"Wow……"
(ﾟOﾟ)
Arriving into the city from a small road, Anne could not help but widen her eyes when she looked at the dilapidated, desolate, and dilapidated ruins in front of her.
"No way, this is Stonewell City?"
+
To be honest, she never expected that Stonewell City, which the old uncle gave her instructions before, would be such a shabby place like ruins?
Anyway!
After arriving here, Anne saw that the houses, streets and everything around here were in dilapidated condition. To say that this is a street, is it better to say that it is a ruined eaves and broken walls?
Everywhere you look, there are rags and rags. Those dilapidated roofs, broken walls, collapsed masonry and rotten boards are scattered everywhere on the street. It is not known how long it has been since anyone has tidied them up.
Weeds are stubbornly spreading out from the houses of those residents, and it is not difficult to judge from the dilapidated houses and the overgrown weeds. This city, this Stonewell City, is definitely not like this for a day or two.
In this current situation, it is very likely that all ten rooms are empty, or maybe it is even more serious than that?
Anyway, as she walked in from the dilapidated outer wall, all Anne saw was this ruin. And the bustling crowds, lively streets, and delicious exotic food she imagined, etc., Not at all.
In fact, let alone delicious food, she saw only a handful of normal living people along the way, and those people started to panic after seeing her or the Crucible Knight behind her who couldn't drive away. They disappeared in an instant like frightened rabbits. As for the remaining people who did not run away, they were either the cursed ones with sparse hair, pale skin and dull expressions like walking zombies, or those dead people who were simply walking zombies.
"..."
At this time, behind Anne, the Furnace Knight who had followed shamelessly all the way was also shocked. After all, the current Stonewell City was completely different from what he remembered.
Uh-huh! !
However, he was shocked, but that did not prevent him from swinging his sword at a dead man who roared at him and rushed towards him, and successfully chopped it into several pieces that fell to the ground and remained motionless. .
"..."
Then, he took a step forward and walked to the head of the dead person he had chopped off, and looked at the other person's eyes that were still shining and fell into deep thought.
"Yes."
"The news we got on the way is indeed true..."
"The Ring of Elden collapsed, and there was a huge problem with the Golden Law. Not only me, but everyone lost their blessing."
"After the Elden Ring is broken, people cannot live forever, nor can they die normally and be reborn under the blessing of the golden tree. The roots of death begin to spread in the world. This world is dying little by little..."
After saying that, the furnace knight sighed, then raised his leg and crushed the severed head with one kick. There was only so much he could do.
Then, as the handful of runes completely dissipated in the air, he slowly raised his head and looked at the sky in the northeast.
There, the golden holy tree that covered the sky was still huge, but the light was dimmer than when he was sealed.
"eternal life?"
く(＾_・)ゝ
Anne was noncommittal and ignored the follower behind her. She just continued walking forward.
Different from what the other party said about the blessing of the golden tree or the broken Elden's ring, in Anne's view, the key root problems in this world are not those, but the confusion of rules and some external factors. The indiscriminate interference of the author!
Otherwise, the world would certainly not have evolved into the terrible state it is now.
Moreover, the so-called blessing that the other party mentioned was not a good thing at all in her opinion.
A long lifespan does not mean that you can obtain eternal life. Without the baptism of reincarnation, fragile souls often cannot withstand the erosion of time. Even the powerful undead lich is the same. Their souls are not weak and their perseverance is also weak. It cannot be said that they are not tenacious. In order to obtain the so-called immortality, they will not hesitate to twist and curse their bodies and souls. But in the end, how many lichs can maintain their true intentions during that long time?
When there is only a twisted soul and a decayed body left, just like the undead people around and this twisted world, so, Anne thinks, the root of the problem lies in the beginning. It has nothing to do with the subsequent shattering of the magic ring.
"Maybe!"
₍₍(̨̡‾ᗣ‾)̧̢₎₎
However, the above things did not have much to do with Queen Anne, so she just continued to walk forward without commenting.
"before……"
"Stonewell City is known as a giant fortress city that is only smaller than the Royal City. Here, the permanent population surrounding Stonewell Castle was at least one hundred thousand at its peak..."
"But now, this place has become like this..."
