The pine needles are surprisingly thick and soft under your feet, as if you are stepping on clouds. The forest of St. Valoran is deeper and darker than the forest of Eastman. It is full of unfamiliar trees, shrubs and weeds divide the clearings, and fungi and moss occupy the gaps. The air was moist and cold, filled with the smell of turpentine and fresh walnuts, and heavy with dew and hung with cobwebs. Uriel stared at a shadow two yards away and motioned to York with the hilt of his sword.
"Green elf?" Sita gestured.
Why is this kid so excited? "No, we are going there." He denied, "You go and take a look first, York, isn't this your job?"
Sita dropped her smile. "Oh, detective. Of course I know." He touched his forehead angrily, knowing that it was his skin color that put him in this situation. Sita is also a strange enemy to the forest races, and no one can attract more attention than him.
The leaves are slightly disturbed, as if blown by the wind. Uriel watched as the orange-faced mercenary emerged from the shadow with a hand, eyes open in his palm, looking around. This scene was not new, but he was still surprised. Although elemental beings can transform into elemental states, they are not so flexible. Physician Cleia explained to them the method of elemental self-shaping, but Sauron insisted that it was related to the elemental tide and kept hinting at him to turn around. For some reason, the apprentice asked York to be responsible for the exploration and direction determination of the team's way forward, even though the night elves were the best candidates for reconnaissance.
Right now, Dalton was on guard next to him. The bard and the doctor disappeared. To be precise, there were only shadows. When Uriel lowered his head to observe the shadow of the tree, he could distinguish the long feathers on the hat of Saudi Arabia at a glance. Not to mention the little oil-rubber humans, even the birds flying across the sky can detect something strange. The feathers were trembling, but Dalton didn't even notice it.
He had no choice but to turn his head and prompt: "Teach Saudi to take off his hat, Dalton?"
The night elf seemed to be waking up from a dream, and stretched out his hand to grab the shadow. Apparently he didn't wake up much. Uriel quickly stopped him before he could grab the dirt. "Hat." The apprentice raised his voice, the shadow shook, and the feathers that poked out of the trunk disappeared.
"Can you speak?" Dalton asked slowly.
"It's okay in the shadows."
"What about York?"
"You have to give him some air to keep him alert."
The night elf was silent for a moment, obviously realizing his mistake. "Are we playing a game?" he muttered. "No need for reconnaissance. You can hide it from the eyes of the forest."
"Game? York is no newbie, but this is St. Valoran and I'm just keeping it safe. In fact, he did a pretty good job and you couldn't even hear me calling you." Uriel scolded.
"Well, I didn't expect you to suddenly say something and change the rules of the game."
"You're distracted, Dalton. Is it DeWitt? Or is it the Gulf War..."
"No, no, it's not. For your Gaia's sake, Uriel, don't mention it again. And don't say Tinudar, that's nothing to say. I know you have the patience to pay attention to everyone now I have an idea in my heart, but it’s not necessary for me.”
This is the truth. "Sorry. Curiosity can hurt others, but I don't always have a long memory."
"Not really. It is necessary to understand others, especially those who are traveling into dangerous places together. I am thinking about your magic."
"Huh?" I was really caught off guard. "You mean, shadow magic?"
"Have you ever learned the magic of an elementalist? Or does your profession have elements-related branches?"
"No." Uriel did not intend to hide it, "This is the effect of my professional magic. It is considered to be a divine magic... but not entirely. I can use the magic of other professions with restrictions."
"limited?"
"Depends on the mystery and magic." He silently recited the secret language of nature, and the little oil-rubber human crawled out of an acorn that fell to the ground. "I have to encounter the entity of magic before I can rely on the magic spell to reappear. On Gray-winged Bird Island, you pulled me into the shadows." He paused, "As for natural magic... Roma and I were in Eastman In the shimmering forest, we met a friendly forest believer who welcomed us and helped us.”
Dalton was silent for a moment. "She's so enthusiastic."
Uriel frowned, "What?"
"I'm thinking, maybe you really don't need help from others, as long as we also show you magic. One person is enough to reach Moniantoros, and one person is enough to escort Saudi and Cleia."
one person? You insist on traveling together. "This is not the same thing." The apprentice relaxed the wrinkles on his brow, "I am just a person with two hands, a sword, and a pair of eyes."
