It was a long time ago, when the conquerors of Bijalan fought over the mountains, seas, and deserts to capture a vast swath of territory. However, there were not enough supporters in the newly conquered territory. Local officials and garrisons gradually huddled in several separated fortresses, worrying about the deadly enemies outside every day.
What to do? No matter how powerful Beyelan's army is, it is impossible to conjure farmers, lumberjacks, miners, and construction workers from the magic bottle!
At this time, a group of Beyelan scholars appeared. They are graduates of archeology, history and occult studies from higher colleges. They are protected by a large number of armed mercenaries. With the help of local guides, they go to heaven and earth, explore gloomy ancient tombs and lost temples, and collect demonic artifacts. Skulls and artifacts from ancient shipwrecks. They spent all day and night deciphering the words and patterns on stone tablets and vessels, but they did not really expect to find large sums of gold and silver from their exploration.
Soon, archaeologists unfolded a picture of local society and folk culture for the authorities.
They thoroughly and fully grasped the social habits of the conquered areas, and then by correctly applying these norms and relying on the powerful legion to provide credit endorsement and a little material support, the explorers began to make friends with the locals and get deeply involved in local political practices and Social practice that engages local residents to serve Beyeland's interests when necessary.
Galadia shook her slender fingers and said: "Adventures are not just for fun. Hometown Watts has been guiding us to adapt to the dangers from the beginning. The above Miss de Lamore is an example. In fact, she is not It’s not a honeymoon trip without going crazy on ancient tribal totems. The story got a little skewed along the way.”
"Oh, what's the truth?" Griffith asked curiously.
The elf leaned on his shoulder and narrated with great interest:
"That's where the Palpatians and trolls live. The two races are hostile to each other and both are fierce and warlike. Byeran is competing with the orcs for control of the southern continent, so they started a tug-of-war on their territory. War. The humans in Palpatia support Byeran, and the trolls naturally side with the orcs.
"The Countess studied the local historical context through exploration and found the remains of an ancient civilization. By interpreting the ancient texts, she proved to the locals and the troll clan that a long time ago, they had a common ancestor. As long as they completed the ancient and dangerous After completing the trial, the trialist can become the common queen of the two races and bring peace to both sides."
"Is this okay?" Griffith asked in surprise, "There should be an irresolvable blood feud among the locals. How can they be united together?"
Miss Elf nodded in agreement:
"Of course it's not that simple. However, two local tribes being involved in a regular war between big countries is no small matter. They should be almost exhausted, right? The national strength of Beyelan and the orcs can certainly continue to fight. , the uncivilized locals can't stand it.
"So, the countess's discovery gave both sides an opportunity for a truce. As long as someone can stand up and pass the trial, both sides can declare openly internally that it's not that our warriors are not brave enough, but that the noble ancestors are watching. Us~"
"Oh——! So..."
"So Countess Elena de La Mole stood up and decided to complete the trial!"
"Hey, why is she qualified?"
"Of course it's because she found such ancient records in the ruins, which allowed the leader of the Parpatians to grant her the qualification to participate in the trial. For example, she is the reincarnation of the great queen for many generations!"
"I understand," Griffith chuckled, "I can probably imagine the scene at that time. For the superiors of the tribe, this is indeed an excuse to appease and suppress the militant faction."
"Really? Do you know the power of archeology?" Galadia patted his thigh, "Then, the current Earl who served as a guard was sent up, in the arena surrounded by poisonous snakes and flames. Duel with troll warriors. The countess and the troll tribe's testers are isolated on a high totem, and the losing party will be burned to death.
"This is Nazak, the upgrading sacrifice of the ancient world! The winner dominates, and the loser surrenders."
"It sounds quite romantic. At that time, in Scitoral, Knight William finally won the victory, saved his countess, and lived together happily ever after. It is really a good story, and it can be used to write a book. ," Griffith looked forward to it, "Why do you know so well?"
"Because Tidwig came to support him and joined the duel. She told me."
"I didn't expect that someone could join in the duel," Griffith thought for a while and felt that the dueling system of the southern race was quite unique.
"It is said that the situation was very critical at that time. The earl was almost beaten to death, and Tidwige was also suppressed. Fortunately, Roland arrived in time."
