The Journey of the Demon Hunter

A card----

In the card, a portrait of Altria was drawn with oil pen, on which she was holding a holy sword, dressed in iron armor and a battle robe, and slightly lowered her head as if thinking about something. The background was countless knights wearing iron armor. It seems that as long as they give an order, they will charge for the Knight King.

Morale 10, melee, hero card.

Altria---You are a lion, now, run!

King Arthur looked at the card that belonged to her, and suddenly raised his head as if he was awakened, but there was no trace of Zelin in her field of vision.

The flash of light cuts the dark sky, Zhaoming breaks the dark night.

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"I don't long for wealth and fame, status and power" the witcher replied, "I want a horse that is as dark as night and fast as a wind; I want a sword as bright as moonlight; I want to ride at night My dark horse; I want to cut away the evil with the sword in my hand, this is what I want in my heart."

"I will give you a steed, darker than night, faster than the wind. I will give you a sword, sharper than light and dazzling than the moon. But these unworthy wishes will make You pay a high price."

"What's the price? I have nothing."

"Your blood."

—Florence Delanoy, "Legends and Stories"

Thanks to passerby boy a, the generous donation of pineapple-flavored orange juice, thank passerby boy a, old driver Rokosov, garcane, the monthly pass of pineapple-flavored orange juice

Chapter 42 Presumptuous! Throw it out!

There is no sign of human smoke in the Mahakam Mountains at night. The dwarves living in the mountains are not like the dwarves who live together with ordinary people. They live in houses made of wood and thatch. Most of them gather. In the Carbon Mountain region, the dwarf elder Broval Hogg, who represents the highest authority in the region, also lives there. After all, mountains are not like plains. Any place can become a nest of monsters. There are evil spirits at the foot of the mountain, and the harpy hovering on the mountainside may be seen. It is said that there are griffon beasts living on some higher peaks. This is not a safe place, living alone is tantamount to sending yourself to the monster.

It’s also not suitable for human habitation. Mahakam is not like Brockleron. Building a mine in the mountains and a logging farm next to the forest are completely two concepts. The latter only needs to hire a few workers to build a logging hut. Yes, but the former requires at least dozens or even hundreds of workers, as well as professional engineers, otherwise no one wants to work in a mine that may collapse in the next second. This abandoned human castle in the Mahakam Mountains may have been abandoned because it was too expensive to settle here.

Pulling the horse through the trembling portal, Zelin's boots had just stepped on the hard gravel, he almost vomited everything in his stomach, his face was pale as if he had drunk swallow potion, and finally He sat down next to a boulder in the castle courtyard, closing his eyes and panting. Not only him, but the horse he was holding the reins snorted violently, and his eyes widened in horror. Zelin was sure that as long as he let go of his hand, the horse would definitely escape in a hurry. It didn’t matter whether it was a good horse or not. , You can't expect a horse to be more patience than a demon hunter.

Taking a few deep breaths, the twitching stomach in his body stopped, Zelin began to look for the trace of Francesca. The gleaming portal in the courtyard shook violently, as if it was about to explode, but when the demon hunter was considering whether to move to the castle to take shelter, it seemed to be poked by a bubble in the tip of a needle. Then disappeared.

The screaming wind in the valley passed through the ruins, causing waves of knee-deep weeds in the castle courtyard, and the laurel and nettle bushes blew their whistles. The bright moonlight in the sky is sometimes obscured by the passing cloud shadows, occasionally leaving a patch of mottle on the exterior wall of the ruined castle. The outline of the three-story castle is dazzling in the alternation of light and shadow. The disappearance of the portal did not bring peace. Not far away, the wooden door of the castle creaked and was pushed open. A trace of candlelight leaked from the opened door, and Francesca’s shadow was drawn from the ground very long against the light. . The wizard mage half leaned against the door rail, because Zelin couldn't see the expression of the wizard because his back was facing the light source, except for her shiny eyes.

"How long are you going to spend on the cold ground, demon hunter." As if the voice of a lark sounded, Francesca changed his position and leaned against the door rail on the other side. "Come in, I thought It was the dwarf children who had ignored Elder Hogg's ban and ran in. Although it was still a pile of ruins, it was still a place for people to settle down. Come on, I can't help leaving this place full of the smell of decaying wood."

Zelin sighed. He stood up and pulled the mare carefully around a pile of bricks scattered on the ground. When he left, there were no such things on the ground. It seems that after Zelin rushed into the portal, the warlock and the hunter The demon hunters encountered other enemies, but Zelin found no traces of human blood around him, and there should be no one injured, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. The horse hooves clanged on the stone slab, and finally Zelin walked to the gate of the castle, tied the rein to a laurel tree, and the calming mare lowered her head and began to chew the weeds.

