Heroes' Prison

Chapter 294 - 289: Eternal Statue

"It turns out we should have been reunited long ago," the mermaid murmured, tears welling up again, her whole body on the verge of collapsing, overcome with extreme grief.

"The hope that the King of the Fallen offered you was nothing but a mirage," Huang Yi said indifferently, "He tempted you, yet kept you from seeing each other, even caused Leviathan’s death, and yet you still serve the King of the Fallen."

"I’m sorry," the mermaid, looking at the corpse of the Tidal Hunter, murmured, "I never knew... It was the King of the Fallen who killed you, but I can’t avenge you; the King of the Fallen is my master..."

Hearing the mermaid’s words, Huang Yi also felt a sense of helplessness. The Mermaid Princess had made a contract with the King of the Fallen, which meant a lifetime of compliance with his will, with no possibility of rebelling, even if she knew he was the enemy, she simply could not resist. This was just like the previous situation with the Hydra Death Scale, who despised the Magic God and wished for his death, yet still had to serve him.

Unless they could obtain the Pact of Water to wash away the Master-Servant Contract.

"My beloved Leviathan, I’m unable to avenge you, nor do I have the power to do so anymore, let us die together then..." she said. Turning to look at Huang Yi, she pleaded, "Please bring my body inside, and lay me next to my beloved Leviathan, thank you."

As she finished speaking, her incarnation dissipated into the air.

Huang Yi was slightly shocked, listening to the mermaid’s tone, it seemed she had decided to commit suicide.

He immediately chose to teleport out of the Heroes’ Prison and returned to the outside world.

Now, the surrounding world had returned to normal, the dark clouds had dispersed, calm was restored, and the sunlight shone down again. The fishermen on the boat had all returned to normal, their expressions dazed as if they had no idea what had just happened.

Huang Yi looked towards the mermaid’s direction. There on the sea surface was a new patch of floating ice, upon which stood a lifelike ice sculpture of a mermaid tightly embracing a boy, smiles spread across their faces as though they would never fade. The golden sunlight shone on the sculpture atop the ice, unable to melt it, suggesting that this ice sculpture would eternally float there, unaffected by wind or sun.

Below the statue were inscribed a few lines of text—"Dedicated to my everlasting love, Leviathan, you will forever be in my life."

Just then, Huang Yi noticed that in the hands of the boy sculpture lay a palm-sized mermaid, unmistakably the Mermaid Princess from before. However, she was now completely lifeless, turned into a corpse, lying in the palm of her lover, as if under his protection.

Huang Yi took a deep breath, immediately plunged into the water, swam towards the ice floe, and picked up the small body of the mermaid.

Then, he summoned the Heroes’ Prison once more, taking the mermaid’s corpse inside, and laid it next to the Tidal Hunter, allowing their bodies to be together forever.

They had been separated for countless years, and now, in death, they could finally rest together.

"Hmm? What’s this?" Just then, Huang Yi’s keen eyes suddenly spotted a round black stone tightly clutched in the hand of the small mermaid.

He carefully pried open her hand and took out the black stone.

Suddenly, he received a system prompt.

"[System Prompt]: You have obtained [The King of the Fallen’s Contract Stone]"

[The King of the Fallen’s Contract Stone] (Special Item)

It is filled with the Power of Corruption. Upon use, the bearer can choose to enter into a contract with the King of the Fallen, Biliev, gaining immense strength and becoming one of his subordinates. Once the contract is signed, the bearer will become an adversary to The Second World forever. If The Seven Archdemons die, the user will enter a rebirth state, delete the original character, pick a new name, and create a new character, starting anew in The Second World.

Seeing this small black stone, Huang Yi’s hands trembled slightly; this special item could undoubtedly change a person’s destiny in The Second World!

This was his first realization that players could join the side of The Seven Archdemons and become an enemy of the entire Second World, similar to joining a separate faction, entirely breaking away from the current world and aiming to destroy it as the ultimate goal!

Huang Yi could foresee that a momentous revolution was about to unfold.

In The Second World, many lands harbor those seduced by the King of the Fallen. Currently, it is difficult for players to defeat them, and a crisis is not imminent. But once players are capable of defeating them, or if they chance upon victory and acquire such a [Contract Stone of the King of the Fallen], a world-changing decision will arise. Players can choose to become a subordinate of The Seven Archdemons, wholly opposing The Second World.

Such player enemies would be hidden among ten billion players worldwide, like worms silently corroding the world, a threat far more terrifying than The Seven Archdemons themselves, who were previously just an NPC power. But once players join, everything would change.

