Chapter 619 Bard and Black Magician
"Everyone, go and see. The mercenary group hired by Lord Dorne from the royal capital has arrived outside the city!"
"Are you finally going to deal with that evil dragon? Oh, great war god Monleod, bless your devout believers, and bless those mercenaries who can successfully rescue the princess with good intentions."
"I heard that the leader of the Dawn Mercenary Group is very powerful. He is a 'demon swordsman' with both physical and demon skills. He will definitely be able to get rid of that evil dragon."
"Oh, that's hard to say. These days, Lord Dorne's knights went to the dragon's lair and were burned to death by the dragon."
"."
The Principality of Dorne is a small country with a population of only a few hundred thousand. It is affiliated with the Kingdom of Ossian and is located on the northwest coastal border of the kingdom.
This is a magical continent blessed by gods.
There are seven powerful kingdoms, namely the Scarlet Kingdom of Kiran, the Frostwolf Kingdom of Fama, the Black Rose of Atria, the Insect Witch Tribe of Rockhammer, the War Country of Ossian, and the Gondor Medicine Master Alliance. There is also the magical city of Sedaris.
The Kingdom of Oshine is the most powerful of the seven kingdoms on the continent.
The seven kingdoms all have their own patron gods, and everyone believes in the same supreme god, which is the "Titan God Baal".
On this day, outside Blackstone City in the Principality of Dorne.
A well-equipped mercenary group was riding horses, rushing towards the city marked as a pile of black stones on the sheepskin map.
Black Rock City is built on the edge of the blue sea. It has plenty of sunshine and gentle sea breeze, and is also rich in the best grapes and fine wines in the Kingdom of Oshin.
On the official road paved with gravel, this group of mercenaries with torch flags walked and chatted.
"Big guy, Blackstone City is ahead."
"Hahaha, it is said that the girls and wine in Black Rock City are the best in the kingdom. I have already seen them waving towards us."
"Robert, don't be careless. This mission is not easy. It is said that the evil dragon Marodis is a mutant dragon. It is not a metal dragon or a five-color dragon. It is very powerful. Even the knights of Lord Dorne are No choice”
"Tch, the strength of our Dawn Regiment can't be compared to those hereditary knights who can't even hold a knight's spear? What's more, there is a captain."
"That's right. No matter how powerful the monster is, Captain Ji Xun will always solve it."
"I heard that Lord Dorne's little princess Sophia was captured by an evil dragon when she was traveling. We don't have to kill the evil dragon this time. Just rescue the princess."
"Hey, what do you guys think of the evil dragon catching the princess? If it wants to eat people, the princess won't be more delicious than others, right?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's because dragons like to collect valuable and beautiful treasures? Maybe those big lizards also know that princesses are the most valuable property in the human world."
"Hahaha"
"I heard that the dragon's lair is filled with gold coins and treasures, but I don't know if it's true."
"Who knows? I haven't seen a giant dragon yet. I hope it is real and I gave it a pot."
"."
There are only eight people in this mercenary group.
The captain is the magic swordsman Ji Xun, the heavy knight Robert, the magician Gwyneth, the priest and pharmacist Xina, the archer Sival, the assassin Rahn, the hunter Ifa and Lolotta.
Each one is a strong person who can stand alone.
Although the target of this mission was an evil dragon, there was not much concern in their voices.
Because they are one of the few individual mercenary groups in the entire kingdom that has received an S-level rating from the mercenary union.
Captain Ji Xun is a swordsman who looks very young.
But he is actually quite old.
He himself doesn't know how old he is.
The beginning of my memory was twenty years ago, when I was caught by a scavenger on the battlefield as a deserter and sent to a slave camp.
He lost his previous memory. He didn't know where he came from or whether he had a family. He only remembered that his name was "Ji Xun".
Later, he worked as a war slave in a slave camp for ten years. Because of his heroic performance, he earned enough money to redeem himself.
