Crescent Continent is a land with its own ecology. Alien races such as the elves and dwarves of Rigar and various dragon creatures are nowhere to be seen here. Despite this, this is not a place of miraculous isolation.
From the perspective of visitors to Rigar, this is probably a magical land that combines primitive primitiveness and advancement - if the standard of advancement is to have the faith of the White Church as the only supreme order.
People in Crescent Continent do not believe that God is a supreme being that cannot be touched by humans. The local belief system here is similar to the original polytheistic belief in Rigar hundreds of years ago - the concept of "god" is not an "absolutely irreversible order", but an "absolutely irreversible order". It is a kind of existence that is stronger than human beings. God walks in the human world, humans and God can have something in common, and humans can give birth to children of God.
They have the same emotions and desires as humans, and even gods will engage in hostility and fights with each other.
This mode of belief is primitive and barbaric in the eyes of missionaries, because it is actually a mixture of various ancient folklore and local deeds of powerful creatures other than humans. degree.
Although they despise the unreliable source of such stories, priests often subconsciously ignore that the White Church has similar legends - for example, a certain knight killed a dragon lizard thousands of years ago, and after generations of singing, it eventually evolved into There were epic battles that were transformed into gods, heroic knights possessed by angels slayed evil dragons, and so on.
The legend of a bloody battle between a fearless hero and a being beyond the reach of ordinary people is very popular in both Crescent Continent and Rigal.
The knight of Rigal in the story fights against the dragon.
The Japanese samurai often fight against evil spirits.
"Hoo——!" The oil-soaked torch illuminated a wide area, and the long black shadow of the fir trees under the fire changed its angle as the ashigaru moved forward. The swaying companions and the shadows of the trees were nerve-wracking, and the dark forest beyond the orange light was about to move, hiding countless hostility. The Ashigaru swallowed their saliva and moved as much as possible until their eyes started to feel sore, trying to see more of the surrounding scenery through the edge of the array.
——This may not be what most people imagine as a single-handed hero challenging evil spirits, but it is the most reliable approach in reality.
The soldiers, who were divided into six squads and spread out in a fan shape, were fully armed and carried out a blanket search.
However, even if there are many warriors in the Qingtian family, spreading them into such a forest is still a drop in the bucket.
The armor made a slight clanking sound. In order to prevent it from being caught by the bushes in the forest and affecting their movements, both the ashigaru and the samurai put away the skirt part called Kusazaki at the bottom of the Japanese breastplate and tied it with a string. .
There was a constant buzzing of insects.
Stopped.
The Ashigaru also stopped subconsciously.
"Go forward, go forward, don't be afraid." The warrior behind him urged, but he unconsciously lowered his voice.
"Raise the torch!" Another samurai shouted, and the ashigaru next to him responded and leaned over.
"Brutal force smashed into the broken branch." He picked up a broken branch as thick as an arm on the ground. The edges were very rough and it had obviously been forcibly twisted.
"..." The branches that are as thick as human limbs make many people feel cold in their limbs, because it will not be difficult for opponents who can easily break such branches to break their own hands and feet.
But the most important thing is——
"Look up there."
The moment the torch was raised, several people surrounding him let out a "hiss" sound.
"What a big handprint." The cedar tree is tall and straight, and its branches are all at a high level. It is difficult for ordinary people to reach it. And near the part where the broken branch was originally connected, a huge handprint with the bark peeling off appeared in the firelight.
The owner of the handprint didn't even attack the branch, but it affected the branch while grabbing the trunk.
"This, this, armor may not be able to stop it." The handprint that sank in was several centimeters deep. The strong tree surrounded by the two of them was severely damaged by the palm, even the strongest armor. I'm afraid that under such brute force, the ribs will be dented, the ribs will be broken, and the internal organs will be exploded.
After all, the weapons and armor of samurai and ashigaru are designed to resist the attack of human opponents. Facing this level of opponents, what they need is a bunker barrier like a city wall.
"The traces went that way."
"Lord Narumi!" the warriors reminded.
