The road leading to Green Stone Village was quieter than expected. It was as if the Fenghua Plain battlefield not far behind had attracted all the surrounding creatures. The rugged mountain roads and roadside scenery were just as Duan Qing remembered. Everything in the game was presented one by one, but unexpectedly no guards or levels appeared as expected: "The information is actually true, it's hard to imagine."
"Although it is not a dangerous place, as long as a few random obstacles are set up on this road, it will be much more difficult to pass safely."
Stopping at the edge of one of the mountain roads for a moment, Goldman, who was packing his luggage, also looked at the front of the mountain road: "Do you think no one will take the right path to invade Greenstone Village? Or is there nothing there at all?"
"That's hard to say. Maybe we have been exposed to their surveillance now." Asahi Dongsheng, who was passing by, poked his head out at the right time: "When they find a suitable time and a suitable place, they will— —Bang!"
"Talking about the imaginary end in advance will not help us avoid this bloody scene. On the contrary, it will only make our mood worse, Mr. Asahi Dongsheng." The gray-robed magician walking in front raised his head and drank. A bottle of magic potion, and then propped up his detection magic again: "According to my investigation, there are no ambushes or guards within a radius of one mile, unless -"
"Unless their abilities are far greater than yours, right?"
Yu turned around at the front of the team, and the team leader Xue Ling Huan Bing's deep voice sounded a little helpless: "How likely is this?"
"First of all, our whereabouts must be exposed in advance. The Magic Council of the Magic Empire must send a group of people to ambush us in advance according to our plan." Duan Qing, who was following her, replied in a relaxed voice: "Secondly, this group of people cannot They are ordinary magicians, and they have to be the big bosses of the Magic Council. Are they really willing to give up their self-respect and take the risk of missing out and lead people to ambush outside Greenstone Village?"
"It depends on how important Greenstone Village is to them." Gedman, who followed the team, replied in a low voice: "If they really hide some terrible secret, or their Magic Council If we set it up in Greenstone Village, then the chances of this possibility happening will be much greater.”
"Hey, why do you always think of the worst? Is there a possibility that we are not exposed at all?" Asahi Dongsheng, who was playing with swords and guns at the side, replied disdainfully: "There is no ambush, and no one has discovered us. People, let’s just move forward in peace and care!”
"Romulus just disappeared in this direction. If something happened to him because of the Magic Empire, how could the Magic Empire not step up its guard? How could there be no one like this?" Goldman pointed with a solemn face. The ravine on the side of the mountain road asked the other party: "Are you going to claim that our beloved Great Mage of the Council of Seven, the frontline commander and puppet master of the Council of Mages, finally lost his footing and fell into the ravine without anyone noticing? Did he fall to his death on his own?"
"Can you please stop cursing him so blatantly? You and he have no personal grudges." Duan Qing pressed his forehead and sighed softly. Then he also put down the hand that had been holding the staff: "The members of the Mage Council once also I searched in this direction but found no trace of Romulus. The magicians who were investigating were wary of the Magic Empire's defense, so they did not investigate further and returned cautiously."
"We can only rely on ourselves now. After all, the longer the delay, the more likely problems will occur." Xue Ling Huan Bing also frowned: "I don't know if the people sent out earlier have arrived now."
"They don't have the same convenient communication magic device as we do. It will take some time to send the message." After saying this, Duan Qing glanced at the side of the team: "Of course, does the Destiny Weaver have such a We don’t know the communication method.”
"Nina doesn't know what's going on inside, and the teacher didn't tell Nina." As if sensing Duan Qing's gaze, the girl in white holding the long staff shook her head and replied, "Nina only remembers the teacher reminding her once." Thing: The flow of magic power there is very disordered."
"Don't get too close there."
A few people, look at me, I
Look at you, in the end, you didn’t stop walking because of Nina’s words. The quiet and nervous mountain road also slowly passed backwards in the process, and finally the outline of a village in front of the mountain pass was revealed. Appearing looming in front of everyone. Carefully squeezing the runes in his hands, the gray-robed magician checked all the areas in front of him. The biting cold wind blowing through the village entrance seemed to be urging something, and these outsiders were The guests were slowly driven into this deserted village: "...Is there really no one there?"
"Is it really not a trap? Your detection magic still doesn't respond?"
"There is no response, and there is not even any sign of obstruction or interference - forget it, high-tech methods are still unreliable, let's search manually."
"Agree. Asahi Dongsheng and Gedman go to the left, Duan and I... Linyuan Duanshui and I go to the right. Nina will follow you to ensure the fighting strength, but do not engage in battle easily. If necessary, immediately retreat to the entrance of the village. do you understand?"
The team of four and a little girl with an NPC identity split into two groups and gradually moved around the edge of Greenstone Village. The quiet atmosphere belonging to the village also turned into dead silence as they got closer. Their footsteps on the withered grass were still gently passed on by the cold winter wind. Finally unable to bear his curiosity, Asahi Dongsheng took up the blade and became the first person to break into the village. However, no matter how nervous and cautious Gedman was who followed, they were still the same enemy. No one was found: "...It seems that there is really no one."
"But there are signs of human activity."
"Nonsense, this is a village, not an ancient ruin. Even if the people of Greenstone Village have been on the run for a long time, this is where they once lived."
"Of course I know, but these traces don't look like they were left a long time ago."
After confirming that everything was safe, the two groups gathered again on the road in the center of the village. At this time, Goldman was squatting next to the hotel under the care of Nina, and seemed to be checking the footprints left there: " These footprints are the most obvious, and they don't last long."
"It seems they are from the Magic Empire." Duan Qing, who kept looking around here and holding his chin, also showed a thoughtful expression: "After everyone in Greenstone Village has escaped, they should use this place as their base—— You see, there are traces of habitation inside.”
