Ancient Ark: A Dark-Themed Historical Survival Game

Chapter 69 Guanwa Palace

Xi Shi.

His real name was Shi Yiguang.

The foremost of the Four Beauties of China.

Her avatar in the secret realm was an ordinary-looking old woman who was looking at Xiao Yu with a gratified gaze.

"Later generations only know Xi Shi, and few know Yi Guang. It is an honor that you can recognize me."

Shi Yiguang didn't beat around the bush.

She asked directly, "I have been tormented by three inner demons throughout my life. Would you be willing to slay them all for me?"

Xiao Yu: "I will certainly not fail your trust."

In this "Dream of Washing Silk," Shi Yiguang is just like Sun Tzu, whom she encountered in the "Strategist's Chess Game" secret realm. She is merely an incarnation of the secret realm, like a fixed program.

Therefore, there is no need to talk too much.

Those chosen by destiny only need to complete the trials left behind or resolve the obsessions and wishes of the chosen ones to complete the challenge of the secret realm and obtain the corresponding heroic spirit.

Shi Yiguang bowed deeply.

Xiao Yu immediately felt a sense of disorientation, and when he came to his senses, the surrounding environment had changed drastically.

The village burned, thatched huts collapsed, and cries of agony filled the air. The once peaceful and serene village of Zhuluo seemed to have been transformed into a living hell.

Many villagers' corpses lay near Huansha Creek, their blood staining the clear creek water red.

You have entered Shi Yiguang's inner demon dream.

[Current Level: The Bloodbath of the Heiress!]

[Current Mission: Protect Shi Yiguang!]

【————】

The secret realms are all created by historical heroes, with diverse styles, unconventional approaches, and bizarre mechanisms.

"Washing Silk Dream" is a relatively common type, and its mechanism is much simpler than "The Chess Game of Sun Tzu," where you must win against Sun Tzu.

Based on the clues that appeared in his mind and the situation at the scene, Xiao Yu could easily guess the general background.

The current situation is after the "Battle of Fujiao".

King Fuchai of Wu defeated Goujian of Yue, and Wu soldiers invaded Yue's territory on a large scale. A roving army came to Zhuluo Village and burned, killed, and looted.

At this time, eight years had passed since Xi Shi entered the palace, so it seems that Shi Yiguang's first inner demon was her childhood nightmare.

Xiao Yu immediately entered Zhuluo Village and soon found a young girl with her hair in two buns by the well. This girl was none other than Shi Yiguang.

Shi Yiguang looked up, her face covered in dirt and tears: "Big brother—save my father and mother—"

"do not be afraid."

Xiao Yu patted Shi Yiguang's head, then took her back into the house, where a middle-aged couple were among the children.

He is now injured and unconscious.

Xiao Yiguang immediately kowtowed to express her gratitude. Before Xiao Yu could speak, a commotion arose outside.

"They're here again!"

Xiao Yiguang was immediately gripped by fear.

"With me here, no one can hurt you."

The objective of this level is to protect Shi Yiguang and his family. Theoretically, as long as you are good at hiding and dodging, you can pass the level even without fighting.

Although there are often battles in the Secret Realm, unlike Nightmare, the Secret Realm does not necessarily require force; there are other ways to break through.

However, in Xiao Yu's opinion, the best way to protect oneself is to kill all the perpetrators, and the monsters in the secret realm can also drop essence and equipment.

Therefore, as long as it is within one's capabilities.

Why not take advantage of this opportunity!

Xiao Yu did not summon Sun Wu or Zheng Dan, and the Qi Luck Heroic Spirits and the Old Secret Realm would repel each other, which would cause the Heroic Spirits' power to be depleted more quickly.

Unnamed heroes, however, are not subject to this restriction.

This can be considered one of the advantages of heroes without luck!

Xiao Yu had just summoned the nameless longbow captain when he saw the bandits invading Zhuluo Village.

There are ten in total.

The leader was a ten-foot-tall man with a tiger's head and a human body, blood-red eyes, bared fangs, wearing heavy armor, and wielding a large sword. He was like a tiger with piercing eyes that had come to life!

