The rolling hills at the end of the Ajax Mountains extend all the way to the center of the northern plains. Even if travelers reach the Grand Canyon within the garrison of the Ural Fortress, they can still vaguely see the slightly raised rock hills on the vast plains.
As all travelers walking on the road can see, on one side of the Ural Mountains that divides the Northland and the Central Region, there is a long and narrow canyon that spreads to the western seas, a huge crack created by the movement of the two continents for millions of years. Perhaps it is the prototype of another ocean tens of millions of years from now, but now, it is just a channel connecting countless underground water systems. At the bottom of the canyon, the underground rivers that converge into one are surging, flowing into the distance, and at the bottom of the canyon, At the upper end, a huge bridge connects the two sides across a distance of several hundred meters.
This is the Ural Mountain Fortress, the border between the Moldavia Territory and the central region of the Northern Empire.
In history, King Ajax blew the horn of the first pioneering era here. In pursuit of glory, countless knights went deep into the wild snowfields one by one, transforming today's extremely cold plains, the Ajax Mountains and the mountains at the end of the earth. The Vast Sea was merged into the empire's territory, and now, as the hub connecting the Northland and the Central Region, the Ural Fortress has gradually become a prosperous big city.
Starfall 834, April 5th, the border of the central region of the empire, the Ural Mountains, the Ural Fortress.
After passing through the long flow of people, Joshua and his two weapons sat in a carriage made of steel core wood and dragon grain wood. They passed the fortress' review gate at an even speed, and the reviewing soldiers were prompted by the coachman. , after seeing the inconspicuous emblem of the sword-holding hand on the carriage, they all took a step back in tacit agreement, allowing this ordinary but extremely strong carriage to enter the fortress smoothly.
Ever since he rejected Nostradamus' proposal last time, Joshua had made plans to set off alone. However, he didn't want to just find a teleportation circle and arrive at the imperial capital in a blink of an eye - teleportation magic. It was convenient, but it was too boring, so after several master tailors made a dress for him, the warrior took his luggage, sat in a carriage, and leisurely embarked on the road to the imperial capital.
Although this behavior was a waste of time and meaningless, for Joshua, what he saw along the way was a good opportunity for him to re-examine this familiar and unfamiliar world. The horses of the carriage took a turn and turned the carriage onto the central avenue of the fortress.
The journey from the main city of Moldavia to the Ural Fortress can be considered pleasant and warm. Without the hassle of government affairs, the soldiers can calm down and enjoy the scenery of early spring with peace of mind.
Next to the Ural Fortress is an artificial river that sparkles with golden light due to the sun. Green grass spreads from the beach of this moat to the woods next to the mountains. Because there are sawmills and water mills inside the fortress, this artificial river It was also pulled out of a tributary and continued into the city, bringing the fresh scent of grass and trees in the mountains. The carriage was walking along this artificial river towards the center of the city. Lin had already sat next to the old carriage driver. Humbly learning how to control several war horses at the same time, while Ying curiously looked out the window, admiring the cityscape that was completely different from the main city of Moldavia.
Joshua also smiled and looked at the scenery outside the carriage window and the hurried pedestrians coming and going, feeling extremely comfortable in his heart.
Man, he really needs to relax. He has been through too hard in the past year. One major event has happened one after another, leaving him no chance to breathe. If he hadn't taken the opportunity to go to the capital of the empire this time, he would have even I can't find time to put down my official duties, take a few days of real rest, and travel around.
Of course, if they were walking at this speed, they would definitely not be able to reach the imperial capital in the next few days. Whether they could pass through the jurisdiction of the Ural Fortress was a question. However, as long as they entered the central area of the empire, Joshua and others could borrow it at any time. The teleportation array in the local city goes to the foot of the Imperial Capital Mountain, so there is no need to worry about being late.
"If you want to go out and have a look, then go out."
Suddenly, Joshua spoke to his two weapons. This shocked both Ying and Rin. For this reason, Rin returned to the carriage and looked at her sister face to face. Although Ying remained stunned, In the carriage, he didn't know why his owner suddenly had such an idea.
What does the master want to do
The confusion of the two people was not concealed at all, it was written directly on their faces.
And Joshua also saw their expressions - but where did the warrior have any other ideas? He just saw that Ying and Lin seemed to be very curious, so he simply let the two of them go out to play by themselves. Anyway, this time was to relax, and there was no need to always act together. He felt the connection with the two of them and was not afraid. Lost.
