Beside the campfire, Huck relayed the conversation that everyone had just had to Vertok word for word, and even tried his best to imitate everyone's expressions and attitudes at the time.
The half-elf professionals were all stunned. Who would have thought that Deputy Captain Huck of Braun Town was actually such a person?
Not only did he report the content of everyone's conversation to Wiltok, but he also reported it in front of everyone.
Master Harker, can't you have some self-esteem like a strong man with a mirror heart?
Captain Rhodes secretly complained. He didn't think he was slandering Vertok, but when Huck did such a childish and immoral thing, he felt a little uneasy, as if he had really said something about Vertok. Bad words.
Everyone believed that Wiltok was not yet an adult, and the youngest of the other half-elves was in his 30s. A group of adult half-elf professionals remained silent in front of a young man, feeling somewhat ashamed and embarrassed in their hearts.
Maybe it was because the sharp-edged Wiltok made everyone feel an inexplicable pressure. They suddenly realized that Wiltok had established authority in the team that no one could shake.
He led the team to find food; he used the resources in the forest to make many usable tools and weapons; he and Huck took turns dragging the entire team's supplies, never sparing physical strength; His destiny was followed; now, he went out alone again and killed a ferocious jackal, proving that he had the ability to escape from danger.
Vertok's role is indispensable, so how can other members help Vertok?
Without help, you have no right to speak, but Captain Rhodes made it clear again. Everyone can only wait for him to make his own decision.
After listening to Huck's narration, Wiltok didn't think too much. He had just killed a ferocious jackal and vented the anger in his chest. When he regained his composure, he realized that something was wrong with his emotions.
He now regains control of his emotional fluctuations, but it is impossible for his mental body to return to the state he had when he was close to the water element.
Wiltok, who is close to the water element, becomes careful and nimble, while Wiltok, who is close to the air element, works vigorously and resolutely and does not like to be restrained. He naturally doesn't care about other people's thoughts and concerns.
"Captain Rhodes is right." Wiltok nodded in agreement, pointing to the seized leather armor and mace, and said: "The Orc Bone Collector can no longer trap me. I can leave anytime I want. Can."
After completing the second fifth round of competitive play, Wiltok briefly regained all of his memories, and the rewards he selected for himself were all specific to the current situation. Although his physical strength has been reduced, and his gluttony and self-healing talents have also been weakened, his extraordinary perception, wind movement and the title of "Jackal Killer" can help him escape the pursuit of the orc bone collectors.
At the same time, Wiltok knew very well that with his current talent and strength, it was impossible to kill all the ferocious jackals on the opposite side.
Jackals are not dead creatures, because their companions are killed, they will definitely be on guard. As long as more than three gnolls huddle together, Wiltok will have no chance to repeat his old tricks and defeat the ferocious gnolls one by one.
Vertok was able to save himself, but he was unable to save everyone. Captain Rhodes said that he had no obligation to stay with everyone to die, which was in line with the reality.
In the dangerous and unpredictable wilderness, half-elves need to rely on the power of a group to survive, but it does not mean that they can sit back and relax if they join a group. In fact, members of any adventure group will die during adventure activities in the wild, especially the weaker members who are always the first to die.
The core members of the adventure group are stable, and they recruit newcomers mainly to serve as scapegoats. Senior adventurers must recognize a cruel reality: you may not be able to run as fast as monsters, but as long as you run faster than your companions, you have a chance of surviving.
Adventurer has never been a romantic profession!
Everyone knows the truth, but it is difficult to practice it, not to mention that it is a matter of life and death.
In their more than ten years of adventure career, Huck and Max have gone from cannon fodder newcomers to the core of the adventure group. This kind of thing has happened many times. Even when faced with desperate situations, they remained calm and free. The professionals in the Iron Cross Regiment are different. They actually find it difficult to accept their situation.
Hearing that Vertok agreed with his point of view, Rhodes was not happy, but depressed. He even regretted why he was "talking nonsense" and resented Huck for being too talkative.
Wiltok didn't care about the mood of Rhodes and others. He kicked the rhinoceros leather armor and thick iron mace on the ground with his toes, and asked curiously: "It's strange... When I killed the ferocious jackal, it He seems to know some martial arts, does anyone know why?"
The half-elves looked at each other, and Captain Rhodes answered first: "I heard that the elite bone collectors of the Goblin Kingdom do know some fighting skills... Mr. Wiltok, does this have something to do with us?"
Wiltok shook his head, raised the long sword in his hand and waved a cold sword flower. He tried his best to sneak attack the ferocious wolfman from behind, and his strength, skills, timing and distance were all at his highest level. Logically speaking, his sharp sword should cut off the enemy's head flatly. However, the ferocious gnoll's strong neck muscles hindered the blade's penetration and caused slight deformation. The ferocious gnoll dodged without changing the fate of his body and head being separated, but Wiltok's sword deflected, causing an oblique wound.
This in itself is no big deal.
If Vertok ignited the fire of his soul, had exquisite control over his body, and could adjust the slight changes in the blade's edge, he would definitely be able to perfectly cut off the head of the ferocious gnoll.
The fire of the soul represents the pinnacle of martial arts.
Although Wiltok is now much stronger and possesses extraordinary talents, he still loses more than he wins in close combat with Huck, who ignites the fire of the soul.
But except for the strong Jingxin, he was confident that no one could surpass him in martial arts skills.
It's not scary for the Bone Collector Jackals to know some basic martial arts, but it takes time for them to practice martial arts, which leads to many problems.
