"..."
"What's the matter, sir?"
"It's nothing, it's just...you just said that the competition going on is the Snow Spirit Fantasy Ice Competition, right?"
"Yes."
In the northeast of Tania City, between the overlapping buildings, two black figures were moving forward silently, passing through the intertwined sights of countless yawning guards, and came to the higher terrain in the northeast of the city. Beside the high hills - if the aristocratic district in the west of the city is a rare area that players rarely pass by, then the higher ground and the trapezoidal buildings in the north of the city are a no-man's land that no one has ever been to. This is not only because the location of this area is too remote, but also because the guards here are stricter than other places, and the things they protect have not been paid attention to by players for a long time. As the war approaches, the defense here seems to be getting tighter and tighter. Except for busybodies like Duan Qing who came here specially, few people can run to such a place at this time and walk along the steps step by step. Climb up the stairs to get a closer look at this church-like place.
What's more, this high place, which is even more remote than the library, is now guarded by groups of people in black.
Passing over the gradually rising houses, Duan Qing, who was walking in front, turned his head from time to time to pay attention to the movements around him, and then stopped in front of the church that was blocked by high hills and walls. Ningyu Ninglan, who had been following him, stopped quietly next to him, and then with his usual smile, answered Duan Qing's inexplicable question: "But... according to the current time, the game should probably be over. .”
"Really?" Duan Qing, who was hiding in the shadows, shook his head slightly, and then looked away in a certain direction in the city: "Well, maybe it's my illusion... hmm."
"This place seems...different from the description in the intelligence."
"What are you referring to, sir?"
"According to the information Hank said, this should be the ruins left over from the ancient city of Tania. Although there is no danger, it is too conspicuous and has no value worth exploring." Looking at the weeds behind the iron fence In the small courtyard, Duan Qing pointed towards the dark church in the distance, and then explained in a low voice: "Now... it is also the place where the president used to live when he was recovering from illness. Why..."
"There aren't even any guards?"
"Isn't the President already back? There is no need to guard this place, right?"
"But there should be a lot of guards here."
Duan Qing's voice lowered along with his gaze: "Although there is nothing to see, this place can be regarded as a ruins, so it once attracted a lot of players to come and explore. Over time, this place was regarded as a ruin by the principality. The city guards have been protected, euphemistically claiming to be protecting Tania’s ancient heritage..."
"Why don't you protect it now?" Duan Qing curled his lips and smiled: "The legacy in the past was a legacy, but the legacy now is not a legacy?"
"Perhaps it's because the troops defending the city lack manpower." Encrypted Ninglan raised her finger and echoed, "So all the guards here have been transferred?"
"Then what happened to the layers of guards when we came here?"
Looking back at the curved steps that went downwards and gradually disappeared into the darkness, Duan Qing shook his head: "First there were the city guards, then the black-clothed guards... I don't believe there are none here. Nothing is hidden."
He took a deep breath, and then looked into the small courtyard again: "Anyway, let's go in and take a look first, and see if we can find... any clues about Horsman."
When the maid nodded in agreement, he looked up at the fence, then jumped up in the quiet atmosphere and climbed over the iron fence. The sound of the collision of armor and the sound of breaking through the air immediately covered the sky above a certain patch of weeds in the courtyard. With one hand, he tried his best to suppress the sound of landing, and then slowly turned around while staring at the surroundings of the courtyard. He turned his head and reminded behind him: "Be careful, don't..."
His words paused - outside the iron fence behind him, the codeword Ninglan who was supposed to be standing there had disappeared out of thin air, as if everything that happened before was an illusion.
Teleport? Illusion? Or is it a common deception?
Thousands of thoughts suddenly passed through his mind. Duan Qing suddenly put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and then raised his eyes to observe the surroundings amid the slight movement caused by the night wind blowing through the small courtyard. The quiet courtyard under the night seemed not to have changed in any way because of his arrival. He took two deep breaths, then leaned on the edge of the courtyard and moved closer to the door of the church little by little: "What else is there to pretend to be a ghost?" The moves..."
