The development of things has actually been doomed for a long time. Although the unfolding of the inner world has brought about some unexpected situations, there is only one swordsman left in Placia, and his failure is inevitable.
The question is just how much sacrifice Henry will make before this inevitable comes.
Relying on the instability of the other world, the secret method used by the Platinum Swordsman to be able to disperse a team, combined with the superb combat power brought by his own physical fitness beyond mortals, is actually very suitable for defeating them one by one with high-speed attacks. Achieve kills as much as possible before the opponents establish their direction due to the movement of the battle and gather together.
——In hindsight, this was actually exactly what the other party planned.
It's just that he picked the wrong target as the first target to attack. Not only did he fail to succeed easily, but Mira used magic to notify reinforcements.
Thanks to our Luoan girl's great progress and her keen fighting instincts that have never changed, she only suffered a slight injury and the weapon was damaged and the armor was damaged, which delayed it long enough. Considering the situation, this cost is considered a small one. In such an extremely tight and time-critical situation, being able to grasp every minute and every second to make the right decision is a level that only a very experienced adventurer can achieve, so even a sage who rarely praises others can do it. It is inevitable to give a shout of appreciation.
But the admiration did not last long. After everyone gathered following the signal, Henry quickly led everyone towards the exit.
The moment the light in the sky changed from blood red to orange again, everyone felt that the heavy feeling in their chests and difficulty breathing disappeared.
"The environment inside is toxic to normal people. Without some kind of protection, ordinary people will become more and more uncomfortable inside." The sage explained: "The concentration here near the exit is not very high. The deeper you go, the more uncomfortable you will feel. If you can’t adapt, the best outcome is that you will die within two days.”
"Although because there is always that kind of virtue inside, you can't tell whether you have survived two days." He shrugged, and the Luoan girl noticed the key words described by her teacher and raised her eyebrows: "In the end, good result?"
"Well, living might be worse." Henry's tone was as steady as ever: "You will become something that is not yourself."
"Imagine a person as a bottle." He held up a finger: "You put something in it and pour it out. It's fine if it's just water, but if it smells strong like wine or vinegar or something Where are the seasonings?"
"The smell will stay."
"If you put other things in it, the smell will often be transferred."
"That's what's called 'residue.'"
“What remains of an individual with strong feelings or memories after they have passed away.”
"Thousands of years, maybe tens of thousands of years, maybe longer, so long that even the longest-lived druid cannot calculate it."
"The 'residues' left behind by life are all kept inside." He pointed at the entrance of the shrine. Others were silent and felt a little shuddering.
"Mortals will be completely contaminated the moment they come into contact with it, just like pouring thousands of years of various flavors of drinks and seasonings into a bottle filled with clean water."
"You'll go crazy."
"You will not be able to distinguish between reality and illusion, and you will not be able to distinguish between the past and the present. You will treat other people's memories, other people's pain, and other people's hatred as your own."
He said, and the Loan girl thought about fragments of memories that she couldn't fully understand - and for a moment, she actually felt like she had become someone else. She personally felt the profound helplessness and pain at that moment, and it didn't seem to be fake at all - and the sage went on to say:
"In the end you will completely lose yourself and become a wandering creature like a wild beast."
"Ghoul." The young master reacted and murmured.
"Anyway, stay away first. We can't bear to go in again now." The sage said this and walked towards the location of the Platinum swordsman he killed before, checking and looting what they had.
Mira also walked over, thinking wildly as she walked.
When he mistakenly entered the inner boundary in the north, Henry chose to continue moving forward because there were pursuers behind him, but he also consumed a lot of rune stones during the time he stayed inside. These druid crafts were borrowed by the sages from the inheritance of old friends. In today's human society, there is no production technology of the same level, so every time one is consumed, one is lost.
After the battle was resolved quickly this time, there was no need to stay in that toxic area. Quick evacuation was the right solution.
She was still thinking, and the sage gave her a sword with a snap.
"I didn't give them a chance to pull it out, so it should still be intact. Check it yourself." He said as he ruthlessly tore off the belt of another Platinum swordsman.
These people all carried Otolo-style long swords, so it was just a good idea to replace Mira's broken one. She pulled it out and checked it, and found that it was in pretty good condition.
"It can be sharpened again, the blade looks uneven." He deflected the sword's edge, and under the afterglow of the setting sun, a thin white line appeared on the blade, but it was not there in some places. This is a visual feature of slight curling of the blade in some areas, which can be repaired later by scratching it with a fine oilstone. Mira and Henry brought several types of sharpening stones. If you mix up the rough sharpening stone for repairing large-area curling and chipping and the fine sharpening stone for improving sharpness, it will only destroy the sword, so knowledge in this area cannot be used. fallen.
"These people are quite poor." The sage had no intention of stripping the smelly clothes, and they didn't fit well. Apart from weapons and tools, the trophies he obtained only included some small personal belongings, but their value was actually quite low.
There are two and a half Otolo standard long swords that can be used - two good ones, and one that although the curled blade area is large, it seems that there is room for repair. The rest are damaged by rough use. The handguard and weight ball may be removed and reused, and the wrapping of the scabbard can also be removed and used to repair the container, but other than that, it is not too high. the value of. There were 4 knives in her belongings, Lulu wanted to take one away immediately, and Henry tied the remaining knives with a leather rope and planned to take them away with the sword.
These people did not wear armor, and at most a few of them wore leather arm guards, but the quality was very average, not to mention being contaminated by blood, so there was really no value in getting them.
