Vol 3 Chapter 17: Starless night

Everything within thirty miles of it disappeared, leaving nothing to the eyes of the fugitives, the boundless horizon, the gust of wind and the huge basin with a smooth surface. As a top-ranked mage, Motidal had always had a high interest in the mysterious prayer technique, but when he saw this dead silence, everything inside him was burned.
Beyond fear.
"Next ... Next ..." The wizard turned and looked at his colleagues, his eyes like a pool of standing water.
"I don't know. This level of casualties should be considered total extinction." Jack Weir replied with a loss, "What's more ..." Speaking of which, the King of Shadow Dragons paused.
Can the man who vowed to destroy the gods survive this power? If he is really destroyed, where do we go from here? The two people held the same uneasiness in their hearts, but no one dared to speak, as if doing so would make the fear in their hearts a part of the cruel reality.
But then, Motidal's blank eyes lit up in an instant.
"Hey, look ~!" He yelled and pulled over the former thief leader. The King of Dragons couldn't help trembling when the scene reflected in Jack Weir's pupils.
A tiny black spot suddenly appeared on the mirror that was so harsh that it could not tolerate any life, as if it were a canopy flame lit on ice, burning eyes and bright. The survivors with sullen expressions all stood up and stretched their necks to look around. With the passage of time, the black spot finally became clear-Mobadi strode into the camp, holding the sleeping Zephyris in his arms, the girl's chest was undulating and his expression calm and serene.
However, the leader's expression did not have the slightest joy of survival. His sharpened face only had the coldness and pain after the failure. At the moment, nearly 2,000 of the elite troops were less than 20%, despite the shadow dragon with wings. A family was able to escape the last assault from Richeliere, but the casualties were equally severe.
"The battle failed. The other party knew who I was, but I didn't know that the most powerful prayer man of all time was waiting in the tower." Mobadi lowered his head and said with a wry smile, "Even if there is no victory, there is nothing. Meaning, because death was a powerful weapon for her, and it was a determination beyond my expectations. "
"But that enemy has been cleared ~!" The wizard wizard retorted eagerly. "The death knight must have suffered heavy losses now, but we can still drive the legions of major forces to besiege them, and in this world we will be able to separate the victory and defeat ~ ! "
"That's right." The King of Shadow Dragon replied in agreement, completely gone.
The proud blood race raised his head again, and glanced at the warrior ready to go. In their expressions, there was the sadness of losing their companions, and the inconceivable anxiety and fear, but what could not be ignored was the firmness and the blazing flames in their pupils.
Even after witnessing and experiencing such a powerful force, even if it is understood that mortals may never be able to fight the power of prayer, no one intends to withdraw.
"Hey, it looks like I've become the newest soldier who can't stand the blow." As if there was some kind of subtle resonance, Mobadi's gem pupil began to light up gradually, and the corner of the blood tribe slightly raised, "So , Ready to return to this world, then you need to use the military blockade line to find the end of the whereabouts. In addition, tactics must be further adjusted, even if the other party is the strongest prayer, absolutely can not let the scene just played again Now. "
"Then ..." He clenched the Holy Cross sword subconsciously, "We'll finish everything ~!"
"A total of 374 high-level death knights received eternal rest, and the number of dead dragons was 25 ..." After obtaining preliminary statistics, the top commander of the undead army sighed, "It's a terrible loss rate. But it's enough for us to be glad that we haven't reached the end of the annihilation." Said the Lich, looking with regret at the endless mirror reflecting the light of death, the prayer of Richesir The traces left were concise and cold.
The power of the seven-colored flower is enough to break down any substance into the most primitive particles, but the gorgeous light also makes the battlefield a domain where the spiritual world, the present world, and the nether world overlap. It may only be a short while, but it is enough for Ishtoli, located in the Divine Land, to interfere. At the last moment, the power of the goddess protected her knight, so that the light flow that turned everything back to dust was deflected before it contacted the undead, and the Ice Crown Knights were able to escape this catastrophic disaster.
But even so, the losses from the battle were still much greater than expected.