Griffith couldn't help but praise: "Three against three, it's interesting. It turns out they all know each other! Having said that, the troll warriors can actually fight against legends like them, they must be extraordinary heroes. If I were It would be nice to be there too.”
"Isn't that right? Trolls are also very powerful. The Earl, who was still the Knight William at the time, and his friends regrouped with the help of Count Sharon, Fiona's father..."
"Why are there more and more people?"
"The brutal battle lasted from day to sunset. Finally, Cornelia, later the Countess of Chalon, joined the battle with light cavalry. They rushed down the hillside in the dawn light and attacked the side of the troll spear array. A decisive attack was launched from the rear..."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Griffith felt that his intelligence was insulted, "What kind of duel is this?"
This is not something that the top students at Homemon Watts would agree with. Galadia pinched the ears of this bad student and said seriously: "You are so stubborn as a blockhead. People have their own system here. If you don't agree, you don't respect the local customs and culture. You will not be a good archaeologist in the future." of!"
"Yes, yes, you are right," Griffith reviewed again and again, "Then what?"
"Then, Miss Elena de Lamore finally became the winner of the Ascension Festival!"
"Oh——!" Griffith exclaimed, "I almost forgot that this is the countess' trial."
The elf lady smiled and punched him: "With her efforts, the locals and the trolls finally put down their war, killed the orc envoys, withdrew from the war, and stopped supplying soldiers and materials to the orcs."
"This ending is very reasonable, it is really the masterpiece of the intelligence officer!" Griffith said with some yearning. Suddenly, he thought of a question, "Wait a minute, in this case, wouldn't the countess also be in charge of that land? Queen? How big is that place? Does Sonia have the right to inherit too?"
Galadia shook her head, "According to ancient traditions and records, the queen must be sacrificed to the gods."
"This, this ancient record is really convenient~"
"Well, then the countess and her friends fought their way out of the local tribe and fled back to Beyeland. The war was over, and the countess and her knights lived happily together ever after!"
…
After a few hours of rest, everyone recovered a little strength. Sonia came to her senses and apologized profusely for causing trouble to everyone.
Being in the dark space of the underground ruins makes it difficult to distinguish between day and night, and everyone is more or less anxious and uneasy.
The good news is that Besarius and the terrifying monster did not catch up; the bad news is that there is not much food left. Griffith collected all the dry food and found that only a few biscuits, chocolate and a few raisins were left. These things were distributed to the three girls, and in a blink of an eye there was nothing left. Everyone would be hungry if they couldn't find food for the next meal.
Action must be taken immediately.
Although everyone does not have a complete map here and cannot see the entire terrain clearly, mystical scholars do not rely entirely on their eyes.
Galadia and Sonia performed divination one after another. The contents of the divination were "a safe way out of the ruins" and "a safe source of food" respectively. The divination results were exactly the same, pointing to a towering pyramid-shaped building in the distance. There must be important clues there.
Under the light of the starry sky, the strange city is like a mysterious place in a dream. It seems that every fork and corner leads to an unknown and forbidden world.
"Griffith, look at these fossils." Sonia suddenly stopped and picked up some puzzling small stones from the ground. "This phalange is obviously from an amphibian and reptile. Bellomont Swamp is in The ancient times were even more vast and inhabited by huge monitor lizards and dragons, and the age can be determined from this toe bone."
Griffith pretended that he understood.
Fiona began to criticize her: "Sonia, if you can't control your curiosity anymore, I, I will knock you out!"
By the way, I am currently using the Zhuishu app to cache reading and read aloud offline!
"But look here, these exquisite geometric structures, and, well, these are pottery fragments, which should be left by the builders of the ruins. They are almost integrated with the rock wall. The civilization of the indigenous people here The level is certainly not low.”
Sonia's eyes sparkled and she began to say incomprehensible words again.
"We can't stay here too long," Griffith interrupted gently. In the dark underbelly of this crazy swamp, anyone should beware of their imagination.
"Ah, yes," Sonia hurriedly put the fossils into her small bag, "I was just wondering, where did the builders of this magnificent city go? There is no record of them in history. It's like civilization has never existed since. It’s like it didn’t exist.”
