Chapter 148 73. The End of the Journey (5.2K)
Darkus learned from the Skink Priest’s narration that this place was used as a training ground for rhinoceros riders for a period of time after the great invasion, but after another period of was abandoned after a while. The reason lies in the Rhythrosaurus. If the pterosaurs were dive bombers and ground lickers, then the Rhythrosaurus was a fighter jet, and of course it often made guest appearances in ground attacks.
The rhinoceros was an extremely vicious predator, a flying behemoth the size of a pterosaur, with corrugated muscle fibers and taut membranous wings. These predators swarmed around Ruth. Soaring over the continent of Chia. Most of the movement is for these predators, who fold their wings over themselves, maneuver with their wedge-shaped tails, and swoop down at breakneck speeds, led by the most ferocious of their kind. Pounce on the target. These predators' razor-sharp claws can dismember their targets, and their violent attacks leave scattered entrails and limbs in their wake.
Interestingly, the natural enemy of Rhythrohynchus is the Lustrian yellow-spotted toad, a near-eternal target of hatred. The Lustrian Yellow-spotted Toad is the largest of all toads, not counting the Slann. This is a venomous amphibian known for invading nests and emitting an almost intolerable odor. When they gather in groups, the scent they release is enough to scare away a hungry tyrannosaurus. For unknown reasons, their favorite food is rhinoceros eggs. Naturally, the rhinoceros would seek them out and go to extreme lengths to destroy them.
Although the skinks paid a lot of price, the skinks still discovered that the hatched rhinosaurs could be domesticated and trained. Of course, if the pterosaur training is on the easy difficulty level, the training on the rhinoceros is on the hell difficulty level. Because once the eggshell of a rhinoceros is broken, the first thing the rhinoceros inside will do is attack the creatures that see it. Usually most of the skinks will be eliminated directly in the first round. Elimination refers to physical means. Eliminated, such as being eaten directly by the rhinoceros. If the Skink survives the first round, it's possible for the Rhythrolhym to become bonded to the Skink, although doing so would require a lot of time and scarring. After about a year, if the Rhythrhynchus has not eaten the Skink, the Rhythrhin will accept the Skink as its master.
Those Skinks that successfully form a bond with a Rhythrosaurus become brave elite warriors who will abandon their javelins and blowguns once aboard. Instead, they would be armed for close combat, wearing ceremonial flying helmets and carrying spears. Of course these brave Skink riders are usually useless, their attacks pale in comparison to those of the Rhythrosaurus. The rhinoceros will pounce on the enemy unstoppably, but this kind of battle is basically uncontrollable. It can be compared with the manticore in Druch society. It will fight the enemy when it sees it, without thinking.
An intuitive metaphor is that the pterosaur riders are pilots, while the rhynchophosaurus riders are disposable astronauts selected from the pilots. The problem is that the lizardman society has not had so many skink bases after the great invasion. It was a waste of money, which is why this place was abandoned.
"Is there any way?" Darkus asked, rubbing his forehead after hearing this. The reason why he rubbed his forehead was not because of the trouble caused by creatures like Rhythrohypsus, but because he felt dizzy after hearing what the Skink Priest said. Soaring, actually from dusk to dark. Druch's trainer could even handle the hydra, manticore and harpy. He didn't believe there was any reason why he couldn't handle the rhinoceros.
"Master, you can! And there are many ways." Kalien, who was standing next to him, lowered his head and said respectfully.
"That's good, what's going on over there?" Darkus asked, looking at the strange light over Kauchen Plain.
The arrival of night turns the sky above the Kauchen Plain into an eerie place, full of mystery. Occasionally something flashes through the strange light, forming a colorful plasma phenomenon like an aurora.
"It is said that it was caused by some form of terrible energy released by the Chaos Demon when Oxo fell during the great invasion, and it continues to this day." "It's time to
eat, try some bird meat tonight." Darkus nodded. , he didn’t pay attention, and he didn’t use any scientific method to try to interpret this strange phenomenon. He also didn’t want to listen to the skink priest talking about the feathered serpent.
