Chapter 192 42. The good man Darkus of Drukki
stood on the cliff, smoking a pipe and watching the battle below coldly. The two fear lords did not watch the battle, but rode down the manticore mount to join the battle.
This small to medium-sized battle did not require anything from Darkus. The Dread Lord Venir Iceblade from the Kauak stronghold also agreed to send troops, although he only sent four Centurions, two teams of Reaper Ballistas and a small team. Cold Lizard Knight. But he must send troops. If he sends troops, there is still a glimmer of hope. If he doesn't send troops, he will just sit back and wait for death! He did not ask for spoils of war or future benefits. He only asked for one thing from Darkus, and that was to save his life, even if it cost him his property.
Darkus once learned that a Dread Lord from Nagel's former stronghold had only arrived on the morning of the Dark Council. In Malekith's words, "He was slow to respond to my summons, arriving only this morning! I reminded him of his obligation, and the harpy should bring what was left of him to his tower before sunset." It would pain me if the garrison of Naggar thought that their master had fallen victim to some lesser fate."
To emphasize the Dread Lord's presence, Malekith also included the presence of Hadrica on the Great Round Table. , the big gold chain filled with blood and flesh made a clicking sound when it stopped, announcing the fate of the fear lord. Then Malekith prowled around the seats, prowling between the shadows like a lurking tiger.
"Mourn not, he spelled his doom when he put the defense of his miserable stronghold above his duty to his master, and any of you may suffer the same fate for disobeying me!" Maleki Si suggested with mock sympathy.
This was the morning we arrived, and this happened, and where was Vinier? He was simply absent from the last Dark Council. One can imagine what happened after that and the fate that awaited him.
The success of a raid depends on various factors, such as understanding of the enemy's intelligence, the adequacy of troop strength, the rationality and execution of the combat plan, etc. When performing a surprise attack, they must attack at a rapid speed to avoid being detected by the enemy and triggering a counterattack as much as possible. This is what the Druchi army is good at. The assaulting army was divided into several groups, led by captains. Through coordination and close cooperation, they tried to sneak into the valley quickly to avoid being discovered by the shadow.
But at this time, the shadow of this clan had already discovered the army that attacked them, just as Darkus and the Fear Lords had expected, unless this clan also had the habit of hibernating.
The Drukhi army shouted the slogan of Drukhi, spear and shield, and held up their shields against the arrows of the shadows. The surprise attack turned into a strong attack. The soldiers rushed into the valley with weapons in hand and immediately started a fierce battle. Swords intertwined, and amid the light and shadow of swords, the enemy and we engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Both sides attack the enemy with fast and vicious attacks, using various techniques and moves to attack the opponent. Both sides have no thoughts of compatriots from Druch and are eager to kill each other.
Drusala and Colonia teamed up to cast a small blade storm from behind. The blade storm swept across the battlefield, frantically searching for traces of blood. Wails and desperate cries resounded through the valley, directly disrupting the shadows. Deployment and counterattack rhythm.
In this battle, the courage and skills of the Druchi soldiers were severely tested, because the shadows were not as easy to deal with as imagined. Although the shadows did not have heavy armor, they had a long and short distance that they had trained hard in the cold mountains. Combat skills cannot be ignored. Darkus vaguely saw a group of shadows holding giant blades rushing into the army, trying to set off a massacre. It did work at first, but was quickly defeated by Darkus's followers using magic and swords. After pushing back, the Shadows' final counterattack was neutralized.
The followers served as the fulcrum of attack on the battlefield, constantly guiding the Drukhi army to advance and fight. As time went by, more and more Shadows were killed and fell to death in the snow and woods, and the defense line of the valley stronghold gradually collapsed. Fires began to burn in the longhouses and tents. Kuhaha in the army was still waiting to plunder some loot, so he would not set fire to it. It was obvious that the shadows did not want to leave anything to the army.
After setting fire, the Shadows tried to retreat through the path, but they obviously thought too much. Two Centurions and Reaper Ballistas that did not participate in the battle were already blocked there, waiting for the Shadows to come. The army waiting for the shadows saw the raging fire. Cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents. This hatred is irreconcilable. Faced with this angry army, the shadows can imagine what will happen next.
Rows of shadows with broken bones and broken jaws lay in the snow, cocooning and wailing, waiting for Darkus's sentencing. The soldiers were still trying to put out the fire. Drusala and Colo Niya was also using black magic to help the soldiers. Several soldiers rushed into the longhouse risking their lives. One soldier ran out with a disgraced face carrying a rush-woven rug. Fortunately, the rug was intact and was not damaged by the fire. Burn marks.
Drusala turned to Darkus and shook his head. The fire ignited by the kerosene was not as easy to extinguish as expected.
