"There seems to be a celebration here, brother Ed." Jita glanced across the square and replied softly.
In the center of the square, an equestrian statue holds a flag high, and its marble surface is solemn and smooth. A shelf was set up under the statue, as if a stage had been set up here before people left.
But under the cold moonlight, the stage was empty.
Colorful curtains were drawn around the empty square, long tables were displayed, covered with tablecloths, and filled with round wine barrels. It seems that as long as the stopper is turned, the fragrant wine will gush out, filling the wooden cup, and the aroma of the wine will overflow.
However, the drinkers had already left, and the square was deserted at night.
Some deep sighs echoed in the square, and Fang Plover turned around, feeling something in his heart. There seemed to be all kinds of eyes coveting the surrounding buildings, but there was a deep-rooted idea that told him that it was all an illusion.
"Miss Tata, can you feel anything?" he asked in his mind.
"You are nervous, Mr. Knight." Miss Goblin replied calmly. "The magicians of the Tarot school are best at illusions. They believe that illusions can control people's hearts, so you must first overcome your own fear."
"I'm not scared, I'm just a little confused, Miss Tata." Fang Plover frowned and looked at everything around him. Anyone would feel confused and uneasy in such a paradoxical environment - Dolifen's illusion is inherently difficult to explain. What's more, their encounter tonight is even more bizarre.
"Confusion makes you hesitate."
"But……"
"When people move forward, they can see more scenery, and hesitating in the same place will not help the situation." Miss Goblin's voice was very stable. "Self-doubt does no good, Mr. Knight."
Fang Yu couldn't help but feel cheerful after hearing this. Miss Goblin's calmness seemed to have infected him. He let go of Jita and walked slowly towards the square.
"Brother Ed?" Jita grabbed his sleeve nervously.
Fang Yu patted her hand and motioned her to wait here. "don’t worry."
He raised his head and looked forward, sighing softly: "This should be the scene before Dolifen encountered disaster, but the illusion lingering here repeatedly allows people to see these fragments. What is the purpose of it?"
Jita was not at ease and held up her glasses to catch up. While chasing Fang Plover, she asked in a low voice: "Before the disaster that everyone saw in the dream happened, Dolifen was holding this celebration? Could it be that something happened at the celebration, Brother Ed?"
"It's very possible."
Fang Plover walked to a long table, just like at grand celebrations in all regions. The long table was filled with fine wine and food, and the boxes below were piled with various fruits.
He stretched out his hand and touched a black plum. The cold touch on the smooth skin seemed to be the real thing. At this time, a short, fat hand stretched out from the side, picked up the plum, and wiped it on his clothes.
Then he took a bite with a 'cha' sound and a mouthful of full juice. Parker held a bitten black plum in one hand, bulging his cheeks while chewing and looking at him, while picking up another black plum and handing it over. "It's delicious. Do you want to try it?"
"This is something belonging to the undead!" Jita was startled and hurriedly slapped the plums off Parker's hand.
Parker watched with a little pity as the bitten plum rolled twice on the ground, covered in dust. "But it's quite delicious. I've never eaten undead food before."
Fang Yu looked speechlessly at the guy who only wanted to risk his life.
He saw Parker secretly stuffing the remaining plum into his backpack. Seeing that the other person didn't look like he was going to be poisoned and die, he shook his head and ignored this guy.
At this time, other people behind also followed.
"Did you find anything, brother Ed?" Hansen asked.
Fang Yu shook his head and did not answer. He looked at the statue not far away and walked forward, when a strange scene happened.
It seems that in an instant, phantoms appeared in the square, pale and hazy, with longing figures. Fang Plover couldn't help but stop and watch these shadows walking between the long tables, whispering to each other.
Everyone looked at this scene with some uneasiness, and the experience of Ms. Fujiye's hotel was still before their eyes.
Fang Plover raised his head, and a slender figure emerged from the statue. Before that, he had long felt the gaze coming from the statue.
The figure seemed to be watching them.
But its gaze didn't linger too long on them. Vaguely, Fang Yu seemed to hear the other party sighing. It was a female voice, low and somewhat plaintive.
It was somewhat similar to the voice he saw in his dream, but not exactly the same. There seemed to be three or four voices mixed in.
One is firm, one is sad, one is innocent, and there is another one hidden behind many voices, but it is hard to hear clearly.
