"Hahaha, we were the first to arrive." Izawa looked at the calm water next to the mound without a ripple, let alone the boats.

"Woo." The dragon shark let out a kitten-like chirp at Fitz, who jumped from the sea onto the boat.

"It said it was leaving, and it would come back to pick us up." Fitz translated.

"Fitz, thank you for me." Izawa looked at the well-behaved dragon shark floating on the surface of the water and said softly.

"Woo." The dragon shark chirped a few more times, as if in response to Ize. As soon as he turned around, his dorsal fin swam into the deep sea in the distance.

"Goodbye, goodbye."

After bidding farewell to the dragon shark, Izawa had time to take a closer look at the small mound in front of him. On the surface, this small mound from the bottom of the sea is no different from the common ones on the mainland, but it is probably because it has been at the bottom of the sea all year round, and the whole mound is covered with a layer of gray-green seaweed, like a house overgrown with creepers. However, the exact situation will not be further known until the mound is climbed.

"Hey, hey, hey." Izawa looked at the quiet mound in front of him, tightened his backpack and said, "As the first batch of explorers, let's go!" ”

"Wait." Jace grabbed Ezawa, who was about to get up and jump onto the mound.

"Huh?"

"We can't climb this mound first."

"Why?" Izawa looked at Jace inexplicably.

Jace looked at the calm mound, then turned to look at the equally calm sea, and said, "This is not a place of exploration that we have discovered ourselves, but all of Bilgewater knows. If we had climbed this mound first, whether we had found it or not, we would have been the target of the big gangs. And Jace wondered if the mound would be a den of beasts like the old pirate had experienced so many years ago. In this way, they will also become the guiding stones and cannon fodder of those big gangs. Both of these situations are what he does not want to see in any case.

Shoot the first bird, it's a simple truth, Izawa also understands, but let him stop...

"I can't do that much."

"Hold him down." Jace gives the three of them an order to come down. Looking at Ezer who was pressed to the board by the treasure hunting team, Jace continued, "I'll tell you one more thing. If the pirates were clever enough to fence off this mound with boats, they wouldn't have to bother to venture in and wait for us to come out and make a profit. They're not like you, who adventure for the sake of adventure. In their eyes, it is estimated that there are only treasures. Well, I don't know if this situation can you accept it. Jace tried to convince Ize.

Indeed, this is the most dangerous situation, but it is also the one that is most likely to arise in Bilgewater, which is infested with outlaws and pirates of all kinds.

"Okay." Izawa was convinced.

The vast sea is calm without a trace of wind, and under the sunlight, it sparkles. Finally, a small wave swept by, and the pirate ships of those big gangs came!

On the first class of a brig with a skull, a middle-aged pirate held a telescope and looked at the small wooden ship that appeared in sight, "Hehehe, it seems that these people are not so stupid." ”

Gradually, the boats of the big gang arrived, staying at sea level a few hundred meters away from the mound. Begin to drop the dinghy one by one onto the water.

And looking at the location of the big gangs' boats, it seems that the front of the mound is fenced off. The ships of the small and medium-sized gangs would have to go around a few nautical miles from the other side of the mound to get to the mound.

Groups of pirates boarded their respective small boats, each small boat sat four or five people, and about a hundred small boats were densely floated on the water, like locusts crossing the border, and had to march towards the small wooden boat where Izawa and his party were. Moreover, these pirates are not ordinary people, they are all good hands sent by their respective forces. None of the pirates were empty-handed, all armed with knives, guns, or modified hand-held cannons. This also validates Jace's conjecture from the side: as the original book of Bill Gewert, they know that this is not just a simple mound, and judging from the information circulating from many mouths, the appearance of such a large mound is mostly accompanied by unknown creatures.

The dinghy of the big gang had already surrounded the edge of the mound, but they had not landed any further, and they stood on the dinghy and looked at the quiet mound in front of them, and looked at each other and hesitated.

Izawa also understood the minds of these people, and no one knew what the first step on this mound would bring.

