kill them," Tassera started to say but then abruptly froze and screamed, "No! Don’t kill them!"

Salovis, who had already prepared her Breath Weapon, suppressed it with great effort and complained, "Make up your mind! Should we kill them or not... Ah! Frozen Ray? I’ve been hit!"

"Your attacks will destroy the library," Tassera explained. "Leave it to me."

"I’ll handle it," Leon volunteered.

A single Hand Palm Bomb was enough to extinguish a ghost. What had once terrorized Leon as a young dragon couldn’t survive even one of his moves now.

"Done. Not a single book was damaged," Leon said as he meticulously dispatched the ghosts. "The rest of the magical traps are all yours."

Without Samadhi True Fire, which would undoubtedly destroy the books, Leon couldn’t deal with the magical traps. This task still fell to Tassera.

Just as Leon finished speaking, a horde of severed hands emerged from somewhere.

These were Crawling Claws, animated through Dark Magic from the severed hands of murderers. Retaining fragments of their original conscious minds, they were driven by residual hatred, jealousy, or greed, acting out the violence their former owners were known for.

Some twisted, dark mages even used Crawling Claws as lab assistants.

Crawling Claws posed no real threat; their challenge level was negligible, akin to being as bothersome as rats. Even ordinary people could easily deal with them. Leon, unwilling to waste a Hand Palm Bomb on them, turned to Tassera and said, "I’ll leave those things to you."

"I’ll handle them—and the magical traps as well," Tassera replied.

Small nuisances like Crawling Claws were easily dispatched with abilities like Electric Claw or Lightning Traction. While Tassera busied herself disarming the magical traps, Leon, Cecilia, and Salovis found a spot to rest and sleep.

By the time Leon awoke and climbed the pyramid, he found that Tassera had already cleared every magical trap.

Leon transformed back into his human form and leapt into the burial chamber. He casually pulled a book from the shelf and frowned at the unfamiliar script. "What language is this?" he asked.

"The script of the Ancient Fallen Empire. It’s very different from the Universal Language that’s commonly used now," Tassera said. "Even I struggle to understand it."

"We’ll study it back at camp," Leon said as he began gathering the books to take with them.

As she helped Leon remove the books from the shelves, Tassera suddenly remarked, "I think I might know what’s going on with this pyramid."

"What do you mean?" Leon paused his movements.

"This pyramid isn’t just a tomb—it’s a Mage Tower," Tassera said after a brief pause. "Perhaps it serves both purposes."

"As for its owner, it’s likely a Pharaoh named Su Ausis," Tassera said, biting her lip in her human form. "Unlike other Pharaohs who were obsessed with the afterlife, he sought to unlock the secrets of immortality. He wasn’t just a Pharaoh; he also served as the High Priest of the Funeral Ceremony Sect, which was prominent at the time."

"What exactly happened to him, I’m not sure. Clearly, Su Ausis didn’t achieve true immortality... Or perhaps he did, judging by the malevolent energy emanating from this pyramid."

After a moment of pondering, Tassera concluded, "We’re most likely dealing with a combination of a Mummy Lord and a lich."