The other nine soldiers were not normal people either. Although they were slightly smaller, they were still over two meters tall, each with a wolf's head and a human body, wielding a spear, just like jackals from fantasy novels.

This is not human at all.

There are no obvious signs of distortion.

It's not a demonized humanoid monster corrupted by deep-sea pollution!

It's not surprising; the secret realm is a world of heroic spirits, where everything, even the rules, is subject to subjective influence.

"The Blood Calamity of Zhuluo" was Xi Shi's childhood nightmare, and the jackals and tigers in front of her were a concrete manifestation of the trauma she suffered at that time.

[Tiger-Headed Demon Soldier], Level 6 Common Unit —

[Jackal Demon Soldiers], Level 5 Common Unit —

The longbow captain immediately drew his bow and fired a powerful arrow at the leading and most conspicuous tiger-head soldier.

when!

The Tiger Head soldiers reacted quickly.

He immediately parried the sparks with his sword, knocking the attacker back several steps. This attack only dealt 8 points of damage.

"Who attacked the soldier? They're asking for death!"

Something is wrong!

The Longbow Captain is now a green-grade hero, and his Swift Arrow Technique has been mastered to the maximum level. His strength is comparable to a top-tier level 5 elite.

This max-level Assault Arrow can easily shatter rocks and armor; theoretically, it shouldn't be able to stop level 5 or 6 normal monsters.

It seems that the bandits not only changed in appearance, but were also strengthened according to the challenger's level in the secret realm. The higher the challenger's level, the stronger they became.

The Tiger-Headed Soldiers have demonstrated overall strength comparable to Level 6 elite units, making them a formidable opponent for a Level 7 Chosen One with limited resources.

"hey-hey!"

"I've found you!"

The Tiger Head Soldiers locked onto Xiao Yu.

"Quickly chop him up and eat him with your drinks!"

Before his jackal soldiers could even move, another powerful arrow, burning with flames, came hurtling in.

Come again?

Tiger-headed soldier parried again.

With a bang, the broadsword shattered, and the remaining force of the powerful arrow continued to bombard his body, instantly setting his upper body ablaze. He screamed and fell to the ground, rolling wildly.

Hairy and weak fire.

This also applies here.

Xiao Yu severely injured the Tiger Head Soldier with a single strike.

He cast fire spells on himself and the Heroic Spirit, then simultaneously unleashed a rapid barrage of attacks.

Whoosh whoosh!

Fire arrows rained down.

It has extremely high power, frequency, and accuracy.

These ten jackals and tigers were no match for them. Eight of them fell before they even entered the village, and the other two turned to run away but were shot dead from a distance.

Although the monsters are quite strong.

But it was resolved very easily.

[You have picked up loot: Soul Essence +25, Torn Wu Leather Armor +1!]

[You have collected loot: Soul Essence +18, Gray Soul Stone +8!]

【————】

Xiao Yu picked up ten gray loot orbs, but since they were ordinary grade, they didn't drop anything good; they only dropped some gray soul stones and gray materials.

In addition, there are several old or damaged pieces of Wu soldiers' equipment, plus about 200 soul essence.

The current energy reserve has reached over 800.

【Soul Essence - 600!】

[Your Heroic Spirit "Nameless Longbow Captain" has successfully broken through to level 6!]

Xiao Yu had used up some of his vital energy.

He was promoted to rank 6 on the spot.

This can effectively improve the Longbow Captain's attributes and damage output, making him more useful in the upcoming battles.

The Blood Calamity of the Luo River is clearly not that easy.

Xiao Yu had just eliminated the first batch of demon soldiers when the second batch arrived quickly, increasing from ten to fourteen, including three tiger-headed soldiers.

The difficulty has increased considerably!

Xiao Yu had already secured a favorable position. He and his heroic spirits formed a pincer movement, and a barrage of fiery arrows flew towards them with extremely high killing efficiency.

The pack of jackals and tigers was wiped out before they could even enter the village, and they also gained over two hundred units of vital energy.

Then came the third and fourth waves.

The demon soldiers respawn at an incredibly fast pace, giving no one a chance to breathe; their numbers are increasing and their strength is growing stronger.

among them.