"Hahahaha, you people, while wanting to get the treasures of the sea, are afraid of unknown dangers." Izawa pointed to the rows of pirates on the dinghy and smiled, "In that case, I'll come first." Those who are left behind and go home empty-handed, do not regret their decision. Let's go! With a wave of his hand, he led the treasure hunt team of four and Fitz to row a small wooden boat close to the mound.

Jace didn't have a reason to stop Ize, but he saw it more thoroughly than Ize, these big gang masters all had the ruthlessness of licking blood from the knife on their faces, and the most fearful thing in their hearts should not be the danger from unknown creatures on this mound, but the attack of pirates from other gangs. The greed of the human heart, and the knife that will be stabbed out at some point. This also made Jace more wary.

After hearing Ize's words, the group of pirates was unmoved, and there was not a trace of expression on their faces. When Izawa and his party had all stepped on the mound, there was an inexplicable brilliance in their eyes, and they all glanced at each other, without any orders, and the pirate masters from different gangs began to set off in unison.

Everything, there is not a trace of abnormality.

The algae covered by the mound did not wither in the sunlight, but swayed slightly in the wind as if they were in the sea.

"Poof." Izawa sank into the seaweed in his calf, as if he had been hooked by something, and he struggled to walk, as the group did.

"Whew." Izawa breathed a sigh of relief and tossed away the seaweed wrapped around his ankles, crouching down to flick through the clump and carefully observe the composition of the mound.

"It's not sand, it's not like ordinary rocks, and the soil can't be solidified in the sea. Can you tell what this 'mound' is that unites it? Izawa asked, stepping on the solid ground beneath the seaweed, looking at Jace.

"I can't see it. But it's certainly not sand and dirt. Jace leaned over and replied.

Large groups of pirates also climbed the mound, but they were not in the mood to observe the mound's formation. Directly past Izawa and his group, and follow their respective gangs deeper into the mound.

They ignored Ize, and at most greeted Fitz. Ize, of course, didn't bother with them scrambling.

"Oops."

Treasure Hunt Team No. 3 screamed, and instantly became half a body shorter. "I feel like I've stepped on a hole."

When Three pulled his leg out, he found a hollow in the ground the size of a basin covered with seaweed. Not only one, but Ize and Jace slowly squatted down, groping carefully on the ground with their hands and feet, and found that there were as many as four within ten meters.

"This should be a burrow for rats or snakes." Izawa made a judgment.

"If it's a snake... Jace pointed to the basin-sized cavern at his feet, and it was self-evident.

"Do you recognize me?" Izawa asked Fitz, who deserves to be the most experienced in the ocean.

"I decide... Fitz didn't know where he learned the movements, and he stroked his smooth chin with a serious face, "It's not a fish." ”

Ize: ". . .

Jace: "... ”

The pirates of the big gang went farther and farther, and they didn't know where to find the treasure, perhaps thinking that they would find it by walking around the mound.

Izawa and his party continued to explore, as if they couldn't see anything other than the greenish-gray seaweed. However, Jace's expression was a little solemn.

"When I found the entrance to the cave just now, I touched it down, and the wall of the cave was very wet."

"That is to say..." Izawa's brow furrowed slightly.

"In other words, in the cave, there are still unknown creatures."

"Ahh Hearing Jace say this, Number Three immediately jumped away from the cave, as if a giant snake with a wide mouth would come out in the next second.

"Anyway," Izawa furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the pirates who were gradually losing sight, "this mound won't be that simple. ”

In this way, Izawa and his party cautiously marched into the depths of the mound. Fortunately, nothing is out of the ordinary. Mound under a clear sky.

"If nothing else, you should be able to walk this little mound before dark." A pirate with a dagger at his waist said cautiously.

"MD, there won't be seaweed here, it's seaweed, not a single bird feather has been found, and it's also a treasure of the sea. It's not good to explain to the boss when you go back like this. A bearded pirate swore and cursed.

