Chapter 52: The Snake Kingdom and Other Mentors and Apprentices
The team continued to move forward along the river valley. As they went deeper into the plane, they encountered more and more ferocious beasts, which became stronger and stronger.
Occasionally, groups of ferocious wild beasts began to appear, but they were all defeated by them.
During the journey, they passed by a large lake where many rivers converged. It was shrouded in darkness and they could not see the entire lake. They only saw many fish-men figures on a number of sandbanks in the lake of dozens of square kilometers.
They live in lakes, on the mudflats at the edges of large lakes, and in tributaries that flow into large rivers.
As the legend says, these fishmen are extremely widespread.
The team did not stay, just took a look and left, continuing to head north.
After crossing this lake, it was like crossing a dividing line and entering the depths of the plane. The ferocious beasts encountered became obviously more powerful.
But unexpectedly, the jungle began to become sparse, and the density and height of trees began to decrease.
About twenty kilometers north, the trees had become so sparse that they could no longer block their view.
They entered the plains.
The trees became increasingly sparse as we went further back, and there were half-human-high weeds everywhere, and the river valley began to become flat here.
The highest points on both sides of the large river valley at the edge of the plane are about fifty or sixty meters. At the fishman tribe, it is only twenty or thirty meters. Now here it is less than ten meters. In the middle of the valley, there is a river about a hundred meters wide, winding into the distance.
Looking downstream along the river valley, the terrain becomes increasingly flat. With the help of an unknown light source, one can see that there is almost no shadow of a river valley behind it, just an ordinary river.
Yes, an unknown light source.
As they entered the plains deep in the plane, they were surprised to find that the sky seemed to be slowly getting brighter.
The sky didn't change at all, it was still pitch black, with only a few stars projected from nowhere.
But on the ground, it seemed as if there was light in the air, or some light source that could not be seen directly by the naked eye was coming from a distance. It felt like the night of the fifteenth day of the lunar month on Earth. The moonlight was not strong, but the scenery around and not far away could be seen clearly.
As you go deeper into the plane, the light becomes brighter and brighter, and the visible distance becomes longer and longer.
Several people looked at each other. Xie Zhu thought for a moment and said:
"I have seen a situation in a book about foreign experiences. If a civilization that reaches a certain level develops in some dark plane fragments without sun projection, the light of civilization will be born and shine in all directions."
"The light of civilization?"
"Yes, the light of civilization formed by combining with the origin of the plane can illuminate the plane just like the sun. The more powerful the civilization, the wider the range of illumination and the higher the brightness."
"so???"
Xie Zhu said with a serious expression:
"So within this plane fragment, there must be a very powerful alien race, or a kingdom formed by the ancient remnants."
Li Qing frowned after hearing this.
Standing by the river and gazing into the distance, he pondered for a moment and said to his men behind him:
"Set up camp right here!"
The men immediately got busy, some cutting grass, some keeping watch. It was just a temporary break, so there was no need to build a wall, just put down an arrow tower to keep watch.
Several heroes gathered together, and Li Qing pointed to the flat river downstream and said:
"Generally, the edge of a river with a gentle flow is very suitable for farming, and there must be a town or village nearby."
Xie Zhu added:
"There must be. The light of civilization has extended here, which means there must be a town of alien races nearby."
Li Qing nodded and said to Xie Jin:
"Please scout downstream along the river, but return no further than ten kilometers."
Xie Jin took the order and turned to leave.
Then Li Qing looked at Xie Zhu and said:
"Take five dwarven infantrymen and five archers and go to the east. Don't go too far."
Xie Zhu also took the order and quickly went to count his ten subordinates and prepare to set off.
After everyone left, Li Qing went up to the arrow tower and looked around.
The brightest area was the north, while the east and west were slightly dimmer. The south where they came from was completely dark, and the light of civilization did not shine there, indicating that the unknown powerful alien civilization had not developed there.
However, although the sky inexplicably brightened, it was at the edge of civilization at this time, the brightness was still insufficient, and the visible distance was not far enough. Standing on the arrow tower and looking far away, no trace of the alien town was found.
However, Li Qing was not in a hurry. He looked for a while, then retracted his gaze, sat on the top of the arrow tower, took out a magic book, and continued to study while waiting.
After nearly two hours, the sentry on the arrow tower suddenly blew the whistle.
