"Kuo Tao fish people! They are such amphibious lunatics. Could it be that the dark god in the black prison is not the existing god in Faerûn, but a god created by these madmen themselves?" Selmen said in a voiceless voice.
The most famous feature of the Kuo-Tao fish people in Faerûn is that these guys are a group of religious lunatics. All tribes are ruled by theocracy without exception, and the supreme ruler is named the High Priest of Kuo-Tao.
This characteristic has historical reasons. They are not natives of Faerûn, but a race of slaves kidnapped from other worlds when the mind flayers ruled the world. They once followed their masters throughout the corners of the world. Whether it is on the mainland, coast, island, lake, or underground river, they are everywhere.
When the mind flayer empire collapsed, the kuo-toa were abandoned by their masters, but they did not enjoy the joy of freedom. On the contrary, they could not accept a life without mind control and without tasks assigned to them by their masters. Many of them The tribe fell directly into a collective spiritual collapse, infected by the madness plague.
This plague is unique to the Kuo-Toa. Once infected with this plague, if it cannot be controlled in time, the entire Kuo-Toa tribe will completely collapse due to cannibalism.
In order to maintain their broken hearts, the remaining kuo-toa people can only devote themselves to religious fanaticism.
It is not uncommon to engage in religious fanaticism. After all, the gods really exist in Faerûn. Many creatures are devoted to religious life and regard religious belief as their lifelong career.
What's strange is that these Kuo-Toa people don't play by common sense at all. They don't believe in all the gods in the sky. Instead, they believe in the strong ones around them, especially those with the ability to manipulate minds, such as the powerful mind flayers. Or aboleth.
If there is no such existence around them, they will believe in the gods they created. These gods of the Kuo Toa are full of absurdity and randomness.
Take Bribodup, the most widely known and respected sea mother among the Kuo-Toa people, as an example. This is a human woman wearing a shell draped over her shoulders and having a crayfish head and claws.
The original image of Bribodupu came from the product of the Kuo-Toa people using various carapace to repair a human statue. The statue they repaired based on their speculation was so perfect that it impressed countless Kuo-Toa people and respected it. He was slandered by the gods, so a god was born.
The key is that the sacred laws of the multiverse are destined. If these believers are pious enough and the number is large enough, the corresponding gods will really be born and gain the ability to manifest.
With the broken and simple hearts of the Kuo-Toa, once they believe in something, they will be very pure and sincere, and they will devote themselves wholeheartedly and enthusiastically to it. There will often be a tribe of Kuo-Toa that has a unique god. When the Kuo Tao tribe died out, this god naturally died with him, so this race was named the God Creator again.
Of course, except for those like Bribodupu who are widely spread among Kuo Tao fish people and can step into the ranks of true gods.
Those gods attached to various Kuo-Toa tribes are out-and-out false gods, just like human ancestral spirits and guardian spirits. They are similar in nature, but human ancestral spirits and guardian spirits usually once existed. After death, they were transformed into ancestral spirits or guardian spirits due to their faith. Kuo-toa people were simply created out of thin air by themselves.
"If the Kuo-Toa tribe under the Black Prison is large enough, it's not impossible." Lawuntates obviously also thought of the racial characteristics of the Kuo-Toa fishmen, and combined it with the current situation of the Black Prison.
The evil god in the black prison whose origin is completely unclear may have been created by these Kuo Tao fish people themselves, or it may be linked to the existing god but twisted by them on their own.
Moreover, if you stay around the Black Prison for a long time, you will fall into a state of madness, which is very similar to the crazy plague of the Kuo Tao fish people. The only thing that makes no sense is that this crazy plague is a mental plague that will only occur in Kuo Tao. It is spread among fish people and cannot be transmitted to other creatures, unless there is a mutation or there is a problem with the gods they believe in.
The reason why no one thought about this before was because they didn't have any evidence that there were a bunch of Kuo-Toa people living under the Black Prison.
