Rainbow - no, it should be said that Alice is sitting quietly in the corner in another identity. The girl's clear and deep eyes looked at the dancing tip of the knife turning at an angle in her slender hand - the whirling sharp blade resembled her uneasiness and vulnerability at a certain period.
But the blade stopped and became cold, sharp, and gleaming.
She believed that those people were not there to shelter her, but to give her a chance to make up for her mistakes, that's all. It's like a transaction, but the buyer and seller are at least equal.
The word equality seemed to sting the girl, causing her slightly purple eyes to shrink.
It was difficult for her to tell whether this was a kind of equality or whether it relied on charity. She felt that her sensitivity and suspicion were growing day by day, and she was becoming more and more cold and mean.
She thought, let the memory of the past stay in the past.
"My sister is living a good life with that person. Maybe she doesn't need to bother others with her own affairs."
"Remember this is your business, Alice."
"Marlan is here."
The dagger scratched on the white fingertips, and the sting made her come back from her thoughts, the kind of true and just revenge she was pursuing.
In this world, only the lady can give.
So she turned to her for refuge.
Amatoran came over and wiped a mark on his chest with his rough palm. The wound there scabbed over automatically, leaving only a shallow trace of blood. The belief of the berserker warriors gives them the ability to pursue pain, and the powerful healing power comes from this. Is it not the lifelong pursuit of the ancestral warriors to live towards death?
In the previous battle, they lost two-thirds of their men. It was only a small difference to say that the entire army was wiped out.
The situation here has been reported back. Of course, we don’t know how long it will take for support to arrive. There was also no news from the supply camp, and it looked like the situation was in danger.
During the remaining time, they had to try their best to survive on their own.
He looked at Alice and said:
"If you are still upset about losing the mission goal, it is better to think of something else. In that case, no matter what happens, it is just the difference between ten deaths and no life, or nine deaths and one life."
But Alice shook her head and replied:
"I'm not thinking about this, Mr. Leader."
"That's good, I don't want to see anyone on the team distracted."
Amatoran looked at the pretty and lovely Miss Nightingale, who was sent to them by the headquarters, but he was not dissatisfied with this airborne appointment - because the other person's business ability was at least good.
Alice seemed to realize that the other party had something to say, and took the initiative to ask: "What's the matter, Mr. Leader?"
"There are some tasks to be assigned to you," Amatoran hesitated, seeming to organize the language to turn absurd things into a serious form of expression, "I heard that you can speak the Mu language?"
"It's only a little bit, what's wrong?"
Alice recalled the experience of learning several languages. It was not a pleasant experience, but it was not too difficult. Drawing a line with your past self just sounds a bit stiff.
"That's good."
Amatoran repeated this sentence and breathed a sigh of relief, "Have you seen the tree people? Several trees came to us. They are right in front. Can you come and translate for us?"
"Grey tree man?"
After hearing the other party's description, Alice was slightly startled.
…
Just as the dry earth will crack increasingly -
But few people can observe the increasingly declining atmosphere beneath the surface of this vibrant world.
The human kingdom on the earth is staging scenes of struggles for power, from the south to the north, from deserts to rainforests, from the borders of the kingdom to the heart of power.
People are intoxicated with the temporary prosperity, thus ignoring the uneasy messages conveyed in the subtleties that are not noticed by others.
But the populations closely related to it have often sniffed out hidden signs of danger from beneath this prosperous appearance.
There is almost no end to the mine shaft, and one side of the canyon is more like a bottomless abyss, with intertwined black rocks and cold mist.
Their hiding place was just a platform dug out by the miners in half a year, passing through the cold canyon and across the square - surrounded by crowds and silent gazes.
There were actually two tree men coming.
One is tall and the other is short, the tall one is called long branch and the short one is called short beard.
They shook their gray manes and came to Alice. It is difficult for humans to distinguish any features from their dull faces. The carved faces grow out of the tree trunks, with long eyebrows, small eyes, and long noses.
