"That's that?"
"There's something flying over from the north! A group of pterosaurs! It's a group of pterosaurs!"
On the Eagle Claw Ballista position on the bottom floor of the Twilight Fortress, the Asur Sea Guards who were on guard duty discovered that they were quickly heading toward the fortress. An approaching swarm of pterosaurs.
As the siren sounds, the people on the lower level of the fortress, whether they are resting in the military camp, praying in the temple, training in the training hall, chic in the casino and bar, or walking in the magic garden, are the first to Time put down the work in his hands and rushed to the armory in an orderly manner to put on his armor and pick up weapons.
The officers in the middle-level officer's dormitory also followed the spiral staircase to the door of the armory. Then, the neatly lined up and ready Assur soldiers and sailors, led by the officers, either entered the position in an orderly manner or ran to the dock below. .
Behind the firing hole in the outer wall were filled with archers and sea guards holding bows and arrows ready to fire. The ballistas on the Eagle Claw Ballista position were also raised and prepared for air shooting. The cavalry troops in the fortress They serve as a reserve force under the leadership of officers. The fortress's high-level mages and scholars, who were usually busy studying Lustria's weather, flora and fauna in the arcane workshops, also put down their work.
If there are no surprises, Ha Shen, whose wings can flap the wind of Aegir, is the largest and most powerful pterosaur in the entire Lustria continent. He Shen flying at the front is like the pilot plane in a bomber group, guiding the ones behind. The little pterosaur flies with it.
Darkus could already see the amazing Asul spire-style fortress. On the spire that soared into the sky, he saw the highest-level observation platform, which was also equipped with arcane instruments for monitoring the weather. He could figure it out. During storms, the top of the fortress disappears into the clouds, and the metal inlays that adorn it crackle in the current.
"Duluqi! There are also lizardmen." Sigelin Haiguang, the supreme commander of the Twilight Fortress, said indifferently, holding up a telescope and looking at the group of pterosaurs hovering outside the shooting range of the Eagle Claw Ballista.
Druchi and Asul, who were active in the Kauchen Plain, changed their past behavior. The cousins who were originally fighting each other to death actually maintained a strange peace during this year.
To the Druch, it was as if the entire Kauchen Plain was ruled by them, without the garrison presence of the southern outpost. To the Assur, the Anurell Peninsula would still be as if Druch had not appeared, if it were not for the Assur cavalry that regularly appeared below the cliffs of the southern outpost.
On the sea, after receiving the message, Ulthuan stopped the route of civilian ships. The Druchi raider patrolling the Serpent Islands did nothing all day long. In the south, Asur and Druch are bounded by the whirlpool swamp, and control the ships on each other's horizons.
Siglin, who first received the news of Druchi's large-scale arrival in Lustria, sent ships to investigate. Later, she sent cavalry to investigate from the land to the north. The strange thing was that the cavalry officers reported that the swamp had been abandoned for a long time. There are not only Druchi active in the Lizardman Outpost, but also Lizardmen. Dedicated to reforming the Twilight Keep's military operations and improving the Twilight Keep's reputation in Ulthuan, she expressed disbelief at the news.
After Sigurin came to power, she implemented the decree issued by the Eternal Queen more strictly than her predecessors, and required that operations and research that violated the decree could only be carried out on designated islands. She vetoed the officers more than once Although senior fortress officials and military officers generally believed that she was too cautious when it came to building a manor on the plains of Cockham, she knew the horrors in the jungle to the north because of her family background.
But now... everything has changed...
"Druqi and the lizard people really got together?" Siglin murmured with some emotion. She participated in the last war as a naval admiral, and she was also A survivor of the horrific disaster that occurred during the attack on Naggaroth, otherwise she would not have been promoted to admiral so quickly. All the way to now, she can feel the decline of Ulthuan, with a feeling of twilight and decline.