The fourth wave.

The total number reached twenty.

Half of them were Tiger Head Soldiers.

Even Xiao Yu couldn't snipe them all from a distance this time. About half of their forces reached the village entrance, and Xiao Yu had to personally engage in close combat to deal with them.

Although the difficulty has increased significantly, the harvest of vital energy is also greater, and the cultivation speed is even higher than in the forbidden valley.

This is definitely not the last round.

The next offensive will be even fiercer!

We must be prepared!

【Soul Essence - 980!】

[Your Heroic Spirit "Nameless Longbow Captain" has successfully broken through to level 7!]

Upgrading the green-quality nameless hero is very resource-efficient, and Xiao Yu easily upgraded the Longbow Captain to level 7.

Outside of Zhuluo Village.

Another wave of demon soldiers has spawned.

This time the number reached twenty-one.

One of them possessed a remarkably powerful aura.

This was a black figure, three and a half meters tall and enormous in size. He looked like a giant bear that had come to life, wearing heavy armor and wielding a long-handled axe.

[Black Bear Demon General], Level 6 Rare Elite —

Apart from the Black Bear General, the other twenty demon soldiers were all tiger-headed soldiers. Such a lineup was not something that ordinary people could deal with.

"Has the mini-boss finally appeared?"

Without further ado, Xiao Yu launched a preemptive strike by combining "Swift Arrow" with "Assault Arrow," and then joined forces with the level 7 archer to enhance firepower with rapid-fire volleys.

When the Black Bear Demon General arrived at the village entrance, nearly half of his soldiers had already been killed, and at this point, archery alone was no longer enough to stop him.

A fleeting glimpse!

Xiao Yu activated his movement technique and rushed directly towards the Black Bear Demon General at an extremely fast speed. The Black Bear Demon General clearly sensed the threat and swung his huge battle axe, creating a gust of black wind.

Blood Slash!

When the blood-red light clashed with the black axe.

The black bear demon general took a slight step back. Although he was clearly at a disadvantage, he still managed to maintain his balance and did not reveal any obvious weaknesses.

"Blood Tiger!"

Xiao Yu then activated the slashing technique attached to his battle sword. Accompanied by the roar of a tiger, he slashed at his opponent again, knocking his weapon out of his hand on the spot.

"Soul summoning!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xiao Yu swung the Corpse-Slaying Whip with his left hand, causing an extremely high damage of over 400 points on the spot, and then followed up with a Corrosive Fireball.

The Black Bear Demon General is even more formidable.

He couldn't withstand such an offensive either.

After Xiao Yu dealt with the demon general at top speed, he quickly eliminated the remaining tiger-headed soldiers under the cover of the archer's arrows.

This battle was also a foregone conclusion.

The demonized bandits failed to break into Zhuluo Village.

Xiao Yu used his strength to not only protect Shi Yiguang, but also to protect the village to the greatest extent possible.

[You have picked up the loot: Soul Essence +25, Broken Wu Soldier Helmet +1, Gray Soul Stone +4]

[You have collected loot: Soul Essence +25, Gray Soul Stone +8!]

【————】

[You have collected the loot: Soul Essence +256, Yue Kingdom General's Armor +1, Nameless Spear Captain's Heroic Spirit +1]

White Soul Stone +1!

I got an unnamed Heroic Spirit.

[Nameless Longsword Captain's Heroic Spirit], Green Quality, a complete heroic spirit of a Nameless Captain, which can be trained up to level 21.

nice.

Green-tier Heroic Spirits are still quite valuable.

However, Xiao Yu had no intention of contracting heroic spirits.

After all, a Chosen One who is no higher than level 10 can only contract with a maximum of five Heroic Spirits at the same time. Xiao Yu has already contracted with three, and there are not many left.

Contracting Heroic Spirits is easy.

However, lifting the ban is very difficult.

However, the Spear Captain's spirit will not be wasted. Its characteristics are similar to those of the Longbow Captain, and it can be used as a material for fusion in the future.

Not bad!

I glanced at the other dropped items.

