A small hill, unremarkable in appearance, yet my intuition seemed to tell me that there was indeed a powerful energy hidden beneath it.
Following the calf, we discovered a secret passage hidden behind a pile of rocks.
Chico exclaimed, "There's an array at the entrance."
We were puzzled, "Chico, do you understand arrays?"
Chico adjusted his glasses: "My combat profession is a Taoist priest, so I can recognize basic arrays. However, setting them up by myself is still difficult. This array is made of stones and is not very advanced. It should be possible to break it with brute force."
Taoists are rarely chosen as a profession. They need to draw symbols to achieve the functions of their spells, but the power of the spells is relatively weak. Only at higher levels do they have skills such as summoning undead or zombies to assist in combat. However, the early stages are very difficult, and array skills are something that Taoists, mages, wizards, and priests can all practice. But the array diagrams are very hard to find, and the homepage introduction is not detailed either. So, it's rare to see people who know how to use array skills now.
This array seems to have been set up by that wizard after he left. There's no need for the tiger king to go up and chop the rocks. My gust spell has already blown the stones away, breaking this array. It seems that array skills can be considered junk skills. As long as you don't enter the array, it's very easy to break it.
We wondered what dangers were in the cave. We let the calf play outside, and the four of us carefully entered the secret passage.
In our imagination, usually, secret passages have stone-paved roads and stone carvings on the walls. However, this secret passage seemed like a natural cave, with only a few traces of human expansion.
It must be so, because the legend only mentions three people, and it's unlikely to build such a complex passage.
After walking a little further, a stone door appeared in front of us, with a string of strange characters beside it. My archaeological skills haven't recognized them yet, but Chico had already read them out loud: "If you are a person of noble character, please push this door open."
Looking at our astonished expressions, Chico felt a bit embarrassed: "Well, this is Hebrew, and I have specifically studied it." I was shocked, at 15 years old, doing "research"? This genius is giving it to me.
Pushing the stone door open, our eyes were brightened. Although this room was not large, the murals on the walls gave a huge impact.
In the mural, there was an endless grassland, with countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses grazing on the grass. In the cloudless sky, eagles were soaring.
Although I had spent some time on the grassland, the scene before us seemed even more perfect than the real grassland. The colors were bright and dazzling, the animals were lifelike, and I even smelled the fragrance of fresh grass. The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the picture was even more immersive.
The tiger king let out a loud exclamation and opened his mouth wide. Chico said dreamily: "If I could live in such a place, how wonderful it would be. This is a scene that neither books nor TV have shown before."
Not only Chico, but who wouldn't want such a pleasant life? However, there are still too many fame, wealth, and power in the world that people can't let go of.
I was the first to come to my senses, and my gaze fell on a stone table in the center of the room.
The style of the stone table was very simple and ancient. There were many peculiar patterns on it, and on the stone table, there were three trays. One of the trays had a stone-carved eagle on it, while the other two trays were empty.
The tiger king also turned his gaze to the stone table, suddenly exclaiming: "This... This is truly extraordinary craftsmanship! It's so lifelike. Oh, there are actually such amazing skills in the world!"
The main profession of the tiger king's life is a sculptor. His sculpting skills have reached a high level, and even he was amazed by something. It was indeed rare.
The tiger king couldn't help but walk towards the stone table, reaching out to try to grab the stone eagle. I shouted, "Be careful!"
With a snap, the tiger king's hand was pushed back by a protective shield emitted from the stone eagle. Fortunately, the injury wasn't serious. It seemed that the person who set up this shield had a kind heart.
The tiger king muttered something in his mouth: "The true hero?" "Am I not a brave person?" I asked in surprise.
The Tiger King snorted: "The system warned me that only a true hero can hold that stone eagle. Otherwise, they will be attacked by the barrier."
I smiled slightly. The Tiger King was indeed a very brave person. However, a hero is not just about brute strength. It also requires a strong will and a clear mind. Come to think of it, apart from me, who else could be such a person?