Arthas on the side just stroked the sword without saying a word. As a comrade-in-arms who had been working together for hundreds of years, Richard had thought that he would grit his teeth and say things like "If the woman is alive, I must kill her", but the only response from the death knight was silence.
"What's the matter, always holding a poker face." The Lich asked slowly, "Don't you kill the two Shadow Dragons, what's wrong with you?"
"Damn, are you going to coax the kid?" The other party finally broke out, and Arthas grabbed each other's collar and yanked him to his eyes. "Perhaps for us stupid mortals To say that dragon-slaying is an incredible feat, but do you think this kind of "record" still makes sense? Ah ~ !? "
"Whether it's Melody, the twist of consciousness, or the light that just destroyed everything ... The sword is just a display in front of that power." The death knight suddenly let go of his hand and laughed at himself, "Now It seems that the reason why Jaxar was able to seriously damage the Yanlong Dragon at the beginning is that Risesil is the real key? Yun Yao's skills can only be used to deal with ordinary opponents ... "
"In my opinion, the guy who interprets the word" strength "simply as destructive power is really stupid behavior." Richard interrupted the hysterical growl of the other party directly. "The persistence that even death can be overcome is actually because It's disappointing that the destruction spell just collapsed. "
"You are not qualified to educate me." Arthas stared at the opponent fiercely. "The Cavaliers have no counterattack ability in front of the Yan Dragon. This is the reality. Neither the flash weapon nor the undead dragon can harm him. , What are you going to do next time? Continue to let the coward who even gave up in the past take the lead? Ah yes, now we do n’t even know where we end up fleeing ~! "
"There will be a way." The Lich replied solemnly, "As long as you still believe in your sword, then I must have a way to make it cut into Melody's body."
"That's for sure ~!" The death knight's eyes lit with a hot flame.
"But at the same time, the tactics of the Ice Crown Knights must also change," Richard nodded, "our enemies have surpassed common sense and experience."
"I will ask for your opinion when necessary. In short, in addition to returning to the present world to find the end, the most important thing is to make our weapons sharper." The head of the Knight snorted and did not return to the ground. Walking towards the camp, his last words came far away, "It's sharp enough to cut off the scales of Yanlong ~!"
However, the first thing the Lich did was not to gather academic colleagues, but to find two living beings who fought alongside the undead-Oluha, who understood the mystery of prayer, and Faloshi, who had a long-lasting light. Dai.
Like other top mages, Richard had inquired deeply about prayer, but that was just a matter of principle and theory. This wise scholar understands that it is now necessary to study the problem from a practical perspective. At this moment, the knowledge of the elf prayer and the power of the "Long Lights" must hide the key he is looking for.
"We must find the end to this world as soon as possible, and we must get enough power to protect the end as soon as possible." The Lich whispered to himself, and his tone contained unshakable firmness.
Here is the vast storm ocean. The dazzling thunder and lightning tore the sky, silver snakes occasionally appeared in the dark clouds, and the heavy rain continued, and waves followed. The sailing tide is like a light leaf, and it can only rise and fall with the raging Nu River.
The figure with hot eyes was standing at the bow of the ship, with flying hair like a silver banner.
"For mortals, destiny is a river that can never be turned back." The dark eagle turned, his voice sounded like broken ice in the tide, "but in front of you, it has become a sea."
"Look, countless routes are waiting for your choice." The still-remembered reflection slowly walked towards Roland, his foot sinking like a mountain, making the deck moan, "But no matter which one you choose, in the end ... ... "
"Still falling into the same whirlpool."
The next moment, the swarming tide finally crossed the broken ship's string, dragging the helpless prey, along with the youth who control it, into the deep ocean bottom.
Again ... a dream? Roland thought, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead subconsciously, and then sat up slowly.
"Finally woke up." The same sentiment as the last time came again, this time the youth was not surprised. He opened his eyes as he promised, the first thing that caught his eyes was the faint halo of the stalactite tip, and then the slender figure of the dark-haired girl holding the book.