"Just use them all!"
In the rotunda with flashing red light, the two figures who were entangled together rolled down to the other side of the light pillar, and then dispersed in the direction of each other amidst a woman's loud shout. The white-armored figure with long hair disheveled was obviously flying further away than the opponent, but with some firm will, she climbed up from the ground earlier than the opponent, and then held the trembling hand in her hand tightly. The long sword was slashed in the direction of the warrior: "Drink!"
The warrior at the other end of the light beam was half-kneeling on the ground, with his arms folded in front of him. After a while, he looked at the front where nothing happened, showing a strange expression.
"Oh... James St. Ma seemed to be startled. He thought Xue Ling Huan Bing would attack with sword energy." An unscrupulous commentator outside the field immediately raised the microphone and shouted loudly: "The result But he was deceived by the other party!”
"Sister Xue... I still haven't learned it yet." Mengzhu at the side of the stage clasped his hands with a low expression: "I thought I still had a trump card to make a comeback..."
"Her sword... is shaking subconsciously."
Staring intently at the center of the stage, Wuyu Liushang commented to himself: "In such a critical situation, if time allows... maybe there will be a breakthrough."
"Wha, what?"
"Unfortunately, the biggest enemy is time."
Ignoring the little girl's slightly anxious doubts, the woman in the lavender dress leaned back and sat peacefully on her sofa: "Whether it was the threat from the other party or the countdown, she didn't have enough. It’s time to realize all this. If you don’t see hope in four minutes, then..."
"She may have to wait until next year, the next UEFA Cup, to continue to prove herself."
call--
Another heavy sword whistling sound passed by Xue Ling Huan Bing's ears. She barely dodged another killing blow, and then staggered to the side and fell to the ground in the red light. Go down. The heavy slash from the soldier didn't hesitate at all, and slashed towards the fallen woman with the force he had already accumulated. She struggled to turn over, and avoided this attack despite the deafening sound of the earthquake. A pursuit, and then just before the opponent's third consecutive earthquake wave was about to arrive, a sword stabbed the ground next to him.
Amidst the groaning sound of the ice-blue sword bouncing back to its feet, the woman's body pressed against the floor of the stone hall and suddenly slid out into the distance. After a while, it stopped in the obstruction of the circular wall, leaving a trace on the ground. There was a long scratch.
"There is not much time left, destruction is coming!"
The flowers in the commentary channel were still shouting at the top of their lungs: "This is the doomsday judgment, this is the punishment for delaying the game! If the winner cannot be determined in the last three minutes, no one can imagine the final result! We The warrior players must show their true skills to deal with this last enemy, no matter whether they win or lose... Oh, he changed his weapons! He really has a back-up plan!"
On the stage, a warrior in full armor wordlessly took off a sledgehammer from behind, held it in his own hands, and then waved it with all his strength, creating a translucent light curtain. He bent his knees and held the sledgehammer in front of him. The almost transparent light curtain gradually stabilized in the flickering red light around it, and then continued to extend to all directions, finally closing in the center of the rotunda. The light beam connected with the surrounding walls: "This, this is..."
"Is this a barrier?"
At the old gate outside the church, Duan Qing, who had just withdrawn his vigilance, looked at his hand that was blocked in the air and murmured: "What is this, a seal?"
Stretching his head and observing behind the almost transparent air wall for a while, Duan Qing immediately gave up the idea of seeing clearly from the air, and turned to study the barrier in front of him. In front of the church at night, an earthy yellow light began to flicker from time to time, and then slowly disappeared as Duan Qing gradually sat down: "Well..."
"Have you ever gone to the Mages Council for appraisal?"
"No, sir."
A gentle female voice then appeared behind Duan Qing, who was sitting on the floor: "But... Ninglan can still tell the flow of magic hidden in this place."
"...What's the conclusion?"
