"I sense it~! It's this kind of fluctuation~!" Ren shouted loudly to the mage behind him, and then the paladin quickly walked through the jungle, and finally stood in front of an inconspicuous pine tree. Along with the prayers chanted by Ren in a low voice, a few lines of light golden words gradually emerged on the rough tree trunk.
This is a divine spell dedicated to paladins. When they are separated from their troops, they can leave a secret message on the road they pass, and their companions who are also paladins can rely on the instructions of these messages to meet with each other. For such a skill with a very low usage rate, Renn, who is eager to gain powerful power, has always dismissed it, but today the paladin is very grateful that he has studied this kind of magic seriously.
"How is it? What did it say?" Xiu Yin asked anxiously—the text itself was also a code, and only paladins could understand it.
"Katori said that she and Kaos are heading towards the foot of the western mountain." Ren's gaze moved upwards, and under the cover of dense leaves, the towering figure of the Yahevi Mountains was clearly visible.
"What about the specific situation? Are they injured?" The mage was very dissatisfied with this short answer.
"I didn't write..." The paladin bit his lips subconsciously, "But I think since I can use this kind of magic, Katoli should now... no, there will definitely be no problem~!"
"I hope so." Xiu Yin nodded.
"Let's go faster, and hope to meet them as soon as possible~!" Ren said as he pushed aside the obstacles again, and moved towards the next signpost.
"According to my calculations, within an hour, Huin and Renn will definitely be able to find this place. Fahdoud's knights are probably still on the other side. It is not easy to find a suitable ferry for such a wide river. They will definitely not chase after them." Go to ours." While analyzing, Roland carefully wiped his beloved weapon.
"En." Katoli replied absent-mindedly, but subconsciously turned her eyes to the other side.
After crying a lot yesterday, the girl had secretly made up her mind not to reveal this cruel fact to anyone—neither to explain the truth to Xiu Yin and Ren, nor to question Kaos herself. That way, the party won't be fragmented, companions won't turn against each other, and travel can continue as usual.
But after that? When I reach the end of the journey, how on earth should I face Kaos, who is a death knight? At that time... What kind of reaction will Kaos have? Katoli asked herself, her eyes staring at Frost Grief glowing with ice blue light.
No matter why he protects me... At that time, will he fight me for Ishutori
"Catori?" The witcher's voice brought the girl back to reality.
"kindness?"
"What's wrong with you? Your eyes have been wandering since yesterday. Is there something wrong with your body after falling into the water? Speaking of which, this level of impact is indeed easy to cause damage to the brain." Roland kindly reminded the other party, "Maybe re-check Are you in better health?"
"Ah? No, that's not the case~! I was just wondering when Ren and the others would be able to get here." The girl explained in a panic.
"But this is what I'm telling you now..." the witcher chased after him.
"What I mean is..." the girl tried to maintain a calm expression and tone, "What should I do if Ren fails to find all the beacons? If any link is missed, the next search will expand several times Times, maybe they won't be able to find it until dark, when... "
As if intending to oppose Katoli, just as the girl was eloquently explaining, the paladin's ecstatic shout interrupted her.
"Katori~!"
"Ren? Xiuyin?" Katoli turned around. Ren pushed aside the clump of green leaves and was running towards him with great strides, while the high-ranking mage behind him also sighed with satisfaction and showed a gratified expression.
The next moment, before the girl could react, the excited paladin stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly. A few seconds later, Katoli, who woke up from a dazed state, finally realized that she was in Ren's arms, her face flushed suddenly, and the girl broke free from the other's embrace, and she was as light as a frightened bird. jumped a few meters away.
"Ren, what are you doing~!?" Katoli reprimanded him dissatisfiedly, and secretly glanced at the death knight next to him—fortunately, Kaos still maintained his usual expression.
"I'm sorry... I'm so excited," the paladin who realized his gaffe looked a little embarrassed, but he didn't avoid his emerald eyes, "However, it's great that nothing happened to Katoli. Already~!"