Later, he gathered a group of teammates and formed a mercenary group.
Another ten years passed before the now-famous "Dawn Mercenary Group" was established.
Although Ji Xun knew that he didn't look too old, he had to admit that at this age, his energy and blood had begun to fail.
It is a kind of aging that both the soul and the body have to admit.
When he was a slave in his early years, he trained too hard and exhausted his energy and blood, and he had long since accumulated hidden injuries.
Probably after this mission, I will consider retiring.
Ji Xun doesn't like riding horses, preferring to lie on the carriage pulling goods.
Because this way you can lie down and read a book leisurely.
At this moment, he was reading an ancient book.
Archer Sival was riding nearby and asked curiously: "Captain, what are you looking at?"
Ji Xun gestured to the book in his hand and said: "These are the ancient books found in the basement of the ghost castle of Fillmore last time when the evil spirit was eliminated. This is the travel notes of a bard named 'Farlow'. It's quite good. What’s interesting is that that guy traveled throughout the continent and even overseas three thousand years ago”
Before he could finish speaking, the assassin Rahn, who was not far away and was wearing a black corset, laughed and joked: "Oh, our leader with limbs stronger than a bull actually likes to read?"
"Hahahaha."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone laughed.
Ji Xun also smiled.
In this world, only nobles and churches have people who teach literacy, and the literacy rate of civilians is very low.
Ji Xun also learned mainland lingua franca in the past two years because of the new member of the team, the magician Gwyneth.
Originally he thought he only liked practicing fighting, but after accidentally coming into contact with some books recently, he found that he liked it more and more.
But in people's minds, reading is something those weak magicians like to do.
A swordsman likes to read, just like a farmer needles and embroiders, which gives people a great contrast.
His teammates started teasing him one after another.
Of course Ji Xun didn't care.
He continued to look at the travel book and said: "Don't underestimate these classics. I think that guy named 'Farlow' may be a very strong adventurer. Otherwise, he would have no chance to travel to so many places alive. .And that guy’s understanding of the world is very interesting. The book says that the world operates according to rules, but it is not completely regular, but has a trace of chaotic order.”
He said, wanting to share some of his experiences.
However, after hearing this, no one was interested in travel notes or anything like that.
Instead, archer Sival asked: "By the way, captain. You have been trapped in the rank of great knight for ten years. When will you be promoted to legendary knight? Your strength is no worse than those of the royal knights in the capital. Breaking through the legendary knight, I am afraid there will be few opponents in the entire kingdom.”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone nodded in approval.
They knew only too well how powerful their captain was.
It is no exaggeration to say that this one is more powerful than most legendary mercenaries in the mercenary union!
This is also the most important reason why they dare to take on this "dragon hunting mission".
When Ji Xun heard this, he sighed slightly: "Probably there is no chance. The priest of the Holy See said that my belief in the gods is not pious enough, so I cannot receive the extraordinary power blessed by the gods."
Although it is a bit regretful, it is nothing to regret.
Along the way, my life has been wonderful.
As soon as these words came out, Pastor Xina, who was a devout believer in the Seven Pillar Gods, asked curiously: "Ah? Captain, why don't you believe in the gods?"
"."
Ji Xun doesn't know either.
Perhaps it was because he lost his memory twenty years ago that he forgot his belief in gods?
All in all, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
He always felt that belief in the sword in his hand was more reliable than belief in any god.
Thinking of this, Ji Xun glanced at the "parchment" that he used as a bookmark.
This is a strange piece of paper about the size of a palm. It is something that I kept close to my chest when I woke up from a coma.
It is a strange piece of paper that cannot be burned or torn.
Obviously nothing was recorded, but it seemed to have a magical power. Ji Xun looked at it, as if his intuition told him that it recorded very important information before he lost his memory.
So for so many years, he kept it by his side, taking it out and caressing it from time to time.
The paper is still the same as it was twenty years ago, but it has aged.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone suddenly shouted from the front: "We have arrived at Black Rock City!"