When Darkus saw the crowd appearing, he took out the monocular on his belt and looked over. He saw a female Asur surrounded by a group of Asurs and wearing gorgeous armor. Just before he looked at it, While holding the female Asul, the female Asul was also looking at him with a telescope.
"If I'm right, she should be Siegelin Haiguang." After thinking about this, Darkus waved his right hand and waved to Siegelin in a friendly manner.
The purpose of Darkus' trip was to let the Asurs in Twilight Fortress see him, see Druch behind him, and see the lizard people behind him. He did not lead the pterosaur group to swoop into Twilight He is not a lunatic when it comes to the idea of jumping into a gang in the Fortress of Light, nor is he a Space Marine. And he knew that Assur's air force on the Anureel Peninsula only had three giant eagles.
After hovering for another moment, Darkus took out his horn and blew three short but powerful sounds.
Under the loud call of the horn, a group of druchi, skinks and pterosaurs began to disperse in formation and flew towards the Twilight Fortress below. They did not plan to storm the fortress directly, but instead staged an elaborate harassment.
The Asur soldiers in Twilight Fortress did not panic at this moment, but launched an orderly anti-air counterattack.
With the blessing of magic and the God of Ha, Druki and the Skinks took advantage of the flying dragons to shuttle quickly through the sky, as easily as falcons. They soared over the Twilight Fortress, flexibly dodging arrow attacks, sometimes rolling, hovering, and sometimes shuttling quickly. They also deliberately dropped the gorgeous smoke like fireworks, which was a gift specially prepared by Darkus for his cousins before setting off. The smoke decorated the sky with colorful scenes.
The pterosaur shuttled through the air lightly, sometimes disappearing suddenly, and sometimes quickly appearing in another corner, taking turns to demonstrate its superb flying skills in front of Umak.
Assur soldiers, under the command of their officers, fired in an attempt to capture these nimble fliers. After a while, they finally noticed something was wrong. Although the pterosaur always kept a safe distance, a very small number of arrows clearly hit the pterosaur. However, the pterosaur seemed to be fine. They also gradually discovered that Du was maneuvering quickly in the sky. Luqi and the Skinks had no intention of carrying out a substantial attack, but were instead demonstrating their superb flying skills.
This almost playful harassment angered the Asurs. A few mages were about to chant spells and cast spells to fight back, but they found that a sudden mist enveloped them.
Drusala, Colonia and Hagelin, who are good at shadow spells, work together to cast spells on the Twilight Fortress.
The fog suddenly appeared and suddenly expanded rapidly until it enveloped the entire Twilight Fortress.
Darkus, who was also performing rapid maneuvers at high altitude, discovered the dock entrance of the Twilight Fortress. He couldn't help but sigh that the designed location was really tricky. In his field of vision, the fog covering the Twilight Fortress above the ship cave was about to change from a gaseous state to a solid state. The entire Twilight Fortress was wrapped in mist, with only the towering spiers still vaguely visible, and arrows and directional magic shot out from the mist from time to time.
Darkus couldn't help laughing as he watched. Although he didn't know the level of the Asul mage in the Twilight Fortress, Beloda was definitely not as strong as his three illusory gods, and he was specialized in Haglin is also very powerful in shadow spells. According to the desktop, he should have reached level four and can lead the sister group to cast large-scale magic.
Darkus, who had achieved his goal, did not blow the horn again, but patted the God of Ha with his hand. After receiving the signal, God Ha made a roar, and the pterosaurs who heard the sound adjusted their flight trajectories and came closer to God Ha.
The pterosaur formation continued to fly south. After nearly two hours of flight, Darkus saw the dimensional stone dust typhoon. The typhoon was more terrifying than he imagined. The scene around the typhoon seemed to be torn apart by the screen. Everything Everything became blurry, as if they were in a blurred dream. Light and color are distorted, time no longer seems to flow linearly, and everything becomes unpredictable. He even heard some strange whispering in his ears, as if coming from other dimensions, which made him feel suddenly weightless, but he quickly recovered.
