Chapter 318: Be Loyal to Yourself (6K was a bit repetitive today, let me rest for another day)
Inistrad Stunxiang Province.
This place is different from Gavonne, the prosperous province where Serban City is located. It is a high-altitude mountainous area with a large number of rocks mixed in the soil, so it is not suitable for agricultural cultivation.
However, humans with extremely adaptable abilities have developed a unique animal husbandry here.
Herds of sheep, cattle and horses, driven by shepherds and shepherd dogs, graze around the pastures belonging to their own families, mainly relying on various dairy products, dried meat and other food.
Of course, if merchants pass by, they will also sell some livestock, leather, dairy products, wool and other commodities in exchange for salt, grain, iron products and other supplies.
In short, the people living in this land seem to be very comfortable, and there are very few monsters around that can threaten life, such as werewolves and undead creatures.
But if you think this is the most livable paradise in Innistrad's plane and space, you are totally wrong.
The reason why Shitonxiang Province is so "safe" is entirely because it is ruled by a more powerful evil force.
In the eyes of the latter, all humans living on this land are "livestock" raised by themselves and are the most important source of food.
For any enemy that threatens their "herd", they will immediately send out manpower to eliminate them mercilessly.
This powerful evil force is none other than the vampires of Innistrad.
By establishing one manor after another, these guys divided the entire Stonxiang Province into family or private territories, and they could dispose of the humans in their territories at will.
Right now, Zuo Si is in a manor like this, enduring a stormy attack from Sorin Markov, the King of Innistrad.
In the empty hall filled with shelves of various armors and weapons, the latter waved a silver sword, all of which were afterimages. A large number of practical skills honed over thousands of years were updated. Use them all without mercy.
With such fighting power, not to mention Zuo Si, who had never received any melee combat training, even a legendary warrior from Faerûn might not be able to withstand it.
The result was no surprise. After just a few seconds, the weapon in his hand was knocked off with a bang. He knelt on one knee and gasped for air. Sweat dripped down his forehead and cheeks. The ground fell to the ground.
"The seventeenth time! You have thrown away the weapon in your hand for the seventeenth time! How many times have I said, never let the weapon leave your hand at any time." Solin said with a tone of voice. With strong disdain and dissatisfaction.
Zuo Si rolled his eyes angrily and retorted: "I'm not a warrior, but a spell caster. I really don't understand why you have to drag me to do this kind of meaningless close combat training. ."
" Meaningless?
No! This is not meaningless!
Remember, planeswalkers are not ordinary spellcasters.
You must do your best to make up for every shortcoming in your body and ensure that you do not have any flaws that can be exploited by the enemy.
Now pick up your weapons and stand up!
Since you chose me to be your teacher, you must obey my instructions. ”
After saying that, Solin raised his foot and kicked back the sword that fell to the ground.
"Damn it! All I want to learn is the life magic part..." Zuo Si cursed in a low voice.
In desperation, he could only pick up the weapon and assume a defensive posture according to the sword-holding skills taught by the opponent before.
Just a few seconds later, this powerful vampire planeswalker once again used his overwhelming superb swordsmanship to beat Zuo Si back steadily, without any ability to fight back.
Since Solin is an ancient planeswalker, his physical fitness is even better than Zuo Si's. His strength attribute has reached at least forty points. Every time a weapon collides, a huge sonic boom and explosion will erupt. The impact, super high agility attribute makes it easy to make all kinds of incredible movements, and the reaction speed is fast enough to dodge bullets.
In addition, he couldn't use any magic power, let alone transform into a dragon form, so Zuo Si had almost no way to deal with this "teacher".
At this moment, he truly realized what the words "ancient planeswalker" meant.
Over the course of thousands or even tens of thousands of years, these old guys have already trained themselves to an almost perfect level in all aspects.
Take Sorin Markov for example. Not only is he good at vampire necromancy and blood magic, he can also use the power of sparks to create life, and even awaken the consciousness of a planet. Even his melee combat level is It has reached a level that is superior to legendary warriors.
Especially the gorgeous and deadly swordsmanship, which is the best among all the warriors Zuo Si has encountered so far, bar none.
When facing an opponent without any obvious flaws, even if it can gain a certain advantage in spell confrontation, it is not easy to defeat it.
