"The wounded have been received, Your Excellency."
The Fars Fortress in the setting sun looks particularly desolate at this time. In addition to the endless plain facing the strong and heavy gate, the main reason is because the battlefield traces of broken flags and broken swords are all over this place. On the area west of the fortress. The caravans and travelers that used to come and go frequently were all gone at this moment. They were replaced by veterans closely guarding the city gates and city defense officers who were waiting in full formation, turning the originally lively fortress surroundings into a scene of solemn killing.
Their highest officer, General Dusk, was standing on the west side of the fortress with a tired look on his face, scanning the embers left behind on the battlefield.
"Where are the Imperial prisoners?"
"According to your instructions,...all of them have been escorted to Tania, but some of them are too seriously injured and they are still here."
Another gust of cool wind blew across Dusk's face, which cheered up the general whose eyes were a little red and swollen. He looked at the far end of the horizon and observed carefully for a period of time. After making sure that there were no unusual changes, he looked at the general. He withdrew his gaze with relief: "Everyone has worked hard today, take a good rest, and... take care of the injured brothers."
"yes."
"Order everyone to be on alert at night."
"As commanded."
"You, go and inform those who are still here, tell them...the war has reached Fars Fortress, let them all go back and give up on this idea."
"Okay, Your Excellency."
"besides......"
He suddenly stopped talking.
Night is approaching, and the light and shadow on the city wall also turn from red to black as the setting sun sets. It is estimated that in the near future, torches and other lighting facilities will be needed to see the situation clearly, but this does not prevent Dusk from being Extremely alert - not far from him, the lady in blue robe who suddenly appeared on the city wall before and turned the battle situation around with just one move was still standing quietly on the other side of the wall with a staff in one hand.
The cool breeze blowing in from the outside of the fortress was still reminding him of what had happened before.
It’s not that the general doesn’t care about this woman’s origins and purpose. He even has many questions he wants to ask her. However, the attitude and state of the woman in blue robe really doesn’t seem like he wants someone to ask her questions. look. In fact, ever since this sudden battle ended suddenly because of her, this woman has been staying in that place, standing against the wall, looking into the distance, as if waiting for something.
And not long ago, it seemed that the person she was waiting for had arrived.
The general looked at the figure in a black cloak that he discovered under his alertness and slowly landed on the wall not far away. He pinched his brows with a headache, and then waved away the other men: "We... Everyone, go down."
The figure in black robe slowly walked up to Christine, and then heard her voice.
"You came at the right time."
The woman in blue robe who had been silent until now turned her head and looked at the visitor with kind eyes: "You came just after General Dusk left."
"...He only left after I came." Under the black hood, a woman's voice came out: "Sister."
"How is the investigation in Zaraha City?"
"...There is no clear evidence yet, sister." The woman in black robe performed the courtesy of a mage, and then the woman in blue robe pulled her into her arms and rubbed her head.
"Don't be so polite, my dear sister." Christine said with a low smile: "If you are still so formal when there are no outsiders, your sister will be very sad."
She let go of her hand, and then continued to ask with the other party's embarrassed expression: "How is the performance of the Imperial Army?"
"They... are very angry." Under the hood, Freya straightened her hair, and then straightened her face: "If I hadn't walked so fast, maybe they would have discovered me."
"It's not important." The woman in blue robe waved her hand indifferently: "But... if they keep looking at us, our investigation will be affected."
"Is this why you...are assisting the Principality?"
"Assist the principality? No, no, no." The woman in blue robe said amusedly: "We are the Council of Mages. We will never assist any force, and we do not need to win their help in this way."
She turned back and looked into the distance under the fortress: "I'm just here... to pay off someone's debt and settle accounts, that's all."
"But..." Freya walked to her side and looked at the scene below the city with her: "If you do this, are you..."
"Are you referring to those people?" Kristine smiled indifferently again: "This is the simplest and most violent method, and the loss is minimal. If it were you, I would really be afraid of this place... ..”
She pointed forward: "It will become a living hell."
The woman in black robe lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Members of the Council of Mages must not only learn to assess the situation, but more importantly, learn to behave and be a proper person." Christine said seriously: "I have reminded you countless times, before you learn this... ... You'd better not be responsible for something like this."