At this moment, Darkus could imagine what would happen after this terrible typhoon descended on the Kauchen Plain. Maybe things would be worse than he thought before. Although he did not see Belloda, he knew that Belloda must be working nearby. After feeling the terror of the typhoon, he appreciated Belloda even more. Maybe there was some way to resist the typhoon. In addition to his spellcasting skills, his courage to pilot the Sky-Slasher airship to face a typhoon is enough to make people admire him.
"Yes, you are worthy of being watched by the Lord of the Abyss just like me, with two brushes!" Darkus said.
Darkus led the pterodactyl formation to circle around the perimeter. After all, this was the first time they were dealing with each other. If he flew over with the pterodactyl formation and disturbed Beloda who was dispersing, it might cause some unexpected consequences. This kind of consequence is something he doesn't want to see.
After the storm dissipated, Darkus patted Ha Shen again, and soon he saw a giant eagle in this area and the Sky-Slasher airship diagonally behind his back. After a friendly interaction, the pterosaur formation surrounded the giant eagle and Belloda on its back. He had a vague feeling that Fenubar's rejection of Belloda might not only be for political reasons, because this female Asur It looks a little boring...
The triangular eyes are okay, but the problem is that these triangular eyes are too exaggerated, with the inner corners downward and the outer corners upward, a typical hanging eye. Beloda's other facial features are not much of a problem from an elf aesthetic point of view, but these triangular eyes destroy her overall beauty, but Darkus can see the profound knowledge and fearful defense in her eyes. Wearing a tiara, she wore blond hair, and her gorgeous magic robe, which was mainly cyan and supplemented by white, had Darkus, a sea monster that the champion of the Lord of the Abyss did not recognize.
"I'd rather deal with a bastard than a fool."
Darkus didn't say anything. After all, it was his first contact. After observing for a while, he waved to Belloda and left. The pterosaur formation turned around and started. Flying north, our next stop is Spear Cay. However, the team did not stop at Spear Key Island for long, just allowing the cousins below to observe them before leaving.
Darkus, who returned to Chapeiuto, felt that this operation was very, very successful! There was no loss of life, and he also saw Sigelin and Belloda. Although he did not see the princess of the Kingdom of Itain who manages Spear Island, he was sure that the princess must have seen them behind a certain window. His goals were achieved.
Next, the sorceresses returned to Lord Adohi-Tehega to continue their studies, and Darkus was still planning the work of the Kauchen Plain, laying the foundation for this promising land. Wait for the next window.
Malekith once joked that there was no need for Darkus to do such a thing, but he fought back forcefully. He asked Malekith three questions, Who are we? Who is our enemy? Who are our friends? Malekith was immediately silenced.
Darkus has always believed that the issue of Ulthuan is complicated. Due to historical reasons, the king of Ulthuan cannot be solved through diplomacy and politics, but can only be solved through military means. However, diplomacy and politics can assist the military, and can Lay a solid foundation for the future. He had never thought about attacking ten of them one by one and hammering all ten kingdoms of Ulthuan. It would be great to do so, but what would be the consequences and cost? Compared to King's Landing in Ulthuan, what worries Darkos more is the political reshuffle and changes in ideological trends after King's Landing in Ulthuan. Not to mention other things, the hatred among the people alone is enough to drink a pot, but fortunately in this world There are gods. Although the elves and gods are unreliable, the elves believe in them. This may be a solution.
In the year 2051 of the Imperial Calendar, Finubar, who is still wandering around the old world, will return to Ulthuan. With his introduction and persuasion, the current Phoenix King Bel Hathor will lift the sea ban. It means that Ulthuan is ushering in a big change, and human merchant ships will enter Lothern. Assur would engage in large-scale trade with the humans of the Old World, rather than the small colonial trade of today.
