The smell of blood filled his nose, and Uriel couldn't help but frown. All kinds of people passed in front of him, most of them missing arms and legs, and a few of them only had a few pieces. These two types of things will undoubtedly trigger many associations, but only people who are ignorant of the world or cruel and ruthless will do it, especially Leal was neither, reaching out to stir the water.
The waves rolled, and the figure squirmed, moving forward slowly. This is by no means a pleasant scene.
But to be honest, they are Uriel's old friends. Ever since he obtained the "Red Prophecy" in Yin Shiman's Silverdome City, these dead people have been haunted by dreams. Whenever Uriel dreamed of the River of Death under the black moon, people would line up in the river to greet him.
To make matters worse, the frequency of prophetic dreams did not disappear with the end of the White Night War. Uriel once thought it was due to his spiritual vision, but after he consulted a great astrologer with trepidation, Larson told him that this was a normal phenomenon.
"Getting a prophetic dream is an extraordinary talent." His Excellency "Eye of Ain" affirmed, "If a pebble is thrown into the lake, only the keen fish can detect it. This pebble is a warning of fate." The apprentice's distress actually caused him to notice it. He was greatly appreciated. "But, the 'warning', in addition to the momentary sound, will also produce continuous ripples, which can only be eliminated by time."
Uriel couldn't be sure whether this was the truth about his current situation. After all, Larsen's judgment was based solely on the words of his apprentice, and our Knight of Proverbs was not telling the truth about this. After all, the apprentice cannot ask him, "Sir, my fire has given me a special talent. Do you have a way to control it? If not, I will ask the prophet." There is nothing more stupid in the world than this.
Maybe it can really solve the problem. Lord "Night Qiming" will probably suggest that I find a pyre. Uriel thought pitifully.
Bathing the dead in bathwater is nothing compared to bathing in fire. Uriel gradually got used to dealing with the wreckage in his dreams: an old man in a robe, his facial features shrunk in wrinkles; a middle-aged man with a broken leg, his body covered in scars and unrecognizable; Sister Manet, whose real name is Dorothy, has a fatal throat hurt. The sailor holding the trident couldn't straighten his waist, and the tip of the weapon hooked into the nun's long hair. And the last distinguished guest, the foreign minister of Croyinta, the White Envoy who almost died in the flood of Six Fingers Fort. Expired prophecies will not be refreshed.
No matter what, there are some people here who were familiar faces to him in life, and some people borrowed his light and did not die at all. Gods bless you, Uriel thought, what more can I ask for? Now I understand the benefits of the nameless one.
At this moment, suddenly, the word "Unknown One" reminded him, like a flash of lightning flashing through his mind. Uriel met Handy "One-Armed" Enspan, a night watchman in Byrne, and there was also a deceased person missing limbs in the Black Moon River. One leg. The nameless one.
He swam forward hurriedly. The old man at the head of the queue had already gone away, and the robe he wore slipped across Uriel's hand, leaving a smooth touch. The apprentice pulled off the cloth, swung his legs and continued swimming, finding the second body. A one-legged middle-aged man. He always ranks one behind the old man.
"Damn it," the apprentice whispered.
Except for the big hole in his heart and scars all over his body, this person was actually an acquaintance. "Sweeney" Edward, a demon hunter and an adventurer of the Paperclip Mercenary Group. In my memory, he was a cripple and had difficulty moving. Uriel went with him into the Land of Perdition. ….
He was supposed to be my traveling companion when visiting Gavash, but he got separated at the beginning. Uriel thought to himself. I couldn't send him on his last journey. What's more, until his death, he didn't know that I was the Nameless One he hated. What a cruel joke.
But the hatred and the secret are gone. Now Edward is drifting in the Black Moon River, about to head to the whirlpool of death. This is probably a good thing. The apprentice cannot judge.
"Goodbye, brother." Uriel whispered to the mottled face of the corpse, "I'm sorry that I am not your compatriot." But an enemy.
"I lied to you, and nothing can excuse it. But I want you to know that the king of Byrne is also dead." I killed him, but not for you. "Maybe this will make you feel better. Your blood was not shed in vain."
