Uriel followed the procession and once again became a visitor to Mortus. The fall of the city was a foregone conclusion. The cavalry team led by Candner passed through the main road of Center Street without encountering any obstacles. By the time they arrived at the city gate, they had already encountered five or six teams sweeping through the houses. Only one carriage carrying jewels made Candner stop for a while, and the rest of the team was rudely driven aside. It is hard to imagine that these cavalrymen from the same camp could fight over a basket of fruit on the battlefield.
Savage, greedy and cruel, Uriel thought, they were even more threatening than the dark wizards and vampires. There are various signs that the knights who captured Mortus were not from the enemy country. Who are they? Why attack Mortus? The apprentice has seen the archer regiment under Kanderner. This is definitely not a team that a few wanderers can put together.
However, they did not have the discipline of the kingdom's army at all, and they could not even be called obeying orders. Uriel felt that these people were similar to war mercenaries, but they had no purpose at all. According to Kanderner's conversation with Roddy, he found that the wishes of his men seemed to be able to influence the leader's attack goals, and war mercenaries were unlikely to break the contract easily, although they would defect for a higher price.
In fact, these people don't even belong.
There was no change outside the city gate, it was just compared to when he and the Lingot sisters left the city. Brand new ruins. Uriel did not see the escaped woman in the slave team either. A disorganized group of cavalry guards the place, without coats of arms or flags. These people were like a group of wolves descending from the mountain, rushing into the shepherd's livestock and feasting behind the broken fence.
"Ephron's little bastard." Kanderner raised his hand happily and reined in a knight. "You're too late." He threw a golden seal to the other party. "You have got Mortus, should we prepare to go to Quartz City?"
The knight took the seal with deft skill. He is probably the "boss" of Kanderner and Roddy. Uriel was originally at the end of the team, but as soon as he saw his armor, he couldn't help but want to distance himself. But it was too late.
"You're mistaken, Kanderner." The knight sneered under his helmet, "I'm not interested in this ghost place. I just need to borrow the seal of the local lord. You could have traded with 'Black Bee', but you only regarded him as a human being." Permission to enter the city. It is true that he is a local, but the base camp is in Blackwood County. It would be a waste to kill him." His voice was cold.
"I'm not like you, kid. I just pick what's available. That's what everyone does. When you reach for another tree, you have to think about the timing."
The knight was unmoved. "Okay, Kanderna, you don't need to be so vigilant, the crows will be able to see your hilltop. In a sense, Tahu is much smarter than you. At any rate, he knows the current affairs and knows how to figure out the intentions of each adventurer. Heel." He pointed his lance at the apprentice: "Is this man a local mercenary?"
"What tricks do you have..." Kanderner said as he turned around, but he couldn't finish the sentence. Uriel yanked the divine chain, causing a wave of blood. His head dropped from his neck, like a kettle's stopper being pushed open by boiling steam.
"A fatal trick," replied the apprentice.
Candner glared at them with stone-pierced eyes. The situation changed and everyone noticed that there was a stranger following behind them. Although most of the people gathered around Kanderner did not know each other, it was obviously impossible for them to take off the leader's head. He is a weird, mysterious creature. No one would have noticed his presence without the "bastard of Ephron" reminding him.
But to the apprentice, this was nothing more than confirmation of a certain suspicion that the problem lay with the knight.
"A clergyman," the knight said. His equipment is much more complete than Kanderner's, and he has all the protective gear at least, which makes people look down on him. However, Uriel felt that he was not annoyed. On the contrary, the other party seemed to be interested. The ragged knights made a noise, some raised their weapons, some showed hostility, but no one took action. "It seems that you are all smarter than Kanderner." He said to the cavalry who followed. Then, the knight continued to ask: "Who are you? The missionary of the Mercury Temple?"
"Absolutely." It's a wonderful feeling to communicate with the ancestors who lived thousands of years ago. "You and your men are..."
