Under the pitch-black sky, long boats broke through the fog and sailed into Black Tern Island.
The soldiers of the White Rose Knights disembarked to the island in an orderly manner, and dragged the wooden boat into the nearby grass to hide.
After the grass, the land on the edge of the island was washed by the lake for a long time and became moist and soft, leaving dense rows of footprints.
And when the hazy oil lamp lit up, this mess of human shoe prints was also mixed with a huge number of deformed three-toed webbed prints.
"Half murloc..."
Roy and Lesso took out a bottle of "cat" that had been prepared for a long time, and drank it, with dark blood vessels appearing on their faces, and the strange vertical pupils suddenly seemed to emit fluorescent light from cats and wolves.
The previously slightly blurred vision became clearer than during the day.
His eyes moved along the line of deformed web prints, over the empty sandy beach and into the dark woods ahead.
The trees are towering.
On the island in the lake is a very lush forest.
"His Royal Highness Yada..." Roy whispered closer to the woman, "Have you seen it before?"
Yada followed his gaze and shook her head, "The first two times I've been working in a small area on the edge of the lake, and I've never been to an island, let alone a forest. This time it's a huge success."
As she said that, the leather whip in her hand supported the small chin, and there was a hint of doubt in her eyes, "But why can't even see a half-murloc on the island? Could it be that in the attack just now, they have already come out of their nests?"
"It's better... but you can't take it lightly," the witcher reminded. "Beware of fraud!"
It was obviously time for a deep sleep, but the fallen murlocs launched a surprise attack, as if predicting their actions.
That's a pretty bad signal, and who's to say, could there be other traps in the woods
…
The knight with a shield bowed and walked cautiously ahead, while the knight with a crossbow followed behind with bright eyes, scanning the surrounding environment vigilantly.
Roy moved his fingers to draw an upside-down triangular array in midair, and while the rays of light flickered, a khaki oval cover was born from the array, covering the surface of his body, and the brilliance began to flow, disappearing and appearing.
"This is a spell? No need to chant?"
Yada, who was firmly protected by the two witchers in the middle, asked curiously,
"The Witcher's Seal..." Roy explained in a low voice, then lightly touched his lips with his index finger to indicate silence.
Inside and outside the woods, it seems like two worlds, stepping into it with one step, immediately there is a cold air blowing towards the face.
The leading knights couldn't help but turn pale, and suddenly stopped, their backs and necks swish, as if invisible pale dead hands brushed against their skin.
In addition to being cold, people can't help but be afraid, and an urge to turn around and escape is unstoppable in my heart.
But long-term formal training allowed them to resist the urge and move on.
"It's too quiet... Everyone be careful!"
The ground under the feet of the people in the woods is no longer the soft and fine sandy ground like the outside world, but is covered with a thick layer of humus.
In addition to the black withered branches and fallen leaves, there are other things mixed in them, which are sticky and sticky when you step on them, and there is a faint smell of rancidity and fishy smell.
At the same time, the surrounding environment became darker and narrower. Under the light, tall ancient trees stood quietly in all directions, casting hideous shadows on everyone.
They stretched their limbs to the extreme, and slender and long vines hung down on the branches, woven into a layer of emerald gauze.
The wind through the forest whizzed past, and for a while, the vines and branches swayed with the wind, like opening countless large nets, ready to cover everyone at any time.
"Kid, stay alert," Leto looked around warily. "There's something weird about this wood."
Roy nodded, closed his eyes suddenly and let go of his perception.
After a while, there was an illusion in my heart - a group of people were standing on the tongue coating and stomach wall of a behemoth.
He neatly pulled out Guvihir and stabbed the ground with his sword, but when he pulled out the blade, he found that there was no blood or minced meat on the sword except for a thick layer of sludge. .
"Am I thinking too much?"
Another difficult time.
The formation of the team shrank inward again, becoming like a turtle shell.
And Roy quietly handed Leto a black sinking object that was not in the middle of winter - the alchemy bomb, the dragon's dream.
He noticed that the woods were clearly gloomy and cold, and the crowd did not exercise too vigorously, but several knights were sweating profusely and gasping for breath.
"What's going on? A knight's physique is not so weak."