He paused for a moment. "I'm a disaster, the real deal. Good luck, Edward."
Uriel let go.
…
"Hands off, kid."
The elf doctor coldly ordered, "Unless you are willing to tie your hands and belly together. Of course, your right hand is also seriously injured. I'm not sure if you are willing."
Uriel quickly followed the doctor's instructions and passed the bandage through his waist. The cicada slough covered the sutured wound with a coolness, but it lost its sleep-inducing effect. After the death of the saint, the apprentice could no longer cope with the next battle. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and darkness swallowed his consciousness...until the doctor knocked on the door.
After waking up, his wounds stung and his muscles became weak, and Uriel realized that he had not turned into a corpse. I actually walked out of the palace alive? He suddenly felt uneasy when he thought that the black knight who murdered the king actually kept his promise. This man must have other plans, and unfortunately I can't stop him.
He didn't want to think about these helpless things anymore. In fact, there are more problems that need to be solved urgently, and reflection also requires energy. The Scroll of Oath made up for his magic power and could not nourish the dry fire.
The wounds on the body heal the fastest. Since the Black Knight asked him to leave the palace, he would not take his life any more. Uriel found himself back in the hospital where he first entered Byrne, and received comprehensive and rapid treatment.
Apart from anything else, this doctor's technique is probably something that an apprentice would only see in his lifetime. She gently fixed the broken bones, scraped away the rotten flesh and blood that had been invaded by magic, and then used the power of the natural elves to heal the wounds. Everything was done in the blink of an eye, and he barely felt the pain.
But this treatment did not reassure him. In fact, since killing the "King", nothing could appease him. Uriel knew that while he was lying in bed, Ryan might be sending "Night Flame" outside the city, and "One-Armed" Handy of the Ravens was hiding in the city. Byrne's people were panicked and uneasy, and order The coalition forces are clearing out their compatriots trapped in the Veil Mountains.
On the bright side, some people will be worried about his safety. For example, friends who are far away in the tower, the ice-land adventure group "Knox" who looks at the long frosty night, Ms. Sita "Tea Cup" from the alliance, and the like-minded people he met in the church. The apprentice misses them very much and wonders if there will be a chance to see them again in this life. If it were me, in order to preserve the name of ruling Bain, I would never let the news of the murder of the king leak out. And the surefire way is, of course, only one death. ….
He must show his mood on his face. The elf doctor saw it and thrust something into his hand: "Do it yourself. Your magic is better than many potions, and I still have things to deal with."
Uriel was a little embarrassed. "Thank you. What should I call you?"
"Ning Ayin'er. I am the director of Bain National Hospital. Bandages and disinfectants are at your disposal. They are in the cabinet. Can you get out of bed?"
"this is very simple."
Even so, when he landed on his feet, he could still feel waves of weakness coming from his limbs. Maybe they can have the strength to support their bodies, but Uriel can't control them for the time being. He realized that his fire had become so weak that it was affecting his actions. This is really not good.
Ning Ayin'er narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you go back and lie down." She raised her chin a little. "Or sit on the ground. Listen, kid, I don't have any extra time to waste on you, so don't cause trouble for me."
"I'll try my best to cooperate," Uriel said. Even this made him feel like his hands and feet were not in control. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be suspicious..."
"When it comes to killing people, a blade is better than a bandage. We don't have to wait for you to wake up before we attack." The elf doctor sighed, "But maybe your caution is right. Danger is everywhere, especially in the enemy camp. when."
"I prefer to think that I am among my compatriots."
"We will be grateful for this." Ning Ayin'er nodded, "Next, I will increase the dose so that you can have a good sleep."
This is not possible! "I slept for a long time and felt very energetic. What time is it now?"
"It's been two days since you left the palace."
She mentioned the palace! she knows. This thought flashed through his mind, and Uriel instinctively tensed his back, but the corresponding parts did not respond at all. I'm really at the mercy of others.