"Is that the portal you opened?" Zelin turned to face Francesca, the sorcerer turned and walked towards the inside of the castle, followed by the demon hunter. Zelin was surprised by the words of the warlock. She thought the movement of the portal was a dwarf who sneaked in, but if she was casting a spell, how could she not know what happened in the courtyard? The level of the warlock is simply a compliment."

"Presumptuous!" The wizard mage raised her chin proudly. She raised her slender fingers and pointed at Zelin. Suddenly, an inexplicable energy enveloped the demon hunter. So fast Zelin didn't even have time to draw a defensive seal." Demon hunter, don’t forget, you’re facing Francesca Fantabe, Enidan Gleanna, do you think I’m going to be inferior to a warlock apprentice who just walked out of the academy, now I’ll give you a chance to reorganize the language , Otherwise I will throw you into the stable behind the castle."

"Well, I can't help but put myself in the position of the victim. The standard elves are the most pure-blooded Ain Sidi." Zelin stared at the angle of Francesca's mouth slightly raised. , Unceremoniously ironically said, "But your behavior does not match your ancestors at all."

Legend has it that long before the celestial spheres converge, the first group of elves arrived on this continent on a white ship. After that, the elves settled down on this continent. They gently survived with the native goblins of this continent, and slowly became this continent. An ancient race on a continent. During this period, the elves dominated almost the entire continent and ruled the world, from the coast of the endless ocean in the west, the Blue Mountains in the east, the Dragon Mountains in the north, and the Mahakam Mountains in the south.

The ruins of elven cities scattered all over the world are evidence of this glorious scene in the past. Great human cities like Vizima and Osenfurt are all built on the ruins of the elves. They created a magnificent civilization with a rich culture, mature art and advanced science. There have also been one of the best masters, artists and poets in history. Many tools that people use every day are also their inventions.

But hundreds of years ago, humans crossed the ocean and came to this continent. Facing the human offensive, the elves had no choice but to retreat into the forest. They blindly retreated until they could not retreat. Their civilization is very great, but it's like the words often circulated among young elves-although we fight like wolves, we still can't beat the race that can reproduce like rabbits.

"My ancestors made a terrible mistake." Francesca's lips trembled and squeezed together. "I hope that by retreating, I hope that human greed can be satisfied, and then stop, but how could locusts be fed by food? It's full."

After all, the wizard snapped his fingers, and the magical energy that enveloped Zelin like a bubble instantly dissipated.

"Please, if you want to discuss with me about humans and ancient race wars, I don't mind chatting with you all night, but I think the professors at Orson Ford College must be a better communication partner than a wandering all day. A demon hunter who lives by receiving a commission and has no savings to speak of."

Zelin paced into the castle hall. There was no dust at the bottom of the castle, but on the stairs, the dust seemed to be cut open. The bottom was extremely clean, and the dust on the top almost blocked the color of the wood. It was obviously cleaned by magic. After "I guess, you didn't open the portal outside. Is there a second archmage here? Or did you bring your apprentice to the elf? Do you have an apprentice?"

"Don't keep staring at the apprentice question, I'm not you, Vatt'ghern. I can't explain the portal outside clearly in a word." Francesca grabbed a wooden chair that hadn't fallen apart and tapped it lightly. Use magic to strengthen it to withstand the weight of an elf. "That portal is dangerous. You don’t understand. It is indeed dangerous. Of course it is not the danger of leaving the other half of the user’s body inside. You have also seen it. , It has a tendency to explode. If it does explode, I am afraid I will have to run far."

"You warlocks..." Zelin searched the hall on the first floor of the castle, but couldn't find any seat that would allow him to sit down without turning into a pile of wooden boards. Faster than a rabbit. Get me a chair that can sit down. Do you think someone who can only stand can answer your questions... Don't look at me like that. Almost all your doubts are written on your face."

Thanks to Saberman, Si Xiu Xiaode, Koishi, Garcane, passerby assassins for their generosity, thanks to garcane, passerby assassins, deluyi6 monthly ticket Zizi.

Chapter 43—A Big Plan

"A different world... really an expected answer."

On the first floor of the castle, listening to Zelin's narration, Francesca nodded gently. Although the level of storytelling by the demon hunter is not as good as the third-rate bard, most of the time he talks about running accounts. It is plain and boring. The most curious children are probably not willing to listen, and Zelin just Picked out a few things that he thought was useful. After all, his memory was not good enough to accurately record what happened every day in the next month, so the female warlock often had to interrupt his narration and ask a few questions to make it clear. What story Zelin wanted to tell her, but the wizard mage still found what he wanted from a bunch of plain words.