Then there are some common maintenance supplies, but the quantities are relatively scarce.
Next to the sad ration bag containing only millet and coarse salt, the sage also found some pebbles and copper wires - the pebbles themselves did not have any magic power and required secondary processing before they could be used.
"Like ascetics." The Luoan girl couldn't help but say this when she looked at their outfits.
These zealots of Plathia, although they disagree with many aspects, are very tolerant of hardship. They traveled lightly and compressed personal aspects such as diet and supplies to the extreme, just to complete their goals.
This is by no means a vulgar, greedy and easy-to-deal with opponent. The reason why they can win is not only their own quality, but also related to everyone's timely and correct decision-making.
"The body must be burned." The sage grabbed the sword and walked to the forest ground nearby.
"Why is this?" Narumi asked.
"If they are abandoned or buried, animals will also be contaminated after eating their corpses." Henry said this, and Narumi nodded and asked others to step forward to help build the fire.
"What about what's inside -" the warrior leader continued to ask, but Henry shook his head this time: "There's nothing I can do about it."
"Even assuming that they still remember the method, the material and manpower requirements for closing a door that has been opened once are very huge."
"Especially this kind of one that is in disrepair." He sighed: "This area will be in the future."
"Probably Shenyin incidents will happen frequently."
"Originally, the shrine was built in an unstable area. The use of the shrine makes the entire area more stable and less prone to accidents."
"From now on, the gap between the present world and the inner world will no longer be clear around here."
"The best option is to warn the locals not to stray in and set up some kind of boundary, but -" Before he could finish his sentence, Narumi looked back at the huge forest.
"The number of people needed to defend the surrounding area is probably three to four hundred." The warriors were also silent. They could indeed try to communicate with the local lords.
With Miss Doctor here, the other party might be willing to listen to what they have to say. But even so, who would be willing to dispatch hundreds of troops to garrison in a remote mountainous area?
Most of the people who walk this route all year round are just civilians. For nobles, it is 'acceptable' for a few or a dozen civilians to be hidden by the gods a year, and it is far from being important enough to deploy troops to guard and defend the level. .
Precisely because he is also a noble, he understands better the choices the other party will make.
So they can only do what they can do first.
The wood placed in a tic-tac-shape raised the base to facilitate ventilation, and dead leaves and twigs found everywhere on the ground were added as fire starters. Before it completely darkened, they successfully lit a bonfire and burned the bodies of the slain Platinum swordsmen.
After dealing with all this, the group of people lifted the trap they had set - simply filling it with soil. In the process, the young master tried to make some danger marks on the tree trunks to prevent travelers from approaching, but after finishing painting, he found that the marks were hidden in the dense forest and could not be seen even after walking a few steps.
After all, people are still too small.
The group of people returning to the team smelled of firewood smoke and all looked exhausted, because it looked like they were going to spend the night here, and the people who stayed behind had already set up their camps. Jianye and Ying, who were handling medicinal materials, saw the team returning and rushed over to check their injuries - mainly Mira.
After walking into the camp to avoid suspicion, Sakura took off the hard leather armor from Mira. The punctured hole might still be usable with a patch, but the damage underneath was a little worse than she originally expected.
The leather armor pressed against her skin so she couldn't feel it. Even though the cut was crooked and blocked, there was still a shallow wound on the side of the white-haired girl.
The oiran, who had transformed into a pharmacist's apprentice, took off the dirty clothes and cleaned her wounds.
The irritation made Mira grimace, but Sakura didn't waste time comforting her and just finished the work quickly.
"Master, where are the mullein leaves?" "The clay pot on the left." The voice of Mr. Jian, who was checking others outside, came through the curtain, and Sakura walked over and picked up the clay pot filled with grass leaves. .
Mullein is a weed that is very common in open fields in July and August. It is characterized by its flower stamens standing up high like pillars. This is a plant that also exists in Rigar. Its stamens can be used as wicks or candle wicks after being dried. They can be soaked in lamp oil or beeswax and burned for lighting.
Sakura put the mullein leaves that can help heal wounds in a clay pot, poured some coarse salt and vinegar, then put some yarrow in, and pounded them carefully with a smooth stone tamper. After applying the herbal ointment to the wound on Mira's side.
"Hiss——" The cool and tingling feeling made the Luoan girl take another breath.
"Patience." Sakura said, and took out a clean cotton cloth and put it on it, then rolled the linen cloth around and around.
"Don't wrap it too tightly, it will affect your movement." Even though it was on the side of the waist instead of the limbs, the Luoan girl still emphasized this.
"Just take good care of me lately." Sakura, who had transformed into a doctor both physically and mentally, said this with some dissatisfaction.
"Okay." She looked at the scene where she had finished bandaging. The Luoan girl moved her body to make sure that the bandage would not affect her movements, but she pulled at the wound and grinned.
"I'll give you some fruit wine later." Sakura sighed, and Mira's eyes shone: "Wine!"
"It's just for pain relief." Sakura flicked her forehead: "Put on some clothes. There isn't much water around here and we'll have to stay up for a few more days."
"I really want to take a bath." She sighed, and the white-haired girl nodded in agreement, put on her clothes again, and walked out carrying her leather armor.
There are still many things to do, such as repairing armor and polishing swords. Although this battle is over, the next one may also be coming.
Gotta be prepared. Nurture your wounds and maintain your equipment.
And there is.
Have a good meal.
"What's for dinner tonight!" She trotted towards the bonfire in the center of the camp.
