Chapter 126 Dragon Vein Warlock
Under the leadership of Balerius, they came to the depths of the tavern, followed a steep and winding wooden ladder, and entered a dark and noisy underground arena.
The air is filled with the sweet aroma of blue smoke, but it cannot cover up the stench of sweat, sour wine and blood.
The underground space of the Broken Skull Tavern is more than three times larger than the one above. There are also various closed single rooms and secret rooms for conversation on the surrounding walls.
When the three Brians entered the hall, some vicious-looking adventurers stared at them with bored, hostile or curious eyes, while the rest gathered at the edge of the large pit in the center to watch the duel.
Moon Elf Zhuo Yan just followed behind him as if no one else was around and attracted a lot of attention, but no one dared to come forward and talk to him.
Brian turned his gaze to the large pit where people were watching. He saw a jackal with a ferocious face like a hyena and dirty dark red mane being escorted and thrown into the pit.
As the crowd cheered and screamed, the gnoll's opponent, a tall human slave holding a spear, was unchained.
The two immediately fought together.
The spear thrust of the human slave relied on the advantage of the length of the weapon to restrain the gnoll first. However, when the gnoll's fangs and claws penetrated the circle of the spear, only one-sided battle was left. massacre.
The duel ended faster than expected. The jackal cut out the human heart, raised it bloody above his head, took a fierce bite, and devoured it.
Suddenly, blood and madness intertwined with the splattered blood and the crazy cheers of the punters, echoing in the dark and noisy arena.
"Most people have a desire for blood. This is not surprising. The arena can satisfy them, making Mokou Town more stable and stable." Balerius glanced at the arena. Field, said in a deep voice:
“For those criminals who have been convicted and destined to die, the duel trial in the arena can also give them the last chance to prove their innocence and start a new life. But now the arena has long become It became a tool for slave owners and merchants to squeeze their profits.”
Brian nodded slightly to express his agreement with his words.
Because Mokou Town is the most prosperous town and settlement on the edge of the desert, it is a resting place for countless adventurers and various business groups.
So, the arena has been a part of this town since its founding.
In essence, competition is similar to a noble ritual. It is not a simple killing and deadly art, but a display of courage, skill and strength.
But now, it's more like a cruel underground arena.
Just as they were about to walk towards the secret room around the arena, the words of a slave trader wearing a sea blue silk robe and holding a short leather whip caught everyone's attention.
"Everyone!" The fat slave trader stood in the center of the pit and shouted:
"The Skull Crushing Arena has arranged a good show tonight, a big bear versus three little boys, one The boy is covered in honey, the other is covered in blood, and the other is covered in rotten fish. Now you can bet on which one the bear will eat first."
The wild and exciting scream is like a ghost crying and a wolf howling. Typically, wave after wave of madness responds to a brown bear locked in an iron cage.
Brian heard the sound of Balerius's joints clenching his fists next to him. The old sword master's face was calm, but his movements showed the anger in his heart.
"Let's go, don't delay the business." He glanced at the brown bear in the iron cage, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and motioned to Balerius to lead the way.
When the three of them were about to leave, there was a sudden clang of the iron cage being opened automatically in the pit.
Then, the hungry brown bear roared and instantly knocked down the unsuspecting slave trader.
The powerful and heavy bear paw hit the slave owner firmly on the forehead, like a watermelon smashed by a stone, and the red and white blood flowed all over the floor.
The brown bear's pupils are bloodshot, and its muscles are flowing back and forth like waves. It roars and runs wildly in the pit, chasing all living creatures in sight.
“This boss is too dedicated!”
"It seems that honey and fish are not more attractive than the boss."
"Now, with three children, no one will lose if they pressure me. The boss has made a lot of money!"
>Stimulated by the blood and killing, cheers of joy erupted from the onlookers, and the entire arena suddenly became more excited.
The guards standing by were like ants on a hot pot, screaming and running away from the brown bear's pursuit.
Brian frowned, and before the three children were put into the pit, he used magic to quietly unlock the chains of the iron cage.
But the power that this brown bear unleashed was obviously blessed with the "Rage Technique". Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to chase the guards around.
Just when he felt puzzled, he suddenly noticed the evil smile on the corner of Moon Elf Zhuo Xun's lips.
Her gray-white eyes flickered, and a protective barrier appeared around the brown bear in the pit, blocking the guards' slashing and stabbing attacks in time.
Seeing this month's elf girl throwing magic so skillfully and quickly without attracting anyone's attention, Brian's doubts were instantly confirmed.
He finally judged that the other party was not the real moon elf shadow dancer Zhuo Yun at all.
Thinking of this, he could roughly confirm her true identity.
After a short episode.
