vrcanaries Chapter 43 Marite Tower, Garden of Truth
Chapter 43 Marite Tower, Garden of Truth
"As you can see, there's no one here, just an old drunkard. Believe me, that's definitely not the person you're looking for," the tavern owner said with a smile.
Lin Mo knew that the other person was referring to the people drinking in that corner.
To Lin Mo, that person was merely a background figure in the tavern.
So he handed over another gold coin.
"The second question is, where is the snake's treasure?"
Upon hearing this, the tavern owner's smile froze for a moment.
Seemingly triggered by a keyword associated with him as a tavern NPC, he glanced around to make sure no one else was there, then leaned closer to Lin Mo and lowered his voice even further.
"That island... go east from the tavern, walk to the river, and find a boatman named Old Bob. He'll take you to the island." The tavern owner paused. "But I advise you, that island isn't safe; you could easily go and never come back."
Lin Mo continued to take out gold coins and put them on the bar.
"Anything else?"
The tavern owner's eyes lit up even more.
He hesitated for a moment, then took a tattered piece of parchment from under the bar and laid it on the bar.
"This is a map of the island," the tavern owner said, pointing to a mark on the map. "The treasure chest is here, in the center of the island. But there's something else on the island."
His finger moved to another spot on the map: "Here, there's a dragon's nest, the lair of a black dragon."
Lin Mo's pupils contracted.
"I'm not sure if there's a black dragon on the island," the tavern owner said, noticing Lin Mo's expression. "It depends on luck, you know, but I'm sure there's a treasure chest in the dragon's lair. I don't know what's inside, but it's been there since the island appeared. Nobody can get in because the entrance to the dragon's lair is hidden by magic."
Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds: "Can you find the entrance?"
The tavern owner took a rusty iron key out of his pocket and placed it on the bar.
"This key reveals the entrance. Without it, you won't see it even if you stand at the entrance to the dragon's nest." The tavern owner glanced at the key, then at Lin Mo: "Three hundred gold coins, no bargaining."
Without hesitation, Lin Mo took out the corresponding gold coins and placed them on the bar.
Any hidden area is worth this price.
The tavern owner skillfully pocketed the coins and pushed the key over.
Lin Mo picked up the key, put it into his military treatise, and turned to leave the tavern.
The sunlight was a little too bright.
"Sant, do you think there might be a black dragon on the island?"
After thinking for a moment, Shant honestly replied, "I don't know, but I hope not."
Indeed, the Black Dragon is a Tier 7 unit, and one that is not weak among Tier 7 units. Encountering it at this time would be a certain death.
Lin Mo nodded, indicating that he thought so too.
The two mounted their horses and galloped eastward.
Sure enough, a river came into view shortly afterward.
There was a small boat on the riverbank. It was small and could only hold three or four people.
An old man stood at the bow of the boat. He was thin, hunchbacked, and had a wrinkled face. He wore an old coat covered in patches and held a long bamboo pole in his hand.
"Old Bob?" Lin Mo asked.
The old man looked up at Lin Mo, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Introduced by the tavern owner?"
Lin Mo took out five gold coins and tossed them to old Bob.
"Go to the island."
Old Bob took the gold coin, weighed it in his hand, and then stuffed it into his pocket. He used a bamboo pole to propel the small boat, and once Lin Mo and Shan Te were aboard, the boat slowly drifted away from the riverbank.
The river is wide and the current is rapid.
Old Bob was a skilled boatman; every time he inserted the bamboo pole into the water, he steadily supported the boat, preventing it from being swept away by the current.
Old Bob didn't say a word the whole way, clearly only responsible for the job of a boatman.
Lin Mo tried to strike up a conversation with the other person, but to no avail.
The island is getting closer.
From this perspective, the island is not large, only a few square kilometers.
The island was covered with trees, their trunks thick and their branches dense, their canopies blocking out most of the sky.
There is a mountain in the center, but it is not high.
The small boat docked, and Lin Mo disembarked, summoning the skeletal warhorse from the military manual. Shan Te also summoned the undead horse.
Two horses trod across the leaf-strewn ground towards the center of the island.
The trees on the island grew denser, their branches almost completely blocking out the light. The air was damp, carrying the smell of earth and decaying leaves.
After walking for about two minutes, Lin Mo suddenly stopped his horse.
Because five groups of fighting dwarves were charging towards them.
Each group contains 20 units.
"Let's fight!"
Lin Mo took out his military treatise and released his troops. Against this kind of opponent, skeletons and vampires would be enough.
In the past, Lin Mo might have been more cautious, but now with Shan Te's Spirit Gathering Technique, he can fight more freely and efficiently.
Before long, a total of 100 combat dwarves fell to the iron swords of the skeleton soldiers and the claws of the vampires.
[Soul Summoning Spell activated, gain 10 Skeleton Soldiers]
After a few more battles, we can make up for all the skeletons we lost.
At this moment, Lin Mo noticed a dark yellow tower in front of him. It had three stories and a unique design.
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat; he recognized this type of architecture.
"Maritta!"
This thing grants visiting heroes a +1 defense bonus.
Permanent.
Of course, each Marite Tower can only be visited once.
Lin Mo immediately stepped forward and led Shan Te inside.
Although it only increases defense by 1 point, attributes add up little by little. In short, if you encounter something similar, it's definitely worth checking it out.
As a result, Lin Mo and Shan Te's defenses both increased.
Lin Mo himself has the following stats: Attack 6, Defense 8, Strength 1, Knowledge 2.
Since Shant doesn't have any treasures or equipment, and hasn't upgraded, his stats are still at the basic level: [Attack 1, Defense 0, Strength 2, Knowledge 2].
Buildings that can increase four-dimensional attributes like these should not be missed if you come across them.
Lin Mo looked around and made another discovery.
There is a garden 200 meters ahead.
Riding over there, I found stone tablets and statues in the garden, but there were two strange trees at the entrance.
As soon as they got close, the two trees suddenly sprang to life and lunged at them.
Deadwood Guardian, a Tier 5 unit in the Bulwark faction.
At this moment, each of these two groups has 10, for a total of 20.
Clearly, their combat strength is greater than that of the 100 dwarves they encountered before.
After all, this is a level 5 soldier.
Anyone else would have been completely bewildered at this point, and might have been caught off guard. However, Lin Mo was definitely experienced and immediately deployed his troops to meet the enemy.
The skeletons and vampires each fought one-on-one.
The vampires were badly beaten; four of them died in a single attack. This was even with offensive and defensive buffs. Without them, they would have been instantly killed by the opponent.
Fortunately, as long as one vampire is alive, the Spirit Gathering Technique can be used to revive the four fallen vampires.
Then, the vampires achieved both blood-sucking and attacking simultaneously through the blood-sucking effect generated by their attacks.
After a fierce battle, the withered tree guardian was broken and fell to the ground.
On the other side, the skeleton soldiers ended their battle earlier, relying entirely on their overwhelming numbers. They also managed to kill eight deadwood guards with a single sword strike, instantly securing victory.
After defeating the withered tree guardians at the gate, Lin Mo led Shan Te into the garden.
[Garden of Truth, visiting Hero Knowledge +1]