The Venomous Serpent

At that moment, Ethan's attention was caught by a hole in the stone slab. 

He found it incredibly surprising that the location of this hole was precisely above the stone slab. 

Clearly, the person who had been there before had an intimate knowledge of this underground chamber; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to locate the stone slab so accurately and make a hole directly above it.

This allowed that individual to evade the attacks of the stone men, stone animals, and the Stone General, effortlessly securing the stone tablet. 

However, this person was only clever in their own estimation. 

After all, they hadn't defeated the stone men, stone animals, and the Stone General. 

Consequently, the door of the secret chamber still remained unactivated, preventing them from entering and breaking the seal within to unleash its power.

It seemed that the individual who had taken the stone was outsmarted by their own cunning.