We must find the end of the escape to the present world as soon as possible, and we must obtain enough power to protect the end as soon as possible—this is the goal that Richard Barres, the commander-in-chief of the undead army, set for himself when he left the Moon Capital.
But nearly six weeks have passed, and although some results have been achieved in enhancing the capabilities of the death knight, the search operation has still not made any progress. Shifan and Roland seemed to have evaporated from the world without a trace, and sometimes the Lich couldn't help but wonder whether the gentle and ruthless Lycesil really moved them to a remote overlapping area. In the field, they intend to let them hide there for a lifetime.
On the other hand, the pressure from the enemy is also abnormally great. The Riddle Imperial Army, the troops of the six independent kingdoms, the defenders of the free city, and the thieves' union of Bamartin have all started to act. Perhaps each force has a different starting point and action goal, but without exception, they all aimed at the Knight of Ishutori, and frantically searched for the black-haired and blue-eyed girl—obviously, there was a hidden force Draw them to serve yourself.
As for what that power is and what its purpose is, Richard is not clear. The only thing that is certain is that the opponent is a powerful opponent that even vampires and shadow dragons are willing to serve, and they will stop Ishutori from fulfilling his wish at all costs. These alone are enough to determine that the other party is his sworn enemy.
Although the restlessness of Canados will not pose a threat to the survival of the death knights, it is indeed difficult for the knight order with only 1,500 people to shoulder the tasks of getting rid of the siege and searching for the end at the same time . The manipulator hidden behind the scenes is more capable than imagined, which makes the Lich's brows twist into a ball.
If something happens at the end of Ishutoli, no matter what kind of power the deceased has mastered, it will lose its meaning.
"Richard, there's good news." As always, Alsace didn't say hello when he opened the tent curtain.
"What's the matter with you?" The other party frowned impatiently, "If there is a problem with that accessory, please go to Elektra. I am thinking about the future strategy of the Knights now."
"I guessed wrong, and it has nothing to do with the experiment. What's more, I made it very clear, which is good news." The corner of the death knight's mouth rose, as if he was happy to see his colleagues' anxious expressions, "There are two people who want to see you."
"Tell them I'm not available."
"Isn't there time even if I want to see you at the end?" Alsace finally couldn't help laughing.
That sentence caused Richard to show an incredible expression for a moment, and it took several seconds for the Lich to finally wake up from the state of trance.
"You mean the end?" He repeated tremblingly, "The end you're talking about is the 'end'?"
"Besides the end of Ishutori, which end is there? Roland Strife and Shifan are here now..."
Before the death knight finished speaking, the Lich sat up abruptly from his chair. Accompanied by the clear and powerful sound of chanting incantations, a blue light of magic power unique to the transfer phalanx exploded in front of Alsace's eyes.
When the commander-in-chief of the undead army teleported himself to the front of the tent with skill, he happened to see two people walking slowly on the opposite side. The young man with water-colored pupils is carefully leading the pure white wind horse, while the black-haired and blue-eyed girl is riding steadily on the horseback, looking thoughtfully at the death knights gathered from both sides .
There is no mistake, that is indeed the end of Ishutori... But compared with the first meeting in the Moon Capital, it is a little different.
The girl's black hair has grown longer, with a silver hairpin rippling with the breeze, like a flowing cloud; her eyes are still cold and clear, but they will look at the guardian's back from time to time. Also, it's rare that this prayer man is actually wearing a dress that tends to be cute.
Although she couldn't blend into the crowd, she at least felt like a fifteen-year-old girl.
Because of his relationship.
The lich thought, turning his attention to the horseman.
"Master Richard Barres, I brought Shifan back." For Dark Eagle who lost his memory, Richard is more a powerful and mysterious lich than a former comrade-in-arms , so there is always a layer of caution in Roland's voice. But this time, apart from this barrier, the necromancer also heard the determination contained in it.
"It's been a hard journey." Richard nodded at the other party, and walked forward with his colleagues.