"Compared with a world where the level of technology and magic is very backward, it surprised me more by your safe return." Francesca leaned back on the back of the seat, overlapping her hands. Unlike other human female warlocks, she can highlight different elegance in her gestures, and the oldest human nobles in the family can only look back in etiquette and temperament. In the entire hall, there is only one candle on the table to provide the light source, and it looks extremely dim. "This is a good reward from the Brotherhood. I haven't forgotten it. Isn't this what you demon hunters value? Take a look, the most Good coins are not bad coins with cut corners."

As he said, Zelin took the money bag that Francesca handed over and weighed it with one hand, then he frowned and untied the hemp rope tied to the money bag, and the shiny gold coins came into his eyes. . Francesca was indeed right. They were all fine coins, but they weren't the coins he expected.

"Why is Nilfgaard Frond? I thought it would be Novigrad Krona. Don’t think I don’t know. Nilfgaard recently issued a large number of gold coins. The gold content in a coin is getting lower and lower. It’s about to become less valuable than Oren coins." Zelin shook his head and put the money bag on the wooden table. "I can only buy a good sword... I thought the Warlock Brotherhood would continue to pay in Krona. Remuneration."

"Times are changing, Vatt'ghern, maybe in the end, from the Dragon Mountain to Serekania, all the land will only use one coin, just like the golden age." Francesca was noncommittal. "If you think that these coins are too few, are you interested in taking another commission, from the Brotherhood, of course, not everyone, mainly me and Wigofertz, but the rewards are also very generous." "

"If you want me to kill a few monsters and bring them the parts that can be used as alchemy materials, what reason do I have to refuse?" Zelin counted the coins in the purse while dealing with Francie. Skar wondered whether these coins would allow him to buy a demon hunter's steel sword made of meteorite. Some monsters cannot be dealt with with silver swords, but steel swords must be used, and they must also be made of meteoric iron---the iron left behind when the meteor falls on the ground. As for why it is necessary to use meteorite iron, Zelin was told about this when he was being tried, and he took the silver sword and hacked it up without seeing the monster. This is the experience summarized by the advanced demon hunters. , He can only comply.

"You should have guessed it. I didn't open the portal outside." Francesca smiled. "But you don't think that there will be two archmages who will be a demon hunter specially and leave the experiment. The curved tubes and stills in the room, running to the abandoned castle in the wilderness and listening to the mouse? It’s no trick to open an elliptical portal hovering in the air. How bad, he would not be a third-rate warlock, let alone this portal will poke a hole in our world. But as you can see, there is no second mage here, and the portal was not opened by me either. Of."

Zelin squinted his eyes, he had guessed the answer, but the answer was too unbelievable, so unbelievable that he didn't want to say it, so he just waited quietly, waiting for Francesca to continue to explain.

"Yes, the portal just appeared like that, no one casts a spell, and no one needs to guide it. At the full moon, just like that... with a click, there is another wormhole in our world." Francis "Then you came out of this hole pale, with a horse. The Brotherhood’s guess is correct. This portal is very unstable, just like seagulls on Sunnid Island. The portal in TorLara is the same, but it is enough to allow living creatures to enter our world through the portal. This conclusion is disturbing."

"It's really disturbing. Maybe a new race will discover the portal and enter our world through the portal, driving the humans who have just gained a foothold into the forests and valleys like humans treated the elves and dwarves. , Or be thrown directly back into the sea." Zelin shrugged, "But what does it have to do with your commission? This is something that the warlocks should care about, not a matter of the demon hunter."

Francesca didn’t care about hunting the demon hunter, but went on to say “TorLara’s portal is right on the island of Sinide. It is safely guarded by professional warlocks, and compared to Mahakam’s The portal should be a little more stable. The Brotherhood can close it, but Mahakam is different. We don’t even know when the portal will start to be active, what is its activity cycle, and its energy ripple. How large is the spread, and how far its opening range can eventually be expanded. We don’t know anything about it except for the full moon period when it is most likely to fall into an active period. Study further."

"I see." Zelin raised his hand to stop Francesca from bombarding his ears with the professional name. He followed the wizard's explanation. "But the warlock professors have precious time, so they need a watchdog. People wait here and notify them when the portal opens, don’t you? Sorry, I don’t think I’m a long-time worker who will be trapped in a barren mountain. Anyone can send a message. One or two dwarves, give them some gold coins, I think they would be happy to run into the castle at the full moon to see if the portal is open for you."

