Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Hidden Treasure Chest

RUMBLE...

A slight breeze stirred as the sky grew overcast. Thunder rumbled as if from distant mountains.

”The weather’s turning. It’s going to rain!”

Yang Wanli glanced at the sky and muttered, ”Looks like we’re in for a soaking today!”

The old man shook his head. He had to drag the corpses from in front of the General’s Tomb down the slope for a simple burial.

”Sigh... I’ve seen this person before. Old Zhang’s son from Pottery Village... The green hills are a graveyard for all. You can’t blame anyone for this, son! And the rest of you... fare thee well, fare thee well, a safe journey onward!”

Yang Wanli sighed again and again with emotion.

Perhaps these people still had living relatives, but it was unlikely they would ever know their bones were buried here.

In a chaotic world of poverty, a person’s life was as worthless as grass. That’s just how it was.

Yang Wanli only hoped that by following his Lord and making a living, his family could all live well.

”I’ll help!”

Pang Damao had woken up long ago. He was now going over to collect the long sabers on the ground, but his steps were unsteady. He couldn’t muster any strength, looking like a sickly weakling.

Although he had been healed by the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles and pulled back from the brink of death, he still needed a period of rest to fully recover.

A moment later, Pang Damao walked over to Yang Wanli and said suddenly, ”Village Chief, my real name isn’t Pang Damao. It’s Pang Yuan! My ancestral home is in Qinghe County!”

Yang Wanli grinned. ”Who asked you?”

Pang Damao paid him no mind and continued, ”Do you think... that one day in the future, the Lord might be able to wipe out the Black Mountain Stronghold?”

”Stop, stop, stop. What nonsense are you thinking, kid? Let me tell you, don’t go causing trouble for the Lord! If you try to pull any tricks, I won’t let you off!”

”Don’t worry, I know my limits! Pang Damao is already dead. I am now Pang Yuan, the director of Stone Village’s Intelligence Department, saved by the Lord!”

A smile unlike any he had ever shown before spread across Pang Damao’s face. He seemed like a completely different person.

Meanwhile, Wang Yi had successfully dug up the hidden Treasure Chest.

This hidden Treasure Chest was actually blue.

”Let’s see what’s inside!”

Wang Yi opened the Treasure Chest, and three items immediately appeared before him.

The first was a money pouch containing a total of 26 Gold Coins.

The second item was a [Fertile Land Deed], identical to the one Wang Yi had gotten from a Treasure Chest before.

The third item, however, was a palm-sized jade tablet engraved with the two words ”Free Market.”

[Free Market Pass Token: A consumable item. After use, a Player can teleport into the Free Market and is permitted to stay for one hour. Inside the Free Market, Players are allowed to trade freely. Lord Players can access their Chaos Warehouse, Secret Warehouse, Material Warehouse, and more. Please explore for further details.]

’Free Market, free trade? That sounds pretty good. This thing should be quite valuable. I’ll study it after I get back to my territory.’

Wang Yi shook his head, slightly disappointed that he hadn’t gotten a Chaos Blind Box. He thought to himself that if the [Free Market Pass Token] wasn’t any good, then this hidden Treasure Chest would be a total bust.

By the time Wang Yi returned to the General’s Tomb, the wind had died down and the rain had stopped. The five members of the Civilian Militia and the one scorpion had just arrived as well.

All five of them were injured.

In fact, if not for the monstrous Rock Giant Scorpion, it would have been impossible for them to escape the Lu Family Stronghold unscathed.

Wang Yi checked their injuries. They were all minor wounds that weren’t a big deal, so there was no need to use the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles for treatment.

Yang Qingniu and the others certainly didn’t stand idle. They cheerfully helped Yang Wanli clear the corpses in front of the General’s Tomb’s entrance, excitedly recounting how awesome they had been at the Lu Family Stronghold.

As for Wang Yi, when he saw the bodies, his expression remained impassive, but his heart was filled with a torrent of emotions.