Li Qing immediately stood up and walked to the edge of the watchtower. He saw the weeds by the river, more than 50 meters away from the camp, swaying constantly. Not long after, he saw Xie Jin running towards the camp, with a large area of weeds swaying behind him.
The weeds along the river were so tall and dense that it was hard to tell what the pursuers were.
Li Qing did not hesitate and immediately shouted:
"Everyone prepare for battle. Long Shou, you go and meet him."
Long Shou obeyed the order, picked up the two-handed sword at his side and strode towards Xie Jin.
When the distance was about 20 meters, the nearby weeds were cut down by them, and the pursuers rushed out. Li Qing was slightly surprised.
"Snake man?"
There were seven snakemen, about 1.89 meters tall, wearing chain mail on their upper bodies, with fine scales covering their waists and their lower bodies being thick snake bodies over two meters long. They looked very similar to humans, but with vertical pupils, forked tongues, and holding long swords, shields, or crossbows in their hands.
They are very flexible and fast in their movements. They can also enter the water and move very fast in the water.
Fortunately, Xie Jin is a stealth player with fast speed. If he were any other profession, he would have been caught up long ago.
The snake people rushed out from the weeds and immediately spotted the dragon guard who had rushed out, as well as the garrison camp not far away. After a moment of hesitation, several snake people spoke in an incomprehensible language and quickly turned around and fled.
Seeing this, Xie Jin shouted:
"Don't let them get away. There is a snake town about six kilometers downstream on the other side of the river. They enslave many races. If we let them escape, they will definitely send more troops over."
Li Qing shook his head and said:
"They are so fast that we can't catch up with them."
"But don't worry, we still have time to deal with it."
After welcoming Xie Jin back , Li Qing asked:
"Tell me in detail about that town."
Xie Jin took a sip of water and said:
"About six kilometers downstream on the other side of the river, there is a town inhabited mainly by snakemen, ruled by a snakeman noble. They have enslaved many races. I secretly observed for less than half an hour and saw humans, orcs, gnolls, kobolds and other races."
"Wait, there are humans in this plane?"
"Yes, but the situation of humans in this plane is not good. They are enslaved by snake people. "
"How many guards are there in the town? Have they spotted any Level 6 Transcendent beings?"
"There aren't many snakemen guarding the town. I can't see clearly inside the town, but there are quite a lot of slave troops, probably around 500 to 600."
"Besides these, are there any other discoveries?"
"There is a tower several dozen meters high inside the town. The surface is surrounded by a magical halo. There is a ball of light on the top that illuminates the entire town and the surrounding area. It poses a great threat to me, but I am not sure if it is a wizard tower. I was discovered just as I was about to get closer to the town."
Li Qing...
He pinched his brows and nodded:
"I understand. Go and have a rest first."
What Xie Jin brought was definitely bad news. He didn't expect that the alien race in this plane fragment would be so powerful.
I don’t know about the rest, but they may not be able to do anything with the information they have collected so far.
But you can't leave, because a complete alien town contains huge benefits .
First of all, not to mention the resources, you can copy a town just by demolishing the entire town and moving the supplies away.
Then there are so many alien races in the town, including a large number of human indigenous people, who can become citizens after being rescued.
And then……
According to Xie Jin, that tall tower should be a magic tower that imitates the wizard's tower, a scaled-down version of the wizard's tower. It would be great if we could capture it or get the design drawings.
Finally, destroying this town can also condense the spoils, which will definitely contain essence.
Taking all factors into consideration, if he could capture this town within two months, he would definitely win this battle.
Unless Chu Zhongzhong has the ability to wipe out the fishman tribe within two months.
But he felt that this was unlikely. There were tens of thousands of murlocs and a giant crocodile of the extraordinary level. It was not impossible for the seven war lord apprentices to deal with them together. But if they could not do it within two months, they would definitely suffer huge losses.
Li Qing didn't believe that they were willing to pay such a high price.
“So, I have to speed up!”
About half an hour later, Xie Zhu also came back and walked around the east, but found nothing.
When everyone gathered, Li Qing asked Xie Zhu to take ten soldiers and prepare to return to the outpost base, and asked An Erqiu to lead most of the troops left behind in the outpost base.