"Listen to me, Demon Hunter, don't interrupt me." Francesca negatively stretched out and pointed to the next button. "As I said just now, this portal will not only let us discover, but also Let the race on the other end notice that it’s not just us who will study it, see, I don’t think this world can withstand the second... locust invasion unless a race is willing to go into the sea collectively."

Zelin sighed and shook his hands. "Don't betray me, just tell me what you want me to do, and then let's talk about compensation. I don't like foreplay, I prefer to get straight to the subject."

"Very well, I like this too. You passed through this portal alive." The elf wizard female deer looked up and down the demon hunter. She stretched out her thumb and pointed to the outside. "The portal will be active next time." No one knows where the time will point. Just like a pendulum, the position of the world is constantly changing. Although it will eventually return to the original place, things will happen a long time later, maybe one year, maybe two years, Maybe it will be a hundred years. The Brotherhood hopes that the next time the portal opens, you can go to the other side of the portal to ensure that no race will find it."

"That's it?" Seeing Francesca nodded, Zelin hugged his chest and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and thinking. Obviously, this is not a simple commission like solving one or two monsters and hunting a few monsters, which he has to consider carefully. No one knows what the opposite world looks like. The risk of this commission is not small. Even in the face of high-level vampires, Zelin can at least know what kind of enemy he is going to deal with, but the other world, his Knowledge is useless "Let me think about it..."

"I will give you time to think about it, Demon Hunter, this is the reward that the Brotherhood can pay you." Francesca put a list on the table, showing a sure smile. "I don't expect you Can give me an answer now, as long as the decision is made before the next full moon, think about it, Zelin of Temoria."

After that, the sorcerer stood up and walked outside the castle gate. The corner of Zelin's eyes caught the light from the opening of the portal. After a few seconds, the castle completely returned to silence, except for the whistling sound of the cold wind blowing through the cracks in the wall from time to time, and the breath of the mare outside the door.

Thank you Pumpkin Knight for your generosity, and thank you for the monthly pass of the Shocking Tornado. Today is two more

Chapter 44-Temptation

The next day, when the sun shines through the mountains of Mahakam and shines on the ruined castle, it is already empty, except for the wax oil surface piled on the wooden table where people have been here. The traces of horses’ hoofs on the ground are looming, and the valley is full of gravel. Sometimes you can even go for hundreds of meters on the rocks without stepping on the soil. There will be no traces on the rocks. I want to track horses. Whereabouts is also difficult to proceed here. The terrain of the Mahakam Mountains is high and uneven. There are mountain streams and canyons everywhere. In many valleys lie some unlucky goods who have stumbled and fallen. In places far away from the sun, the roar of monsters can be heard from time to time, and there are very few king’s armies or hunters. The magic hunter enters here, not only the hometown of dwarves, but also a paradise for monsters.

The gravel trail leads to the northernmost point of the Mahakam Mountains and into the Pontal Valley. Zelin set out from the abandoned castle not far from Pontal. He speculated that the humans who built the castle entered the mountains from the north of Mahakam. They did not advance too deeply. The dangerous environment and bad road conditions kept them away from Maha. Not far from the frontier of Kan, he hastily established a foothold, but this is a good thing for Zelin. He doesn't want to wander among the mountains for many days when he leaves the mountains.

His destination was the floating port in the Pontar Valley. This famous river port town was built along the upper reaches of the Ponta River, surrounded by impenetrable bushes and forests. In contrast to Mahakam, it is on the ground. It is full of moist soil, and the air is not as dry as in the mountains. The only thing in common is that there are many dangerous monsters lurking in the forest. There is a seldom used and uninhabited path leading to Aden. Inexperienced travelers can easily get lost in it and become a dish for beasts and monsters. Of course, this does not include experienced demon hunters.

In the floating port, many trade routes from the north converge here, and the border between Tamoria and Aden is also nearby, and you can reach the boundary between Rydania and Tamoria in Veron by following the current. With the help of excellent water transportation and well-maintained rivers, many business travelers choose to sail and shuttle by water. Flat-bottomed barges, flat-bottomed transport, and even ocean-going ships have visited the pier here, carrying cargo between Aden, Kodwin, Temalia, and Redania or Sidaris along the coast.

Just like the northern proverb, whoever can control the Pontal Valley can control the entire north. No wonder it has become an extremely important economic stronghold of the Northern Kingdom. Importantly, someone who can master this will bring huge profits to traders. The floating port now belongs to Temoria, and their small-scale garrison has the responsibility of maintaining law and order and protecting it from river robbers or monsters in the forest.