Chapter 129 Actions in Ghost City
Eno Oak Desert, Sultansa City.
"Welcome to my mage tower, the elves from Cormanthor."
Hajhorna, Hand of the High King, stood in the center of the room, his long hair filtering through The moonlight streaming in from the tower windows shone with black luster.
He smiled, but it was a cruel smile, hiding an ulterior secret, "When I invite you over, you should feel honored because I will be on your body Experiment with my latest research results.”
"I'm not afraid of your evil witchcraft. It has no effect on me." The elf with a stern face asked: "Tell me, where are the three elf sages you invited?"
Ha Jahonar's calculating eyes moved toward the elf's sword.
He behaved very calmly and showed no fear at all, but he still found that the muscles on the elf's face were trembling slightly with a little fear.
"So that's it." Haji Horner nodded with a smile, and gave the order in a slightly cold tone, "Ritz! Bring my new baby."
Dog Head The man hurriedly ran out of a dark alcove, holding a small gold box with exquisite craftsmanship in his hand.
Hajhorna snatched the box from its bony paws, "You are always slow, Ryze."
He scolded and pointed at the kobold casually with one finger. A burst of red light suddenly burst out from the tip and hit Ryze's chest, slamming it against the wall.
The kobold screamed in pain and huddled on the cold floor, his eyes full of pain.
Hajhorna ignored the suffering of his servant. He opened the box and took out a gemstone, which was crystal clear and sparkling.
"All men are mortal," he hissed, "but I have discovered the way to immortality."
"You will die tonight, Elf." He clenched the gem in his hand and said coldly, "And I will continue to move forward on this path."
The Elf looked startled and suddenly charged forward with force. , straighten the sword and stab.
Hajhorna calmly took two steps back. When the elf was about to stab him in the chest with his sword, he threw the gem in the air, stretched out a hand, and pointed at the elf's body. , and at the same time, strange and unclear words came out of his mouth, like endless ripples in stagnant water.
The attacking elf suddenly felt as if he was being held tightly by an invisible hand, and even breathing became very difficult.
His handsome face was distorted by pain, the blood seemed to freeze in his veins, and his vision began to blur.
After a while, his whole body was shaking from the cold, his knees became weak, and he fell to his knees, as if all the warmth in his body had been sucked out.
In a trance, the elf saw a spark containing vigorous vitality appearing on the shining gem in the air, flowing from his body to Hajhorna.
Hajhorna laughed, his face flushed and his expression bright.
This is the "Iolum Immortality Technique" that he has improved. He is sucking the life of the elves, and he obviously wants to drain it until it is drained for his own use.
The Cormanthor elf who was lured to the mage tower by him tried to shout, but the sound that came out was not even a moan.
He struggled to move, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.
"Hajhorna!"
Suddenly, a hoarse voice screamed: "Fuck you! This will be the last time you hit me, or hurt anyone else."
Hajhorna raised his eyebrows and turned to look at the kobold.
But the magical energy is still flowing to him continuously, the elf's spirit is slack, and his strong and tall body is drying up at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The kobold took out a black serrated knife that shone with dazzling magic light from its dirty rags, and roared: "I think back then I was as strong and handsome as the elves, and I had a majestic appearance. I was as powerful as the elves in the Cormanthor Forest." area, attracting countless beautiful elf girls."
Ruici spat, her voice full of resentment, "Later, you turned me into this fucking freak for a long time. I have been suffering pain and humiliation as your slave."
The hatred that has been suppressed for many years seems to be burning in the two spindle-shaped eyeballs of the kobold, "But now, I can't bear it anymore! "
After finishing speaking, the kobold raised his dagger and took a threatening step towards the hand of the High King.
"Stop!" Hajhorna, who was maintaining the spell, raised a hand and shouted.
Ryze jerked to a stop, snorted disdainfully, and tried to thrust the dagger with the dazzling aura into Hajhorna, but its arm trembled non-stop and froze in mid-air.
"Riz, you are so hopelessly stupid." Hajhorna laughed cruelly, "Have you forgotten the magic that binds you to be loyal to me? Then please allow me Let me remind you."
He made a slashing motion with his hand, and Ryze grunted in pain.
The kobold was like some kind of strange puppet, imitating Hajhorna's movements and inserting the dagger directly into his chest.
The kobold screamed in pain again, and then lay motionless in a pool of black, smelly blood.
Hajhorna stared at his servant, content to enjoy its pain.
At the same time, the magic of absorbing elves is coming to an end.
As Hadjhorna withdrew his hand, the elf's shriveled body also turned into a pile of dust and disappeared without a trace.