His stress reaction was seen by Ning Ayin'er. "Well, until the misunderstanding is resolved, I'd better leave you alone." The doctor withdrew his hand tolerantly but firmly, "Yes. You can be alone, right? There are more important people waiting for me.
to deal with it, and there is no way to heal yourself with magic. "
"Of course." Uriel looked away uncomfortably. The Scroll of Oath gave him the power to distinguish between lies and truth, teaching him that he didn't need to be wary of other people's good intentions...that's how it should be. I'm sick, paranoid sick. I dare say this disease is a hundred times more difficult to cure than my hand, at least the holy water potion can't help. This feeling is terrible. "Please go quickly."
After the elf doctor left, Uriel still had various thoughts running through his mind. The death of the king, the human-skin assassin, the secret realm of the palace, the transaction using "Night Flame" as a bargaining chip, Parsul's voice... Until the end, he had time to carefully recall Ning Ayin'er's words.
She said she had other things to do. She mentioned that she was the director of the hospital and had the opportunity to know the inside story of the palace. This person is obviously not simple. After this turmoil, Byrne will undoubtedly suffer more injuries. Among them, the person who is most likely to be taken care of by Dean Ning Ayiner is self-evident. There is nothing to say about divine magic not being a medicine for the dead.
Uriel was thinking of something else.
The king is dead, has the undead lord achieved his goal? He is now the leader of the society. After the encounter in the palace, the apprentice just wanted to stay away from him and never meet him in this life, but if he died...
...and a lot of good people will die because of it. Uriel felt strange that this long-dead soul was actually linked to the lives of thousands of living people. In the eyes of most people, the life of a king is more important than thousands of mortals, and I am not most people. However, it turns out that without the king, the starless night will continue to operate as usual. Without the undead lord, the Night's Watch will collapse first, causing the collapse of Byrne and even the entire society. He placed many mortals in the Fallen Plane to prepare for possible future wars in Byrne. In addition to the secret society, he is also the ruler of Gavash.
What is indisputable is that Byrne needed him, even if he committed horrific crimes.
The value people create has nothing to do with their own virtues, Uriel thought complicatedly. The association needs leaders, so "King" MacAdam is supported, turning the "Twilight Veil" into the "Starless Night", and Nadia and her ideals are gone. Isn’t the same thing true for the Black Knight now? This is not a position that rests on honor. Whoever people need is the savior.
It seems that Starless Night will definitely support the Black Knight, even though he killed the king. My survival is no threat to him. Uriel received an explanation of the current situation and felt slightly relieved.
But after all, why did the undead lord betray the king at such a critical moment? What's the benefit of losing both sides?
…
Long after the elf doctor left, "Answer" pushed the door open and entered.
But to see its true face, I have to be careful. Uriel thought to himself. "grown ups."
"Ask as much as you want, you don't have much time."
He's scaring me, the apprentice thought. However, even after recognizing the threatening meaning, Uriel still could not restrain his fear. When your life only depends on someone else's thoughts, you will also be afraid. After all, how can a living person be completely fearless?
Only the dead can. He vaguely felt a strange power lingering around the demon lord, a familiar aura from the palace before. That stone platform. ceremony. He smelled like a god.
Related to the descent of God. Uriel could only think of this. After all, it is impossible to restrict the movement of a saint by relying on the mystery of the sky realm. But Broken Moon's ritual failed, Qiao Yin stopped her. There must be a secret here.
...But I can't ask at this time. Although the Black Knight did not take action, it would be really stupid to really believe that he would answer all questions.
"Your contract is terminated, my lord?"
"Cut in two. Well done." There was no appreciation in the demon lord's words, it was just a narrative.
You were not like this back then, Uriel thought to himself. After the king's death, the undead lord seemed shaken. Thinking about it, although there have been betrayals before, none of them can compare to the final decision. But the apprentice would not be stupid enough to contradict him.
"I have never had the ability to terminate a contract before, at least I have never noticed it myself." Uriel asked, "Is this the power of the Scroll of Oath?"
