Heroes' Prison

Chapter 233 - 228: Stronghold

"Hmm? Oh, right!" Just then, the White Dragon King seemed to suddenly recall something and said, "There is another reason. The treasure inside might not be the Golden Holy Dragon, but its Dragon Egg!"

"Is the purpose of that trap to absorb the Dragon Clan’s Essence of Life to incubate the Dragon Egg?" Huang Yi asked.

"Yes, that’s a possibility. The egg of a Golden Holy Dragon, without the catalysis of a large amount of Dragon Clan Essence of Life, is very difficult to hatch," the White Dragon King explained, appearing quite knowledgeable, "If you’re interested, you can go and investigate. If it really is a Dragon Egg, then you’ve struck it rich. You can form a contract with it and make it your mount."

"Not right now," Huang Yi shook his head. "Even if that’s a Dragon Egg, I can’t obtain it at the moment. Plus, there’s a Sand Thief King trapped inside, and no one can get in."

Although Huang Yi had trapped the Sand Thief King, he was still extremely wary of it. It had a total of 99 hearts, and as long as those hearts remained, it would not truly die. To eradicate the Sand Thief King, all 99 hearts must be destroyed; otherwise, it will stay in the Golden Holy Dragon’s treasure hoard forever, undying. Currently, the treasure of the Golden Holy Dragon was untouchable; it required becoming stronger before venturing there.

...

Gradually, the night passed.

A new day arrived, and the golden morning light shone on the oasis amidst the desert, with dew forming on the tips of the grass, sparkling and shining, making the whole world seem alive and vibrant.

Xiao Chunzi and Qin Shiyu also woke up around this time.

"Hmm? This little girl is so cute! Who is she?" Just then, Qin Shiyu suddenly caught sight of Xiao Chunzi, her eyes lighting up, and she couldn’t help but pat her head.

"She’s my little sister from The Second World," said Huang Yi, turning to Xiao Chunzi and instructing, "Go ahead, call her ’sister’."

"Hello, Sister!" Xiao Chunzi obediently called out, appearing somewhat shy.

"Aw, you’re such a good girl, I really like you!" Qin Shiyu seemed to melt at once and immediately hugged Xiao Chunzi, embracing her affectionately.

The two beautiful individuals clung together in this way, presenting a delightful sight.

"Xiao Yu, lead us to the base now," Huang Yi said, then turned to look at the White Dragon King, "Your Majesty, it’s a long journey ahead, and we hope you can give us another lift."

"No problem!" the White Dragon King declared heartily as its massive body lay down once more.

Next, the three of them mounted the White Dragon King. With Qin Shiyu navigating, they quickly flew away from the Desolate Sands.

After flying for a while, the sandy terrain below them gradually faded, and sparse vegetation began to appear, slowly turning into patches of grass, then shrubs, and then broadleaf forests. The trees became increasingly lush until, at last, they arrived at a dense primeval forest.

As they flew through the forest for a long time, a vast Heavenly Pit finally came into view ahead of them. It looked as though a huge chunk of the earth had collapsed; it was endless at first glance, its size unknown.

The pit was surrounded by sheer cliffs, covered with dense trees, and seemed bottomless. Inside the pit were hundreds of steep peaks forming a forest of stone pillars, with the tops of these mountains being flat and covered in thick forests.

On the nearest of these mountaintops, one could vaguely make out houses constructed amid the trees and connected by suspension bridges. Smoke wisped up from within, indicating breakfast preparation, giving off a sense of quiet peace—it seemed an isolated sanctuary from the rest of the world.

This place was strictly off-limits to outsiders; even if they could scale the steep cliffs down to the pit, they would not be able to climb up to the middle mountains inside the pit, as all sides were far too precipitous.

"Below is our base. It’s small, but the location is excellent. This spot is secluded, a world apart. We searched a long time before stumbling upon it by chance," Qin Shiyu remarked as she looked at the peaks inside the pit. "The reason we chose to establish a base here is even more crucial; there are plentiful resources of medicinal herbs and minerals, including World Stone!"

"Hmm? Even World Stone?" Huang Yi was somewhat surprised. World Stone was an extremely valuable mineral, essential for crafting Legendary and Epic equipment. It was a non-renewable resource, with each continent having approximately one thousand tons in reserves. Once depleted, it was gone, making it one of the ultimate materials in The Second World.

"Yes, but there’s not much of it. It takes a very long time to mine even a small piece," Qin Shiyu nodded. "Of course, that’s also because we’re short on manpower. There are thousands of peaks in this Heavenly Pit, and we only occupy this one. The rest remain unexplored, and who knows what else is out there."

"What’s at the end of this forest?" Huang Yi asked again.

