Chapter 746: Chapter 346: The Second Black Stone Tablet (Part 2)

"Not curious, lead the way," Luo De’s tone carried a command.

The rough stone piles, accompanied by fur decorations, did not intrigue Luo De.

The grandeur of the architecture?

Whether it’s the skyscrapers of modern civilization in his past life or the ancient palaces and towers preserved through history, this palace pales in comparison.

Moreover, Luo De will have plenty of time to tour the palace in the future.

"Alright."

Atrey, somewhat helpless, quickened his pace.

After passing through the main hall, taking the stone path through the garden, turning left and right, Atrey finally stopped in front of a stone door embedded in the mountain.

On either side of the stone door were Frost Iron Guards, who respectfully saluted upon seeing Luo De.

"Open it, the rest is not needed from me."

Atrey said calmly, "You have all the keys."

Durant stepped forward, took out three keys, and inserted them into the stone door one after another.

After twisting the last key, the crisp sound of a click was heard, and the Frost Iron Guards stepped forward to forcefully push the stone door open.

Immediately, the dark and narrow stone stairway appeared before everyone.

The Frost Iron Guards handed a lit torch to Durant, who was the first to step into the passage, followed by Atrey.

Luo De walked at the back with Avril and Vivian.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, instantly catching the attention of the guards below.

The guards instinctively gripped their sword hilts but relaxed upon seeing Durant and Luo De, and respectfully saluted.

There were only four guards inside; they bring food and water when they come on duty and stay here for three days.

It’s worth mentioning that the stone door just now was merely the outer gate; inside, there’s another iron door embedded in the rock.

This door has seven keyholes, looking even more complicated.

Durant opened a key box, inserted the seven keys one by one, and twisted each in turn.

"Click, click, click—"

A series of deep sounds arose, and finally, the iron door clicked open.

Durant waved his hand, and two guards simultaneously stepped forward to turn the door ring together.

As the iron door was pulled open, a gust of wind blew through, carrying the scent of metal and dust across everyone’s faces.

Without needing Luo De’s instructions, the guards took their torches and were the first to step into the treasury, inserting the torches on the walls one by one.

Luo De looked at the scene inside the Treasure Vault and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

Having seen numerous noble treasure vaults, Luo De couldn’t deny that the Royal Family’s was the most magnificent.

The Treasure Vault was extraordinarily large, both in length and width exceeding twenty meters, and its height over five meters.

However, the ceiling was not flat, looking as if it had been dug out.

The vault was filled with iron chests; Luo De roughly counted and found about a hundred and fifty.

"Open all the chests."

At Luo De’s command, the guards quickly got to work.

Soon, golden light after golden light burst into Luo De’s view.

Gold Coins, countless Gold Coins.

Inside, there were also stacks of gold bricks, piled neatly together.

Besides Gold Coins, there were various beautiful gems.

Rubies, sapphires, amethysts...

All kinds of colored gems mixed together, sparkling enchantingly in the torchlight.

"Sir, this is the registration list for the Treasure Vault."

Durant presented a parchment booklet to Luo De.

Luo De took the booklet and began to peruse it carefully, while Avril and Vivian curiously leaned in to look as well.

Empire’s Gold Coins, one million five hundred and thirty-seven thousand, gold bricks two thousand, silver bricks ten thousand, jewelry fifteen thousand pieces, and hundreds and thousands of sets of armor, Longswords, Bow and Arrow, and more.

In addition, there are thousands of artworks, raw gemstones, metal ingots, and so on.

"What a wealth accumulated over five hundred years."

Looking at the records in the booklet, Luo De smiled and said, "Now I have enough money to develop the Empire."

Building academies and workshops requires Gold Coins, as does expanding the army, so Luo De had been amassing wealth.

Now it seems the Royal Family’s treasury alone can support Luo De for a while.

"Durant, move the armor and weapons on the list out and distribute them to our people."

Luo De looked down on these ordinary equipment; future officers and leaders ought to be equipped with Enchanted Armor and weapons.

While everyone still deems these items valuable, distribute them as rewards.

"Yes, Sir."

Durant waved his hand, signaling the guards to move the weapon rack.

