Chapter 152: Hero City

Besides the ‘mountain lift’, some stonemasons from Shampoo City later joined the project to transform the Underground Grotto Labyrinth.

These stonemasons, who loved myths and stories, used their imagination fully. Statues of various deities and super-rank magical beasts vividly appeared on the originally rough and plain stone walls. Even every single stone step showed carved patterns. The grand and tragic ancient battles of gods and demons from the tales of bards were restored in murals one by one. Of course, there were also statues of the previous kings of Shampoo City throughout history. Although he only reigned as emperor for less than three months, as the revitalizing ruler of Chambord Kingdom, Sun Fei had the most statues. Within the mountain hollow, there stood five massive statues of Sun Fei, each about thirty or forty meters tall, with expressions of joy, anger, compassion, kindness, and a sword-swinging pose. Towering and majestic, they were placed in the southeast, northwest, and center positions, emitting an indescribable sense of mystery and authority.

These were the stonemasons’ own creations; nobody demanded they carve them to flatter the king.

Besides these changes, another significant innovation was planting and arranging many green plants in the underground grotto.

Almost every plant that could be seen in Shampoo City now existed inside the Underground Grotto Labyrinth. Moreover, possibly because of the special air and temperature conditions underground, although it was already late autumn and the outside world was withered with falling leaves and bleakness, the vegetation inside the grotto remained lush and green. Looking around, everything was a stretch of green. Sun Fei racked his brains, using his limited biology knowledge to design a unique recycling system similar to a greenhouse. The plants improved the grotto’s air quality, and the improved air quality allowed the plants to stay evergreen, unaffected by the seasonal changes outside… The entire Underground Grotto Labyrinth was gradually forming its own ecosystem.

Of course, the work of building and transforming the Underground Grotto Labyrinth also relied heavily on the ‘guests’ from the World of Diablo.

The water from the underground river passed through several simple filtering and water-diverting magic arrays set up by Nun Acarra, channeled into ditches specially carved by stonemasons on the ground of the mountain hollow space. After the magic arrays processed it, the water was no longer icy but warm and full of vitality. Small streams irrigated the plants. Nun Acarra and the rogues also clearly had a strong desire for construction. They ingeniously built dozens of artificial magic fountains of various sizes and shapes, turning the entire Underground Grotto Labyrinth into a fairyland. Green plants and flowing water were everywhere, beautiful and dreamy.

This water system recycled on its own. A faint white mist floated on the water surface, and specially released red-tailed fish swam swiftly and gracefully.

The entire Underground Grotto Labyrinth was as beautiful as paradise, making it hard to connect this place with the originally eerie and terrifying prison.

This was exactly the dreamlike secret realm Sun Fei had imagined countless times.

“Your Majesty the King, please give this place a name!”

“Yes, Your Majesty, the transformation of the grotto is basically complete. It’s time to name it!”

The busy soldiers, stonemasons, and blacksmiths gathered around when they saw the king arrive. Many of them had already deeply fallen in love with this magical secret realm. At the start, no one thought they could create such a beautiful place themselves. Their faces beamed with proud smiles, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Sun Fei laughed heartily: “Haha, good! From now on, the Underground Grotto Labyrinth will become the secret logistics base and talent training base of our Shampoo City. This secret realm was created by everyone’s sweat and hard work drop by drop, so let’s call it…” At this point, Sun Fei opened his palm, a fiery glow shimmered, summoning the Purple and Green Twin Swords. Under the gaze of everyone in the grotto, he quickly walked to the giant stone tablet at the entrance of the mountain hollow space, suddenly leaped into the air, and the twin swords transformed into cyan and purple arcs. With swift and powerful strokes, sparks flew as large amounts of stone dust cascaded down: “We’ll call it H—e—r—o— C—i—t—y!”

Hero City!

After Sun Fei landed on the ground, as the stone dust settled, four vigorous and powerful characters appeared on the stone tablet in everyone’s sight. The characters were full of momentum, as if about to break through the stone and soar up, vibrant and visually striking.

Cheers erupted within the mountain hollow space.

“Hero City—ha, it has two meanings. First, this magnificent underground stone city was created by the heroic people of Shampoo City through their sweat and hard work step by step. Second, I hope that from now on, every single person from Shampoo City who emerges from this stone city secret realm becomes a great hero who stands tall and proud!”

Before Sun Fei even finished speaking, some soldiers and stonemasons were already thrilled and impassioned. In this continent with strict hierarchical order, people of their low status were easily satisfied. Being called ‘heroes’ by His Majesty the King was already a great honor they could pass down for generations.

…The crowd gradually dispersed and began busily working on the final touches for [Hero City].