"I was looking for you." Cries and screams sounded from the city gate from time to time, and there was noise everywhere. But the knight was still able to interrupt him calmly, "The Silver Song Knights left Quartz City a few days ago. Where are they now?"
"I'm not from Quartz City."
"Are you from Mortus?"
"Maybe." The implication was that Uriel would not cooperate easily. There is indeed something unusual about the cavalry in front of him, but the apprentice does not intend to use peaceful means. In any case, these cavalry were the invaders of Mortus. "Who are you?"
The knight glanced at the body as if looking at a broken vessel. "It's really interesting." He looked up at Uriel, his gaze unchanged, "Is it difficult to guess?"
"It's my first time to come to Kuroki County." It's also my first time to Oregna.
The knight's mount suddenly stuck its head out, and received a sharp whip. The slave who was scolded by the soldiers on the side - a person who was a citizen of Mortus a few hours ago - shivered. Others were not idle. The knight grabbed the reins, and the arrogance in his words was eye-catching: "Welcome to your presence, missionary. I am the new lord of Mortus, and I am not good at entertaining guests." He raised his spear, "What are your last words? Want to say something?"
"Mortus does not belong to you, only to the locals."
"Its former lord died unfortunately, and the seal symbolizing the ownership of power is in my hand." After Uriel cut off Kanderner's head, the knight actually dared to turn around generously and pick it with the tip of his command sword. The ring hook of the seal was used to show off to the cavalry. The invaders roared in response, calling him their lord. Perhaps they were dissatisfied with the momentum, so they forced the people who had become slaves to join in. "Natives," he repeated, "including slaves, criminals, and gangsters? Missionary, do you and your Gaia think Mortus belongs to them?"
I'm afraid some of these people are among you. The apprentice thought. I’m not a preacher and I didn’t say that. Even a true missionary would not talk nonsense to such people - even if they had only been in contact for just ten minutes, Uriel could tell that they were hopeless. This group of people took human life seriously, took pleasure in killing and plundering, and showed no remorse for what they had done. Despite this, Uriel did not choose to sneak attack during the gap between his turns, but it was not that he did not want to do so. When he and the Lingot sisters met this knight for the first time, the apprentice had already discovered that the knight was actually a mysterious creature with a high level.
"If the local nobles offended you, they are already dead. There is no need to let innocent people take responsibility." Uriel finally issued a warning, "I dare say that Candena Baley will realize the consequences of anger. Bad consequences, and I hope this will serve as a warning.”
"How fresh, the dead jumped up and confessed their sins in life. If you ask me, they would rather complain that there are too many maggots in the bones." The knight sneered, "Are there any innocent people here? Are there?"
"No!" Rody replied loudly.
Uriel decided not to beat around the bush: "Where are you taking these people?"
"Is there anyone else here?" the knight asked again.
"No!" His men replied in unison, "We are responsible for watching the shipment." This didn't make much sense, but the apprentice could see that they enjoyed the process. He felt that he almost knew the identities of these scumbags. The knight kept staring at him, wondering if the face under the visor was smiling. Mostly in ridicule.
"Are you bandits?" he asked firmly.
"We are free men." The knight put away his seal and command rapier. "So did Kanderner. He died quite freely, but he was a little hasty." The bandits laughed, and no one took Kanderner's death. Even though he was almost equal to the knight known as "The Bastard of Ephron" before. "As the master of Mortus, I plan to clean the floors in the house and sell the clutter at a good price. And given the value you have shown, missionary, I think you should have something better than the slave market. Where to go, such as a gladiatorial arena?"
He said as he thrust out his spear.
Since the mount was extremely uncooperative, Uriel had no choice but to abandon it and watched the spear point penetrate the chest of the war horse. He mourned for the dying animal and was angry for the people around him who had been captured and enslaved. He dodged the sword blade coming from behind and chopped the attacker, including man and horse, into two pieces with one sword strike. There was a moment of silence in front of the city gate.
