Heroes' Prison

Chapter 713 - 682 Bloodhoof

"Qiao Sida, close your eyes," Huang Yi said, turning his head towards Qiao Sida behind him.

"Okay! Big brother!" Qiao Sida nodded her little head and obediently closed her eyes.

Huang Yi picked him up and quietly left the storeroom, heading out to the farm outside.

He swiftly manifested the Golden Holy Dragon Wings that appeared during his eighth evolution and flew high into the sky.

"Roar!" Just then, a ghoul below suddenly spotted Huang Yi and let out a loud roar, its terrifying and ghastly voice immediately spreading far and wide.

At once, all the ghouls wandering on the ground spotted Huang Yi, the unwelcome visitor, and began to howl.

One after another, the terrifying roars echoed, some ghouls even bent down to pick up stones from the ground and hurled them forcefully at Huang Yi.

The stones, like bullets, shot past Huang Yi, whistling through the air with a shrieking sound!

"Big brother, what’s that howling?" Qiao Sida, with her eyes tightly closed, shivered slightly as she heard the ghouls’ roars, feeling extremely frightened.

"Don’t worry, I’ll protect you," Huang Yi said, and immediately summoned Little Dragon!

Instantly, the majestic figure of Little Dragon appeared in mid-air. Huang Yi quickly mounted it and spurred it to accelerate, racing against time to escape from there.

The Golden Holy Dragon Wings on Huang Yi’s back and Little Dragon’s wings coordinated in perfect frequency. The two pairs of wings worked together, greatly increasing their speed, and in the blink of an eye, they flew far away, completely leaving the vicinity of the small town.

Looking back at Blood Town, Huang Yi could still faintly hear the ghouls’ roars. His gaze seemed to penetrate through layers of obstacles to see Diya under the dim light of the cellar.

When the role of a guardian of the nation, a husband, and a father merge, yet conflict with each other, that agony is unimaginable.

...

Meanwhile, it was daytime in Northern Sea City.

Huang Yi’s incarnation was discreetly assassinating members of the Martial Arts Guild in the city. This was just his incarnation, and without Little Dragon’s aid, even a Level 165 Guardian could kill him, so he had to be cautious.

Now, his military rank was increasing very slowly. The battle merits required to advance from Colonel to Major General were terrifying, making it impossible to rise further in the short term.

However, his level had risen from 160 to 161. Killing players during the national war was much faster than leveling up by slaying monsters in the Tower of Pantheons.

"You’ve been arrogant for so long, it’s time for you to die," Huang Yi heard a sinister voice coming from behind just then.

He turned his head and immediately saw the Level 185 Guardian. This Guardian had previously been isolated by his Dark Seal, but the 24-hour duration had already passed, and the opponent had regained freedom!

Seeing the arrival of the Level 185 Guardian, Huang Yi knew he could only evade. His true body couldn’t even defeat a Level 185 Guardian, let alone this incarnation, which was even weaker.

What surprised Huang Yi, though, was that the Level 185 Guardian was respectfully standing next to another man in a golden robe.

The man in the golden robe, hands empty, with a jade-like complexion and wearing a golden crown, had an unparalleled emperor-like presence, his aura far surpassing the Level 185 Guardian.

It seemed that this man in the golden robe was the Level 195 Guardian summoned by the Martial Arts Guild after expending a huge amount of resources and urgently accumulating a massive number of Guild Contribution Points!

Level 195! This was considered one of the strongest under the Heavenly Realm. Huang Yi could only fight him by summoning criminals from the Heroes’ Prison. But under the Heavenly Curtain Barrier of Northern Sea City, he couldn’t summon the Heroes’ Prison and had to fight with his own strength.

The Level 185 Guardian lowered his head, toadying up to the man in the golden robe, "Emperor Gu Xing, please allow me to kill him."

"You may!" The man called Emperor Gu Xing nodded gently, his voice calm and mild.

After getting Emperor Gu Xing’s approval, the Level 185 Guardian let out a fierce laugh, then attacked towards Huang Yi’s fragile incarnation.

But the next moment, Huang Yi suddenly transformed into a petite Treasure-Sniffing Cat, vanishing into thin air, it was the Void Skill at work.

He was no match for his opponent and could only hide for now. However, he could only transform once during battle. Now that he had become a Treasure-Sniffing Cat, he couldn’t change back and had to continue hiding.

...

In the Job Change secret realm, Little Dragon carried Huang Yi and Qiao Sida over peaks, valleys, and grasslands.