After enjoying the pleasure of increasing lifespan, the Supreme King carefully placed the gem that fell into his palm into a small gold box.
His satisfied expression gradually became solemn as he closed the box.
For extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive magic research, the life of the human species is too short, although spellcasters can continue their existence through many means such as transformation into a lich, magic soul pot, cloning, etc.
But Hajhorna believes that most of these spells and methods require the caster to pay a huge price or face unpredictable consequences.
During the Netheril Empire, the immortality technique developed by the famous great arcanist Iolum changed everything.
Iolum Immortality.
A spell known as the cornerstone of Netherese civilization.
This powerful spell allows arcanists to exist in the world with purely human bodies and minds, with nearly unlimited time to conduct their own research.
And eventually together they established Netheril, the magical empire that belongs to mankind.
But with the destruction of the empire and the changes in the rules of the magic network, this magic that can extend life without paying any price has gradually been forgotten.
Although Hajhorna felt deeply regretful, he never gave up researching and improving this spell from beginning to end.
Centuries of research have allowed him to fully understand that the core element of the Iolum Immortality Technique is actually destruction.
Because every living creature killed by Iolum's immortality spell can extend the life of the caster.
So, in order to gain lifespan, he had to maintain this life-extending spell that he had improved.
But with each use, he clearly felt that the power of life extension magic was gradually weakening, forcing him to find a powerful longevity race to maintain his lifespan.
This is more like drinking poison to quench thirst.
One day he will be unable to survive and will have to transform into a lich, or use other expensive life-extending magic to maintain his life.
This is undoubtedly what he least wants to face.
As a spellcaster, as his strength continues to improve, he has long known that only the pure body and mind are the most correct way to explore the truth of arcane magic.
Otherwise, people like Iolum, Larok, and Ovo, who were the remnants of the empire and survived and turned into lichs, will be his future fate.
Because these lichs must spend so much energy fighting the danger of losing their minds, they have only a small amount of time for them to explore arcane truths.
"Nese Scroll!" Hajhorna quickly clarified his thoughts and understood what to do next.
Only the mysterious knowledge recorded in the Nese scrolls allowed him to further improve the Iolum Immortality Technique.
"However, before heading to the ruins of Myth Drannor on Cormanthor, we must first resolve the current problem." He walked to the window of the tower, looked to the south of the desert, and muttered to himself .
Capturing Mokou Town and occupying the Kingdom of Cormyr was the task assigned to him by the High King.
Not only him, but all the ghost princes in Sultanza City also received similar instructions.
After all, managing the desert cannot be completed overnight. If they want to revive the Arcane Empire's former glory, they need huge resources and rich territory.
In addition to the Kingdom of Cormyr in the south of the Eno Oak Desert, the Silver Moon Alliance and Neverwinter City in the west, and Cormanthor, Sembia and the Valley in the south, they are all targets that the Shadow Empire needs to conquer in the future.
However, the other ghost princes have made considerable progress. The fifth prince in charge of Sambia has even penetrated his influence into the royal family of this commercial kingdom.
And the Kingdom of Cormyr, which he and Desude were responsible for, did not even capture the town of Mokou.
The reason for this, in addition to Prince Desud who was indifferent to this matter from beginning to end, is also a big reason why Hajhorna himself did not take it to heart.
This time, he must temporarily suppress his eagerness to find the scroll of Nese and be the first to complete the task assigned to him by the High King.
Occupying Mokou Town and using it as a springboard to invade the entire Kingdom of Cormyr is his next plan.
He had learned immediately that Mokou Town was occupied by a half-elf wizard named Brian.
Although the lord of Mokou Town who suddenly appeared was not very powerful, the timing of his appearance and the efficiency of occupying Mokou Town were so fast that he did not even react.
What surprised him most was that the Shadow Guard assassin Krisanna Tanshur who went to Mokou Town to assassinate him also returned without success.
He is quite familiar with Krisanna's strength.
This is the Shadow Guard assassin who has most hoped to enter the legendary realm in recent years.
And based on the secret channels he had mastered, he unexpectedly learned that Krishanna practiced the Nine Swords School inherited from the ancient Eastern country.
But such a shadow guard assassin who is proficient in shadow assassination cannot even deal with a mediocre wizard.
“Is it because the female lord of Arabe City is secretly helping him?” Hajhorna’s eyes turned to the outline of the ant-sized Arabe City in the south of the desert. “If she really takes action, I How could it not be detected?"
There is only one explanation. After all, the newly appointed lord of Mokou Town represents the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Since he was facing the Kingdom of Cormyr, he had to face it squarely and find cooperative allies.
A dragon that is not a dragon.
