Chapter 176 26. Northern Nagaroth
In the cold winter of northern Nagaroth, the outdoor environment is bitingly cold. At this time, snowflakes were flying in the leaden sky, making the vision blurry. The cold wind howled, causing his face and hands to become cold and stinging, causing Darkus to shrink involuntarily. His team set off from the Black Tower of Malekith, and the outline of the outermost wall of Nagarond gradually became clear. , from a looming dark gray strip to a smooth black barrier, with black towers standing not far away like teeth with spikes.
The gatehouse leading to the north was brightly illuminated by witch-fire lamps. The lamps dispersed the mist, revealing the fierce gaze before striking like the eyes of a huge and patient predator. A team of fourteen Disaster Walker chariots and more than forty cold lizards ran wantonly on the snow-covered avenues in Naggarond City. Even on the snow-covered avenues, the team's march was not calm, and the wheels It moves like a heavy rumble of thunder.
Eight of these fourteen Disaster Walker chariots were prepared by Newkor for Dakous, and the remaining six were provided by the Nagarond Terror Lords represented by Silses. Four of them were The Disaster Walker chariot also carries four Reaper Ballistas, and several other chariots carry a large amount of baggage and supplies.
Although there are disputes among this small group of Nagarond fear lords, they may have 57 groups just like a six-person dormitory. But they still try to hug each other for warmth, because their long-term interests are the same, for the family, for themselves, and to better serve the Witch King.
These fear lords have no illusions about the Lemar behemoth. They only hope that Krakarond will remember their favor and provide them with some affordable and high-quality ordinary war hydras. Even if Darkus is lucky enough to catch the legendary Lema Beast, it doesn't matter to them, because the Lema Beast will either be the Witch King's toy or Darkus's toy. They can tell the difference. Just get some credit and favor.
As for the servants and female magicians, they all put down their work and research and followed him out. There is no manticore in the team because it is difficult to replenish food due to the current weather and environment. How can we give a manticore a whole cow a day, and the place we go to is still dangerous peaks (the name was wrong before, not the Peak of Resentment). The peaks there are surrounded by extremely steep peaks. Druchi has been here for five thousand years, but he still has not surveyed and understood it.
Moreover, the manticore also has the characteristic of always fighting when it sees an enemy. If it fights or flies somewhere, it would be nice to be able to fly here or fly after winning the fight. If there is an emergency, the rider is really just in case. It may be that we have left it alone. There is no signal in the mountains, and there is no GPS or anything like that. Moreover, it is too close to the Chaos Wasteland, and the communication effect of the crystal ball is not good. You may not be able to find it by then. It’s true that there are no weaklings in Nagaros.
Before each trip, Darkus will prepare a travel guide and manual. This is a lesson learned from the previous Druchi, and it has really happened. If we take the road from Grond to the Chaos Wasteland and avoid the dangerous peaks, the situation will be different. The field of vision there will be widened and suitable for piloting flying creatures to search, but we always come back empty-handed. The Hell Calamity Family once also I have gone to find the beast of Lema many times, and even Kalien followed Yeager to find it twice.
The roads in Nagarund City are so inaccessible that there are not many Druchi at all. These Druchi are just like the traditional northerners in extremely cold places. They stock up a large amount of supplies when the autumn and winter socializing and death end at midnight. In winter, cats are basically at home, and they usually don’t appear on the streets unless necessary. This is what Darkus learned during the visit and investigation report.
The cold lizard that Darkus rode was the same one he rode when he returned to Naggaroth from Lustria in the south. He originally thought that this cold lizard would be a little cold when it came to the extremely cold north and would not be able to adapt to the environment here. No problem, it seems that cold lizards have extremely high upper and lower temperature limits. This cold lizard without a name said that everything was fine, but that was all. This stupid cold lizard could only express this, after he asked several times, and then this cold lizard had As for the name, it was called "Sibulaji". Of course, the giant beasts and wild beasts in Lustria were only cold lizards that could withstand the cold. He was well aware of the performance of Ankylosaurus and Triceratops in Krakalond before.
The guard captain of the North Gate showed great respect after confirming that it was Darkus' team, and let them go without any blackmail or extortion. The guards knew very well what Druchi could and could not mess with, but Maranur still threw a huge ruby to the guard captain, calling it a drink. When the guard captain saw the intact ruby in his hand, he became even more attentive. He nodded and bowed, running back and forth to help direct and maintain order.
The ground outside the city of Naggarond is a vast white snowscape. Every step the cold lizard needs to step on the snow, the snow makes a crunching sound. The sky is still lead-grey, even if there is snow, it looks so depressing, and the sun appears for a very short time, and there are only a few short hours during the day. If you want to do outdoor activities, you must do it within the short daytime. When night falls, the whole world seems to be surrounded by cold. Without adequate lighting and heating, outdoor environments can become very dark and dangerous. In such an environment, survival also becomes very challenging. It's easy to be in danger if you get lost or encounter other emergencies.
