These days, the rift between Lison and others and Wiltok has deepened.
Wiltok works independently and never explains to anyone or asks for other people's opinions, which naturally arouses the dissatisfaction and suspicion of the Iron Cross.
The survivors of the Iron Cross found that Vertok came and went as he pleased, without needing their help or taking them seriously. They became very anxious and even began to suspect that Vertok was the legendary vampire.
In fact, it doesn't matter if Wiltok is really a vampire, as long as the desperate Iron Cross takes refuge in him. However, Wiltok's attitude towards the Iron Cross was very cold. This deeply frightened them.
In the eyes of Leeson and others, Huck and Max are both Wiltok's minions. Wiltok took Huck in a hurry to rescue Annie and Katie from the Whistle Group. He may not be out of kindness, but maybe he wanted to suck the blood of a pure girl. He also asked the Iron Cross to move with Max, apparently arranging for Max to monitor the Iron Cross.
Lison and others stood there without speaking, their faces full of wariness and alienation. The shrewd Max can see that the survivors of the Iron Cross want to leave him behind.
According to what Wiltok said before leaving, the orc bone collectors are likely to attack the low hill camp after dawn. But Wiltok and Huck probably won't come back, and those who stay in the camp will only die. What's more, Max has no ability to protect himself now. He doesn't want to wait for death, so he said to Lison again: "Hey, man, don't worry about Wiltok. He is a master of survival in the wild and can definitely lead Huck to catch up with us. "
Hearing this, Li Sen felt a thrill in his heart. With a dry smile on his face, he nodded and said, "Yes, this ghost place stinks so bad that I don't want to stay here for a moment. Let's get on the road now."
There are hundreds of clawed goblin corpses buried around the low hill camp. Because there are too many dead goblins, everyone has no time to deal with them all. Some corpses are thrown on the ground. Even those buried underground are only dug in shallow pits and filled. Go to the dirt and make haste.
The weather is getting hotter, and the stench emitted by the dead goblins can be imagined, attracting a large number of buzzing flies. The low-hill camp was literally a mass grave. Although the noses of the half-elf professionals have adapted to this smell, after Lison reminded them, everyone found it intolerable.
Vertok never explained why he collected the bodies of the Claw Goblins, and the survivors of the Iron Cross could not understand his approach. But, then again, apart from the legendary ghosts that feed on flesh and blood, how could a normal Disa half-elf have the quirk of collecting corpses?
Wiltok also talked about cutting some dead goblin flesh as food reserves. He actually knew which parts of goblin meat were edible and which parts were poisonous.
Li Sen and the others didn't dare to imagine that kind of scene, let alone raise objections. They were afraid that if they objected, Vertok would reveal his true colors and use their flesh and blood to satisfy his hunger.
No matter how you look at it, the flesh and blood of half-elves is more delicious than the smelly meat of goblins, right?
We must go now, go now!
The Iron Cross Regiment showed unprecedented efficiency. After grabbing the few remaining supplies, they used a sliding pole to lift Max, who was unable to move, and rushed out of the low hill camp in a panic, just like escaping from a ghost's lair.
Not long after they left, a piece of soil squirmed and rolled in the deserted camp, and it soon returned to calm. Immediately afterwards, a black and thin arm broke out of the ground.
Captain Rhodes, who was obviously dead, got up from the grave. His head is still normal, and his facial features have not changed much, but his body has shrunk greatly, and his complexion is dark and gloomy. He is like a skinny living corpse wandering back and forth unconsciously in the camp.
He... or it, the eyes in the eye sockets are dark and cannot reflect light, as if they are connected to the bottomless abyss. It turned its head and quickly locked onto a relatively fresh goblin corpse. It crawled over quickly with its limbs side by side, opened its mouth, and stabbed the goblin's flesh hard with the two pointed and long canine teeth on its upper jaw.
With the injection of some kind of toxin, the clawed goblin's flesh and blood quickly dissolved and was then ingested into the body by this zombie-like monster. Its skinny body gradually became plump, its black eyes were separated into eyeballs and whites, its cold heart began to pulse again, and its lungs once again took in air, making a whirring sound like a bellows.
Rhodes, the leader of the Iron Cross Regiment, is alive again!
The offspring of the eternal sleeper replaces the muscles and assimilates the bones and internal organs. The black and red blood flows in the blood vessels, forming a strange symbiotic relationship with the host. At this moment, Rhodes felt unprecedentedly powerful abilities and extra hunger.
Although the child body of the Eternal Sleeper has no independent consciousness, it expresses its desire to continue to ingest new flesh and blood to him through instinct.
The dead goblin's meat had become tasteless. Rhodes looked disgusted and threw away the goblin corpse with withered hands. He shook it slightly, and the mud covering his body quickly sputtered around, hitting the horses surrounding the camp. There was a crackling sound on the wooden thorns.
Rhodes clenched his fist hard. His body had not fully returned to normal, and he still looked as skinny as a stick, but the muscles on his forearms were like twisted steel wires, full of amazing strength. This is the change brought about by the parasite. In addition to its powerful strength, it also has extraordinary toughness and regenerative properties. Because the parasitic body is a different kind of life form and does not have the vital weaknesses of mortal beings. As long as his head is intact, Rhodes is almost immortal.
Of course, his memory is also intact, but the will side of his soul is contaminated by the body of the Eternal Sleeper, his mental body is distorted, and his emotional cognition is irreversibly changed.
To put it simply, the past emotions have become indifferent and can no longer touch Rhodes' heart.
He clearly sensed the hunger of the eternal sleeper's child body for life, flesh and soul. If he could not meet the growth needs of the child body, the child body would invade his head and completely replace his will, which was equivalent to death.
