Shen Xiaochuan stood on a high point by the lake, the wind ruffling the hem of his clothes.
He gazed at the lake, his eyes calm yet sharp.
Chen Yan rushed over, clutching a cloth map in his hand: “God, all three teams are ready.
The ambush on the north side is complete, and the east side has been cleared.”
Shen Xiaochuan nodded slightly and asked Dao in a low voice, “Are those two bears still eating?”
“Still eating.”
Chen Yan replied to Dao, “The movements were very slow, and the head was nodding little by little, as if it was about to fall asleep.”
Shen Xiaochuan’s eyes turned cold: “The poison has taken effect.”
He quickly opened the mall interface and brought up the information about the snakebone fish.
“This fish disperses upon contact with water, and the toxin will not dissipate for three hours.
If a bear drinks the poisoned water and then eats the poisoned prey, it will surely suffer the consequences.”
Chen Yan frowned: “But the lake water is poisonous now, should we still launch a full-scale attack?”
Shen Xiaochuan, with his Upper Realm face turned to face, sneered: “What are you afraid of?
We have gas masks, they don’t.
This is the perfect time to make our move.”
“But just now…
there was a dark shadow in the lake.”
“I saw it too.”
Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes.
“A long, thin object rose from the center of the lake and then sank back down.”
Chen Yan swallowed hard: “Should we retreat first?
Wait until the poison dissipates before taking any further action?”
“can not wait.”
Shen Xiaochuan abruptly interrupted, “A level-three treasure land belongs to whoever occupies it.
If we retreat now, others will take it away.
It’s not just Xiong; other people will come too.”
He pointed to the center of the lake: “See that stone platform?
That’s an altar.
Once we stand on it and declare our sovereignty, Yuling Lake is ours.”
Chen Yan followed the gaze.
In the middle of the lake stood a stone platform with a broken pillar on it, and a few withered leaves floating beside it.
“There’s no bridge, so we have to wade across.”
“Then let’s wade through.”
Shen Xiaochuan turned to his team and ordered, “Everyone put on your gas masks and check your weapons!
Archer, advance and prepare for suppression!”
Chen Yan blew his whistle—three short whistles followed by one long one—and the signal was relayed.
Three hundred Archers immediately lined up and stepped forward, perfectly aligned.
They wore black masks, held longbows, and stood solemnly.
Shen Xiaochuan drew his spear: “The main force will advance with me from the front.
You take five hundred men and flank from the north.
Once I charge, you drive Xiong into the lake.”
“What if the bear doesn’t go into the water?” Chen Yan asked.
“Kill one.”
Shen Xiaochuan said calmly, “The remaining one will go berserk at the sight of blood.”
Chen Yan nodded: “Understood.”
Shen Xiaochuan had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.
The lake surface moved.
A dark shadow slowly rose from the center of the lake, becoming much clearer than before—like an upright pillar, or the back of some creature breaking through the water.
Shen Xiaochuan hissed, “Don’t move!”
Everyone held their breath.
The wind stopped, the leaves remained still, and the lake surface was as smooth as a mirror.
The dark figure rose into the air, paused suddenly, then slowly sank and disappeared.
Shen Xiaochuan stared at the water, his voice low but firm: “Seal off all sides!
Archer, be on alert, fire arrows immediately if there is any unusual movement.”
“Yes!” Chen Yan immediately relayed the order.
Five scout spirits took off and flew towards the center of the lake.
A minute passed.
One of them suddenly lost signal.
Shen Xiaochuan’s pupils contracted.
“Number 3 has lost contact.”
Chen Yan reported, “The final location is two zhang east of the center of the lake.”
“It wasn’t an accident.”
Shen Xiaochuan said in a deep voice, “It will either be swallowed up or shattered.”
“No need.”
Shen Xiaochuan shook his head.
“Adding more would just be suicide.
There’s something wrong with this lake; it’s not just about bears.”
Chen Yan gripped his spear tightly: “Should we continue fighting?
After all, the target is a level three treasure land…”
Shen Xiaochuan sneered: “The more difficult a place is to seize, the more worth fighting for it.
If we don’t come, someone else will.
But I will never let anyone ride on my head!”
He pointed to the center of the lake: “Listen carefully, our goal is not to kill all the bears, but to seize the altar.
As long as we step onto the altar and declare our sovereignty, the System will recognize us as its master.”
“But how do we get across?
There’s something hidden in the water.”
“Using a bear as a raft.”
Shen Xiaochuan Dao: “Live ones won’t work, dead ones will.
They have poisonous flesh inside, so they’ll float in the water.
We can use them to cross the lake, which saves effort and also allows us to test the underwater reaction.”
Chen Yan was taken aback: “You mean…
stepping over a dead bear?”
“right.”
Shen Xiaochuan nodded, “It’s heavy enough not to sink.
We can use it to cross water and lure the enemy out.”
“What if that thing crashes into us?”
“Then let’s fight.”
Shen Xiaochuan gazed at the lake surface, “If it dares to show its face, we’ll nail it down.”
Chen Yan took a deep breath: “Okay!
I’ll go pick one.”
“Don’t choose the disabled one.”
Shen Xiaochuan instructed, “Keep all four limbs intact.
Drag it to the shore, then behead it and bleed it out.”
“clear.”
