Chapter 65 Soul Stealer
As night falls, the Efen River rushes from west to east. The wide river divides the virgin forest of Wilnoa into two parts, the north and the south. The south is the "Great Yalf Forest" with evergreen birds and flowers all the year round, while the north is full of monsters. , "Hangtou Forest" shrouded in mist all year round.
The reason why the forest belts on both sides of the river present a different atmosphere has little to do with the natural climate. In fact, long before the "Hanging Forest" was occupied by the Conquering Order, the local area was also a vibrant paradise. The residents living in the dense forest Neither the Beast nor the South Shore are much different.
The outbreak of "black blight" changed all that. I don’t know when it started, the jungle on the north shore became like a piece of moldy bread, and withered areas like “mildew spots” appeared one after another in the lush dense forest. At first, these withered areas were very rare, and the area covered by each place was no more than a radius A hundred feet is not worth mentioning compared to the vast primeval forest, and the elves and goblins living in the forest don't care too much. However, with the passage of time, there are more and more withered zones, and the irregular spots are gradually connected into a curve, like a shocking scar, zigzagging and extending from north to south, reaching the bank of the Ivene River.
This significant change has aroused the vigilance of residents on the south bank of the Efen River. A large dense forest grows by the river shrouded in night, a slender figure stands in the treetops, less than two feet high from head to toe, with a small compound bow slung across his shoulders, wearing a green cloak embroidered with leaves, head Wearing a pointed hat that is also made of leaves, it perches on the top of a leafy tree, and even the most keen-eyed falcons can hardly find its whereabouts.
This tiny creature is a pixie, a type of goblin that lives in the jungle. Compared with its aquatic close relative "Nicky", the most obvious feature of Pixie is that it has a pair of dragonfly-like wings, which can fly freely in the forest. In addition, although the "pixies" also share the naughty and mischievous commonality of the goblins, they have a strong sense of justice that does not match their stature. Whenever the forest where the goblins live is threatened by evil forces, the brave and kind Pixies will always fight At the forefront of resisting invaders, shoot arrows infused with hypnotic magic with that toy-like bow, making those enemies who are far taller and more savage than them fall into a coma after being hit by arrows.
This little pixie is a volunteer sentinel on duty by the river. The little face that was always full of laughter looked extraordinarily serious at the moment, and his gaze was cast across the night to the other side of the Ivene River. Just a week earlier, it had accompanied a group of Asa cavalrymen from the village of Powhatan in canoes across the River Ivon and into the jungle on the north bank to scout out the enemy. This is not the first time the pixie has flown across the river, but this trip has left it with the most memorable impression.
The north bank of the Yifen River has been reduced to the sphere of influence of cultists, and the disaster caused by the "black blight" has intensified. The mountain people who have lived on the north bank for generations have to cross the swift river by boat, fleeing their hometowns and migrating to the south bank before the disaster is approaching. rebuild home.
During this reconnaissance crossing, the Pickle also encounters a byproduct of the "Black Blight," a group of viciously animated plants known collectively as the Blights.
"Black blight" will only bring destruction to green plants, but "wither monster" will not spare animals or even human beings, madly killing all creatures that appear in their sight. The warriors of the Algonquin tribe were attacked twice by the dead branch monsters. Although they finally repelled the monsters, they also suffered heavy casualties. For the sake of safety, the leader of the scouting team, Magny Powhatan, had to lead his troops back to the south bank of the Iffin River. It is here that the pixie parted ways with its Asa friends, and also received a task from Magny Powhatan: to closely monitor the movement on the other side of the river bank, and if the black blight or blight monsters were found to cross the river, If there are signs of spreading on the south bank, immediately fly to Powhatan Village and report to Magny.
The little Pixie has been fulfilling his mission these days, watching vigilantly for the movement across the river. What makes it feel a little relieved is that the 100-yard-wide Eve River is like a natural city wall that cuts off disasters, blocking the black blight and blight monsters on the opposite bank. Unless those abominable monsters can fly, it is impossible to cross this fast-flowing water. big river.
Blight monsters can't fly, of course, but their wooden bodies can float on the water, and they can theoretically swim across the river. Fortunately, these monsters are so stupid that they don't know swimming skills at all. The result of forcing them across the river is that they float on the water and collide with each other, and finally they are all swept downstream by the torrent. Pique gloated and guessed that the group of idiots had probably drifted to the mouth of the Ivene River at this moment, and they were all crushed into sawdust by the large ships that frequented the bay.
Just as Pixie was dreaming, a black shadow suddenly passed over the river bank. The goblin sentinel was taken aback, raised his bow vigilantly, and looked up to search for the black shadow. Dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and the dark night sky was silent, and there were no suspicious signs.
"Probably an owl..." Pique shrunk his body, so as not to be taken as prey by the raptors hunting at night.