He had shot and killed too many soldiers from the Lu Family Stronghold. As an ordinary person who had grown up in a society governed by the rule of law, it would be a lie to say he felt nothing after doing such a thing.

But Wang Yi forced himself to be ruthless.

Because he knew that as long as he was a Lord, as long as he wanted to gain a foothold in this world, this kind of thing was inevitable.

He could be merciful, but he could not be soft-hearted when it mattered.

By the time all the corpses on site were cleared away, another two hours had passed. They had also managed to collect exactly 80 long sabers.

These long sabers were produced by the Lu Family Stronghold’s Blacksmith Shop. They were just white-rarity items, ordinary cast-iron long sabers. In terms of quality, they were probably inferior to the mountain bandit’s great saber that Zhang Gouzi had dropped.

”Next up, it’s time to run the Secret Realm!”

Wang Yi called everyone over. The General’s Tomb Secret Realm could be run five times a day. Lu Junsheng and his people had run it once, so it could be run four more times today.

”This General’s Tomb is a Secret Realm. You can think of a Secret Realm as a small world that can be reset and repeated infinitely. By fighting inside, you can obtain spoils of war! This General’s Tomb now belongs to us. But before we go in, Big Head, these items are for you...”

As he spoke, Wang Yi handed the Iron-Clad Bow, the Bone Arrow, and the unsealed [Hundred-Step Arrow Manual] Skill Book to Man Datou.

Man Datou was a deeply loyal guard. When Wang Yi got good things, of course he would give them to him first.

”Thank you, Master!”

Man Datou grinned broadly. He slung the Iron-Clad Bow over his back, put away the Bone Arrow, and then opened the [Hundred-Step Arrow Manual] Skill Book. A golden light flashed around him, and in the next moment, the Skill Book vanished. Man Datou now possessed the [Hundred-step Arrow Technique] skill.

This skill had a proficiency setting. Each time it was used, his proficiency would increase by one point. Once his proficiency reached the required level, the skill would upgrade, and the accuracy of the Hundred-step Arrow Technique would become even greater.

In short, with the [Hundred-step Arrow Technique] skill, Man Datou was instantly an excellent Shooter. After raising the skill’s proficiency a little, achieving the Hundred-step Piercing Willow would be no problem.

”I know how to shoot an arrow now! It’s so magical!”

Man Datou marveled at the change in himself, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Yang Wanli and the others watched from the side, their hearts filled with envy.

Wang Yi’s gaze swept over them. ”Don’t be anxious. Whether it’s equipment or skills, you will all have them in the future. Da Mao, you’ve been in this Secret Realm before. Give everyone a brief introduction.”

”Okay!”

As instructed, Pang Damao began to earnestly explain the situation inside the Secret Realm to the group.

The difficulty of the General’s Tomb Secret Realm was actually quite high. Previously, when Lu Junsheng led 80 men inside, a full 24 of them died before they cleared it.

Wang Yi couldn’t scrape together that many people. The only ones available to run the Secret Realm now were Man Datou, the five members of the Civilian Militia, the two Rock Giant Scorpions, Pang Damao, and Yang Wanli, who insisted on going in to see it for himself—a total of eight people and two scorpions.

Wang Yi was willing to lend them the repeating crossbow tractor, but unfortunately, the Crossbow Carriage couldn’t enter the instance.

After Pang Damao finished his introduction to the Secret Realm’s interior, Wang Yi added a warning: ”Safety first! After you enter, you must be careful, careful, and more careful. Let the two giant scorpions take the front. If you can’t win, retreat to the safe zone. It’s better to give up halfway than to push your luck!”

”Don’t worry, Lord!”

”We’ll definitely be extra careful.”

The group was a little nervous, but also resolute. They soon walked into the Secret Realm’s entrance together.

In less than half an hour, the eight people and two scorpions walked out again.

They had cleared the Secret Realm!

Yang Qingniu held up a small, gold-covered booklet and said excitedly to Wang Yi, ”Lord, we got a book to drop! Take a look, is it a Skill Book?”