Chapter 422 273. It seemed that some very new activities (8K)
were being assembled. The team moved along the ancient road, and soon reached the bridge connecting the Sun Zone and the Frostfall Zone in the evening, but the team did not go over immediately; stopped.
The reason why Darkus chose to come here was to meet the "Bridge Protector" Asanok. After all, this man was an immortal old monster in his opinion. As for crossing the bridge... he had never thought about it. As far as he knows, the bridge connecting the two regions was originally a stone bridge. Over the years, the current bridge is made of rickety, broken wooden boards and intertwined vines, many of which have been damaged. .
Asanok, who has advanced spellcasting ability, also cast an illusion spell on the bridge to make some of the planks invisible. Of course, this was nothing. The most annoying thing was that he used illusion spells to fill in the vacant planks, making them look like they really existed. It looks like a wooden board, but once you step on it... there is a sound of falling water.
Unless the intruder has the ability of an old sea dog to walk on the ground in Class A, perform acrobatics on a balance pole on a vine, or can see through illusions through some tricks, otherwise the intruder will fall from the bridge into Demu In the Demster River, not to mention intruders or Enil who are coming and going, they will fall in if they are not careful...
Moreover, the Demster River also has a doorway, and those who fall into the water will be washed to the west bank of the Frostfall Zone, regardless of life or death.
Although Asanok is guarding here, he is not sitting on the edge of the bridge fishing in a raincoat with a fishing rod in his hand, waiting for the arrival of intruders, or like a door god, as Darkus was thinking. Still standing there motionless. He usually lives in a cave below the river valley. If he hears Enil yelling and cursing, he will respond and come out of the cave, and the way he comes out is very impressive! Sometimes he would suddenly appear in front of an intruder when he was halfway across the bridge. The reason was... to have fun.
Asanok, who is proficient in shadow spells, will build a bridge connecting shadow and resentment, and appear near the vine bridge in reality. By the way, this spell is called Bridge of Shadows. It is said to be related to bridges, and it is indeed related to bridges. But this bridge only exists in the shadows and the Wind of Urbune, and is invisible to ordinary creatures without second sight. They can only see the caster appearing like lightning, just like Darkus' magical boots.
Darkus came here for another purpose, which is to let Asanok teach the sorceresses to learn this spell if everything goes well. After all, shadow spells are also well-known in Nagaros, but magic has always been a tricky thing. There are all kinds of strange things, and there are always some spellcasters who can develop their own unique skills.
The magic of this Shadow Bridge is that it can pass through entities. Perhaps if it is overloaded, it will form a teleportation spell.
If the cry of the drowning man is not in Eltharin, then it depends on Asanok's mood. After all, he is a bridge protector, not a security guard on the beach.
Darkus was not going to go any further. He directly chose to camp on the ancient road and deployed Druch's camp on the less wide ancient road, which stretched for hundreds of meters. Enil, who is familiar with Lauren Loren's environment, is deployed in the woods next to the ancient road. He doesn't want there to be inexplicably fewer people during the count tomorrow morning. Of course, it's not scary to have fewer people. The most terrifying thing is that there are suddenly more people... and Still exactly the same.
When Darkus brought some of the main elves to the Vine Bridge, he vaguely saw a figure covered in brown fur made of leaves and vines, holding a gold and silver tree staff, confronting him on the other side of the bridge.
"That's Asanok, and the one confronting him should be a human intruder." Kaia, who was following Darkus, whispered.
Lauren Loren There is no Enir who does not know Asanok, and there is no reason why Kaiya and Asanok are both high-level spellcasters.
Darkus chose to stay there, and the elves cooperated and lined up in a row with him as the center. It looked like many elves suddenly appeared in the already dark forest.
Perhaps due to Asanok's toughness, or perhaps seeing the intimidating formation on the other side of the bridge, the few human intruders who confronted Asanok chose to leave in despair.
Darkus turned his head and glanced at the Enils around him. Talos still looked gloomy, like a sad prince, with no intention of speaking. Then he looked at Kaia again.
"They should have set out from Sulim Castle, trying to go to the Sun Zone through here to find moonlight flowers that can cure the plague." Kaiya said solemnly after thinking for a moment.
Darkus nodded. He knew that the human intruders should be playing a very new game, such as... running a group? After the moonlight flower was proven to be effective in suppressing the plague, the moonlight flower, which was already very rare in the human world, suddenly became a valuable but unmarketable existence. According to Marist's insider report, the highest price of moonlight flowers reached 5 gold coins in Hagendorf, and even higher in Sessenmund and Middenheim, once reaching 8 gold coins. This is a gold coin. What kind of purchasing power is this? It made him a little excited.