The pirates who had walked half the mound were cautious at first, staring with wide eyes on their rivals who did not belong to a gang, beware of a sudden discovery of their treasure looting. But now, most of the pirates have lost heart, and the second half of the mound and the first half of the mound are the same gray-green seaweed from a distance, and it is impossible to find anything. Some of them were already planning to take out the flares in their arms and send signals to their partners who stayed on the ship. However, all this does not prevent Izawa and his party from always exploring carefully.

Izawa explored the way with a cane, and carefully walked on the thick seaweed, one foot deep and one shallow, and the further he went, the denser the cave became, even to the point where he could not get his feet.

"It's almost certain now that this is a beast's nest. And the number and size of that unknown creature ... Jace pointed to the large and dense hole in the seaweed-covered basin, his face solemn.

Except for Fitz, who jumped around casually, the group all had varying degrees of expression changes. The three members of the treasure hunt team were obviously a little panicked, and they must have been thinking about something in their heads. Jace's expression became more and more solemn as he crouched down and observed the crypt. And Ize, standing still on crutches, didn't know what he was thinking.

After a long time, Jace stood up and looked at the group, "I tried it just now, and the soil on the walls of these caves is very wet. So, I recommend ending this expedition. Izawa, I hope you listen to me... He still had some scruples about the scene that the old pirate had described, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Izawa waving his hand.

"I know what you're saying. I've been thinking about a question just now, with such a dense cavern, the big army of those pirates must have also discovered it, why don't they have our concerns? Ize paused, and then said, "One, the pirates who go to sea all year round know that the creatures in this crypt are not dangerous. Second, the pirates don't know each other, but they can ignore it. As he spoke, Izawa kept his eyes on the large army of pirates who had disappeared before them, as if trying to figure out their thoughts.

"So?" Jace asked.

"So whatever the case may be, the pirates are not afraid, and we need not be afraid." Expression grinned at Jace, "Let's move on." ”

"Sure enough, I still can't convince you." Jace smiled helplessly.

The group continued to move forward like this, Ize took the lead, the treasure hunting team was in the center, and the back of Jace Hall was all up to guard against the dangers that might occur around them at any time. By the way, it's still Fizz, it will happily jump to this side of the team, and it will jump to that side, which is kind of... It's a response.

And the pirate army here also walked to the second half of the mound, and when they looked up, they were all discouraged, except for the gray-green or gray-green.

"MD, it's really a trip for nothing, I said earlier, how can the treasures of the sea appear casually, or in such a broken mound." One of the pirates said angrily, stomped on the ground a few times, but accidentally stepped on a cave, his body instantly became shorter, and hurriedly called out to his companion to drag him up.

The pirates of the other team next to him "are busy in vain, but fortunately, everyone has no gains, and it is easy to go back and explain to the boss." Get ready to signal your retreat. ”

"The Heman Sea has passed, and a large number of merchant ships should arrive again in the past few days, so let's go back and do a few jobs."

“。。。。” Just when the pirates were about to retreat, they suddenly stopped. Because there was a one-man high door on a slightly raised earthen bag in front. Yes, a door, a stone door with obvious signs of carving!

"I've found it!" The pirates were re-energized, and at the same time began to be cautious about other gangs.

"That stone gate looks like a very old building." One of the pirates pointed to the pale cyan stone door, and there was a hint of joy in his tone, "According to my previous experience, most of them contain some antiquities, and those things are the favorite of officials and nobles. ”

After discovering the Stone Gate, the atmosphere became visibly tense, and the pirates wondered what was inside the Stone Gate, but also wondered how their own gang could dominate the contents of the Gate. But obviously this is impossible, and they don't want to fight before they know if there is anything valuable in the stone gate. To fight to the death, of course, for something valuable.

An experienced pirate lit a torch and threw it into the stone door, the torch made a clear sound of hitting the ground, and the faint light of the fire bounced a few times and landed on the ground, reflecting a little shadow of the wall. The pirates' eyes widened to see more information from the light of the fire. It is certain that the fire is not extinguished and there is oxygen, although it is not known where this stone door leads.