The seafaring families headed by the Ruiren and Emerald Sea families of the Kingdom of Lothern will rapidly expand their political influence and financial income, and some families in the Kingdom of Cosqui and Yris who follow them and support them will also benefit.
A new interest group focusing on the sea and trade will rise in Ulthuan, and facts have proved that in 2163 of the Imperial Calendar, Finubar became the eleventh Phoenix King.
This hundred-year opportunity and window period seems to be too much for Darkus. In fact, more than these hundred years, the conservatives and the sea-opening faction in Ulthuan have already begun to fight, or it has never stopped.
Bel Hathor's rise to power was the product of a compromise between the Warring Faction and the Peace Faction at that time, because he came from the famous Tyriolan magic family in the Kingdom of Saffre, because he was neutral and introverted, and because he agreed with the Warring Faction and the Peace Faction. The interests of the Lord and the faction.
Who is the main militant faction? Who is the Lord and the sect? Why has Imrik of the Kingdom of Caledor been politically passive since Finubar came to power? So much so that he goes all over the world to obtain various titles? Moreover, in addition to their own abilities and bloodline, the Tai brothers also have the relationship between their mother's family and the Ruilen family of Finubar, right? Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to pass the novice level as adults.
If he had to choose, why didn't Darkus choose the Peace Party? Why do we have to flirt with the former main battle faction? Later, he plans to use some means to get back the Phoenix Crown and the Dragon Horn from the dwarves. So the question is, who owns the Dragon Horn? The warring faction and the traditional faction headed by the Caledor family? Is he out of his mind? To support such a big enemy for yourself? He always believed that as long as the influence of the Caledor family remained, Ulthuan would not be able to achieve true power rule.
Not long after, the next window period came again, and Darkus called the sorceresses back. After a night of warmth with Drusala, the pterosaur formation flew over the Spear Island. This time, he still only He said hello to Belloda and then returned from the sky above Twilight Fortress.
No, instead of harassing Twilight Fortress this time, they chose to harass Spear Key Island.
After another period of time, the third window period came.
"Drucci! What on earth are you going to do?!" Belloda, who was standing on the Sky-Slasher airship, roared angrily.
"First of all, thank you for your contribution to the continent of Lustria. This is why the ruler of this continent allows you to be here. But you can call me by another name. There is no need to call me Druch. This will make us look like we are here. Too unfamiliar.
For example, you can call me Hand of the Witch-King? Archon of Druch? Ruler of Cawchen Plain? Grand Admiral of Druch? Well, wait a minute, I have too many titles, I have to Recall the memories well, oh, I remember, the Pope of Lustria, the divine choice of the Oracle, the divine choice of the Lord of Blades, the divine choice of the Deceiver, the champion of the Lord of the Abyss, the kind and generous Da Keus, the Catastrophe of Hell!"
Darkus still had a smile on his face during the first half of the sentence, but at the end it became grim, and his eyes narrowed to a slit as he stared at Belloda.
The expression on Belloda's face also changed rapidly, first surprised, then confused, and finally turned into shock.
"By the way, as the champion of the Lord of the Abyss, I am also the leader of the Stormweaver Order." Darkus said calmly.
"This is impossible! You are talking nonsense! The Lord of the Abyss has never chosen anyone." Belloda scolded after the keyword was triggered.
"Although you are Asur and I am Druch, we are all elves, right? We all believe in gods. It was the Lord of the Abyss who chose me. He told me of your existence, otherwise I would not have done it again and again. Come to you, do you need me to prove it to you? Or you can ask the Lord of the Abyss?" Darkus sneered and said so, but he did not show Bello the Holy Soul Reef on his chest. Dakan.
"This is simply impossible! What is your purpose for doing this?"
"Of course it is because I lack outstanding talents. I would like to invite you to be the high priest of the Storm Weaver Order." Darkus was innocent Di spread his hands and said.
"This is simply impossible! What are you..."
Belloda was already trembling with anger.