Darkus nodded, acquiescing to this result. He was a little unhappy, because these shadows themselves were not valuable, and many of the trophies were burned, so he had to give the soldiers more supplies. As a reward and remuneration, after all, he wanted to maintain his image as a great good man of Druchi. Then he picked the head of the prisoners, Drusala nodded and understood what he meant, and began to identify the clan leader among the prisoners.
Quickly, Darkus put the two pieces of the Phoenix Extinguishing Curse together. The binding spell was perfect, but there was obviously one piece missing, but that piece was placed in the luggage under Malekith's black tower.
Darkus walked up to the clan leader. The clan leader looked at him as if he wanted to eat him alive. He shook his head helplessly, then squatted down and spliced the two pieces of the Phoenix Extinguishing Binding Curse together again. Showed it to the clan leader, just as he expected, the clan leader stared in disbelief with his eyes wide open.
This time Darkus nodded with satisfaction, stood up, and watched Dorian stretch out the index and middle fingers of his right hand to point at his eyes. The meaning was already obvious. Isn't he interested in having cordial and friendly talks and exchanges with the clan leader about how to eat alive people? Is there something wrong? He doesn't like this. He now strictly demands and flaunts himself as the Nagaryth elf, even though the clan leader is also a descendant of Nagaryth. There was nothing to discuss about extinguishing the Phoenix Binding Curse. He didn't think the clan leader knew anything about it. He might as well go to the Asuryan Temple to ask the autistic Phoenix Guards when he came to Ulthuan.
"Do you still know me? My dear chief?" Dorian took out his bayonet and walked up to the clan leader.
The leader of the clan let out another cry of pain, and one of his eyes had been removed by Dorian.
"Didn't I tell you, Dorian, that this job is too rough? Didn't you tell me before that there are special tools like this?" Darkus glanced lightly and said sarcastically and teasingly.
"My lord, that's what you said!" Dorian stood there in a daze holding the stabbing blade, then reacted and said.
"Here, there is." Cowell saw the excitement and didn't take it too seriously. He grabbed the soft leather bag from a soldier and threw it to Dorian.
A roll of soft leather sewn with many pockets of different sizes. Each pocket has a handle made of bone or wood exposed on the outside, and inside there are large and small bone paring knives and bone saws. Apparently these things were the same as Dorian described. Darkus smiled, shook his head and walked away.
Soon a group of Druchi gathered around. At first they looked at the contents of the soft leather bag with the eyes of appreciating works of art, but soon started complaining in disgust. They didn't think it was any kind of work of art, at most it was just a piece of art. A tool that is not handy.
"Those who kill will always be killed? What about me? Who knows?" Darkus thought as he listened to the misty wailing behind him.
"Have you found the witch doctor?" Darkus looked at Drusala and asked. The statue has not been found yet. Maybe it is still in the fire. In his opinion, the witch doctor is a witch doctor, as if it is broken. Just like the goddesses in the inherited culture, they concoct some weird herbs and make some weird prophecies to claim that they are sacred, magic? He didn't think that the sorceresses of the Northern and Southern factions would recruit a witch doctor from the tribe. That would not be in their interests. The shadows only needed to play the role of mountain soldiers and scouts.
"I didn't find it. Maybe he ran away? But the chance is very small. If he didn't run away, he would still be in the fire." Drusala shook his head and pointed at the medium-sized tent that was burning with fire.
"Stop being stunned, put out the big fire in that tent!" Darkus shouted directly.
Soon after, Darkus looked at the lifelike statue in front of him. The statue was indeed made of a strange black stone that swallowed light, and was as cold as death itself. The sculpture is of a woman, sharp and slender as a knife, with cold features and sunken eye sockets. He was sure that this was the statue of the Pale Queen, because he had seen the relief of the Pale Queen in that council chamber. There was a trace of divinity hidden on the statue, which showed that the statue was indeed not simple.
"The key to the Kingdom of God of the Pale Queen? Then can I go to the Kingdom of God as a living person through the guardianship of Nisu, the gatekeeper of the ultimate gate, and borrow some elves' souls? Then install them in the hollow elves' bodies? Well, things suddenly turned fantasy and science."
Erth Hayiai is known as the "Pale Queen" and is the highest goddess in the underworld. Particularly revered by the dark elves of Naggaros, he is a god of the Sesarayi pantheon, belonging to the underworld, or the god of Hades. He ranks second among the gods of Druchi's belief, and the first is well-deserved displeasure. Dirty Kane.
Most Druchi don't care about the fate of their souls after death, but there are still some Druchi who worship the Pale Queen fanatically, and some Druchi often say: Mother of the Night, this mantra is on their lips, and Equipped with rising and falling tones, it means different meanings in different situations and environments (similar to shit), the most typical one is Malus.