If Druchi does not wear enough thermal equipment or magic, he will easily feel the cold spreading through his body. Darkus and other dignitaries either wore Kaitan in sea dragon skin or Kaitan in manticore skin, but they did not wear Kaitan in cold lizard skin, because that was the symbol of Hagrid Grave.
The sorceresses also wore thicker clothes. These sorceresses knew that this time they would go out for a long time, and it was still the Nagaros Mountains in the north. Magical protection would not last long. In short, they were not as rigid as before. Lisa, Cowell's sister, Colliona and Genevieve wore gorgeous ermine and purple silk robes, while Druzala also wore a dark fur robe edged with the white spotted fur of a snow leopard .
As for Darkus? He wore two layers of Kaitan. The innermost layer of Piketan, a sea dragon, served as thermal underwear. The outer layer was an enlarged and thickened layer of Piketan, a manticore. Although he wore two layers of Kaitan , but his movements are not restricted. After all, this is a magical world, and the thickness of two layers is just that, unlike the traditional military coat before. His Druchi was good at everything, but he was a bit nostalgic. The outer layer was still a noble robe with purple outer layer and inner crimson robe. The outer layer was the cold lizard knight armor he wore before, which was full of traces of sewing and repair. The guards around him once suggested that he change to another set, but he refused. He still chose this set of armor. He also euphemistically said that this set of armor would accompany him for a long time and in many battles, unless it was completely damaged or damaged. You will not change it before you wear the tailor-made artifact armor. Even if you change it, you will keep it as a testimony of the years.
These words sounded like they were talking about armor, but the smart Druchi around Darkus all understood it in different ways. They substituted this set of armor for themselves, from objects to people, if a pair of Ordinary standard armor Darkus can treat it like this, but what about them in the future?
After walking for a long time, a group of dark riders riding tall black horses rushed into the team's field of vision. Darkus judged that the number was about a hundred. These dark riders wore black cloaks made of black feathers and Wearing a wide hood, he held a long spear with a black pine handle in his hand. There is a theory that the strange attire of these dark riders is to pray to the raven-headed underground elf god Nisu through these feathers that they can escape the sight of their enemies.
The Dark Riders are the only group of Druchi who believe in Nisu, the son of the Pale Queen Eth Haiai. His mission is to ensure that the elven soul in his mother's hands is not sucked away by Slaanesh, and at the same time to prevent all mortals from entering the underworld and stealing secrets. The secrets of the underworld must never be known to mortals, and Nisu is the gatekeeper responsible for guarding the passage between the two worlds, known as the gatekeeper of the ultimate gate.
A leading dark rider waved his hand and ordered the dark riders to stop. He stood on his horse and looked at Darkus' team with vigilance.
"Be on guard, display the flag!" Darkus ordered directly, and then took out the monocular and took a look. He saw the dark rider on the opposite side displaying the flag of Hagrid Grave. After the order, he turned around to look To Wren.
Ren nodded, turned over and jumped out of the cold lizard, took the flag from his brother's hand, and quickly ran to Kalien's Disaster Walker chariot. The Disaster Walker chariot started directly and headed towards the group of black people. The Dark Rider rushed over.
The leading dark rider also took the flag and rode out of the queue, and communicated with Ren in the open space. After some exchanges. The dark rider saluted in the direction of Darkus' team, turned around and gestured to his own team, and the dark rider's team continued to set off.
"My lord, this is Hagrid Grave's team. They are following the orders of Valaharlehan Fallen Blade to hunt down his Black Blade son." After Ren returned, he began to chase Dak one by one. Us reports.
"Do you still have an impression? My brother." Darkus nodded and looked at his brother next to him. "What is Malus Black Blade? Oh, poor Ferland Bale, wish that good-for-nothing good health." Maranur spread his hands grandiosely and said jokingly.
Several dignitaries of Krakarond who knew what happened between the cousins Malus and Forlan laughed, as if the story between the two cousins was like a piece of fun.
Dorian and his followers were a little confused. Of course they knew about Malus's cousins. It had been half a year since the last Dark Council was held. There were no secrets in Nagaros. Any dignitary with some status would know about them. I know what happened between Hagrid Grave and the Black Ark Nagol. It is said that the Nagol is now docked in Kalonde Kal, acting as a foreign aid to Night Lord Kira, and assisting Kira in suppressing Kalonde. · Carl.
But Dorian didn't know that Maranur had agreed with Malus's fifth brother Ulay to plan the ambush in Krakalond.
Taking advantage of this, Darkus' team did not set off again, but began to repair on the spot. Renn began to tell Dorian about the story and results of Malus's ambush in Krakalund. Cowell next to him sometimes added a few words, his posture and tone of voice were extremely funny, and he was very fond of Malus. Si was filled with ridicule.