"Welcome back, the end of Ishutori." The proud lich Jiedi said, and then bowed respectfully, "As the goddess's knights in this world, we will protect you at all costs until the last moment."
Alsace raised the long sword in his hand in approval: "Not only will he risk his life, but he will also risk everything."
Accompanied by the words of the head of the Ice Crown Knights, the black square formation on both wings rose one meter out of thin air—the death knight didn't shout any slogans, but just put the weapon on his chest. Those cold blades slipped from their ancient scabbards, and how sharp they shone in the winter sun.
Even if it is the end of the goddess, it can't help but be lost in front of this burning soul fire. It took her a while to wake up—the death knights were paying tribute to herself.
"You have to bet on everything?" Shi Fan jumped off his mount, raised his head and looked at the Lich, "Is it okay to make such a promise to someone you have never met?"
"Everyone has a different reason." The wise elder smiled, and his eyes fell on the blond young man, "Although the reason for protecting you is different from that of Roland Strife, the death knight is to protect the Goddess." Born at the end. And, knowing this, we voluntarily chose to obtain that power."
"I see. So..."
"From today onwards, please take care of everything." The girl replied seriously, and then bowed deeply. The drooping black hair blocked her expression for a moment.
But when Shifan raised his head again, the eyes of the blond youth at the side changed subtly.
"Welcome back." The voice was as clear as a silver bell, but there was an imperceptible wavering in it.
"Well, I'm back." Roland paused, then smiled back.
The Lich turned his head sideways, just in time to see Oluha and Faroshidai standing behind him, and the death knight array was slightly forward. Among the army of dark undead wearing heavy armor, the two beauties looked very dazzling, and the reason why Roland Strife's eyes were complicated and unpredictable at this moment was 100% due to their appearance.
Richard and Alsace exchanged glances tacitly, and the schadenfreude in it was self-evident—handle the affairs of the Ice Crown Knights first, and then it doesn’t matter whether Roland lives or dies—the two highest ranking members of the undead army The conductors agreed without hesitation.
"In any case, please wait for a while to rest and catch up. In order to get rid of the enemy smoothly, we have to race against time." The Lich made a "please" gesture, "Roland, I want to listen to the report on this trip first .” He glanced at the former head of the Knights, “No problem, right?”
"Yes." When he heard the word "enemy", the other party's expression became stern again.
"In fact, Shifan and I almost died." Looking around in the hall at the expressionless senior general, the slightly disturbed Oluha, and the silent Faroshidai, the guardian of the end took this as an example. own opening remarks.
Judging from the degree of detail and details, Roland's battle report is not inferior to the level of the Dark Eagle back then. Whether it is the macro strategy adopted by the enemy or the exquisite swordsmanship in a one-on-one duel, the young man can describe it accurately, in detail and neatly, and the personal feelings attached at the end are also quite reasonable.
It's just that this high-level report does not include the part related to Shifan.
The girl's past, the ruined ruins, the struggling sick, Mobadi's ruthless prophecy, and the "Painting Scroll of Shifan", all of these were briefly mentioned by the blond swordsman. In fact, there was no need to hide it from the death knight. The knight born for the end is more qualified to know this than him, but even so, the truth was always stuck in Roland's throat, and he couldn't tell it until the end.
It may also be that the subconscious is reluctant to speak out, and wants to keep everything as a secret for itself.
In this way, time flies, the morning glow quickly disappears, the scorching sun dispels the mist, and then passes over the top of the sky. It wasn't until the shadow of the tent began to lengthen that Roland finally finished his report.
"That vampire with gem pupils is called Mobadi Singweis? Grandmaster Yunyao? As strong as an emperor?" Alsace obviously held back for a long time, and the questions came one after another, "How can such a strong guy never Haven't heard of it? Are you sure you can determine the opponent's level?" He questioned the opponent with his eyes.
The blond swordsman didn't explain, but just put the two-handed sword enlightened by Ishutoli on the long table in the center. Needless to say, all eyes in the tent were all focused on Shuang Wai in an instant.