"If the argument is true, then...if they can't pass here, they will choose other places to pass. After all, the Demster River is very long, and there is always a place where they can pass. If they are lucky, they can pass through the woods. Get to the outskirts of Tal Litanel and get some moonflowers."
After Maranur expressed his judgment, he was recognized by the elves present. The Enils even showed angry expressions. The gold and silver tree was their holy land and was sacred.
"They say it's an adventure, but actually they're looking for something, nothing more than wealth and fame." Darkus labeled the human invaders, and after speaking, he turned to look at Colonia in a daze.
"Ah~ It looks like we have fun." Colonia, who came back to his senses, turned to look at Darkus with an expression of "I understand", and said with a smile, and then looked to the side. of Wren, Cowell and Genevieve.
Genevieve, who was wearing a hood, licked her lips excitedly. She had not interacted with humans for a long time except after seeing some humans in Bjorn's tribe Skjold. She briefly docked at Sal. She didn't get off the ship when she got stuck. Now she has all the elements she likes, including humans, night, and of course the exciting adventure!
Darkus also smiled happily after seeing Genevieve's expression. He knew that Genevieve was a little unhappy after the team landed in the old world. This forest did not allow Genevieve to move around at will. Have some fun. Enil, a group of people who had fought against the undead, allowed Genevieve to stand here entirely for his sake.
Then Darkus nodded to Renne and the somewhat resistant Kewell. He smiled again. He knew why Kewell was like this. In Cowell's words, going on adventures with Renn would never be a good thing. After that, he would bring up old things like sneaking into the Skinner's camp in the Lustria continent. The scene where he opened the secret door and inhaled the suffocating green gas was even more disturbing. The vivid descriptions painted by Cowell have become reserved items on the dining table.
"What is this?" Kaia asked with some confusion.
"Follow them and follow the traces of the intruders to get some information from Sulimburg, or find a location where they can cross the Demster River." "
You should also follow them. They need Ai who is familiar with the forest conditions. Neil guides." Kaia nodded first, then decisively looked at a Wind Shadow hunter sent by Queen Marist and said.
The Wind Shadow Hunter, who was one level higher than the ordinary Enil Phantom Walker, nodded, and then a running team of the four old partners plus a scout archer was established, equipped with mages, warriors, assassins and bows. Yes, a typical combat law and animal husbandry system.
Colonia can not only act as a mage, but also as a priest. She has now almost completely mastered the eight winds. Shadow, death, fire and beast magic are the major skills of Nagaros. After arriving in the continent of Lustria, she even learned about metal. And the essence of life magic. Now the only thing missing is light magic, but it's not bad. After all, she can use Deha and even control Kuish in reverse. Maybe it won't be long before the Hell Calamity family will have someone who is as powerful as Spellcaster of Clan Mother Annasara.
The five-person running team did not set off, but turned back to the camp to pick up some things, such as the human weapons and clothing prepared during Tal Litanel. These things are all prepared to deal with situations that may be encountered in the frost zone. As for the face, it is even simpler. Among the shadow spells, there is an appearance illusion spell, which can camouflage the caster and fixed targets.
Moreover, it has not yet reached the year 2300 of the Imperial Calendar, and all the human spellcasters in the Empire are wild. Even the upright ones are just that in the eyes of Darkus. If there are really human spellcasters who can see through it, it will be even simpler. Shadow spells include not only appearance illusion spells, but also illusion and confusion spells. He couldn't believe that there could be more powerful spellcasters than Colonia in this area.
After the team stayed for a while, they continued towards the Fuji Bridge. Asanok, who had driven away the human intruders, noticed the arrival of the team. He cast the Bridge of Shadows again and flashed to the team's side from the other side of the bridge.
"I knew you would come." Asanok looked at Kaia and said expressionlessly. Then he looked at the unhappy Talos. His expression changed subtly. He showed a sad look, but He didn't say anything, but shook his head and sighed.
Although Asanok is a so-called hermit, he lives in Lauren Loren. He knows everything that happens in Lauren Loren, and this vine bridge is also a connection point for information in a sense.
"Are you Darkus?" Asanok looked at Darkus standing there and asked.
Darkus didn't say anything, but instead performed a classical-era elf aristocratic ceremony with a smile.
Asanok was stunned for a moment, and his body trembled, and then his tense body stiffly performed the same etiquette in response to Darkus. It had been a long time since he'd done it, so long since he'd separated from Leandra. Although the city-state elves in Tal Litanel can also do this, he has never been to Tal Litanel since he came to Lauren Loren. He acted as a hermit to guard this place as if he was in self-exile. road bridge.
