Awooo...
The Snow Wolf's howl was urgent and fierce. With the Snow Wolf blocking the way, Nolan naturally didn't move forward. To be safe, Nolan had the Eighteen Riders fetch several wooden poles and use them to clear away the rubble in the corner. As soon as they started, something felt off.
"Blood," Serena was the most sensitive to the scent. Even though it was faint—barely noticeable—she was certain she hadn't mistaken it.
But this blood scent was unpleasant, as if it had been trapped for ages and had gone foul.
"Why is there a blood scent here?" Sean Xuan was quite surprised. It wasn't that he doubted Serena, but aside from the dead and undead here, there really weren't any other living creatures that could bleed.
"No idea." Serena shook her head, waiting as the Eighteen Riders kept digging. It didn't take long before they unearthed a chunk of black-red soil, and a thick, overwhelming blood stench hit them. Everyone's expression turned ugly—even Serena's face paled as her stomach churned.
It wasn't that she couldn't handle the smell of blood, but this stench was so thick and rotten, it was like digging open a mass grave.
The Snow Wolf was also extremely repulsed by the stench, backing away repeatedly—and even dragging Serena with him as he retreated.
The Eighteen Riders, who were digging, fared even worse than Serena. Their composure broke; they dropped the poles and vomited. Nolan and Sean Xuan both turned pale, but neither retreated.
"Keep digging," Nolan ordered. The Eighteen Riders were extremely uncomfortable, but could only grit their teeth and continue. Serena couldn't bear to watch, so she took out a stack of masks from the Smart Med-Pack and handed them out, putting one on herself as well.
With the masks on, everyone felt a bit better, but the Eighteen Riders digging the pit were still pitiful.
As the Eighteen Riders dug deeper, the stench grew stronger—not just the smell of blood, but even rotting corpses. Serena frowned, and Nolan, seeing this, told her to step back so she wouldn’t get overwhelmed by the fumes.
Serena hesitated, but obediently stepped back. She wasn’t a forensic doctor; there was no need for her to stay here and suffer.
Once Serena stepped back, Nolan no longer hesitated and signaled the Eighteen Riders to speed up. They dropped the poles and started digging with knives. What they uncovered was truly shocking—both the Eighteen Riders and Sean Xuan were stunned.
“Blood, so much blood...” The Eighteen Rider closest to it spoke with a trembling voice, pointing to the blood flow at his feet, feeling a chill in his heart.
No wonder the smell of blood was so strong—it was a river of blood. The dark, thick blood passed through here, and no one knew where it ended up.
“It’s really awful.” Sean Xuan took a deep breath and, seeing the Eighteen Riders still in shock, reminded them, “Don’t embarrass your lady. Haven’t you ever seen blood before?”
“Never seen this much blood.” The Eighteen Riders realized they’d lost composure, but didn’t feel ashamed. Anyone seeing a river of blood like this would be shocked.
The blood was frighteningly thick.
This tomb was built so many years ago, yet there’s still blood here. How much blood would it take to keep the blood river from drying up?
“You get used to it after seeing it enough times.” Nolan calmly looked away, then personally stepped forward to dig along the blood river a few times, roughly judging that the blood ultimately flowed into the imperial mausoleum, but...
But they couldn’t possibly follow the blood river inside, could they?
Never mind that the blood river was too narrow to fit a grown man—even if it could, they couldn’t just soak themselves in blood and walk through; after so many years, the blood might even be poisonous.
“Since this spot can be opened up without collapsing the mausoleum, let’s blast this corner,” Sean Xuan suggested, proposing to use thunder-blast grenades.
Previously, they hadn’t dared to use explosives for fear of collapsing the mausoleum, but now that they’d found the right spot, they could go ahead.
“Let’s do it.” Nolan couldn’t think of a better solution.
Taking thunder-blast grenades from Serena, Nolan, Sean Xuan, and the Eighteen Riders together buried the grenades near the blood river. Since it was the first attempt, Nolan didn’t dare use too many—only four.
“Go light the fuse.” Nolan signaled Sean Xuan to join him. As for the Eighteen Riders? It was better for them to retreat early to avoid the blast.
Nolan and Sean Xuan, both highly skilled, ignited the grenades and then leapt ten zhang away.
Boom...
The thunder-blast grenades exploded, and the blood flow burst like a flower. Blood shot skyward, then crashed down like a rain of blood. Dark red splattered everywhere, and when the explosions faded, the mausoleum exterior was dotted with blood.
The blood channel was destroyed. Blood continued to flow from unknown sources, but now it spread outward along the ground instead of feeding into the mausoleum.
“I wonder if cutting off the blood will affect the mausoleum.” Serena had barely finished speaking when the two stone gates of the mausoleum rumbled open...
“Let’s go check it out.” Nolan grabbed Serena and quickly led her outside the mausoleum.
By now, the stone gates were halfway open. Nolan didn’t rush in; instead, he turned on a lamp and first observed the situation inside from outside.
Maybe it wasn’t really a royal mausoleum. The interior was simple, just littered with broken vines. Judging by their fresh color and sap, these vines had just fallen. Only because the vines were broken could the stone doors open.
When Sean Xuan and the Eighteen Riders arrived, Nolan said, “Let’s go in and take a look.”
Holding Serena’s hand the whole way, Nolan led her at the front. They walked slowly, examining every step and only moving forward when sure it was safe.
The mausoleum was gloomy; even with green vines everywhere, there was no sign of life. The deeper they went, the darker it became. The Eighteen Riders and Sean Xuan all raised torches, but couldn’t light up every corner.
The mausoleum was huge and empty. Serena and Nolan kept going forward, but saw only a wall covered in vines. The long vines seemed alive, twisting occasionally, but weakly, as if about to die.
“Without blood to nourish them, these vines won’t last long.” There was no blood scent in the mausoleum, but Serena could smell it on the broken vines. Connecting the blood river, the vine-covered gates, and the opening of the stone doors, it all made sense.
Nolan drew his sword and cut down a long vine. After confirming the vines were harmless, he said, “Let’s split up and look for a way out.”
“Okay.” Sean Xuan and the Eighteen Riders immediately scattered, trying to find a hidden passage or mechanism.
Nolan and Serena didn’t know that, in the unseen darkness behind them, the vines they’d declared harmless were withering rapidly—except for one slender vine near the stone gate, which was growing at a terrifying speed.