Chapter 136: Altar, Statues, and Sub-legendary Weapons

Behind the underground palace, a metal weapon rack held seven pieces of equipment neatly arranged.
Everyone looked at one another, none daring to be the first to act, fearing that this rack might be like the previous ones and shatter their last hopes.
Finally, Donald stepped forward and said, “Let me do it!”
Among them, only he, along with Kelsas and Messel, had the least desire for gain and the most open-minded attitude. Of course, this was partly because they knew the true secret of this ruin.
Donald first walked around the rack, actually using it as a cover to observe the altar behind it.
Having confirmed that this was the place where the Archmage Thera sealed the evil god, it was the core of the ruin. If a true seal existed, it must be here.
Yet, the underground palace offered no signs of anything related to true gods, aside from the statues piled in a corner and this altar.
Donald had already examined those statues—they were just ordinary stone carvings. So, only this altar remained unexplored.
It was a small altar resembling an American pyramid, with a strange statue on top. It was strange because the statue was only a foot tall and depicted a majestic wolf-like magical beast with blue fur. Typically, even non-human true gods appeared in human-like forms to receive worship from mortals. It was rare to hear of any god accepting offerings in the form of a magical beast, even those from the evil faction.
In myths, many gods did transform into powerful magical beasts to help mortals, but their statues were never depicted with non-human appearances.
As he approached the altar, Donald quietly ordered the Book of Truth to test it. Upon receiving the results, he was delighted and couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s the result?” “Hurry up! Are it good news?”
Seeing Donald smile suddenly, the others asked eagerly, full of hope.
Donald said with a smile, “Congratulations, everyone. These are all equipment at the legendary level or above, so they still retain much of their power. With these findings, our journey has been worthwhile!”
“That’s great!”
After their joy, Mage Horton of the Thorne family spoke again, “So, how should we divide them this time?”

As Hordon spoke, everyone paused, with only Donald and the others exceptions. After a moment of silence in the dungeon, Edwina was the first to speak: “Donald, the division plans you proposed the last two times were quite fair. Since you’re initiating this operation again, could you please suggest how to distribute them first? Then we can all consider how to proceed.” Hordon, the representative of the Thorne family, nodded in agreement, thinking that among those seven legendary weapons, there should be a share for him and the others as well! Donald glanced at everyone present and noticed Sorg, who had remained true to his role as a bounty hunter since joining them and hadn’t made any demands, staring fervently at one of the seven weapons—a massive axe—seemingly determined to get it. Indeed, Sorg had always favored axe-like weapons, which was why he was known as the “Beheader.” He must have his eye on this legendary weapon. However, given his status, he would likely have to pay a high price to obtain it. Moreover, the Thorne family would need to get involved, as aside from his own family and the Ansel family, only the Thorne family was entitled to share in the spoils. Besides, nominally, he was a guide hired by the Thorne family, belonging to their side. Perhaps the Thorne family would use one of the legendary weapons as a bargaining chip to bring this silver adventurer into their family. Donald’s thoughts raced, but he spoke without hesitation: “Though these weapons are excellent, they’re not what I truly desire. I only need one for research. As for the rest, my teacher and I won’t compete with you all. But everything else in the dungeon belongs to us. Additionally, I’ll have priority in choosing any arcane arrays or alchemy-related items discovered in the ruins. Is this distribution satisfactory?” Hearing that Donald only wanted one and wouldn’t compete for the other six legendary weapons, they were overjoyed and naturally had no reason to object. Mage Hordon was even more delighted, nodding repeatedly. Without Donald and the others involved, once the terms were settled with the Ansel family, he could claim a larger share for himself. Fediyan, however, pulled Donald aside and asked anxiously, “These are legendary weapons—there are only a few in the entire kingdom. Donald, don’t you really want two more? If each of our two families takes three, there will still be one left to deal with the Thorne family.”

