Fang Hong nodded slowly. He picked up an iron gauntlet, turned it upside down and shook out the dust from inside. The inner cavity of the gauntlet was completely empty; no trace of any transmission mechanism or anything similar was visible.

No matter from which angle one looked at it, this was simply a piece of armor.

Yet, it was somewhat different from typical armor.

First and foremost, it was much thicker. The thickest part of the breastplate was about an inch thick. In Eteliria, even magic guided armor wasn't this thick. The entire suit of armor weighed about half a ton; it took great effort for everyone to carry this thing out.

The magic patterns on the face were also very special, although at first glance they seemed like alchemy formulas, in reality they were not. The intricate patterns overlapped each other like ripples, quite different from the circular formations of alchemy arrays, looking like a school Fang Hong had never seen before.

But it wasn't from the Holiman School either, which was merely an improvement on traditional alchemy, incorporating some elements from the Dragon Worship Sect, but it fundamentally did not stray from the original source.

"Perhaps this is a Ghost Spirit Armor," Parker suggested from beside them, "I know of such undead creatures..."

"It's not," Reed shook his head, "There's no trace of negative energy on it, can't you feel it, kid?"

"How would I feel it, I'm not one of you mystic folks," the Papalarian scoffed, his suggestion instantly dismissed.

"What do you think?" asked the Lion People, shaking his mane as he looked at Ditke and Atira.

Both nodded.

"Although it doesn't feel quite natural, it indeed isn't one of those twisted things; I can tell," the Elf Girl said, looking at the so-called 'armor.'

"Speaking of which," Reed picked up a ragged shoulder armor, clanging it back into the pile, he asked, "Isn't this just a piece of tattered armor? Why are you all so interested in this thing?"

"That's not armor," Tianlan said loudly, "That's a puppet, I saw it."

"Well, even if it is a puppet, what about it?" Reed lit his pipe, bowed his head to take a puff, and muttered through clouds of smoke, "What does it have to do with us?"

The French girl was speechless, turning her head toward Atira.

The Elf Girl frowned, recalling their earlier encounter in the corridor, shaking her head, "Actually, it's nothing much, just a bit curious."

"A bit curious?"

"At the time, I felt like the thing was calling me, I don't know if I was just imagining it," Atira answered, furrowing her brow.

"Calling you?"

Reed and Ditke grew serious, the two knights from Marlan exchanged glances.

"Are you sure it wasn't just your imagination, Atira?" the Lion People removed his pipe, asking earnestly.

The Elf Girl shook her head uncertainly, "I can't be sure, Reed, it was cold and dark down there, and I'm not sure if I was still in the Phantom Realm at that time."

"But you are a pure believer of Ameya, usual illusions can't affect you," Reed replied, "I think this item is a Blight Object."

The senior knight nodded.

"This is not a good omen," Reed shook his head, "Items that can manipulate spiritual energy are mostly up to no good; there's something odd about this armor, it has the power to bewitch the mind."

Ditke turned back, asking Fang Hong, "Can you think of anything?"

Fang Hong frowned.

He remembered what he had seen in the Phantom Realm; Dragon's Golden Eyes also seemed to have this ability, hence it could beguile the Dwarf Hero through the Ring of Golden Flame.

But how could this be linked to this mysterious armor? This thing hadn't even appeared in Dolifen's Phantom Realm.

Moreover, the power of Dragon's Golden Eyes and the Ring of Golden Flame was indeed in his own hands without doubt.

He couldn't help but quietly retort, "But Mr. Ditke, there seems to be no related clues in Dolifen's Phantom Realm?"

The senior knight slowly shook his head, "Dolifen left us with many problems, what we saw was just a part of that day. And before that, it's unclear, just like none of us understand why Sir Haggston would betray us."

Fang Hong was silent.

It indeed seemed that deeper secrets lay buried within this city, secrets entwined with the disaster that occurred thirty years ago, forever buried beneath the ruins and beyond human discovery.

"Speaking of which," Fang Hong suddenly spoke, "was this buried alongside those things beneath the graveyard?"

The things he referred to were naturally the 'treasures' that Tianlan and Gita had unearthed from underground.

They were actually part of the materials that the Colin Kingdom Artisan Association had sent to the Kapuka Artisan Association—not only those from thirty years ago. Fang Hong and the others had carefully examined the materials and discovered that the labels carried greatly varying dates.

This was clearly a startling discovery, indicating that someone had intentionally intercepted the materials from the Artisan Association meant for Kapuka and it didn't seem like the work of Dragon Worshipers.

This was indicated by the results of the interrogation of Dragon Worship Sect prisoners conducted by Princess Briana Karanshir Miaoxing, as the prisoners appeared to know nothing about these things.

What the Papalarian Crossbowmen had desperately sought as the 'treasures from thirty years ago' had ironically led Tianlan and Gita to find quite an astonishing discovery by accident.

Although it wasn't the 'treasures from thirty years ago,' because according to Kapuka's records, that batch of materials had already been discovered in the ruins long ago—

However, among these materials, there indeed were parts from the batch that was from thirty years ago.

For instance, a box of gold coins was part of the funds transferred at that time. People might have assumed that these funds were lost in the disaster, but they had been moved before the disaster struck.

These items had remained hidden under the graveyard for thirty years and would not have seen the light of day had Tianlan and Gita not discovered that underground passage in the Phantom Realm.

The question was, where did those who originally hid them go afterward? Theoretically, if those people were still alive, it was unlikely they would give up such a great fortune.

Or had they too perished in the disaster?

But then, why would that underground passage also appear in Dolifen's Phantom Realm?

Moreover, what confused Fang Hong even more was:

What connection did this mysterious armor have with these things, and was it part of the intercepted materials, or had it been in that place long before that?

Clearly, no one could answer his questions. Tianlan and Gita also didn't know much about the origins of this armor, only certain that it had indeed been placed in a corner of the crypt before then.

Atira shook her head too; apart from feeling an inexplicable call before the door was opened, the armor had lain inert like a lifeless object afterward.

Reed suggested throwing the object into the sea. As a Paladin of Marlan, he had a natural aversion to such strange and ancient objects.

However, this suggestion was unanimously rejected by everyone, including Mr. Diket.

"This might be related to the matters behind Dolifen," the older knight spoke, "If you don't mind, you could hand it over to me, let Princess Briana take it where it belongs, which might help us understand what exactly happened back then."

"Yes," Atira nodded, clearly agreeing with the proposal.

With her approval, the others naturally had no further objections, and even Reed could only helplessly shrug. Fang Hong took one last look at the peculiar magic patterns on the armor, always feeling that the mysterious patterns might hide some secrets.

Unfortunately, he couldn't discern anything.

But he saw Red Leaf approaching sternly from a distance, telling him, "Ade, we need to leave. Something has happened at the guild."

"What's wrong?" Fang Hong, noticing her solemn expression, couldn't help asking.

&"It's nothing serious. Several of our guild's outposts have been attacked by an unidentified force, looking like it's the people from the Dragonfire Guild." Though it might involve guild secrets, Red Leaf pondered briefly and still responded.

"What!?"

Fang Hong was shocked. He had never imagined that while matters in Dolifen remained unresolved and the Tabopolis Oak Knights had yet to confront the Dragonfire Guild,

the latter would take the initiative to strike?

Had he heard that right?

...

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