"It is the Seven Bibles
One, you know very well. The remnants of the gods possess special powers, and your profession is derived from them. "
Sure enough. Uriel felt his fingers twitch. I cut off the contract between the king and the lord with my own hands, even without using the Bible, just with my hands... "That sword also has special abilities, doesn't it? You want me to use it - uh." He thought of his resurrection from the dead. The "human skin" assassin, all his words were swallowed up immediately. ….
The black knight said nothing.
He was guarding me. Uriel suddenly realized. He knows the ability of the Scroll of Oath and that I can detect lies, so he rarely responds proactively and only responds when necessary. I can't get any information from him that he doesn't want to give.
This is the first time I have seen such a person. Uriel felt troubled. Is it really necessary to be so vigilant? It seems that I can be considered a threat in the eyes of Kongjing. He tried to think of the best. "—Use it to kill the king. Why must it be used? Do you want to control him?"
"Just trying."
try? once? He must have killed other people and turned them into undead minions who obeyed him. How could anyone do such a thing? After all, resurrection from the dead is the authority of the gods. "Am I the subject of your next attempt, my lord?"
"If you are willing to recommend yourself..."
"No." Uriel flatly refused. "I like my heartbeat. At the same time, to be honest, I'm quite afraid of the cold, and having body temperature is quite comfortable. I mean, well, I'm used to this."
"You will lose a lot, but the most useful thing is your weakness." The undead are not afraid of swords and guns. This is true. "It won't be a big deal if you get hit by a sword."
Except magic? Uriel wanted to ask, but didn't have the guts to ask.
The Black Knight didn't seem to bother convincing him. This man was undoubtedly better at coercion than inducement, and the apprentice thought of their deal at the palace.
"Now that the association has lost its king, what will it gain?" he asked.
"free."
"free?"
"Freedom to die, freedom to surrender, freedom to escape and survive. Byrne liberated."
Uriel frowned and looked at him. "I don't understand. Without the king, Byrne doesn't even have the strength to fight. You want to dissolve the association, right?"
"It depends on the vote."
vote. Damn it. "Are you kidding? Are you going to let the Byans vote? Choose fight or flight? Let the Byans... all the nameless ones?"
"You don't have a ticket, Tower Messenger."
Uriel forced himself to smile. I really only care about that ticket. "You wouldn't say that Byrne has already finished choosing, right?"
"Why do you think Handy Spann called his gang 'Raven Staff Group,'" the Black Knight asked.
Could it be true? Uriel was stunned. The undead lord actually relies on voting to govern the secret society? Do the other lords know about this? This is fucking crazy!
"I have seen democratic decision-making, sir." He said after considering, "The ending is very... unsatisfactory. After all, some contradictions are unavoidable, just like it is difficult for ordinary mortals to make decisions for the king. Of course, I think you are completely I can take the place of the king, nothing else...but you see, my lord, I certainly can't do it, and it has nothing to do with whether I have a ticket or not. Coachmen and squires and tramps, cooks and merchants, and babies and children, they deserve to have tickets. , but can’t choose to fight. Because, uh, how should I put it? People are different, and everyone has their own strengths.”
"Do you think I can only hear these truths in the world from your mouth?"
"Of course not, my lord."
"Only the lords participate in the voting," the Black Knight told him.
Uriel suspected that he didn't understand at all. Isn't this going from one extreme to the other? "So the Society chose war." I knew it! Do you still expect these demon lords to surrender? ….
"Lord Mercury doesn't want to die, so I arranged for her to be in charge of logistics in Gavash."
It turns out that she is also in the sinking plane. It was a stroke of luck that we didn't run into her at that time. "How soon will Gavash return to Knox?" the apprentice wanted to know.
"Who knows? Ask your tower."
"I'm afraid no one will now
Answered me. Uriel said mockingly. When I step into Byrne, people will look at me as a traitor. How should I explain to Qiao Yin? "To take a step back, even if you want to ask, I don't have a way to contact the tower. You can rest assured."
The black knight held his sword with one hand and looked at him with soul flames. Uriel knew how embarrassed he was, but this undead was just the opposite. He maintained the miserable state of the ceremony without the palace, as if the battle had never happened. Under the gaze of this pair of dancing eyes, the apprentice felt that he had no secrets.