"That's right, the most important thing is that both of them are safe and sound in that torrent." Xiu Yin smoothed things over without a trace, and turned his emotional gaze to the quiet demon hunter, "It's hard for you, then It must be very hard, if I used the flying technique to cross the river from the beginning, this kind of thing wouldn't happen, I'm really sorry."
"Your judgment is not wrong, and the Glendale River does not seem to be as scary as it looks, and with some luck factors, it is not impossible to escape." Roland deliberately showed a relaxed smile, and said lightly Just a word, but the death knight didn't notice the melancholy eyes of the girl beside him.
"Thank you for the life-saving log." Katoli interjected with some melancholy, "In short, since the team has assembled, the next step is to climb the mountain."
Everyone raised their heads and looked at Yahewei Mountain. The endless mountain range seemed to be a huge screen made by God. The body inserted into the sky not only stretched across the entire continent, but also tyrannically took away the sunlight and sky from the eyes of human beings.
For humans looking at it from hundreds of kilometers away, the Yahevi Mountains are more like the sea on the horizon, with soaring waves made of rocks and white waves gathered by ice and snow. But when the tiny creature came to its feet, the boundless sense of oppression emanating from the depths of the giant shadows of mountains and mountains made people feel suffocated on the tip of their tongues.
"It's really high. The watershed in front of us alone has an altitude of 3,700 meters. After a height of 3,000 meters, the magic will basically fail, and the temperature above the snow line may be lower than that of the northern continent. "The girl's unemotional narration sounded in the ears of the three of them, "This is the challenge we are about to face, and... Ren, if the legend is true, maybe we have to climb the last part of Mount Yahevi. Peak... how high is it in there?"
"No one has measured the altitude of the 'Lorendan's Spear' yet." Roland shrugged.
"In short, let's talk about passing the first watershed first. Let's go now and camp on the mountain when it gets dark." The captain with a calm tone finally issued an order.
"Let me lead the way." The death knight nodded, and walked into the dense forest first, followed by Katoli.
"Let's go too." Huin patted the paladin's shoulder.
"Well, but..." Ren looked at the girl's back with a hint of worry, "I always feel that Katoli seems to be a little different from before, and she seems to have something on her mind. What's wrong with her?"
"If you are worried about what happened yesterday, you might as well ask her in a tactful manner. It is not a good way to speculate wildly." The mage replied bluntly, "But please remember that what we should do now is to climb the mountain wholeheartedly, Ya The Hervey Mountains don't take kindly to bad climbers."
"Thank you, I will keep it in mind." The paladin said and followed, and the figures of the four quickly merged into the huge and deep shadow of the mountains.
The 120-kilometer-per-hour airflow hurts the face like a knife blade, and the tumbling clouds and mist wind around the feet. Even the most vigorous mountain eagle cautiously stays away from the sky. Not only that, this section of the cliff is also particularly steep, almost at a right angle of 90 degrees to the ground, only a narrow mountain path less than half a meter wide extends to the depths of the endless sea of clouds, and climbers have to cling to it like geckos Walking along the rough and cold rock wall, he groped and moved forward slowly.
Wren was at the rear of the line, the end of the lifeline was fastened to his waist—this was set up to ensure that any one person could be helped by the other three if he stumbled—but on the other hand, St. The Cavaliers are also very aware of the tension on their waists if any one of the three in front steps into the air. So he not only focused on the road conditions, but also stared meticulously at Xiu Yin who was three meters away from him—among the four people, perhaps he was the one who needed the most care.
Although he has not climbed to a height of 3,000 meters, the high-ranking mage can clearly feel that the magic power in his body is gradually freezing. This feeling was too bad for Xiu Yin, coupled with the long-term physical exertion and the biting cold wind, the only thing the mage can do now is to hold the lifeline tightly with trembling hands, and hold on to the lifeline in his heart. Keep silently reciting the six words "Capital of Stars" and "Li Magic" to encourage yourself.
Katoli's situation was much better. Not only did she have the silver chain mail to keep her warm, but the broad shoulders of the witcher also protected her from the cold. But for her, the steepness of Yahewei Mountain may have long been forgotten, and what makes the girl even more hesitant is the figure blocking the cold wind in front of her.