"It’s the edge of this continent; beyond that lies the endless ocean. Cross the ocean, and you’ll reach another continent," Qin Shiyu explained.

Huang Yi nodded in agreement, "This place is excellent! In the future, if anyone wants to attack us here, they must first cross the dangerous Desolate Sands, then the forest, and the Heavenly Pit. By the time they reach us, they’d essentially be a weary army, incapable of assaulting us. Moreover, this treasure land also possesses great potential for expansion. Those thousands of mountain peaks can be developed slowly, and we could build a secluded kingdom, having all the resources of this region to ourselves."

"Yes! In the future, we can also develop naval forces and establish a port at the sea’s edge at the end of this forest to engage in oceanic trade," Qin Shiyu thought further ahead.

Huang Yi turned around, looking back in the direction of Dragon City with anticipation, "It would be best if we could take Dragon City as well, using it as a window to the continent, as well as a forward base. Furthermore, Dao Feng’s Xuanyuan Town is not far from Dragon City, which could provide mutual support. Eventually, we want to occupy this entire forest and form a vast empire."

"So you want to establish a kingdom," the White Dragon King, who was in flight, said at that moment.

"Yes, but that will take a long time to achieve. Let’s take it step by step," Huang Yi quickly conceived a rough plan, appreciating that Qin Shiyu had found such an area with not only abundant resources but also an excellent strategic location that was easy to defend but hard to attack, perfect for their main base.

Soon, the White Dragon King arrived at the peak of the first mountain and set down Huang Yi and his two companions.

"Instakill, you’re safe now, and you’ve reached your destination. I’m going back to Bai Long Lake now. If you need anything in the future, feel free to seek me out," the White Dragon King said, immediately soaring into the sky and swiftly disappearing in the direction of Bai Long Lake.

Next, Qin Shiyu immediately took the lead and guided Huang Yi and Xiao Chunzi towards the stronghold at the top of the mountain.

Along the way, Huang Yi spotted many valuable herbs. It was a primeval forest, long untouched by humans. While these herbs might be very scarce in the outside world, there were plenty of them here.

"We’ve arrived!" After a while, Qin Shiyu led Huang Yi to a small encampment in the forest; smoke curled from the cooking fires, and faint voices could be heard coming from the wooden houses.

"Sister Xiao Yu, you’re finally back! I was worried for a while after seeing the news of your death on the forum. But later I heard that Instakill was coming to rescue you," a girl about sixteen or seventeen shouted from a hanging bridge in the sky upon seeing Qin Shiyu. Her gaze fell on Huang Yi and Xiao Chunzi by Qin Shiyu’s side, and after looking for a while, she seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "This man looks very familiar, almost identical to Instakill from the forums. Is it Instakill?"

"Hmm? Instakill?"

"Instakill is here?"

With that, voices emerged from the many wooden houses, and people started coming out, looking curiously at Huang Yi and his companions.

There were all kinds of people – young boys and girls, men and women, children, elderly, uncles, and aunts – and overall, they didn’t resemble a power group but rather an ordinary small village, full of simplicity and without any trace of masterful presence.

"Yes!" Qin Shiyu nodded and announced to the people around her, "This is Instakill; he’s one of us now." Then she turned to Huang Yi and said, "Brother Yi, these are the people I’ve gathered over the past two years. I’m very cautious with recruitment. Those who can come here are all trustworthy. But it’s also for that reason we are few in number, just a few dozen people. Most of them are Life Class players with little interest in fighting and are happy to live a quiet life here."

"I’ll think of a way to recruit people for the fighting aspect," Huang Yi said and remembered the six hundred thousand players who had made a breakout together in Dragon City. "Actually, we don’t need to be so careful with the grassroots members, as long as the core people are trustworthy. No power can ensure all their people are clean, like that person years ago."

Upon hearing "that person," a shadow crossed Qin Shiyu’s face.

"That person" Huang Yi was referring to was the former Number 9, a traitor who had been lurking in the organization, ultimately leading to the death of the previous Number 1 and becoming a painful lesson. Huang Yi had eventually been entrusted with more serious responsibilities due to the death of the former Number 1, becoming the new Number 1.

Back then, Qin Shiyu was the successor to the former Number 9, and their relationship was very close, like sisters. However, after such an event, their relationship became hostile, turning into a knot in her heart.

Seeing Qin Shiyu’s expression, Huang Yi couldn’t help but pat her shoulder and comfort, "You can remember the past, but you must let it go."

"Yes, Brother Yi, I know. Let’s keep going!" Qin Shiyu nodded and moved forward.

Next, Qin Shiyu took Huang Yi to the edge of a cliff, where there were several vacant tree houses. Opening a window offered a view of the sea of clouds and mountains beyond the cliff – the vista was wide and the scenery, beautiful. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)