As for the danger, Joshua is not worried at all. Both Ying and Lin have the strength of high-level silver. As long as he, the master, works hard, he can even advance to gold, even if there are traffickers or other evil people who take a fancy to their looks. , it is definitely not them who suffer.
"Then...are we leaving?"
Before leaving, standing on the side of the road, Rin looked at Joshua in the car hesitantly, and he said softly: "Aren't you kidding?"
"Of course not, let's go, just don't spend all your money."
Joshua shrugged and nodded to tell Ying who was standing aside not to look suspicious: "Go if you want to, don't look so suspicious."
Watching the two people disappear around the corner of Central Avenue, Joshua nodded slightly, then unfolded the city map that came with the carriage. After looking at it for a while, he determined his next target - a well-known man today. Alchemist, he wanted to ask an alchemist something.
However, just when he was about to ask the coachman to change direction and head to the southern part of the city, Joshua suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
This chill does not come from the temperature in the air, nor from an unknown enemy, but from the depths of the soul.
—The distant altar.
The strange ritual has come to an end. The armor placed on the obsidian altar has been shattered piece by piece under the erosion of the black tentacles, leaving only countless fragments and dark brown blood scabs, and the blood circle painted on the dome is Under the support of eight stone pillars engraved with countless blasphemous curse runes, an indescribable aura of chaos shimmered, spreading towards the void in an unknown distance.
"Chaos supreme!"
Along with the simple and straightforward incantation, all the fragments of the armor were dissolved by a darkness originating from the void, and the dark brown blood scab seemed to regain its vitality and turned into fresh plasma. However, the green blood originating from the orcs was At the same time as it manifested, it was completely wiped out by a strong force. Only a little dark red blood was wrapped in the black tentacles, trembling like red beads.
"Blood sacrifice to my god!"
Next to the altar, a tall figure suddenly cut his forelimbs and spilled his blood on the lines on the ground. As the lines flickered, the blood beads suspended on the altar were instantly filled with an unpredictable and evil terror. The power evaporates. Black-red blood mist filled the sky above the altar, and was completely absorbed by the obsidian altar. After that, the altar seemed to have received something necessary and began to become fully activated. It was originally suspended in the air and began to rise slowly. High, spinning, and the two huge figures that were chanting mantras before are now leaning down respectfully, expressing their fear and awe at the scene in front of them.
The altar made of obsidian shimmers with bloody lines, and is filled with endless brilliance. With every rotation of the altar, the magic circle on the dome and the runes on the stone pillars will light up and disappear like breathing, and The altar rotated faster and faster, and the speed of light and death also became faster and faster. Until finally, the altar that was originally rotating crazily suddenly stopped, and the magic circle also stopped selecting - but at this time, the void had been torn apart, and a powerful force The incomparable negative will came here silently, and then after confirming certain information, it shot away in a certain direction.
The speed of thinking and will is faster than light, and it is a power that is freed from the constraints of time. The moment the ritual is completely completed, the curse falls on Joshua who is in the distant Ural Fortress.
At this moment, Joshua subconsciously felt great terror. His muscles, which were harder than steel, suddenly tightened, and his heart beat violently, transmitting the power of life to his whole body to resist unknown dangers.
But the power of the curse came so quickly that any resistance became sluggish in comparison. Just when Joshua frowned and was about to explode with all his strength, the evil power broke through before he could. Come and remember to mobilize the power of body protection, directly into the soul of the warrior.
Ying and Rin, who were originally walking hand in hand on the street, were happily listening to an elf bard singing an epic about King Ajax, but suddenly, the two of them looked into the distance in shock, and their bodies shook violently. , there are obvious traces of fluctuations as if there is poor contact.
"Owner?!"
Before they had time to say the next words, the two people's spiritual bodies, which were slowly collapsing, suddenly stabilized. While Ying and Lin looked confused, an invisible and qualityless force appeared, only the word "Purification". A powerful light of order suddenly burst out on the north side of the city, turning into a beam of light that could not be seen by ordinary people, but was extremely obvious in the eyes of professionals. It was even brighter than the sun. It went straight into the sky, as if it penetrated through the sky. The infinite point is submerged into the void.
And in the center of the light pillar, a black-haired man pressed a hand on his chest, tightly holding the treasure hanging on his chest. His whole body was burning with translucent flames. This flame was like all mortal things. Flame is completely different. It seems to be the origin of life, the source of existence, and the most basic force for the survival of all things.
[Fire: Lv1]
A little late, jet lagged today...
(End of chapter)