Chapter 52 My World (Part 3)

The fortress is an important landmark of the entire Pixel Empire. It is built on a hill east of the canyon. To the west is the mining area surrounded by dozens of tracks, and to the east is the boundless Seagull Peak, which is as turbulent as waves. Beyond the Seagull Peak is the Jungle House standing on the cloud top.

Two towering watchtowers serve as beacons for outsiders, while a wall built by 50,000 people over five years spans the middle and north of the canyon.

The fortress is divided into three areas.

The first area is a tourist area, less than ten miles from the camp of the brave warriors.

The second area is the prison area where prisoners were held. Although it is abandoned, a large number of blocky machines are still operating in the prison facilities.

The third region once housed the largest military camp, but only the evil dragon that seized the fortress knows what it looks like now.

Thus, the fortress, originally intended to defend against cold weapons, became completely meaningless and turned into a den of evil.

The hero's assault team infiltrated the fortress and never returned.

The sun was about to rise, and the brave warriors camping outside were restless, sitting up and lying down intermittently. In this extraordinary dawn, it seemed as if the hopes of the whole world were placed on them.

"We can't wait any longer; we must strike while the dragon is asleep."

"I think the Paladin Commander is right. At this time, everyone should use their best skills."

"I also agree that we should give it our all from the very beginning! Use all our skills!"

Billy and Number Thirty-Three did not comment.

As the mosaic sun was about to rise, the leading paladin finally made up his mind to have the warrior troops storm the fortress with him.

Everyone put on camouflage cloaks, crawled into the muddy water pipes, bypassed the large courtyard, secretly climbed up the wall along the vines, and then plunged into the crates.

These crates are transported in and out by terrifying, blocky machines. Each crate is coded and eventually disposed of in waste pipes.

The pipes were originally meant to lead to the boiler room, but the boiler had been unused for a long time. Everyone poked their heads out of the ashes, their faces covered in soot, and discovered that they had reached the lowest level of the fortress.

It was pitch black here, like a tunnel haunted by ghosts. Faint light fell silently from above, growing rapidly in the putrid, dark air, then breaking apart like sticky saliva.

"Are those falling lights living things?" someone asked.

“We don’t have time to study such a small thing.” The leading paladin, having lost his horse, still walked with an imposing air. “Get your weapons ready; the dragon is just ahead.”

A huge cave, tilted downwards at a 45-degree angle, suddenly appeared. The entrance resembled a gaping maw that was devouring something greedily, and its appearance suggested that it was formed by a meteorite impact. Thousands upon thousands of gold and silver treasures were piled up like a small mountain.

Behind a certain golden mountain, a large, sac-like belly rises and falls.

The dragon had its eyes closed and was still asleep.

It's unbelievable; the dragon's clarity is clearly many times greater than that of creatures living in the pixelated world, with its textures and scales clearly visible.

“It doesn’t belong in this pixelated world!” Billis told Number Thirty-Three. “I suspect it’s a program virus created by hackers to damage the brain.”

"Program virus?"

"The implication is that it has no natural enemies here."

"So what should we do?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a clumsy warrior wielding a sword and halberd suddenly bumped into a lifelike little statue. The statue was carrying a cloth bag filled with gold, and its head turned around like a marionette.

That face looked as if it had been dragged into an abyss by demons and monsters, and then spat out like scum.

The statue seems to be saying, "Save me."

"It was our assault troops! They turned to stone!"

Just then, the dragon awoke.

With its slippery scales, it uprooted the claws buried beneath the golden mountain, roaring wildly. The stone statues were instantly engulfed by the heatwave, turning into withered branches and leaves in a sea of ​​fire.

The paladin dodged the flames, leaped over the claws that were larger than his body, and slashed three times at the pillar-like forelegs. His attack was as easy as tickling someone.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so small creatures climbed onto the big head at the same time, burning its left eye with fireballs and chopping its right eye with axes.

The dragon lightly slapped the insects off its head.

Several brave men surrounded a semi-circular breastwork made of gold, attempting to ambush them from behind it.