"It has been discovered." Traces of such brutal destruction extended to the direction of the main formation and disappeared into the darkness beyond the field of vision.
"How?" Yajiro, who was wearing bright armor, looked at Henry.
"It's more than ten meters away from the last footprint. The handprints on the tree are more like being held than taken. Look here." The tall sage turned back and glanced at the people behind the voice. The samurai raised his torch again and leaned near the handprint to illuminate it.
"Half the bark is gone." The Luoan girl said.
"Ah——! Instead of running in the forest, I grab the tree trunk like an ape and swing through it." Someone among the warriors sighed, and Galeva, who was also in the team, only reacted after hearing what these people said.
"That is to say, we have to defend against attacks from above. It's so dark that we can't see clearly at all." Dark clouds began to drift over in the second half of the night. There was no light from the stars and moon in the deep forest. It was difficult to see what was at the top. There is something about trees that cannot be achieved by the light of torches.
The warriors began to panic, and this panic spread little by little.
"Don't be afraid to move forward. We have already injured the evil spirit. The trapped beast is the most terrifying thing. Success or failure depends on tonight. If we don't take advantage of the victory and pursue the pursuit, it will be difficult for you and me to sleep peacefully!" Narumi's voice cheering everyone in front sounded, However, it is difficult to confirm the effect even in the dark.
"Don't panic, we can hear the sound of this body trying to move on the trunk of a tree clearly from dozens of meters away." The Luoan girl who became more and more proficient in Kazuto's language showed the appearance of a connoisseur and explained.
"But in other words, the silence around now means-" Yajiro frowned.
"It stopped!" Galeva clapped his hands as if he suddenly understood.
"The direction has been determined, the footprints have become shallower, and the evil ghost has slowed down." The sage carrying Claymer finished looking at the tree trunk, squatted down and checked the ground, and then nodded to the warrior leader: "It's nearby , quickly shrink the formation."
"Cone formation! Change!" The great god next to him shouted behind him.
"Team One, the formation change is completed."
"The second team is over." "The third team is over." Continuous reports came, and the horizontal columns that were originally suitable for searching a large area turned into several small columns. Then the master gave the order: "Move closer to the center, guns Troops, move forward!”
The messenger ashigaru in the center of the formation waved a torch to signal, while the samurai who were scattered far away spent some time using torches to determine the direction and came closer to form a closer formation.
"Big gun - prepare!" the leader of the Ashigaru group gave the order, and the Ashigaru people raised their big guns and got ready.
The warriors also took their bows, confirmed that the quivers hanging on their backs were in the correct position, and stared straight ahead.
"One group to two groups, prepare armor-piercing arrows. Three groups and four groups, add fire oil to the arrows." The orderly command of the samurai continued, while Mira, Galeva and Yajiro, who had retreated to the middle of the battle array, looked at Looking at Henry in front of him, the sage glanced back and forth at the trees in the darkness. The blue light emitting from his eyes was proof that he had fully activated the magic related to his vision.
"Everyone is on high alert. The evil spirits have stopped and are right around us!" The samurai shouted loudly in an attempt to calm people down, but the hand holding the gun in Ashigaru still couldn't stop shaking.
"How?" Narumi looked at Henry.
When the sage scanned somewhere, he stopped, narrowed his eyes slightly, and then raised his hand with a "whoosh" sound, which cheered up the warriors who were staring at him closely.
"Turn the archers, position Xuhai, prepare!" The sage pointed in a direction using sign language, and the great god shouted.
"Let it go!" Then he waved downward.
"咻咻咻-" "Pah, pah, pah, pah-"
"Hiss-!! Ahhhhh!!" A roar resounded through the forest, but most people were unable to see clearly what the situation was. The rockets shot out failed to have much effect before going out. The armor-piercing arrows might have hit based on the roaring sound, but no one knew the real result.
"Gunmen, move forward!" the great god ordered.
"Big gun - keep it flat!" "Drink!" commanded the ashigaru group leader, while the ashigaru, who were covered in cold sweat, had cold hands and feet and were trembling, put down their weapons.