It seemed that the last time she woke up, she was also studying. Roland vaguely recalled the situation on Moonlight Island. But this is too lacking in a sense of crisis. Now I do n’t even know where I am. I still have a leisure time to study?
"Here is ... an underground cave?" The young man asked with a little surprise after looking around. Stalactites and stalagmites make up uneven terrain. From time to time, clear water seeps down through the loose rock formations above, hits the bottom of the cave, and "snap" with a hollow sound.
"Well." The girl nodded. "It seemed that I was attracted by the spirit world on the way, so the route deviated. We have been flying in overlapping areas for too long to cross the place that could have been a landing point in this world. However, at least not stuck in the rocks. "
"In other words, we have no way back now." Roland concluded briefly and relentlessly, but then his voice came with a hint of hesitation and worry. "The condition of the others ... can you feel it?"
"Lise used her last strength to send us out of the overlapping realm of the spirit world and this world, but she never opened her eyes again, and Ferredo couldn't hear me." Shi Fan lowered his head, faint Replied, "As for the others, I don't know ..."
The two stopped talking. Feeling that she was saying something wrong, Roland hid her expression in the shadows and carefully watched the girl opposite.
The youth thought the other party would cry, but nothing happened. Shi Fan still lowered his head to flip the pages of his book, his eyes flickered as the paper jumped. The dark eagle who lost her memory could not understand everything contained in those thin green eyes-maybe there was nothing there, or maybe the girl hid them somewhere she couldn't even notice. In this way, silence soon dominated the surrounding time and space. Only the cold light brought by prayer shone on the rocks, creating the illusion of nightfall in this starless land.
"Let's go. Get out of here and find a martyr that can return to the surface." After examining his equipment, Roland finally spoke to break the silence.
"But how do you go? Where should I go?" The girl closed the book on her lap, but did not mean to get up. "I wanted to take a look at the sand table, but it was useless here."
She said she folded her hands on her chest and slowly pulled it apart. This time, nothing appeared.
"Did it fail?"
"No, in fact everything has been shown. But," Shi Fan explained quietly, "no light ..."
"Then you can only explore the road yourself." Roland shrugged indifferently. "Although the underground world is similar to the maze, the hidden laws in it will lead us in the right direction. Come, give this light. The young man said, taking out the dagger around his waist and holding it up high like a lantern.
"Will it not attract enemies?" The girl asked back.
"Don't worry, although the light is indeed noticeable in the dark, but only if the other party has vision. And here, most dangerous predators use thermal vision." The blonde swordsman shook his frost.恸 's hilt, "If the body temperature can be isolated, at most only a few monsters will be attracted during the journey, and this can be easily solved. Besides, for us, falling into the darkness itself is the greatest danger."
"It's not okay to rely on theory." The initiative was mastered by the other side, and Shi Fan could not help but frowned slightly.
"This is not theory, but practical and actual combat experience." Roland corrected each other. "The Dark Eagle before reincarnation was very familiar with the underground kingdoms of the northern continent. He also knew very well how to operate in dark areas and how to fight underground creatures such as spider monsters .As Roland Strevef after reincarnation, I know of course. "
"A pretty high starting point," the girl commented.
"Yeah, just after waking up from the beach, he inherited all the knowledge of a top warrior ... except for my own part." Speaking of which, the youth couldn't help showing a silent smile. He shook his head, drew the cold and shining dagger across his chest, and slowly walked towards the dark horizon.
The mysterious starlight praised by the poet never shines on this land, and the sunlight that radiates warm vitality is also rejected. The cold rock is the sky dome and the horizon here. The dark tunnel zigzags through it, cuts through the caves, connects the caves up and down, and finally forms a huge and broad maze.
This world that breeds in the warm continent is more dangerous than the spider kingdom covered by snow and ice in the north. Nordson's cave has been completely ruled by spider warriors, so most of the time the invaders face only this single enemy, but here it is different-a hunter hidden in the dark and good at silent action We each have different sneak attacks.
Of course, for Roland, who has already glimpsed Yunyao's uprightness, even with a pair of ten, he can still win the game. However, due to the extremely limited relationship between vision and hearing in the underground environment, at the beginning of each battle, it is always the adventurers who are passive, which makes their nerves tighten more than once.