"Have you ever regretted it?"
"Regret?" Fang Yu couldn't help but be slightly startled when he heard the low sigh and the words lingering in his ears.
The figure came towards him. He subconsciously raised his head and saw it walking forward through him. "Wait a minute, ma'am." Fang Plover turned around and saw its back disappearing into the phantom.
Everyone else looked at him with some confusion.
"Brother Ed, what's wrong?"
"Didn't you see it?" Fang Yu looked at the others in surprise.
People shook their heads.
At this time, Fang Yu felt another gaze falling on him. He was slightly startled and looked in that direction. Between the intertwined figures, he saw that figure again. It stood there steadily, as if waiting for him.
"Can you see it over there?" Fang Yu pointed to the others and asked. "That figure seems to be looking at us."
"But we can't see anything. We have to talk about shadows. There are people everywhere here. But brother Ed, which one are you talking about?" Tianlan looked in that direction in confusion.
"Take us there." Sylvide whispered.
Fang Plover nodded.
Attila reminded from the side: "Be careful, Ed."
The empty phantom stood there, waiting for Fang Plover to approach, and then let out a hollow sigh.
"...False reincarnation is sometimes not necessarily a bad thing."
"False? Madam, what did you say?"
The tone of the voice began to change, becoming more mature. "Be careful who you surround yourself with."
Fang Yu was stunned: "The people around you?"
The voice became shriller: "Because those who pretend to love you will lie to you, and false expectations will one day turn into a vicious curse. Come and help me, we are the same kind of people."
Fang Yu frowned, what nonsense is this. He reached out and pointed, and the clockwork fairy flew up from the slide rails of the magic furnace and passed through the shadow with a 'buzz'.
The Phantom was knocked to pieces.
"Calm down, Ed." Attila came up and grabbed his hand: "What's wrong?"
Fang Yu described what he saw.
Sylvester raised her eyebrows after hearing this.
She turned back, her blue eyes reflecting the silvery light of the moonlight, and asked softly: "Do you believe what it says?"
Fang Yu sneered: "How could I believe such nonsense?"
"But it may not be unreasonable——"
"Miss Sylvide?"
The noble girl smiled mysteriously. "Have you forgotten, I didn't tell the truth either."
"Then will Miss Sylvide harm us?"
She was slightly startled after hearing this, raised her head, and looked into Fang Plover's eyes with some surprise. But the seriousness on the young man's face made Sylvide stunned for a moment, and then she burst into laughter.
Fang Yu only replied calmly: "I didn't tell the truth either, did I?"
As for the second half of the sentence, there is no need to say it again, it is a common secret within this team. The noble girl tilted her head slightly, smiled slightly, her eyes were sincere and bright.
Behind Hansen, the scholar listened to the conversation between the two, and rarely took the initiative to speak: "There is no difference between goodwill and malice in deception. It is just a sign of distrust. Little guy, how can there be no love for no reason in this world? People who pretend to love you are often planning how to kill you behind your back."
"What do you mean by that?" Fang Plover looked at this guy coldly and asked.
From the very beginning until now, he had always felt that something was wrong with this guy. If the other person hadn't been Hansen's employer, he would have parted ways with this guy.
The scholar smiled mysteriously: "One day, you will wake up."
"That's why people like you are annoying when you are always suspicious." Tianlan wrinkled her nose and replied unceremoniously.
"Little girl's movie." The scholar glanced at her and disdained to argue with her.
Tianlan was so angry that she rolled her eyes.
"Brother Ed, look over there!" Jita suddenly grabbed his hand and said.
Fang Yu was distracted and turned around subconsciously.
The phantom in the square suddenly changed again. The figures became commotion, as if they encountered something indescribable in the distance, and people fled in all directions. The shrill screams and sharp cries were like claws scratching the glass, piercing the ear.
Everyone stood among the chaotic figures, surrounded by a rushing river.
The feeling before the disaster seemed to come back to him. There were some strange sounds lingering in Fang Plover's ears, and the cries seemed to have converged into a vicious curse——
"Kill it."
"Kill this vicious woman."
However, the figures separated into a clearing, and the illusion ahead changed.
In the open space, there were three vague shadows standing. The slender shadow not long ago was standing next to two tall figures. There seemed to be a fierce argument between the three.