Captain of the Guard Peter Cech led his saints to continue monitoring and defense duties above ground. Only Prison Warden Oleg, whom Sun Fei had temporarily summoned, hurriedly followed behind Sun Fei.

Arriving at the stone room specially prepared for the king, Sun Fei surveyed it and nodded contentedly. Most furnishings here were stone tables and chairs. In the center of the room was a small mermaid fountain pond, shimmering with ripples, where a group of red-tailed goldfish swam leisurely. With green grass and flowers, the décor wasn’t extravagant but fresh and simple, which Sun Fei preferred.

“Tell me, how did the interrogation go?” Sun Fei picked up some fish food, standing by the fountain pond while playfully teasing the goldfish, asking casually.

“It went very smoothly, Your Majesty. Those guys don’t deserve the title of noble at all! They were all cowardly. Lord Drogba and Lord Pierce tied stones to some guards and sank them in the Zuli River. The others were terrified and lost their nerve. The nine kings did not dare to resist in the slightest; they all signed new treaties. Following your orders, Your Majesty, we released their most trusted guards, who immediately carried the treaties to their respective kingdoms overnight to demand compensations…” Prison Warden Oleg followed closely, speaking animatedly: “We interrogated each king separately. They said the main reason they dared to launch this joint attack, aside from refusing to pay the war compensation agreements previously signed by their princes, was that they were incited by a mysterious person.”

“Oh? A mysterious person?” Sun Fei crushed all the fish food in his hand and threw it into the pond, clapping his hands: “What kind of mysterious person was it?”

“As for the exact identity, these foolish kings weren’t clear either. They only knew some vague information. It should be a powerful mage from the Imperial Capital Saint Petersburg. He didn’t come along with this expedition, but he had a subordinate follower—that wind magic mage who attacked first on the stone bridge this afternoon. He came with the allied forces to our city. We have captured him now. However, this guy is a minor noble from a prominent family in the imperial capital. Relying on his status, he acts arrogantly. Without your command, Your Majesty, no one dared to torture him. So…” Prison Warden Oleg had a troubled expression. Matters involving powerful noble families of the imperial capital were even more sensitive than dealing with the nine kings. So he didn’t dare act rashly; this needed Sun Fei’s decision.

“They really are a bunch of fools! Without even figuring out that person’s identity, they were incited to lose their judgment and rashly attack Shampoo City? How did such a group of people, with brains crawling with fat maggots, even become kings?” Sun Fei sneered and shook his head, then his expression turned stern as he continued: “Don’t bother with some damned noble families from the imperial capital! Spare no effort to dig out the person who incited them! You need to know that in the Black Room of Shampoo City, no enemy can walk out with their head held high. Since they dared to oppose Shampoo City, let them have a taste of a living hell. I recall, Oleg, you were once called the ‘Tentacle of the God of Death’ by Chambord Kingdom’s subjects—cold-blooded, cruel, making everyone pale at the mention. Now, bring out all those interrogation methods you mastered when you ran the [Iron Prison Water Dungeon], methods that could make stones weep! Remember, enemies never deserve pity. The Black Room exists for one reason only—I just want to know what I want to know!”

“As you command, Your Majesty!” Sun Fei’s decisive reply made Prison Warden Oleg’s plump figure shudder. He straightened his back.

“Set this matter aside for now and handle it as quickly as possible!” As Sun Fei spoke, he waved his hand, and a neatly trimmed piece of parchment flew toward Prison Warden Oleg, who caught it in surprise. Sun Fei went on: “It lists the tasks you need to accomplish over the next month starting today.” Sun Fei didn’t explain, but besides Prison Warden Oleg, the main leaders of Shampoo City—Best, Brook, and others—also received similar notes.

Prison Warden Oleg froze for a moment, then understood Sun Fei’s meaning and exclaimed in surprise: “Your Majesty, are you… are you planning to leave Shampoo City for a while?”

Sun Fei nodded.

He didn’t say anything more. Standing by the fountain pond, his gaze went past Oleg’s figure, through the stone room where the two were sitting, toward the deepest part of the mountain hollow space in the distance. There, a massive dark iron gate over twenty meters tall loomed like the gaping mouth of a deep monster. Nobody knew what lay behind that colossal iron door. Over the two hundred years since Shampoo City’s founding, successive kings had explored that area, but besides suffering heavy losses, none had managed to uncover even a hint of the mystery hidden there.

“Your Majesty, you absolutely mustn’t…” Oleg followed Sun Fei’s gaze and instantly understood his intention. Horrified, he urgently advised: “Your Majesty, that place is far too dangerous… far too dangerous!”