Ten minutes later, a Black Rock Giant Bear that had just been killed was dragged to the lakeside.
Its fur was jet black and glossy, and its body was massive and unusually heavy.
Twenty soldiers tied his limbs with ropes and pulled him into the shallow water.
Shen Xiaochuan ordered: “Release them!”
The ropes loosened, and the giant bear floated on the water, its head facing the center of the lake, resembling a black boat.
Shen Xiaochuan examined it for a moment: “Stable, acceptable.”
Chen Yan led fifty elite soldiers to step onto the bear’s back one by one, their steps cautious.
The lake was calm and still.
“Push it,” Shen Xiaochuan ordered.
The soldiers on the shore used long poles to brace against the bear’s body and gave it a strong push.
The giant bear slowly glided into the deep water and drifted towards the high ground in the center of the lake.
Shen Xiaochuan squatted down and gently stroked the bear skin; it was wet and smelled fishy.
Watch your step.
He warned the person behind him, “Don’t get too close to the edge.
There’s something underwater.”
The team maintained its formation, with Archer in the center and spearmen guarding the perimeter.
Halfway there, a tremor came from the bottom of the lake.
It wasn’t a sound, but a tremor underfoot.
The giant bear swayed slightly.
“Stop.” Shen Xiaochuan raised his hand.
Everyone stop.
Three seconds later, there was another jolt, even more pronounced.
The giant bear tilted, and water splashed slightly.
Shen Xiaochuan frowned, staring intently ahead: “Continue, but slowly.”
The group resumed their march, their steps light.
Take another ten steps, and the high ground in the center of the lake will be in sight.
Suddenly, the giant bear’s right hind leg sank down.
It felt as if I was suddenly grabbed by something underwater.
Chen Yan’s eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, “It moved!”
Shen Xiaochuan immediately lay down and grabbed the bear’s horns with one hand.
The body tilted to the right instantly, with its left forelimb sticking out of the water.
The two people almost slipped in, but were pulled back by others.
A ripple spread across the lake, directly in front of the bear’s right hind leg. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Shoot!” Shen Xiaochuan roared.
Archer in the back row immediately fired arrows, five sharp arrows piercing the air and sinking into the water.
The arrows shattered the moment they entered the water.
It wasn’t broken, but instantly crushed into pieces.
“It’s not a fish.”
Shen Xiaochuan gritted his teeth, “It’s a hard object.”
He looked up at the high ground: “We’re almost there.
Just ten more steps and I can jump up.”
Before the words were even finished, the entire giant bear suddenly sank.
Chen Yan cried out, “Oh no!
It’s going to drag us down!”
Shen Xiaochuan suddenly stood up, thrusting his spear against the bear’s back, and shouted sharply: “Jump!
Those who can jump, jump now!
Target: the edge of the high ground!”
He was the first to leap out.
More than forty people followed closely behind, leaping into the air one after another.
The moment the last person left the bear, the body sank completely, disappearing into the lake in the blink of an eye.
Shen Xiaochuan landed and rolled, then slipped as he got up.
Looking down—
The ground is not rock.
It’s bone.
The entire highland was covered with white bone fragments, densely packed, like the pile of countless tiny creatures’ remains.
Upon landing and witnessing this scene, Chen Yan was utterly shocked and blurted out, “Where is this place…?”
Shen Xiaochuan remained silent.
His gaze was fixed on the broken pillar in the center of the altar.
There are inscriptions on the base of the pillar.
He stepped forward and brushed away the dust.
Eight ancient characters appeared:
Those who offer their lives will receive the lake; those who feed the gods will inherit power.
Chen Yan shook his head in confusion: “We haven’t touched the altar yet, nor have we declared sovereignty, how could this be…”
Shen Xiaochuan stared at the line of words, his fingertips slowly tracing the surface of the stone.
The system provides no prompts, no task pop-ups, and no warnings.
But his faith points are growing at an astonishing rate—
+1 per second → +2 per second → +3 per second.
Triple speedup, automatically activated.
“It recognizes me?” he murmured to himself.
“impossible.”
Chen Yan shook his head.
“We haven’t touched the altar yet.”
Shen Xiaochuan looked up at the lake.
The water surface remained as calm as ever.
But he knew Dao, the thing from before was still below.
Waiting.
He turned around abruptly, his expression stern: “Immediately issue the order that everyone remain on the high ground on the shore, and that no one is to go into the water or touch any of the rocks!”
“And what about you?”
Shen Xiaochuan has walked to the center of the altar.
He raised his spear high, pointing it straight to the sky.
“I, Shen Xiaochuan, stand in the heart of Yuling Lake, bearing my spear as witness, and declare that this land belongs to my divine kingdom!”
A sudden gust of wind arose.
A flash of golden light appeared at the tip of the spear.
The Believers on the distant shore looked up at the same time.
A system announcement echoed in their minds:
[New landmark registered: Yuling Lake ]
[Belongs to deity: Shen Xiaochuan ]
[Status: Pending Activation]
Shen Xiaochuan sheathed his spear.
Faith points continue to grow, maintaining a stable growth rate of three times.
Chen Yan rushed over: “It’s done?
We’re the lake owners now?”
Shen Xiaochuan did not answer.
He gazed at the lake.
The dark shadow in the water is slowly rising.