The pirates are clearly thinking about it. A pirate who was obviously a little famous stepped forward and walked to the front to look at the crowd: "I believe that these stalemates are not what everyone wants to see. Here, I have a proposal that two people from each gang enter this stone gate together. If you find something and discuss it later, what do you think? ”

“。。。” The pirates of the major gangs whispered for a while, but they couldn't think of a better way. There are two people in a gang, so that the people who go in will also be taken care of, and the people left behind outside will not fight for no reason. But if any treasure is really discovered, will it still coexist peacefully like this?

The chosen representatives of each gang had entered the stone gate one by one with torches, and there was nothing unusual until the people who remained outside could not see the fire. However, it can be seen that the passage behind the stone gate is very deep.

At the same time, the pirates also saw Ize's party who had finally arrived here.

Of course, Izawa and the others also noticed the pirates in a circle.

"Look at them like this, there's a discovery." Ize said.

"Yes." Jace also replied lightly.

The group walked forward as if they hadn't looked at the pirates with wary eyes.

"Stop, stop, stop!" A pirate stepped over to Izawa and blocked his way.

"Stammering and rushing to speak?" Izawa stared at the lean and capable pirate in front of him.

"I, I, I, I, I..."

"You, you, you're not going to let us pass, are you?" Izawa pursed his lips and learned from him.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..."

"To you big-headed ghost, get out of the way." Izawa was too lazy to give him nonsense, and shouted to the pirates behind him, "Come out and have someone who can talk." ”

The proposed pirate walked out of the crowd.

"Tell me, what's the way to let us in?" Izawa also saw the stone gate behind the pirate, and said straight to the point.

"I know you, explorer." The pirate didn't answer Ize's question, and continued, "In normal times, not to mention your small expedition team, even if it's a medium-sized gang, you wouldn't dare to come here to steal the limelight. ”

"Oh." Izawa replied lightly, "So, he won't let us in anyway." I see what you mean, just say it's okay to do it. After saying that, Izawa's face was obviously a little angry, it was obvious that he had stepped on the mound first, but now he had discovered it but was occupied by pirates. Although he didn't want to compete with them for the so-called treasures, he just wanted to go into the stone gate out of curiosity, but it is estimated that they would not believe it. Then you don't have to be so verbose, if you can do it, try not to make noise, this is the custom of Bilgewater.

Fitz gritted his teeth and held up the harpoon, Jace clenched his fists, and the three of them were obviously a little afraid of such a large number of pirates, but they still held their chests high and waited for Izawa to make a move.

The pirate suddenly laughed, "Explorer, you should listen to me." Then he pointed at Fitz with a smile, "Our gang's boat was also protected by Lord Fitz during that dragon shark attack. Although Master Fitz did not know us, the captain told him to be polite when he saw him in the future. ”

"Oh?" Izawa sighed and looked at Fitz, but it didn't seem to care at all what the pirates were saying, and still held its trident viciously and waited for Izawa to give orders. Ize patted Fitz on the shoulder and motioned for it to put down the trident, then turned to look at the pirate again, "So?" ”

"So," the pirate held up two fingers, "one of our gangs sent two people earlier, so only two of them could enter the stone gate. More, although I won't say anything, but the gangs in the back... ”

Of course, Izawa understands the meaning of the words, and if there are any more other gangs, they will not be convinced.

"Two for two." Ezer and Jace exchanged glances. After all, no one wants to get into a dispute for no reason.

"I, there's still one number one in there. Any questions? ”

"No problem." The three members of the treasure hunt team replied in unison.

Ezer looked at Fitz again.

Fitz: "What do you think I'm doing?" ”

Izawa: "... ”

"Then it's decided." As he spoke, Ezer and Jace walked past the pirates towards the stone gate, looked at the vicious pirates, and did not forget to turn around and shout, "Take care of them." ”

"We'll take care of it." A treasure hunt team of three.

"I'm asking Fiz to take care of you." Izawa.

“。。。” A treasure hunt team of three.

The sun had slowly climbed to its highest, and before I knew it, it had been a morning climb up the mound. Everything, still without a trace of abnormality. Based on the good habits developed over the years of exploration, Ize never misses every detail.