As usual, Roland was in charge of serving as the forward and guide of the team, and the other end of the lifeline was tied around his waist. Compared with the previous work as a guide, this time the level of danger is much higher-the power of the spirit world will not only make the magic ineffective, but also deprive the death knight of some abilities at the same time-seven years ago, the undead army had to attack This is one of the main reasons why the city of flames cannot cross the Naga Mountains. Like Xiu Yin, Roland can also feel the mutation in his body. The ability to control gravity has been imprisoned in his body by the assembled elemental elves. If he accidentally slips now, he will probably be like a fragile human being and become an incompetent person at the foot of the mountain. A small pile of debris was identified.
Therefore, the demon hunter looked more cautiously at the road. He patiently searched for all places where climbing spikes could be placed, and led the team slowly but firmly approaching the top of the mountain hidden in the sea of clouds.
But when the team gradually approached the next bend, the death knight, who had always been calm, suddenly warned the companions behind him loudly: "Stop~! Everyone stop moving~!"
"What happened?" Katoli turned her attention from the cliff to the front in some confusion. Then, at the narrow pass five meters in front of Roland, a figure holding a long sword was reflected in her emerald pupils.
"I'm waiting for you, demon hunter Kaos." The words of the sword master Austin were mixed with cold wind and poured into the ears of the death knight.
Roland immediately dropped the tool in his hand, pulled out the dagger and cut the wind blade. The surrounding airflow roared like an explosion in an instant, and the deafening roar echoed in the mountain stream, as if the whole mountain was trembling. When everything calmed down, the death knight suddenly found that there was only one handle left of the weapon in his hand, and the blade part had disappeared.
The demon hunter immediately subconsciously reached out to pull out the great sword on his back, but it was not until he clenched the cold hilt that he realized that it was completely impossible to wield Frostsorrow on this cliff. His best swordsmanship had already been Was completely locked~!
"Use my sword~!" The girl's crisp voice came from behind at the right time, and then a sharp dagger was passed to Roland's hand, and the death knight blocked the 'glass' that overflowed with cold light on his chest without thinking. Before, and silently confronted Austin.
"It's a tacit cooperation." The Juggernaut twitched the corner of his mouth, and the attack also slowed down.
"It's a pity that Fahdod's mother river is unwilling to accept you." Roland replied with a sneer, "But in this declining country, it is very rare to see a fighter as persistent as you... Are you planning to chase us to the ends of the earth? ?”
"There is no need for that, all the grievances between us will be settled here and now~!" Austin said and shook his wrist again, "Don't think that you can sit back and relax if you understand Yunyao. In this kind of place, you are just fine As fragile as a fixed target~!"
The death knight held his breath and waited for the attack, but to his surprise, the howling sword fighting spirit did not move in a straight line, but buckled into the gust of wind rolling in the mountain stream with a delicate arc. The next moment, the sharp air blade passed by the waiting demon hunter, and slashed straight at the unarmed Katori.
The uncontrollable suffocation instantly engulfed Roland, who had no time to turn around.
The fighting spirit of a sword is as thin as a cicada's wing, but it is heavier than a giant axe. Accompanied by a sharp whistling, the translucent wind blade first cut through the fragile lifeline, and then dug into the hard rock. A huge scar was torn open on the cliff immediately, and countless debris gushed out from it, converging into a raging torrent and pouring into the sea of clouds at the climber's feet, before disappearing without a trace.
"Katori~!" Even though the Juggernaut was right in front of him, the witcher still turned his head away, and he was relieved to see the sight in his eyes—the girl looked terrified, but she was safe and sound.
"Don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you know sword fighting qi." A voice sounded from behind Katoli.
At the critical moment just now, Xiuyin promptly placed a physical barrier beside the captain - at this height, the mage's strength has been greatly weakened, and he could not resist the attack of "Zhenkong", but the strength of the barrier But it was enough to make the wind blade deviate from its original trajectory.
"No matter how many attacks you launch, I can block them all..." Xiu Yin replied confidently, but Roland interrupted him halfway through the sentence.