"It's you who are worried, not me." He pointed out bluntly.
He knows what I'm afraid of. Uriel thought to himself. The lord probably didn't like tactful questioning.
"I just want to know the fate of the association." So he confided, "The war will inevitably fail, and there will be no end to the escape. But a thousand years ago, there was a leader of a secret society, and she found a key that symbolized hope."
Uriel glanced at the three-sectioned sword. When he saw this "Bible" for the first time, the white-haired Alanwo elf placed it casually on the table. In the long night, the wind and snow shook the window. In the glass cup, the candle burned quietly, and the faint light lit up the silver-white bone-like sword blade. The room is filled with the fragrance of pine snow. She mentioned the Bible, the scroll of oaths and the relics left by the gods. The stories passed down from legends and secrets flowed on the stone wall with her voice.
Between war and peace, Nadia of "Twilight Veil" chose the latter, but unfortunately opened the door to hell.
He told the other party about the past events in his dream. "The gifts of the gods have no explanation, sir." Uriel finally warned, "If you are not careful, the disaster may happen again. If you lose your home, the nameless ones will also become extinct. We are not real demons after all."
"The evil dragon Wintherspoon," the Black Knight read, "I heard that she died, killed by 'Victor.' Since she has failed before, it's best not to have any expectations."
This is the truth. Uriel breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he considered it, but gave up. Otherwise, if he was desperate and the secret society used the "key" to release the Hell Legion again, it wouldn't just be as simple as a loss of life, but the entire Knox would be dragged down.
"Stop thinking wildly." The Undead Lord said, "This will be good for you."
The apprentice shrugged, and the result was a sharp sting. "A beating cannot be in vain. I don't have many problems."
"About the Starless Night and the King?"
"And Styx." Uriel didn't miss any chance. "You set a trap to kill him. I am lucky enough to be part of the trap, so you should at least give me the right to know the details, right?"
None of these things involve secrets, they are topics he carefully selected. The Black Knight did not remain silent: "The predecessor of the Starless Night was the Veil of Twilight, and MacAdam, also known as the King, after he betrayed the order, he turned to study the original source...the power of the Nameless One's talent. Nadia's legacy Most of them were related to it, and in the end even the secret society was completely taken over by him. Eighty percent of it was like this.”….
Uriel frowned: "You're not sure?"
"If you do it quickly, I can call him out now and let you ask questions. For now, you can only ask questions to the skeleton."
To his bones, or to yours? Uriel cursed. There is probably no flesh and blood viscera under the armor of the Undead Knight, only fire and bones. No wonder he is cruel, cold and unkind. "What about the assassin? How did you discover his presence?"
"This man jumped on stage to tease two little girls. There is such stupidity in the world." Black Knight mocked, "He seems to think he is some kind of star."
It couldn't be Ringott, could it? "What did he do?"
"Feed spiders to their dogs."
Don't know what the meaning is. Uriel didn't know what to say. Styx seems to be quite romantic. When he appears in human skin, he does not speak like an assassin, but like a musician and singer. This guy's unruly behavior is reasonable. "I heard that he assassinated the Witch of Destiny."
"He's her advocate."
It's so passionate. Uriel couldn't tell whether this was true or not. Maybe a life without a sense of existence without human skin has distorted Styx's mind. This is just a fact.
"He died for the king," the apprentice pointed out.
"Wrong, he died for you. What kind of benevolent monarch do you think MacAdam is?" the undead sneered, "The contract is rooted in the fire, and death cannot get rid of it, unless the king himself dies. As long as the king is alive, you will not Other options."
He awakened the saint to force me to take action. Uriel understood. A risky move. If the Black Knight's ritual fails to trap the king, all present will tremble under the power of the saint. In a flash of lightning, Stix decided to touch the contract with his life just because this was an opportunity to get rid of the constraints...
"It's you, not me. After all, MacAdam has never been my king." Uriel sighed, "But now that he is dead, all the restraints are lifted. I don't know if this is good or bad, but the fact is There is no way to change this. You are right, my lord, you are free and can have new choices."
"New choice?" Undead repeated.