"The pale green color of this stone gate was the moss that I thought was contaminated on the bottom of the sea, but I didn't expect it to be its own color." Izema held the quaint stone door, which was carved with strange ornaments, twisted and curved, like... It's like a tongue.

"Do you know what it's made of? This stone gate, how can it be so cold. Jace also touched the stone door and felt a refreshing chill.

"I don't know. It's a pity that the Hextech probe made for me by the great inventor was sold, otherwise it would have been possible to detect if there were any magic fluctuations. However, the material of this stone door is indeed not simple. Izawa also felt an amazing chill.

"Let's go." With that, Izawa took the light-emitting device from his bag and handed one to Jace, and walked inside. After all, it's from the tech capital of Piltover, and it's much better equipped than the pirates.

The width of the corridor behind the stone gate is only enough for one person, but there are no potholes as expected.

Jace looked at the bright few meters illuminated by the light-emitting device, and touched the walls on both sides from top to bottom, "It's flat, it's too flat"

"What's too flat?"

"The walls on both sides, and the road at your feet." Jace said, holding the light-emitting device aloft, "Don't you think it's all artificially constructed?" ”

"What's wrong with the artificial?" Izawa didn't see any problems.

"Yes, it's no problem. However, add to this the Heman current, the submarine mounds. Jace said leisurely.

"There is a man-made mound on the seabed that the Heman Current has swept up. . . Ize instantly understood what Jace meant and what the problem was.

"It's not that simple here, anyway, just be careful. When you get to the end of the road, maybe everything will have an answer. ”

"Yes."

Izawa walked in front with a light-emitting device, looking at the end of the pitch-black tunnel like a giant beast with a big mouth, quietly waiting for the prey to be delivered to the mouth, he suddenly realized a problem.

"We didn't come in long after the pirates, so why didn't we see a single figure, and there wasn't a trace of movement." Izawa stared at the road in front of him, which did not have a trace of light, and asked a little worriedly.

Jace nodded to indicate that he had noticed it too, "One, this road is too long, and the pirates are still ahead. After a pause, his tone suddenly became low, "Two, they had an accident and all died. ”

"What a disturbing answer." Izawa smiled, as if trying to ease the tension.

It seems like there is no end to the road. The two of them had been walking for a long time, just like when they first stepped in, and each place was exactly the same flat wall. However, it is not unnoticed, and the smell of kerosene on the pirates' torches can already be smelled in the air, indicating that they are getting closer and closer.

During this time, Izawa kept frowning, and after advancing for a while, he stopped, and his brow furrowed even more.

"Do you remember when we first got here, we rowed a boat around the mound?" Izawa spoke up.

Jace nodded, knowing that Izawa was talking about when they were the first to reach the mound, and Jace prevented Izawa from landing first and waited for the big gangs to get bored, and Ize looked around the mound.

"What are you going to say?" Jace asked.

Ize's brows furrowed even more, and he slowly spoke: "According to my visual observation at the time, if I am not wrong in my estimation, the distance we walked after entering the stone gate is beyond the scope of this mound. ”

"How is that possible!" Jace was visibly taken aback, "So where are we walking now?" "Some common sense of living in the deep mountains and old forests or in a place without light, in such a place where it is difficult to see even the sun, you must learn to distinguish the south, south, north, west and your own position. In this regard, Jace is indeed inferior to the experienced Ize.

"There's only one possibility."

"Down?"

"Correct."

"We didn't feel the angle of tilt at all, but we were really going down." Izawa sniffed the increasingly clear smell of torches and kerosene in the air, and knew that he was getting closer and closer to the pirates. Thinking about the seaweed that didn't dry when he first entered the mound, the caves everywhere, or the current Yongdao, Izawa's eyes flashed, "I don't know what the purpose of the owner who built this place was in the first place, but it's really a good place to explore." There will always be an answer. ”

In the port of Bilgewater, the pirates of the Bearded Gang gather on board.

