Chapter 27: A Dragon’s Lair Nearby?!

Richard didn't know that desert honey had captivated Onyx.

Comparing the system map, the bandaged mummies and the scorpion warriors went to the one-way portal Onyx had mentioned.

These special buildings usually hid something valuable.

Just like the Dark Temple with powerful guards.

Once occupied, there would be grand benefits.

On the way, Richard passed the area where he had just killed the desert bandits. Dozens of residents were fervently moving the desert horses back.

The bandits' bodies were piled up on a small hill.

Richard was very interested in this bloody scene.

'This harvest was not only the blueprint for the construction of the Hero's Altar.'

'Dozens of desert horses were also a fortune that made people envious.'

'Although the desert horses were not plump, they had a bit of meat with lots of bones.'

'Given the quantity here, they could be exchanged for precious strategic treasures.'

'Needless to say, trading for a few water spring fragments or a few seeds of olives, wouldn't that be great?'

The more Richard thought about it, the more he felt that the reward this time was bountiful.

The level of the scorpion warriors was raised to level 2 due to the battle, and Richard had also obtained 70 to 80 horses as food.

Moreover, he had established a relationship with the Phoneix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce and obtained an extremely precious blueprint of the Hero's Altar from them.

In the end, Richard even obtained information about a one-way teleportation door from them.

He suddenly felt that Onyx was simply a lucky star.

"When I return, I have to treat this guy well. I can interact with him more in the future. I love making friends."

"Maybe I can ask Onyx where I can find a dragon egg..."

This time, the target was the one-way portal, but Richard did not give up on scouting the surroundings.

He still spread out the troops of the two squads and had them search them thoroughly...

The one-way portal was about two hours away from Twilight City, but Richard had spent twice as much time.

He had gained a lot from the fierce battle.

The most obvious sign was that both the bandaged mummies and the scorpion warriors had leveled up to level 3.

Meanwhile, Richard's experience points had also reached 900. He was only 100 points away from leveling up again.

Among them, the ones who contributed the most were a group of desert half-rats who had emptied a sand dune. There were four squadrons in total. The mummies and the scorpion warriors had gone crazy from the killing.

The endless yellow sand always gave people a desolate and tragic feeling.

However, after seeing it for too long, the feeling of boredom came over.

"It should be not far away..."

Looking at the signs that were gradually approaching on the system map, Richard's spirit was roused.

After crossing another sand dune, the land in front of him gradually became dry and hard.

A large amount of gravel appeared.

Richard raised his vigilance and slightly pulled the troop back.

Amidst his vigilance, he stepped over a thousand-meter-long gravel area, and then the terrain suddenly sank.

Richard walked closer to take a look, and a river that had been dry for an unknown number of years appeared in his line of sight.

The cobblestones in the center of the river bed had been weathered and cracked.

The yellow sand seemed to have become the running water of the dried-up river.

However, even though it was so dry, one could still tell from the traces of the river bed and the stone walls on both sides how turbulent the river was.

After taking a few more glances at the magnificent scene, Richard walked toward the dried-up river bed.

"How did this guy, Onyx, get down here?"

The stones on the ground made it difficult for Richard to move forward. With the mummies lying in front of him, it was not much better.

After staggering for more than ten minutes, Richard suddenly stopped.

At a depression in the cliff wall, a building that looked like an arch was erected.

The arch was five meters tall. The middle of the arch was not a door, but a translucent shield that emitted a wave-like light.

An ancient aura came toward them.

A one-way teleportation door!

Excitement rose in Richard's heart. The appearance of the portal was not simple at all.

He had the mummies and the scorpion warriors check the surroundings. After making sure that there was no danger, Richard walked closer.

Standing in front of the five-meter-tall building, Richard felt an inexplicable sense of insignificance.

He did not know where the half-bright ripples would lead to.

Richard opened the attribute panel.

[One-Way Teleportation Door]

[Level: Special]

[Characteristics: One-Way Teleportation -- Leads to an area, a burnt village. Entering it requires completing a mission before returning. Difficulty: 1 star.]

[Description: Perhaps, you will be teleported to the dragon's treasury, or perhaps, you will be able to go to hell and have dinner with the demons. Before using the teleportation door, pray to the goddess of luck.]

"Dungeon?"

Richard's eyes lit up.

In the background settings of the game "Shining Era", as provided on the website, the dungeon existed during the last battle of the gods. The gods had broken the river of time, causing countless time fragments to scatter across the various planes.

These time fragments contained small-scale worlds, and those who entered could obtain various resources from them.

The completion of a mission depended on the distinct rules of each time fragment. Only by complying with the rules could these time fragments return to the river of time.

This setting was quite good. Now that the setting had become reality, it could be said that there were no major bugs.

Dungeons were good things because some of the time fragments were from the ancient era. There were chances for them to appear in dungeons that could not be obtained from the outside world.

However, the problem was that the dungeon in front of him only had a very simple description. There was no other valuable information.

This made Richard hesitate.

The difficulty was only 1-star. It did not seem high.

But what was the evaluation standard for this 1-star?

Was it just a normal soldier or just a giant dragon?

Just as Richard was thinking…

The Black Gold System lit up and upgraded.

[Discovered Dungeon -- Burning Village] 

[Dungeon-Level: 1-star]

[Average Strength of Soldier Type: Rare]

[Heroes Unit (Presence): Yes]

[Factions: Demons, Undead, Churches, Humans]

[Hint: The level of the dungeon cannot be increased.]

Richard was stunned for a moment before laughing out loud.

'Damn, the Black Gold System is still awesome…'

Fortunately, he did not act rashly.

The average strength of the troops had reached the rare level. There were also heroic units, and it even involved four factions...

If Richard were to rush in recklessly, it would truly be a waste.

"Although it's much weaker than the troops of the temple, it's just courting death to go exploring now. To be safe, I'll first go back and accumulate strength. After killing a wave of troops, I'll come back. At the very least, I'll kill a squadron of rare-level troops..."

After making a note on the system map, Richard didn't stay any longer and turned around to return to his territory.

It was already afternoon, and there was still a two-hour journey back.

The danger level in the desert at night was more than one level higher than during the day.

Richard had just walked back for a few minutes, but before he could leave the riverbed, an indescribably terrifying pressure suddenly swept down from the sky.

It was as if Richard was standing under a hundred thousand feet tall mountain that was collapsing.

The sky and earth seemed to be collapsing.

"Roar!"

A thunderous roar came down from the sky, and the dry riverbed seemed to quake.

The pressure increased exponentially.

The next second…

A huge shadow was cast on the riverbed under the sun.

It covered the earth.

Richard subconsciously raised his head and looked at the sky.

He saw a terrifying creature that was covered in scales that were so tough that even a city-breaking crossbow might not be able to pierce through. It was waving its ferocious wings and flying.

The creature's body was enormous with a wingspan of more than 20 meters.

Its strong limbs had sharp claws that shone with a cold light. Perhaps, it could easily destroy a city wall.

That extremely terrifying creature was crossing the riverbed.

Its pupils suddenly constricted, and a word that made people stop breathing appeared in its mind.

"A giant dragon!!"

There was a dragon lair nearby?!