Volume 8: Super Mission 'Vitality vs. Death Intent' - Chapter 16: The Secret Passage to the Grand Alliance

Although Li Bin knew their words were somewhat untrustworthy, he understood that the people before him were not enemies. If they got along well, he might even be able to rely on them to find the headquarters of the Green Leaf Alliance.

As the conversation deepened, Li Bin found himself drawn to their unique skills. He learned that neither was a pure combat class. Hammer, an Undead Dwarf, was a rare architect proficient in building construction, renovation, reinforcement, and demolition. Under his guidance, construction time for all buildings could be shortened by 15%, and their attributes improved by 10%. Furthermore, he could modify buildings to adapt to different energy sources or dismantle unwanted structures to recover a significant amount of resources.

Treebeard, on the other hand, was an exceptional cultivator. Not only could he influence plant growth through his own methods, but he also possessed a skill similar to Li Bin’s undead constructs, allowing him to cultivate various plant-based troops with different attributes and even grow reinforcements directly on the battlefield.

Li Bin wanted to recruit them into his army, but Treebeard was a player who no longer wished to serve under others. Since Hammer and Treebeard were close, Li Bin could not persuade him individually. However, bonded by their shared status as enemies of the Green Leaf Alliance, Li Bin managed to obtain the location and topographical map of the Alliance’s headquarters from them—largely because the headquarters had originally been built by Hammer himself. Before changing course, Li Bin accepted a mission from Hammer; if completed, Hammer promised to find a way to convince Treebeard to join Li Bin’s territory.

After diverging from their path, with Treebeard’s guidance, Li Bin and his party quickly exited the forest. Following the hints provided, they headed south, bypassed two public villages, and finally found the gem mine mentioned by the pair.

This was the first time Li Bin had witnessed the gem mining process. Thousands of sprites leaped continuously into a lake, retrieving gems from the bottom. These were then collected by dwarf miners and polished into standard gem units.

Li Bin, however, was not there to observe the mining. He carefully searched for the secret passage to the Green Leaf Alliance’s headquarters that Hammer had described. According to Hammer, he had built the passage himself, having used it to escape the Alliance’s pursuit when he went to deliver news to Treebeard.

Li Bin circled the gem mine several times but failed to find the mark Hammer had mentioned. Seeing Li Bin’s anxiety, Sannei asked, "Master, should we have them take over this mine and search at our leisure?"

"No," Li Bin shook his head firmly. "If we take the gem mine, we are effectively signaling our presence to the Green Leaf Alliance. We would lose even our retreat route."

"But continuing the search like this isn't working. Who knows if that dwarf lied to us?" Sannei said, concerned.

"Given the current situation, if we don't trust them, we have nothing else to rely on," Li Bin said decisively. Sannei shook his head but followed Li Bin’s instructions to keep searching.

After a thorough and repeated search, Li Bin finally discovered the passage near the miners' settlement. However, upon seeing it, the group was stunned. The passage had been built to Hammer’s height; the highest point was only about 1.5 meters. Li Bin and his skeletal soldiers had to stoop to pass, while the lowest sections were barely 80 centimeters high, requiring them to crawl. Large units like Terror Knights and Bone Dragons could not possibly fit. After consulting Bai Lingyu, Li Bin learned that the passage had been reinforced with special casting, meaning even Bai Lingyu’s dragon-drawn carriage could not force a way through. In other words, if Li Bin wanted to infiltrate the headquarters, he could only take a small number of troops.

Facing this, Li Bin had to consider whether to proceed, what troops to bring, and where else he could possibly find the Alliance headquarters if he gave up.

Ultimately, Li Bin made his decision. He borrowed a treasure—the Human Skin—from Bai Lingyu, and prepared to enter the passage with all his Ghost Soldiers, Vampires, and Sand Mummies. The remaining troops understood his plan, and even the combative trio of Troubled Knights remained silent.

At this moment, the newly recruited Nether Dragon Princess, Kadoqin, hopped over and insisted, "I want to go too."

"You can't. Stay outside with Reed," Li Bin said, unwilling to risk the Nether Dragon Princess. If something happened to her, his standing in the game would be ruined.

"No, I’m going," Kadoqin said with a determined look. "You chose the Ghost Soldiers because their ethereal forms can move freely in the passage, the Vampires can transform into bats to fly, and the Sand Mummies can turn into sand to pass through. I am small enough to fit as well; why won't you let me?"

Li Bin was speechless. He couldn't very well tell her he was afraid that if she died inside, he would face the full wrath of the Nether Dragon clan. Seeing his hesitation, Kadoqin leaped onto his shoulder triumphantly. "No argument? Then take me with you."

Resigned, Li Bin added Kadoqin to his team. He also brought along ‘Carter’s Mechanical Cart,’ which was already stocked with basic corpses.

With the infiltration team ready, Li Bin arranged for the others. He knew that to ensure a retreat, the passage must remain undiscovered. He ordered Reed to attack one nearby public village and Bai Lingyu to attack another, drawing the attention of the Green Leaf Alliance.

Once they departed, Li Bin turned to his team and said softly, "Alright, whether we complete this mission depends on our performance now. Everyone, into the passage!"