But their mouths opened and closed, and their voices were fragmented. Fang Plover could only hear some fragments of information.
"...That's a conspiracy, my brother."
"...I'm almost certain."
"...Someone concealed...the key..."
"...It's the information from that time..."
"...Also, I will definitely find the missing key person."
After saying this, the slender figure turned around, passed the two of them, and walked towards Fang Plover. Everyone couldn't move and could only watch as she passed through everyone as if she were invisible.
She finally stopped next to Fang Plover and left a word. "Why don't you bring it?"
"It?" Fang Yu was stunned.
She opened and closed her mouth and said: "...get out of here."
Fang Yu wanted to say something else, but the figure had passed through his body and disappeared.
Ahead, the two tall figures were also disappearing.
But Fang Yu saw that one of them suddenly raised his head and said: "Father..."
"Let her go -" the rickety figure replied.
The two of them turned around and disappeared like a curtain call on a stage.
The phantoms in the square finally dispersed, and in the darkness ahead, something huge seemed to be approaching.
The heavy steps weighed on everyone's hearts.
"Get out of here..." the voice shouted again.
Everyone hesitated for a moment, and many illusions appeared in front of them.
It was a figure.
A girl stood silently not far away, watching Fang Plover. Although you can't clearly see its appearance, you can feel the sadness and anger in the girl's heart, as if you feel the same. She raised her hand and threw something far away to Fang Plover's feet.
"Take it away and I will never trust anyone again."
At some point, Fang Yu found that the scholar had come to his side and was also watching this scene quietly. "Wait a minute," Fang Plover looked at him with some confusion: "Mr. Scholar, can you move?"
At this moment, the girl's figure turned into a cloud and disappeared into the night sky.
Fang Yu subconsciously looked down and saw that there was nothing on the ground.
The scholar did not answer his question, but walked forward, showing another illusion behind him - many people, surrounding an altar. When Tianlan saw this scene, she couldn't help but screamed and took two steps back in fright.
Only then did everyone realize that they had regained their ability to move.
There was no sound in that illusion, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye, and turned into that slender figure again, appearing in front of everyone.
She looked at everyone quietly.
"Don't believe in false victories."
Then the figure gradually became shorter and his voice became more innocent.
"Hold on to hope, don't be afraid of the dark—"
The figure continued to change, becoming uncertain, and the voice became mysterious and unpredictable.
"Get out of this place."
Before Fang Yu could react, the old knight behind him suddenly took a step forward and said righteously: "Demons and ghosts, get away!"
He raised his hand, and golden light suddenly appeared from the magic furnace to the palm of his hand, and shot into the smoke. A scream suddenly came from the twisted shadow, and then disappeared invisible.
The scholar turned back and looked at the latter steadily, but he only looked at the old knight for a moment, then turned around and continued walking forward. Pass through the rows of long tables and once again walk towards the statue in the center of the square.
Fang Yu turned around and asked the older knight: "Mr. Dickert, did you feel that the last voice was malicious?"
He knew that the Paladin was always very sensitive to the aura of good intentions.
Dick nodded.
He suddenly took the giant sword from behind and held it in his hand: "It's not just that."
After the longing phantoms separated, the scholar had already walked under the statue.
The statue of the knight cracked at some point.
There is a shining sword stuck on the base.
When Hansen saw the sword, he couldn't help being surprised: "The Blade of False Victory!"
When Fang Yu heard this, he couldn't help but be startled - he had clearly observed the statue carefully before, and there was nothing on it. But on the other hand, does the Blade of False Victory also reveal the end of this bizarre night scene? Does it mean things are back on track?
He was thinking about this.
And the scholar reaches out his hand.
Until a voice stopped him. "Wait a minute." The person who spoke was Etila. The elf girl looked at the other person warily and asked, "Do you believe that we can leave this place by picking up that sword?"
"Of course not," Hansen quickly explained: "To get that sword, we still have to defeat the Shadow of the Past, then go to the City Hall, and then..."
But the scholar didn't let him finish and interrupted him coldly. "If you don't pick up this sword, nothing will happen."
"But you also said that what happens may not necessarily be a good thing." This time it was Jita who spoke.
Atila protected the little girl, letting everyone understand that the elf girl's previous words were just speaking on her behalf.
Jita's rare tit-for-tat confrontation, her somewhat stern attitude startled Tianlan, who couldn't help but tugged at the corner of her clothes in a low voice: "Jita..."