The Tiger King still wasn't convinced. He took a deep breath, concentrated his spirit, and stepped towards the stone eagle. However, before he could reach out, he was knocked back by a forceful impact.
I smiled and walked towards the stone table. Just as I was about to extend my hand, I felt a powerful current passing through my arm. Before I could react, my hand was pushed back, and my body also retreated two steps.
The system warned: "Only a true hero can hold this stone eagle..."
I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. I turned to look at the Tiger King, who was also looking frustrated. However, it was obvious that the Tiger King, like me, was also somewhat unimpressed: Even we aren't considered true heroes, then who can be called one?
I carefully looked at the stone table. There were three trays in front of it, each with two lines of characters. The stone eagle was in front of the one the system had just warned us about. The left side's characters read: "Only those with pure hearts can hold this cup of water." The right side's characters read: "Only those who love nature can hold this seed."
My heart skipped a beat. It turned out that there were originally three treasures here. The cup of water was supposed to be able to change the soil of the desert, the seed could make grass grow, and the stone eagle could attract eagle flocks. Those three people left these three treasures together, and their obvious purpose was to create a vast grassland here.
I couldn't help wondering, if the barrier set by these three people was really so powerful, the one who took the water should be the one with pure heart, and the one who took the seed should be the one who loves nature. But how could such a person destroy this grassland for the sake of the treasures?
The Tiger King urged me to go over and try, but the special guard was timidly saying, "Boss, is this really you? Look at me, do I look like a hero?"
Under the threat of the Tiger King, the special guard still forced himself to extend his hand. As a result, he was knocked even further away, hitting the wall and screaming in pain. He quickly cast a healing spell on himself.
I became impatient. I wasn't after the treasure itself. If I couldn't take down the stone eagle, then the eagle flock wouldn't leave the Flying Eagle Town, or they would all transform into something else and attack humans or each other, or they would all starve to death. Damn it, those three old guys who left the precious treasures behind, didn't they know to be accommodating?
I was cursing those three masters from many years ago, but then I saw Chico reaching out towards the stone table.
I exclaimed, "You're asking for trouble!" If Chico was hit back by the protective shield, he would probably be killed instantly. Although he was used to dying, who would want to see a companion die right in front of them?
However, the scene before my eyes left us stunned. Chico's hand was placed right on the stone eagle, and nothing happened!
The Tiger King stared blankly, "Damn it." The special guard repeatedly stared at the faces of the three of us, as if comparing who was the true leader.
I was still in a daze for a while before I realized that maybe Chico was indeed a hero. A person who, knowing he would be killed, still rushed to stop others from killing the eagle. A person who didn't fear being ridiculed by anyone and persisted in his own way. This was the true hero recognized by those three people.
And the most important point was, perhaps, this was the goal that Chico was striving for, which had nothing to do with his personal interests. Like his name: "Justic Chico", he only focused on what he believed was just.
"Turn back if you falter, even a thousand men will follow me." I once had such a broadmindedness. But this time, facing the god of law who was brutally killing players, I chose to evade. Such a me couldn't be called a hero.
Facing the tiger king and the jealous guards, Chico felt rather embarrassed. Suddenly, he froze, then hurriedly said to us: "Oh, my family called me. I'll come to see you tomorrow."
I was stunned and shouted hurriedly: "Leave the Stone Eagle behind!"
But it was too late. Chico disappeared from our sight and left the game.
I stared blankly at the place where Chico had vanished, not knowing what would happen next.
Of course, the Stone Eagle had gone into Chico's pocket, but Chico had left the game. So where is the Stone Eagle now? How would the flock of eagles that were drawn by the Stone Eagle's magic react?
The three of us looked at each other helplessly. Now, there was nothing we could do but wait.
Looking boredly at the stone table, I noticed that there seemed to be words at the bottom of the three trays. I approached and saw that they were respectively labeled as "Work by Hero Li Jie", "Most Pure and Adorable Young Girl Xiaoyu's Work", and "Works by Liang Bo, Who Loves Nature the Most"...