"Hey! Can't you change your line? You've said this three times in a short period of time." Darkus teased while reaching out his hand and waving it down in a comforting gesture.
"In this way, as a meeting gift, I can answer three questions for you, and then I will go back." Darkus continued after finishing the action.
But Belloda did not get into Darkus' rhythm. Her face was still full of shock and anger. She thought that the mouth of the strange Druch in front of her was filled with poison, and his words were full of despicable and dirty lies.
"Druqi! How did you obtain the right to reside in this plain?"
After a long time, when Darkus thought that Belloda had been down or asked the Lord of the Abyss for confirmation on the spot, he had already returned. Belloda asked coldly.
"First of all, I want to say sorry, ah~ Ms. from the Kingdom of Cosqui, you wasted a precious opportunity, my dear Ms. Belloda Bailang! The right of residence is of course because of me. I just said that I am Lu Pope of Scia, if you don’t understand the title Pope, can you replace it with Eternal Queen?” At the end of his sentence, Darkus stretched out his index finger to indicate that he had answered a question.
In Darkus' view, this question is too unskilled. There are no secrets in Druchi society. Any Druchi who is active in the Kauchen Plains can ask some questions, although ordinary Druchi may not be able to tell them. I know the specific doorway inside, but it’s pretty much the same, isn’t it?
"Don't call me that, you damn Druch." Belloda was irritated by Darkus' words and deeds again. Although the Druch in front of her was not arrogant or hitting each other, but rather strange, she had An urge to pounce on and scratch him.
From the moment this Druki appeared in the Twilight Fortress, everything changed. Belloda's situation in the Twilight Fortress became very passive. She was a high-ranking priest of the Storm Weaver Order. There is also the honor of the magic swordsman in the Twilight Fortress, but the composition of the personnel in the Twilight Fortress is very complicated, and there are also those mages and scholars who are engaged in research from the White Tower of Hos. Although those mages and scholars are willing to believe her, because everyone Studied at the White Tower of Hos. The officers and soldiers who believed in the Lord of the Abyss were also willing to believe in her, but the Twilight Fortress was not monolithic.
Legal matters in the Twilight Keep are adjudicated by a jury of officers who report to Admiral Siglin, who ultimately reports to the Phoenix King. This is a process that must be followed. No matter how high Beloda's status is, as a member of the Twilight Fortress, she must go through this process and accept investigation and questioning.
Beloda has been questioned several times, and the news has also reached Ulthuan. According to her reliable information, she will be transferred back to Ulthuan soon and will undergo further questioning. If the typhoon is not dispersed, This task must be entrusted to her. She is now under house arrest, and the culprit of all this is Drucci in front of her!
Belloda, who calmed down, observed the smiling Druch in front of her. Although the Druch in front of her did not know magic, she knew that she could not handle the Druch in front of her. Even if she could handle the others, she would not be able to handle this Druch. The power around Qi was too strong, and she had a feeling that Druchi in front of her would not do anything to her, at least for now.
"Since you don't want to ask, forget it. I have something that I need you to convey to the administrator of Twilight Fortress. The Black Ark Fleet will pass through the Anureel Peninsula after a while, but you can rest assured that as long as you don't attack, we will We won't attack, we will just pass through. If you want to fight, you can, but as far as I know... Ulthuan's dragon ship fleet has no intention of being sent to Anureil Peninsula? You didn't report to Ulthuan? Did Suan ask for help? Or Ulthuan was worried that the dragon ship fleet would be ambushed and abandoned the Twilight Fortress?"
"That's enough!" Belloda, who had calmed down a little, was once again angered by Druchi in front of him.
"I will listen to your instructions." As he spoke, Darkus made a ridiculous aristocratic salute, then spread his hands, shrugged, and flew away on the God of Ha.
In Darkus' view, Belloda has become his possession, and there is no need for him to come again.
After some time, Loxia and Dastan, two good gambling friends, came back. In addition to a large amount of gold and gems, they also brought back some good news.