There are two gaps on the blade~!
"What~!" Richard and Alsace shouted at the same time.
As a swordsman, Faroshidai just stared at the Excalibur in a daze, while Oluha, who was a prayer man, covered his mouth with his hands. As for the other death knights who remained unchanged during the battle, their jaws had already dropped to the ground.
"Although I know that such a metaphor is not appropriate, Mobadi should be regarded as having mastered the highest level of swordsmanship and prayer skills at the same time." As if to prove that it was not an illusion, Roland stroked the gap on the sword body with his hand.
"How is this possible... How is this possible?" The lich who lost his composure just muttered to himself, "Is there anything that can destroy a weapon that contains the power of a god?"
"Prayer is the power that can make the thoughts in the heart become reality." Although this incredible principle has been understood for a long time, today, well-informed mages have to re-understand the meaning of it again-prayer can make mortals obtain God-slaying power~!
And with those two shocking cracks, it's not difficult for the people present to imagine the difficulty of that battle at that time.
The death knights couldn't help but feel a little more admiration in the eyes of the former captain.
"Mobadi Singweis...should be an enemy as dangerous as Flame Dragon," the Lich judged, but immediately denied his own conclusion, "No, compared with the King of Elements, this one can be killed with the end result. The man who is not the target is even more dangerous. What's more, the entire Canados has become his sphere of influence, which is extremely disadvantageous to us."
"I'm really looking forward to the appearance of that unknown opponent." Alsace's eyes ignited bright red flames unknowingly, and he said subconsciously put his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Mobadi is willing to face it head-on. It suits my taste."
"But why did that guy attack Shifan?" Richard's questions always hit the nail on the head, "Only gods can reject gods, right? What's more, even if Mobadi's ambition is so great that he wants to replace gods and chase after the end It won't have any effect either. You should directly target the death knight."
"Because Mobadi believes that once the goddess is combined with the end, the world will be destroyed. That's why he will kill me at all costs." Shifan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"Is that true?" The girl looked around, as if she wanted to get an answer from her persistent soul, "As the closest existence to Ishutori, can you tell me that is true?"
No one could answer this sudden question, so the whole hall fell into a cold dead silence for an instant.
After a while, the Lich cleared his throat.
"No matter what the vampire named Mobadi says, there should be no goddess who has successfully merged with the end of the world - because once merged, the world will be destroyed." Richard's rebuttal was exactly the same as Roland's, and his rhetoric almost overlapped , "But this is also the fatal weakness of this statement—since there has never been a precedent for a goddess to successfully fuse, how can it be concluded..."
"As a result, you don't know either?" The black-haired girl bit her lip, staring straight at the lich's ice-blue pupils.
"Ishutori didn't give a clear answer." The Lich shrugged helplessly and gave up the logical deduction, "'Desire to achieve my father's dream and pursue a perfect world', this is what the goddess once told Our goals, beyond that, don't have much more to say."
"This kind of vague statement can't explain the problem...it can be interpreted as destruction..." Shifan whispered to herself, her voice was so soft that she couldn't hear it clearly.
"But no matter what, you must confirm the path you choose—integrate with Ishutoli, or give up. After you understand all the conditions, the final decision is yours."
"Is it up to me to decide? What if I choose the wrong one?" The girl's voice was filled with anger, "Why must it be me? Do death knights only know how to follow blindly?"
"We have our own will and purpose, but it's different from this one. The choice that can affect the world must be decided by you." Arthas rarely chimed in.
"Why?"
"To put it simply, it's because you are the end of Ishutori." Richard replied quietly, "Because you are the end of Ishutori, that crazy man will do anything to kill you." Kill you, that's why we will do everything possible to protect you. Although Roland seems to be hiding it on purpose, I believe you have experienced more things that mortals will never experience in a lifetime, both good and bad."
"This is the fate that even the gods can't control, and it's something that's bestowed upon you."
"You should accept, not escape. When you are truly willing to accept your identity, I believe you will be able to make the most suitable choice." The wise Lich looked at the guardian beside the girl, "I think, this That's why Roland Strife brought you here."