The dragon lashed out at the gold with its long tail, dragging the warriors out from behind the breastwork. Then, something resembling building blocks flew up, and a spear shaft with a blade attached to it, as if some fur had been stuck to it, strung together three armored guards.

The number of people standing quickly decreased from ninety. Whether they were fighting hand-to-hand or casting spells, chasing or fleeing, they were all easily dealt with by the evil dragon.

Even the bravest warrior has no chance against a dragon!

Billy's arquebus couldn't penetrate the dragon's scales, so he picked up the best-preserved halberd from a pile of discarded weapons, aimed it at the dragon's eyes, and was about to throw it.

Number Thirty-Three played the harp, and an inspiring melody rose from the boundless darkness, reminding people of the thrilling battles and victories.

The halberd that was shot out suddenly accelerated in mid-air and pierced the dragon's left eye like a divine spear.

At the same time, the heroes who heard the divine sound were miraculously restored, and not only that, the power surging from their bodies was stronger than ever before.

These invincible warriors picked up their weapons again and chanted incantations.

Two arrows pierced his right eye simultaneously, three fireballs shattered the dragon's scales, four axes chopped open wounds, and the sword hilt turned red and hot as blood flowed. The dragon's howl made the hero's attack even more powerful.

Soon, the dragon's skin collapsed due to convulsions, leaving its body covered in bright red blood.

Let's deliver the final blow!

The handsome and imposing paladin climbed to the top, his two-handed sword shining brighter than gold.

The dragon quickly fell to the sound of the hero's shouts, its terrifying eyes wide open.

Just when everyone thought the dragon-slaying mission was over, the dragon's corpse suddenly twisted into a void gate, and on the other side of the gate, a background with extremely high clarity appeared.

The heroes had never seen a world like this before.

A creature with a large nose and mouth merely peeked curiously into the doorway, and its body instantly turned to dust, vanishing without a trace.

Immediately afterwards, another daring person tried to throw a weapon into the doorway, but as soon as the weapon touched the void, his arm and the weapon were pulled in by an invisible force, and he met the same fate as the first person.

No one dared to approach, thinking that something even more terrifying than a dragon would emerge from the door.

Only Billis dared to move forward.

Number Thirty-Three stopped Billis and said, "Hero! You cannot go any further!"

"The dragon was created from the world behind the door, that hacker, he knew I was coming."

"You led everyone to defeat the evil dragon, and the princess is still waiting for you to return to the palace."

"The person she's waiting for isn't me. You are the true hero of this world, number thirty-three."

“Me? No, no, no, I am just a bard.”

"It was your music that turned the tide of the battle; I can't be wrong."

"Ah, even if you say that, I can't just stand by and watch you go to your death at the door."

“I never belonged to this world. Number thirty-three, this door was opened for me.”

After saying this, Billis pushed the bard aside, closed his eyes, stepped through the void gate, and his body fell downwards as his center of gravity shifted.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a ship.

This is an airship soaring through the sky.

On each side of the airship was a huge 'fan', which looked just like a fish fin. The deck had two or three layers, and there was a huge shield pattern on the bottom. At the tail was a steam turbine with windmill-shaped blades. Due to the action of the fins, the whole ship swayed from side to side and moved slowly forward, drawing a rainbow in the air.

The city beneath the rainbow was crystal clear. Looking down from the airship, one could see the convenient transportation, the residents who looked like paper cutouts, and the carriages with gear-shaped shields coming and going.

This is a two-dimensional world!

Just as Billis was marveling at what he was seeing, a heavy, package-like object suddenly slammed into him.

He encountered something even more incredible than this two-dimensional world.

"Number thirty-three!"

"We meet again, hero."

"Why did you follow me? What about the princess of the pixel world?"

“There will be someone more suitable to marry her. As for me, I have decided to follow the hero and sing praises of your deeds.”

"You've become clearer! But I'm curious, why was your body unharmed when you passed through the void gate?"

"I don't know either."