Only ten people are needed to stay at the outpost, as it is the landing point of the war lords. The nearby indigenous tribes will not survive long before they are wiped out by other apprentices, and the ferocious beasts roaming in the wild cannot cross the wooden wall, so safety is guaranteed.
Don't worry about the other War Lord apprentices, they have an agreement, so you don't have to worry about the first year at least.
A year later, Li Qing had already established a firm foothold inside the plane and by then he would have withdrawn the outpost base.
Li Qing then ordered all the troops in the temporary camp to enter the arrow tower and seal the door.
Unless the snake people have a siege vehicle, it is unlikely to break the door.
The troops held their ground here, while Li Qing blew the whistle to summon the giant eagle, stepped on it, and patted the giant eagle on its back. The giant eagle flapped its wings and took off into the air, flying toward the downstream of the river.
Since we are going to attack this snake-man town opponent, the intelligence must be accurate.
He had to determine the specific garrison and defense in the town, whether there were any extraordinary strong men, whether there were other towns nearby, whether there were other reinforcements, etc.
Attacking the city is not a big problem, just use cheats.
The main thing is the reaction of the snake people after the attack, how fast and how strong the counterattack is, this is very important.
The giant eagle soared high in the sky. Li Qing looked down against the strong wind and saw a big river flowing through the endless wilderness, extending to the end of his sight.
The giant eagle was flying at an altitude of about one thousand meters. The small river seemed very small. Due to limited vision, the wilderness on both sides was just a vast expanse of green, and the details were completely invisible.
After flying down for a distance, the barren land on the other side of the river suddenly disappeared, and large tracts of cultivated fields appeared, neatly arranged on the river bank . Li Qing asked the giant eagle to lower its altitude, and vaguely saw many figures working in the fields.
He ordered the giant eagle to lower its altitude and saw that those working there were human slaves wearing tattered linen clothes.
Occasionally, you can see snake-man supervisors holding whips in the fields, and they will whip anyone who moves slowly.
Without disturbing the people below, the giant eagle rose high and flew downstream.
Not long after, the outline of a town emerged before him in the gray fog in the distance. From afar, he could see a tall tower surrounded by a layer of transparent light standing in the center of the town.
The giant eagle slowed down, and under his control, began to circumnavigate the town from a distance for reconnaissance.
The town is next to a river with a dock on the riverside. Many fishing boats are casting their nets to catch fish, and there are also cargo ships with full cargo ships heading downstream.
The town is centered on a high tower, with a circle of stone buildings surrounding the tower, which is both a building and a city wall, like a castle.
Outside the castle was a central ring of wooden buildings and an outer ring of run-down sheds. The main street was between the central and outer rings, and many figures of different heights were walking on the street.
The town was surrounded by a low wall, which was roughly five meters wide and less than four meters high. It looked quite old, but there were still many guards on it.
Outside the town were farmlands all around. Li Qing drove the giant eagle away from the town and flew northward. Along the river were farmlands all around.
Continue down the river for about seven kilometers, where a tributary flows into the river, and there is a snakeman village at the junction.
After passing the village and going down, we found the second village about ten kilometers away.
Less than two kilometers down, you will see the second town.
Li Qing did not continue going down, but turned back to the first town and flew west.
There are still large tracts of farmland outside the town, but there are no farmlands after only two or three kilometers. After passing a snakeman village, large hills begin to appear behind, and the terrain becomes higher and higher, and finally a mountain range that stretches as far as the eye can see appears.
Further ahead, the light of civilization cannot reach, and it is dark in the direction of the mountains.
Li Qing did not continue forward, but controlled the giant eagle to return along the hills.
Just after passing a snakeman village, Li Qing suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye. He immediately ordered the giant eagle to return. Then he saw that there were a large number of fully armed human soldiers hiding in the valley between two hills on a small hill about a mile away from the snakeman village.
"Elite Imperial Infantry?"
Wearing the same armor and weapons as his own men, Li Qing recognized at a glance that these were not indigenous humans, but subordinates of the war lord.
He was extremely surprised and ordered the giant eagle to circle in the air for reconnaissance. He soon saw a war lord apprentice and several heroes-like people at the rear of this army with a total size of nearly two hundred people. He had no impression of them.
"Are there any other mentors' apprentices around here?"
Li Qing rubbed his chin and ordered the giant eagle to rise higher to avoid being discovered.
It was obvious that this force's target was the snakeman village not far away.