Continuing forward, along the dilapidated and desolate streets that were almost like ruins, while slowly following the still cheerful pace of a troubled little girl in front of him, the Furnace Knight sighed and sighed in a somewhat bewildered way.
"do not know either……"
"How many people are still alive here?"
He didn't know how many people there were in the fortress of Stonewell Castle. However, the city outside the high walls of the castle was now in dilapidated condition, with business travel cut off and residential functions almost completely disappeared. Broken wall, maybe even a thousand people are gone, right?
Naturally, the thousand he mentioned must refer to the kind of living people who can still live normally, not the dead who rush towards people in a frenzy when they see them.
"have no idea!"
(ʃƪ˘ ³˘)
"but……"
(○ﾟεﾟ○)
"The people in the castle must know something, right?"
(°ー°〃)
Anne, who was walking in front, first kicked away a piece of rotten wood blocking the road, and then looked up at the condescending Stonewell Castle built on the mountain in front of her.
She saw that under the dim sky, the tall and towering Stonewell Castle Fortress had many signs of dilapidation after the battle, but its overall appearance still remained relatively intact, with its main structure still intact. There wasn't much damage. There were even fires and flags flying above, and she could vaguely see the heads of soldiers moving on the wall. So, if she went there to find someone to ask about the situation, I believe it would be impossible. Something is wrong.
"I advise you not to go..."
The Furnace Knight seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly began to persuade Anne with some worry.
"I just want to go!"
(๑òᆺó๑)
"Also! Uncle, you really don't want to follow me anymore. I'm not familiar with you, really!"
(｡◕ˇεˇ◕｡)
"Let's go, Tibbers, let's go see that castle!"
(灬ºωº灬)~♩
After saying that, she felt that this place was too shabby and there were too many messy things. She didn't want to take action herself, so she released her little bear, then jumped on its shoulder, and then she yelled and signaled to the other party. Carry her forward.
"..."
However, the Furnace Knight behind him, who was released from the sealed prison by Anne, had no intention of stopping and still stubbornly raised his steps to follow.
"Really..."
(lll￢▽￢)
"never mind!"
ε=(´ο｀*)))Alas
Anne glanced behind her, but in the end she didn't say anything more.
She knew that the other party must have been rescued by her, so she felt a little guilty and wanted to protect herself in order to repay the kindness... But who was she, Queen Anne, and how could she possibly Need someone else’s protection?
Besides, the other party couldn't even hit her little bear, and it was easily slapped away, so what could he do to protect her?
(…)
(●￣㉨￣●)
"Huh?"
Σ(°△ °|||)︴
"Tibbers, there seems to be someone talking over there. Come on, let's go over there and take a look?"
ヾ(^▽^*)))
Just when she was about to continue saying something, Annie suddenly noticed that there seemed to be some sound coming from the street in front of her, and it seemed to be the sound of people talking. Although the sound was not loud, in this quiet and decadent street, But it seemed particularly harsh, so she hurriedly patted Tibbers on the head and told him to follow the sound quickly.
…
"Who's over there?"
|˛˙꒳˙)
"scare!?"
!(;ﾟoﾟ)o
Soon, Annie, who arrived at the scene after turning a corner, was startled.
It turns out that she saw it. It was a group of soldiers suppressing a group of living people, and they were still relatively normal-looking men, women, old and young, walking towards the castle fortress?
"!!"
"!!"
At the same time that Anne saw those people, the soldiers also followed the sound and saw her and the Furnace Knight not far behind her, who was holding a sword in his hand.
"?!"
"superior!"
"Get them!!"
Immediately afterwards, after the two sides looked at each other for a while and confirmed their eyes, of course, with a wave of the leader of the soldiers, the soldiers who were escorting the prisoners drew out their weapons and shields and moved toward Anne. And the furnace knight behind Annie swarmed forward!
"??"
(๑վ‸վ๑)
pity……
There was no big surprise. Out of nowhere, she saw a group of people waving weapons and rushing towards her, and they seemed to want to kill or capture them. Seeing that kind of situation, Anne would naturally not be too used to it. other side!
then……
Without waiting for the Furnace Knight uncle behind her to rush to help, or letting Little Bear take action, she just used a little trick to freeze those people in place one by one.
