Heroes' Prison

Chapter 297 - 292: The Second Heart

Huang Yi and Overlord’s mounts were very fast, and in no time they arrived near their destination.

"Look, why is there a forest over there?" Just then, Overlord suddenly pointed ahead, a trace of surprise on his wrinkled face.

In the midst of the scorching desert, a forest appeared out of place, lush and verdant, like a paradise in the hot, arid desert, tempting any traveler passing by to explore it and search for water sources.

"That means we’ve found the right place," Huang Yi said while gazing at the forest from afar. "This is a Mirage Illusion, conjured by the Sand Thief King to lure people into that area, where they get lost and are led to where the heart is hidden. In the end, they’re trapped and die, leaving their Essence of Life to be absorbed by the heart. Countless years have passed; who knows how much Life Essence it has absorbed from passersby."

"Then let’s go, my Perception tells me the heart is definitely in that direction." Overlord urged, nudging his Wind Dragon to pick up the pace.

Soon, the two entered the Illusionary Realm, lost their way, and after wandering for a while, they found themselves within an oasis.

In the middle of the oasis was a moon-shaped lake, surrounded by yellow-green Sand Trees. Some Sand Rabbits hid in the Seaberry Grass, warily watching Huang Yi and Overlord, the unwelcome guests.

"This must be the place," Overlord said, slowing down the Wind Dragon he was riding and began to look around the oasis.

"Pay attention to the temperature, the entrance to the Underground Palace will be a bit cooler," Huang Yi reminded him. The first time he discovered the entrance to the Sand Thief King’s Underground Palace was because he noticed something off about the temperature at the entrance.

With a purpose, the two searched back and forth in the oasis, carefully sensing their surroundings. Soon, Huang Yi pinpointed an area under a Sand Tree where the temperature was slightly lower than the rest.

Huang Yi took out the prepared "Mud Explosion Technique" scroll and released it towards that area.

"Boom!" The ground in that area exploded, the soil overturned, revealing a deep pit and exposing what lay beneath.

Below was something resembling a manhole cover, from which strands of cold air escaped, as if it were covering an eternal ice pit.

"Found it, here’s the entrance," Huang Yi announced, dismounted his Raptor, jumped into the pit, and with a great effort, he lifted the cover.

The moment the cover was moved aside, a blast of cold air surged skyward, quickly turning the surface of the oasis’s water white as it froze over. Huang Yi and Overlord’s skin also grew a thin layer of Ice Crystals, penetrating to their core.

This scene was identical to Huang Yi’s first time entering the Sand Thief King’s Underground Palace, where the concentration of Ice Elementals was incredibly dense, potent enough to freeze to death someone of weaker constitution upon entering.

"Let’s go down!" Huang Yi said, flexing his muscles to shake off the Ice Crystals, then jumped in.

"Ah! It’s so cold, my old bones are almost frozen stiff," Overlord jumped down too, involuntarily hugging his shoulders and shivering as he spoke.

"But it’s worth it, the Sand Thief Tomb is filled with a massive number of special creatures, and the Experience Points are very high. I leveled up several times the first time I was here," Huang Yi said with a slight smile, before summoning his Raptor again and venturing deeper into the tomb.

After walking for a while, indeed, they encountered numerous soldiers encased in ice ahead, numerous as terracotta warriors, emitting bursts of cold air, like ice sculptures.

Huang Yi directly had his Raptor charge in, its Brute Force knocking down a group of soldiers. This disturbance woke the soldiers, who then began to attack Huang Yi and Overlord. Their Level was 65, much higher than the creatures in the Underground Palace Huang Yi had previously encountered, likely adjusted automatically by the system according to the level of the players entering.

However, under the powerful onslaught from Huang Yi and Overlord, they were merely piles of Experience Points.

"The Experience here is really high; I’ve just leveled up 10%," Overlord remarked, riding his Wind Dragon and swinging his Magic Wand at the soldiers, showering them with bursts of purple light. His mount breathed gusts of wind, lifting the soldiers into the air and then slamming them back down.

"This is the benefit for adventure-oriented players. Those who play for adventure might not be able to level grind for days on end, so whenever they find such tombs, there’s a feast of Experience Points waiting for them, allowing them to level up several times at once," Huang Yi commented, casting Plague while finding a moment to speak.

"Considering this pace, how many Experience Points will we get after collecting all 98 Hearts of the Sand Thief King?" Overlord said with anticipation, swinging his Magic Wand to draw a semicircle, unleashing a half-moon of radiance that covered a large area. The creatures immediately started to attack each other as if they had suddenly gone mad.

Huang Yi, curious about Overlord’s wand, couldn’t help asking, "Where did you get that wand? How come I’ve never seen you change weapons?"