Darkus smiled and listened beside him. He didn't say anything. If you live to a few hundred years later, Krakarond will fall by then, and then you powerful people will not shed a single tear for your past hometown. For this group of powerful men denigrated Krakarond as a haven for the weak and traitors, and saw the fall of Krakarond as proof of these accusations. Instead, they became the vanguard of Malus, the night governor of Hagrid Grave, and were loyal to Malus. However, these powerful people did not realize that this status was not an honor, but because Malus was always on guard. These powerful people. Malus realized that the Ebony Claw had already changed its allegiance once, so it was very likely that these powerful people would easily change their allegiance a second time. Is there any foretelling? That's awesome, and now that he's here, this kind of thing can't happen again.
"Marus should have found his bond, Zakan. He should be on his way back to Hagrid Grave. The time and these dark riders should be right. Maybe I will go to Hagrid Grave next. A trip to Grave? I still want to see the forge there." Darkus thought, although Malus died a bit humorously, he was in Naggaroth before he became the night governor of Hagrid Grave. There are too many messes that have been stirred up, just like a shit-stirring stick, it won't stop wherever it goes, causing trouble everywhere.
This is what Darkus doesn't want to see. If something goes wrong, it means that the production capacity and population prepared for war will decrease. Almost everywhere in the entire Naggaros has been affected, from the northernmost border to the southernmost Krakarond, from Naggarond in the west to Kalunde Kal in the east. Moreover, the great demon Zhakan is always an unstable factor and will explode like a thunder sooner or later. He had already made up his mind to find an opportunity to kill Malus. Even if there must be such a chaotic Druchi, he must be the one to take the initiative instead of being passive.
After resting for a while, Darkus' team set off again. The journey was deserted. They did not encounter any patrols, supply teams, caravans or other organized teams. They did not even encounter wild beasts, let alone anything. Greenskins and Beastmen.
In the cold winter of Nagaros, camping at night requires adequate preparation to deal with extreme weather conditions and sudden attacks. Before nightfall, Darkus' team found a relatively windproof camping spot. Tent, tent mats and sleeping bags began to be laid out. A large pot was already set up in a tent, and the witch fire was boiling under the big pot. Inside was a huge stew of naggaroth, cured meats, pickled fish, and vegetables grown under Malekith's black tower. Next to the cauldron were rows of biscuits, bread, kettles, and wine jugs waiting to be thawed and heated.
The dignitaries who were not on duty or about to be on duty had no words for the Three Swords etiquette at this time. They were circling the cauldron in the tent and moving their frozen bodies.
Darkus braved the wind and snow to check the camp to see if there were any flaws. However, after walking around, he found nothing wrong. These servants and animal trainers are all veterans and they know what to do. , there are both bright and hidden whistles. The Reaper ballista has been deployed and set up at a key position, and the well-kept crossbow string has been taken out of the bottle and hung on the ballista. Moreover, this place is still a wilderness, there are no avalanches or ice crevasses, and it is still a few days' journey to reach the dangerous peaks. He kicked the frozen soil in the snow a few times, but soon gave up. What if there was black earth underneath this vast frozen soil?
"Comfortable!" Darkus sat on the tent mat and drank the broth. After finishing the drink, he moved the meat in the bowl to his mouth with a fork. After chewing and swallowing, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Dorian, tell me a story about the north?" Maranur said at this time.
Stories are the best pastime on the tables of Bretonnian gentlemen, but they are also the pastime on the tables of most races in the world.
"Sir, further north, the same environment is there, even colder than here." Dorian's tone was full of coldness, possibly due to the weather. His originally melodious voice was now flat and desolate, like an elegy. .
Dorian realized something was wrong. He coughed and tried to adjust his voice. While coughing, he spread his arms and still held the bowl in his hand. This posture was something he learned from Darkus.
"To the north, it's about a week (eight days) away from the border stronghold. That's the best hunting place. My father made a living by ambushing and plundering the nomadic Yankees." Dorian's pupils Like a glowing black marble, after he drank the broth, he paused and continued, "It's also full of danger... It's not a place for the reckless, the stupid, or the timid warrior."
Darkus Nodding, he knew what this danger meant. The complex and harsh environment, the powerful Yankees, and the companions around him might have been companions one second, but they would have turned into evil companions the next second due to the uneven distribution of the spoils. The enemy with swords pointed at him.
"Have you ever seen those shadowy men in the mountains?" Darkus had already solved the problem. He had already lit up his pipe and started smoking. He knew a little bit about the differences between the shadows in the mountains north of Nagaros and the shadows in the Blackridge Mountains, but he didn't know much about the details, such as their origins and history.
Dorian nodded, but he did not answer directly. Instead, he closed his eyes, his expression full of pain, and fell into painful memories. A guard next to him suddenly made a sound of retching, attracting Druch's attention in the tent.
"Sorry, sir, please forgive his rudeness, he just thought of some very bad things." Dorian opened his eyes, first glanced at his subordinates with a reproachful look, and then looked at Da The words of the two Keus brothers were full of apologies.
(End of chapter)