"Now that the general has said so, if I refuse again, I will be a little out of touch. I want to see who is playing this trick with me in my territory. I will gather people immediately and go on the road. The rest will be done by us. Let’s talk while walking.” The Crown Princess showed strong confidence in her own strength and in the Kingdom of Cormyr.
If those rats just stay in the rat holes, there is still a possibility of surviving in the Kingdom of Cormyr. Once they crawl out of the rat holes and cause trouble, they will be uprooted.
Neither the Crown Princess nor King Asan have zero tolerance for this kind of thing.
As for the safety of King Asan and the Palace Archmage, it has not been within the scope of the Crown Princess's consideration from beginning to end. With their strength, if it is something that they cannot solve, they will definitely not be able to solve it. Instead of considering those useless things, it is better to Focus on what’s in front of you.
Regardless of whether Gavin or Tenarasta led them, they were the best of the best. Even if they were summoned late at night, it took less than half an hour from issuing the order to setting off on the road to Dadeluk Town.
They did not go directly to Luji Town, where the incident occurred. In this kind of disappearance investigation, Gavin and Tenarasta had very unified opinions. As a source of news, they were very important. They might be able to trace important clues based on clues.
Just because Lord Siobo didn't find it, doesn't mean they can't find it.
Gavin and his companions were originally going to take the Spinosaurus Road in Shilp Town and go directly through the King's Forest to Susar City. Now they can only continue along the Carantel Road for more than 80 years. kilometers, before reaching the Star Wave River, the largest inland river in the Kingdom of Cormyr, turn south and enter the Star Wave Road. The town of Dadeluk is located at the intersection of it and the Ranger Road. It is an out-and-out forest town.
The Kingdom of Cormyr has a recognized title of the Forest Kingdom. The land it is located on once belonged to the Cormanzo Great Forest and was once covered by dense ancient forests. As humans opened up and lived here, the forests began to gradually give way.
But even so, the ancient forest still occupies one-third of the entire country. The largest area is the King's Forest where the town of Dadeluk is located, also known as the King's Forest. It is located in the entire Kingdom of Cormyr. The most confidant.
Centuries ago, the Royal Family of Obaiszil enacted a strict King's Forest Protection Act, which strictly prohibited private felling of trees in the King's Forest and private hunting. Once private loggers were discovered, they would be fined and replanted trees, and at worst, they would be fined. Facing the torture of being bound in a tree and becoming a dryad, he spent his whole life apologizing for his selfish behavior - this kind of torture is said to have originated from the fey, and was used to punish those natural creatures that desecrated the forest, thus giving birth to the dryad family. .
"The King's Forest is the greatest treasure of our Kingdom of Cormyr. It is our natural strategic depth and granary. The few food shortages and wars in the history of the Kingdom of Cormyr were all overcome by relying on the output of the King's Forest. Among them, the town of Luji This is the most important center.
Its other function is to serve as a barrier to confine the monster tribes that breed in the Stormhorn Mountains to the mountains, or force them to seek development on the other side of the mountains instead of pouring into the interior of the kingdom. "
The Crown Princess has a more official explanation for the royal family's protection of the King's Forest. This is due to national strategic considerations. Some of the needs of the people at the bottom cannot be taken into account, and it has to be implemented even if there is considerable public grievance.
"I've learned a lesson." Gavin disagreed with this one-size-fits-all approach. In this matter, the Cormyr royal family's approach was somewhat simple and crude. As long as they were willing to work hard, there must be a more harmonious development method, and their territory would definitely not be able to do so in the future. Simply take this approach.
When the group arrived at Dadeluk Town, the sun had already risen in the middle, and it was not particularly obvious that they were in this forest town.
This is a picturesque place, with log farmhouses nestled among dense trees. Outside the houses are dotted with miniature gardens and small vegetable plots. The bright and bright sunshine passes through the gaps in the forest, filling the ground with mottled tree shadows and singing softly. Singing birds fly overhead from time to time, not afraid of people at all. The towering ancient trees that tell the story of the vicissitudes of time are covered with moss. The ethereal beauty of elves and the pyrotechnic atmosphere of humans are perfectly integrated here.
The village is surrounded by small swamps, which were caused by the flooding of the Xingbo River. What caught Gavin's attention and interest were the giant storks roaming freely in the village. They were taller than adults, with sharp beaks that were as big as Meters long, with a red top and black mouth, it is very powerful.
Seemingly noticing Gavin's gaze, Lord Siobo took the initiative to explain: "This giant stork is called the Swamp Giant Stork. Despite its huge size, in fact, it has a very docile temperament and will not attack any humanoid creatures. It is said that They were introduced from other places, but their place of origin is unknown. They prefer rodents such as snakes and water rats to fish.
