Chapter 40: What Truly Counts as Treasure
Regarding what treasure to take from the Imperial Treasury, Joshua actually had little interest. At his level of strength, anything below Transcendent-grade magical items could no longer enhance his combat power. His own body and battle qi were the finest armor and enchantments; his fists were the ultimate killing machines.
Moreover, he already possessed a very suitable weapon—the warrior glanced sideways at the two youths, a boy and a girl, who were whispering to each other about something unknown, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
If he really did bring back some kind of weapon, there would definitely be trouble at home.
But regardless, since Israel had made the decision, it would be a waste not to take something. So, after bowing and taking his leave of the generous Emperor, Nostradamus led Joshua and the others toward other palace halls.
"There may not be anything particularly good in the secret vault."
During the journey, the old mage shook his head and spoke leisurely. "Those are all items that can only be used under certain conditions. As the imperial family's collection, they are certainly extremely powerful, but whether they can be used depends on the person's qualities."
Hearing this, Joshua recalled the miscellaneous oddities he had collected himself—such as the Ring of the Twin Fire Serpents, which was female-only and he couldn't even wear, or the Burning Steel Shards that only he could see and whose purpose he still didn't know. The warrior nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed, the useful ones are usually used by oneself; only those temporarily unusable or unusable are stored away."
"That's not quite what I meant... but it's good that you understand. Saying this doesn't mean the things inside are all impractical."
Along the way, they encountered many palace staff. Upon seeing Joshua and his group, they respectfully stopped their work and stood still. Nostradamus led them through several visible and hidden doorways, past a few sparsely populated corridors, and arrived at a relatively quiet palace. As he walked, the old mage explained, "Israel's strength is too great. As a Legendary-rank Dragon Knight, even if there were some good items, he truly has no use for them, so they can only be placed in the collection."
With that, they arrived at a granite hall hidden deep within the palace complex.
At the far end of the hall was a dusty door, over which magical runes flickered with alternating light and shadow. The light shimmered, releasing powerful waves of cold. The entire hall felt like the northern polar region, yet there was not a trace of frost.
"Corex's Sevenfold Temporal Seal?"
Brandon, who had been mostly silent until now, suddenly spoke up, his expression surprised. "Ultimate-rank sevenfold composite magic, a joint spell of Space-Time and Spell-Energy systems? Even for an imperial treasury, this level of defense is top-tier!"
"I spent quite some time setting up this formation back then."
The old mage extended his hand, and a faint azure light shot from his fingertips, making contact with the formation. Nostradamus smiled. "Since Israel said to choose freely, there's no need to be polite to His Majesty the Emperor. If Joshua didn't take something good back, Israel himself would feel embarrassed."
As he spoke, he effortlessly dispelled the powerful defensive magic on the door. The dusty door slowly creaked open, and everyone gradually approached its threshold.
"Please, Joshua. The others will wait outside."
The old mage said this, looking somewhat mysterious. "What's inside might be very suitable for you."
What does an imperial secret vault look like?
Perhaps it would be resplendent and magnificent, perhaps filled with treasures, with powerful magical items emitting rainbow light, filling the entire treasury with dazzling colors...
Joshua had imagined many possibilities.
But what appeared before him was an ordinary room, like a museum, filled with ancient artifacts.
There were no precious gems or magical materials, no powerful enchanted weapons or armor, no grimoires containing mighty spells. Only rows of rusted, broken weapons and old armor, shattered blades and cracked armor. On the shelves beside them were bottles and jars with no luster, seemingly not rare potions either.
"This truly surprised me."
Squinting slightly, Joshua was not disappointed by this sight. On the contrary, the unusual scene piqued his interest.
The precision of the previous Sevenfold Temporal Seal formation had secretly impressed even him. As the empire's chief archmage, Nostradamus was not far from advancing to Legendary. A vault for which he would carefully set up such a powerful formation must have extraordinary qualities.
First, those potions. Joshua looked at the dusty bottles and jars. He could sense that they contained powerful forces, but they seemed to be some kind of special bloodline—apparently bloodline awakening potions.
Such potions could bestow a trace of a Transcendent lifeform's bloodline upon a person, awakening various abilities with almost no side effects. The only drawback was that they were highly dependent on compatibility; if the requirements weren't met, they were completely unusable.
Scanning these potions, Joshua knew they contained powerful bloodlines, including those of various dragons. Even fairies, those semi-illusory beings that almost only existed in the realm of fantasy, were represented. Each potion was worth more than a divine weapon or sturdy armor, because bloodlines could be stably inherited, whereas weapons might not be.
But these potions were useless to Joshua. The warrior had long passed the level where he needed bloodline potions. If he advanced further, the power of the Ultimate-rank would naturally fully transcend the essence of his life, and his descendants would naturally possess some special talents. There was no need to use potions that would alter his own life essence.
The potions, though inconspicuous, were exceptionally precious. This piqued Joshua's interest in the old equipment as well. Perhaps they were some hidden powerful equipment? Like the Divine Mechanism before its contract, covered in rust but, once awakened, transforming into a razor-sharp blade.
Walking step by step, the warrior slowly examined each old weapon or piece of equipment. From their placement, it was clear that these items were kept with extraordinary care. There wasn't a speck of dust on them; purification formations spread throughout the hall maintained the environment in optimal condition.
But why?
Joshua frowned. He could see that these weapons were clearly completely ruined, and not in a hidden way—it was simply the reality.
Their edges were gone, their blades were even chipped. As for the armor, its plates had long since decayed, and the leather connecting the joints, no matter how well maintained, had deteriorated to the point of being unusable.
Was such elaborate effort really necessary to preserve these things? Even the potions over there weren't kept with this much care.