The tall tree man spoke first. It opened and closed its mouth and made a buzzing sound, like a blower inside its body. It was low and thick, whirring.
"The guardian from underground has fallen into madness, darkness is spreading, and this land is in danger. She is hunting down all the prey she thinks is her target. It is not safe for you to stay here, humans."
"Who are you?" Alice asked in the Mu language.
“We are the caretakers of this woodland.”
"This... woodland?"
There was something strange in Alice's tone. This underground canyon, barren of grass, did not look like a forest at all.
Changzhi's tone was low and slow: "It's underground here. You'll understand it when you get to that place."
"Wait, but we're not going anywhere."
"Humans, we have no ill intentions, but if you are defeated individually, the forest will also be destroyed. Under the guidance of ancient wisdom, please let us fight against the ancient guardians together."
"But I haven't asked clearly yet, who is the ancient guardian?"
"...She used to be the caregiver here like us, but evil has taken control of her mind and plunged her into madness and hysteria. She has killed many people and wants to destroy everything here, and if this place is in danger, you The earthly world will also be shaken.”
He said this slowly, which took a long time for Changzhi. The square was as silent as ever, and the complex responses in the Mu language seemed like an alien language to most people.
And the fact is -
Alice instinctively thought that the other party was exaggerating, and she asked: "What is here that is so important?"
Changzhi was silent for a moment.
"We can't tell them," the shorter, bearded man next to it said gruffly, "that we can't fully trust these people yet."
"So we have to find a way to make them trust Shortbeard, the heart of the tree guides us, and we must follow the will of the earth."
Changzhi faced Alice and said slowly: "It's the heart of Chongshan."
"The heart of the mountains?"
Alice considered this unfamiliar term.
At this time, there was a slight sound from the top of the cliff, and stones rolled down from the cliff in the distance and fell into the abyss. People turned their heads in that direction alertly, the leaves on the long branches trembled, and their voices were low and trembling:
"Here they come."
It stared at the girl in front of it.
"Humans, you'd better make a decision quickly."
A blue phantom appeared on the other side of the cliff, "It's those things!" Someone shouted, like a signal of uneasiness, spreading among the crowd. The people from the Hydra Guild ran out. They had suffered greater losses in the previous battle. Their faces turned pale when they saw the demon-like enemies on the cliff.
Those blue phantoms quickly disappeared, but the anxiety did not fade away from the crowd. Soon, rustling sounds appeared on this side of the cliff, above people's heads.
"They're coming!" The people from the Hydra Guild couldn't help shouting.
Uneasiness is contagious, not to mention that the bloody scars moments ago were torn open, and the crowd was uncontrollably shaken. Facing the same enemy under such circumstances was almost impossible.
"These idiots." Amatoran cursed with a pale face.
"Can you take us to a safe place?" Alice also looked at this scene. She immediately turned back and asked the tall tree man.
Changzhi nodded slowly.
"At least relatively safe, humans."
Alice immediately turned around and relayed its words to Amatoran.
Amatoran took the battle ax from behind and replied without looking back: "Tell it, we agree. As long as we can be brought to that place safely, what could be worse than staying here?" "
Alice moved her lips, wanting to tell the other person that there was a place of death and silence. She had seen such a place before, an abyss more desperate than despair. But out of some thoughts, she swallowed the words back in her stomach.
She turned around and nodded to the tall tree man.
"Get behind me, human." Changzhi replied seriously.
Alice was slightly startled: "What?"
"Get 'em behind me, all of them."
A faint blue shadow appeared at the other end of the canyon.
The crowd was panicking, but only the guards holding shields could still keep their composure. They didn't need anyone to direct them, and they formed a line silently.
Although it may not help, for soldiers, this is their fate.