Since they were introduced, our village has never had any snake or rat infestations. Their eggs are also a delicacy. There is no need to work hard to cook them. Just boil them in water, and those who eat them will be satisfied for life. Unforgettable, they were sought after by countless nobles in the royal capital of Susar and could be sold for a gold coin. Their meat could also be made into several delicacies, no less than their eggs.
Unfortunately, their picky eating habits prevent our farm from expanding, and sometimes we have to buy snakes from snake catchers to feed them. "
"Lord, I have a headache because there are no snakes. I have a headache because there are too many snakes. All kinds of snakes in Thun Swamp are about to overrun." Gavin suggested, "Lord, are you interested in a joint venture? Breeding farm? I will provide the site, the lord will provide the giant swamp stork, and we will share all the produce equally."
Gavin wants to introduce giant swamp storks from Dadeluk Town. Profit is secondary. He mainly wants to control the snake problem in Thun Swamp. The war between the black-scaled lizard people and the Thun snake people is in full swing. Then, the Thun Snakemen, whose top leaders had been uprooted by Gavin, were defeated by the powerful offensive of the black-scaled lizardmen.
But it is not that easy for the black-scaled lizardmen to uproot the Thun Snakemen from the Thun Swamp. After all, the Thun Swamp is so big. It would be much more difficult for them to find them if they drilled into the depths of the swamp. Improvements, especially the cursed snakes and snake-hating ones, also have the ability to transform into snakes, which makes hunting them down even more difficult.
Those cunning Thun snakemen have now changed their war strategies. They no longer show up easily in front of the black-scaled lizardmen. Instead, they drive the snakes to attack the black-scaled lizardmen tribe. This attack is not limited to black-scaled lizards. People themselves, including the livestock and fish they raise, if possible, those snakes will naturally attack the children or eggs of the black-scaled lizard people. That is to say, the black-scaled lizard people have the blood of the black dragon flowing in their bodies, and their poison resistance is relatively high. If If it were an ordinary person, a large area would have been poisoned by those poisonous snakes.
Gavin is urgently deploying an army of snake hunters from the Dragon Oak Territory - the Kobold's exclusive mount, the Dire Weasel.
They are equally good at catching snakes, rats, and rabbits. They are close relatives of the flat-headed brothers and are immune to most snake venom. If bitten by a venomous snake, they will fall asleep for a few hours at most.
It's just that their home field is mountains and jungles, and their combat effectiveness in the water will be greatly reduced. If they are not careful, they will become food in the mouths of those pythons and be dragged into deep water and drown. At best, they will be able to provide support in those dry areas. It is placed in the black scale lizardman tribe to protect the safety of the tribe.
If you add this kind of giant swamp stork, you can not only defend, but also launch an appropriate counterattack. The size of the giant swamp stork determines that in most swamp waters, they have an absolute advantage, even if they are adults with thick arms. Pythons are just a mouthful, and their size is designed to hunt snakes.
Swamp giant storks have an advantage that ferocious storks do not have. They are birds and can hatch in batches. As long as there is sufficient food, they can form a large scale in less than two years. Even if the snake problem is suppressed later, they will still be able to hatch. It has good commercial value, will not lose money inside or outside, and can also increase the diversified industries of the black-scaled lizard people.
"General, you are indeed a cheerful person. We have settled this matter." Lord Siobo responded cheerfully.
When he was young, he had adventures around the Thun Swamp and was very aware of the situation in the Thun Swamp. He had this idea when he introduced the giant stork in front of Gavin. Unexpectedly, the young general was better than he expected. He also needs to be generous. Not only was he proposed in advance, but the price was also irresistible. If he bargained again, he would be pushing the envelope even further.
"Everywhere the general goes, business can be done." Princess Crown couldn't help but look sideways. If Gavin had already prepared for the business in Shilp Town, then in Dadeluk Town, It is typical that it is a temporary move. After all, they changed their route here due to an unexpected incident. Even if he is a voter of Ms. Strategy, it is impossible to budget for this step.
"It's just a coincidence." Gavin could only explain it this way.
Gavin had read about the giant swamp stork in Dadeluk Town in Varro's Travel Notes. However, this alone was not worth a trip to this place in person. He planned to leave this matter to the Conqueror's Caravan. Pushing forward.
Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to visit Dadeluk Town in person, so I naturally decided on this matter.
Neither Gavin nor Tainarasta struggled too much with this issue. After all, for them, this relatively single breeding industry, no matter how large it is, has relatively limited value. As long as the intention is finalized, Detailed issues will naturally be promoted by the people below, and their main focus is still on Luji Town.
Just like Saiob said, no one can explain clearly how they knew that Luji Town had disappeared. It seemed that everyone knew about it when they woke up one night, as if someone was telling the news in their sleep. Informed them the same.
Even if they used charm spells to deeply hypnotize them, the answers they received were the same. Neither the source of the information nor any more useful information could be collected.