Puzzled, he reached out and picked up a tattered banner. Joshua looked at the slightly bent pole and the ragged flag with confusion, muttering to himself, "What makes you special enough to be placed here?"
As he spoke, his spirit swept over it. The banner seemed to sense something, vibrating slightly as if to speak.
And then, Joshua saw a vision.
It was a battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The sun was slowly setting in the west, and in the light of the evening sun, countless warriors could be seen fighting desperately against the enemy. Blood flowed like a river across the wilderness, the world seemed like a hellish purgatory, and amidst the battle cries that seemed to shake the heavens, a pitch-black rift, as if capable of devouring everything, hung high in the sky, with countless monsters pouring out of it.
They were enormous creatures covered in black carapaces, with huge horns, long tails, and wings like those of bats.
Creatures called demons.
And on this battlefield of humans and demons, in the dim light of the setting sun, a warrior holding a spear slowly stood up. His face was covered in blood scabs, making his features indistinguishable. His body was covered in wounds, as if he might fall at any moment. But at that very moment, his figure was so towering. This warrior stood on the corpse of a demon, waving the banner in his hand.
In the wind, a voice seemed to carry.
"The battle is not over—comrades!"
The voice was firm and powerful, as if it could pierce through time and space. "Charge with me!"
The vision ended there. Joshua, coming to his senses, stared in shock at the tattered banner in his hand and instinctively gripped it tightly.
"The Second Abyss Campaign?! No... it hasn't happened yet. This is earlier, much earlier..."
His voice gradually lowered, and the warrior's expression slowly turned solemn. "The last era—the First Invasion of the Abyss!"
This banner came from a thousand years ago!
And the result of the system's appraisal also appeared before Joshua's eyes.
[Daniel's Will]
[Black Iron-rank Damaged Weapon. An ordinary, unremarkable battle banner, but it contains the soulful cry of a human soldier. This power has allowed it to endure a thousand years without complete destruction.]
[—Charge, even unto death.]
"Could it be... these weapons... these armors..."
Holding the banner, the warrior surveyed the broken equipment that occupied nearly half of the entire vault. Even with his experience, the shock in his heart was difficult to calm.
Putting down the banner, Joshua picked up a large shield that had been completely deformed by intense heat. Some pattern or formation seemed to have been drawn on it. It had once been an enchanted item, but time had worn it away. The warrior lifted it and infused it with his spirit.
The vision that appeared this time was not a battlefield, but a mountain stream canyon. Several figures were fighting a massive silhouette. And with a dragon's roar that echoed through the sky, its identity became clear to all.
A dragon.
This dragon was attacking a group. Among the group were many elderly, women, and children, trembling under the dragon's pressure. The several figures fighting at the front, though powerful, could not seize the initiative against the dragon.
But regardless, human cooperation always surpassed a solitary dragon. As time passed, the dragon gradually fell into a disadvantage. And when this dragon realized it was about to be defeated, it roared and spat a scorching breath of dragonfire at the women and children in the group.
"No!"
Shocked cries came from the several figures fighting, but one figure suddenly dashed out from the crowd. It was a young woman. She raised a shield larger than her own body, firmly blocking the dragonfire, completely shielding the group behind her.
Boom!
The scorching beam directly struck the center of the shield. The instant heat was enough to melt metal. The sturdy enchanted shield began to warp and deform. The metal transmitted terrifying heat, enough to sear the flesh of a warrior, let alone an ordinary woman who could only lift the shield through a momentary burst of strength.
But under such heat, this young woman did not retreat. She screamed, she cried out, pouring out her pain, but still she did not release the hand supporting the shield, even as that hand was completely charred, turning into withered bone.
The dragonfire ended. The figures fighting at the front had completely slain the dragon. But the young woman had been reduced to a charred corpse by the dragonfire's heat. Yet even in death, she had not taken a single step back.
[Ella's Protection]
[Silver-rank Damaged Shield. An overly heavy large shield, once possessing powerful defensive capabilities, but due to its excessive weight in small-scale battles, it was rarely used. Until a mother raised it to protect her child.]
[—A mother's love is unwavering protection.]
"So that's it... The treasure is not the weapon itself, but the history and will contained within..."
—For a warrior, weapons and armor are merely tools for battle. What truly fights is himself, his will.
Taking a deep breath, Joshua's expression gradually calmed. He looked at the countless broken pieces of equipment, knowing what they contained. A trace of respect appeared in his eyes, and he understood their value.
These were weapons containing the soul and conviction of a warrior, or a person. Though broken, the power within them could make one understand what honor is, what perseverance is, what a warrior's responsibility and persistence are... For a powerful warrior like Joshua, they might have little practical use, but they could awaken courage from the depths of a cowardly soul.
Perhaps this was why successive emperors and princes of the Diamond Imperial Family possessed courage and conviction far beyond ordinary people.
For a moment, he was unable to choose.
As equipment, their value was too insignificant. But as heirlooms to be passed down, they were truly priceless treasures.
"Which one should I choose?"
Looking at them, Joshua muttered to himself. And as if responding to the warrior's words, some of the weapons and equipment that had been placed began to hum, emitting the clashing sounds of war. The banner he had first picked up fluttered without wind, its tattered flag waving, faintly carrying the sound of a charge. But shields like Ella's Protection did not resonate.
Just as Joshua was choosing among them, some of them also chose Joshua, while others refused.
But the warrior seemed to have made up his mind.
Joshua took a deep breath. Then, he walked past every broken weapon and armor. His solemn and slow footsteps echoed in the room. The warrior absorbed the cries or silent persistence of souls passed down for hundreds or thousands of years, committing them all to memory.
"Departed souls," he spoke, his voice low but echoing endlessly in the room.
Your resolve I have engraved in my heart.
I will bear all your convictions.
—This is inheritance.
(To be continued.)