Walking up the hillside, under the sun, it is a beautiful seaside city. The sea breeze blew across his face, and the blue sea came into his eyes. Ji Xun's deep pupils were filled with faint waves.
Seeing the endless sea, he suddenly remembered the sentence written in his travel diary: Where is the end of the sea? And what is there outside of this world?
It is a kind of advanced thinking about exploring the world.
Ji Xun had a very strange feeling in his heart. Many of the words of the bard named Farlow seemed to resonate inexplicably with his own inner thoughts.
During this thought, a thought suddenly occurred to him: "After this mission, it seems like a good idea to travel around the world as a bard for the rest of my life?"
Black Rock City is a very prosperous commercial city.
Cobbled roads are lined with steepled buildings made of rough stone.
The air is filled with the smoke of burning wood, mixed with the aroma of roasted wheat from the bakery, and the original smell of the leather workshop.
The most intense thing is the fragrance overflowing from the wine shop.
Ji Xun and his group of armored men looked very eye-catching when they entered the city, and were immediately watched by the residents of the city.
There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!
"Ah, why are there only so many people in this mercenary group?"
"Oh, you didn't know that. Did you see the seven stars on their emblem? That's a masonry medal that only S-class mercenaries have. There aren't many such a powerful mercenary group in the entire kingdom. ”
"Wow, is it really that powerful?"
"."
Both adults and children are very interested in mercenaries like Ji Xun.
No matter how small the Principality of Dorne is, the lord is still a top noble.
It has been more than a month since Princess Sophia was kidnapped by the evil dragon. Of course, the lord is extremely anxious.
Ji Xun and others originally planned to rest in the city for a day and taste the special wine.
But as soon as they entered the city, the lord's butler took them to the mercenary union and obtained detailed information about the mission.
An hour later, everyone appeared outside the city again.
The evil dragon's lair is a hundred miles to the northwest in a deep mountain forest where monsters are active.
They need to solve it as soon as possible.
The generous remuneration also stopped everyone from complaining.
Anyway, there is no problem in leaving early to solve the problem.
"Ah, the mission is worse than expected. It is said that there are no less than ten waves of people who want to rescue Princess Sophia, but they have never returned. There is also an A-level veteran mercenary accompanying them."
"Yes. The strength of that evil dragon is probably higher than expected."
"It doesn't have to be a forceful attack. The mission is just to rescue Princess Sophia. When the time comes, the leader and us will hold off the evil dragon, Larn, you can secretly go to the dragon's lair to see if you can rescue the princess. Also, if there are treasures in the dragon's lair, come out of them together."
"That's right."
"."
Although they knew that this dragon hunting mission was dangerous, everyone in the Dawn Group did not back down.
They have dealt with many dangerous missions before.
Strength is their greatest source of confidence.
The magician Gwyneth is the intelligence analyst in the team because she is familiar with the languages of the seven countries and is proficient in various secret codes.
While everyone was walking and chatting, she was carefully examining the information she had obtained from the mercenary union.
But as he looked at it, the magician lady actually showed a strong interest in several rotten and unclear stone slabs.
Suddenly, she seemed to interpret the contents on the slate and exclaimed: "Oh, captain, look! I found something in the clues of the mercenary union!"
This startled breath attracted everyone.
Ji Xun looked over.
But the heavy knight Robert glanced at it and said, "Isn't it just a few decayed stone carvings?"
Gwyneth couldn't hide the surprise on her face and corrected: "Oh my God, this is not an ordinary stone carving! This is a secret text of black magic that has been lost. If I decipher it correctly, it was written three thousand years ago. The magic notes left by the number one black magician, Nan Shenyu!”
At this point, everyone in the Dawn Group began to pay attention.
You know, on the mainland, the status of magicians is extremely high!
They are not only polymaths, but also the most powerful supernatural profession.
And almost every official magician has a more powerful old magician and a complete inheritance system.