Hajhorna recalled the future that Ritz had divined with him. With a clear mind, he suddenly thought that if he wanted to take over Mokou Town, he would even In the entire Kingdom of Cormyr, the fastest way is to assist the Dragon Cult and help them complete their research on the Dragon Madness Mystery Lock.
When countless dragons are ravaging the Kingdom of Cormyr, it is the most suitable time for them to invade.
The premise of all this is that Mokou Town must be captured.
Only in this way could he place his army at the border of the Kingdom of Cormyr in advance.
Once the Dragon Worship Cult successfully researches the Dragon Madness Mystery Lock, he can send his army south and occupy this chaotic kingdom that has been ravaged by the dragon in one fell swoop.
So what does it mean to be an arcanist who is not an arcanist?
Another doubt quickly emerged in Hajhorna's mind.
As for the meaning of this sentence, the first thing he thought of was Iolum, Larok and Ovo, the Nese elders who had long been transformed into lichs.
"Ryze!" He stared into the void, his expression changed, and he shouted: "Help me predict what interaction I will have with this new lord named Brian in the future."
In fact, he has already predicted it in advance. Detected via divination spell.
The result failed, as if this person did not exist in the world at all.
This reminded him of the Purple Dragon Seal Ring issued by the Cormyr royal family.
It is said that the legendary-quality Purple Dragon Seal Ring will be personally endowed with legendary-level "avoidance detection" and "early warning" magic by the female lord of Arabe City.
But when he thought about it carefully, he felt it was impossible.
Because he did not think that this new lord who appeared out of thin air was qualified to obtain this kind of Purple Dragon Seal Ring.
"The future is invisible, tomorrow is unknown, but fate has been decided and cannot be changed." A hoarse voice came from behind Hajhorna.
With his mouth full of blood, Ryze stood up slowly, with the dagger still stuck in his chest.
He grinned, and his jagged teeth were stained black with blood, making them look very ferocious.
"I predict your mother's size!"
With a roar of grief and anger, the kobold tried his best to use his last strength, tightly grasped the dagger inserted in his chest with his rough hands, and pressed it fiercely Go down.
Its eyes quickly dimmed, and it fell to the ground on its back, lifeless.
"Stupid thing!"
Hajhorna looked at the body of the kobold in disgust and said coldly, "Although you have revealed nothing to me, your expression But he indirectly told me that I must take this newly appointed lord seriously. "Destiny is nothing but boring masturbation for losers and ridicule for cowards. I never want to believe such stupid words as destiny is determined." My own destiny should be created by myself!”
The Hand of the Supreme King of Ghost City raised his hand and kicked Ryze's body into the darkness outside the tower.
At the same time, in another ghost tower in the floating city of Sultanza.
Desud Tanshur stood in front of the window covered with wards with his hands behind his back, staring at the floating clouds covering the desert far below.
The floating city is floating over the Shadow Sea, which is surrounded by dark clouds and mist all year round.
Once upon a time, this area was called the Thirst Bar, a basin that stretched for miles in all directions and was also a salt-alkali zone that was extremely devoid of water.
With the return of Haunted City, some powerful magic has been cast here.
In this most barren land in the history of Turil, a lake stretching for thousands of square kilometers was created, which is clear and cold.
On the north shore of the Shadow Sea, there is a colorful checkerboard-shaped field composed of leaf green, wheat yellow and earthy brown.
The desert storm that eroded the land has stopped. A bright moon hangs in the sky, and the silver moonlight shines on the fields. Everything seems so fresh and pure.
The ghost prince Desude had just returned from the trial hall as usual, so he was wearing the office uniform of the ancient empire of Netheril:
A straight floor-length black robe, and a gold medallion on the left chest. The thread was embroidered on a pair of flat long-sleeved black shirts, and around the waist was a gold belt from which hung a mask, a smooth round piece of ivory.
His body is young and well-proportioned, and his hair is thick and black, all thanks to the magic that resists aging. However, his shoulders sag heavily due to centuries of magical research, exposing his True age.
The Ghost Prince left the window and began to examine the gem he had been holding behind his back: a fist-sized blood-red ruby.
The carving angles on each side of the gemstone are very weird, as if they are closing in on themselves.
Floating at its center is a slightly twisted ghostly being.
This person is the soul of the arcanist who was just pronounced guilty of murder by Desude in the trial hall.
The two holes that may once have been the Arcanist's eyes are looking out sadly from the walls of the crystal prison.
"Death penalty!" Desud, the ghost prince, said to the gem, repeating the sentence he had just given, "No resurrection for fifty years."
Then, he put the ruby in One of thirty-six niches in the wall.