The Drukki hope that the Pale Queen will lend a helping hand when death comes, believing that it is far better to offer humble service in the harsh embrace of the Underworld than to suffer oblivion at the hands of Slaanesh. The Drukki believed that their own perceived betrayal was echoed in her fate, and she offered the Drukki some salvation from the hunger of Slaanesh, so that the armies of her realm were forged from the stolen souls of the elven dead. become. In some legends, the Pale Queen attempted to seduce the elven creator god Asuryan, and when Asuryan rejected her, she became enraged, stole the souls of the elves' dead and hid them in the terrible realm of Hades, also known as the Immortal Realm. "Dark Pit". Talion, the King of Eagles (the great eagle ancestor of the high elves), drove her to the underworld under the command of Asuryan. She never forgot Asuryan's contempt, and she was dissatisfied with her position in the elven pantheon. , so he deliberately tried to overthrow Asuryan's rule.
While Asuryan is outside the Pale Queen's ministry, the elves are not, so they bear her wrath. If Ulthuan's Waystones are destroyed, she will send her ghostly servants, the Reapers, to capture elven souls and bring them to the underworld to dwell in eternal torment. At the same time, reapers are also wandering in the forests of Athel Loren, capturing the souls of dryads. Only the most powerful elf souls can become dryads, so they are quite valuable. It was also mentioned before that Druchi, regardless of class, would wear spiritual rings on their pointed ears, because at first they believed that the spiritual rings might help them resist the erosion of the reapers, but now it has become a popular trend.
Although worship of the Thesarai pantheon is prohibited in Assur society, some cultists do so. Worshipers of the Pale Queen hide themselves within Ulthuan society, and cultists are considered to be deranged blasphemers. , as cultists worship a goddess who promises elves nothing but eternal torture and servitude in her horrific realm. Cultists perform vile rituals, imploring her to send her evil Reapers to steal the souls of important Asur advisors, military leaders, and archmages.
Year after year, the Pale Queen's army continues to grow. Perhaps one day her legions will destroy Asuryan's proud creations in repayment for his past insults.
"It's so fucking deceptive, not many of them are reliable." Darkus thought for a while. He once again felt that these elves and gods were deceitful. Besides, why would he let a bunch of remnants of reincarnation in the previous world, Stand on the head of the elf and fly? The thoughts and impulses in his heart became strong again.
Soon after, the team set off with a small amount of loot and a huge group of slaves. The identities of the slaves of the Shadows were all identified. There was no plot of a rich young man and a young lady accidentally entering the Shadow camp and being enslaved while playing in the wild, so there was no such thing. If he needed to do anything extra, he was not prepared to send those Druchi who suffered a pitiable fate to Lustria for recovery. Perhaps relief was the best choice for them. Soon the team came to the strange star. Nearby under the black willow tree.
"What a strong Shasu wind!" Colonia said, pointing to the black willow tree.
Although Darkus didn't feel it, he felt that there was something evil here. This kind of evil refers to the evil door in Feng Shui, but he didn't understand the specific details. Anyway, the evil door was right.
"Is she dead? Has she become a spirit?" Darkus asked curiously, maybe this is also a kind of tree person? Or is it another form of tree man?
Deep within every dryad resides the soul of a dead elf, but this is certainly not the fate of all elves. Only the strongest and most driven souls retain enough personality to become dryads. But most Asrai long to abandon their mortal bodies and blend into the mist of the forest. Although their relatives and friends occasionally experience auditory hallucinations, as if they can hear their voices in the wind, this is just an echo of the lost life. Those souls that became tree spirits were unable to leave the world of their lives, so they used rotten wood to shape new bodies, but the memories in their souls also dissipated and turned into another form.
The poor Drukki noble lady may have become in a strange state due to some kind of coincidence. It may be attributed to the magical wind that is too close to the chaotic wasteland, the strange Feng Shui, the yin willow tree and her own resentment.
Colonia and Drusala looked at each other. Among the four sorceresses, they were the only two who were knowledgeable about this stuff. Then they shook their heads at each other. It was obvious that Darkus’s question was for the two of them who were knowledgeable about it. It’s too out of line.
Originally, Darkos just wanted to lift the curse on Dorian. It would be better if these black willows could be made into the staffs of the sorceresses. With this new batch of evil equipment, maybe the sorceresses of the Tower of Destruction could The strength can be improved to another level. Maybe it is better now that the black willow tree has generated a spirit?
Darkus quickly called Dorian over.
"To untie the bell, you must tie the bell." Darkus said a Druchi proverb he created very convincingly.