In the combat conference room, Mobadi looked at the magic map in front of him and fell silent.
Three days ago, the scouts responsible for monitoring the Ice Crown Knights were all wiped out at almost the same time. This can only mean one thing - the death knights have found the end, and have moved swiftly.
Judging from the experience gained from Kailina's knowledge base, the undead must safely send the girl named Shifan to the Yahevi Mountains, where the Ishutoli World Tree is located. Since the end itself will not be affected by magic, the transfer phalanx and the portal of darkness are out of consideration, so it is necessary to cross the ocean by boat.
Compared with the Shinto pioneered by the undead eight years ago, the defense measures for this trip may be much simpler. However, the power of Goddess's End itself is enough to make up for these shortcomings. It is quite difficult even for Mobadi to kill the world's strongest prayer warrior under the protection of two thousand death knights.
What's more, even if they could break through the death knight's defense, no one could snipe the fire phoenix.
"Boss." The voice of the elf mage brought the blood race back to reality, "new news from the Coast Guard."
"The undead fleet has 20 ships, and the speed is estimated to be around 80 kilometers. It broke through the defense line on the west coast in one go. It is estimated that their destination is the northern part of the Lorentan continent, the East Alazea Plain." Zeffili Si briefly stated the content, and then handed the battle report in his hand to his teacher.
Mobadi glanced briefly at first, then looked back and forth carefully, and finally nodded: "Keep tracking, the end should be in this fleet."
"Do you want to chase, leader?" There was a trace of uncontrollable anxiety in Motidal's words.
"The opponent is very good at attacking east and west. In the past three days, there have been nearly 20 emergency reports from the coastline, and the troops have been completely dispersed. Under the current situation, even chasing is futile." The opponent shook his head, "Since it can be estimated If we don’t know the other party’s destination, then we’d better use another method. Mortidal, please contact the ‘King’ first.”
"Want to attack the terminal in Luorendan?" Nightingale asked.
"No, this time the target is for the death knight." Mobadi shook his head again, "With the fire phoenix, we can't catch up to the end, so before the opponent reaches the world tree, we should weaken the enemy's combat power as much as possible That's the right choice."
"As for the girl named Shifan, we will end the journey with her at the end of the journey." The holder of the Holy Cross Sword said with a slightly heavy tone, "That is the last and only chance."
In January 2008 of the Ishutoli calendar, the Ice Crown Knights left Canados, the seventh day of their voyage.
With the support of Lich's advanced magic technology, these white speedboats with beautiful streamlines are advancing at an unimaginable speed. In fact, rather than saying that they are sailing, it is better to say that they are gliding on the water—the skirt at the bottom of the boat blocks the surrounding air and forms the force to hold the hull up, while the magic circle at the stern and the sail together provide the forward momentum .
Although it cannot be compared with the jet boats of the Moon Capital in terms of speed, for ordinary people, the speedboats using the air cushion principle have greatly surpassed the limit of sailing speed, and it is absolutely impossible for even the elite navy of the Riddle Empire to catch up. .
Coupled with the foreshadowing that was planted in various places in Canados in advance, Richard will take this kind of action with confidence.
No enemy has been seen so far. For the death knights who shouldered heavy responsibilities, this might just be the silence before the war, but in the eyes of Shifan who fled so far, it was already like being in a paradise.
"No matter how you look at it, the ocean is very beautiful." Shifan rested his chin in both hands, overlooking the undulating sea from the bow, "I didn't feel anything when I just heard Lise talk about it before, but now I realize how big it really is."
"En." Roland replied absently.
The girl returned to her original appearance—the four-leaf clover hair clip was molded by herself from steel, and the short hair was trimmed by Roland—although it was the first time for the young man to use hair scissors, Shifan was quite satisfied with the final result, yes Very refreshing look.
