While this bright, cool morning should be pleasant and energizing, there's something heavy hanging over him on the forested hills that he can't quite put his finger on. At first, he didn't know if this was what he was feeling, but a mist hung over the sky, like before a storm, and the sky looked almost oppressive. It seems thicker now, apparently casting a brownish tint to the blue sky.
After walking for less than an hour, he passed several small farms on this side of the town and entered a forest. He found this odd; typically the areas between rural and urban areas were more populated, not less. He was also amazed by the multitude of old and gnarled trees; forests like this were often used for firewood, especially in places where the winters were cold. Perhaps the subtle thickness in the air makes farming here unreasonably difficult compared with areas further south.
The farther he walked down the flat dirt road, the steeper the hillside became, and evergreens slowly replaced the leafy ones. Every once in a while, he could look down into the valley through gaps in the vegetation. It seemed to him that there were thick evergreen tops everywhere, as if covered with the stubble of some giant. It was strange how uniform the trees were; sometimes it seemed to him that he could see the mountains miles away.
While serving in the army, he saw all kinds of scenery around the world. There is nothing in the desert but mountains of sand, surrounded by flat grasslands that stretch to the horizon. Glorious rugged, austere mountains guard calm and rolling pastures, winding toward the roaring ocean. He had seen the vast wheat fields of the River People, which stretched a day's journey in every direction from the river, and he had seen the cedar groves of the Pesar people, which produced some of the finest timber. But he had never seen such a neat forest anywhere.
It made him wish he had someone to talk to. For most of his life, he was never really more than a few steps away from his comrades, was he? Except when he came home to Della, he was with her. His thoughts returned again and again to his Thunder Kit and what he would explain to them if they were here. But he can't. They were not here and he would never see them again. He'd be better off forgetting them.
In the afternoon he walked a long way, without any sign of civilization except on the road, and he began to spot some huts and small huts near both sides. He wondered what kind of people lived here, but as far as he could tell, the little shelters were empty. He guessed they must be hunters or loggers. Of course, they don't appear to be permanent.
Towards evening he came to a gap in the woods, where he could see the formidable mountains many miles away. Hopefully the "big cities" are on their side as they look difficult to cross. He wondered if this marked the edge of human land, beyond which there were only endless mountains of death, rising higher and higher until they reached the top of the world. He had to ask. But it is certain that he has not gone far enough; the top of the world should be a few months further north. It should be exactly three thousand six hundred miles from Decaya's Pillar of Justice to the top of the world, and Ankerix certainly didn't go that far at all. It would be a full day's journey, all the way north, every day, for three months.
As the afternoon turned into the evening, he began to smell wood smoke, and he sincerely hoped it wasn't a forest fire. Shortly after smelling smoke, he heard sharp crackles and pops, but it was difficult to tell how far away they were. Maybe there were lumberjacks around, but he couldn't hear the rhythm of the ax or saw.
Curious and wary, he quickened his pace and checked to make sure his sword would be drawn smoothly when needed.
The road ahead turned a little, and a man suddenly appeared, running desperately in the direction of Anchorage. He wore thick woolen trousers and a torn, bloody woolen shirt trailing in the air behind him. A
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Before okles could put down his bag and draw out his sword, the man passed by him. The man just yelled: "Tatalo!" and kept running without even slowing down.
Androx wondered what was on the goddess Kelso's scarred butt, but it was probably something bad. He looked at the running man and thought about putting down what was in his pockets and following him, but he knew he wouldn't. Until he discovers what Tartalo is. What makes such a loud noise? Fortunately, Euphemios wasn't around to see it, otherwise A
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The okles will be endless. Euphemias always said that he was too reckless and would not live long.
As he approached the source of the sound, he heard a man crying in pain, followed by a scream, and then silence. The second time, he wanted to turn back, but his curiosity could not be suppressed. Go a little further...
He silently walked around a large bush and found a ruined camp. The bonfire burned low and smoky in the center, untouched, but everything else was ruined. Broken parts of the carriage were scattered everywhere, as if the carriage had been smashed to pieces like a can against a wall. Several tents were rickety and tattered, and a dozen more were overturned. There was a boulder a few steps from the fire, and some of the trees next to it had been knocked down, as if it had rolled into the center of the camp. That's so unfortunate.
Ankrex thought he could hear a low grunt coming from the other side of the boulder, and he knew it had to be Tartalo, whatever it was. He quietly walked around the edge of the camp and found an angle where he could see it. Before he could see clearly the surroundings of the boulder, the boulder stood up.
Andrew backed up into a tree, almost losing his balance with surprise; the boulder that stood there was taller than any creature he had ever seen, except Sewell, which was twice as tall as a man or more. Its bumpy, stone-colored skin made its features unclear, but it was shaped more or less like a human, with a head, arms and legs. It panted and turned to face the fire, allowing him to see that it had only one eye. Cyclops. ta
Talo is a type of Cyclops, and A
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okles is a dead man.
All he could do was huddle in the bushes and hope no one would notice. He couldn't help but watch it eat what was left of a man, tearing off the flesh bite by bite, like a child eating fruit.
Time passed very, very slowly, as the Cyclops finished off the first body, then gnawed thoughtfully on another, looking at the smoking embers, or into the woods. A
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okles doesn't know what it's thinking. He couldn't even tell if it was male or female; its skin was like a piece of mobile granite, loosely covering its muscular body, making it impossible to tell its gender.
