Four hours after they entered the cave, Orion finally spotted something from his gaze even before Iris, who was at the forefront, could.
As they closed in on it, he could see it was another skeleton; however, this one's body appeared untouched, unlike the rest they had encountered.
Bending down to take a closer look, Orion could see that the only thing that hadn't yet turned to dust was a 60cm (24 inches) adult-sized bronze shield with various unknown carvings on its cover. Also, a metal armguard with dust accumulated all around it lay beside the skeleton. Lying next to the skeleton was a 31cm (12 inches) curved blade, whose blade appeared to be already chipped.
Seeing the sight before him, Orion understood he had been correct in his assumption, as the area still looked untouched.
Iris bent down and held the shield. She channelled her magical energy into it before withdrawing it and turning her head to look at Orion, nodding at him, "It's an artefact," she said.
Having already guessed what it was, Orion nodded and bent down to touch the metal armguard, watching as the skeleton turned to dust without him even needing to unstrap it.
After he was done, he ordered the two Crystalforge Clan's Elite warriors behind him to collect them before they continued their way forward. Within a few minutes, they encountered various skeletons armed with numerous artefacts.
Of course, there were skeletons with ordinary scraps of metal on them; however, the ones filled with artefacts were still numerous enough that it wasn't worth mentioning.
So within the next hour, they found about sixteen artefacts, some of which— their ranks were still unchecked.
Unexpectedly, they soon arrived at a dead end, with about eight skeletons all scattered about and lying in an inhumane manner.
"It seems like this is the end," Iris said.
"It is, but it's nothing to be unhappy about since we have already gotten enough harvest," Orion responded.
He could tell that despite Iris understanding that his village would be the one keeping all the artefacts they had discovered, she didn't seem to be relieved like the two behind him, who appeared to be happy that he wouldn't be able to accumulate more artefacts.
Instead, she seemed disappointed, which was precisely the opposite. Despite just noticing Iris's behaviour toward him, once he remembered their meetings and discussions up until now, Orion decided to wait until they were alone so that he could confirm a few things.
After all, Iris held the most influence among those who had managed to become Aerialia's apostles, so having her on his side wasn't a bad idea.
"Yes, considering that we have been here for about five hours, I think it's best if we return with our harvest, or else the others might think that something had happened to us," Iris said, agreeing with Orion's words.
"Yes, Warrior Iris is right. Besides, even if we found any other artefacts, I don't think we might be able to carry all of them out without taking them outside first," one of the Crystalforge Elite warriors said with a pleading look in his eyes.
Orion cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Alright, let's clear this one and leave immediately," Orion responded.
He understood that it wasn't the weight of the artefacts that bothered them but the fact that they were currently carrying too many of them, which would make it extremely difficult for them to move due to the narrow cave walls.
Within a few minutes, the entire skeletons were ransacked, with Orion and the others accumulating about six artefacts from five of the eight skeletons, including a sword, spear, shield, armours, and a dagger. Although Orion still had no idea how a race that had fought in the 'Great War' and made it out alive, despite not being at their strongest, even with the help of another god, could be foolish enough to go against a god like Naka, there was one thing that he still understood after gathering so many artefacts today—that they were rich, extremely rich.
He even wondered if it had something to do with their goddess, goddess Ilse, especially considering she was the goddess of treasures.
It made sense when he thought about it that way.
Nonetheless, due to the number of artefacts they each had to carry within the narrow cave, they were even slower, taking about five and a half hours to make their way out of the entrance compared to how they entered.
Once they returned, Orion noticed Selene, Crystalia, and some familiar figures of the Crystalforge Clan's Elite warriors and Fifi and Seth, who were present. Selene, Crystalia, and Fifi breathed out in relief once they noticed their figures.
Meanwhile, the Crystalforge Clan's Elite warriors made their way forward and helped them with the artefacts they had collected.
Fifi came forward and hugged him before reluctantly releasing him.
"I thought that something had happened to you since you disappeared for so long, but it seems that you made me worried for nothing," she said before turning her head to the side, towards the direction of the artefacts.
"Are these what you went to search for?" She asked with raised brows as she bent down to pick up one of the rusted spears.
"Yes. It's an artefact," Orion said as he watched Fifi skillfully twirl the spear in her hand.
Knowing that Fifi had trained to be the best warrior in her generation, seeing that she could also use a spear skillfully, didn't surprise him much.
"Try using your gift with it," Orion suggested.
Just like when he covered the Crimson greatsword with his lightning, he wanted to see if the artefact in Fifi's hands could do the same.
Of course, ordinary weapons could accomplish the same feat. However, one thing he had found out was that they usually get chipped or worn out fairly quickly.
Fifi nodded in response and immediately activated her gift.
Suddenly, a stream of water emerged from the ground and slowly wrapped around her hand and the spear, coating it with its wet sensation.