Behind Desude, there is a construct creature - a slightly humanoid monster with green leathery skin, a pair of huge bat-like ears and a pair of shiny black eyes.
The construct snorted slightly, wrapped its leathery wings around itself like a cloak, and made a contemptuous gesture with its webbed fingers.
"Horn is a cruel bastard." The construct said in a squeaky voice, a language that only Desud could understand.
"He killed the cat slowly and enjoyed the torture. You should have given him five hundred years in prison instead of fifty."
De Soude Looking down at the construct, even if he stood upright, the creature would not be higher than his knees.
It was created alchemically from Desude's own blood.
Therefore, there is a continuous spiritual link between it and its owner.
Ever since its creation, it has been an invaluable tool, serving Desude well within the Floating City's Justice Department.
"Fifty years is the penalty for killing a familiar stipulated by the law." Desude said quietly.
“It’s not fair!” the construct wailed: “Bastard Horn will be free in fifty years, and poor”
The construct reached for the ruby, intending to shake it vigorously to vent its dissatisfaction.
Even if this does not harm the gem or the soul inside, etiquette must be maintained.
Desude forced his consciousness into the construct's mind and twisted its arm downwards.
The construct huddled angrily, tending to its dislocated shoulder.
Dersud looked down at the construct with an expressionless face, like a judge's mask hanging on his belt.
With a flick of his finger, he cast a construct repair technique on it.
A moment later, he heard a rapid knock on the door.
He gave a silent command with his fingers, and the construct suddenly became nervous and hid under a table.
When Desude first used illusions to obscure its existence, and then popped out a spark of magical energy in the direction of the door, it kept watching with its big sparkling eyes.
"Please come in."
The person who opened the door was Judge Floye, a woman with long black hair and a forehead covered with deep creases.
She was wearing a judge's black skirt and shirt, and an ivory mask on her belt.
"Your Excellency, Supreme Judge Dessoud," she said, "I am sorry to interrupt you so soon after you have finished delivering a sentence, but there is a case that requires your decision."
A small fist pounded angrily under the table, but it went unheard.
"What accusation?" Dessoude asked emotionlessly.
"Espionage—specifically, theft of state secrets. Under the direct commission of the High King, Arcanist Putek was working on a way to reverse one of his spells. The High King hoped that the reversed spell would be able to Further deciphering the Nether Scroll would be helpful, but Ptek's research notes on the project were stolen."
Desude nodded.
Not long ago, the High King revealed the details of this special research plan to him.
Ptek is trying to reverse his Secret Manuscript spell, which renders magical documents unreadable so that only those who know the spell to decipher them can read them.
If he succeeds in reversing this spell—assuming that the Nether Scrolls are collected again—then possessing this spell will be the first to understand the secrets of the scroll.
In this case, the five "Secret Discourses" scrolls on the making of artifacts stored in the Tower of Karthus will be further deciphered.
This case is indeed very important, but at this time, the Prince of Shadows does not want to try it personally.
Because it meant nothing to him compared to what he was going to do next.
"High Judge Luz Vinta is qualified to hear such death penalty cases." He proposed to the other party.
The wrinkles on Judge Floye's face grew deeper.
"He has heard the case but has been unable to rule. He says the trial will involve questions of magical knowledge that only the Supreme Court can answer - and that the testimony itself is an unsolvable riddle."
The construct sat up, of course only Desude could see it, its ears pricked up and its eyes glowed.
Puzzle?
It was as if she also heard the repeated question.
Judge Floye continued: "There are two defendants in this case. Senior Judge Winta said that deciding which one is guilty is like choosing between a reflection and a mirror image."
What did he mean by that?
Desude lowered his head slightly and asked: "Where is this case being heard?"
"In the Spiral Court, the court has been temporarily adjourned. High Judge Wenta is waiting for you there."
Dersud nodded slightly and said with an unhappy expression, "Please inform High Judge Wenta that if this case cannot be settled, I will leave a place for him in my alcove and he is welcome to come often." "Stay."
"I understand, excuse me." A look of surprise appeared in Judge Floye's eyes, and then he bowed and left.
"What's happened to you recently?" The construct emerged from under the table. "Ever since Crysanna brought back a letter, you have become so lazy about your work."
"Because right now I have a more important thing that I need to confirm personally, and I don't want to be distracted by it."
Desude frowned, sat back in his chair, and picked up the parchment scroll on the table. , study carefully.
At this moment, a shadow emerged out of thin air, and the Shadow Guard assassin Crysanna appeared in front of the Prince of Shadows.
"Father." Crysania, hidden in a black cloak, said ruthlessly, "What do you want from me?"