"There is an old saying in the Four Leaf Territory, 'One person is guilty, and a thousand people are spared.' It means that if you go back to the roots, we all have unforgivable ancestors, and the punishment of the bloodline should also have an end. The disaster of the evil dragon It’s not your fault or mine. So after getting rid of the discord among the saints, what is the contradiction between secret societies and order?”
"This is what you should say to the party declaring war."
I will. Uriel thought to himself. "But from a personal point of view, I hope that the secret society will avoid the war. It is best to let the order lose its purpose and hide away." He told the undead lord, "In the end, why is all this necessary? The original source became the nameless one, The cause was just a mistake.”
"I don't know the specific situation." It was actually the truth.
It must be after your death. Uriel thought to himself. The Black Knight was a Cross Knight during his lifetime. It was probably a new fire that was born from the remains of a certain warrior and was accepted by Gavash. When the story of the evil dragon and the invasion of hell first happened, maybe he was still a skeleton wandering aimlessly in the dust. ….
"Just like this time in the palace." Uriel told him, "I did not do it, my lord. Please keep this in mind. Even if I end up swinging my sword at the king in order to survive, it is not my fault. I'm not proud of it, nor am I ashamed of it. The real key is in your hands, not mine."
The undead lord narrowed his eyes.
Don't be too offended at this time. "Of course, there's nothing to say about Styx's fate. He attacked first, so I couldn't help but fight back. There's no reason to argue with an artist." The apprentice then said, "But no matter what happened to him in life, let him rest in peace after death. .I have one last question.”
The Black Knight knew what he was thinking. "ceremony."
"I heard singing."
"Until now?"
I have come here many times. In the Black City, in dreams, and even in the Yotsuba City in the distant past, there are always people guiding me in my ears, asking me to go to the south. This was more like a hallucination he had in his trance after the scroll of oath destroyed his will. But the singing...
"Only in the palace. Singing, whispering, someone urging, someone approaching. The voices overlapped." Uriel raised his head and looked into the eyes of the undead lord's soul fire. The other party could easily take his life, but he refused to give in. This is the only thing you must ask clearly. "I recognize that voice."
Maybe it's an illusion. The undead's blue eyes stared at Uriel, his gaze constantly changing, sometimes eerie and cold, sometimes inexplicably familiar. A flash of inspiration flashed in the apprentice's mind, but he couldn't grasp it.
The Black Knight remained silent.
"If you don't tell me, let me guess." The apprentice said softly, "She died. A long time ago, I think before the War of Dawn. Her death is closely related to the Broken Moon. The ritual records her "The voice." I don't know why Parsur sang Alan Wo's song, maybe it was Broken Moon's wish. "This person is the Blue Saint of Saint Valoran. She later lost the war with the empire and was exiled."
"She pursued a miracle for revenge and died in the Ice Sea Tribe at the end of the snowfield. Before her death, she came into contact with the divine descending ritual of the Broken Moon."
"Have you found her remains, my lord?"
The undead lord didn't answer, but a voice sounded in the apprentice's ears again.
to me...
"Hold your sword." The voice
Torn apart suddenly. The black knight walked to the window at some point, and the dark armor covered the moon. In an instant, his body seemed to be burning.
Uriel suddenly felt afraid. The parchment in his pocket grew hot and clung to his skin, burning him with pain. The apprentice couldn't help gasping, and all kinds of bizarre images flashed before his eyes: various divine texts, ancient lost symbols, a knight in a silver cloak, an old man bleeding to death, a baby with an ashen face, a pair of pale hands reaching forward... Suddenly , he felt something grab his throat.
Is this reality or an illusion? Uriel couldn't think. He had difficulty breathing, but subconsciously let out a scream of terror.
At this time, someone suddenly knocked on the door. "Uriel?" Hitarian shouted, "What's wrong with you?"
The image disappeared. Uriel seemed to wake up from a dream, only to realize that he was staring into the eyes of the undead fire.
"Forget it." When the door opened, the black knight disappeared like a ghost. "It's just the voice of the dead. To you, we are not alive. It's just nonsense."
Cold Moon Era
