In a mere instant, Norton was fully prepared for combat. Coupled with his nimble movements through the earlier chain traps, it was clear that while he had spent leisure time in Deckenhoff Castle over the past few years, the seasoned officer of the former Galactic Federation had not lost his touch. In fact, his skills had improved, a truly commendable feat.

However, his preparations were unnecessary.

Less than three seconds later, when Norton restored his normal vision to survey the hall, he realized his efforts had been in vain. There was nothing present that could threaten him. More precisely, there once existed something formidable enough to pulverize a reckless and poorly conditioned youngster like him—something that could reduce him to dust from head to toe. The sheer number of large statues lining the hall's sides, over twenty in number, was enough to make this clear.

These statues, more accurately golems, were sculpted in the classic, ancient form of gargoyles. They featured humanoid, hunched bodies, powerful hind limbs, and front limbs longer than a human's, tipped with sharp claws.

The golems were constructed of pure adamantine, a material with a strong affinity for magical winds—exceptionally sturdy and highly polished. It was excellent for both sculpture and building stone. Of course, if this material came into the hands of someone skilled in alchemy, they could integrate magical crystals during the sculpting process to create the perfect golem.

These golems were exceptionally strong and nearly as tough as mithril. Due to their composition, their attacks were inherently magical, making them effective against any defensive techniques. Similarly, their defenses classified as enchanted, allowing them to effectively repel virtually any form of attack.

If one had to identify a flaw, perhaps it was their slight lack of speed and flexibility. However, in a confined indoor environment with a surrounding layout, these design limitations were mitigated.

This setup formed a perfect killing zone. With these twenty golems in place, even if assaulted by a thousand troops, breaking through would be an arduous task. The only entrance to this hall from the corridor was a narrow door, a strategic position where a single guard could block a thousand attackers—an exceptionally strong defensive measure. Unlike the previous traps designed to catch people unaware, this was an open challenge, relying purely on strength without any tricks... Of course, this analysis was academic at present.

Because these awe-inspiring, seemingly indestructible golem monsters were all completely broken. Although they appeared untouched from the outside, Norton’s sorcerous vision revealed the truth. The small, yet crucial magical crystals inside had been damaged—some depleted, others disintegrated into magical wind and dissipated. This explained the dense magical wind Norton sensed in the room.

As for what damaged these golems, Norton could guess. One only needed to look up to see the obvious crack in the ceiling—a crevice through the rock layer that opened up to the sky. Looking down, there was a corresponding crack on the floor. The angles of these cracks matched perfectly with the trajectory of Norton’s earlier, all-out attack on the barrier.

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That very attack had not only drained the surrounding magical wind but also caused the internal collapse of all magical structures within the hall. The mighty golems, once formidable defenders, had turned into a pile of rubble.

Realizing this, Norton internally marveled at destiny's hand. A certified grand sorcerer would certainly have had far better ways to break the outer barrier than Norton. Yet, such a sorcerer would likely have perished at the claws of these golems in the hall.

In contrast, Norton's reckless approach inadvertently damaged the tomb itself but also destroyed the tomb owner's secondary defensive line—an ironic twist of fate.

Though this truth left Norton relieved and excited, he felt that this venture was worthwhile, regardless of the other funerary goods or sacrificial items. The twenty well-crafted golems alone would be worth the effort to haul them back. With proper alchemical techniques to reintegrate small magical crystal particles and adjust the magical circuits, these golems could be reactivated. Each golem's combat ability would be comparable to a high-ranking undead. This was a significant fortune.

That thought cheered Norton up—even though he had yet to learn any alchemical knowledge.

"Considering the defenses, the actual funerary offerings must be incredible," Norton mused, inspecting the golems and finding no fatal damage, nodding in satisfaction. His curiosity only grew stronger.

It was time to move forward. But first, he needed to determine the correct path. The hall had corridors in each direction; the one behind him led back to the entrance he had used. The other three...

"The corridor directly ahead likely leads to the tomb owner's chamber, with stronger defenses. I'm not in top shape, so I'll check the side corridors first," Norton reasoned, heading toward the left corridor. In ancient empires, right was considered superior to left, so the right side likely held the second-most important contents. Thus, starting with the simplest seemed prudent. He reminded himself that the tomb wasn’t going anywhere; there was no rush.

Decision made, he continued cautiously to the left. Norton recalculated the time—a skill acquired from the Federation military. This allowed for precise estimation of the time spent from one event to another, with a margin of error no greater than three minutes. This skill from his previous life proved unexpectedly useful.

"A bit more than two and a half hours. That means there's plenty of time before dawn," Norton thought, feeling more at ease. The tomb's designer seemed considerate enough not to include overly complicated mechanisms in the left corridor. There were no massive rolling boulders, no pits with barely intact ropes over swarms of venomous snakes, no moats filled with piranhas, nor walls suddenly descending or closing in… none of these appeared.

A few low-level mechanisms, resembling puzzle problems, were quickly solved by Norton. These might be challenging for the average person in this era, but for Norton, a university graduate from the space age, they were trifling.

Even quadratic equations were elementary.

Finally, after much difficulty, Norton reached the end of the corridor, finding a tomb sealed with bluestone slabs. After a brief inspection for anomalies around the stone, Norton discovered a mechanism akin to a combination lock. A tentative twist of the mechanism made the floor vanish.

But Norton was prepared, having already cast a levitation spell on himself, so he didn't fall.

Regaining his composure, Norton continued manipulating the mechanism, turning it first clockwise, then counterclockwise… hoping no further traps activated.

This time, Norton was lucky. As the mechanism rotated counterclockwise, the floor closed again, and the bluestone door gradually opened. He sighed with relief, stepped inside, deftly deflecting a dart aimed at him with a table knife. After another cautious pause, satisfied there were no further threats, he proceeded.

The tomb was empty, save for another bluestone slab ahead, possibly leading to another corridor—or perhaps more traps. The only object within was a book placed on the central pedestal.