And Gwyneth comes from the magical city of Sedaris and inherits the orthodox lineage of the great mage "Red Mage Younes" three hundred years ago.
It was by chance two years ago that Ji Xun rescued this traveling young magician. Only then did their "Dawn Mercenary Group" have such a teammate that other mercenary groups were envious of.
She was so amazed.
That said, those stone slabs are really amazing.
Robert, the heavy knight, looked confused when he heard this and touched his head: "Dark magic? Number one in the plane? Gwen, what are you talking about?"
Gwyneth realized belatedly, looked left and right, and then said: "Shh, this is a taboo, and we are not allowed to talk about it."
Ji Xun also became very interested when he heard this.
Except for knowledgeable magicians, no one really knows this secret.
And he also felt that there was a coincidence somewhere, oh, three thousand years ago?
The travelogue I was reading recently was also written by a bard named Farlow three thousand years ago.
Gwyneth looked at her teammates with great interest, and explained in a low voice: "It is said that there was a powerful magician three thousand years ago, named Nan Shenyu. The reason why she is said to be the number one magician in the plane is because in a period of time, she was In the hidden historical truth, the Holy See and the Seven Kingdoms all joined forces to encircle and suppress her, but then In the battle, eight great magisters and four legendary knights died. In the end, the black magic Nan Shenyu just disappeared, and it was said that he disappeared into the eastern sea, and that shocking battle was also fought by the Seven Kingdoms. The Magic Guild regarded it as a shame and erased it from the history books"
As she spoke, she added weakly: "I also found out about this when I accidentally found an old diary in my teacher's library when I was a child."
As these words came out, everyone in the Dawn Group became more and more excited as they listened.
Ji Xun was also extremely surprised, as if a new world had opened up: Are there really such powerful humans in this world?
Pastor Xina also asked: "Ah, since you are a magician, why is it taboo?"
This is what everyone is curious about.
Magicians have a very high status and are respected even by nobles. How come it is considered a taboo?
Gwyneth hesitated to speak, as if that secret conflicted with what she believed in.
But looking at everyone's scorching gazes, she hesitated for a moment and said what she knew: "Because...it is said that the great mage Nan Shenyu created some powerful black magic that can be released without belief in gods."< br>
Upon hearing this, everyone understood.
Extraordinary divine gift, this is the common understanding of everyone.
Only by devoutly believing in the Seven Pillar Gods and the great Titan God can you gain powerful power.
After hearing this, everyone in the Dawn Group even suspected that this was just a "story".
How could someone not believe in gods and still have such great power?
However, Ji Xun had a strong intuition in his heart that this story was true!
He just said that although his faith was not firm, he also had great achievements in the magic sword. Theoretically, it is possible to be even more powerful.
Magicians fear gods.
Likewise, they also fear the truth.
Gwyneth looked at the expressions of her teammates who suddenly became bored, and guessed that they did not believe in the taboo figure she had admired so much when she was a child, and then said: "The reason why Nan Shenyu's lineage is regarded as taboo, it is said that , it is because she is so powerful that she can almost rival the gods. The black magic system she created has been circulated to this day. Most of the black magicians who appear from time to time come from that lineage."
And the facts are right in front of us.
If the words on this stone tablet are correct, they are the words of the black magic system.
In other words, there may be people nearby
Gwyneth looked at Ji Xun and expressed her conclusion: "Captain, these are the 'clues' that the previous mercenaries risked their lives to bring back from near the black dragon's lair. So if I guessed correctly, that dragon There are ancient ruins related to the black magician near the lair"
When Ji Xun heard this, he also showed deep thought.
Although his expression was as calm as ever, he was actually very interested in the erasure of history three thousand years ago.
Can human beings really rely on their own strength to rival the gods?
Also,
Could it be that the evil dragon that suddenly appeared in the Principality of Dorne was heading for those black magic ruins?
(End of chapter)