And even if defeated, it is almost impossible to kill them all.
This also means that almost all the existing ancient planeswalkers, unless they become impatient and actively seek death, have no power that can easily threaten their lives.
Finally, after an hour-long unilateral devastation, Solin finally ended today's melee combat training, put away his weapon and solemnly warned: "If you are willing to use the skills you use to learn magic, With concentration and seriousness, you can dedicate a little bit to swordsmanship and fighting. I believe it won't take long to reach a first-class level. Don't underestimate this primitive and ancient skill, because magic may become corrupted due to certain external factors. Extremely unstable, but swordsmanship and fighting skills will never help you out of trouble."
"But if you really encounter magic. It has become extremely unstable due to external factors. I would rather find ways to change and adapt to the new magical environment than waste time on bullshit swordsmanship.”
Zuo Si casually threw the scarred training sword to the weapon, his tone full of disdain and disdain for melee combat.
In his view, spellcasters should find ways to use magic to solve all problems and troubles.
If you can't do it, it means your understanding of magic is not deep enough and you don't have enough knowledge.
Solin's theory is as ridiculous as the modern society's propaganda about how lethal martial arts, judo, Muay Thai and other unarmed combat are.
Are those so-called World Mixed Martial Arts Championship champions powerful enough?
As a result, when encountering gangsters, they are not always easily killed with a dagger.
Not to mention the even more powerful "American Iai" on top of this.
When the gunshot rings out, no matter what kind of martial arts you practice, you have to lie down obediently.
"Hmph! Sooner or later you will suffer a big loss because of this arrogance."
There is no doubt that Zuo Si's disdainful attitude towards swordsmanship and fighting made Sorin Markov feel I was very annoyed, but also helpless.
Because he witnessed with his own eyes how this young human planeswalker learned the essence of his own unique life magic in less than two days.
That kind of terrifying learning speed is something that this ancient planeswalker has never seen before in his thousands of years of life.
It is precisely because of this that Solin wants to try to tap Zuo Si's potential, and swordsmanship and fighting skills courses are one of them.
But unfortunately, Zuo Si was obviously full of resistance, contempt and disdain for this kind of training, and was not very cooperative from the beginning.
Especially in the attitude towards weapons, there is no trace of the warrior spirit of "the sword is with the man".
Once he finds that he is outmatched, he will immediately throw away the weapon decisively or throw it out to delay time.
Obviously, this is the way of thinking of a typical pure spell caster.
Because only spellcasters will regard the sword in their hands as a prop, rather than as their second life like a warrior.
Although Solin tried to correct it several times, he failed in the end as expected.
After all, anyone who can ignite a spark and become a planeswalker has an extremely strong "self-awareness". If he believes in something, he will never change his attitude easily.
After the fighting training, Zuo Si was led by a servant to the bathroom on the first floor. He took off his clothes and jumped directly into the hot water to soak in so that the muscles in his upper limbs that had been red and swollen due to the violent collision could quickly relax.
After a while, he began to feel soreness in his arm. He couldn't help but gnashed his teeth and cursed: "Damn Solin! It was too harsh! If it were an ordinary person, I’m afraid he’ll be beaten into a bloody mist in just two blows.”
“But it’s undeniable that he is indeed an excellent teacher, isn’t he?”
With clothes? The diaries stacked on the steps asked with a smile.
Zuo Si nodded slightly: "Yes, he is indeed a very good teacher. After these few days of study, I have a deeper understanding of the power of sparks, and at the same time I also figured out how to create life. The essence of magic. Except for the daily melee combat training, everything else is fine."
"What are you going to do next? Return to Zendikar first, or go to Tarkir with Sorin to participate in the resurrection of the spirit dragon Ugin? Or go to the earth to use the power of the soul well to create your own god?" The diary is full of information. asked with interest.
Zuo Si answered straightforwardly: "Of course it is the last one.
After all, from the moment I prevented the Eldrazi seal from being opened, I have already stood by the old dragon Nicolbo. The opposite of Lars.
So you have to prepare more trump cards.
Don’t forget, he and Wujin are the few who hatched from the eggs laid by the Taichu Dragon. The Elder Dragon
Experienced that terrible dragon melee that year.