"I have read the letter that the half-elf wizard entrusted you to send to me." Desude put down the parchment scroll in his hand and said in the same tone, "I need to confirm some details personally."
"What details? ?" Seeing her father's solemn expression, Krisanna knew that the value of this letter was by no means as simple as imagined.
This made her begin to doubt the true identity of this half-elf wizard who appeared out of thin air.
"I want to know how you became the other party's prisoner. The more details, the better." Desude stared at his child intently, "I learned from Hajhorna that the other party was just a A battle mage who has mastered spells to the fifth level, I believe you are not the kind of person with eyes on the top of his head."
"He set up both the flashing magic circle and the dimensional confinement magic circle in his room in advance. "Recalling the unbearable memory, Crysania gritted her teeth and said, "This kind of magic circle completely made me lose my ability to shadow and escape."
"I'm afraid this won't trouble you."
The construct creature interjected, "Isn't it possible that the swordsmanship of the Shadow Hand School can't even defeat a battle mage whose strength is only at the second level? If that's really the case. , then I suggest that the army of Ghost City should just take a detour when they see the War Mage Legion of the Kingdom of Cormyr, and give it a try."
"It's right," Desude nodded slightly. Express approval.
“He can instantly release five-ring spells.” Krishanna was silent for a long time. When the construct creature was already spinning impatiently in circles, she said:
“A supreme being. A battle mage who can cast five-ring magic can cast five-ring spells instantly, which is incredible in itself.”
"Indeed." Desude nodded expressionlessly, and then said:
"If what I expected is correct, you have mastered the most powerful swordsmanship of the Shadow Hand Sect, "Five Shadow Haunting" , don’t tell me, you don’t even have a chance to be released. "
"Yes, yes. "The constructed creature flew into the air, and was caught by Desude's eyes. He quickly landed on the ground and answered, "I have personally seen the young lady use this move to kill warriors who have reached paragon strength. "
"His flash circle weakened most of my damage. "
Crisana replied, "I can feel that his method of arranging the magic circle is not comparable to that of some spellcasters in the legendary field. ”
"The most incredible thing to me is"
She suddenly realized something, and added: "When my Shadow Hand sword hit him, I felt my shadow energy being absorbed by the Shadow Demon Network Part of it."
"I believe you are not wrong about the shadow aspect."
Desude sighed and said thoughtfully, "Proficient in the magic circle and mastered it. With the Shadow Demon Network, he can also cast five-ring spells instantly, which is definitely not something that a battle mage from the Kingdom of Cormyr can do.”
“Before the empire is destroyed”
The constructed creature said: "Arcanists don't all use 'arc' to cast spells and cast a spell instantly. For them, it's just a question of how much energy the 'arc' consumes."
"Okay, You go down." Desude waved his hand to signal Krishanna to step back.
“But.” Crysania did not move. She hesitated and then said, “This battle mage named Bryan has eliminated the power of the Zhentarim. In the name of the Kingdom of Cormyr, Completely occupying Mokou Town."
"You want me to cooperate with Hajhorna to capture this town, right?" Desude stared at the parchment scroll on the table for a long time. He said in a slightly mocking tone:
"Tell him, if he can't even win a small Mokou Town, even if he votes for me to own the floating city, it will still be a waste. It won't play a decisive role. After he takes over Mokou Town, I will consider joining forces with him to deal with the female lord of Arabe City."
"And!"
Desu had to stop Krishanna who was about to leave, "I need to personally go to the fierce forest in the north to confirm one thing. During this period, I I hope you can stay in the tower and not participate in any actions, including the assassination of the lord of Mokou Town."
Crisana used Weibo. The cold tone asked, "He killed Natasha and took away the swordsmanship of the Desert Wind Sect. I must avenge this."
"Okay, if I say this is for your safety Think about it, you won't believe it." Desude looked at his child with cold eyes and said in an unquestionable tone:
"Then I will tell the truth, because I am not sure yet whether Brian is my enemy or ally. As for the lost Desert Wind Swordsmanship, it is not an insignificant thing. Besides, you have never thought about going there. Xianglong Empire, looking for the Temple of Nine Swords."
"I know, I will always stay in the tower and never step out." Krisanna said coldly. A shadow disappeared.
"Why bother, the relationship is so tense." The construct smacked its lips humanely and smiled: "By the way, what did you go to the Dire Forest to confirm?"
"Neseri Er Li, the age of darkness, the year of the Broken Demonic Network."
Desude looked at the contents recorded on the parchment scroll given to him by Brian, and sighed softly, "Karsus, the God of Transience. The body fell into the violent forest in the eastern part of the High Forest"
(End of this chapter)