The [Contract Stone of the King of the Fallen] is undeniably tempting; it grants players immense power directly. No one can resist the allure of strength, especially those with a strong utilitarian mindset. With such an item, they are highly likely to use it.

And the only deterrent was that rebirth mode, something Huang Yi had learned about for the first time as a punishment.

Before this, he had only known two punishment modes. The first was death, the lightest of punishments, where a non-sinful state death would result in a drop of one level, and the loss of one piece of equipment.

The second punishment was the much-feared reincarnation, where after death, one would drop a piece of equipment and their level would fall to Level 1, to be randomly resurrected in a corner of The Second World, with one level recovered each day until the original level was restored.

But rebirth was an even more cruel form of punishment, tantamount to starting over with a deleted account; even the name had to be taken anew, and all past accomplishments would become history.

However, this rebirth punishment was more special in that it wasn’t a player’s own death penalty, but rather, players would only enter the rebirth state after the death of The Seven Archdemons. The Archdemons had withstood countless challenges from the powerful throughout the years and had never died, making the punishment of rebirth seem incredibly remote.

Of course, Huang Yi had no intention of using the Contract Stone, as he did not need to risk such a price for that kind of power. His future was already looking bright, having received the first Name Bestowing in The Second World; once he reached Level 100, he could participate in the Hero Trial, and passing it would make him a hero of The Second World. This was far better than signing a contract with The Seven Archdemons and becoming one of their underlings.

However, Huang Yi also didn’t plan to destroy the Contract Stone because he remembered the three instances of comfort his true self had experienced. Instinctively, he felt this strange sensation could be an opportunity, and perhaps he could find the answer with this stone.

Huang Yi carefully placed the Contract Stone into his storage ring.

Then, his true self back at the mainland outpost took the Contract Stone out of the storage ring.

Indeed, as soon as he took out the Contract Stone, his true self felt that familiar sense of comfort, and unlike before, the sensation persisted, continuously emanating from the Contract Stone in his hand.

"What does this all mean?" Huang Yi furrowed his brows and pondered in silence.

He didn’t dare absorb the Power of Corruption within the Contract Stone recklessly, as it was a gamble he wasn’t sure about.

For now, it seemed the only option was to keep the Contract Stone and study it later on.

Moreover, he had another more secure method. He could first try obtaining the 98 hearts of the Sand Thief King, which contained much less of the Power of Corruption, and he could attempt to absorb it and see what happens. In addition, at Level 80, he could choose to evolve into one of the bizarre creatures in service of The Seven Archdemons.

There were many methods available; he had to proceed one step at a time.

...

At this moment, Huang Yi’s incarnation returned to the fishing boat.

With the sea monster menace resolved, this area of the sea was finally safe, and he could pick a location to build a port.

"Oh! I can hardly believe it, young man, you are truly great! The sea monster calamity that lasted for countless years has been removed by you. You are the benefactor of all the fishing villages in this sea area. I believe the Sea Dragon Emperor will reward you handsomely," Bai Fan praised Huang Yi. Meanwhile, the others stared at Huang Yi with gratitude, as if looking at their life-saving hero.

"It’s nothing, I plan to establish a port in this sea area in the future. I hope I can count on your support!" Huang Yi waved his hand and said.

"Of course, of course! We will definitely support the construction of your port enthusiastically!" several fishermen immediately echoed.

At that moment, they had no intention of fishing any longer and quickly chose to return home. They could now go out to sea at any time, but the most important thing was to hurry back and share the good news with everyone in the village.

Soon, the sailboat, riding the cheerful waves and under the warm sunshine, headed toward the mainland, as if the entire sea had been cleared of a layer of gloom.

Huang Yi looked back to see the ice floe growing smaller, gazing at the ice sculpture of the boy and the Mermaid Princess atop it, feeling slightly moved. The couple, once torn apart by life and death, could finally be together forever.

Through this event, he also had an increased sense of how terrifying the King of the Fallen, Biliev, was. The Seven Archdemons truly deserved their reputation as the eternal nightmare of this world. He wondered what destruction they would bring upon the world with their reappearance this time.

Next, the sailboat returned to the small fishing village, where all the villagers came out to greet them. Bai Fan recounted Huang Yi’s deeds to everyone, garnering the whole village’s gratitude towards Huang Yi.

But Huang Yi did not stay there for long; he mounted his Velociraptor again and hurried toward the best bay in the sea area. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to continue reading.)