Without stopping, the team set off the next day, and in a few days' walk they could reach the Kauchen Plain.
At night, at the campsite in the jungle south of Oaks, Akadan sat cross-legged and analyzed.
The Skink Seer Akadan was born in the Sun City, Hethiotar. Shortly after his birth from the hatching pool, he was semi-forced into exile, and the Skink Priests observed him before taking him deep into the jungle. a long time. Deep in the jungle, he is abandoned and must learn to survive there alone.
At the time, Akadan didn't know why this was happening and why he couldn't live in Hethiota like other skinks, but his relatively advanced intelligence told him that it might have something to do with his forked tail that surprised the lizards. According to the spirit at the time The Lizard Priest says his tail is the product of blessings from the Old Ones and the Snake God. Where should he go? He doesn't know either.
A long life in the jungle began, including snakes, leeches, poisonous spiders, mosquitoes bigger than him, leopards, wild orcs, Amazons and pygmies. He fought everything in the jungle, and had to avoid giant monsters. Infestation of beasts and cold lizards. Occasionally he would meet his fellow skink lizards, but his kind told him that he was special and different from his kind. He gradually accepted this fact and embarked on a wandering journey alone again.
Arkadan became content to decipher the visions he saw in his dreams, in which he would see the will of the Old Ones. A deep and dark cave caught his attention, and something seemed to be calling him there. He was parsing the reasons the Old Ones had revealed to him about the existence there. He sat cross-legged, analyzing, and waiting. The light that enveloped him never stopped, and he didn't know how long he had been motionless.
Hours, days, or weeks later, Akadan saw in his dreams a huge figure moving slowly toward him in the shadows of the cave, tasting the air with a forked tongue. His huge wet body undulated with his steps. He slowly stood up and found himself facing the nightmare-like mouth of a giant beast. The giant beast's forked tongue tasted the air again, then its beard twitched, it backed away suddenly, and gave him a roar that resounded throughout the cave.
Finally, Akadan woke up from the analysis. Guided by the vision he saw in his dream, he came to the blood-sucking mosquito swamp northeast of Huanabek and ventured into the dangerous blood-sucking mosquito swamp. He used his innate knowledge of the stars to Come to understand and determine the direction. Finally, in a deep and dark cave, he saw the place where the vision was in the dream, and also saw the giant beast he saw in the dream. When the beast roared, he leaned forward and put his hand on the beast's body.
Akadan passed his trials, he became bonded with the troglodyte, and he became a true Skink Seer, an Oracle. A great being contacted him soon after, and in the following years, he learned how to use the magical wind surrounding him. He rode a cave dragon and began to wander around the continent of Lustria, Fighting. Use his obscure abilities to find lost tablets and treasures of the Old Ones, or to investigate disturbances felt in the network of spiritual veins.
Over the long years, Akadan found several stone tablets that had been lost for dozens of centuries. One of the stone tablets was the Huta Tablet. After reading the information on the stone tablet, Lord Mazdamudi found it in Heshuta. A mountain range rose to the north to prevent the Druchi invasion. His clawed fingers traced the indented blocks of ancient holy stone, and he and his bond reclaimed the broken sacred sundial from the undead of the Vampire Coast. He was guided by intuition, constellations, and dreams in Ruth. Traveling through the continent of Chia.
News of Akadan's adventure spread back to Hethiotar. At the moment of his return, Hethiotar held a grand welcome ceremony for him. The Skink Priest who had brought him into the depths of the jungle gave him His troglodyte was arranged with a large number of precious stones and gold decorative items to highlight the troglodyte's sacred status.
Soon after, Akadan's adventure begins again. Now, the familiar dream appeared in his mind again. He opened his eyes, got up and walked slowly into the jungle.
Genevieve, who couldn't sleep, was looking at the strange light in the sky, and she suddenly saw Akadan's unusual reaction.