"They actually didn't cause massive damage here. In my impression, invaders would do this." Asahi Dongsheng, who ran back from nowhere, also looked suspicious: "They didn't even make large-scale renovations—— Have you seen the current Fenghua Town? The magic tower and magic artillery cluster above are so spectacular."
"Those things should have gone up to the sky again in the explosion this morning." He was answered by Xue Ling Huan Bing's emotionless words, followed by a low sigh from her who was also lost in thought: "Indeed, if that's the case... …Aren’t these traces left by people from the Magic Empire?”
"Maybe they are adventurers sent here by the Magic Empire."
Duan Qing, who had already walked out of the hotel and nodded to himself, expressed his conclusion: "I still vaguely remember the appearance of this hotel. The situation now is much messier than before. It should be for fun... Ahem, such characteristics may only appear in places where adventurers have lived.”
"I really can't imagine that magicians would make their homes like this - rather, I can't imagine that magicians in the Magic Empire would condescend to live in such a remote and crude place." Goldman clapped his hands. He stood up and said, "Of course, since the entire Xifeng County has been occupied, the Magic Empire has no reason to let this small village go... Well, the possibility of them sending low-level soldiers to occupy this place is still very high. "
"It may also be the magic warriors who belong to them." Asahi Dongsheng picked out his ears casually: "But no matter what they are, they have all escaped now - why do you think they escaped?"
"Retreat due to being disturbed, transfer tactics, perform other tasks, or get tired of staying here and want to go out for fun - I can list a lot of possibilities." First, he mentioned a few possibilities at random.
, Duan Qing then sighed and put away his joke: "But we have got a very strong clue before, and that is the team of adventurers that Miss Nina mentioned before, who came here earlier. "
"They may have become the ones who alerted others."
After exchanging glances with Xue Ling Huan Bing and other teammates, the Qing Ling Adventure Group quickly withdrew from the Green Stone Village. They used the fastest speed to confirm whether there were any signs of fighting around the village, and then Then he walked closer to the west of the village along the remains of the footprints. As the distance approached, the outline of the Emerald Forest, once a smash hit and a sensation in the free world, also appeared in the vision of several people. However, in Duan Qing's impression, it was extremely tall, comparable to the size of a thousand-year-old tree. The huge emerald crystals have now lost their original splendor in their respective collapses: "...As expected, they have been mined."
"This huge gem that can transform into an entire forest must have its important uses. However, after the Mages Council intervened and controlled this place, many guilds' plans to develop this area were blocked."
Picking up a stone fragment from the edge of the ruins of the "forest", Xueling Huanbing frowned and replied solemnly: "Later, the revival of the Magic Empire broke out. They claimed to have inherited the magic technology of the thousand-year-old country. According to the statement, they must know what the function of these 'emeralds' is."
"Since so much has been dug up, it must have been used somewhere." Gedman, who also frowned, sighed deeply: "Calculate the time, this amount should be very considerable... Before How come no one mentioned this?"
"Of course someone has mentioned this, but because the principality and the empire have been wasting their saliva on Chris's affairs, this kind of report has never been able to be brought to the table, and not many people care about it." Xue Ling Huan Bing replied coldly. Said: "Before the establishment of the coalition, it was able to resist the attack of the Magic Empire and defend the line of defense on the edge of Xifeng County amid internal and external troubles. The principality has done its best. They really have no spare time to explore the secrets of the hinterland of the Magic Empire until—— "
"Now."
Taking the lead and starting to walk towards the depths of the Emerald Forest, Duan Qing, who had finished replenishing his magic power, also re-supported his detection magic: "If Romulus had been here, he would definitely notice this situation, and he would definitely I want to investigate clearly, there is a high possibility that he lost contact here."
"But there is still no one here, and there are no obvious clues." Asahi Dongsheng casually threw aside the emerald green fragments in his hands, and the expressions of those following the team gradually became boring: "No one is mining, no There are no people to guard, and there is not even a sentry left... Are they really planning to abandon this place? Along with Greenstone Village?"
"There are still a large number of troops stationed in Fenghua Town! Although the main force is players led by Wings of Freedom." Gedman on the side held up his shield and kept alert to the surrounding movements: "I don't think they have given up on this area. It’s empty now, so there must be some special situation.”
"Okay, okay, relax, don't be nervous." Feeling the tense nerves of the big shield warrior, Duan Qing comforted him with helplessness: "If they really prepared a big gift for the five of us, we will definitely There’s no way to hide from it, and since you can’t hide from it, you might as well—uh.”
His words stopped along with his footsteps, and the rest of the people who had been paying attention to the magician's detection reaction immediately raised their weapons. Duan Qing did not explain too much about this overreaction. He just shook his head and walked forward, stretching out his hand between the many remaining huge emerald stone pillars: "...I see."
"What happened? If anything happens, tell me immediately!"
"No wonder there's no one here."
The hand that stretched forward was blocked in mid-air, and it looked like it was extending into a raised lake, causing ripples to spread. Duan Qing, who was showing this strange scene, also stopped the Snow Spirit Magic Ice. He wanted to continue to move forward, and then he gave his intact palm to the other party: "It's okay, it's just a barrier."
"They made a barrier? An isolation barrier?" Got it
What the other party wanted to express, Asahi Dongsheng raised his sword and shouted: "Such a big place? They are really——"
"Shhh."
Duan Qing, who made a gesture of silence and suppressed Chao Ri Dongsheng's strange screams, directed everyone's eyes to one side. Then, along with everyone's concentration, Duan Qing faintly heard the sounds of fighting coming from the depths on the other side of the green forest. .
