CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 118: JIANG YI’S REQUEST, LAKE HEART RUINS

A width of five to six meters was left in the middle of the queue as an aisle.

Zong Shen was positioned at the center point of the queue, also the most eye-catching location.

The Ranger Sisters, crossbowmen, and mages were arrayed behind Zong Shen.

He stood tall like a majestic kingdom!

Zong Shen’s twenty-six soldiers encompassed ten different types of units.

Gathered together, they exuded an extraordinary aura, secretly startling the lady lord named Jiang Yi!

She brought her soldiers and joined the queue.

Dismounting from her traveling horse, she approached Zong Shen on foot.

She had a delicate appearance, with calm eyes under her bangs.

Her ponytail and straight bangs didn’t make her particularly stunning.

However, her skin was very fair.

She extended a slightly rough right hand.

Zong Shen noticed carefully that there were round calluses on the joints of her gripping hand.

He also extended his hand and gently shook hers.

This was the common handshake etiquette of modern people.

"Hello, Lord Zong, I am the lord who contacted you yesterday, my name is Jiang Yi."

She said very politely, with a slightly flattering smile on her face.

Zong Shen was much calmer, smiling as he nodded.

"Hello, Lord Jiang."

"You’re being too polite, you don’t need to call me Lord Zong, it feels strange."

"I am not some big shot, just an ordinary lord like you."

Hearing Zong Shen’s words, Jiang Yi instinctively glanced at the fierce soldiers around.

And the not insignificantly sized, building-filled territory.

Her heart was truly shocked.

If this was called an ordinary lord, what did that make her?

A lower-middle-class peasant farmer?

The two exchanged pleasantries with each other.

Zong Shen led Jiang Yi to the entrance of the small courtyard.

Neither brought any soldiers, and they entered the lord’s small tower.

They sat beside the territory sand table on the first floor.

Throughout, Jiang Yi’s eyes were in a dazed state, deeply shocked.

Originally observing from afar, it was nothing like the shock of viewing up close.

The rundown hut had even been upgraded into a small tower.

This gave her a new understanding of the gap between them.

She originally thought she was already quite exceptional among the first batch of several billion lords.

Unexpectedly, compared to Zong Shen, she was just a lowly dog.

"Did Lord Jiang come this time to purchase equipment?"

Zong Shen asked directly.

Jiang Yi came to her senses and nodded somewhat nervously.

"Uh... I want to ask to buy some equipment from you, and I also have a request..."

"No, I should say it’s a cooperation I want to complete with you."

Having witnessed the strong territorial power of Zong Shen, the originally decisive Jiang Yi felt a bit nervous.

She even switched to using honorifics.

Zong Shen remained composed and did not take the initiative to inquire about the cooperation, instead, he took out the equipment for Jiang Yi to select first.

The equipment he had on hand included those forged by the dwarf uncle, and others obtained from defeating monsters.

There were also those replaced yesterday for Tasuya and the others, now discarded equipment.

One could say it was diverse and plenty in variety.

Jiang Yi glanced over and couldn’t take her eyes away.

"Oh my! Unbelievable!"

"To put such premium equipment up for sale!"

"Then what kind of equipment must he have on himself?!"

She roared in her heart but dared not show a trace.

Every piece of equipment here made her very tempted.

However, she knew the market value of the equipment.

After selecting for a while, she chose a green goblin long saber.

To replace her own worn-out one-handed sword.

She paid 400 units of basic resources and 150 Mainland Continent Universal Dinar for it.

"Alright, the trade is complete. Now let’s talk about the cooperation you mentioned."

Zong Shen waved his hand and stored the equipment into the territory storage box.

Equipment of the same type and quality can be stacked.

So these pieces did not take up many storage grids at all.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi stored the goblin long saber and began to explain the main purpose of her visit.

"Lord Zong, near my territory, there’s a rather large lake."

"Within the lake is a great many troublesome monsters."

"At the center of that lake is Lake Heart Island, where I once vaguely saw some suspected ruins from the shore."

"I once tried to explore Lake Heart Island, but encountered some trouble."

"I am not strong enough to deal with these issues, but with your help, we will surely be able to land on Lake Heart Island and explore that area of ruins."

Jiang Yi spoke eloquently, confident no lord could resist the temptation of ruins.

However, Zong Shen did not rush to respond to her.

He only mildly furrowed his brow, pondering something.

The lake Jiang Yi mentioned should be the one Tiezhu reported last night, located southeast of the territory, about fifty to sixty miles away.

"Is she telling the truth?"

"What ruin is on Lake Heart Island?"

Zong Shen posed questions internally.

In the next moment, a strategy surfaced, answering his doubts.

(Basically true)

(There is a long-abandoned dragon nest on Lake Heart Island, note it’s abandoned, but there are still some areas worth exploring)

Goodness, it’s actually a dragon nest!

Legend has it those giant dragons are extremely greedy, looting and collecting treasures far and wide.

Every dragon nest is a treasure vault.

However, the giant dragon itself is an extremely powerful creature.

The most ordinary giant dragon starts as an epic-level boss.

Even an abandoned dragon nest might contain some lost treasures.

He calmed himself a bit, asking with a calm face.

Posing the most crucial question.

"How do we split it?"

Hearing this question, Jiang Yi sighed with relief.

"I take four, you take six. For each batch of harvests, we decide our share proportionally, and of course, you have the priority selection rights."

Zong Shen shook his head, raising two fingers.

"Huh?"

Jiang Yi instinctively questioned.

Zong Shen rolled his eyes and directly said.

"You two, me eight, no negotiation."

Upon hearing this distribution ratio, Jiang Yi wanted to refuse instinctively but held back.

She thought of her forces, then thought of Zong Shen’s forces.

Finally, gritting her teeth, she nodded in agreement.

"Alright, at that ratio!"

"When do we set off?"

Jiang Yi was a bit impatient. She discovered the Lake Heart Ruins from the first day of landing.

Unfortunately, those lake monsters were troublesome, many level 20 elite level monsters.

There were also many oddities on Lake Heart Island.

Her forces found it hard to tackle it alone.

Delaying it further might lead to changes, so it’s better to cooperate and take it.

Thus, she long desired the Lake Heart Ruins, and greatly anticipated this.

"We can set off immediately, but I have some things to inform you before we leave."

"How far is that lake from your territory?"

"Have you found any mysteriously appearing caves with countdowns near your territory?"

Zong Shen stood up, ready to tell her about the burrow.