The spawn of the Eversleeper was in urgent need of nutrients and was hungry for the flesh and blood of the dead goblins. Now it has no interest in the clawed goblins and "urges" Rhodes to prey on the more intelligent and auraful beings.
This is a price and a transaction. The deal that Rhodes made with the Eternal Sleeper. Through the parasitic child, he briefly communicated with the will of the eternal sleeper. The Eternal Sleeper asked him to capture Vertok, and then send Vertok to a secret place to be absorbed by the Eternal Sleeper himself. If the Eversleeper is not satisfied with this sacrifice, Rhodes will suffer the cruelest punishment. On the contrary, he will receive rewards from the Eternal Sleeper, including long life, immortal youth, and extraordinary strength.
In comparison, Dragon King Philumat's favor was nothing more than that.
Rhodes was both excited and frightened. He could now confirm that the Eternal Sleeper was not a fictional god of the sect, but a great existence that could stand side by side with the Dragon King Philumat.
"We must find Wiltok." Rhodes looked around the deserted low hill camp and muttered to himself: "No, no, no, there may only be one chance to capture the sacrifice. I still need stronger power... ..Yes, more power!”
He carefully searched for traces in the camp and found the freshest set of footprints, then chased them in the direction where the Iron Cross Regiment and Max had evacuated.
*********************
On the afternoon of the next day, Max, who had marched more than 60 kilometers continuously, took a break and used a knife to carve a mark on the trunk of a spruce tree so that Wiltok could find them.
He had left several marks along the way, and the professionals of the Iron Cross did not like him doing this. In order to concentrate on their journey, they did not stop Max.
However, the increasingly cold faces of Lison and others gave Max a bad feeling.
Sure enough, when Max finished carving the mark, Lison and several professionals gathered around him. They held weapons in their hands and looked at him coldly.
Max sighed, put the knife on the ground, indicating that he meant no harm, scratched the short hair on his head, and said with a wry smile: "Boys, it seems there is a misunderstanding between us that needs to be clarified..."
"Young man? I am just 40 years old this year, and these brothers are not much younger than me." Lison said sarcastically: "Max, if you think we are easy-going boys, you are wrong!"
"Ha... Exactly 40 years old?" Max said with an exaggerated expression, "I am 59 years old. If a waitress secretly gave birth to a son for me when I was 19 years old. He happens to be the same age as you... I just look young, but I might actually be the biological father of one of you.”
An archer raised his hand and fired an arrow. The arrow hit Max's cheek and penetrated the tree trunk next to him.
"Max, did anyone tell you that your mouth is so annoying? I really want to sew it up!" he said angrily.
Max was very calm. The sharp arrow scratched his cheek. He didn't even blink and said calmly: "Boy, an old cripple like me is still afraid of death? I just think it's too shameful to commit suicide, but it's his turn." It’s not up to you to humiliate me.”
Leeson stretched out his hand to stop his companion and said to Max: "You always make inappropriate jokes... That's good. At least you are still the original Max, not like Captain Harker."
Max leaned against the tree trunk and murmured with a smile: "I really want to be like Huck, but it's a pity that Wiltok forgot how to help me... You don't really think that Wiltok is a vampire, do you? I'll use my Bet with your mouth and tongue, Wiltok is definitely not a ghost! Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe in Gangyan, the leader of the Taku clan, and Sister Marcy’s vision. Therefore, I will definitely win this bet, you see, My mouth and tongue are fine..."
He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, looking very funny.
"Hell, who you want to bet with is your own business. We don't want to risk our lives."
Lison shook his head and said: "We have seen Vertok change his appearance; he has caught the wind in his hands, and we have also seen it. I don't know what he is, but it is not the Disa half-elf."
Max thought for a while and said: "The high-level Hemo tribe can summon ice, and the high-level Tacao tribe can control lava. Just because Wiltok can catch the wind, you can't conclude that he is a ghost that eats half-elves? Wiltok Ke has no ill intentions towards you, he just has not recovered from his brain disease... His speech and behavior sometimes look different from ours."
Lison said: "This is not important... What is important is that we have seen Wiltok's transformation, and we have seen the secret of his ability to catch the wind. There are many other things about him that are unusual, and we are the insiders. If I were Wiltok, I would also think about killing people and silencing them." As he spoke, he shook his left index finger at Max to stop him from opening his mouth to defend: "Don't give us any guarantees. Your guarantees are worse than farts... At best you are Vertok’s lackey, he won’t listen to you at all!”
Max said dejectedly: "Okay, what you said makes sense. Then, kill me and then run away, praying that Wiltok can't catch up with you?"
Lison threw out a wild mud melon with a blue skin, threw it at Max's feet, and said: "We don't want to offend Wiltok, and we don't want to be silenced by him. I know it's not safe here. The ferocious jackals have They may chase you. We will leave some food for you. If you die here, you will be unlucky. The treasure left by Captain Rhodes belongs to us, that is what we deserve."
The professionals of the Iron Cross turned and walked towards the east. That direction only leads to the outside of the territory, and it is impossible to reach Rapid City. They wanted to get rid of Max first, and then change the direction of exploration to prevent Max from spying on their whereabouts.
Max picked up wild mud melons from the ground and couldn't help shouting to the backs of Lison and others: "There is no safe place in the wild. You lack experience in wild exploration. It will be difficult for you to find the settlement in the outskirts of Rapid City alive!"
Lison looked back at Max. He didn't understand the risks he was about to face, but they still resolutely abandoned the experienced dark hunter, leaving Max to fend for himself, and accelerated their pace of progress, quickly Disappeared into the unfamiliar forest.
