Chapter 198: Death Eye

Adams's strong-brain cat walked beside him; its orange fur felt even colder than the "Gravedigger," more like a dead cat.

Adams noticed the decaying graveyard was not dim; following the light, he saw stone pillars carved with reliefs of spiders and walking corpses.

The pupils of Adams's pitch-black eyes constricted as he noticed glass-like discs of varying sizes and quantities embedded in each stone pillar.

The light within the graveyard came from these discs, each emitting a different intensity of radiance.

In the areas illuminated by the light, no walking corpses approached, and rusted weapons and broken remains were scattered on the ground.

Adams walked to the nearest pillar and noticed runes engraved upon it.

He glanced at the corpses on the ground and deduced the function of the runes.

【The masters of the graveyard do not wish to be disturbed; the runes are alarm devices that lure swarms of walking corpses over.】

Touching the pillars will cause a commotion and draw the swarm.】

The "Gravedigger" cautiously refrained from reaching out to touch them; he narrowed his eyes to observe the blue discs, which were etched with dense, spider-like patterns forming complex designs.

Data Crystals!

Adams knew that Data Crystals could store vast amounts of memory data, with a storage capacity several orders of magnitude higher than a Data Slate.

They emit light when storing information, with the brightness corresponding to the amount of data stored.

The Spider Alliance possesses the Hato Star System, which produces Data Crystals, so Data Crystals have always been the storage medium for important data.

Adams looked at the thousands of pillars supporting the graveyard, each with anywhere from a dozen to several dozen Data Crystals.

【This is a massive fortune; if the Master of the Forge were to see this, his eyes would surely light up.】

Adams stepped forward and subsequently discovered stone chambers one after another.

The door to one of the stone chambers was wide open, so he walked over.

He discovered weapon parts scattered on the ground at the entrance and Adams crouched down to examine them.

A look of shock flashed in Adams's eyes, and he thought to himself.

【Could these be Atomic Disintegration Weapons? In the previous battles, the soldiers of the Spider Alliance did not have such powerful weapons in their hands.】

He stood up and walked into the stone chamber, where he saw over a dozen weapon racks scattered on the floor, but five racks still held firearms.

Adams strode to a weapon rack and reached out to pick up a metal gun body.

【It really is an Atomic Disintegration Weapon, and it is well-preserved and safe to use.

Such relics from the "Dark Age of Technology" are not common in the Legion's armory now.】

Holding the Atomic Disintegration Weapon, Adams left the stone chamber and continued forward.

After walking a dozen steps, he discovered spiderwebs clinging to the ground, the stone chambers, and the walls.

The "Gravedigger" immediately thought of Giant Spirit Spiders, but he soon discovered a difference; in his natural Spirit Vision, the spider silk emitted faint green light, stained with the aura of Death.

The "Gravedigger" gazed into the distance, his "Death Eye" piercing through the layers of spiderwebs to see rotting spiders with compound eyes flickering with cyan-red light.

Adams shifted his gaze downward and saw the massive spider statue and the building entrance beneath it in the center of the burial complex.

The scouting concluded, and Adams followed the original path back to the graveyard entrance.

Rosicky Cech saw the weapon in Adams's hand and immediately hurried over; after inspecting it for a moment, he spoke.

"Atomic Disintegration Weapon, preserved intact, safe to use."

"There are more inside."

The Death Lord said coldly, then proceeded to inform the Master of the Forge about the situation in the graveyard.

"There are Data Crystals on the pillars in the outer perimeter of the graveyard, and relics from the 'Dark Age of Technology' in the stone chambers of the middle area."

"Beneath the spider statue in the center, there is a passage leading underground; that should be where the nobles are buried."

The "Archaeologist's" eyes brightened: "This is a major discovery; we must bring them all back."

The Death Lord and the Master of the Forge immediately began discussing the clearing plan, and Rosicky said.

"We cannot use bolters; they might damage the Data Crystals."

The "Gravedigger" said: "Nor can we use Chainswords; the roar is too piercing and will attract walking corpses."

"……"

Four stellar hours later, the "Gravedigger" led one hundred and forty-four "Corpse Collectors" into the graveyard.