What is terrible is not the enemy in front of it, but the battle that does not know when it will erupt.
The only advantage of Roland and Shifan compared to those strange carnivorous creatures is that they do not need to find food-the power of the girl can directly turn the hard rock into edible oatmeal-but the oatmeal of this oatmeal The taste was really faint.
Standing in a small alcove in a stone wall, looking at the faint halo emanating from the stalagmites, Roland suddenly felt that becoming a death knight was much better than imagined. At least there is no need to worry about food ... the young man took a slow sip of wheat cake and sighed in his heart.
"Is it really so bad?" Shi Fan asked coldly.
"It's a little lighter, but it tastes good." Roland lied.
"How can it be? It doesn't feel light at all. Although Li Se's cooking is also delicious, before I met her, I almost only ate this kind of cake." The girl's thin eyebrows frowned, obviously not Satisfied with the answer, "Don't pick and choose, or do you want to catch mice?"
"Nothing, nothing." The youth smiled in guilty conscience, then quickly changed the subject. "This underground world is bigger than expected. I'm afraid I can't find an exit after a few more days. I can only choose to There is no other way forward for a wider martyrdom. "
"Actually ..." Shi Fan paused. "Even if you can't go out, it doesn't matter?"
"What are you thinking?" This sentence made Roland almost hold back. The young man stared at the girl with incredible eyes, and seemed to be judging whether the other party was joking. Live? "
"At least it's very easy to survive here. There is no such powerful presence as Melody." The expression revealed from those emerald eyes is very serious. "Those who want to destroy the end of Ishtoli are impossible. Chase it down. "
"But the death knight must be looking for you, too," retorted the youth. "Don't you plan to see Ishtoli?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't see it." The girl stopped looking, and cast her eyes into the endless darkness of the martyrdom. "I said at the beginning that the word for changing the world is too vague to be believed."
Similar to me, I have neither dreams nor goals, nor know how to prove the value and meaning of existence. Looking at Shi Fan's slender back, Roland's eyes glinted at the glimmer of sympathy for the disease. It's just that I seem to understand a little bit now. It wouldn't work if I just hovered blindly like this.
At least "finding" itself proves its existence. It is for this reason that I can resist the attack of Yan Long, right?
And you who gave me strength, should never disappear silently in the darkness without sunlight.
"Perhaps, it doesn't matter if you see Ischutli or not." Roland shrugged. "But you still want to summon Ferredo, aren't you?" Although it was only a few days together, the youth already knew what How to get the other party's attention.
As the speaker expected, this sentence brought Shi Fan back.
"Think." The girl nodded, placing her hand subconsciously on her heart.
"I think that bird is more suitable for flying in the vast sky. Do you want it to spread its wings in such a place, that is impossible." Looking at the serious expression of the dark-haired girl, Roland's voice couldn't help being soft, " And ah, the dark area is too shabby for a 15-year-old girl ... "
"What are you talking about?" Shi Fan interrupted the other party quickly. "I ask you, what are you going to do with Melody and Chase?"
"That ..." The young man was suddenly speechless. For Roland, who was still quite far from the peak of swordsmanship, the blow was quite cruel. The questioner was dumbfounded thinking about how to answer, but from the depths of the distant martyrdom, a clear echo of the metal collision suddenly came. The sound was like the heartbeat of a beast, hitting a silent rock, and falling into the icy silence of the dark area.
Roland and Shi Fan glanced at each other, and immediately stopped chatting. The young man carefully held the girl's hand, and then the faint blue light from the prayer technique quickly faded from the stalagmite, and the cave where the two lived was restored to the darkness of the fingers. The tacit travelers traveled through the rocky maze with the memory of their arrival and soon approached the sound source.
In order to adapt to the dark environment, both predators and predators have developed a nature of silent action. But the uninvited guest is obviously an exception now. The sound it makes is unusually loud. However, it is strange that no killing has been caused by this, which makes young people feel very confused.