Donald said seriously, “Indeed, for me, these are all external things. Only the power one possesses is true strength. I believe the teacher shares the same view. As for these enchanted items, though they have turned into ordinary weapons, their materials are still relatively intact. Whether used to re-enchance them or to forge new equipment, they hold considerable value. My domain is just being established, and I need these materials to craft gear!”
“Since that’s the case, I won’t try to persuade you anymore!”
Seeing that Donald hadn’t changed his mind, Edwina nodded at her and then said, “Then, Mr. Horden, let’s discuss how to divide these seven pieces of equipment!”
Horden immediately nodded and stepped forward with Edwina to inspect the seven pieces of equipment.
Among them, three were warrior’s weapons, three were armor pieces, and one was a wooden staff.
By then, Edwina and Horden had almost reached an agreement: the Ansel family would take the legendary longsword, as well as the iron shield, armor, and belt. Horden would get the staff and a legendary longbow. As for Donald, after exchanging a glance with the beheaded Sorg, he chose the legendary great axe.
While the two were inspecting them, Donald also used the Book of Truth to check, but the results were unexpected.
“Wait!”
Just as Horden and the others were about to take their respective legendary items, Donald suddenly shouted to stop them.
“What? Have you changed your mind, Baron?” Horden asked angrily.
Donald smiled slightly.
“Yes! I have changed my mind. This way of dividing them is somewhat unfair!”
Seeing Horden about to speak, Donald quickly continued, “Mr. Thorne, don’t worry. I have my reasons for changing my mind. I didn’t check carefully earlier. Among these items, there aren’t just legendary weapons; there are also two items of sub-legendary god-tier quality. The staff in your hands is one of them, and the other is that belt.”
Since there were many legendary weapons that could be exchanged through the Book of Truth, Donald had focused on the altar and statue and hadn’t paid much attention to these seven pieces of equipment, almost missing those two sub-legendary god-tier items.
“What? Sub-legendary god-tier?”
Edwina and the others immediately changed expressions. They never expected that the two items that seemed the least notable would actually be the most precious and powerful sub-legendary god-tier items!

“Even after all these years, though the power of this sub-legendary artifact has been somewhat diminished, it’s still beyond comparison to ordinary legendary equipment. So, Mr. Thorne, don’t you think the previous allocation plan was a bit unfair?”
At this moment, Thorne felt both regret and anger. As soon as he picked up the staff, he sensed it was different from ordinary ones. For a silver mage like him, a legendary staff was a powerful weapon that could amplify his strength many times over. He had only seen them in his family’s treasure hoard and had never used one himself, so he hadn’t given it much thought.
But he never imagined it would be a sub-legendary artifact. Now that Donald had revealed the truth, it was impossible to get one according to the original plan. Didn’t he see how the powerful members of the Ansel family were eyeing it eagerly?
So he simply glanced at Donald and said, “I didn’t know there was such a precious item here. Baron, please ignore my rudeness earlier!”
Donald shook his head. “No need to apologize. I almost missed it too. The seals cast by the mages are truly formidable—still effective after thousands of years! But now that such a precious artifact has appeared, the previous plan needs to be changed!”
Horton forced a smile and said, “Of course, of course!”
Donald then declared, “The original conditions remain largely unchanged. I still want that axe and other weapon materials here, but I must have one of the sub-legendary artifacts. As for which one, I have no objections!”
Edwina spoke up, “You’ve contributed the most to this expedition, Donald, playing the most crucial role. You’re also the one who discovered the sub-legendary artifact. These aren’t too many demands. As for our Ansel family, we at least deserve one sub-legendary artifact!”
Horton’s face fell immediately, but he had no choice but to accept it. He simply didn’t have the qualifications or ability to compete with the Ansel family for something as precious as a sub-legendary artifact. But for other legendary equipment, he was still determined to fight for it.
In the end, the three parties agreed that Donald would take the sub-legendary artifact belt and the legendary axe. The Ansel family would take the legendary sword and the sub-legendary staff. As for Thorne’s family, they would get the remaining three legendary weapons.
Of course, the two other families might offer Horton some benefits—anything they found in the buildings outside the ruins, aside from what had been agreed upon earlier, could be left for him to choose from.

Horton was somewhat satisfied with such an outcome, as he had at least gained one more legendary item compared to before. If the other party preferred to offend their Thorne family rather than give any benefits, he had only a silver mage at his disposal, so there was nothing he could do.