Not to mention the fact that the river flowed into the Black Prison in previous years, these Kuo-Toa people did not swim upstream, not even for most of this year. Everything started when the undead monster that they had never seen before broke into the Black Prison.
This was obviously not a coincidence, but the undead monster rushed into it, shattered a barrier or restriction, and released these Kuo-toa fishmen from below.
"Regardless of whether the situation here in Black Prison is caused by these Kuo-Toa fish people, they are a serious threat to the surrounding valleys. They can reach most of the valleys along the river. Judging from their condition, it very much looks like they are infected. Crazy plague.
Our troops are divided into three groups. I will stay here and keep an eye on the undead monster. You will personally lead the team and keep an eye on the whereabouts of these large Kuo-Toa troops. At the same time, send envoys to all the valleys along the lake and river to give early warning. "The old mage Lawentetz is more like directly arranging tasks than negotiating.
The situation was urgent and he could no longer care about the so-called etiquette issues.
Selmen also didn't care about this, nodded and said: "Okay, the prophet must pay attention to safety, and never fight with that monster head-on."
Lawentetz's arrangement was the most reasonable. What he was most worried about now was that the old mage would confront that monster whose strength was unknown.
Although they had only had one face-to-face encounter before and had a brief two-round fight, he was still not optimistic about Lawuntates. That thing must have the strength of a legend or above, and there might be a more powerful legend hidden behind it. Spirit mage, if he is not careful, he will fold himself in.
Lawuntates couldn't help but smile and said: "Don't worry, my old man's other abilities are average, and his ability to escape is absolutely second to none. I'm just responsible for keeping an eye on it. If it's less than ten thousand, I won't follow him again." It started a war.”
After the terrifying undead got into the black prison, there was no movement, as if it had completely disappeared. However, judging from the vague and terrifying aura that emerged from it, it was only temporarily dormant.
On the contrary, the Kuo Tao fish people are pouring out continuously. This tribe in the black prison is not ordinary.
Then again, if the current appearance of the Black Prison was really caused by them, it would definitely not be possible for a small tribe of several hundred people. It would have to be a giant tribe of at least several thousand, or even tens of thousands.
After Selmen arranged for the messenger to deliver the message, he led a small group of Deep Forest Swords with flying mounts to follow behind the Kuo-Toa army.
This thing is not difficult to do, because this group of Kuo-Tao fishmen did not hide any signs of their whereabouts, and crazily killed all the creatures they encountered along the way.
But they seem to have very clear goals.
Because after arriving at the Sambo River along the temporary river channel, they didn't even hesitate. They didn't even bother with Lake Sebo upstream, but went straight down the Sambo River, heading straight to the Yevin Pond and the Asaba River.
This made Selmen breathe a long sigh of relief. Lake Sebo is the main residence in the Deep Forest Valley. Not only does it have a large number of villages and towns along the lake, but there are also three sea elf villages living in the lake.
Once this group of Kuo-Toa swarms into Lake Sebo, the consequences will be unimaginable, and a chaotic war is inevitable.
But now a new question arises. What do these Kuo-Toa people who have been squatting in the dark prison want to do? How did they obtain outside intelligence?
Well, that undead monster rushed in from the outside and released these kuo-toa people, and these kuo-toa people had very clear goals. This shows that everything was not accidental, but a premeditated internal and external collusion.
The kuo-toa are on the inside, and the terrifying undead monster and the forces behind it are on the outside.
After these Kuo-Tao fishmen enter the Yewen Pond, they have many choices to attack. They can also go upstream along the Asaba River and attack the Misty Valley and Shadow Valley.
It is also possible to attack Taser Valley and Bow Valley along the Grymer River, but the first one will bear the brunt of the Battle Valley.
Especially Sir Gavin, who had just been enthroned in Battle Valley not long ago. His manor and the new village of Vizeme stood on the edge of Yewen Pond. These Kuo-Toa people could climb ashore and march to the city.
You won't go after them, right?