The archers took the lead in counterattacking, but the sporadic arrows could not even interfere. The divine words wrapped around the spear, and the knight pulled them back and broke them. However, the cavalry were not able to break free so easily. Uriel avoided the siege of the bandits and seemed to be fighting half of the Paperclip mercenary group, while the well-trained archer team was the out-of-state "Windspeaker" Aldinite. The only thing they have in common is that they don't stick to the one-on-one mode when attacking.
Fortunately, he can still handle it this time with the Scroll of Oath by his side. Uriel grabbed a long sword, steel rubbing against the frost. He snatched the weapon away and threw it at its owner. A bandit happened to cross the battle line between the two, and his face was cut open by the sword. The guy who lost his weapon quickly retreated. Another man stabbed with a spear, but his movements were much slower than the leading cavalry. Uriel cut off the head of his spear with a sword, and then slit his throat with his backhand. Blood sprayed on the mount's body. The divine chain does not have a maximum attack range.
He didn't notice the knight's movements, so much so that he ignored the opponent's movement of archers. Arrows fell from the sky, and Uriel was forced to throw himself behind a low wall, the stone shattering in the impact. As soon as he raised his head, a spear cut through the smoke and pierced the magical barrier.
"You fired arrows at us?" The apprentice looked at the wailing bandits on the ground. They had been enveloped by their own flying arrows and suffered heavy casualties. Uriel was not surprised that Kanderner's death failed to stimulate them, but this time it was not his fault.
"He is an elementalist." The knight ordered: "Keep shooting arrows."
Did he ever care about the lives of his men? Uriel didn't understand. "Damn it, do you know this is a dream?"
But the other party obviously doesn't know. "Dream? Reality is just a dream." His second shot shattered the magic. "It's still daytime now, but it will be almost night when you arrive in Ephron." The knight's tone was very calm, "By then, you will have plenty of time to dream."
Uriel used the golden sword to hold the spear, and the force forced him to retreat. The clash of weapons sounded like forged iron. The knight was condescending, and his spear struck the sword blade one by one with swiftness and violence, almost pushing him into the dust of the ruins. The bandits who were still able to move immediately seized the opportunity. They stretched out their spears and swords towards the apprentice, trying to tear him into pieces. The archer aimed at the two men without hesitation, and the knight did not even look.
What happens if you die in a dream? Uriel died hundreds of times in "Spirit Vision", and he remembered each time freshly. But that's not really the end. Mortus's dream was not a precognitive dream. Since he could be seen by the dreamer, he would of course be affected by it. Death cannot be attempted easily before the situation is understood.
"Shadow Attack"
The knight's lance shattered the ground, and the bandit's sword and the archer's arrow fell into the void. Their movements of wielding weapons were either lines or surfaces, casting shadows in the sunlight. Uriel emerged from the corner two yards away. Facing him were two unarmed archers with unstrung arrows. The golden sword killed two people in the blink of an eye, and they fell off the horse, clutching their throats. The knight quickly turned around, swung his spear in a semicircle in the air, and threw it towards the apprentice.
This is at best a vent of anger, not a counterattack. Uriel sidestepped and the tip of his spear hit the remains of the city gate, creating a harmless cloud of smoke and wood chips. "You want to know my last words, sir?" the apprentice challenged, "in fact, you can't remember even if I say them." Mortus will undoubtedly return to the way he was before the attack at night. This place is just a dream.
The knight was by no means annoyed by the casualties among his men. None of the arrows that hit him reached the target, and they broke into several pieces in mid-air. Not even the complete arrow shaft could be found on the ground. He drew his sword and galloped through the city gates, his eyes flashing with fighting intent. Uriel didn't mind continuing the fight, but someone ordered the remaining archers to move their targets.
"Kill those slaves!" Roddy shouted, "Celebrate the boss's upcoming victory!"
The apprentice turned around, his eyes fixed on this bold bastard.
"You pissed him off, Roddy," the knight said cheerfully. "Well done."
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