He squeezed the palm of his hand, and was surprised to feel a thick layer of wet sweat, and he was not spared.
"Stop! Stop now—"
"keep quiet!"
The bald man suddenly stretched out his hand and yelled, stopping everyone's actions,
After two breaths, the grass not far away suddenly shuddered, and a strange shriek sounded,
"chirp-chirp-"
The voice is small, but in this quiet and eerie wood, it makes people shudder. A group of people could not help clenching the weapons in their hands, staring at the grass without blinking.
The grass trembled even more, as if something terrifying was about to burst out of its shell.
The two witchers tied the seal, held down the hilt of their swords, and walked to the front of the team, ready to fight.
The trembling of the grass stopped, and the thing finally jumped out, revealing the whole picture in front of everyone - a white, round and fleshy rodent with a pair of pointed and long ears - a rabbit.
"call-"
There was a long sigh of relief in the woods.
"Little thing, take the initiative to run over to die, is this tired of living?" A young knight squatted down cursingly.
The shock just now was really exciting, tightening and loosening, and it also swept away the sense of urgency that had accumulated in his heart since entering the woods. He couldn't help feeling the soft fur on the rabbit's body.
The little beast ignored the familiar knight, and kept his teeth moving.
"I still eat, my life is about to die!"
"It's fucking amazing, these days, even a rabbit doesn't care about the Knight of the White Rose!"
"This thing is not afraid of people at all." Another knight said in surprise.
"Whoosh-"
There was a sharp cracking sound in the forest, and the next moment, the rabbit fell to the ground with trembling feet, staring at a bloody arrow on its stomach.
"Be vigilant!" The witcher retracted his crossbow and shouted grimly, "This is Black Tern Island, the hometown of fallen murlocs, how could there be no threat of small animals!"
"Master is right,"
Cavalier Cleveland crouched down and turned the dying rabbit over in front of everyone, exposing its belly.
In the snow-white fur, a clump of black fleshy growths like a fungal infection could be seen.
"what is this?"
Yada was not afraid at all, instead she was very excited to stroke the black growths with her leather-gloved palms.
"Exactly the same symptoms as the fallen murlocs."
"His Royal Highness Yada, please step back... Let me check."
The knight then lifted the rabbit's lip to examine it.
The firelight revealed its two usual big teeth, but on both sides of the big teeth, there was another set of staggered serrations growing in its mouth. Pressing the ends of its limbs, it stretched out feline-like claws.
"Hey—this thing has mutated and turned into a carnivore..."
"It seems that in addition to the fallen half-murlocs, other animals on this island have also been affected in some way, and their bodies have been deformed."
Leto looked around. "For safety's sake. I suggest that everyone leave the woods now and return immediately."
"No!" Yada's eyes stared at the darkness deep in the woods, as if a roaring flame was burning.
"The road is halfway through, and now you give up halfway through, are you willing? Besides, the poor people in Kona Village are still waiting for us to bring back good news!" Yada stretched her arms to face the knights, and asked loudly,
"A triumphant return from a complete solution to the crisis in Lake Vizima, or a deserter?"
Hearing the words, the faces of the knights became firm.
And Yada continued to bewitched, "From the time we landed on the island until now, we have only encountered such a small animal that can be easily killed..."
"It's a mutant animal..." the witcher emphasized.
"So what?!" Yada glared at him with a slightly flushed face, "The really dangerous fallen murlocs on the island were cleaned up in the lake long ago. A few mutated animals, be careful, completely No problem!"
"Go ahead, I believe this time will be able to destroy the altar of evil. When the time comes, I will give a reward."
"I've never been a stingy person, everyone knows that!"
Yada watched with satisfaction as the knights bowed their heads to her again in obedience, turning to the witcher,
"Two masters, this trip is under my command, please don't make any more morale-damaging remarks."
"Your Highness, aren't you worried," Roy retorted. "Since the altar can affect the body of animals, who can guarantee that it will not affect us?"
"Don't contradict me again, witcher."
A cold light flashed in Yada's eyes, and she followed the Knights a few steps forward.
"Let's go a little further," the bald witcher said in a low voice, watching the woman's back, "if the situation is out of control, use some extraordinary means to tie this arrogant princess and run away!"