"Click, click, click, click..."
"Crack!"
[Master Key (Orange)] successfully unlocked the cover.
However, it did not spring open immediately after being unlocked.
The metal cover had already rusted away. Centuries of erosion, combined with the pressure of the stone walls, had jammed it firmly over the entrance to the passage.
This was no difficult problem for the two avatars.
As long as it had been unlocked, using brute force afterward would not damage the castle's foundations.
They could thus infiltrate the underground chamber without anyone noticing.
Zong Shen controlled the two avatars and had each of them take a plain longsword from their storage accessories. They inserted the blades into the gap, then pried upward from opposite angles.
By the time both longswords had bent and broken, the rusted cover had been opened.
To ensure the plan proceeded smoothly, Zong Shen had equipped both avatars with storage accessories containing quite a few magical artifacts that might come in handy, as well as some low-tier equipment and spell scrolls.
That way, the avatars would not be left helpless if they encountered trouble.
The facts proved that this had been a wise decision.
When they could not freely resort to force, the avatars did not actually have many advantages.
After all, this was an infiltration operation, not a violent raid.
Of course, once everything had been properly prepared, avatars personally controlled by Zong Shen were practically as convenient as his true body being present!
Once the passage cover was opened, a pitch-black, eerie entrance with a climbing ladder was revealed below.
The metal ladder, made from archaic bronze, had been embedded into the Wall Section. As a magical metal of fairly respectable grade, archaic bronze feared no erosion from time and bore no trace of rust.
Zong Shen shifted a portion of