At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew from behind. There was also a disgusting smell of blood in the wind, and Pixie immediately had a premonition that the situation was not good, so he hurriedly turned around and raised his bow and arrow. But it was too late, and a sharp claw slid through the branch, strangling it tightly by the throat.
call out! The small arrow broke away from the bowstring, drew a bloody arc in the night sky, and then fell into the depths of the dense forest.
"Bah! Stupid little thing, dare to resist!"
"Soul Stealer" Chanikui cursed and touched his left ear that was torn by the arrow, then licked the blood off his fingers, smacked his lips greedily, and leaped with Pique whose neck had been broken by it. down the tree.
Roughly three feet tall from head to toe, this vicious goblin of 1 mythic rank looks like a cross between a pixie and a vampire bat, with dark red skin, small eyes, a hooked nose, and a sheet covered in The large mouth with needle-like teeth makes it look sinister and cruel. The claws are long and sharp, enabling it to climb and leap on trees at will like an ape. When it jumped down from the big tree, it opened a pair of wide wing membranes under its armpit, which resembled the wings of a bat. With the help of the updraft, it glides slowly and finally landed smoothly.
The Soul Stealer dragged the corpse of its prey, humming in a hoarse voice, and shuttled through the forest, leaving a trail of blood-stained footprints behind it. Like an excited hunting dog, it sometimes stops to sniff around, suddenly burrows into a tree hole, skillfully collects a large pile of poisonous mushrooms with black spots, sometimes climbs up a big tree, and peeks at it with malicious eyes. Looking at the hornet's nest hanging on the branch.
"Hee hee~ Look how lucky I am, I can come here for whatever I want." The Soul Stealer grinned ferociously, stretched out his hand to try to pick the beehive, hesitated for a while, then withdrew his hand, and murmured to himself:
"No, that's not okay. These buzzing little cuties won't let down their vigilance even at night. It's not a good feeling to be stung by them all over the head."
Mythological powers endow soulstealers with wisdom beyond ordinary goblins, or "cunning" is more appropriate. It didn't want to take the risk of offending the bee swarm to steal the honey, so it retreated under the cover of the branches and leaves, chanting spells in the Sylvan language, and its long and narrow eyes shone with arcane light.
The Soul Stealer completed the spell-casting ceremony and stretched out his finger to the opposite hive. The invisible magic power surged like a tide, deeply implanting a strong sense of fear into the hearts of all creatures in the thirty-foot cone-shaped space in front of him.
The frightened wasps fled the hive in a mess, buzzing and screaming. And when the soul-stealing spirit pushed aside the branches and swaggered towards the beehive, the wasps immediately realized that this evil goblin was the source of terror, so there was no need to care about protecting the hive, and they rushed to fly away from the soul-stealing spirit. Many wasps were terrified by the "fear technique", curled up in their nests and shivered.
Satisfied with the effect of the spell, the Soul Stealer tore off the honeycomb, lifted it up high and dumped it downwards, and the paralyzed wasps sprinkled down along with the honey. The Soul Stealer opened his mouth wide and continued, filling his mouth with honey and hornets, and started chewing.
After eating up all the wasps in the hive, the Soul Stealer patted his slightly protruding belly, jumped off the big tree with the hive in his hand, touched the short animal skin skirt tied around his waist, first took out a gall-shaped copper bottle, and then He pulled out a rope, and several small, pale skulls were strung on the rope. Based on the size of these skulls, it was not difficult to guess that they were all elf skulls.
The Soul Stealer pulled out the stopper of the bile-shaped bottle, and a puff of orange smoke escaped, and a pungent smell similar to saltpeter permeated the forest. The Soul Stealer took a sip of the magic potion in the bottle, then opened his mouth and spewed out a flame, which set the bushes on the opposite side ablaze.
The soul-stealing essence stuffed the copper bottle containing the "fire-breathing potion", put it back in his pocket, and then pulled out his saber—compared to a human figure, it can only be regarded as a paper knife—severely cut To the pixie's body, cut off the poor goblin's head, and throw it into the fire to roast.
The horrific ritual has just begun. The soul-stealing spirit moved the hive to the corpse, used it as a container to fill it with blood, then tore up the poisonous mushrooms and threw them into the bloody hive, and finally used a fire stick to pull out the charred heads and threw them into the hive. Slowly simmer over a pile of firewood.
The mixed slurry in the hive is gradually boiling, exuding a disgusting fishy-sweet smell. The soul-stealing spirit sniffed contentedly, and saw that the stew was almost ready, so he knocked over the boiling mixture with a wooden stick, picked out a skull with only a white skeleton left, put it on a rope, and sat around contentedly. at the waist. The skulls of these fey victims are more than mere decorations of atrocities, but are intricately stewed and infused with evil magic, making them some of the most powerful weapons in the hands of the soulstealers.
After doing all this, the soul-stealing spirit returned to the banks of the Ivene River, waiting for the coming master.
There will be plenty of time in the next few days. If possible, I will try to post as many chapters as possible with 3,000 words, so that the plot will advance faster and everyone will enjoy watching it. Most importantly, don't forget to vote for favorites.