However, Roland himself felt extremely sorry. Mengliu, Jiuyuan, and Ishutoli all have long black hair. Why does Shifan, who is the end of Ishutoli, have to cut her hair short? I thought I could see that kind of cloud-like waterfall, but now I have become docile again.
"Roland? Hey~! Are you listening to me?"
"Ah?" The young man woke up startled, "Sorry~!"
"That, what is it?" The black-haired girl interrupted the other party's argument unceremoniously, and pointed to some kind of aquatic animal cruising beside the boat.
"Dolphins." The narrator replied affirmatively. In order to divert the other party's attention, he specially added a long paragraph of explanation, "They are a kind of intelligent sea mammals. They not only have an amazing sense of hearing, but also have superb intelligence. Swimming and unusual diving skills, generally using sonar…”
"What were you in a daze just now?" The black-haired girl narrowed her eyes and looked at the other party coldly, "I have been staring at my hair since just now, could it be that I am with Oluha and Faroshidai?" Compare? I don’t understand what is so good about long hair.”
Although a chill can't help passing over his back, but Shifan's awkward look is surprisingly cute.
"No, that's not the case. I think short hair and long hair are good." Traveling with Goddess Moment until now, Roland suddenly found that his ability to lie has improved a lot.
"real?"
"Really." In addition, the psychological endurance has also improved a lot.
However, while enjoying the short-lived happiness, the dark eagle who lost his memory did not notice the melancholy sight of the elf girl in the distance.
"Is that all right?" Farrow's voice came from the side, "Stay away and just watch the two of them."
"If I went up to interrupt the chat, I would hate myself." Oluha subconsciously clenched the fence, staring at Faroshidai with a pale face, "Why...why can you put on a face?" As if nothing happened?"
"Probably because the 'he' I have been in contact with is the 'Dark Eagle'?" The blond female swordsman sighed softly, and a wave flashed in her eyes, "If you want to talk about the current Roland Stry Husband and the former Dark Eagle are two people, that is an escape. But seeing the young man in front of me gives me more peace of mind."
"Because I did something irreparable, the result is that the person I like has left me forever. That's why I have been waiting and pursuing with my frosty grief." Faroshidai's voice seemed to return to the past, "Now Smiling Roland is the answer I'm looking for... "
"As Ishutoli said, he didn't die, but got a chance to start over."
The girl who pursued the past showed a serene smile, pressed her hand on her chest, and felt the breath from the "Light of Longevity". It was a gift from Roland Strife to her, and it was also the reason for her pursuit and the destination of her memories.
"For Cattorie Orlande, getting that answer was enough."
"Faloxida is really cunning." The elf girl lowered her head, her voice trembling, "But I..."
The next moment, an alarm from the magic communication network interrupted the conversation between the girls.
The numbness of the electric current forced them to raise their heads at the same time, and then, from the horizon at the junction of the sky and the sea, a fleet with black sails drove towards them.
The forward speed of both sides did not decrease at all, and the distance of dozens of nautical miles was quickly shortened by half. Now the elf girl can clearly see these enemies—the biggest difference between them and ordinary warships is that they do not have any signs that can indicate their identities —The number of snipers is about forty. Each ship has four sails, which are symmetrically spread on both sides of the hull. Coupled with the sharp attack angle of the bow, it looks like a giant wasp .
"I'm sorry to disturb you two, but we'd better deal with the enemy first." At some point, Richard had already arrived on the deck. The Lich took a general look at the enemy's array, then nodded towards the Elf Prayer, "The opponent came at the right time. Although many experiments have been done, it is not enough. This time we can conduct actual combat exercises."
"What do you mean?" Oluha seemed taken aback.
"That's right, the consciousness network that allows the death knight to gain the power of prayer has been constructed, and then it's up to you to activate it." The commander-in-chief of the undead army said this.
"What is that?" Shifan asked strangely.
"The specific principle is quite complicated. If you are interested, I can explain it in detail later." Richard took out a necklace from his bosom and handed it to Goddess's End. A sort of web of magical energy—I call it the 'web of consciousness'."
