World Conquest Online

They walked through the path of the towering Stone Warriors, that looked like ancient Deity’s ready to fight for their Kingdom, however as intimidating as they were, they were just stone. The Stone Warriors wore a variety of attire, and wielding a variety of weapons, all from a Dynasty in the oriental part of the world. Dom wished he could find out more information, but looking at them didn’t discern anything.

"We’ll have to send some of our Elite Villagers and those with specific skills here to do some research." Subutai commented, before catching Dom’s eye with a smile. "Once it is cleaned up of course!"

Dom and Subutai reached the stone Coffin and looked down at the broken remains of it, that was placed behind the elegant looking throne. The Coffin itself would have once been a majestic thing, with engravings of ancient text and swirling dragons. Unfortunately, the passing of time and the current now dead owners had damaged it beyond recognition.

Inside the Coffin was a Skeleton wearing what once would have been expensive silken funeral attire. The Skeleton had been stripped of any belongings of value, except for a black sword sheath that lay beside him, the sword itself currently being held by a Batavi Guard that stood behind Dom’s shoulder. Subutai leant down and gently took the sheath, passing it to the Batavi Guard who placed the now cleaned sword inside it. Subutai then took a step back as a sign of respect.

"We will make good use of your home, for the sake of your fellow Humans." Dom stated to the tomb’s owner, understanding that who ever owned this place would have been impressive and important in their time.

"I have many ideas for this place." Subutai replied, as he led them away from the Coffin and Throne, heading back outside whilst Guo Sheng and the Legionaries searched the Palace. "A forward Military Base, A Hidden City, a Prison for our enemies!"

"It will be interesting to see what they find, we have a lot to discuss." Dom explained to Subutai as they left, before turning to the Batavi Guard beside him asking him to pass him the sword so that he could look at it better. The Batavi Guard passed Dom the black sword, now sheathed. Dom took it and wasn’t surprised when a notification interrupted him.

[Congratulations Player Lazarus for claiming a Legendary Weapon, Zhan Lu Jian of the Five Treasured Swords.]

Dom grasped the black handle of the Jian Sword, whilst his other held on to the black sheath that was engraved with white characters. As the sword was pulled free, Dom felt relaxed as he looked at the deadly blade.

[The Zhan Lu is one of the Five Treasured Swords, created by the Master Swordsmith Ou Yezi. Also known as the Black Sword, the Zhan Lu is known as a benevolent Sword, only able to be wielded by a just person. The Zhan Lu is said to be indestructible and able to cut through any material. The sword is said to have disappeared on numerous occasions when it’s wielder has no longer shown the character of righteousness. The Sword is unassuming and less flamboyant than many other Legendary Swords, however this was a purposeful design for it’s true wielders should wield it with restraint and purpose. The Zhan Lu Sword, is the Sword for a Ruler.]

"This is an impressive sword." Dom commented out loud as he held it high in front of him. The sword was light and deadly and if it’s description was correct, indestructible. The most interesting part of it was that it’s creator was Ou Yezi, Dom’s very own swordsmith.

[The Zhan Lu is the sword for a Ruler, and can only be used by one. The Wielder of the Zhan Lu will be wielding one of the best swords every made and therefore will have the benefits in relation to that.]

Dom was surprised by the explanation, his other two Legendary Weapons had either benefited him as a Spear or Sword user and had made that information clear, where as this weapon was quite ambiguous. He did however agree that this was a Legendary Sword, not just in name but in style. It was the most comfortable blade he had ever wielded and there was an instant belonging with it.

[Congratulations Player Lazarus for being the first Player to have three Legendary Items. Reward has been sent to Personal Chest.]

Dom was surprised by the final notification, but was also grateful to receive additional rewards on top of the Zhan Lu Jian Sword. With all of the buildings and materials from both Nakbe and here, he could already grow his kingdom by another level.

"It suits you." Subutai praised Dom and the Sword as they headed out of the Palace and in to the courtyard beyond where Xun You was directing the remaining forces to continue searching and collecting goods. Some sword wielding Hoplite had also arrived, having been sent by Tomyris and Sun Ce to support as they were worried, with them was Hua Rong who was talking with Xun You.

"It’s nice to see you again Lord Lazarus!" Hua Rong said kindly, having not seen Dom for several weeks, before grasping arms with him.

"And you Hua Rong, how has Sun Ce been treating you?" Dom asked as the Archer General smiled at him.

"Very well, our personalities support each other well. I think we were both quite excited when we were called to fight, it is something that is in the blood of both of us!" Hua Rong replied honestly, grateful for Dom asking him.

"How is Nakbe?" Dom asked, wanting a further update as Subutai and Xun You had rushed to him with limited information other than they had won.

"Secured, the Civilian lines have arrived and a clean up operation has began. Tomyris has been able to claim the Town Centre Cube, a Temple Cube, Stone Masons, Quarry and a Hunting Lodge so far, but I suspect there will be more before she has finished." Hua Rong explained, "Of the fifty three survivors, we expect that at least forty of them can be saved and make a reasonable recovery, the others are going to need more work. She has already began dispatching them towards Mountview so they can take a ship to Riverside. We discussed the land route, but even though it’s more direct it’s a less smooth travel." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"So at least one Town Centre Cube!" Subutai smiled in response, "That means we can build one in Sun Ce’s location and block that top corner off."