…
Following the route indicated by divination, everyone came to the entrance of a tunnel. This is the bottom of the tall pyramid, and smooth stone steps lead to the deep underground. There are exquisite carvings on the walls on both sides of the entrance. Many places have been mottled and peeled off, but they are still generally intact, allowing people to see that they are humanoid creatures fighting.
It was here that everyone was shocked to discover the "safe food" divined by Sonia.
The mutilated human corpses dressed by several expedition members were scattered on the ground not far away. Their heads were removed, and the bones, fat, and tissue were separated from the bodies like steaks. The intestines disappeared, and the edible parts of the flesh and blood tissue were cut and separated, leaving behind useless hair and bones.
Something did the job in the most cold-blooded and inhuman way, like a housewife shopping for dinner in the market, taking away the fattest cuts of meat and offal.
There were also a small amount of salt and pepper left on the ground - they should have been found from the expedition team's supplies - which made everyone have extremely terrifying associations.
Judging from the bloodstains and dragging marks on the ground, something had tried to move the body into the hole, but gave up halfway for some reason.
Near the pile of meat, a notebook was left. There is not much content in the note, and it was obviously written not long ago. The author is none other than Professor Bell.
"The stone slabs were left in the cave, and after a long period of time they are still generally intact. There are a large number of relatively complete murals and texts here, which allow us to decipher part of the truth about the ancient stone slabs.
"We have a wealth of valuable historical information about the Bellomont survivors."
Griffith and Sonia looked at each other and continued reading.
“Long before the First Era, a powerful clan had settled in the swamp. Judging from fossils and remains, the forests and swamps provided them with abundant food, and the aborigines were physically strong and intellectually developed.
"The ancient gods came to their primitive clan and taught them to build tall temples with huge rocks and pray to the stars. We call them the Bellomon clan.
"The Bellomon clan soon entered a golden age. Their glorious cities and pyramids spread above and below ground, and they opened new colonies into the mountains.
“But as the Bellomont Clan colony spread underground, an unspeakable monster began to attack them, preying on them for food.
“They prayed devoutly to the ancient gods and sacrificed the most beautiful girls and the strongest warriors. The ancient gods graciously accepted the prayers and granted blessings.
"The blessed warriors became incredibly powerful. They fought back, driving the terrible monsters back into the dark underground. The clan rejoiced in victory, unaware of the destruction that was coming.
“One by one, the warriors fell into madness and transformed into twisted monsters, even more terrifying and cunning than the monsters in the underground.
"The Belomon clan was retreating steadily. They gave up their territory on the ground and retreated to the altar of the ancient god, preparing to put up a desperate resistance there."
“My research team and I found puzzling clues about this lost ancient civilization, as well as the remains of ominous underground monsters that were not identical to previously found fossils of ancient creatures that changed me. The original plan. I will seek the assistance of Lord Besarius, the leader of the Purifiers. He may be able to help us get closer to the truth."
[There are several missing pages in a row, and there are signs of tearing at the missing pages]
“We were lost, without food, hungry and exhausted.
“For several days we were unable to find a way out or contact the Purifiers.
"My researchers are getting fewer and fewer. They disappear silently into the darkness, and only their incomplete clothes can be found.
"The monster is very vigilant and moves quickly, ambushing us in the dark. Its appearance is indescribable, and we did not see its full picture. Every time it appears, it is accompanied by a clear ticking sound, and the firelight reflects sharp and ferocious sounds on the stone wall. Claws and horns. Every time it appears it grabs someone, leaving behind a sticky liquid."
"We decided to retreat to this pyramid and light a bonfire. According to the interpretation of the ancient stone tablets, this is the refuge of the Bellomon clan, and there is a road leading to the ground. May the God of Contract and Truth protect me."
[Random graffiti and blank spaces]
"However, there are not many plants here, and the flammable materials at hand are limited. Once the fire goes out, the monster will appear from the darkness again."
"We couldn't escape. There were terrible sounds from the tunnel in the distance, and those terrifying shadows were approaching in the darkness. I saw the reflection of their claws on the wall, their mouthparts open like petals, like Dragon-like silhouette.”