They did not wear power armor; they marched in silence, their expressions cold and grim.

The "Corpse Collectors'" natural Spirit Vision allowed them to see the walking corpses clearly through their rotting bodies.

They raised their arms and swung their swords in unison; the Charged Blades struck the heads of the walking corpses, the Disruption Fields crackling and flickering as they shredded the corpses' brains.

Adams raised the Atomic Disintegration Weapon and pulled the trigger.

A beam of light slammed into a walking corpse.

In the blink of an eye, the foul-smelling walking corpse disintegrated and vanished, reduced to atoms.

The "Gravedigger" led the "Corpse Collectors" to clear the walking corpses area by area.

After each area was cleared, the Death Lord would use tactical hand signals to order one "Corpse Collector" to remain behind.

The Master of the Forge led the Techmarines into the area, and Rosicky would remove the most radiant Data Crystals, while his subordinates handled the rest.

After the "Corpse Collectors" confirmed the walking corpses were thoroughly dead, they handed the bodies over to the Legion serfs.

At the same time, they felt a faint sensation of dissolution within their bodies.

The Legion serfs, wearing gas masks and protective suits, dragged the corpses away and threw them into the incinerator set up outside the graveyard gate.

Leandro Hemar did not leave; he stood outside the graveyard gate, waiting for an opportunity to serve the Death Lord.

He first saw corpse after corpse being carried out, "The Order Shadows use only Power Swords to clear the corpse tide so quickly. Truly efficient, far beyond what my Hunting Squads could compare to."

Governor Hemar then saw hundreds and thousands of Data Crystals being carried out, as the tall giants commanded servitors to transport them away.

His eyes lit up, and he stared wide-eyed.

Each Data Crystal recorded knowledge lost thousands of years ago, with a value exceeding even a Dome.

The transport of the Data Crystal lasted for five full work cycles.

The "Gravedigger" stood before the stone chamber once again; he clearly felt that he could better harness the power bestowed by the Primarch.

As the sealed stone chambers were opened one by one, the Forge Master saw all manner of creations from the "Dark Age of Technology".

Forty-four Order Shadow were equipped with Atomic Disintegration Weapons, and five more were sent away by the Techmarine for research.

The Archaeotech Pistol, capable of firing various types of ammunition, was originally a sidearm for high-ranking Imperium officers and Space Marine Commanders; now, every "Corpse Collector" and Techmarine had received one.

Sixteen "Knower" were equipped with portable perspective viewers, operating mobile screens to view 3D simulations of the stone chambers inside the solid stone walls.

……

The Forge Master, who had once studied on Mars, was in Shock at the sheer number of items left behind from the "Dark Age of Technology" within the graveyard.

Luoxiji looked forward with increasing anticipation to how many precious relics they might find in the central graveyard; to reach it, they had to deal with the giant rotting spiders.

While the Forge Master was jubilant over the discovery, the "Gravedigger" had already begun hunting the rotting spiders.

Using combat hand signals, he ordered the "Corpse Collectors" to stand by before walking alone toward the nearest rotting spider.

The rotting spider in the air was nearly fifty meters tall, and its foul-smelling, viscous pus dripped onto the ground, instantly corroding the stone floor into pits and craters.

The "Gravedigger's" pitch-black eyes flickered with green light; he entered the realm of Spirituality and the dead, looking down upon the giant rotting spider from a higher plane.

His gaze pierced through the rotting body, seeing a green node within the spider—it was a gray-green, fist-sized crystal.

【It is similar to the ability possessed after activating the "Warp Vision" that Father once taught.

It is a pity that I have not yet mastered it like Sanchez.

The range is limited, but in this domain, the effect is stronger.】

Adams pulled the trigger in his hand, and a beam of light shot straight at the gray-green crystal.

In the blink of an eye, the crystal vanished, and the massive rotting body collapsed like mud, falling to the ground.

The "Gravedigger" killed three more giant rotting spiders in succession; their massive compound eyes did not even detect a trace of any enemy before they were slain.

The team arrived at the plaza in the center of the graveyard.

(End of this chapter)