Seed of the Ancient Guardian

The first torso piece was obtained just like that.

It was much easier than Zong Shen had imagined.

However, where should he go next?

As soon as this doubt arose.

A golden marker appeared in both the left and right corridors.

"Does that mean there's something on both sides?"

Zong Shen looked to the left, then to the right.

(Stop dawdling, I suggest going right first.)

After the Strategy Guide appeared, he decisively walked toward the right.

Both sides of this corridor were standard dungeons.

Rusted iron bars and broken magic arrays.

Separated the dungeon into individual cells.

The ground underfoot became somewhat slippery.

The sound of "drip, drip" leaking water could be heard in his ears.

Eerie and quiet.

Zong Shen could even clearly hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

As well as the panting of the three Giant Wolves.

The iron bars and arrays of every cell were incomplete, and the cells were empty.

However, the walls inside appeared very mottled, covered in dark red symbols.

Among them were countless abstract and frantic graffiti.

Depicting all sorts of twisted limbs.

As well as hideous, roaring faces.

What exactly are these Blood-Burning Demons?

It seems that the Blood-Burning Legion, composed of these Blood-Burning Demons, was also what destroyed the Elf Race city of Azshara.

(Blood-Burning Demons, invaders from another dimension, extremely evil otherworldly demons, the culprits behind the destruction of the major civilizations of the Central Continent in the previous era.)

(With the end of the Era War, the Blood-Burning Demon gradually faded into extinction. The human race began to rise on the continent, while the primary civilizations of the previous era became extremely rare minorities today.)

The origins of this Blood-Burning Demon were actually so significant?

It turned out to be an invader from another dimension.

Furthermore, it had wiped out the primary civilization forces of this continent over ten thousand years ago.

For instance, the Elf Race.

And many other races that Zong Shen had yet to come into contact with.

Now, although these races still existed, they were no longer the protagonists of this continent.

At this moment, Zong Shen continued to ask questions in his heart.

"Where are the remaining remains?"

"Is there anything of value here?"

(The remaining remains are at the end of this dungeon, where there is a gloomy Execution Room, but there is a rather unfriendly fellow wandering about there.)

(Counting from your current position, there is a Black Iron Treasure Chest in the third cell on the right, and a lost parcel at the entrance of the fifth cell on the left.)

It really is comfortable to use the Strategy Module.

This Strategy Module of his was essentially a plugin within the Lord System, possessing near-omniscient knowledge of the entire Lord world.

Following the guidance of the strategy, Zong Shen first headed to the third cell on the right.

Sure enough, in the corner of the cell, there was a Black Iron Treasure Chest, sitting there quietly.

Zong Shen stepped forward quickly and chose to open it directly.

The treasure chest opened slowly, and several light orbs representing rewards emerged from it; among them, a green light orb was particularly eye-catching.

[Black Iron Treasure Chest opened successfully]

[Tier 2 Dwelling Construction Blueprint ×1]

[Refined Wheat Bread ×6]

[Swift Leather Boots (Green) ×1]

[Primary Life Manual ×1]

This time, there were only four rewards, but one of them was a fine-grade piece of equipment.

Then, Zong Shen dismantled the treasure chest to obtain 10 units of iron.

"I'll check these later."

Zong Shen collected the rewards first. Since none of his soldiers were injured, there was no need to rest, so he decided to save time and accelerate the pace of his exploration.

The dungeon was too dark and cramped; staying here for too long would make anyone feel claustrophobic.

He needed to finish the mission quickly and return to the surface. Colby had mentioned that a group of traveling merchants had occupied the abandoned outpost on the mountaintop.

Zong Shen was eager to make contact with the natives of this world and, while he was at it, see if the traveling merchants had anything he could buy.

After clearing out the Black Iron Treasure Chest, Zong Shen headed toward the left side.

At the entrance of the fifth cell, he saw the discarded parcel mentioned by the Strategy Guide.

It really was just a tattered cloth bundle.

The wrapping cloth on the outside had already rotted away.

Zong Shen reached out and pulled, and several light orbs leaped out.

Among them, there was actually a purple light orb.

This meant that there was a Rare-grade item inside this tattered bundle.

[Soldier Strengthening Bead (White) ×3]

[Primary Elemental Crystal ×6]

[Wild Mark ×1]

[Seed of the Ancient Guardian (Purple) ×1]

Another wave of rewards, especially with a Rare-grade item included.

"Let me take a look..."

[Seed of the Ancient Guardian]

[A defensive tree spirit of the Elf Race]

[Plant it in the soil and water it to grow a tree spirit, an Ancient Guardian. It can guard your territory and can also move slowly to re-root and redeploy.]

(With this, you'll be able to sleep soundly.)

This thing was similar to an Arrow Tower building; both belonged to the defensive category.

However, this thing seemed more flexible than an Arrow Tower, as it could move slowly to change its deployment location.

Zong Shen put the rewards away once again.

With so many rewards piling up, he couldn't be bothered to organize them every single time.

He planned to wait until this mission was over and he had returned to the surface to rest before sorting through everything.

The harvest from this exploration had been quite substantial.

There were plenty of good items in the dungeon alone, not to mention the rewards from the mission itself.

Gripping his sharp Germanic Sword, he took the lead and headed toward the end of the dungeon corridor.

By now, Zong Shen had basically begun to adapt to the rhythm of this world.

It was just as that voice had said back when he first heard it in that stark white room.

This was a world where everyone was a lord!

As for why the will of Gaia favored him, Zong Shen himself had no idea.

He only knew that he had to build a territory secure enough to establish his life, to survive, and to live well.

Zong Shen's thoughts gradually drifted away.

That was until he was awakened by Tie Zhu, who was guarding his side.

"Lord, the Execution Room is just ahead; it is also the last unexplored area in this dungeon."

Tie Zhu pointed forward and spoke in a low voice.

Zong Shen stopped in his tracks.

The others stopped as well.

The Execution Room was pitch black.

There was not a single candlelit glow.

However, Zong Shen dared not let his guard down.

He turned around and gave an order to Tasia.

"Tasia, summon two Skeleton Archers to scout the path ahead."

Upon hearing this, the Necromancer Tasia glanced at Zong Shen, appearing rather reluctant.

In this regard, she was actually much like Tie Zhu and Er Gou had been in the beginning.

Her loyalty of 70 points made her enthusiasm quite poor.

However, when she saw the meaningful look in Zong Shen's eyes, she began to chant nonetheless.

A ball of black light shot out from her Withered Wood Staff and landed directly on the floor of the Execution Room.

Immediately, the ground bulged, and two Skeleton Archers, their eye sockets burning with pale red flames and holding short bone bows, crawled out from beneath the earth.

The next moment, a blue light suddenly flared within the Execution Room, and everyone saw a skeleton clad in black light armor, with a curved horn atop its head, slowly rise while wielding a massive cleaver.