That's not right. If we just talk about convenience, their deep forest valley and their Sebo Lake should be the nearest goal. It only takes a few dozen kilometers to reach it upstream. There is no need to run hundreds of kilometers to Yewen Pond.
Speaking of the undead, Lord Selemen couldn't help but think of the legend he had heard recently. It is said that the Twilight Lord was resurrected and became a powerful death knight, preparing to take revenge on Bow Valley, the disappearing valley east of Deep Forest Valley. .
Wouldn't they join forces with these Kuo Tao fish people to attack Bow Valley? Isn't this a bit too convoluted?
Seeing that Ye Wen Pond was getting closer and closer, even if the opponent circled back to Lake Sebo, it would still be enough for him to make a trip to Battle Valley to warn the Sir of Battle Valley.
Selmen no longer hesitated, and launched his Pegasus at full speed, heading straight for the Three Rivers in the Battle Valley.
Selmen has heard a lot about this young knight in recent times. Although he has never met him, he is very fond of him. Not only him, but also the entire Deep Forest Valley residents.
First, a huge ghost grape auction was organized, bringing together all the merchants from the valley and surrounding Sambia. It created a huge momentum, and even the Deep Forest Valley benefited from it. Those merchants all adhered to the principle of not leaving the boat. In accordance with the principle of emptying, many ships went to Lake Sebo in the deep forest valley afterwards and emptied all their cargo.
Finally, the disaster of the East Road, La Cosata, was solved. Gaoyue, the capital of Deep Forest Valley, is located on the East Road. Gaoyue is as important to the Thunder Mountains as Ritawen is to the Snowflake Mountains. It is a supply transfer station. Half of the income of Deep Forest Valley is obtained through this trade route. The importance of this trade road to Deep Forest Valley can be imagined.
Most importantly, it helped the Deep Forest Valley eliminate a potential safety hazard.
The valley closest to Blood Horn where the young red dragon's lair is located is not the Bow Valley, but their deep forest valley.
When they heard that they had been neighbors with this ferocious and cunning red dragon for more than ten years, many people in the Deep Forest Valley broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, this red dragon has a relatively stable source of wealth from the East Road and has not set its sights on robbing ordinary people. Otherwise, they would be the first to be robbed in the deep forest valley.
Now this young knight has started a large-scale immigration of thousands of miles, bringing tens of thousands of Tethyr immigrants to the valley. Even if the immigrants he brings back are only more than half of the legendary ones, it will be a huge impact on the surrounding valleys. .
You must know that they are fully prepared in the deep forest valley, that is, there are only 5000 people in Gaoyue, their largest town.
The other sub-valleys are pretty much the same, except that Bow Valley and Scar Valley have slightly larger populations.
Publicly and privately, Selemen wanted to find an opportunity to meet with the young knight and have an in-depth exchange of ideas. Regardless of whether the goal of these Kuo-Toa people was Vizeme Manor or not, this was a very good opportunity.
How can this be?
This was the first thought that came to Selmen's mind after he arrived over the new village of Vizeme.
In his mind, a new village that had just begun to break ground less than half a year ago would be quite remarkable if it had at most one main street with two rows of buildings on both sides.
But Weizemei New Village completely broke his conventional thinking. There are three horizontal and vertical streets in the north-south and east-west directions. There are more than a hundred buildings on them. They are not the conventional single-story houses, but The complex property market structure, especially the outermost buildings, is seven or eight meters high and has three floors. The first floor has no rear windows, only the second and third floors have them, but it gives the impression that It's not a window, it's a shooting window to the outside world.
Obviously, these buildings are not just buildings, they also serve as city walls.
The one inside is slightly shorter, only five or six meters, but it also has a three-story structure, which looks a little more normal. However, the number of rooms is also densely packed, and the number of people it can live in is definitely far beyond that of ordinary buildings.
It is still rainy in other places, but it is very sunny here. You don't need to ask to know that it must be the effect of magic.
It's still late at night, but the place is brightly lit and busy. Countless kobolds are coming in and out. A rough estimate is that it must be no less than tens of thousands. Their sophistication at work is definitely no less than that of expert human masons.