In all the poet's descriptions of the Cyclops, he never mentions that they had no noses. When it closed its eyes and mouth, its face was almost as flat as an egg, making Androx wonder how it could smell him. Epic Promise If you blind one, it will find you by scent.
If this were true, it would not be long before a hand strong enough to break a tree would have grabbed hold of his torso and Androx's head would have been bitten off.
He wonders if his murderous intent is enough to drive it away. But unlikely, not someone twice his height. His murderous intent doesn't give him the extra speed and strength that he would have some people believe, and the last thing he wants to do is make Cyclops angry. Some of them are supposed to be civilized and respectable, serving as guards in the house of the sworn father of Arcos, but this one looks downright evil and savage.
Finally, thank God, the thing lay down with a thud, closed its eyes, and seemed to fall asleep. A
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Okles decided to wait until it had fallen deeper into sleep before taking action, lest it hear his voice. Night had just fallen, and the shadows of the forest were getting darker. If he could get a few hundred steps away before it woke up, it would never find him.
However, to his horror, a young man with short hair crawled out of the shadows, holding a large spear in his hand, and silently walked towards the Cyclops. He was wearing the same thick woolen clothing as the runners and was probably from the same company. Androx waved vigorously, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. The boy stared intently at the monster's head. He looked just old enough to be an idiot, maybe fourteen.
As the young man approached the monster, preparing to stab him with his spear, Androcles sighed and snapped a twig. The young man looked quickly in his direction, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. A
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Okles shook his head silently, then pointed at the young man and ran his thumb across his neck, trying to tell him that stabbing the Cyclops was a bad idea.
The young man just gave him a cold and stubborn look and ignored him. Androx tried to wave again, but the young man wasn't looking. He didn't dare to make any more noise, otherwise the thing would wake up, but he didn't know how else to attract the young man's attention.
Soon, however, he made his decision, and the young man jumped up and pointed the spearhead directly at the monster's closed eyes with all his strength. The tip pierced the skin, but not hard enough to pierce the skin. A
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Okles watched helplessly as the Cyclops woke up in a fit of rage, waved his arms, and stood up. When it saw the young man, it sprang towards him, and Androcles was sure that the young man was dead, but he somehow managed to avoid it.
The young man ran to the side of the boat and stabbed again, this time upward into the monster's sagging belly, for he could no longer reach its eye with his spear; of course, no good could come of it. The Cyclops raised his fist and struck the young man in the head, but he barely dodged it.
Now that the Cyclops was after him, the young man had no time to offend him. The monster focused on catching its target, sweeping away with its arms, and the young man barely escaped each time. Presently the boy tripped over a discarded plank, and the Cyclops caught him by the edge of his fingers as he swept again. The young man was thrown aside, close to where Androx was hiding. The young man looked directly at him with sharp, pleading eyes and shouted: "Are you just going to watch me die?" Androx noticed that the young man's eyes were black with white spots on them, like an inn Just like the boy in it.
But Androcles had no time to notice anything else, for once more the Cyclops smashed his fist where the young man was. Although he successfully rolled away again, the monster looked up, saw Androx, and decided whether to fight and die, or hide and live.
The Cyclops reached for him, trying to catch him before he stood up and ready, but he rolled back, stood up, and drew his sword, but it was no use. The young man stabbed the monster behind the knee to get its attention. A
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Okles took the opportunity to unlock the shield on his back. He could at least use it to resist the Cyclops' fist.
The monster swiped at the young man again, but the young man somehow dodged again. He's certainly fast on his feet. and luck.
A
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Okles watched the monster carefully, trying to decide how to harm it. However, its skin is no more fragile than that of other animals, and its eyes are too high to reach.
The Cyclops growled in frustration, sounding a bit like a giant horn. It tried to crush the young man with two fists at the same time, just a little apart. It hit him several times in succession, but he rolled away each time, clutching desperately for his spear. Then it took aim at Android and tried the same strategy. He avoided each of them, but then Cyclops tried a new approach, clapping his hands. A
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Okles couldn't escape in time, the monster grabbed his finger. He screamed as it began to squeeze him, trying desperately to free his arms so he could stab its hand, but it grabbed him with both hands and refused to let go.
But it cowered and howled louder than before. It holds A tightly with one hand
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okles, the other hand reached for something on its back, but couldn't grasp it. As the monster began to circle and reach out, Androcles was whipped so hard that his head was spinning. The young man galloped backwards on his ass with a proud look on his face. He seemed to have thrust hard enough to get the spear in.
After a while, the Cyclops stopped circling, stopped, looked at the young man, and roared loudly. Androx shouted, "Run! With the air left in his lungs." The young man looked at him again, then nodded. He stood up unsteadily, and ran into the forest.
The Cyclops howled after the young man, but did not pursue him. Instead, it started walking into the forest, in the direction of all the broken trees, while trying to reach the spear that had miraculously pierced its back. Anklex found it impossible to breathe in the thing's grasp, and soon his lungs began to hurt and he felt dizzy. so be it. At least I can't feel its teeth anymore, he thought. He saw swimming points of light before he felt his mind plunge into darkness.