"Through the terminal of the consciousness network, we first let Oluha activate the entire network with prayer, and then, the death knight who does not know prayer can use the network of prayer that has already been performed to change the world with his own consciousness."
"The power of will is manipulated by Oluha who knows the art of prayer, and the power of will is provided by the death knights wearing jewelry. In short, that's it." Lich summed it up briefly.
"I see. It's a system that gathers everyone's willpower." The black-haired girl said thoughtfully.
"That's right, because what I'm best at is magic net technology." Richard's tone was mixed with a touch of self-confidence.
"It's very interesting." Shifan nodded, then turned his head to look at the young man beside him, "However, Roland doesn't need such jewelry, as long as I provide him with strength."
These words made the silent Oluha tremble, and the elf's expression turned pale in an instant, but she just pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.
Roland seemed to want to say something, but subconsciously avoided the sad sight of the other party, and lost his only chance as a result.
"The opponent adopts a rhombus formation, which is not suitable for blocking at sea, but is the most suitable formation for retreating. It seems that they don't intend to fight to the death in such a remote place, and they should come to test it out." The general manager of the Undead Legion The commander calmly analyzed, "So we also take this opportunity to conduct actual combat experiments, so that we will not be helpless when facing Melukidik."
He said, turning to the elf girl, "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Oluha took a deep breath, and the gem scepter in his hand burst out with a dazzling light.
The entire web of consciousness is activated.
Nearly two hundred death knights jumped off the white fast boat, ignoring the gravity from the bottom of the sea, and galloped like that on the vast water surface. The black nightmare, the shining lance, the silver-white armor, and the burning flames in the eyes of the undead are like the dorsal fin of a shark rising from the water, rushing towards the enemy battleship with unstoppable sharpness.
The undead can actually adopt the knight's charge tactics at sea, which caused a commotion among the soldiers on the Black Sail Fleet. However, they quickly calmed down and began to fight back according to conventional tactics—the ballista on the battleship kept bombarding the area where the death knights were most concentrated, and the mages also began to cast various deceleration spells.
But the fiery crossbow bolts and arcane energy couldn't harm the death knight. Some invisible force distorted the trajectory of the crossbow bolts, and the ice-blue wall appeared out of thin air while absorbing the brilliance of magic.
There is no doubt that it is the power of prayer, but it is not the protection of Oluha.
The necklace worn by the death knight and the scepter in the hands of the elf prayer build a huge invisible network. The obsession of each death knight is the source of a torrent of consciousness. And when they are fully integrated into this big net, the undead who have no connection with the meaning of prayer gain the ability to manifest what they want in this world.
Perhaps as far as a true prayer is concerned, the efficiency is extremely low, and the function is also very single. However, for death knights who possessed superb swordsmanship and Ishtoli guard, the wall formed by their own will was enough for them to break through any obstacle.
Ignoring the baptism of magic and ballista, the dead rushed to the target like this, and then used the hard lance in their hands to destroy the part of the battleship below the waterline. The icy sea water rushed into the cabin frantically, and the two behemoths quickly lost their balance and sank into the ruthless sea.
"Very good." Richard narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
However, before the Lich enjoyed the joy of the research results, a ten-meter-high wave rose from the calm sea without any warning, and then pressed down on the nearest boat like a mountain.
The shadow of death completely shrouded the warship of the undead, and the helmsman didn't even have time to turn, and the strong waves smashed the entire speedboat to pieces. What's even more frightening is that the death knights who fell into the water not only failed to float to the surface, but all sank like drowning people~!
Ishutori endowed her knights with various incredible abilities, one of which was to escape the shackles of gravity. Thus, the dead can race across vertical walls or rough seas—but not in hostile or self-protective environments.
In Richard's memory, the offensive and defensive battle against IS a long time ago was such a scene - because the water element was manipulated by the elf singer Aurha, many death knights drowned and were torn apart by the whirlpool.
Today, everything is simply a reproduction of that time.
"There are prayers among the enemies." Roland murmured, expressing the guess in Lich's mind.