"You're right." Dalton turned away. He was wavering, just like I was at Marandeno. Uriel knew very well that making a decision does not happen in an instant. People always spend several times longer weighing the pros and cons, especially after making a decision. What is not chosen is always more attractive than what is already possessed. Dalton shook his shadow, responding to York's signal. "We can go there. Is the direction correct?"
"That's right." Who is right and who is wrong? To Uriel, it didn't matter. Whenever you make a resolution, it is a commitment. Proverbs Knights don’t break their promises.
A large part of the travel time is consumed in opening roads, and only magic can reduce it a little. Uriel shuttled between shadows, descending from the leaf tips to the roots of Qiu Jin's trees. Fortunately, there was no bumpiness in the darkness, otherwise the poet would have vomited it out long ago. The air was humid and hot, and the skin was itchy. He couldn't imagine how people could survive in this environment for a long time.
Dalton wiped his cursed sword carefully, as if the blood would corrode the steel. Sita York handling prey. Uriel watched as the mercenary skillfully peeled off the animal's skin, took out the internal organs and a few broken bones, and then stuffed the herbs and chestnuts inside. Seeing the pool of blood under his fur, the little oil-rubber human screamed and covered his eyes with his hands.
"I can't light the fire." A wisp of smoke rose and Sita blew it away. "Can't make a fire in the shadows?"
"You use elements to make fire, of course it won't work! This is shadow, only dark elements... try flint and steel?"
Uriel knew the outcome before they took action. "No, there's no air here either."
"No air? Can a human hold his breath for so long?"
"Silver attack is not about manipulating shadows, but about changing our own state." Uriel told him. But as its mystique increased, Shadow Strike became the Sunless Legion, and the Elementalist was able to control shadow creatures. "It's up to you, York. Please bring your body temperature for barbecue. Mr. Saud said he likes it eight ripe."
"I think he wants to find something for Cleia to do."
…
"There are still twelve miles." Dalton was about to use the cursed sword to point out the map, but suddenly remembered that the newly made weapon was made of extraordinary material, and hurriedly stopped his hand. "At the current speed, we can walk out of the forest in about five hours. Can you still hold on?"
Apprenticeship seems easy. "no problem."
"This is unreasonable. Gao Huan's magic power is not unlimited. We can take shifts."
"It is indeed unreasonable, but this is the characteristic of mystery." The apprentice stood up, "Don't worry about me, once I can't hold on, Sauron will jump out and warn." He groaned, grabbed the ring and struggled with it, finally breaking it Take off your fingers. "Like this." He distanced himself from them as well, but left the map to Dalton.
Perhaps it was due to the mysterious item, but Croita would certainly not treat their only messenger badly. In Eastman, Dalton had never seen a mysterious item that could replenish magic power, but that didn't mean it didn't exist. Every mysterious item in Tinudar is a treasure, let alone such sequel items. The foundation of the mysterious fulcrum is far beyond ordinary mysterious creatures.
Croita is like this, and the School of Silence will not be any worse. They have already seen the Holy Radiance Council, one of the seven pivots. In comparison, Eastman is just a remote and backward mountain village. The Ash Temple may be powerful, but the underground world is barren and dark. The Great Holy See plans to counterattack the surface, but the slogans are shouted until Dalton leaves Tinudar. Similar to the plan of the underground army, he felt that there was little hope for their trip. Maybe it would be better to let Uriel go to Moniantoros alone. Solengerson is wasting his efforts. When we get to the Church of Gaia, most of what we have to consider is how to escape.
He was extremely uneasy thinking about his escape route, and did not notice York walking quietly beside him. When she came to her senses, Sita had already sat down. "Look, what is that doing?" he said softly.
Dalton looked up and saw Uriel staring at a bunch of hanging yellow flowers. The petal-covered stems and leaves of the plant penetrate deep into the lush canopy, and the roots are tangled and tightly clinging to the cracked bark. The tower messenger stared at the shaking stamens, looking confused and confused.
He thought he knew why. "He was communicating with our guide."
"The acorn?"