Changzhi took a step forward at this time, stepped over Alice and Amatoran, leaned down, and rooted his dead wood-like hands to the ground. I saw countless lush branches and leaves growing from its gray arms, like new branches growing from dead wood, like sprouting seeds - the powerful power contained in life penetrated the black rock formations, they Cracks appeared from the ground, and vine branches were pulled out from between the cracks.
Those thorny branches and vines are growing wildly in all directions, and they are still expanding outwards, connecting to both sides of the rock wall, as if they are absorbing nutrients from the entire meager land, trying to use up all the fire of life. People have never seen such vigorous vitality, which is a lush green under the gray bark. It has never seen the coming of spring, but it has bloomed with all its glory in winter.
The brilliance in the eyes of the tall tree man gradually dimmed. It seemed to have injected all its life into this wall of thorns. A deep voice echoed above the canyon:
"Take them away, Shortbeard."
"Let me stop these things."
People woke up from a dream, as if they had just noticed the changes behind them. They gazed in disbelief at the wall of vibrant trees beneath the cold black rock formations. Every branch and leaf on it seemed to be blooming with an emerald dream-like light.
A series of vines stretched out, entangled those who had not yet reacted, and sent them one by one to the back of the tree wall. And more vines stretched out, rolling towards those blue phantoms, weaving shadows of death along their path.
More people got through the holes under the tree wall.
Armatoran held the battle ax in both hands and put it down after some hesitation. "Give the order, let's leave this place."
Alice looked at the giant tree that the long branches had turned into, and was stunned for a moment: "But it...?"
"Don't worry, human." The short-bearded man roared, and a faint blue shadow shot across from the top of the canyon. The tree man waved his long arm and threw it back against the stone wall, smashing it into pieces.
It turned back, with a calm look on its silent face, "We originated from a seed and were born in this land. And the reincarnation of ether will eventually return to this land, bringing it with you and with Our mothers are connected, returning is not the end, every life has a day to say goodbye."
Alice opened her mouth slightly.
Amatoran put down his battle ax and said silently: "Let's go and see the forest land."
People began to evacuate in an orderly manner, and the people in the Hydra Guild were also shocked. They even sent people to ask what happened.
But everyone heard an ancient blessing that echoed in the canyon for a long time:
"Ancient wisdom guides you."
"May life and the earth be with you."
Shortbeard turned back and silently glanced at the back of the canyon. People also turned around one by one, and they saw the huge monster appearing on the other side of the canyon. It waved its claws and brought up a rain of stones.
But the rain of stones fell on the tree wall.
The soldiers all looked at the shields in their hands.
…
"There's a fight ahead."
In the darkness, the big cat man appeared like a ghost from a fork in the road, bringing back news from the outside.
This is the second level under the mining area. Narrow cracks constitute the cave landscape here, and they are hiding in one of the cracks.
A roll of sheepskin maps was laid flat on the rock, next to a glowing three-dimensional map. Although it was easy to use, it was not safe in the dark.
Sylvide lit up a crystal and used a duck-bill pen to transfer the map layer by layer onto the parchment paper. This was a process that made perfect with practice. For her, it didn't take long at all. It will be done in time.
Everyone's attention was attracted by the sudden appearance of the lion paladin. The latter inserted the holy sword on the rock, rubbed the flint, lit the pipe, and took a puff.
It held the pipe in one hand while looking at the three-dimensional map and said: "There are three forks below the canyon ahead. There are people fighting in that direction. They seem to be entangled by those constructs."
"That's our guy."
Time Reflection spoke hurriedly, but when he saw everyone looking at him, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and slowed down his voice, "If it's too much trouble, forget it..."
"I haven't asked yet," the big cat man looked in this direction and suddenly said, "Who are you?"
"We are members of the Holy White Stone Guild and the Hydra Guild."
At this time, a line of text appeared in the chat channel, reflecting in everyone's field of vision.
Jita: "I have heard of these two guilds. They are still very famous in the southeastern region of Nognis. That place is called the Port of Relics. It is located at the junction of the southernmost part of the Ladder of the Old World and Asuka."