"It's meaningless to talk about the past now. Do you want to cross the bridge?"
"Although times have changed, the past is still echoing and affecting us now. You who stand in front of us are the best. There are also many elves who came from that era, such as... the Leandra Arsino you know well." Darkus said calmly with a smile on his face.
Asanok's head is covered with knotted dreadlocks, giving Darkus the feeling that he never washes his hair even if he has lived by the river for a long time. His old and resolute face is covered with tattoos that are inhumane in human eyes. Meaningful ornamentation, but Darkus knew that these were elven runes, and the runes at the throat represented Hoth. The clothes he wore had elements of his forest kin. Even after living for four thousand years, his figure was not haggard, but rather strong and strong. Following Darkus's words, his hand holding the gold and silver tree staff and his exposed arm His veins swelled with excitement.
"The fire of Asuryan, Leandra? She...she is still alive?" Asanok's body trembled again, and he asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Darkus was just trying. He couldn't judge the relationship between Leandra and Asanok. After all, the situation at that time was very complicated. Cole Vanus, who stood on the fertile hilly plains, was in revenge. The war began when it was captured by the dwarves, and then Leandra organized the reconstruction of Kor Vanas again, only to be captured by the dwarves again. The war of revenge lasted for six hundred years, and he didn't know what happened specifically.
In Darkus' opinion, this is a 50-50 probability. Perhaps Asanok is an admirer of Leandra? Perhaps there was some kind of disagreement with Leandra that kept them from ever touching each other during Lauren Loren's time. And he was also a thief. He only said yes, and he didn't tell Asanok where Leandra was.
"She... this is not the place to talk. It's already dark. I invite you to be my guests." Asanok said in an excited tone.
"Let's wait a moment, my people have to cross the bridge." Darkus knew that Asanok's residence was below the river valley, and he had to wait for the running team to cross the river before going.
As a result, before they even exchanged a few words, the running team headed by Colonia returned. They were wearing human clothes and human weapons, and the wind shadow hunter even handed over the bow that never left his body. It was given to a companion to keep and replaced with human garbage.
"Is this? They..." Asanok asked with some confusion.
"They want to follow the intruders who left just now to get some information." Darkus explained patiently while turning his head to look at the leader Colonia.
"You..." Darkus was speechless. At the same time, the Druccis who saw Colonia also showed strange smiles, because at this moment Colonia's face was very similar to Genevieve's, so much so that they were almost in the same mold as Genevieve. When they came out, they looked like twin sisters, except that their hair colors were different. Genevieve had blonde hair and Colonia had black hair.
"Ah~ my dear brother, who do you like more between me and her? Am I beautiful with black hair? Or is she beautiful with blonde hair? Or is she beautiful next to you?" Colonia first turned in front of Darkus He walked around in a circle, cast a wink at Darkus, and then said in a sinister tone.
Darkus waved his hand and did not respond. He glanced at Genevieve again, and when he saw Genevieve smiling at him like you know it, he shook his head speechlessly. He knew that this was probably a prank created by Genevieve and Colonia. The main purpose was to tease him, and then go to Sulimburg to tease the group of humans.
Next, Darkus was left speechless. Renne, Cowell and the Wind Shadow Hunter, who originally had handsome faces, were deliberately disguised as ugly men by Colonia. Viv was a stark contrast.
"We, the handsome ones, will bravely and fearlessly escort the two beautiful ladies to their destination safely." Ren straightened his back and sang in a rough voice. He stood there and stretched out his left hand to gesture with the words, but his movements did not hold up. The image of him was aroused, but an aura of vulgarity came to my face.
Cowell and the Wind Shadow Hunter, who were in a daze at first but then reacted, stood on the other side of Renn. They slowly extended their right hands in line with Renn's tone, as if Lauren Loren's ancient path had become the stage of a stage play. .
Darkus covered his face with his hands amidst the laughter of the elves. He knew that the faces of these three people were the elves' stereotypes of humans, just like humans looking at cross-species monkeys.
But this is not important. The important thing is that Darkus can now think about what will happen when these two beauties and three wretched men arrive in Sulimburg, such as when they arrive at the tavern... But he doesn't care, causing a scene in Sulimburg. It has nothing to do with him, he is just an outsider, as long as they are happy.
Asanok stared at the performance of the elves in front of him with his mouth open. His words could not describe the scene at this moment. He felt that these elves seemed to be performing a very new but funny performance. Maybe he had been separated from it for too long. Is it because of the times?
"We will go to Skolagugel next. We will meet there and cross the river."
Darkus does not need to arrange a running team, it all depends on the free play next. After enough trouble, he and the running team After the team agreed on the place to meet next, they nodded to Asanok.