What's more, in the future War of the Spark, he will also try to capture and sacrifice the sparks of other planeswalkers in order to make himself the most powerful life form in the entire multiverse.
No matter from which point of view, they are enemies that must be extra careful and vigilant about. "
"So you dragged Sorin Markov and Nahiri, the two ancient planeswalkers, into trouble and asked them to cause trouble for Nicol Bolas? "The diary instantly understood the owner's intention.
"That's right. The more planeswalkers there come to trouble Nicol Bolas, the less likely he is to notice my presence. Of course, even if he found out, I had more than one backup plan. After all, I am actually very interested in the spell he holds. To be precise, I am very, very interested. ”
When saying these words, Zuo Si did not hide his ambition to replace Lao Long in completing the War of Sparks.
Just when the diary was about to say something, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the bathroom door.
Nisha then opened the door and walked in from the outside. The elf planeswalker was not only fully dressed at the moment, but also carried his luggage, clearly looking like he was going on a long trip.
"Are you going back to Zendikar?" Zuo Si asked in surprise.
"Well. Since the Eldrazi seal is no longer a serious problem, there is no need for me to stay in Innistrad. The dark environment and air here make me feel very uncomfortable. And I also miss my hometown and those lives a little bit. Fellow elves in the forest." Nissa answered in the affirmative without thinking.
"In that case, I can only wish you a safe journey." Zuo Si sent his blessing with a smile.
Through communication with Solin, this novice who once knew nothing about the Eldrazi has now fully realized how terrifying the natural disasters from the dark void are, so he will not do that again. A reckless move to break the seal and release the Eldrazi.
Just the opposite!
She became a guardian sworn to guard the seal and ensure that the Eldrazi would never be released.
Of course, this is also the result of Solin's intention.
After all, this cunning vampire hopes that the local planeswalkers in Zendikar can take on the responsibility of maintaining and protecting the seal, so that he does not have to go to check the situation every once in a while.
It can only be said that Nisha is still too naive at this stage and is very easy to be taken advantage of by others.
However, Zuo Si did not expose Solin's little thoughts. After saying a simple goodbye, he watched the elf planeswalker activate the power of the spark and disappear.
As soon as Nissa left, the vampire walked in from outside the bathroom and asked in a slightly playful tone: "Is that interesting elf next to you home?"
"Yes, she went home. Now there are two planeswalkers in Zendikar who know the truth about the Eldrazi. I believe it will not be that easy for anyone else to break the seal."
Zuo Si As he spoke, he walked out of the hot pool, used magic to clean the water stains on his body, and then put his clothes and various magic equipment back on neatly one by one.
After all this was done, he probed without raising his head: "Are you also going to Tarkir?"
"Isn't this an obvious thing. Regardless. Whether we are facing the threat of the Eldrazi or fighting against Nicol Bolas, we must rely on Ugin's power, so resurrecting him has become a must."
Solin has no clue. He wanted to hide his intention, so he bluntly stated his plan.
"Do you need me to accompany you?" Zuo Si asked casually without sincerity.
Solin sneered and refused: "Forget it, I am enough for this kind of thing. You should continue to find more allies and prepare for the upcoming war. Oh, yes "Yes, this is the moon silver you want."
As the last word was blurted out, a piece of hard metal shining with silver light fell to the ground with a bang, smashing the tiles on the ground into small pieces. pit.
“Thank you.”
Zuo Si picked it up without ceremony and stuffed it into his shoulder bag.
This thing is a precious material that he plans to use to strengthen the holy sword again, and its value cannot be measured in money at all.
Solin shrugged indifferently: "You're welcome. If there is nothing else important, I will take the first step."
The next second...
< br>He activated the power of the spark and disappeared.
Seeing that the masters had already left, Zuo Si obviously had no need to stay, so he also prepared to activate the power of the spark to leave Innistrad.
But just when he was about to carry out an ultra-long-distance teleportation across time and space, he suddenly felt a force interfering with him. As a result, the teleportation instantly went awry, and he suddenly came to another strange world.
I saw a giant dragon with huge sharp horns on its head appearing out of thin air less than ten meters away.
This dragon is so huge and slender that just exposing half of its body already makes people feel a strong sense of oppression.
Between the two horns, an oval-shaped stone suddenly floated.