"Also select some of those jewelry pieces, take them out as rewards for everyone."

Rod looked at Avril and Vivian, "You two can go and choose first."

"Thank you, dear!"

Avril and Vivian kissed Rod on the cheek from both sides and then quickly walked towards the box filled with jewelry.

Atrey watched with wide eyes.

"Aren’t you going to pick a couple of pieces?" Rod looked at Atrey and said, "I don’t mind."

"No need, I don’t really like these jewels."

Atrey slightly shook her head, then changed the subject and said, "I’m surprised, you’re so stingy with those nobles, wishing you could squeeze them dry, but you’re very generous with your officers."

"It’s not called stingy, it’s called reasonable asset distribution."

Rod said calmly, "Whoever can work for me and contribute to the Empire can take more."

"If those nobles are capable and loyal, I’ll give them more later."

"Then it seems I was mistaken, you don’t seem to care about this wealth."

Atrey said thoughtfully, "What you care about is the value this wealth can bring you."

Rod smiled without commenting on Atrey’s words.

Then, Rod instructed, "Alright, stop the nonsense, take me to get those magic items."

Atrey nodded and headed straight into the treasure vault.

The Empire’s treasure vault has three levels; the first level stores gold coins and jewelry, the second level stores weapons, armor, crafts, and magic items, and the third level holds raw gemstones and metal ingots.

There weren’t many magic items in the vault, only five sharp enchanted longswords, one of which had its runes damaged, without any magic power fluctuations.

There were seven pieces of magic jewelry, such as rings, necklaces, and bracelets, all being the most ordinary protective and physique-enhancing magic items, nothing surprising.

There were quite a few extraordinary gems, with just the boxes numbering eleven.

Eighteen Life Gems, twenty-seven Flame Gems, twenty-four Frost Gems, seven Spirit Gems, two Shadow Gems, and nine Earth Gems.

These are important materials for making enchanted equipment and magic jewelry, so Rod naturally intended to take them all.

"Hmm?"

After taking out all the magic items, Rod noticed a familiar object at the bottom of the box.

Rod raised his hand and with a wave, the silhouette of the Spellcaster’s Hand quickly formed in the air.

Then, Rod controlled the hand to reach under the box and pulled out the item inside.

A black stone slab with a smooth surface, reflecting a purple sheen under the firelight.

Exactly the same as the one Black Flame had vomited before.

Rod looked at Atrey and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

"I don’t know, this is my first time seeing it."

Atrey shook her head slightly and asked, "What is that hand you’re controlling? A spell?"

"Yes."

Rod softly replied without further explanation and called Avril and Vivian over.

"Found another black stone slab."

Rod asked Avril, "You still haven’t figured out what the last one is, right?"

"No."

Avril helplessly shook her head, "There’s no information about this black stone slab in the Wizard Tower."

"Lusen also found nothing in the Dawn Society," Rod said.

Rod slightly furrowed his brows, looking at the slab held by the Spellcaster’s Hand, and said in a deep voice, "The key is that this thing is related to demons, and I don’t feel good about it."

Rod’s words made Avril and Vivian fall into silence.

Because of the previous incident with the Enchanting Demon Queen, both of them knew information about demons.

Anything related to demons was not good.

"Perhaps there’s a record in the next level of the Wizard Tower."

Avril suggested, "Our current first layer is all about wizard apprentice knowledge, the next layer is about official wizards."

"Yes, you’re right." Rod nodded.

Avril looked a bit helpless, saying, "Too bad we seem unable to unlock the restriction above..."

"No."

Rod said thoughtfully, "Maybe I can."

Now, Rod had plundered quite a few Spirit Gems from the noble vault, despite the diminishing returns upon absorption, his spiritual strength had surpassed twenty-eight points.

With the addition of the "Spirit Amplifier" wand, Rod felt he could give it a try.

"After handling matters here, let’s go back and take a look."

Rod made up his mind, put the black stone slab in a separate wooden box, and had Avril keep it safely.

Then, Rod walked towards Atrey and asked, "Where’s the secret method for the legendary knight’s advancement?"

Atrey was slightly stunned and replied, "In the library room."

"Alright, let’s go."

Rod instructed, "Take me to the library room."