"Yes, Sister." The woman standing next to her nodded confusedly: "I will obey your teachings in everything."
"You, you..." Christine shook her head helplessly, and then decided not to think about these irrelevant things for the time being: "What about the other investigation results?"
"The influence of the Emerald Tower continues." The beautiful woman under the black hood cleared her throat, and then began her report: "According to information sent from other regions, the huge magic wave has already affected Further afield, not only Zahara City, but also Falling Star Mountain, Verbey Lake, and the lower reaches of the Hongshui River where it is located, all have varying degrees of mutation. The farthest reaches even reach the desolation of the northern part of the empire. land, as well as the coast of the Free City. It is said that not long ago, many places in the local area were shaken, and the locations of some new ruins were exposed... and the top of Falling Star Mountain, perhaps due to Under the influence of the wind element, the fog there has become more serious..."
As the setting sun set, the woman in the black cloak stood beside the woman in the blue robe and spoke nonstop like a report. The woman in the blue robe also listened quietly without saying a word, letting the afterglow of the setting sun sweep her away. The two figures on the city wall were dyed red. This beautiful scene caused many guards standing guard on the city wall to look sideways. Some of them who knew the inside story may still be sighing that the two most powerful people in the Mages Council were actually standing right there. Next to them, what makes them even more unbelievable is that the "Bingling Flame" who never says a word when he appears in front of everyone, and is as cold as ice, actually has such a lively side that can be talked about.
"I understand." After a long time, Christine, who had listened to everything, responded: "Have you told them all these things?"
"Yes. Also..."
"What's wrong?"
"According to reports from people in the principality, there seems to be signs of someone sneaking in again at the Emerald Tower."
The woman in blue robe squinted her eyes and looked ahead, and fell into silence again. Finally she calmed down and sorted out the clues from her thousands of thoughts: "Speed up the pace, I'll leave the investigation to you. sister."
"yes."
"Let's start from the place where changes are most likely to occur. If there are not enough people, just ask Wiggins for it." She stroked her hair: "Tanya, near the City of Freedom, there are... ...Falling Star Mountain.”
"Let's start with these suspicious places."
"Yes, sister." Freya nodded, and then asked with some confusion: "What about Zaraha City?"
"Of course...it's me." The woman in blue robe smiled charmingly: "The empire has suffered such a big loss, they must be very 'confused' now, oh hehehe... ."
"Let me explain it myself." She paused her staff, and the huge sapphire on the staff emitted a blazing blue light: "I hope..."
"They can listen."
******************
"Hoo, ho, ho...which way next?"
"Don't keep asking me, brother! You make me make such a difficult choice every time..."
"Bah! Do you want labor and management to choose? Aren't you afraid?"
"...Okay, okay, I choose...right!"
In the unknown cave on Falling Star Mountain, Duan Qing and three others were still running away in embarrassment - the billowing red dust behind them was getting closer and closer to them.
"So we've been running away since we went up the mountain?"
"Nonsense, it's good to go back without dying! What else do you want...drink!"
Quickly passing through the side passage on the right, Nan Tieshan quickly turned around and punched, breaking a stone pillar next to him: "Eat me, move the flowers to block the way!"
"What kind of move is this, brother?"
"It's just a block with stones..."
"It's useless." The woman running at the front suddenly turned around and added: "Earth elements are invisible things. Even if they have a fixed form, they can change at will."
"How come there are such perverted monsters in this game!" Nan Tieshan said bitterly: "How can anyone beat this?"
"Spell matters are usually left to mages to solve. This is a professional issue. It is normal for us to be helpless." Xue Ling Huan Bing's voice was as steady as ever: "And when dealing with such elemental creatures, it is also normal to Attributes should be considered.”
The basic composition of magic elements in the free world is still the four ordinary categories of earth, fire, water, and wind, so there are still basic attribute restraints between each magic element. However, at the current level of players, no one has been able to use the principles of elemental attributes to accomplish tactical goals. The main reason is lack of strength. When players called mages encounter enemies, their fighting methods are still the same. They are still at the level of throwing all the spells they know at the opponent's head, and they have to take aim at the same time. As for what kind of restraint spells should be used to face what kind of monsters, they still have no such awareness in their minds, and there are no such conditions - the current players basically have a single elemental physique and know the spell attributes. It's just that kind of thing, there's no choice at all.