"Get out of here immediately, hurry~!" The death knight glanced at the broken road behind him, and immediately understood everything, "That guy wants to cut off the retreat, and then we will become real targets~!"
"What~!?"
"Your sense of smell is as sensitive as a wild dog." Austin sneered, and Roland, who was silent, slid across the narrow mountain path between the other party's words, and quickly approached the Juggernaut. Due to the bold advance of the demon hunter, Austin's sword fighting spirit, which was originally intended to destroy the road, had to be used to block the tricky enemy in front of him, and the team blocked on the cliff also gained precious breathing time.
"Retreat immediately." Roland gave the order without looking back.
"But..." Katoli's eyes flashed a look of worry.
"No time, let's go~!" Ren's voice came from the end of the line. In fact, as a paladin, he was not willing to escape in such a desperate way at all, and let the witcher resist the danger. But Ren knew better that if the back road was cut off by the sword fighting spirit, the consequences would be unimaginable-at that time, the Fahdods didn't even need to attack them directly, as long as they destroyed the rocks under the team, everything would be over.
It would be great if I could master Yun Yao~! Ren bit his lower lip angrily.
"There is no other way... Kaos is right, this is the only option. We can only find another way." The mage fired a group of magic missiles at Austin, and then moved to Katoli's place against the strong wind. beside. Xiu Yin's complacent expression had disappeared, replaced by a serious and helpless expression.
"Yes, the only choice." Katoli lowered her head, and the next moment, the girl shouted loudly to Roland, "We meet on the opposite side of the watershed, this is an order~!"
"Of course, Captain." Roland nodded slightly, receiving the second attack from the Juggernaut.
"Take care, Kaos." The girl murmured in a low voice, and then the smoke from the mage's hand engulfed the road behind the witcher.
"Now, it's just you and me."
"It's okay, after this duel is over, I will go to the other side of the watershed instead of you." Austin replied expressionlessly, "At that time, I will catch them."
"You don't even know what their purpose is, but you want to chase them down like this?" The demon hunter showed a confused expression, and the unyielding sword master in front of him opened the door of his sealed memory.
That's right, he was only bewitched by Richard, and became a pawn in the huge vortex without knowing it, but why wasn't he like this seventeen years ago? He thought he could make great achievements, but it was just a prop in the hands of the king. Not only was he abandoned at the end, but he also sent the most important person in his heart to the bloody altar. Today, seventeen years later, when the same pawn stood opposite each other with swords facing each other, Roland found that he couldn't look away.
"Purpose? If I knew, I would have sent troops directly to obtain that power. What are you doing here?" Juggernaut's tone was mocking, "Are you planning to live on your last breath before you say such nonsense?"
"Then let me tell you." The death knight smiled, and then put away the dagger on his chest, "As a sword master, you should have heard of such a thing, right? The necessary power for conferring gods—the world tree. "
"What did you say~!?" Roland's behavior made Austin a little overwhelmed, but the witcher continued on his own.
"To make a long story short. As early as a long time ago, Ishtoli sensed the location of his World Tree, which is the only reason for the outbreak of the undead war. Now, in the seventh year when the undead are trying to open the way, the World Tree has finally matured , and waiting for the call from the master. As a result of the appearance of the colorful aurora, Luvis, who has become a god, and Ishutori, who is eager to become a god, have sent their own knights."
"The believers of Luvis want to use the blood of God to destroy the World Tree, and the death knight wants to awaken the World Tree with the blood of Ishutori, but for Fahdod, wanting to get involved with this power is simply wishful thinking." Roland narrated with a sinking face, "In other words, everything you have done so far has been in vain."
"Shut up~! Don't try to scare me with such nonsense~!" Austin's face turned pale.
"I think so, this kind of rhetoric is indeed too pale." The demon hunter nodded and took off the ring on his left hand. The cold ice shards immediately soaked the long hair flying in the strong wind, and the water-colored flames engulfed the eyes that were looking directly at the Juggernaut.
"Death... Death Knight~!?" The Juggernaut took two steps back subconsciously, and the smell of death permeated his whole body, "This, this... how is it possible? How could you... this is impossible~!"