"Assault!" The steps were a little sparse and they paused several times, but they finally stepped forward. "Archers, prepare for the second round! Open your bows and press forward at the same time!" The master continued to command, while the leader of the group responsible for holding the ashigaru formation and some senior samurai with short spears rushed forward to illuminate the place where the arrows fell. Except for the deep Deep footprints but nothing found.
"There was blood, but very little." "Escaped."
"Change the formation - perfect circle!" the team leader ordered again, and the spearmen changed from the advancing square formation to a circular formation that spread around, protecting the place where the arrows landed.
"The archers are off guard and moving forward at full speed." After confirming this, the warriors at the rear also followed up and checked the results among the guards of the spearmen's circle.
"It was hit, but it was pulled out." Henry picked up the armor-piercing arrow that was broken into several pieces on the ground. The arrows used for armor-piercing are mostly tapered. Although they have strong penetrating power, they are not as good as those with barbs. The broad-bladed arrows are much less lethal and can be easily pulled out.
"Only one shot, and look at this." Mira and Galeva handed over the torches to light up the surroundings, and the warriors also gathered around.
"The paint on the arrow shaft has been scratched off, so it can be seen that it only penetrated such a small distance, and the arrow has no blood." The arrow illuminated by the fire did not show the appearance of an effective penetration. It can be seen from the edges of the peeled paint that even armor-piercing arrows can only penetrate to a depth of about 5 centimeters.
"An evil ghost wearing armor...hiss--" The physique and brute strength of the ghosts are enough to compete with a small team. If the target is wearing armor, then their tactics must change.
"Then this blood stain is? - Ah, it was from an injury before -" When the warriors were looking for words to reassure themselves, the sage had already squatted down, touched the blood stain with his hand and took a sniff. . "Even though he was not injured, he roared and ran away——" Yajiro's confused voice sounded behind him.
"It doesn't smell of sulfur, it's not ghost's blood." Henry immediately shook off the blood on his fingers and stood up. The eyes of the people closest to him widened.
"Hiss—" Old Qiao took a deep breath, and the master immediately ordered: "Raise the big gun—! Quick!!"
"Hiss-boom!!!"
What burned in the darkness was a red light like a red lotus. With huge momentum and roar, the heavily armored ghosts and gods took heavy steps of "dong dong dong" and directly ran into the spearmen who were hurriedly carrying them. array.
"Crack!" "Crack!" Except for the lacquer, it failed to produce any effect. "Ahhhhhhh--" The ashigaru crowded around their companions and stepped back in panic. "Put the butt of the gun on the ground, put the butt of the gun on the ground!" The group leader commanded loudly, but Only a few heard his orders and remained calm enough to carry them out.
"We can't stop it, retreat!" Henry shouted decisively to the samurai, but the defensive circle formed by the Ashigaru was not good at maneuvering, not to mention that many people were already in chaos at this time.
"Bow! We're at this distance, aim quickly!" The Luoan girl, who was more experienced in the melee, was able to think calmly. She reminded loudly, and only then did the sluggish warriors react and prepare to fire their bows and nock arrows.
"Dang Dong——!" After the tail of the gun was inserted into the mud, the Ashigaru stepped on it and used their weight to try to compete with the charging evil spirit. Their reaction was fast enough for soldiers, but the big gun could not pierce it. The surface was pushed so hard that it made a "whimpering" sound and began to bend.
"Drink-" The evil ghost's breath was hot and had a strong smell of sulfur.
"It's too late, retreat!" The chaos not only continued at the bottom, but many warriors also shouted, pulled up the reins and ran away in the face of powerful opponents.
"Put your left and right wings together! Those who can't withstand it will--boom-boom!!!" The huge blunt weapon with a sharp sound of breaking through the air passed over all the ashigaru that were getting closer, with an attack distance of two and a half meters. The entire head of the Ashigaru-gumi leader who was in charge of commanding in the array was smashed into his breastplate.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". It didn't end well either. The evil ghost swiped the huge blunt instrument made of solid hardwood and stamped with bubble nails in his hand, and their armor was dented and deformed. The whole person flew out and hit the tree, and then slid down like mud and couldn't move.