"It's a little oil-rubber human. Uriel knows that little thing." I hope it will not lead us into the green elf's trap for the sake of the tower. "We were avoiding them before."
Sita raised her eyebrows. "To be honest, Zhuoer, aren't we really sending it to your doorstep?"
"Uriel doesn't think so."
"how about you?"
"Say what you have to say, York. I'm not interested in talking in circles with others." Besides, this guy's skill at finding something to say is really poor.
"Can we defeat the Church of Gaia?"
It turned out to be this door. Dalton shook his head, "Didn't you know better already?"
"But the church sinned, they turned their backs on what was right."
"So what?" Dalton didn't understand.
"Evil will have its vengeance. Lucia told us this, not Gaia, who will protect us nonetheless," Sita whispered. The child's eyes were full of hope, and Dalton realized that maybe that was why Uriel asked him for help. "This is an important task entrusted to us by the goddess."
The gods are gone. Even though they were once the rulers of the earth and the creators of order and morality, now people have regarded these as shackles, completely getting rid of them and despising them. The responsibility of the goddess? It sounds like the propaganda slogan of the missionaries of the Council of Light. Heather only left a stone tablet in Saint Valoran. Dalton no longer believes in gods. If they really exist and can perform miracles, they probably belong to Noctus, the god of war. After all, the war never stops no matter what time it is.
Although Sita York lived for more than three hundred years, in Dalton's eyes, he stayed in the Twinkle Pool for about three hundred years, and the time he came to Eastman was only a fraction of the time. Judging from human experience with time, he should be a qualified adventurer. Yet the facts speak for themselves.
But there's no need to dampen the kid's confidence. "There may be more than one goddess, because Uriel also said this. Gaia really shouldn't stand idly by, we are clearing the door for him."
"What did I say?" The tower messenger crossed the shadows in a few steps and returned to them. He looked very tired, as if he had just experienced a grueling Gulf War. As expected, he brought no good news from his guide. "We have to take a detour."
Before Dalton and York could say anything, an acorn flew towards Uriel's head with a whoosh. He was in danger and caught it. Looking at its reaction, the night elf suddenly realized that the bad news had nothing to do with the guide.
"What's going on?" Sita blurted out.
"There's a lake ahead."
"A lake. So, you mean there are no shadows in this lake?"
"Stop pretending." Uriel rolled his eyes, "It's not a problem with the shadows... There are mysterious creatures in there, and there are quite a lot of them."
"It must be the water fairy." Dalton said, "Then we really should take a detour."
He thought that York would either object or ask questions, but he didn't expect Sita to be quite honest. "That's it." The orange-faced man said without hesitation, "I'll inform Saudi and Cleia." The tower messenger only raised his hand, and he sank into the shadows.
The little rubber Terran screamed in protest. Its sound is soft and thin, like two leaves rubbing against each other. Dalton had barely heard it speak before. This little thing was hiding from everyone, even Uriel, unless the latter used magic to order the drow, and there was no way to know the reason for its violent protest.
When Uriel showed his unchangeable will, even Sauron had to fail before his determination. The small oil-rubber human race became a yelling pendant on his shoulder, and the sound was blocked in the scope of the shadow.
Until Dalton gets closer. "How long will the detour take?" he asked.
"half an hour."
"I mean, get out of Shimmer Forest."
The tower messenger gritted his teeth and tightened the muscles on his face. Although it was only a moment, it was captured keenly by Dalton. "Seven hours."
"You're okay, right?"
"No, there isn't. Let's go."
Dalton sheathed the cursed sword. There is no need for others to worry about it, Zhuoer thought to himself, Sauron the Ring is monitoring him anytime and anywhere. Day and night, he can't wait to enter his dream to see if he has a nightmare. He is the apprentice of the White Envoy, an envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a mysterious knight with a high ring. Even if none of this works, Uriel still has his destiny to protect him. And honestly, if none of that works, what can I do?
York waved: "In a daze again, Zhuoer?"
"You came just in time." Dalton came back to his senses, "Uriel wants you to scout the new route?"
"Yeah, what?"
"No need." He urged, "You stay nearby and keep watch, York. You are needed more here. Come quickly!"