Led by Balerius, they arrived at the secret room of the leader of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group.
Brian stepped into this dimly carpeted room first, followed closely by the moon elf. Balerius closed the door after entering, blocking the doorway with an indifferent expression.
He saw that the owner of the room was a man who seemed to never age.
He has pale skin, a lazy expression, and long blond hair. His hands are resting on his thighs, and his face is thin and stiff.
This is characteristic of elves, at least in part.
The corners of his eyes are raised more than those of humans, but their eyes are hidden in the shadow cast by a forehead as broad as humans, emitting a faint golden light.
Dragon Warlock Salo, the leader of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group, Brian recognized his identity at a glance.
Then, his eyes moved to another person.
This is a male human ranger, with a long black bow hanging behind his back and two scimitars hanging from his waist. He is as thin as a sharp knife, but he always seems to have a warm smile on his face.
Ranger Puranda, the deputy leader of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group.
In the brief silence, the sound of cracking bones and groans from someone who had been knocked down by a brown bear came from outside the door.
"The two of you who agreed, how come you got one more person here?" The human ranger broke the silence, his eyes fell on the graceful figure of the moon elf Zhuo Yu and he could no longer look away.
“Can’t you see? She is not a human being.” Brian glanced at the girl beside him and emphasized with a smile, “She is just a girl.”
Zhuo Yan was startled by Brian's abrupt words. She suppressed the urge to kick him on the butt. Under the gaze of the two mercenaries, she met the ranger's unscrupulous gaze and said playfully, "Why, If you don’t believe it, do you want me to take off my clothes and show you?”
“Really?” Ranger Puranda’s eyes lit up and he was about to continue, but he was blocked. The group leader next to him interrupted.
"That's not necessary, but anyway, you took advantage of the loophole, which left a very bad first impression on me." Salo, the mercenary leader, looked up at Brian and said deeply. Take a breath and say in a calm tone:
"Of course, three against two is not a big advantage for me, but it is always good. In this world, especially for those of us who are desperate. A mercenary must seize every bit of grace given by the gods. This is a lesson I learned the hard way. Sit down, Mr. Bryan, and explain your purpose. I promise, I won't do it until I hear you finish. Let's do it."
"In that case, we won't be polite about these formalities." Brian sat on the chair, looked at the mercenary leader, and said bluntly: "I think you should know. When people meet for the first time, they will involuntarily evaluate each other's identity and worth, and then choose whether to kneel for the other person or let the other person kneel for him. ”
"You really dare to say such things, I really admire your courage." Salo, the mercenary leader, chuckled, picked up the wine glass, and took a sip of wine, "Don't you know? Wild boars are domesticated into domestic pigs. Taming bison into domestic cattle is only effective for hunters. It is not beneficial to wild boars and bison, but is harmful, because the purpose of this domestication is only to eliminate their resistance and make it easier for hunters to kill."
"I think so. , your metaphor is not appropriate at all." Brian retorted with a smile:
"I admit that you are mercenaries, and you are the strongest mercenary group that has appeared in Mokou Town so far, but. In my opinion, you may look scary, but you can only guard homes and homes. You have speed, strength, ferocity, and martial arts, but bloody adventures are of no use to protecting the territory. Your employer only needs to use commissions to announce the appearance of the enemy. , after winning the battle, you can bandage the wound and use magic to relieve the pain. At this time, the danger has passed, and you can still eat, drink, and gamble until the next battle begins.
But for the knights of the kingdom, the battle never ends. There will be an end, and the threat is everywhere and at all times, no matter the day or night, there is no commission to declare the enemy, because they protect friends, brothers, children, and even wives. For an hour of fighting for territory, the knights of the kingdom will spend ten thousand hours. Come and watch and wait. If there is a better choice, who would want to live a life of desperation?"
Mercenaries are also called mercenaries. Professional mercenaries are different from those who essentially appear to explore the unknown. adventurers, they are a group of guys who get paid to do things.
Unlike the occasional druids, priests, or paladins among them, most adventurers have high moral character and respect balance and justice.
Moreover, most of the mercenary members are composed of deserters on the battlefield, wanted criminals, and thieves, and they even have no bottom line in what they do.
This is Brian's impression of the common situation among mercenaries in the material world.
However, there are also a few mercenary groups with strong principles.
Their goals are almost the same, first to make their reputation known, and finally to find ways to join the institutional forces worthy of their recognition.
The female lord of Arabe City started her career with the help of mercenaries.
Brian naturally also knew the importance of these mercenaries when he was establishing his territory.
At the same time, he also understood what these desperate mercenaries really needed.