Perhaps it is because the relationship is too strong that other creatures will not attack? But how can this guy prey? Roland speculated, holding the girl quickly, and finally came to a few meters away from the sound source.
Unknown enemies are still just advancing on their own, and adventurers who have been attacked for a long time now finally get a chance to take the lead. The next moment, dozens of stalactites around were lit by prayer at the same moment, and Roland drew out his huge sword and leapt forward, and pointed at the target with the icy coldness.
But then, the sight of the pupils froze the attacker's expression instantly-standing on the opposite side was not an underground creature at all, but a small steel golem less than two meters tall.
An artifact.
The Golem seems to have experienced quite fierce fighting. At the moment, the position of the left arm was only a fracture with a grayish black luster. There were many high-temperature burn marks on the whole body, and a wide cut on the chest. However, the magic contained in its metal heart does not seem to disappear, instead it persists in maintaining the operation of the body.
"The intruder ... report ..." A few seconds after Roland stopped the way, the golem finally spoke slowly, apparently the function had deteriorated a lot.
This is a Golem for reconnaissance. The young man judged this way from the other's action mode. He stared intently at the slow-moving steel cymbal, and a long time of excitement surged in his heart. The existence of artificial objects indicates that there must be a human being around. This is not an imaginary desert barren land.
"We may be able to find a companion through it." Roland lowered his blade, changed his posture from offense to defense, and motioned the girl out of the stalactite shadow.
"But there may also be enemies." Shi Fan relentlessly said another possibility.
"It doesn't matter then!" Said the young man, slowly approaching me.
"The intruder ... reports ..." Judging the difference in strength between the two sides, the Golem stepped back a few steps, and then fled along the way in a faltering manner. The young swordsman was about to pursue, but was blocked by the girl. With the will of the praying man, the golem's body suddenly gave off a faint halo.
"Don't chase it intentionally," Shi Fan said, and once again opened the sandbox between his hands. The world reflected in the sandbox was dark due to the lack of light, but at this moment, the steel goblet shrouded in halo seemed to be a striking sign, shining in this impenetrable curtain.
The corner of the iceberg's beauty raised slightly: "Look, there is light now."
Although it is only a little bit, it is enough to let the lost adventurers get their way forward.
The next road, although equally difficult, was missing a confusion. Under the guidance of the sand table, the two began to move towards the location of the light spot, and the surrounding space gradually widened. In addition to the rock folds formed by the force of each other, the traces of the artificial axe are gradually increasing and becoming more and more The more obvious. When Roland finally set foot on a flat martyrdom, something in the corner reflected a faint light in the light of prayer.
"The pickaxe." The young man leaned down, his mouth showing a triumphant smile, "We should have entered the dwarf's mineway now, and the golem is the patroller in this mining area."
"But there doesn't seem to be a living person." With the words of the girl, the light attached to the dagger suddenly increased several times, filling the entire mine tunnel at once, shining the bones everywhere. The wreckage of the dwarves lay in the original position where they were killed. The damaged armor was covered with dust and rust, and it collapsed into ashes with a touch.
"Perhaps a war hundreds of years ago. Nothing terrible. It's deserted." Roland shrugged. "For us, as long as there is a way, it's enough." He said, holding up the shining light Dagger, striding across the body.
Even with light spots in the sandbox to guide the way, intricate tunnels still waste a lot of time for adventurers. Dwarf miners do not intentionally construct a maze, but it is almost impossible to choose the right path forever in countless forks, crossroads, and duplex tunnels. Roland can be sure that he has chosen the wrong way more often than the right one. Until he thoroughly understands the logic of the dwarven miner's original construction, the journey is finally smooth.
Turning across a wide pass, the space suddenly opened. Shown in front of the tiny mortal is a huge cave full of hundreds of meters in height. Even though the light of the dagger has been strengthened several times, it still cannot illuminate the vault above Roland's head. And in the middle of the cave, on the two 30-meter-high Adamantite gates, the eye-catching badge made the youth take a breath.
It was a huge hammer with flames around it and a roaring lion engraved in the center.
This is the coat of arms of the Whitehead Hall Dwarf.