To put it simply, wild jackals are busy hunting and patrolling their territory every day, and have no time to study their fighting skills. They fight by instinct. In order for the Bone Collector Jackals to practice martial arts, someone must support them. This means that the division of labor in the group has the characteristics of civilization.
Once civilization is involved, the situation becomes very complicated, and even the experience of Wowo the hobgoblin and Huo the gnoll is not accurate.
Civilization will restrain the natural instincts of individuals, and Wiltok began to doubt whether the title of "Goblin Slayer" was still useful to the clawed goblins of the Orc Kingdom.
This is a key factor for him to lead the half-elf professionals to escape danger together.
The ferocious gnolls among the orc bone collectors are good at tracking and have outstanding physical strength. Vertok has not been able to get rid of them before. Instead of being hunted to death by ferocious gnolls, it would be better to find a way to deal with them. Vertok united the half-elf professionals around him, and relied on his deep understanding of goblins and gnolls to adopt a defensive counterattack strategy to eliminate the threat of the orc bone collectors.
He has been thinking about specific tactics, gathering resources, and making preparations. However, things have changed now, and so has Wiltok's mentality.
Vertok unites the half-elf professionals in order to survive together. However, now that he has the ability to escape from danger alone, he wants to see if the persistence tactics he has formulated can work.
Wiltok, who was fond of the wind element, was arrogant. He didn't bother to explain to the professionals of the Iron Cross, but he wanted to give an explanation to his two companions from the Adventurer's House.
"Huck, Max..."
"Lord Wiltok, what are your orders?"
"Uh, Mr. Wiltok, I'm..."
The two half-elves responded in unison.
Wiltok was silent for a moment and continued: "Sarah asked me to take care of you before she died. But she also told me to do things that are good for me... If I choose to take care of you, it will be detrimental to myself; if I If you do what’s good for you, you shouldn’t stay and take care of you.”
Huck said without hesitation: "Master Wiltok, you don't have to worry about us. It's better to leave one by one at this time than to have the entire army wiped out."
Max also said to the other half-elves with a playful smile: "Hey, if any of you have any last words, you can ask Mr. Wiltok to tell them to your family. For example, tell Wiltok where you store your treasures. As usual, Wiltok can Take away 50% of it and give the remaining half to your dependents and children..."
Wiltok shook his head and laughed: "Don't come to me about the last words. I don't want to deal with it... I know what I should do. I will help you escape from danger on the premise that it is beneficial to me." Immediately, he frowned again. He raised his eyebrows and said, "It should be normal to do things that are beneficial to oneself. Sarah made such a request to me, and I happily accepted it. But I don't understand why the Taku tribe in Braang Town chose to sacrifice themselves to protect themselves. The Hemer tribe and the underage boys from the Tower Cave evacuated? Why did Sarah sacrifice herself to protect me? Why did Boss Bottom choose to cut off the rear alone to buy time for others to escape?"
Max thought for a while and replied: "Master Gangyan and Sister Sarah are both bound to the earth, and they cannot leave the marked place... As for Bottom, I think there is always something more precious in everyone's heart than their own life. .”
"It's not that simple."
Wiltok smiled slightly and said: "Steel Rock is Earth-bound, and Sarah is also Earth-bound, but Sarah chose to leave the marked place to protect me. And Boss Bottom, he is not Earth-bound, but he still made a sacrifice .”
"Sacrificing yourself to protect others is doing yourself a disservice and goes against your nature. You said there is something more precious than your own life. Tell me, what is it?"
Max looked around, but no one gave him a hint, so he shrugged and said, "I can't tell. Maybe everyone's situation is different, right?"
Vertok nodded and said: "You can say it is emotion, belief, or principle, but what I want to say is the 'root'... My memory is very confusing. Sometimes I don't know whether I am male or not. Female, half-elf, or some other creature? But the word that comes to my mind most often is 'root'..."
"At first, I didn't understand what 'root' was. I only knew that it was very important to me, very important! Until Steel Rock and the others chose to fight to the death; Bottom chose to stay in Braun Town; Sarah chose to leave the Marked Land... I These days, I gradually understand the meaning of 'roots'."
"If the law is only unfair to me, I don't need to obey the law; if morality only oppresses me, I will not obey morality; if the group is only unprofitable to me, I don't need to be loyal to the group. Peel off the skin of these rules, and you will find that , laws, morals, and groups all benefit others first, and then themselves. If these rules only benefit others and are harmful to yourself, you won't live long at all, so why obey them?"
"The only thing I can't betray is my 'root'... That was my beginning in this world and the destination of my soul. Only by finding my 'root' can I know who I am, and those chaotic memories will not be able to Disturb me, change me, kill me!"
The breeze was surging around Wiltok. He clenched his fists and his eyes were extremely determined.
Time can change many things, but those that cannot be changed are the roots of everyone. If a person has no roots and is constantly changing, then emotions, beliefs and principles will lose their meaning.
The half-elves were all lost in thought. In this desperate situation, they all had their own understanding of why they should survive and why they fought, and they benefited from it, keeping fear and uneasiness away from their hearts.
Huck touched the beard on his chin and said seriously: "Sir, I don't quite understand what you are saying, but I think you make sense. You gave me this life, and you are my 'root' .”
Wiltok smiled and said: "I'm sorry, there is no 'root' for me here. I will not die here. I just try to help you, but I will not sacrifice for you."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the depths of the forest, took a deep breath and said: "The main force of the orc bone collectors is here, and there are many of them... Everyone, prepare to fight!"