"You guys stay here, I'll go over and see what's going on." Naika, who had changed his guard, was pacing in the camp, seeming to be thinking about some issues. He also noticed Akadan's actions, and then saw another person who was about to follow him. Up Genevieve. After thinking for a moment, he checked the weapons on his body and then followed.
After passing through the lizard warriors patrolling the perimeter, Arkadan noticed Genevieve and Naka. Naika handed the serrated dagger he carried to Genevieve. He cocked the repeating crossbow and followed Akadan on the side and behind. Genevieve followed on the other side holding the serrated double dagger. An extremely formation. A strange adventure team was formed. Throwing knives, crossbows, magic and the light and shadow of daggers filled the jungle. Genevieve, who looked angry, was fighting with a woman of the same height as her. The two women kept waving daggers, trying to kill each other. And die. The battle was over soon, but Genevieve was still more skilled. The serrated dagger she wielded penetrated the main artery of the enemy's neck.
"It doesn't taste good." In the dim moonlight that penetrated the tree canopy and fell on the jungle, Genevieve saw the disbelieving eyes under the enemy's mask. She licked the blood on the serrated dagger, tasted it, and smacked her lips. Then he vomited it out quickly. The battle on the other side also ended. Akadan used the Amber Spear to skewer one, Naika shot one to death with a repeating crossbow, and then hacked to death another with a serrated sword.
The three adventurers, who had a strange lineup and didn't understand each other, looked at each other, then shook their heads, saying that they were fine. The three adventurers did not choose to rest where they were, but left after quickly rummaging for items. The experienced adventurers knew that the smell of blood would soon attract other things.
The three adventurers stood in front of a cave and stopped. Akadan looked back at Genevieve and Naika. Genevieve and Naika did not want to go in because they knew that there seemed to be something in this cave. A powerful being, and exploring the cave at night was not in line with the adventurer's standards. They looked at each other, hesitating. Seeing their hesitation, Akadan patted his chest, as if to say it was okay. Genevieve turned to Akadan and nodded, making a follow gesture.
Naika froze a little. He really didn't want to go in. After living for hundreds of years, he noticed a feeling of fear passing through his heart. But there is no other way. One is your lord's maid, and the other is also close to you. If something really happened, how would he explain it to you? At this moment, he felt a little regretful. He regretted that he should not have been walking around the camp just now, thinking about what was there. Soon, his scalp was numb, and he also made a follow gesture.
The cave was deep and dark, and there was the sound of water drops falling from time to time. Akadan, who was walking in front, did not relax because he knew what was inside. He still maintained his usual vigilance. He didn't even cast a spell to raise the light ball for illumination. The three adventurers walked for an unknown amount of time and came to a spacious pool. There was a hole on the roof of the cave. Sparse water flowed down the hole into the pool. The same sparse moonlight also shone in through the hole. The three adventurers The reader knows that it will be dawn soon.
Akadan turned around and made a gesture of waiting. After making the gesture, he slowly walked into the middle of the pool and waited for a long time. Genevieve and Naika were at a loss for some reason. They saw that it was going to be dawn soon, and it would be a bit troublesome to wait for a while. Naika was not sure what the increasingly uncertain adults would do. What action did you take? Soon they heard a noise, and they knew something was coming, and it was big. They were on guard with weapons, and a cave-dwelling dragon they were familiar with slowly walked out of the shadows.
Darkus was a little strange when he woke up in the morning. Logically speaking, Genevieve would come to help him change. Whether he was lying on the bed or running out at night, she would show up on time. He had just put on his noble robes when he heard a roar of a giant beast that he was not familiar with outside. He opened the tent door and saw Genevieve standing outside the door, holding something he had never seen before. jewelry.
"Going on an adventure?" Darkus glanced at Genevieve. After confirming that she was safe, he then looked at the roar of the giant beast.
Akadan stood on the back of a cave dragon with a different skin than before, confronting the Eye of the Storm lying there. Akadan was trying hard to comfort the cave dragon, while the Eye of the Storm was still lying there and watching quietly. Troglodyte.
