The war between order and chaos has been going on for ten thousand years. The confrontation between the two forces has left countless wreckages in the fragmented "Kolo World". , or relatively recent remnants can still be found. These remnants include the devil's lair in various kingdoms of order, as well as the ruins of human towns in the land of chaos.
Except for those sanctuaries that are sheltered by the holy power and can stand in chaos for thousands of years (such as the Kasuan Temple), the human ruins that can be found in the wilderness are basically the products of less than three centuries. It has been wiped out with the tide of chaos.
The town site in front of me is such a "young" ruin. According to Veronica, this town was a product of three centuries ago. Built by merchants, that century was the "dawn period" when the power of order overwhelmed the power of chaos. The chaos located in the dark swamp-barren wilderness-shadow jungle was once pushed back to the extreme southern border of the continent, and the big merchants of the two kingdoms It was on this route that a great trade route was opened, and the bazaars they built traversed the plains and hills like strings of pearls, and one-fifth of the wealth on the continent flowed through this main artery.
In the gorgeous chapters left by the bards, large sections of text tirelessly describe the merchants in Chinese clothes, gorgeous dancers, adventurers, mercenaries, and those who wandered from the grasslands to find Centaur warriors of chance.
Until chaos struck, the tide of power turned the plains and hills into a paradise for monsters, and this string of "pearls" was scattered in the darkness. Today, there are less than ten remaining, and the fragmentary ruins are either half-sunken In the swamps of the Dark Swamp, or the nests of ancient trees that have become Shadow Groves, this ruin in the Badlands is perhaps the only place that remains intact—and offers some shelter to wanderers who pass by.
If there were any wanderers bold enough to stride across this wasteland.
This time, such a group of "guests" really entered the ruins. They were the Talos royal knights led by Veronica.
The old knight Morian took the lead to open the way ahead, and the bannermen holding the "sacred objects" followed closely to provide the protection of the Symmetra for the entire team. Hao Ren and Veronica stepped in while guarding the surroundings. In this dilapidated town, although the rest of the knights walked lightly, they still held their weapons and formed a defensive array, without any slack in their advances and retreats.
Hao Ren couldn't help being a little curious when he saw the cautious appearance of other people (in fact, he had some doubts a long time ago, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to ask them out): "Isn't there the 'artifact' protection I gave you? ? Could there still be monsters popping up here?"
Veronica couldn't help but gave Hao Ren a weird look. This question really didn't seem like an ancient guardian who had experienced many battles. But she thought that this "ancient man" had been in a deep sleep for a thousand years , put the question in his heart, and explained patiently: "A place shrouded in light is not necessarily safe. Although the servants of chaos in the mist will be dispersed by the power of order, there are still half-polluted 'corrupted monsters' here. Corrupted monsters are the products of creatures in the world of order polluted by chaos, and they are also the intermediate state between creatures of order and creatures of complete chaos—these monsters still retain half of their physical bodies, so they have a certain resistance to the light of order, What's more, the order part of their bodies will have an instinctive desire for light, although this light can make them extremely painful, but this kind of monster will still rush over like moths to a flame."
Morian also added: "The last time we passed by here, we lit the embers in the town fire. The power of the embers may attract the monsters wandering in the wilderness here. But there is no need to worry too much—corruption Although monsters are somewhat resistant to Symmetra, they are still creatures of chaos, they will be weakened a lot in front of holy objects, and the number is difficult to scale, as long as they are careful, there will be no problem."
Hao Ren snorted, but frowned slightly.
Without the protection of holy objects like the Golden Battle Banner, they would be devoured by the servants of chaos. With holy objects, they would attract and corrupt monsters like fire attracting flying insects. Warriors fighting in the realm of chaos are equal to two evils. It's easy, this ghostly place... is really not for people.
At this moment, the team has entered the central area of the town ruins.
The ruins of the town were severely corroded, and there were hardly any buildings with intact frames, but some shadows of past glory could still be vaguely seen among the only remaining ruins. Most of the buildings here have thick and sloping outer walls, and the roofs have rounded arcs. Most of the houses are made of stones, with a hint of the shadow of the desert country: it is said that the main people who designed these towns He is an architect from the Fenghuo Kingdom, which was a famous desert country back then.