After hearing what he said, the mercenary captain did not answer directly. Instead, he took advantage of his drinking time and quickly exchanged glances with the ranger on the side. Then he put down his glass and said with a smile: < br>
“What this friend said makes sense. If you have the choice, who wouldn’t want to own a big tree where you can enjoy the shade. This is why we traveled thousands of miles to come to Mokou Town.
But you have to know that no matter where one war ends and another war begins, there are always some people attacking other people in some places. Maybe while we are drinking here, the head of a certain lord has fallen into In the hands of another lord, free people and slave owners will not be lonely looking at the neck of the Chamber of Commerce President, sharpening their knives. Even the High King of the Eno Oak Desert may stand on the floating city, waiting for the sky to be filled with yellow sand. Sweeping in, taking the opportunity to take action, so in my opinion, you don't seem to be able to give us the sense of security we deserve. ”
“A sense of security? Brian asked, pretending not to know, "What do you mean?"
"Due to professionalism, I am not in a position to disclose it." "The mercenary leader replied, "But you should be able to guess it. ”
“That’s it. "Brian nodded in realization, then snorted with mock disdain and said to him in a slightly mocking tone:
"If you think that a huge kingdom is not even as good as the force you serve. If so, just pretend I didn’t say anything. I don’t want to waste time here talking nonsense to you. "After saying that, he inadvertently showed them his Purple Dragon Seal Ring and a magical light that floated over.
This is exactly the case. Compared to the evil force Zhentarim, most people are more willing to believe in the Kingdom of Cormyr and join their system.
Brian once again secretly thanked the girl who gave him the ring. Without this purple dragon seal ring, which symbolized power and status, it would have been impossible for him to reach this point so smoothly.
The mercenary leader Salo saw the dazzling purple light flash past. There was a hint of shock in his calm eyes, and he immediately realized that the true identity of the mysterious man in front of him turned out to be from Cormyr. kingdom.
He and his companions secretly looked at each other, and suddenly began to hesitate in their hearts.
"I know that you are a dragon warlock who has been baptized by the blood of the ancient red dragon." Before the other party could speak, Brian said first:
"But I see that your eye sockets are sunken, your steps are sloppy, and your lips are dry. , your hands are trembling, and you are still unable to speak. It is obvious that the sequelae of your blood disorder have reached an advanced stage. If you cannot deal with it in time, let alone advance to the legendary realm, you may not even be able to save your life. "
Dragon Vein Warlock belongs to you. An advanced profession.
There are two main ways to get employed in this powerful profession.
The first is to awaken the dragon bloodline by yourself. While retaining the warlock's spellcasting ability, you can continuously gain attribute bonuses from the dragon bloodline.
This advancement method has extremely high requirements, and most of them are produced by various types of dragonborn, such as half-dragons or bloodline-awakened kobolds.
The second way is to slay the dragon.
After slaying the dragon, you can pass a special advancement ritual: dragon blood baptism to transfer the dragon's abilities to yourself.
After this ceremony, you can inherit the dragon's power and magical abilities, and gradually discover the secrets of the dragon's bloodline.
But this method has a very obvious flaw. Dragon blood baptism means that your blood is mixed with the blood of a real dragon.
While you inherit the various powerful abilities of the true dragon bloodline, your pure bloodline has also been contaminated by dragon blood, which will affect the consciousness of the dragon blood baptizer.
In fact, if you look into it seriously, the curse of lycanthropy is still a bit similar to a weakened version of dragon blood baptism.
The biggest difference between the two is that dragon blood baptism is not contagious.
So, Dragon Vein Warlocks are usually advanced from barbarians or warriors.
Because when these professionals are fighting, they usually only need to be reckless, and then they fall on the road to charge.
If a spellcaster accepts the baptism of dragon blood, they will be affected by the dragon's bloodline, and it will be difficult for them to maintain a clear mind to study magic.
Dragon Warlock Salo's situation is even worse.
The dragon blood he received came from the blood of the ancient red dragon. From beginning to end, the powerful true dragon bloodline quietly affected his will as he continued to use the power of his dragon veins, gradually He steered in the direction of an evil red dragon.
This influence will gradually increase as his strength increases, until he loses his true reason.
So, many Dragon Vein Warlocks ended up dying on this path of being unable to control their own power.
Their proportion of deaths is more than ten times higher than that of the lycanthropes who died under the curse of lycanthropy.
However, those who successfully withstand it will become very powerful and belong to the level of cheating.
If there are no sequelae, a dragon blood baptism can cultivate a powerful dragon vein warlock.
Then, the dragons in this world have probably been killed to extinction by some powerful beings, or they have been raised directly to serve as a renewable blood bank to continuously produce dragon vein warlocks.
This is a question of risk and return.