"Austin, you are a dedicated warrior... In a way, you are similar to a death knight. But it is a pity that because you have wasted your energy on pursuing the ethereal power that belongs only to the gods, you have no regard for the country. And the people themselves, that’s why they ended up like this.” Roland’s icy voice echoed in the mountain stream, “In the near future, the Ice Crown Knights will lead the army of undead across the entire Fahdod, since we will sooner or later Seeing each other on the battlefield, it is better to end it here and now—let me fight you as Orin of Ishutori."
The flames of death gushed out from the hands of the death knight, and the noisy wraiths gradually condensed into a black ball of light, bursting out with dark light patterns. Round after round of ripple-like fluctuations spread from Roland's left hand to the surroundings, gradually blurring the surrounding scene. In the next moment, the black tide that swallowed everything swarmed out and rushed towards the Juggernaut opposite.
Austin suppressed the fear in his heart and swung his sword vigorously. The multi-layered wind blades whizzed into the entangled wraiths, but were submerged in an instant like an iron ax falling into a quagmire. The relentless ghouls tore apart the howling sword master with their bloodstained nails, and opened their hideous jaws to feast on the bits of flesh that fell from the sky like hungry swarms of locusts.
A few seconds later, the power of the world forced these black shadows to flee back to the Netherworld, and the sword masters in their stomachs also left with them. The cliff has regained its former peace and tranquility, only the road cut off by the tyrannical force recorded the bloody battle that had taken place.
"Go faster, Roland. It would be bad if you fall behind the paladins." The death knight looked up at the peak submerged in the clouds, and said to himself.
Seventeen years have passed before I knew it... This time, how should I face Flora
"Here~!" Katori whispered, then clenched the climbing rope in her hand, and pulled her soft body up to the highest point of the watershed. Immediately afterwards, the true majesty of the Yahevi Mountains was reflected in her emerald eyes.
The vast mountains are churning and leaping in the boundless sea of clouds. They seem to be huge monsters in the vast ocean. They cut through the ocean with their peaks covered with ice and snow, and hide their majestic bodies under the sea of clouds. Under the sunshine, the nearby mountain peaks that are integrated with the white clouds protrude a pale golden outline, while in the farther horizon, the mountains merge with the blue clear sky, together depicting a vague and misty horizon.
"The towers of the holy capital can only be regarded as insignificant creations in front of this, right? The beautiful nature... This is the magnificence and grandeur that humans will never be able to match~!" Xiu Yin sighed.
"Yeah, I really want Kaos to see such a beautiful scenery. It has been three days, I don't know how he is now..."
The girl's inadvertent emotion caused Ren to look sideways, and the mage quickly shook his head at him, and put his finger on his lips. However, the always sensitive girl didn't notice the flirting between the two this time.
At a time like this... how could you think of him? Kaos is obviously a death knight. If he uses the power of the undead, the Juggernaut can't deal with it at all, right? Katori seemed to have forgotten the cold, and concentrated on looking at the looming mountains in the distance, but her mind was full of thoughts.
Compared with mountain climbing, the way down the mountain is much easier. Not only do you not need to beware of dangerous enemies like Austin, but the slope of the watershed is also much slower. Before the sun set, the team successfully found a leeward place suitable for camping, and the first thing Katoli did was to let Xiu Yin use magic to light a big fire, so that Kaos could quickly understand the team's situation. exact location.
"Katori...were you really not hurt after you fell into the river that day?" After chewing the dry and tasteless wheat cake, Ren finally began to ask around the bush. As the backup, Xiu Yin sat a little further away, pretending to be browsing the spell book, and at the same time focused all his attention on his ears—his hearing is definitely no less than that of an elf.
"It's been several days, why do you ask this all of a sudden?" The girl was a little strange.
"No... this, I'm just asking," the paladin shrugged. "After all, falling from that height is always worrying, right? I definitely don't want you to have any sequelae or the like... "
"I have been in a coma since I fell into the water, and I didn't know anything until I was brought ashore by Kaos. After waking up, of course, I did a comprehensive inspection. In order to avoid omissions, I used holy light to treat myself. All procedures are completely in line with the requirements of the Paladin. Rules. Besides, I was responsible for leading the climb this morning, so how could there be any problems?"