Asanok snapped his fingers, the vine bridge changed, and a real road appeared in front of the elves, waiting for the running team to cross the bridge. He smiled and greeted Drusala, who was as good as him in shadow magic among the elves, and then snapped his fingers again.
The elves followed Asanok's Shadow Bridge as if they were teleported collectively, teleporting to Asanok's residence.
Darkus glanced at Drusala, and after seeing Drusala's expression of understanding, he also showed an expression of understanding. In his opinion, this spell called the Bridge of Shadows, which can span between entities, is really useful, especially for small-scale raids, such as quietly entering the city wall directly from outside the city wall.
You must know that from the bridge to the outside of the cave, you need to climb with bare hands like rock climbing, unless you use some feather falling technique to float down from the bridge to the river bank, jump directly from the bridge and fall into the rapid Demster It was washed away in the river.
The cave was not as stereotyped as Darkos imagined. He originally thought that the woodland relatives living in the cave were like the shadows of Nagaros living in the mountains, full of a primitive and wild scene. Now he I was surprised by what I saw.
Asanok did not live a primitive life of drilling wood to make fire and eating raw meat in the cave. Instead, the cave was filled with a refined and luxurious atmosphere.
Exquisite classical elf carvings decorate the rock walls, and every exhibit reveals traces of history. The ornately decorated carved furniture and furnishings in the cave are like a rare museum, displaying the glorious history of the classical elven period.
Darkos walked along the depths of the cave. Ancient paintings hung on the walls, depicting the past of the Golden Age of Elves thousands of years ago. The last time he saw such a scene was in Nukel's study. The grimoire placed next to the spellcasting materials looked ordinary. The decoration and exquisite craftsmanship displays made him feel as if Asanoc had packed up the furniture after escaping from Kor Vanas. He could even think of it. It was added to the outrageous scene where Asanok, chased by the dwarves, drove a cart directly from Altdorf to here.
"You don't think I brought these from Col Vanas, do you? It was such a mess at that time, and I didn't have such magical abilities. These were all given to me by the successive Queens of Lauren Loren." Asa Nok seemed to see what Darkus was thinking. After all, some of the previous visitors were like Darkus. He spoke bluntly and plainly in front of the Enils.
Darkus nodded. He knew what Asanoc didn't say in the second half. Asanoc had been guarding here for thousands of years. This was all used by Queen Lauren to comfort and reward him. As for a reward? That's a bit ridiculous.
"You seem to be tired of this job?" Darkus asked tentatively.
Darkus' words instantly made the already cool cave even colder. Enil, who was in front of him and behind him, looked at him in surprise, and even more worriedly at Asanok.
"I got tired of it a long time ago. I can't remember when it started. And what happened to Aiwan..." Asanok did not respond directly, but turned his head and glanced. After confirming the situation, he He sighed and said, after a moment, he continued, "You also mentioned... Leandra to me, but I don't feel comfortable giving it to others."
Darkus expressed his understanding, and the battle of revenge At that time, thousands of elven refugees came to Lauren Loren. At first, no one asked Asanoc to do this. It was just that Asanoc happened to live in the cave under the bridge. Over time, the bridge above changed. It becomes more and more important, and it also has magic.
It's like a kind of inertia. If a newly hired employee shows talent in writing articles or tabulating, well, the label is affixed, and you will be thought of as soon as this happens in the future. As for other things, such as Promotion? Maybe the one who came with you has been promoted, and you are still making watches...
Darkus now doesn't think that the successive Queens of Lauren Loren are immoral. If you use leeks to kill yourself, you have to use them to your own death. But there is really no one who can use it, the conditions are here, and even if you want to rotate, you can't.
Marest needs to guard Tal Litanel, Kaia needs to guard the Storm Zone, Ivan needs to guard the Golden Pond, Asanok needs to guard the Vine Bridge, and then there is no more. The population is here, the number of spellcasters Given this, how else would Marist seek help from Darkus? Otherwise, how could Kaia, who was born in the woodland family, become the ruler of the Storm Zone.
Moreover, Lauren Loren had a civil war hundreds of years ago, and two high-level spellcasters alone died. The new generation is just like Drusala said in the Golden Pool, Alyssa can be defeated in one round if necessary. .
Lauren Loren seems to have a few spellcasters, but there are actually quite a few. There may be as many Aenir in Lauren Loren as there are Druchi in Krakarond, but there are six cities like Krakarond in Naggaroth, and even more in Ulthuan. Too much, Athel Loren? Darkus hasn't been there yet and said he doesn't know.