Although the big cat man couldn't see the words, he could read something from Fang Plover's clear eyes.
"What about you?" Time Reflection looked at them and asked.
"You can think of us as people who are here to support you," Rhett replied: "But we also have our own purposes, but we have no ill intentions towards you."
"Mercenary."
Time Reflection nodded, "I understand, the people from the forward camp asked you to come."
The big cat man looked at him and nodded. He was not going to break up this wonderful misunderstanding. The other party thought that he was a knight of virtue, and every word he said could be verified.
That's it.
"We can help your people, but we need the ore down here as payment."
"I can't answer this for the leader. Although there is a lot of ore down there, it may be worthless at this time." Time Reflection shook his head.
"It doesn't matter," Fang Plover said this time, "We just need you to keep it a secret for us."
"What's the secret?"
"I hope you won't contact your guild for the time being and hand over the communication crystal to us first, is that okay?"
Time Reflection hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "You saved my life, I am willing to believe you."
Fang Plover is a bit funny, such a person is quite interesting.
But they really don't have any bad intentions, they are just trying to protect themselves.
…
After leaving the crack, they didn't go far forward before they saw the flash of battle below the canyon in the distance. It was the flame of magic, flickering in and out of the darkness.
But what is striking is that in front of those people, there is a tall gray tree man. It waves its arms furiously to block the constructs in front.
Relying on its cover in the front, the selectors behind can calmly form an array and fight against the crystallized beasts.
But the situation is still precarious, with more and more blue phantoms appearing on both sides of the canyon, posing a serious threat to the opponent.
But the really deadly thing is the crab-shaped crystallized beast. It can actually use magic and other long-range attacks. Sharp rocks shoot like raindrops into the formation of the chosen ones, bringing up several white lights.
The big cat man and others watched this scene condescendingly.
Fang Yu asked someone to pass on the message and asked about the time reflection and the tree man, but learned that the latter did not know about it. This was actually not beyond his expectation——
It seemed that the Gray Trees were looking for the White Stone and the Hydra Guild, just like they were looking for him, but they were using them in a different way.
The big cat man suddenly said:
"There are more of them than we thought, and I may have made a mistake with Parker before."
Fang Yu was almost stunned for a moment before he realized: "Are you saying that the footprints of the more than 20 people before were probably not left by them?"
The big cat nodded, "It's not possible, but almost certain. I'm afraid those footprints were left later than we thought."
Fang Yu was silent for a moment and frowned, unable to figure out the key to the problem for a while.
Who left those footprints?
And Sylvide had already laughed, and her smile was always heart-warming.
"It's funny, the people passing behind didn't save him," there was another layer of meaning hidden in her smart eyes, and she asked in a profound tone: "They may not have noticed, or they may be too busy to take care of themselves, what do you think, Captain?" "
Fang Yu knew that she was talking about time reflection, but from the tone of the ship officer's voice, he could detect an aura of conspiracy.
Of course, the noble daughter grew up in such an environment, and the slightest clue would always make her think deeper and further than others.
But this is indeed suspicious——
"I suggest you discuss this issue later," Rhett interrupted the conversation between the two. "If you don't make a decision, those people may be in trouble."
He was referring to the people from the Holy White Stone Guild below.
Fang Plover looked in that direction and said, "Actually, those small crystallized beasts do not pose a threat to them. We just need to help them get rid of the big one."
"Well -" the big cat man made a sound of unknown meaning: "I'm afraid it's a bit tricky."
"Is it difficult to fight head-on?"
"The level of that thing is not low."
"Maybe we change tactics?"
Rhett put away the holy sword, thrust it behind him, and shook his head, "No, you can give it a try." After that, he lowered his body and crawled towards the cliff in that direction.
Fang Plover's eyes were patrolling the cliff. Suddenly, he saw a protruding sharp rock.
Maybe we can do it again.
he thought.
…