There is one item that the Black Bear Demon General has to pay attention to.

[Yue Kingdom General's Armor], a white-grade superior armor, with base defense +9, health +3, constitution +1, and durability 35.

In terms of equipment attributes.

This piece of equipment is nothing special.

It was a standard high-quality white equipment, quite valuable, but nothing special to Xiao Yu.

What really catches the eye is the equipment name.

Armor of a Yue general?

Xiao Yu activated his Omniscient Eye to mine information and immediately gleaned even more details.

【Yue Kingdom General's Armor】————Description: A superior suit of armor crafted by skilled artisans of the Yue Kingdom, belonging to the personal guard generals of King Goujian of Yue.

This band of bandits.

The soldiers were all Wu Jia.

Why did the general use Yue armor?

This makes one wonder about a possibility.

This army that burned, killed, and looted may not have been the Wu army, but rather Goujian's own trusted confidants in disguise.

Why did the King of Yue slaughter and plunder his own people? Perhaps it was because the state of Yue was now under the control of the state of Wu.

Goujian secretly sent his trusted men to impersonate Wu soldiers to burn, kill, and plunder. On the one hand, this was to collect resources for the restoration of his kingdom, and on the other hand, it was to deepen the people's hatred for the Wu kingdom.

This person's ruthlessness and forbearance.

He could very well do such a thing.

Of course, this is just a guess and a possibility.

There was no time to think about it.

A notification sound appeared.

You have passed the "Blood Calamity of the Ramie Tree"!

Xiao Yu felt that the workings of everything suddenly stopped in that instant, and the whole world shattered like glass.

Countless shards, like mirrors, floated in the void.

He saw a lot in these fragments; they were glimpses of Shi Yiguang's life.

Two years later.

The surviving villagers near Zhuluo Mountain rebuilt their village on the west bank of Huansha Creek. Shi Yiguang met a girl named Zheng Dan.

Four years later.

Shi Yiguang blossomed into a renowned beauty, and because she lived in Xicun, she was known as "Xi Shi".

Six years later.

A refined and gentle middle-aged man named Fan Xin arrived and took Shi Yiguang and Zheng Dan away, placing them together with beauties from other parts of the country for training.

Xi Shi and Zheng Dan were instilled with the idea of ​​restoring their country, and remembering the villagers who had died tragically several years ago, they began to work hard to learn various skills.

Eight years later.

The two maidens who washed clothes, along with six other stunning beauties, were sent to the Wu Palace. They came to Fuchai's side with hearts full of desire to restore their country and avenge their defeat.

Shi Yiguang quickly stood out.

She received almost all of King Fuchai's favor.

King Fuchai spared no effort to please the beauty, exhausting the resources of the entire nation to collect gold and silver treasures, build the Gusu Terrace, construct the Guanwa Palace, and the Xiangmi Corridor, among other things.

Over the years...

Shi Yiguang was deeply conflicted.

She remained steadfast in her belief in destroying Wu, but faced with Fuchai's genuine devotion and the gradual decline of the Wu kingdom, she inevitably felt lost.

at the same time.

A person appeared.

This made Shi Yiguang feel a great threat.

Whenever she was stared at by those sharp, eagle-like eyes that seemed to see through everything, she felt a fear that she might be torn to pieces at any moment.

"This woman is from Yue; her heart must be treacherous. I must eliminate her!" The thunderous shout of the physician Wu Zixu resounded throughout the land.

So far!

A new scenario has emerged.

The fragmented images surrounding Xiao Yu were all pieced together again in the space, and the place where he was now had become the magnificent Wu Kingdom palace.

You have unlocked a new level.

[Current Level: The Incident at Guanwa Palace!]

[Current Mission: Protect Shi Yiguang!]

Xiao Yu will face Shi Yiguang's second inner demon.

The reason why Shi Yiguang developed such inner demons was undoubtedly because during her time as an undercover agent in the Wu Palace, she was always worried that her identity as a spy would be exposed.

The state of Wu.

Although treacherous officials were in power.

But Wu Zixu was upright and resolute.

This person poses a huge threat to Shi Yiguang!

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