Qiao Sida’s eyes were wide open now; he realized he was flying mid-air and shouted excitedly. His joyous voice spread across the wilderness under the night sky.

But Huang Yi couldn’t find joy, his brow furrowed in thought, pondering the strategy for the upcoming battle. Once he left this secret realm, he would have to face a Level 195 Guardian. Even after his job change, there was still a vast gap of over 30 levels between them.

Finally, Little Dragon carried Huang Yi above a forest. There were signs of human presence, with wooden structures scattered among the trees, and faint light from fires in the distance, suggesting a tribal settlement.

They quickly flew above the tribe, and the scene below became clearly visible.

The tribe had rough wooden buildings lit by torches. Minotaurs hardly used magic for illumination, preferring the primitive light of torches.

Minotaurs with muscular bodies, bullheads, large noses, and menacing horns navigated through the tribe. Their legs were hoofed, robust and powerful.

That was the Minotaur—naive by nature but terrifyingly violent when angered.

Then, the Minotaurs on sentinel duty noticed Huang Yi in the sky and looked up at him with vigilance.

"I am here at someone’s request to find Ironhoof," Huang Yi shouted from atop Little Dragon, his voice echoing through every corner of the tribe.

Instantly, every Minotaur in the tribe stopped dead and looked up at Huang Yi.

"Who’s looking for me?" At that moment, a voice rang out from the crowd below.

Huang Yi turned toward the source of the voice and saw a Minotaur who clearly stood taller than the others. His eyes were as large as bells, horns on his head pointing defiantly at the sky, an imposing and dominating figure. The other Minotaurs shrank back slightly in respect when they saw him.

Huang Yi immediately urged Little Dragon to descend, landing in front of the towering Minotaur. He jumped down, holding Qiao Sida, and addressed the Minotaur, "Are you Ironhoof? I am entrusted by Diya to leave his child in your care to learn martial arts."

"I am Ironhoof!" The Minotaur nodded slightly, his voice thunderous. He spoke at a normal volume, but it sounded like a roar, "Diya was my good brother on the battlefield; his child is like my own."

Then, he looked at Qiao Sida in Huang Yi’s arms. A hint of gentleness flickered in his bell-sized eyes as he reached out his rough hand to pat the boy’s head.

"Why didn’t Diya come himself? Last time at the capital’s tavern, just as I was about to challenge him to a drinking contest, he rushed home, which was disappointing!" Ironhoof asked boisterously, his words suggesting a close relationship with Diya.

"You’ll understand when you see this!" Huang Yi sighed inwardly, took out the metal military tag Diya had given him, and handed it to Ironhoof.

Upon seeing the military tag, Ironhoof’s boisterous face turned to shock, freezing on the spot. The flickering torchlight of the surroundings cast his rugged face in alternating light and shadow.

After a long while, his eyes twitched slightly, dampening with moisture. The tough man was suddenly filled with sorrow.

He shakily reached out to take the military tag, choking back emotion, "Diya, is he..." but then, noticing Qiao Sida’s presence, he abruptly stopped speaking.

"Yes," Huang Yi guessed Ironhoof’s question and nodded in confirmation.

Diya stayed in Blood Town, most likely intending to kill the ghouls himself, including his own wife. The act of killing his wife would condemn Diya to a life of torment, so suicide, to die alongside his beloved, was a stark possibility.

Upon hearing Huang Yi’s answer, Ironhoof trembled, slowly closing his eyes.

After a long time, he finally opened them and took Qiao Sida into his arms, his voice as soothing as possible, "Poor child, this tribe is your home now! I will teach you martial arts to the best of my ability and make you strong."

"But I have a home, my home is in Blood Town! Dad said he and Mom were going to a faraway place to find a new home, and they would come to take me there. They’ve just gone far away but will come back!" Qiao Sida said innocently, his pure eyes earnestly looking at Ironhoof.

"Child," Ironhoof pursed his lips and gently touched Qiao Sida’s head, "from now on, think of this place as your home! If you want to become strong, focus on learning martial arts with me. Don’t think about the past. Starting today, live with a new identity. Also, stop using your original name. I will give you a new one."

After saying that, Ironhoof fell into deep thought, seemingly searching for a name.

The bright moonlight poured down, and all the surrounding Minotaurs turned to quietly observe Ironhoof and Qiao Sida. The torches around the tribe flickered in the night breeze, casting the faces of those gathered into silent profiles.

A long while later, Ironhoof seemed to have found a name. Gazing at Qiao Sida in his arms, he said, "From now on, you shall be called Bloodhoof!"