In an instant, the Ashigaru formation fell apart like a river bank struck by a tsunami.
The warriors who had not yet escaped were stunned and did not even hear Narumi's order to turn around and evacuate.
The evil ghost with red fire all over his body, like a human-shaped flame wearing armor, approached step by step. "Ha-ha-ha ah ah ah ah--" and one of the samurai gritted his teeth, discarded the big bow that was not suitable for close combat and drew out He grabbed the sword from his waist, yelled, pulled the reins and rushed forward.
"Nobukatsu-sama, what are you doing!" the samurai shouted, but the middle-aged samurai, who had suffered a defeat before and was judged by Yajiro as lacking courage, believed that this was a desperate moment to wash away his dishonor, so he roared Then he drove his horse towards the evil ghost.
"Hiss—" "Boom—!!" The complete crushing force caused him to shout only half of his words of encouragement before he was directly smashed from a height of 1.7 meters to 1.4 meters.
"Neighing..." The horse underneath him whined and fell to the ground with all four legs broken, and bright red blood began to flow from the gaps in the twisted armor of the warrior Nobukatsu that slipped from its back.
"This is not a manpower match. Let's fight another day! Tighten the formation!" Narumi roared loudly, trying to prevent the team from retreating in an organized manner to preserve their strength, but the ashigaru and samurai were already in chaos under the sudden attack. They just focused on escaping into the forest.
"No." Henry grabbed the shoulder of the samurai leader who was still giving instructions.
"Sir?" Narumi looked at him in confusion.
"Stay where you are and use the trees for cover."
"Didn't you realize that these things are all aimed at the commander?" The sage said calmly, but Mira watched as the runes on his body lit up one after another after a long absence.
"We can't run away. It can cover a distance of ten meters in one jump. There is no way a horse can outrun it in this dense forest."
"This thing is not the brainless mountain ghost like last time. It can think and set up traps."
"It thought." The sage untied the short raincoat he wore to protect himself from the rain, and then stretched his hands behind his back.
"Catch us all."
"Qiang————"
"Crack-" The torch that fell on the ground ignited the fallen leaves in the forest and made a crisp sound when it burned the dead branches that were not completely dry.
The flames crawled like a long snake, quickly spreading to the surroundings.
The firelight reflected on Kramer's sword blade, while Henry stared at the target and moved forward step by step.
"Let's all step back." Mira looked at the samurai who were still nearby. Counting her, Galeva, Yajiro and the samurai leader trio, there were only about ten people who didn't run away, but the good thing is that On the Little Unicorn Medea, most of these people are cavalry.
The evil spirits were hit with arrows when they approached the camp in the evening, leaving behind Aya, Sakura, Lulu and the missionaries who were not very capable of fighting. Those who could fight, including Yajiro, were all in a cautious team. Xing came out to search, and it took him two hours to catch up - but looking at the situation now, they were actually being tricked.
No one spoke up to accuse anyone else, because indeed everyone did their job.
They were as careful and careful as possible, but the other party never left enough evidence to speculate.
Everything happened too fast. If they had a few more days to study and judge, they could be more prepared. But before any of this could happen, it attacked.
A strange sense of disobedience lingered in the heart of the Luoan girl. She stared closely at the being that was nearly three meters tall, making her teacher's figure seem small.
——Judge the situation and act like a brainless beast to set up a trap and seduce him. They even left traces of blood to ensure that the group stayed there long enough for verification, and then made a sudden attack, focusing on those at the command level and those who had the courage to resist.
This is not what a wandering evil spirit would do, this is what a well-trained soldier would do——
The flames ignited by the fallen torch finally grew large enough to illuminate the surroundings and the face of the evil ghost. And in that moment, Mira suddenly saw the long black hair scattered under the light and shadow and the Odachi sword at her waist——
"that is not--"
"When we were in Taizhou—" Yajiro was also stunned.
"Bang——!!!" The huge golden rod swung down, and the sage lowered the tip of Claymore's sword, just as he had always done.
Rice Ball Exploration
"Qiang——!!"