"You can just say that he has indulged too much and his body is weak. Why do you have to beat around the bush like that?" Moon Elf Shuxu winked at the mercenary captain and said jokingly: "You can see from this that he is overly motivated but weak. . ”
Saluo, who had been very calm from beginning to end, suddenly felt a hint of embarrassment on his slightly pale face.
Obviously, Brian’s guess was not wrong, and what Zhuo Yu said was also correct.
With the influence of the true dragon bloodline, he gradually inherited the powerful desire of the dragon family, but he did not obtain the physique equivalent to desire.
If this continues, the consequences of not venting your desires can be imagined.
"I have a method worth trying here to suppress your sequelae and give you more time to attack the legendary field."
The reason why legend is called legend is not because its name is Legend, but it is called a legend because it is powerful enough.
No matter what profession, when they reach the legendary realm, they will obtain an effect similar to the sublimation of body and soul at the same time.
Such sequelae will naturally be solved.
Brian stated his purpose and reminded: "Otherwise, you can only use the power of the dragon vein about three times at most, and you will completely lose your will."
To protect themselves from the effects of blood disorder, for their players, it is nothing more than a low personal will attribute, causing the will save to fail every time they use the power of the dragon vein.
So, the way to solve blood disorder is to improve a person's will attribute.
Ever since he obtained the Desert Wind Sect martial arts inherited from the Nine Swords Temple, he had a bold idea in his mind.
Professions inherited from the Eastern Empire, including monks and sword masters, all have a set of Qi training methods unique to this profession.
Because except for spell casters, most of their abilities are driven by the energy of 'qi', which can also be said to be the internal force or true qi in martial arts novels.
The same is true for the sword skills of the Nine Swords School. Just like a complete set of sword skills, it is the same reason that it requires the assistance of internal strength and mental skills.
So, he wanted to use the swordsmanship of the Desert Wind Sect, which is mainly based on the fire element ability, to suppress the sequelae caused by the red dragon bloodline, which is also a fire attribute.
With the two complementing each other, it may really be possible to produce unexpected effects.
If this method is really feasible, he will be able to train a group of Dragon Vein Warlocks who practice the swordsmanship of the Desert Wind School.
This was something he started to consider after he obtained the swordsmanship from the Mofeng Sect.
Now, seeing the leader of the Dragon Vein Warlock in front of him, he is simply an experimental subject that meets his standards very well.
After all, the opponent's strength is already at the peak of the fourth level paragon. If the dose of medicine is too large, it will not be easily destroyed.
Of course, he would never say these words to him.
“Do you really have a way?” Being hit on the key point, the mercenary leader Salo could not keep himself calm and calm, and could not care about the embarrassment. He looked at Brian in front of him, as if he had caught the last moment. He took a life-saving straw and asked quickly.
“I don’t guarantee that this method will be successful.” Brian nodded slightly and said to him, “But it can be worth trying.”
This does not mean that you only need to practice the swordsmanship of the Mofeng School.
In the process of practicing this swordsmanship, they must also take fire-attribute magic potions that can keep themselves calm and peaceful.
Brian has asked the Myconid King of the Lightless Woodland and the gray dwarf alchemist of the Whirlpool Tunnel to help him research and prepare this potion using the characteristics of underground fungi.
"Do you just believe that I will agree?"
Realizing the sudden lapse, the mercenary captain took a deep breath, calmed down his mood, and said calmly, "I must not I don’t admire your courage. You said it so clearly, even at the risk of exposing your identity. Are you not afraid that I will immediately go back on my word, arrest you, and force you to submit?”
"If you dare to take action, I will kill you on the spot and poke your belly open to see what kind of heart is inside!"
Balerius, who was behind Brian, took a step forward and took off his robe. The cloak on his body revealed a slightly desolate face. He looked at the mercenary leader with sharp eyes and said coldly: "Saluo, you have disappointed me so much. Have you even forgotten your own bottom line?"
Hearing such a familiar and trance-like voice, the mercenary leader Salo looked startled and subconsciously looked up.
He saw an old man with long, gray-white hair standing in front of Brian. There were deep crow's feet around his sharp eyes. However, the years did not bend his straight back, nor did it wear him down. Awe-inspiring momentum.
“Brother Balerius! It’s really you!”
Salo immediately recognized his identity and shouted with a slightly trembling voice.
He looked at him in disbelief. He did not expect that his trip to Mokou Town would lead to such great gains and surprises.
Seeing this, Brian smiled slightly, pulled the sleeve of the moon elf Zhuo Yun, and walked out.
This is what he relies on, and the real reason why he spends so much time trying to conquer Balerius.
The reason why he didn't let him reveal his identity immediately was just to test the other person's character and see if it was worth cultivating.
(End of this chapter)