"It’s a class-exclusive weapon, available to me as soon as I chose my class, and it will grow with me for life. I don’t need to farm for weapons, I just need some materials to upgrade this class-exclusive weapon," Overlord said, caressing the wand as if it were a treasure.

Shortly after, the two swiftly cleared out the soldiers, Huang Yi’s Experience Points soaring, much faster than grinding levels at the Tower of Pantheons.

"I’ve leveled up," Overlord reported, his expression incredulous.

"Next, there should be a group of elite monsters, along with a lot of Experience Points," Huang Yi said as he spurred his Raptor to move downward.

After the two of them continued forward for a while, sure enough, another group of monsters appeared ahead. These monsters looked even more formidable, clearly of a higher quality of elite monsters.

What followed was a tough fight for Huang Yi and Overlord. After spending a good amount of time, the two finally managed to kill this group of elite monsters, reaping a hefty amount of Experience Points and obtaining a large quantity of equipment.

"Alright, next up, after killing the final Guardian Boss, we’ll be able to get the Heart of the Sand Thief King," Huang Yi said as he rode the Raptor to the deepest part of the Underground Palace.

Behind this part of the Underground Palace was somewhat different from the first one they encountered, with the deepest part directly leading to a podium. On top of it lay a golden box, from which an endless chill seeped out, the Heart of the Sand Thief King.

In front of this podium, there was a mage encased in ice, wearing a blue Magic Robe, presumably an Ice Mage, holding a Magic Wand in hand. The whole figure resembled a giant piece of amber.

"Crack!" Just then, the ice on the mage suddenly shattered, freeing him and restoring his ability to move.

The mage shook his limbs, and the sound of popping joints resonated, as if he had been stiff for a long time. He glanced at Huang Yi and Overlord and immediately waved his Magic Wand, shooting two piercingly cold Ice Arrows at them.

Huang Yi and Overlord had been on alert, and at this moment, they each spurred their mounts to dash to the side, dodging the Ice Arrows.

Seeing the mage attacking, Huang Yi’s heart sank slightly. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t good for him to summon the Heroes’ Prison, so he and Overlord had to work together to kill this Boss.

This Mage Boss was Level 70, and if it had been him from before, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to defeat it. But after he had obtained the Legendary Weapon, his strength soared, and with a powerful Raptor and the help of Overlord and a Wind Dragon, there was an even greater chance of killing the Boss.

"Swoosh!" The Raptor was incredibly fast, charging forward in a flash, its strength much greater than that of a Barbarian Bull—it struck the mage in almost the blink of an eye!

The mage was suddenly hit and became disoriented, but he did not enter a state of Dizziness since, after all, it wasn’t a skill, and it was difficult to have a controlling effect.

"Heavy Judgment!" The next moment, Huang Yi seized the opportunity and hurled his most powerful single target attack skill at the mage, wiping out a substantial amount of Health Points.

This Boss was a Mage, the most fragile type, hardly able to withstand Huang Yi’s extremely violent Physical Attack Type profession.

After being hit so hard, the mage immediately came to his senses and tried to flee!

"Boom!" Just then, Huang Yi spurred the Raptor to release a bolt of Lightning that struck the mage. The paralyzing effect of the Thunder Attribute Skill immediately took effect, causing him to tremble all over, unable to even run away.

"Heavy Judgment!"

"Heavy Judgment!"

Huang Yi’s Rage Value drained away like water, as Heavy Judgment after Heavy Judgment pounded on the Boss, depleting his Health Points more and more.

Soon, the paralysis on the mage was dispelled, and he quickly swung his Magic Wand. His figure flickered suddenly, reappearing somewhere else—he had used the teletransportation ability, Blink, a signature escape skill of all mages.

Immediately after that, the mage unleashed an Ice Wall, firmly blocking Huang Yi’s path and preventing him from charging forward. Then the mage opened his mouth, mumbling spells, clearly preparing to release a high-powered skill.

"Soul Howl!" Just then, Overlord suddenly screamed at the mage, and a wave of energy spread out, hitting the mage!

The mage quickly covered his ears, his breath became chaotic, and he staggered around in disarray, his chanting abruptly interrupted.

Huang Yi seized the opportunity, steering the Raptor around the Ice Wall, soaring high, and pounced down from the air towards the mage with a tremendous force.

"Thud!" The mage was struck by the Raptor, the powerful Pounce Strength pouring on him all at once, pinning him to the ground, unable to get up for a while.

Huang Yi immediately switched his two-handed axe to a one-handed axe and bent down to smash Heavy Judgment after Heavy Judgment on the mage lying on the ground.

The cooperation between Huang Yi and Overlord led to a strong start. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to continue reading.)