"Captain, I've found the merchant ship from Ionia. But the merchant ship had been here for a long time, and the goods had been traded, so it didn't look like there was much oil to be fished out. ”

"Yes, I know. This single job is to kidnap a man on the ship. ”

"When are we going to take the kidnappers?"

"Don't ask, it's a big customer. Let's go back and rest first, and wait for the notification of my move. ”

The hatch was slowly closed, and a young man walked farther and farther away with a wine bottle.

And Ize and Jace in the corridor finally saw the light on the pirate torch, but it was beyond their imagination.

Ezawa and Jace, who saw the light, followed two steps after each other.

"Hiss~~"

Seeing a scene not far away, Ize and Jace couldn't help but gasp.

The bodies of the three pirates were more than ten meters ahead, and the bodies of the three were already somewhat decomposed, as if they had been dead for several days. However, the blood that flowed all over the ground still seemed to be warm. The traces of the three people's corpses being bitten and devoured are very obvious, the bodies of the three are incomplete, there is a bald pirate whose thigh is eaten most of it, his stomach is also eaten out of a big hole, and the broken large intestine and small intestine also flow to the ground. There was a middle-aged pirate whose head had been eaten in half, an eye that was still there, and a pale skull with the saliva of some unknown creature.

"Goo." Before Ize and Jace could make their next moves, there was a sound like this coming from the corpses.

"Poof."

A palm-sized toad easily burst out of the corpse, still holding half of the uneaten intestines in its mouth, and pustules one by one on its ugly body.

"Poof, poof." One after another, small toads crawled out of the corpses, each with internal organs or organs in their mouths.

Izawa held his breath, looking at the little toads that were staring at him, and looking at him with cold eyes without the slightest expression, as if he was looking at a piece of food on the table.

"Do it!"

As he spoke, the light of Ize's right hand flickered, and a wave of energy sent out, knocking a mass of toads into blood.

"Goo."

Before Jace could attack, the little toads on the ground had already scattered and fled, and they did not forget to chew on the minced meat of their companions as they left.

After a burst of fleeing, there was only the gurgling of burning torches and the corpses of three pirates unbelievable.

"It turns out that the caves on the mound are similar to frogs." Izawa pulled a coat out of his bag, tore it into several pieces, and put it over the pirates' faces. What a blind eye, even the head was eaten, just hope that when they leave, those little toads will not come out again.

"Two questions." After Izawa did all this, he said slowly.

"One, how did they die, those little toads just now don't have this kind of attack power, and the pirates who came in are all good hands."

"Second, even if there is an unknown strong enemy, why don't they choose to run in the direction of the exit they came, but still have to go inside."

"I'm sure you've got the answer." Jace extinguished the torches on the ground, and darkness plunged them into darkness except for a few meters from the two of them.

"The caves on the mound are much bigger than these little toads, and it's supposed to be the adult of that creature that kills these pirates."

This was obvious, and Jace looked at Ize and asked directly, "What about the second question?" ”

Izawa exhaled, looked back at Shi Yongdao, and said slowly, "They were attacked from behind by that creature, so they could only be driven forward. I can't think of a more plausible explanation. Moreover, there are many suspicions, and we will definitely hear them in the corridors of this line if these pirates shoot back, but there is no movement until the corpses appear. ”

Jace nodded, "Actually, the second question you said, there is another possibility. After a pause, he pointed to the dark corridor in front of him and said, "Maybe they are not being driven, but there is enough temptation in front of them to let them run forward desperately." ”

"Enough of a temptation above life?"

"Enough temptation above life."

The two fell silent for a long time, but the road still had to go on, whether it was to investigate the creatures or to understand the unknown temptation.

"If I can get back here, I'll be sure to inform your partner to pick you up." Izawa said to the three corpses on the ground, "But I hope there won't be more deaths up ahead." ”

Except for a little light from the two of them, it was still dark, and those little toads didn't know where they had fled. The mound outside the corridor was clear. The pirates sat together in peace and sound, guarding the stone gate, waiting for news from their companions. And Fitz and the treasure hunt team are already running to where to play.

The people on the outside and the people on the inside!