Halfway through, a sense of vigilance suddenly throbbed in Hao Ren's heart. Hao Ren immediately lowered his voice: "Wait, there seems to be something ahead."
The words of the "Ancient Guardian" are of course very important. Even the staid old knight Morian immediately stopped and lowered his body after hearing the warning. Veronica drew out her knight's long sword and covered the blade with magical power. Then she ordered the "banner bearer" holding the holy object to stop at the same place, and she moved forward step by step.
The power released by the sacred object in the hands of the bannerman is like a lighthouse in the realm of chaos. If there are corrupt monsters gathering in front of him, then if the bannerman continues to move forward, it is very likely that groups of monsters will be greeted.
Hao Ren saw that Her Royal Highness walked towards the edge of the sanctuary with a long sword, and couldn't help feeling a little worried: This behavior is certainly brave and respectable, but it doesn't seem to be what a qualified princess should do. Sometimes it is a shortcoming for people. But when he saw that none of the knights around him showed any strange expressions, he was obviously used to Her Royal Highness's actions.
What he didn't know was that Veronica didn't do it too recklessly, it was because all the scouts and spellcasters in the team were dead, and she was now the only half mage and warrior who knew scouting skills in the team .
On the battlefield, practicality comes first.
After thinking for a while, Hao Ren followed Veronica, and the two of them came to a broken wall in front of them and squatted down.
This collapsed stone wall is exactly the limit of the protection of the sacred objects in the hands of the bannermen. Within the protection range is a place of order shrouded in twilight, and outside the protection range is darkness and chaos. The two domains are clearly defined. In Hao Ren's eyes It's amazing.
Veronica took out a light golden triangular talisman from her bosom. She stuck the talisman on her forehead and chanted a spell in a low voice. The power of the talisman immediately enveloped her whole body, and a gleam of light appeared on her body surface , and subsequently absorbed into the body.
Then she took a breath and stepped into the dark chaos outside Sanctuary.
What she used just now is the "Order Talisman", a magic item that allows a single person to move in the realm of chaos. The golden battle flag or other sacred objects are too dazzling in the chaos, so the talisman used by a single person comes in handy at this time . However, the effective time of the Order Talisman is quite limited. Once the effect ends, the user will be swallowed by chaos almost instantly—in Keluo, scouting is definitely the most dangerous profession.
Hao Ren also guessed the function of the talisman after seeing this scene, but he didn't have it—Veronica preconceived Hao Ren as an experienced ancient guardian, and he also had various An ancient sacred object, so it never occurred to me to give him a talisman.
But Hao Ren didn't really need such props. He just pretended to stretch out his hand and stroked his chest a few times, saying "bless the female psychopath", and then walked into the darkness like that.
Veronica glanced back and was stunned.
But soon she's pushing everything down to the catch-all excuse of "mighty ancients."
The two walked cautiously in the darkness and mist, and finally, they arrived at the circular square in the center of the ruins of the town.
"Damn it..." Hao Ren muttered in a low voice, "These are the corrupted monsters you mentioned?"
The square is crowded with all kinds of twisted and deformed monsters!
Those monsters come in a variety of shapes and forms, most of them are polluted beasts, there are black wolves the size of calves, and there are also rhinoceros with bone spurs and armor all over their bodies, and some humanoid creatures can be seen among these beasts. Wearing tattered armor from before, and even holding broken weapons in their hands, these are warriors and adventurers who fell when chaos struck—but now their limbs are twisted, their flesh and blood are festering, and their eyes are burning with muddy gray-white flames. Become a member of the Chaos Monster.
Among these monsters, Hao Ren also saw some "species" that were completely different from other monsters. Those monsters had been corrupted and distorted to the point where they could hardly see their original prototypes. Emerging in a blurry state—this is a sign of being highly assimilated by the land of chaos, and it is the last stage of corrupting monsters. Soon, they will be swallowed by the surrounding mist, and finally become part of the power of chaos.
"... They are indeed corrupt monsters, but why are there so many?" Veronica was also dumbfounded when she saw the scene on the square, "The fire has been extinguished, so it shouldn't be so attractive..."
Hao Ren narrowed his eyes, it sounded like something was wrong. (to be continued~^~)