"Stop talking, Tianlan." Fang Plover saw something and pulled the French girl back. He stretched one hand behind him, where his magic furnace and other things were placed...
The scholar glanced at Jita indifferently. He didn't speak at first, as if he was listening to something - in fact, everyone could hear the heavy sound outside the square, getting closer and closer.
The scholar turned his gaze back and then said, "But it's not necessarily a bad thing."
"No, I'm almost sure it will be a bad thing." Jita replied seriously.
"Why, little girl?"
"Do you remember what that voice warned us - we cannot believe in false victories."
The scholar sneered. "Do you believe it? We are the collaborators."
"We don't believe it, but we don't believe you either." Attila stood in front of Jita and took down the spear.
"I don't know." The scholar shook his head.
After saying that, he reached for the sword, but before his fingers could reach the hilt, a crossbow bolt flew from a distance and hit the stone tablet. The scholar took back his hand and looked at them coldly.
"The joke isn't funny," he said.
"According to the rules, this trophy belongs to us." Parker held the heavy crossbow and said to him.
"Hansen," the scholar shouted grimly.
"Sir, they are right, this is an agreement..." Hansen said a little helplessly.
"Don't forget that I am your employer. Your team's reputation record is not good. If I complain to the Adventurer's Guild again, you should know the consequences." The scholar replied.
"Shit-" Hansen rolled his eyes and looked back at Attila with a wry smile: "Ms."
"Mr. Hansen, don't let him pick up that sword, we will all die here." Jita replied.
The scholar was stunned for a moment, and then snorted coldly: "I don't know if you took the wrong medicine. Look around, Dolifen's past time is fleeing in all directions, can't you feel it? The shadow of the past is coming, and the only way is to take it. Only by picking up this sword can we defeat it——"
"You really know everything, Mr. Scholar." Jita looked at him seriously: "Then why do you want to hide it? Tell me, what is the premise of all this?"
"premise?"
"The premise is that there is the mark of martyrdom of the loyal one," Jita replied: "You know this clearly. The edge of false victory is the 'sword', and the mark of martyrdom of the loyal person is the 'shield'. To defeat the shadow of the past, both are missing. No, why do you pretend to be ignorant and try to pull out that sword?"
After she finished speaking, she turned back to Fang Plov and Aitila and said: "Brother Ed, sister Aitila, the official process of the mission is this. The adventurer must get the martyrdom mark of the loyal one, and then go to the Gray Oak Square to get it. From the Blade of False Victory to the final Scepter of Arrogance, Dolifen's three items are indispensable - but he did not get the Mark of the Loyalist. This is not the case in the past, such as the failure of the escort mission. But In that case, we will never be able to pull out the blade of false victory.”
"Because only by pulling out the Blade of False Victory will we have to face the perfect shadow of the past. If we don't pull it out, we can leave this place just by defeating a false illusion. But in that case, we won't be able to get more miles. It’s just a reward for Fen’s three things.”
She looked at Hansen and asked, "Mr. Hansen, am I right?"
Hansen was stunned for a moment and nodded subconsciously: "That's what I'm saying..."
He is still struggling with his employer.
But the scholar had turned around again and reached for the sword.
With a few soft clicks, Hansen's gunmen suddenly raised their guns and aimed at him.
Their leader is still hesitating, but it doesn't mean that these young people will also hesitate. After all, it is a matter of life and death, and no one dares to be careless. Hansen was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly came out to talk to Xini: "Wait a minute, wait a minute."
But at this time, there was only a soft sound, and the scholar suddenly groaned and turned into a black smoke and stepped back. When he turned into a human form again - others clearly saw that the scholar was shocked. Angrily, he covered a bloody crossbow bolt on his arm.
"Who is it!" Hansen yelled angrily - attacking his employer, did he not want him to live?
But when he looked back, all of his people were clearly motionless. Fang Plover also looked at Parker subconsciously, but the Papalar looked at them innocently, and gestured to indicate that his crossbow bolt was still on the crossbow.
Are there any outsiders?
A terrible thought suddenly flashed through Fang Yu's mind, but just as the thought arose, he saw a figure rushing out from the crowd and heading straight for the statue.
Fang Yu couldn't help being shocked when he saw who it was:
"Hu Di!?"
…