But these are not important. Darkus decided to do a few big jobs for Marist after arriving in the Frostfall area, and Asanok was the first one to do it, otherwise he would not have worked with Asanoc Tilly. Andra, this is like a gate, like a crack. As long as it is opened, the rest will follow its course. In fact, the running team that has already set off is still alive, but it was a last-minute initiative.
"I heard it from hearsay." Darkus did not pick up Asanok's words and continued on. He was particular about one point. Besides, there are so many Enils watching here. How is this inappropriate? He went on to say , "The purpose of Lord Kaia and I coming here is to solve the problem in the Frostfall area. We need some clues now."
Asanok stretched out his hand to gesture in the direction of the table, then picked up the teapot and brewed it, waiting for him After filling the cups of tea for the elves present, he sat there with a serious expression.
"Perhaps the situation is more serious than you think. I can feel that the plague is spreading and spreading." Asanok said seriously. He was guarding Ivy Bridge here, not only facing the family members, but also facing human beings. The information compiled here allowed him to understand a lot of the situation. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "You can try to drink a little. This is brewed from the petals of blue bells collected near Skolagugel. It can relieve eye diseases and may be useful for your next journey."
"How much do you know about the gray eye fever disease in the Frostfall area?" Darkus wanted to be smart and say that I had a straw in my hand, but this group The elves didn't understand this homophonic joke, so he asked the question he wanted to know most at the moment.
"A lot, maybe more than you think." Asanok did not answer immediately, but fell into memories. After a long time, when Darkus finished all the tea in the cup and was about to fill it again, He just said.
Darkus did not respond to Asanok, but picked up the kettle and filled the elves with tea in turn. At this moment, it seemed that there was no distinction between families or classes, and it was more like a group of people sitting in a teahouse. The audience gathered around to listen to the story. He knew that it was like a pattern, preparation, starting position, then chanting, reaching a climax, then ending, until silence.
Why did Darkus know? He had spent several years in Malekith's throne room. When he was working, Malekith, who was sitting on the throne, could always find a way to start something other than emo, or try to put together something he thought was very cool. New life. After seeing that his attention was attracted, he started chattering endlessly.
To Darkus, there is no difference between Asanok and Malekith in front of him, but in his opinion, this is a good thing. What he is most worried about is the kind of eccentric character who only answers one sentence after asking three questions. That kind of thing, and then that sentence is still invalid information.
The result was just as Darkus thought, and he started talking about it again. But fortunately, Asanoc did not start from the beginning of the battle of revenge, let alone his experience in Kor Vanas, but directly talked about it. Darolhan.
“He lived as a hermit in the era before the War of Vengeance, but he traveled around Lauren Loren conducting plant research.
I’ve spoken to Lauren Loren since I came here, and more than once. I tried to ask him about his past once, but he just said that he came from the kingdom of Sulfri in Ulthuan. I never asked again because I could sense his resistance, knowing he was a Gray Lord. "Asanok glanced at Darkus flatly at the end, and then drank the tea that had cooled down in his hand.
To become a "grey lord", a stray mage must meet the following conditions. Involvement A native Elf mage in Ulthuan who survived the Great Schism in Ulthuan and sided with Malekith in the war, but left Malekith's camp after the Catastrophe. Or he never joined Malekith's camp, but became a member of Malekith's camp. When the Ulthuan cult was prevalent, they studied black magic. Or they studied outrageous evil things, such as using some kind of medium to forcibly control dragons.
These three major groups were all recruited by Malekith after he was brought to Naggaroth. The objects of Ulthuan's purging and liquidation, these gray lords who have nowhere to go are scattered around the world. As mentioned before, there are some gray lords in the Turtle Islands to the west of the Lustria continent, but more gray lords choose to go Elsin Alvin, who was cut off from Ulthuan at that time, said that these gray lords could live in another way in the colony, and some were even whitewashed.
"A lot of things happened at that time, and I don't think Da Lorhan was his real name, and he said he was from the Kingdom of Saffre, or that he had studied there, rather than where he was born or lived. Plant research? So maybe he is from the Kingdom of Avalon?
There is no point in caring about his past. If you really need to, you have to check it out. I would ask about the existence of Naggaroth from that era, or I would ask Belloda to find a way and ask her friends to inquire at the White Tower of Hoth.
But this will take a long time. The important thing is that checking his past will not play a big role in the current situation. "Dakewus admitted that he was a bit of a god, but to that extent, how could he know an elf buried in a corner of history and know his life story, he said bluntly. The
elves sitting around heard the news from Darkwuss After Si's words, he nodded in agreement.
Well, tomorrow is the first anniversary of the release. It's amazing...
(End of this chapter)