"That's right... then when you were unconscious... did Kaos do anything?"
"What's the problem? How could I know Kaos when I was in a coma..." Halfway through the girl's speech, she finally understood what the other party wanted to ask. She stopped and stared at Ren coldly. Even the unresponsive paladin immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.
"Are you going to ask, 'Did Kaos molested you when you were unconscious?'? Are you going to ask me, who is the first place in the paladin assessment, such a boring question, eh? Katoli stood up, and then took a step closer to Ren, who shook his head quickly.
"No, of course I didn't mean that, Katoli, listen to me..."
"Let's get straight to the point, we feel that your usual expression is a little strange after reuniting, and this abnormality must be related to Kaos." Xiuyin cursed Ren's tongue in his heart, while looking at the girl seriously, "First of all, I don't think he will do anything, but according to the rule of exclusion, apart from what he might do, the situation will not become like this. Of course, everything we are discussing at present has nothing to do with the task itself. If the captain wants to end This conversation is also perfectly reasonable. But…”
"But what?" Katoli glanced at the mage.
"However, I hope that the bond between companions is not just a task. We should exchange more opinions with each other. We just want to ask you what you think of Kaos, that's it."
"What do you think of Kaos?" After a moment of silence, the girl finally opened her mouth, "He is a warrior with superb sword skills, a knowledgeable guide, and a thoughtful and considerate companion. He can almost be described as perfect, without any shortcomings at all. people, that's my opinion."
"But, don't you think he is a bit weird?" Recalling Katoli's evaluation of himself before, Ren asked reluctantly, "As far as the mission is concerned, he is indeed impeccable, but you can also feel it, that guy is a A very indifferent person—a standard diplomatic smile, a standard master-style encouragement, a standard companion-style communication, and a standard guide-style suggestion. He hardly expresses any personal opinions, and no matter what kind of tragic situation he sees, he doesn’t change his expression. Feelings are average... "
"Besides, I don't think that a fighter who is not even twenty-five years old will have such profound knowledge and such rich combat experience. No matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to reach his level. .” The mage echoed from the side.
"Everyone has their own difficulties," the girl's voice gradually became louder, "Everyone has something that only belongs to him. If you don't trust each other because of these, it is wrong~! Do you want Kaos to put The blood genealogy experience is written and submitted as a report? Did he do anything against us? Without him, this team, which is marked as the elite of the alliance, would not have been able to get here at all. Do I need to point it out specifically?"
"Don't get excited, I have already said that this conversation does not involve tasks."
"Then why do you question my behavior?" The girl asked persistently, "Isn't everything I have done up to now what I should do for my companions?"
"We just feel a little different from before... that's why..." In the past six years, it was the first time in the past six years that Ryan heard Katoli defending others in this tone, and was a little flustered for a while—whether her strangeness was due to her offense , or because of feelings for Kaos
If given a choice, paladins hope to be the former.
"Is it different from before?" Katoli subconsciously hid her expression in the night, "In Xiuyin's words, 'I hope that the bond between companions is not just a task', which is also suitable for Kaos Yes. In short, there is no need to discuss with me any personal thoughts that have nothing to do with the task, because I am not interested in it. You should be satisfied with such a clear answer? If possible, I want to go to sleep. There is still a lot to do tomorrow Walk."
Xiu Yin and Renn nodded silently, but their expressions were not very good—after all, their own intentions were revealed, but the other party's thoughts were still unclear. No one would accept such a discussion result frankly. . But the girl who turned around and started packing her sleeping bag didn't even bother to pay attention to their whispering.
I just now... Was I protecting him? Sheltering a Death Knight
Why should I shelter him here
Why do you feel uneasy when you don't see him
Why didn't he know whether he was an enemy or a companion until now
Exactly... How should I face all this? The girl sighed lowly, as if seeking some kind of support, Katoli subconsciously reached for her waist, but this time her beloved weapon was not there, only an empty scabbard swaying in the wind.