Darkus walked over quickly and calmed the Eye of the Storm and the restless cave dragon. At breakfast, he understood what happened, but he didn't say anything, such as not being allowed to go next time. This is as special as being late for work and school. Instead, he was interested in the group of Amazons. He had never seen any of them along the way, nor had he seen any Pygmies. But it was not surprising at all. He knew that because this team was too large and shocking, those minority races would definitely stay away. Primitive and barbaric did not mean stupidity.
Today's departure was a little late. The skinks were using rudimentary tools to make a rein for Akadan.
"Pale Death!"
On the way, Akadan asked Darkus to help him name the cave dragon. Darkus said directly while looking at the purple skin of the cave dragon.
The team arrived at the Crater Valley, which is considered an iconic attraction in the Lustria continent. However, the team did not stop, but went straight through. The reaction of the Druchis was mediocre. What was there to see in the volcano? There is a large one next to Krakarond, so big that there is a dragon inside, and the skinks of Holotor are watching with interest.
After passing through the crater valley, we came to the turning point of this trip and the end point of this trip, the Kauchen Plain. Cawchen Plain, also known as the "Endless Plains", is located at the southern end of the Sotigo Ridge across the Lustrian continent. It is bordered by the Lustrian Jungle to the north, and close to the Fire Swamp and the Whirlpool Swamp to the east. There are no lizardmen on duty. The southern outpost stands on the cliff to the south. After descending the cliff are two fallen temple cities, the Lost City, Kaiax and the Outsider City, Slanzek, as well as the Twilight Fortress of Assur.
A dry, flat, and boundless plain spread out in front of Darkus like a huge painting. There were no abrupt mountains or deep canyons on the plain, but at most shallow basins like plates. He felt hollow inside, like a still ocean.
Before Drukki and the skinks could start discussing, the rhinoceros group in the sky gave them a surprise. After Oxo learned about the danger of this creature, Kallion did not choose to fight in the air, but chose to carry it with him. The pterodactyl riders flew back to the group.
The swooping rhinoceros group saw Darkus, and he blew his horn to tell the group of rhynchids to get out of here. After hesitating for a moment, the swooping group of rhynchophosaurs pulled away and flew away.
"Dui Lelou, you are making a fuss. If that doesn't work, just raise chocobos and alpacas." Darkus frowned and looked at the rhinoceros flying away, thinking. He felt a little irritated. What if this is a large-scale cattle raising? His jumping thoughts started from the Ox to Khorne, and after a while he thought to the Minotaur.
Darkvus's legion can be confirmed. It is basically composed of giant beasts from the Lustria continent, supplemented by Druch soldiers. The other legions are the conventional behemoths of Druchi in Northern Nagaros, such as hydras. Of course, it still depends on the specific situation. At least he will not bring the giant beasts of Lustria to the northernmost part of Naggaroth to fight the Huns and Chaos. How big a hole in his mind must he have? The behemoths of Lustria are to defend the continent of Lustria and the spiritual network and temple cities of the Southland of the Old World, and then on this basis, fight battles such as snakes and rats or adapt to the terrain, such as Ulthuan .
"I'm thinking, this is a big change." In Darkus's understanding, the troops and horses have always been unmoved, and food and grass go first. After the war has started, you can't just go out to find food or feed the slaves, right? Or if you take a dog to fight, the dog will eat Xiang, and the man will eat the dog? This is too Nurgle.
Although Druchi is not as particular about food as his Assur cousins, he can't do this, right? Food is the guarantee of the combat effectiveness of the feudal army. Anything without food is useless. If you are hungry for a few days, you will be unable to play. On the basis of sufficient and nutritious food, add some cigarettes and wine to boost morale, perfect! This is also one of the purposes of Darkus coming to Lustria.
The further he walked into the plains of Kauchen, the stranger things seemed to Darkus.
It’s over
(end of this chapter)