Treasure Chests and Refugee Camps

Chapter 22: Treasure Chests and Refugee Camps

Just as Li Wei had expected, the Gargoyles were far less capable on the ground than in the air. All they had to do was form a defensive ring with the Militiamen and let the Crossbowmen shoot from behind them to win easily.

It might have been an easy victory, but they still lost one Militiaman. As the Militiaman thrust his spear, a rock-gray Gargoyle seized the opening and tore his head apart with its stone claws.

But it was soon blasted into pieces by USP Pistol bullets and several arrows!

By the time all fifteen Gargoyles had been reduced to rubble, only three Militiamen were still able to fight. The five Crossbowmen, however, were completely unharmed and remained the backbone of Li Wei's forces.

He walked over to the Quarry and found the magical orb. Just as he was about to touch it, he happened to notice a glint of gold coming from a corner inside the Quarry.

"A treasure chest!"

The discovery thrilled Li Wei. He didn't bother to take control of the Quarry first, but hurried over to the chest.

Just like in the game, a faint golden glow emanated from the chest. Opening it would yield gold or experience, but clearly, things worked a little differently here.

Before Bai Jie could come inside, Li Wei opened the chest.

A flash of light passed, and a pile of gold coins and a battle axe gleaming with a cold light appeared inside.

"Found 1,000 gold!"

"Found a Centaur Battle Axe!"

A weapon!

After gathering up the gold, Li Wei picked up the battle axe. "[Centaur Battle Axe], Attack +6. 'You found a battle axe embedded deep in the ground. After much effort, you finally pulled it free.'"

The metal axe head was heavy, and a strip of coarse cloth was wrapped around the streamlined handle. It fit his grip perfectly. The sharp blade gleamed coldly. Li Wei's arm muscles tensed as he suddenly swung the axe at a nearby tree.

The thick trunk, nearly as wide as his thigh, might as well have been made of paper. The sharp blade cleaved it in two.

"Nice!"

With his Strength already at 9, Li Wei found the axe just right for him. The weight in his hands gave him a powerful sense of confidence.

What's more, he noticed that the Attack stats of several units under his command had gained a +6. When he put down the Centaur Battle Axe, those extra six points of Attack disappeared.

Li Wei was beginning to understand. In the world of Heroes of Might and Magic, the combat boost from equipment didn't just benefit its wearer. Even the units under his command received a corresponding stat increase. The five Crossbowmen now had six extra points of Attack, which was like having two or three more Crossbowmen. Their volleys would deal considerably more damage.

Even so, he couldn't afford to be careless.

Just then, Li Wei remembered that after he had "bitten to death" the Vampire Count in Dawn City, a white scroll had appeared. He hadn't had time to examine it closely back then, but now it suddenly came to mind.

He took the scroll from his clothes and examined it carefully. It was an ordinary parchment scroll, wrapped with a string sealed beneath bright red wax. Li Wei broke the seal and unrolled it.

It was covered in writing. Although the characters were in an unfamiliar script, Li Wei somehow understood their meaning. It was probably another power of Shadow Street.

"Enchantment Scroll: Life Drain. Imbues a melee weapon with magic. When the weapon hits an opponent in battle, there is a chance to convert 30% of the damage dealt into health. 'This is the mysterious power of the Vampires!'"

An Enchantment Scroll?

Li Wei suddenly remembered seeing someone selling similar Enchantment Scrolls on Shadow Street. The stall had belonged to someone who was clearly a veteran. One of the scrolls had been priced at 3,000 points. Li Wei had noticed that it added 2 Strength to a weapon.

This Life Drain scroll was definitely worth more than that one—in other words, it was worth over 3,000 points.

Li Wei didn't have any good melee weapons at the moment, so he didn't plan to use the scroll. The Centaur Battle Axe was a decent weapon, but its value was limited to the world of Heroes of Might and Magic.

After putting away the scroll, Li Wei took control of the Quarry. He had planned to lead the remaining Militiamen and Crossbowmen straight to the last resource site, the Gold Mine.

But after finding Bai Jie resting outside the Quarry, he had to put off setting out right away.

Ever since he and Zheng Yutong had split up from Wang Kai, Li Wei and his group had gone a whole day without rest. The Militiamen and Crossbowmen had astonishing stamina, so they were fine. Li Wei had undergone enhancement, and though he felt a little tired, it didn't affect his ability to keep moving. Bai Jie, however, still had the stamina of an ordinary person and was struggling to keep up with such an intense pace.

She leaned against a tree trunk, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her once-white medieval blouse and leather armor were now filthy and disheveled. Her undone collar revealed her fair neck and skin.

"Let's rest for a while. I'll go find us some food!" Li Wei said, looking at Bai Jie's pale face, feeling rather helpless.

At that moment, he found himself missing Zheng Yutong. Not for any other reason—she was clearly a veteran with an item that could store supplies. They had gotten all their food from her. Now Li Wei had to find a way to provide for them himself. That was what happened when you failed to prepare in advance.

He left three Militiamen and two Crossbowmen behind to protect Bai Jie, then took the other three Crossbowmen to hunt.

They were in a forest, a natural hunting ground, so Li Wei found some small game without much trouble. He was running low on USP Pistol ammunition, so he put the pistol away. It seemed that weapon was only effective against units below level two anyway.