The most surprising thing to Selemen is the frequent casting of spells by these kobolds. Although the levels of the spells they cast are not particularly high, there are too many spells that can be cast. The cumulative number is still quite considerable, which explains why. , why do they have such a fast construction speed.
With so many kobolds, such a high frequency of spellcasting, and a large number of tree people and enlightenment trees assisting, it is not an exaggeration to say that a building can be built in one night, and it may even be more - of course. , this refers to the cumulative situation. They cannot all build one building at the same time. Instead, they are distributed on a huge construction site. Dozens of buildings are started to be built at the same time, and dozens of buildings will be completed at one time.
Selmen was discovered as soon as he appeared in the sky above Weizemei New Village. A well-equipped Oed team flew over to meet him. The Oed at the head said in a well-spoken common language: " Sir, you have now invaded the airspace of Sir Gavin Nott's territory in the Battle Valley. If you enter by mistake, please leave as soon as possible. We don't need to regard you as an enemy. If something happens, please land and report your name. I will report it to our commander and send someone to handle it."
"I am Selmen Urras, Lord of Deep Forest Valley. I have important information to inform Sir Gavin about the possibility that you will be attacked." Selmen didn't waste any time. After letting his Pegasus land, he directly Tell the truth about the information you brought, "Please report to Sir Gavin as quickly as possible. The enemy is on the way, no more than three hours at the latest."
"Please wait." There was not much joy or anger on this Oed's face, and he flew away in a hurry. The remaining Oed team members vaguely surrounded him in the middle. At the same time, , and a large number of kobold ferocious weasel cavalry surrounded them.
These kobolds are not just construction workers, they still have certain defensive capabilities.
But in Selmen's view, the most threatening thing was the tree man with the lower body like a giant dragon.
Regarding Selmen's warning, Weizemei New Village took it very seriously. Within half an hour, a tall half-elf boy hurried over.
At just over 1.85 meters tall, he is definitely outstanding among half-elves, but the opponent is neither the kind of thin man nor the kind of strong man with exploding muscles, but the kind of half-elf warrior who is taller and thicker in proportion. He has a well-proportioned figure, a typical person who looks thin when wearing clothes but has flesh when taking off clothes. Although he has never seen him before, Selmen was sure at first glance that he was Gavin Nott, the owner of this place.
When Selmen confirmed Gavin's identity at first glance, Gavin also confirmed Selmen's. Although he had not seen him in person, he had seen his memory projection. This was naturally attributed to Regina. Not only It was the reputable people in the valley, even the reputable people in Sambia, who Regina knew, created a memory projection for Gavin, and attached their relevant introductions, in order to prevent him from meeting people he didn't know. An embarrassing scene occurred, but I didn't expect it to come in handy so quickly.
Gavin said enthusiastically: "I have always wanted to take time to visit the lord, but I was afraid of intruding. Please forgive me."
"Sir, you are so polite. I would also like to thank you on behalf of the people of Deep Forest Valley for helping us eradicate the scourge of Slacosata. Now we can finally sleep peacefully." Lord Selmen is obviously also a politician. A veteran, as soon as he got started, he talked about the favor that the other party had unintentionally brought to Deep Forest Valley, which invisibly brought the relationship between the two parties closer.
"Lord, you are exaggerating." Gavin smiled and did not dwell too much on this matter. He went straight to the subject and said, "I don't know what you said before about the attack we are about to encounter. ?”
This is what he cares about most.
"The thing is like this..." Selemen did not bother to exchange pleasantries and directly told the truth about what they saw in the black prison. However, he did not say too much about the inference. People like the other party do not need to be among them. Adding too many opinions of your own.
Gavin solemnly bowed to Selemen and said: "Thank you Lord, this information is really important to me. Eighty percent of the other party is here for me."
Selemen turned around and dodged away. He couldn't help but ask, "How are you sure they are coming for you?"
(End of chapter)