————
Ring of Frost: Summons a rotating ring of frost at the target area, freezing any enemies that enter or come into contact with the ring.
————
"!!"
The Furnace Knight originally wanted to go up and show off and cut down the soldiers, but after seeing Anne subduing everyone in an instant, he had to stop and put away the long sword in his hand angrily.
"What?"
"Uh-huh!!"
"this!"
"What's this?"
"not good!"
"My feet!"
At this time, when they saw that their feet below the knees were frozen to the ground by a strange and bone-chilling ice, and found that they could no longer move an inch, the soldiers suddenly panicked and began to Hit it hard with fists, weapons, shields, etc.
But unfortunately, their approach had no effect, and they had to face the little girl riding on the shoulders of a bear that they had just wanted to catch.
"she……"
"Who is she?"
"Stargazer?"
"No……"
"Yes Yes……"
"Faded, faded ones?!"
Then, while they continued to try to struggle and chop at the solid ice, they did not forget to look at someone who was riding on the shoulders of a giant bear and walking towards them step by step with that kind of frightened and uneasy expression. Scary little girl.
But fear was useless. They soon saw that the scary little girl directly ordered the giant bear to come to them and stared at them condescendingly.
"Na!"
(„ಡωಡ„)
"Uncle, tell me, what crime have they committed? Why should we arrest them?"
↜(ψ｀～′)o
"Also! Why do you want to attack others?"
(｀^´)ˀ̣ˀ̣
Annie didn't pay attention to the little soldiers, but just stared at the leader who was still holding the weapon tightly in his hand and asked.
What she just heard and saw was the one in front of her who gave orders and cunningly stayed at the end, but it was useless. Her Lady Queen Anne was not stupid and had discovered the other party long ago.
"..."
The leader didn't speak, and just tried to struggle again.
Unfortunately, when he found that he still couldn't break away from the bone-chilling ice under his feet, he also found that the giant bear the little girl was sitting on seemed very intimidating and was staring at them with terrifying eyes, making them feel as if they were being attacked by a giant bear. The giant dragon stared at the same thing. After he really didn't have the courage to resist, he had to confess honestly:
"them……"
"She is the sacrifice that the demigod ordered to bring back!"
"We caught it from Stormfoot outside the city..."
The leader of the soldiers was a bachelor, and he honestly explained that they had been ordered to go out to hunt down suitable strong men and normal people as sacrifices.
Of course, it also included the fate of those 'sacrifice' and some reasons why he couldn't wait to order the attack after seeing Anne and the furnace knight behind Anne.
turn out to be……
The reason why this city has become what it is now, apart from the broken Elden Ring, the severance of the blessings of the sacred tree and the war, the more important reason is actually the lord here, that is, the 'joint limb' grid Rick, why is that old, ugly demigod king causing trouble?
At the end of the Shard War, that guy fled from the royal city of Rodel in a panic to Stonewell City and settled here.
Then, in order to become stronger, that guy cruelly ordered his men to collect living people, strong people, and all kinds of weird things. Then, he used their limbs to conduct various experiments and tried to forcefully connect them to his own body, and tried to In that way become stronger?
"Extended limb?"
(*¯ㅿ¯*;)
"Demi god?"
(ー`´ー)
Demigods are not important, what is important is...
Annie seemed to suddenly remember that before she met that weird little Melina and was teleported to Nimgofu, she had met and chopped alive a guy, and that guy was indeed covered in... With all kinds of weird and disgusting hands and feet, it looks like a big disgusting spider?
If she remembered correctly, when she was chatting with that little sister Melina, she heard the other party say that the guy she hacked seemed to be a descendant of a noble family with an 'extended limb'?
"..."
(ー△ー;)
Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing now is:
She seemed to be near Stonewell City before, and then was teleported to the Nimgefu Wilderness by Melina, but now she is fine, and she ran back here again?
And...
If she remembered correctly, the Prince's Chapel where she appeared before should be on an island in the sea behind Stonewell Castle on the cliff?
(…)
(●￣(ｴ)￣●)
"That's it!"
(•́へ•́╬)
"Go back and tell that guy about the limb graft. Just tell that guy that these people were saved by the great Queen Anne!"