As for the Centaur Battle Axe in his hands, Li Wei liked it more and more. It hadn't increased any of his four basic stats, but it had raised his Attack, which was equivalent to indirectly increasing his Strength. Take the wild boar in front of him: Li Wei sent it to the afterlife with a single swing.

"Bring the catch. We're heading back!" As soon as Li Wei spoke, two Crossbowmen stepped forward. They placed two bamboo poles beneath the boar and secured it with rope. Once they dragged the bamboo frame, they could carry it away with ease.

Just then, the other Crossbowman, who had been scouting ahead, hurried back and saluted Li Wei.

"Sir Knight, I found a hidden patch of woodland up ahead. There's a large camp tent there. Would you like to take a look?"

At Li Wei's order, the Crossbowman had been patrolling the surrounding area for several kilometers. He was supposed to report back as soon as he found anything, and clearly he had discovered something.

"A camp? A tent?" Li Wei brought up the strategic map. The area the Crossbowman had described showed only forest, with nothing unusual.

But Li Wei was more inclined to trust the Crossbowman. Whatever was over there, something was clearly amiss. It would be a shame not to investigate.

Taking the three Crossbowmen with him, Li Wei hurried to the wooded area. After they passed through a dense stretch of trees dozens of meters long, they came upon a clearing hidden in the forest. A small camp stood before them.

Only then did the strategic map on the Yellow Paper reveal the area.

"Discovered a Refugee Camp!"

Li Wei stared at the notification on the Yellow Paper, dumbfounded. He hadn't expected to come across a structure like this. Refugee Camps were among the more famous structures in Heroes of Might and Magic. By spending a certain amount of resources and gold, you could recruit randomly appearing creatures there.

With a nervous heart, Li Wei walked into the camp.

The campfire still smoldered, and stones and wooden stumps were scattered around it. Several tents were arranged in a triangular formation around the camp. A magical orb, much like the ones at the resource sites, floated inside. Without hesitation, Li Wei went up and laid a hand on it.

Creatures in a Refugee Camp appeared at random. That meant all creatures had an equal chance of appearing there, regardless of their level. Sometimes, you might find only a few bony Militiamen. Other times, you could recruit powerful creatures like Dragons or Angels.

I hope I get lucky!

A virtual screen appeared before him, like a visual interface. After a few taps, Li Wei saw the virtual image of a creature.

It was a knight riding a warhorse. Black armor covered his entire body, and even his mount wore specially made black armor. His helmet concealed everything but his crimson eyes. He held a long-handled saber and radiated an aura of terror.

"Level 6 creature: Dread Knight. Attack: 70, Defense: 65, Damage: 80–110, Speed: 40, Health: 500. Special abilities: Curse, Fatal Strike. Overall rating: B3. Recruitment cost: 2,000 gold, 200 points!"

Li Wei's eyes lit up. He knew that high-level units could appear in a Refugee Camp, but he hadn't expected to be this lucky.

The Dread Knight was the strongest of the level-six units. Some even considered it a match for level-seven units. Its Attack, Defense, and special abilities were all practically perfect.

"Recruit the Dread Knight!" Li Wei wondered why he had to spend points, but at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. He still had plenty of points, but precious little gold. If he hadn't unexpectedly found that treasure chest, he wouldn't have had enough to recruit the Dread Knight.

After he confirmed, his gold dropped from 2,000 straight to zero, and his points fell by 200. At the same time, the sound of hoofbeats came from inside one of the tents.

"May darkness cover the earth. Master, Mordel the Dread Knight reports for duty!"

A towering Dread Knight emerged from the tent. His warhorse stood at least two heads taller than Li Wei, and the knight astride it was even more imposing. His black armor clanked like metal. The sharp knight's saber was more than three meters long, and its blade, over a meter across, looked capable of cleaving through any enemy in its path.

Powerful—far too powerful!

This creature had a B3 rating. His sheer, invisible aura of dominance made Li Wei take two involuntary steps backward. He couldn't help comparing the Dread Knight to the Vampire he had faced earlier, and the result left him astonished. Even if it faced more than five Vampire Counts, the Dread Knight probably wouldn't lose.

And the Dread Knight even had a name?

"Mordel, how is it that you have a name of your own?" Li Wei already had absolute control over the Dread Knight, so he asked without hesitation.

This was the first unit he had encountered that could identify itself by name.

The question clearly surprised the Dread Knight. His crimson eyes brightened, then quickly dimmed again.

"Twenty years ago, the great Mordel Family fought the Undead Army in a bloody battle. For the honor of knighthood, the Mordel Family was willing to give up everything, even its precious lives. But..." As he spoke, Mordel the Dread Knight erupted with a murderous aura.

Falling leaves were shredded to pieces the instant they neared Mordel. Li Wei happened to witness it.

"...But we were betrayed—sold out to the evil Undead by those despicable spies. So, to avenge us, I underwent the baptism of death and became a Dread Knight. Great master, will you help Mordel take revenge?"

Before Li Wei could respond, a line of blood-red text appeared on the Yellow Paper.

"Quest: 'Redemption of the Dread Knight.' Help Mordel the Dread Knight avenge himself on his enemies. Quest rating: A. This is an optional quest. If you refuse, Mordel will still help you complete the main quest, 'Reclaim Dawn City.' If you accept, you will abandon the main quest and return directly to Shadow Street upon completing 'Redemption of the Dread Knight.' The reward will be determined by your final level of completion!"

For the first time, Li Wei's hands trembled as he held the Yellow Paper.