Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 400 (Patreon)

Chapter 400: Imperial Capital Treasury

The palace, built of unknown materials, has stood tall and unyielding for millennia.

Luo and Salin sat cross-legged on the palace roof, with the rolling black clouds in the sky seemingly within arm's reach. From this vantage point, the view was vast and unobstructed.

"How is he? You can see for yourself." Luo responded to Salin's emotionally charged question.

Upon hearing this, Salin looked out at the boundless grassland and sighed, "If we could leave, we wouldn't have stayed here all this time."

"What is the reason?" Luo followed Salin's gaze, looking toward the grassland, faintly confirming his suspicion.

"The grassland is infested with countless ants. Anyone leaving the royal city for the grassland will be devoured to the bone." Salin stared at the grassland with a somber expression.

"Ants?" Luo raised an eyebrow.

Salin nodded, "In any case, since you've entered, don't leave rashly. You'll understand the terror of those ants sooner or later."

Luo remained silent. What kind of ants could trap Salin and others here for years? Noticing that Salin seemed reluctant to discuss the topic further, he didn't press the issue.

However, no matter how terrifying the ants on the grassland were, he was determined to leave this place.

"Back to the initial question, how is my brother?" After explaining why they couldn't leave, Salin continued to ask.

Luo looked up at her and smiled, repeating, "You can see for yourself."

"I haven't hit anyone in a long time. Do you want to try?" Salin smiled.

"No." Luo looked at the grassland, firmly stating, "I will leave here."

"Hope you're still this confident when you meet those ants," Salin mocked slightly.

Luo chuckled and changed the subject, pointing to the majestic building below, "Can I see the treasury?"

Salin had mentioned that the royal city held many rare treasures, including a large treasury. Luo's curiosity was piqued.

"Follow me." Salin glanced at him before jumping off the roof.

Seeing this, Luo hurriedly followed.

The imperial capital had no walls, but the royal city was surrounded by a square wall, enclosing all the buildings within.

The wall was nearly ten meters high, and buildings outside the wall were not allowed to be taller, whereas buildings inside the wall towered over it.

This alone indicated a strict hierarchical system in the ancient imperial capital.

Salin led Luo to the tallest palace, resembling a tall tower, like a layered cake or a pyramid, not aesthetically pleasing but seemingly built for height.

The white jade stairs extended upwards, covered in thick dust.

This palace's height was partly due to these stairs.

On either side of the steps stood large stone carvings of eagles with wings spread, some broken-winged, some headless, none complete.

Salin ascended the steps, Luo following closely, entering the dimly lit palace through the open door.

Crack!

Salin took out two fist-sized stones from her bag and struck them together, lighting up like glow sticks, their brightness illuminating several meters around them.

"Take it."

Salin handed Luo a glowing stone and walked deeper into the palace.

Luo took the stone, examining it closely. He found these glow-on-strike stones convenient and thought of taking some with him when he left, stashing them in Black Cat's stomach for emergencies.

Tap, tap...

Footsteps echoed in the quiet palace.

The unique green glow of the stones shone on the stone-paved path, revealing many historical scars and a plethora of decayed weapons scattered on the ground.

This once-dominant empire in the desert boasted not only a prime location but also rich mineral resources, far surpassing other countries in natural advantages for manufacturing equipment.

These numerous weapons, likely crafted with ancient techniques, held high research value.

Luo thought they would climb further up, but Salin led him to a stairway descending underground, originally set with mechanisms but now left open, like the palace gate outside.

They descended about five levels, entering a spacious stone chamber.

The green glow spread around, revealing collapsed shelves and scattered items, presenting a desolate scene.

"Relatively intact items are stored in my residence," Salin explained, then added with a hint of regret, "If you like gold, there's a room in the royal city built of gold bricks. Feel free to pry them."

For an adventurer, this ancient imperial capital was truly rich, its wealth surpassing that of countless noble tombs.

The reason for leaving so much wealth behind might be related to the sudden destruction and subsequent transformation of the imperial capital into a forbidden zone, with evacuees unable to take much.

However, even if the royal city had mountains of gold and jewels, they were less valuable than food if they couldn't be taken out.

"I'm more interested in ancient relics."

Luo casually remarked, silently gathering energy in his eyes, scanning the darkness without finding any unique nen light, feeling disappointed.

There were no ancient relics with nen, but the treasury still awaited. Moreover, the royal city was vast; a thorough search would surely yield valuable items.

Salin, hearing Luo's words, looked at him with newfound respect. She, too, loved ancient relics and smiled, "The best relics are stored in my place. If you like them, pick whatever you want when we get back."

"Really?" Luo's eyes lit up.

Seeing his shining eyes, Salin's face showed a trace of weirdness, sighing, "Your human skin mask is very lethal."

That look, combined with the human skin mask, was almost comically perverted.

Luo felt rather embarrassed.

"This way." Salin walked straight into the darkness ahead. Luo dispelled the energy from his eyes and quickly followed her.

After walking over five hundred meters, they stopped before a six-meter-high, four-meter-wide metal gate.

"Is this the entrance to the treasury?"

Luo raised the stone, its glow revealing numerous carved patterns on the metal door.

There were images of the sun and moon, people bowing, offering treasures to a throne, eagles soaring, and a person surrounded by countless treasures.

"The treasury is my guess, but it's probably right. However, this door is locked, and without a key, it can't be opened. If forced, the mechanism will activate, and I don't know what will happen."

Salin brushed off the dust on the door and calmly said, "Ancient treasuries always had a ruthless touch, typically mechanism-based, and triggering them inevitably destroyed the contents."

"Can't we bypass the main door and enter from the side?" Luo asked.

Salin retracted her hand, "An emperor who could build a golden room wouldn't skimp on the treasury. Check the sides, and you'll understand."

Luo walked along the metal gate, finding the walls were also metal, making the treasury a massive safe.

He knocked on the wall, producing a dull thud, unable to estimate its thickness but likely exaggerated. The door's thickness might be the minimum, with the mechanism trigger set there.

Even without mechanisms, breaking through the door would be difficult.

Of course, with God's Hand, opening the treasury wouldn't be hard for Luo.

"What treasures could be inside?"

Luo whispered, suddenly hearing a faint bell chime from the entrance.

Salin's face changed instantly upon hearing the bell.

"What is it?" Luo asked.

"Possibly monsters from the grassland entering the imperial capital. Follow me back to the residence," Salin replied.

"Alright."

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