(o｀з'*)
"I'm sure they won't let you take them away!"
(｀Δ´)!
"Now, you can get lost."
☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ
After saying that, Annie, who was a little embarrassed and angry that she seemed to have done something stupid, waved her hand, instantly used magic to lift the ice of those people, and also used flames to instantly burn and melt the weapons in their hands. She was so pretentious. Said generously.
She didn't want to know whether these soldiers did the right thing, nor did she want to know whether those prisoners really made mistakes. Anyway, she only knew that since she, Queen Anne, had encountered her, she would definitely have taken some care. So, these guys can go back to their homes now.
"..."
"..."
Seeing that the ice was lifted, and then looking at the weapon in their hands that burned for no reason and melted into red iron juice dripping down, leaving only the handle, the soldiers staggered back in confusion and exclaimed. As he threw them away, he looked at their leader with a very ugly face, wanting to wait for the other party's order.
"You want to save them?"
"You can't stop it, it's useless..."
"What's the use of stopping it?"
"This is a world destined to be destroyed..."
Surprisingly, the soldier leader first threw away the melted weapon and the still intact shield in frustration, and then looked at a little girl sitting on the shoulders of the giant bear with a depressed and bitter look and said in a deep voice. said.
"??"
(ಠ~ಠ)
"Nonsense! Nothing is destined to be destroyed!"
(ง˙o˙)ว
"Anyway, get out of here!"
o(*｀ー´)o
"Otherwise, that guy behind me is a bad guy. If he wants to kill you later, he won't necessarily stop him!"
(｡•̀ꌂ-)✧
Anne said playfully, completely ignoring what the Crucible Knight behind her would think.
"Yeah……"
"Then let's wait and see..."
"let's go!"
Seeing that the little girl didn't seem to intend to eliminate him and others, the leader didn't say anything more, nor did he defend or try to resist. He quickly turned around and left with his people angrily as if they were running away.
"Well, next..."
(′～`●)
Anne looked at the "prisoners" who were tied up in a string with ropes. Although they still looked like humans, each of them looked numb. She couldn't help but have a headache, and began to think about how to deal with or place these guys.
After all, this is the urban area of Stonewell City. Whether it is outside the checkpoint or inside the castle, there are still a large number of soldiers, and these guys who are captured here must not be like Queen Anne or those behind her. The one who comes and goes as easily as a follower.
"What do you want to do?"
"Challenge a demigod?"
At this time, after staring at the leaving soldiers for a while, the furnace knight suddenly stepped forward and asked.
In his opinion, since Anne chose to let those soldiers go, she must not be afraid of those people going back to report, and since she chose to do that, she must be ready for a battle with the demigod Greg.
"Challenge a demigod?"
(゜-゜)
"Maybe……"
╮(╯-╰“)╭
Annie would definitely go take a look at that limb.
However, that is not now, and she has no idea of challenging, because the other party is not worthy at all!
However, she was a little tired from all the way here, and it was almost dark. She was going to find a clean place to rest first. As for other things, she could talk about it later.
"correct!"
|ू•ૅω•́)ᵎᵎ
"Uncle! Didn't you say you wanted to help me?"
(•͈ᴗ⁃͈)ᓂ
"In that case, these stupid guys will be left to you. You can send them out of the city or find a place to protect them. In short, this difficult task will be left to you. People are very optimistic about you!"
(´◠◡◠`)
"That's it, see you later!"
-̗̀(๑ᵔ⌔ᵔ๑)
Soon, Annie thought of a perfect way to get the best of both worlds, which could not only solve her own troubles, but also make a follower stop following her.
Then, after hurriedly explaining, she continued to walk forward.
She just came here to play, and now, since the purpose of playing has not been achieved, she plans to continue shopping and then think about what to do next, but no matter what to do, the Crucible Knight and those This guy with a numb expression is a burden to her, so she definitely won't take him with him.
(…)
(●￣㉨￣●)
"..."
I don’t know if Anne’s words had any effect. This time, the furnace knight did not follow him.
He just stood silently on the street with the guys who had just been rescued by Annie, and watched the man and the bear disappear at the end of the street.
————————————
(*˘︶˘*). Monthly pass.:*