"We are walking along the Ranger Road. I have been walking on this road for nearly 30 years. I am very familiar with every plant and tree here. Because this road is quite circuitous, there are many roads from our town to Luji Town. Eighteen kilometers, even if we walk, it takes less than two hours. Normally we can get there in less than an hour. As a result, we ran on this road for three hours without seeing any sign of Luji Town. , Luji Town is so big, there is no way we could miss it, so we discussed it and walked forward for another two hours, but still didn’t see any sign of Luji Town, and then turned back.”
"How long did it take you to walk back?"
"We didn't remember this accurately. We set out in the morning and turned back at noon. When we returned to the town, the sky was already dark."
"Have you noticed anything unusual along the way? Do you feel like something is missing somewhere? Or maybe there is something extra, something that doesn't feel right?"
"I didn't feel anything was wrong before, but now that I think about it, something is wrong. It seems like we have been wandering in the jungle."
"Yes, that's the feeling. Many places seem to be printed from the same mold."
"The forest road itself has this kind of situation. Only those felines can distinguish each tree and give them names. If there is a situation like the disappearance of the road market town, we will subconsciously give the uneasiness caused by this situation to Zoomed in.”
"Okay, thank you for your cooperation. You can leave and let the aerial reconnaissance team come in."
"As you command, Your Highness."
"Tell me what you saw."
"Reporting to Your Highness, we are going along the Logger Trail. This is a trail from Dadeluk Town to Luji Town. It is only five kilometers away, but it passes through the densest area of the King's Forest. The sign in the air It is not very clear in itself and can only be used as an auxiliary reference to help identify the direction. In addition, we will also use some taller trees as flying landmarks. Whenever we fly over a place three kilometers away from the town of Dadeluk After flying to the landmark, the Logger Trail disappeared, even if we came down to search, let alone heading to Road Market Town. By the time we found the Logger Trail, we had already returned to the town of Dadeluk. "
"So you've been lost since the Loggers Trail disappeared?"
"Yes, at that time, the woods were everywhere and looked the same. We really lost our way."
"Where's the sun? Why don't you rely on the sun to tell the direction?"
"We did rely on the sun to identify the direction, but when we returned to Dadeluk Town, we found that we had strayed far away from the logger's trail. We had clearly headed southwest before, but when we came back, But it is located in the northeast of the town, and we didn’t know when we had made a big circle.”
"How many times have you flown in total?"
"Eight times, we tried a total of eight times before and after, until it got dark and there was no way to fly anymore."
"Is this the case every time?"
"Yes, it is like this every time. The only difference is that the direction of return is not fixed."
"Okay, I know, thank you for the information."
"This is what we should do, and it's a pity that it can't be of any help."
"Lord Siob, the missing road was also along the woodcutter's trail, right?"
"Yes, after the aerial reconnaissance failed one after another, I organized the purple dragon knights and war mages in the town, and with the help of a ranger and a druid, let them go along the logger's trail. With their At such a speed, I could make a round trip in an hour, but I didn’t expect that they would never return. I was afraid of any danger in the middle, so I didn’t rush to send a second wave and went to the palace to ask for help as soon as possible. The rest was , Your Highness knows everything."
"Okay, I know almost everything that I need to know. Let's summarize all the information in hand. Let's see if you have any good ideas. Tell them and listen. There is no right or wrong. It's just to provide a direction of thinking."
In order to get first-hand information, Crown Princess met with all the relevant personnel and asked them in detail about their search process. The answers they received were all vague. They also had a lot of questions in their stomachs, not to mention The answer is given.
The forest road itself is different from ordinary roads. The sight here is very limited and the scenery is the same. It is easy to lose the sense of direction and distance. The only thing you can do is to follow the road. If there is no road, , if you are not careful, you will be completely lost in the primeval forest and become a meal in the stomachs of various forest monsters.
If the forest is big enough, even flying in the air will cause disorientation. Even if you think you are flying straight forward, if it is really marked, the flight path is not necessarily straight. Many times , human perception is inaccurate.
Lord Siobo was the first to speak: "I tend to think that this is an illusion, a large-scale illusion barrier that wraps up Luji Town and the surrounding roads and forests. It doesn't really disappear, it's just our Their senses were misled, and even if they passed by him, they would not know it. The people in Luji Town were also trapped by this illusion and had no way to get out."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Tainarasta shook her head and said, "There are resident extraordinary mages in Luji Town. If it is really a pure illusion, they can penetrate the illusion with their true eyes even if they don't have the ability to break it. , came out of it and asked for help. The most important thing is that illusions usually do not have the ability to prohibit teleportation."
"There is another possibility." Gavin threw out his own guess, "That is, the planes overlapped, and Luji Town was swallowed up by a transparent realm such as the Ether Plane or the Shadow Plane. When It itself is no longer in this plane, so naturally it cannot be found anyway, and the swallowed position will be avoided and blurred, producing an effect similar to illusion, until it is completely digested and merged into a part of itself, and the two The world is divided again.”
(End of chapter)