The Elder Dragon - Nicol Bolas!
Zuo Si recognized the other party's identity almost at a glance.
But he did not show even a little bit of panic. Instead, he put one hand on his chest and bowed in a very calm and elegant manner: "It's really great to be personally summoned by the great Dragon Lord. I'm flattered."
"You have good courage."
The corners of Nicol Bolas's mouth raised slightly with a teasing smile.
"Is it just courage?" Zuo Si raised his head and asked with the same smile.
After hearing these words, Nicol Bolas finally couldn't help but let out a deafening laugh: "Hahahaha! You are really interesting! Young human planeswalker!
Do you know?
You are the first person in the entire universe who dares to speak like this in front of me after ruining my plan.
As a reward for being brave, I decided to give you an explanation. Opportunity.
Remember, you only have three minutes. If you can’t convince me within three minutes, you will die here today.”
"Sabotage your plan? I think there seems to be some misunderstanding between us. Everything I do is to serve your ambitious and great goal." Zuo Si said sincerely.
“Huh?!”
This sentence instantly stunned Nicol Bolas.
Zuo Si took advantage of the opponent's confusion and quickly explained: "Great Dragon Lord, if I guess correctly, the ultimate goal of all your plans should be to collect more sparks of planeswalkers, right? ? And what I did was to make those planeswalkers with the most powerful sparks constantly come closer to you? "
"According to what you said, not only should I punish you, but I should not punish you. Should I reward you?”
Nicol Bolas suddenly laughed at the shamelessness of the young human in front of him.
Although he knew that what he just said was all nonsense and sophistry, the originally strong murderous intention finally calmed down.
Because in the eyes of this old dragon, Zuo Si, who is "greedy for life and afraid of death," is obviously not the kind of die-hard enemy, but a subordinate who can be used for his own purposes through coercion and inducement.
"Of course you should reward me.
For I will bring you the greatest number of planeswalkers, and the Sparks they possess, when the War of the Spark breaks out.
br>
Not to mention, wouldn't you think of uniting all your enemies and placing a spy among them to control their every move?
Is it actually much easier to control the situation than if they act individually? "
Zuo Si asked with a sinister smile on his face.
No doubt!
This sentence instantly made Nicol Bolas's heart flutter, and at the same time he began to Look at this young man who dares to boast in front of you with another look.
After a full minute, he said in a slightly playful tone: "I admit that the proposal you just made is indeed very tempting. But the question is, why should I believe you? What do you want from me? "
Zuo Si replied very humbly: "You don't need to believe me, just believe in yourself. After all, who in this universe dares to betray the great Dragon Lord Nicol Bolas? It won't take long for you to transform from Dragon Lord to Dragon God, and all I want is a little bit of knowledge and magical power."
"Knowledge and power? ! I see ambition in your eyes
That's good!
Since you have decided to be loyal to me, I will give you a small task as a test.
Within one year, help me find at least two people who have the potential to ignite the spark and become planeswalkers.
Here, here is a spell that can be used to identify whether there is a sleeping spark in the target's body. You can use it to identify it.
Remember, don’t let me down, because once I am let down, you will pay a very high price for it. "
After saying this, Nicol Bolas swung his right front claw and opened a rift in space, and then his huge body went directly in and disappeared without a trace.
Zuo Si stood there with a respectful attitude. It took several minutes to confirm that the other party had really left. Then he took a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiled and laughed at himself: "It's not easy. I finally got through it."
"Do you really want to walk a tightrope and become a double agent?" Diary asked worriedly.
"Why not? Do you think I am like one of those righteous people who work for love and peace? No! All I have been loyal to from beginning to end is my own ambition and my endless desire for knowledge and power. . And I also really want to see how powerful the planeswalkers can be before the power of the spark is weakened."
When saying these words, Zuo Si's eyes flashed with chilling. Dark light.
As far as he knew, Nicol Bolas launched the War of the Spark because he found a powerful magical spell called the "Elder's Curse".
Through this spell, as long as enough planeswalker sparks are sacrificed at one time, the user can gather the power of these sparks together to strengthen his own spark until it returns to its original state without any restrictions.
That is, like the first batch of planeswalkers who transcended gods, they could open up space at will and create life and civilization according to their own will.
(End of this chapter)