"It should be a phantom wall belonging to the wind element." The maid's voice became deeper: "Using the density change of the gas to refract the surrounding light to achieve the purpose of disturbing the line of sight... Although it is very clever, such refraction It can only affect a small distance, so the church we see is still real, but the area close to the fence..."
"There is nothing there now." Duan Qing took over what the other party said: "Maybe there was something hidden before, maybe there was nothing there before. Who can tell clearly about things like ruins."
"We should be able to get some clues by investigating the adventure records that players have revealed recently." Ningyu Ninglan whispered: "In addition...if we can know who arranged these magics..."
"Then we might as well investigate it ourselves."
Sighing and shaking his head, Duan Qing focused his attention on the barrier in front of him again, and then stretched out his hand to touch it while motioning to the maid behind him: "Where is this? With your... sense, what is this thing? ?”
"This...should be a wall condensed by wind elements."
In the rotunda on the stage, facing a wall of air raised by the warrior who was gradually advancing, Xue Ling Huan Bing, covering her chest, whispered: "This Wind-Binding Sacred Hammer... It’s a weapon sleeping in the Imperial History Museum, how did you get it?”
"...There are some deviations in your strategy."
Since the start of the game, the player named St. James finally spoke his first words, but the content of those words had nothing to do with the problem of Snow Spirit Fantasy Ice: "From the beginning of the game, you I just kept avoiding fighting and just ran away..."
"You can't defeat me with this kind of fighting spirit alone."
"……I know."
Looking at the mountainous barrier approaching again, the woman gasped and replied: "But... you didn't leave me any other choice."
"There are only two minutes left." Looking up at the ceiling here, St. James shook his head slightly: "The person who can delay it for so long... you are the first."
"Why, is this why you use this hammer?" Xueling Huanbing showed a sarcastic smile: "Use this fragile barrier to kill me?"
"Your blood volume is not much, but my blood volume is still 100." The warrior held up the huge barrier and began to run along the circular hall: "The moves attached to the weapon naturally need to calculate the power bonus of the weapon. ,so……"
"If I hit you with this hammer, you might die."
With a cruel smile on his face, the warrior crouched down and lowered his head, assuming a charging posture with a shield raised. Then he used the wall as a shield and sprinted in the direction of the woman. A ray of icy blue light immediately appeared in front of the woman, and then as she swung the sword and retreated, it left an icy blue sword shadow in the air, but before that icy blue light could be seen, The trajectory was fully unfolded, and the invisible barrier had ruthlessly passed through the space, smashing the blue trajectory into a dazzling ice crystal: "Snow Spirit Fantasy Ice used Frost Fall! But the opponent's binding The wind barrier seems not to be afraid of elemental attacks, and is about to sweep in front of her! The game has finally reached the last moment, and there are still fifty-eight seconds before the end! If there is no other way..."
"It seems..."
In front of the church, Duan Qing sighed and got up from the ground, then turned around and showed an indifferent smile: "This problem can only be solved through violence."
"But sir, this will make a lot of noise..."
"Isn't it just running?" Duan Qing stood in front of the gate, then raised his sword over his head, the black sword edge trembling slightly in the air: "We are warriors, not professional magicians, so …”
"Problems that need to be solved with magic can only be solved with swords."
In the red light, the woman with heavy steps looked up at her status bar, finally stopped her escape, then suddenly held back her heavy breathing, and once again raised the sword that had never stopped shaking. He stood up: "...There is one thing I must clarify."
"I have never had any intention of procrastinating." Her eyelids drooped as if seriously injured, but a dazzling light flashed in her eyes: "I have been waiting for the opportunity to deal with you."
The colorful beam of light gradually expanded in the stage, illuminating the woman's face white. She exhaled her last breath, and then slashed with a sword.
boom!
"alright."
Duan Qing straightened up, looked at the big crack that was cut in front of him, turned around and made a V-sign to the snickering maid: "This level of air wall is simply an insult to my strength... let's go." gone."
"Before you are discovered, hurry in and do the three lights."