"If we can get one from here as well, that is the North Complete enough for now." Xun You agreed. "Unless we claim this place?"

"We need one at Mountview Fort." Dom replied, "That was always the plan and it’s a key location for coverage."

"It is, but it also adds the least out of our Forts. In terms of resource it brings us wood and mining opportunities, things we can get from Riverside and Sun Ce’s location." Xun You countered, "The Fort is already there, these could be interconnected. Once these tunnels have been searched, we can make our own route to Mountview,"

"It is definitely something to consider." Subutai agreed. "I am impressed by their tactics of tunnelling, I know this is something that many forces do to get under castle walls, but this network they have created is both worrisome and ingenious."

"We may need to create an underground wall as well as an overground one to defend our borders." Xun You commented. "If we need to defend above and below ground, that’s a lot of manpower."

They discussed Nakbe and the Subterranean City for a while longer as the Legionaries, Hoplite and Slingers spread around and searched the buildings or gathered the bodies. Suddenly a notification appeared.

[Congratulations on Conquering The Subterranean City. Rewards have been placed in Personal Chest]

"I suspect Guo Sheng has finished searching." Dom mumbled as they continued to discuss. A couple minutes passed, and Guo Sheng appeared, a much happy smile than earlier.

"What have you found?" Subutai asked the excited General.

"I am not sure where to start!" He replied with a grin, his mind obviously spinning with thoughts.

"The start then?" Xun You advised, which caught a laugh from the others. Guo Sheng nodded in acceptance, ignoring the under tones.

"I searched upstairs with Marius, there wasn’t much there on the first floor, just more bodies unfortunately, just a lot fresher than those we had found outside and in better condition. We suspect they are a recent arrival, I will get on to where soon. The next floor was full of Gold, Jewels and shiny things, enough to make Crassus disappear for a day or two. There was also a large amount of weapons and armour." Guo Sheng explained, getting a laugh at the second part but not from the first. "Top floor was living people, women, lots of women. I suspect these were due to be the next group of breeding stock, many had wounds and bruises but all of them are alive."

"How many?" Dom asked, surprised by some good news. The men needed that after the amount of suffering they had seen so far, he just hoped that these women hadn’t succumbed to the same fates yet.

"At least eighty, Marius is keeping an eye on them, whilst his Legionaries pass some water skins around." Guo Sheng replied, "There was also a basement, Flavius found more weapons, as well as a second area where there were more living people! There were a couple of enemies down there, but they were quickly dispatched. This time they were all men who we found, around sixty who were well fed and ready to be the next course on the menu I suspect. Most are covered in wounds and bruises, however one is missing a leg and was being tended to by the others. They are unsure if he will pull through as he is barely conscious. Occasionally he mutters about his missing leg, but the Legionaries are supporting and cleaning the wound."

"Where are they from then?" Xun You asked. A question that was on everyone’s mind.

"Some are from Nakbe, which is great news." Guo Sheng explained passionately. "However, some are from the west!"

"Having more survivors from Nakbe is key." Xun You replied seriously, "It proves to those that have joined from Tongpai Town what could have happened to them if we hadn’t have gotten involved. We can also potentially share some of the information with the local Towns and Cities so they understand the importance of having us here."

"I agree, It backs up our Narrative." Dom stated, before turning back to Guo Sheng, "Tell us more about the Western Survivors!"

"They are all being cared for now, but they are from a variety of Towns to the West of the Calm River. It would be worth having others talk to them when they have calmed down, but the basic information is that they don’t know where they are, they just know that their towns were raided and they were captured." Guo Sheng explained, "The interesting part was some were captured and brought here directly though they are unaware of how, where as others have had longer ordeals going through slavery and being sold on."

"Being captured in Raids and brought here is natural." Subutai explained, "The strong feed on the weak, and the winners take all. However, to be sold on means that there is something else taking place."

"To be sold from slavery?" Xun You questioned out loud. "Do we know if they were captured and sold by Humans?"

"I am unaware, I thought it best to let them recover for now." Guo Sheng replied seriously, "I thought it was key to give you some good news."

"You did the right thing." Dom agreed, "The news is great and we have time to ask these questions."

"The news is good to hear." Subutai smiled, "Riches, survivors and resources. However, my mind is now wanting to explore the west more."

"I agree, who sold them, and who bought them. Did the Type 3’s buy them or was it someone else. Are the Type 3’s a stand alone unit, part of a wider western force or is something directing them?" Xun You thought out loud. Dom hadn’t read any information about other Human Species on Golden Sun’s blogs, and felt it was strange if there was a wider community of them further inland. The exploration of the Tunnels and the planned raids in that direction would hopefully answer those questions. He also decided he would take the plunge and comment on Golden Sun’s blog when he logged out, hoping to get some answers from other players.