"Yes, sir." Dorian was stunned for a while, and it took a while before he seemed to understand what it meant, and the beautiful encounter began again.
Soon Dorian came back and shook his head helplessly. Darkus seems to have overlooked a problem, that is, it is winter now, maybe the spirit is sleeping? So why didn't the Shadows burn the willows or destroy them?
After struggling for a while, with the help of Colonia and Drusala, the spirit was finally awakened. The spirit was very angry after being forcibly awakened from its sleep, but the power of the two sorceresses was stable. Suppressing the anger steadily.
After Dorian and Jingfei had a unilateral chat for a long time, the agreement was finally forcibly reached.
The captured shadows began to be dragged to the black willow tree for sacrifice. The scene was so horrific that Renn had no intention of recording it.
There was only the angry spirit in the soul, which had reached the peak stage of its form after a feast, but unfortunately, it was still suppressed and sealed in a piece of black willow wood by the two sorceresses.
The curse on Dorian's heart was also lifted. After heaving a sigh of relief, he began to thank Darkus and utter some vague oaths, but he was quickly stopped by Darkus.
"I believe that the mother of the clan will like the gift I gave her very much!"
The black willow tree began to wither quickly after the essence was extracted. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Darkus's followers began to order the soldiers to cut off those who could not resist. Black Willow, saws and chisels all went into action, and soon pieces of trees were sorted and loaded onto the truck.
What followed was a long journey. After holding a not-so-grand spoils division and post-war settlement celebration at the Attorak stronghold, he gave the two fear lords, dignitaries and soldiers some of the previously captured loot. The Druchi showed great satisfaction and happiness after distributing their wealth. Vinir Ice Blade, who was unable to protect himself, still accepted the gift despite all kinds of rejections.
What he needs is to cast a wide net and spread the reputation of Dacus as a benevolent person to the entire Drukhi society. What he needs least is spoils of war, food, supplies and luxury goods. Maybe these relationships can be used in the future? Jianghu is not only about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships.
Darkus' team set off again, but this time the journey was much smoother. The team did not return to the dangerous mountain peaks, but took the route of Grond back to Nagarund. Although the journey was a bit long, it was smooth sailing.
When the team finally arrived at the Golond Plain, there was still light snow falling in the leaden sky, and the cold north wind whispered among the dark pine trees, blowing gusts of biting cold wind.
At the top of the ridgeline, Darkus stopped Silabulaji and surveyed the vast frozen soil plain. He bared his teeth in the biting cold wind. His cheeks and nose were cracked by the cold, but the pain kept him awake and alert. His tired and sore body was swaying on the saddle. After leaving the confines of the northern stronghold, the team had not found a normal place to repair for a long time. People and horses were exhausted, and even the Dark War Horse and Cold Lizard seemed to have reached the limit of their endurance.
Grond's prophetic tower rose against the leaden sky like a spearman's black spear. Grond is a very strange existence. It is a city only in the sense of its population and structural density. In fact, it is a permanent military camp and a place for learning magic. There is also a gold mine, and its buildings are dedicated to Military and magical activities. This fortress city has a hexagonal outer wall, about twelve meters high, and the top of the wall is wide enough for a team of cold lizard knights to ride side by side along the wall. Each corner of the hexagon was further fortified into a triangular bastion, which was a fortress in its own right, with its own barracks, armory and storerooms. The fort extends several ways from the walls so that crossbowmen and Reaper ballistae can fire at will and at good angles. Like the fortress, the city's two gates are also fortified by imposing gatehouses that risk death for anyone who attempts to break through the iron gates.
"Is this also a kind of diamond fort?" Darkus looked at it for a while and shook his head, then looked at Drusala beside him. He had no intention of causing trouble in Grond. As Malekith's He does not want to have too much contact with Morathi, let alone have close contact.
At this time, Drusala looked at Grond with a complicated expression. After feeling Darkus's gaze, she shook her head slightly.
Darkus nodded, and suddenly thought of something. If he had any regrets at this time, it wasn't that he didn't see the Lema beast, but that he didn't see Medusa, right?
The team set off again, destined for Nagarond.
Countless snow, blood, and hunger have left marks on the riders and mounts. The cold lizard's armor has dozens of scars from swords, axes, and claws. The rough, greasy black fur cloak is in tatters, and the black fur underneath The steel armor was tarnished and scarred by long wear, the robes and kaitan were stiff with old sweat, blood, and dirt, and the boots were covered in rags and scraps of buckskin.
The embarrassed Malus Blackblade's eyes were sunken and shiny, his sunken cheeks and thin lips were chapped. His cruel face was paler and his contours were more clear-cut. At this time, he could already see Hagrid Graves. of the spire.
(End of chapter)