Chapter 107 – Player Corpses

The opening time of the Hero Festival is not precise, with an error margin exceeding two months.

After consulting some materials, he discovered that it resembled an enormous hero tavern where numerous lords competed together.

Within, there were not only ordinary heroes but also a few legendary spirits who had left their names in the history of the Eternal World.

Competition wasn’t solely based on strength; sometimes, a mutual connection could lure a hero away.

Consequently, many ordinary lords let out excited howls.

Mu Yuan looked at himself in the mirror.

He was dignified and impressive, but he preferred to rely on his talents.

“Forget it, let’s deal with it when the time comes.”

At that moment, he received a message from the Undead General.

Deadbone, who had been out exploring and delving deep into a certain area for a long time, had finally returned.

…

During the lord trials, two major waves of monsters attacked Tianyuan Territory.

The tribe of the goblin “old friends” had already been discovered, but the other one…

Mu Yuan followed the camera bird’s perspective to a location northwest of Tianyuan Territory, just over a thousand meters from the territory’s border.

Here, the ground had collapsed, forming a massive, downward-sloping pit.

He controlled a Skeleton Warrior to kick down a few pieces of rubble. The stones clattered as they rolled down, quickly disappearing without a trace or an echo.

The pit was deep. Deadbone had been exploring along it all this time and had now made a discovery.

“You’re saying that not only does a tribe exist underground, but there’s also a vast underground space?”

“99.98% probability.”

Deadbone said.

Even on its skeletal face, Mu Yuan could discern a grave expression and even read: This is too dangerous! The number of enemies is unknown, hidden underground, posing an immense threat to the territory! Even more terrifying, if targeted by underground enemies, could the surface of Tianyuan Territory collapse?

It was indeed very dangerous.

Mu Yuan nodded. Its concern was valid; the underground threat needed to be investigated and eliminated as soon as possible.

This time, the Undead General had summoned Bone Two Three Four, Red Robe, and other strong forces from the territory, along with dozens of elites, to descend along the pit.

The path along the way was winding and treacherous, with dust sprinkling down and rocks occasionally clattering against the Skeleton Warriors’ helmets, producing sharp, metallic clangs.

Navigating such underground tunnels was exceptionally perilous; if ambushed by enemies, it would be easy to face total annihilation.

The cautious Deadbone would not have overlooked this.

He dispatched Red Robe and other wraiths to slip through rock crevices, scouting hundreds of meters ahead to eliminate any possibility of ambushes.

Occasionally, traces of artificial excavation could be found at some of the narrower passages.

After advancing several thousand steps, the view suddenly opened up—the cramped tunnel transformed into a spacious hall. The ground was level, as if paved with solid floor tiles, producing only firm thuds when stepped on forcefully. Torches, long burnt out, were embedded in the surrounding walls, revealing signs of civilization.

Upon exiting the hall, the environment returned to its primitive state, yet it was not dark.

In the rugged, intricate underground space, a type of moss was everywhere, growing on the rock walls and emitting a faint fluorescence in the dark silence.

The arrival of the skeletons shattered the silence, their clattering echoes bouncing endlessly through the caverns, reverberating for untold meters.With more personnel available this time, Deadbone directed the troops to spread out and explore in all directions.

Soon, Mu Yuan summarized two pieces of news.

The good news was that the underground space also extended continuously toward the northwest and did not exist beneath his Tianyuan Territory.

The bad news was that this place was a bit too large.

Was it reasonable for such a vast, mysterious, and danger-filled underground space to exist right beside his fledgling territory?

Existence implies reason, so Mu Yuan continued forward, following the camera bird’s perspective.

Along the way, the troops killed many monsters attracted by the commotion.

Cave dwellers, burrow spiders, ghouls, skeleton soldiers, and more.

The Skeleton Warrior showed no hesitation when cutting down skeleton soldier monsters—in fact, it was even more efficient. There was no special reason, just familiarity.

As they explored and slaughtered their way forward, following some obvious traces, Mu Yuan’s skeletons and specters found a monster tribe after half a day.

A tribe…

with extinguished bonfires, damaged stone houses, and broken corpses scattered everywhere.

The remains included cave dwellers, burrow assassins, worms, and even two powerful creatures, likely night hunters, who seemed to have been slapped against the rock wall by some immense force, their bodies mangled and half-turned to pulp.

Giant claw marks, larger than a person, were imprinted on the rock walls and the ground.

At the core of the tribe, they found a blood-red altar, but it was completely shattered. Even when Deadbone stepped forward and tentatively touched it, no prompt sounded.

Mu Yuan stroked his chin.

“Did this tribe of monsters, unlike those goblins who swarmed out, leave some members behind to guard the place? But their strength was greatly reduced, and they were soon attacked by a powerful monster, ultimately wiped out completely?”

This tribe was similarly bloody and primitive, yet seemed slightly more advanced than the Snakefolk Tribe.

Deadbone discovered a dungeon here and found many prisoners inside, locked up but long dead. Some of the corpses looked very much like humans.

“Are they real humans, human players, or human wild monsters?”

Some of the remains had been dead for years, wearing only ordinary clothing and armor, revealing nothing.

But one corpse, with hands shackled and hair disheveled, could still be seen wearing an exquisite half-set of armor.

“This is the Dragon Turtle Gen3 Armor!”

“Could this be a player from the Xuan Nation?”

Deadbone ordered a skeleton to break the handcuffs and repeatedly examined the corpse, turning it over and back.

Apart from this damaged Dragon Turtle Gen3 Armor, there seemed to be nothing else of value on the body.

Thud—

A yellowed, damp, and slightly moldy notebook fell out from inside the armor.

Deadbone picked it up and carefully opened it.

“…By the time you read this diary, I am probably already dead.”

“I am an adventurer. I obtained the game qualification eight or nine years ago and have been physically in the Eternal World for three and a half years… Yes, I am a senior member of the Physical Experience Association. I married several concubines in this world, each with slender waists and rounded hips…”

The next several pages were filled with the adventurer’s unspeakable stories with his concubines.

Mu Yuan: “…”Who in their right mind would keep a diary, and even write these stories so ‘vividly’ and ‘graphically’ in a journal? But to avoid missing any crucial information, Mu Yuan read it word by word. Before long, he finally came across the adventurer’s exploration experiences.

“I traveled, leaped, endured hardships, and broke through numerous obstacles until I finally caught sight of an Underground City built deep underground—decayed yet still magnificent.”

“I intended to investigate further, but was ambushed by a terrifying ‘Earth Rock Dragon.’ By the time I escaped, I was severely injured, and the troops I had brought with me were nearly wiped out.”

“I’m not dead yet, but I no longer have the strength to return to the surface.”

“If I hadn’t entered in my true form, I could have contacted friends in the Real World for rescue at this point, but I have no regrets.”

“Later, I was captured by a group of cave dwellers and imprisoned in a Dungeon. It seems to be a Tribe led by Night Dancer.”

“Ah~ Night Dancer’s taste is truly delightful. I can die without regrets.”

The regular update time is in the morning, so that after coding and updating in the afternoon and evening, I can wake up refreshed in the morning to revise the text—it’s a safer approach.

(End of Chapter)