But even so, the spells can at least hit the spells. They are better than Duan Qing's three dumbfounded melee professions at this time.
"Do you have any enchanted weapons? Or items with magical elements..."
"Brother, we are all novices who have just left the novice village, how come there is such a thing?"
"Don't lie to me! You..."
Nan Tieshan, who was running, pointed at the woman's figure in front of him and didn't say a word for a long time.
"What's wrong?" The woman turned back in confusion.
"...Um...I said, is there any way you can hit the guy behind us?"
"No."
"How did you handle it when you came here before?" This time it was Duan Qing who asked.
"...There is a wind magician in our team." Xue Ling Huan Bing glanced at Duan Qing and then replied calmly.
"Sure enough." Duan Qing covered his head and said, "Okay, we really didn't... this time."
"Go to the right!"
The figure in the black cloak in front suddenly said loudly, and at the same time drew her long sword.
"Hey, why did you suddenly choose for us..."
"Do you still want to find the Nosir tribe?"
The two men immediately shut their mouths.
Another fork in the road immediately appeared in front of them. This time the three people did not hesitate and chose the right side. But not long after, they reached the end of the road.
"Dead end! Let me strangle you...you girl, you don't want to kill us!"
Xue Ling Huan Bing did not answer, but stopped suddenly and thrust his long sword forward.
With a pop, the long sword sank into the wall, but the sharp-eyed Duan Qing discovered that there seemed to be a small hole on the dark wall, and the small hole was now blocked by the long sword. .
The woman in the black cloak grasped the hilt of the sword with both hands, and then silently began to exert force. When the rumbling roars began to penetrate their ears in the passage behind them, the hilt of the sword held in her white hands finally turned. Just a little bit.
To their side, a rock wall fell down with a muffled sound, revealing a new path.
Without any doubts or too many words, several people rushed into the hidden passage, dodged the moment they were about to be submerged in dust, and then continued running along the narrow one-way passage. With.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally escaped—to be precise, they escaped from the entire cave.
"Pooh!"
Suddenly seeing the air and biting ice and snow outside, Nan Tieshan, who saw a flash of white light in front of his eyes, couldn't help but take a deep breath, then looked at the darkening sky, and muttered to himself with some confusion: "Time... ....Has it been this long?”
"Get away!" He was answered with a warning.
Behind them, at the exit they had just escaped from, a violent stream of gas mixed with countless dust and impurities spurted out from the narrow gap. The jet was so violent that it swept away the dazed black-armored man. He was pushed out of the ground and flew in the air for a long time before falling to the snow in front of him.
Then, the gap-like exit collapsed with a rumbling roar.
"It seems that I can't withstand such a strong impact." Duan Qing retracted his hand silently and looked at the blocked gap in the mountain: "It's a pity that we haven't explored the situation inside... ..."
"It's nothing." Xue Ling Huan Bing said softly: "Probably..."
"Have you been to this cave before?" Duan Qing asked doubtfully, "Then how did you..."
"I recognized those forks in the road after I saw them." Xue Ling Huanbing explained: "This cave is very big and there are many forks in the road... It seems that we didn't know the forks when we came here before. The whole place has been explored.”
"Okay, forget it." Duan Qing spread his hands, then stepped forward and pulled up Nan Tieshan, who was still dizzy: "Brother, should we continue walking or camp to rest?"
"Huh...huh...where are you going?"
"Over there." The woman took the lead and walked to the top of a slope in front of them: "You can..."
"Take a look first."
At the top of the slope, before the eyes of several people, endless sheets of white ice and snow were connected. Some of them, accompanied by the biting cold wind, were flying and sliding on the flat, mirror-like snow, and gradually connected into ribbons. , extending into the distance along the slopes of varying heights, and then disappearing into the wavy mountains.
In front of them were endless snow-capped mountains.
