Chapter 386 The Road of the Lion
“Rumble!”
Deep in the dark underground passage, the sound of collapsing buildings came from far away, and the smoke and dust were like rolling waves, filling the air. out.
As the smoke and dust dissipated, Brian's figure appeared outside the ruins of the floating city, and the last remaining building in the ruins of the city also turned into ruins with his departure, and finally will be completely forgotten by the world.
As for the books, scrolls, manuscripts and numerous research materials on the Phayling Demon Sunflower in the library, Brian naturally took them all for himself.
He had a hunch that the information preserved by the great arcanist Ellando would be his key to dealing with Feilin Mokui in the future.
“In fact, there were originally a lot of folded spaces hidden in the floating city of Ellando. As a great arcanist in the creative field, he created worlds, demiplanes and In terms of dimensional space, no great arcanist in the entire Netheril period can compare with it."
The thought of the golden dragon Paralandusk sighed in Brian's mind:< br>
“It is a pity that with the collapse of the magic network, the fall of the sun god Amaunata, and the changes of the years, except for the library that I guard, the other half of this floating city has been destroyed in time and space. "
Brian also nodded with a little regret.
Because in the library, the magic books he found contained very little knowledge about the creation of demiplanes.
Obviously, this floating city should still have many spaces similar to the library, but they have completely disappeared.
As he left the ruins of Shining City and prepared to go to Candlekeep, the golden dragon Paralandask was like a historical narrator, telling him about the past of Netheril.
“I was fortunate enough to experience the golden age of Nese. During this period, not only countless arcanists emerged, but most of them had their own floating cities.”
"The original intention of Lord Iolum in creating the floating city was just to avoid threats from the ground and allow the Netherese people to live a peaceful life. Ironically, his floating city technology not only caused serious conflicts within Netheril Class divisions, divided into Upper Netheril and Lower Netheril, were gradually swallowed up by the power-hungry ambitions of the great arcanists..."
"The Year of Gloom, the final chapter of the Netheril era, was also an era when the genius Karthus shone brightly, but under his light, some great arcane masters still left their own traces of history."
"Such as the infamous 'Dread Baron', a ruthless tyrant, a murderer, Orostin, who ruled the United City, and was also the first great arcanist to join Mo Kui's camp. The legend given to him by Elder Mo Kui The treasure allowed him to secure his position as the chief consul of Lianzhong City, because everyone who was dissatisfied with him was killed, and at least tens of thousands of creatures died under his rule..."
"But in the end, Austrian Luostin was killed by an unknown arcanist whose strength reached a high level of legend, and the great arcanist only used a nine-level spell, 'Nonar Fireball', to kill the tyrant."
The unknown great arcanist?
Brian was startled, and then asked curiously:
"If my prediction is correct, isn't Nonal's Fireball the first version of the three-ring fireball? It is said that the great arcanist Nonal invented the fireball. The original fireball was more violent and the upper limit of damage was ridiculously high, but Now the casters who rely on the magic net can only learn and release the castrated version of the weakened fireball technique. "
In his arcane fire, he got this nine-ring spell due to the fusion of the golden dragon ghost. He has not released it personally to feel the power of this spell, but he can judge the power of the spell just from the fact that the spell consumes three times the arcane energy of ordinary nine-ring spells.
"That's right." Paralandusk nodded slightly:
"As a legendary spellcaster, I have transformed into a human form and traveled to many floating cities of great arcanists. There are many first-edition spells from the Netheril era. If ordinary spellcasters release these first-edition spells and rashly use their mental power to invoke the wild magic wandering in the wilderness, they will only suffer backlash."
"That's true. "Brian nodded with deep understanding:
"After all, in this era, with the existence of the magic net, it becomes easier for spellcasters to release spells. However, after reaching a certain level, they will find that the magic net has become a shackles. If they do not break it, they will never be able to possess it. A strength comparable to the gods.”
This is also the goal he has been pursuing since he became the Grand Arcanist.
When Ms. Silinci taught him the secrets of magic, Brian gradually realized that if he understood the secrets of magic and cooperated with the arcane fire like a plug-in to break the shackles, he would be able to defeat him. Well, it's just a matter of time.
"But you are different. The arcane fire you have is completely equivalent to a smaller version of the magic network. It can be said to be a self-contained system and will never be restricted by these things. If I have the opportunity, I will use these All the first edition spells will be taught to you," Jin Long replied.
“Let’s talk about it later.” Brian was a little uninterested:
"Right now, the most important thing we should consider is how to thwart the Lost Lady's plan. Otherwise, when the Shadow Demon Network replaces the Demon Network, this vengeful god will never let someone like me get the back door opened by the goddess Mystra. "
"Yes." Jin Long nodded solemnly, and then said in confusion:
"Since the matter is so serious, why do you still give in? My only helper, the ghost prince Brenas, has left. With the help of this dossier scholar, wouldn't we have a greater chance of finding the 'Earth Prophet' Arcindor and the Holy Grail of Amaunata?"
< br>"He has more important tasks to do." Brian replied. After leaving the library space, he met the ghost prince, and then briefly told the situation about the Lost Lady's plan, and the two of them talked about it. Each left.
“Through the vision of the mad Ogathla, I learned that the followers of the Lost Lady have brought Nese scrolls in the form of beech wood and hid near the Shadow Sea to perform terrible dark rituals. The ghost city of Sultanza is floating above the Shadow Sea." He expressed his thoughts to the golden dragon:
"So the purpose of giving Ellando all the detailed information and research on the Ferrin Demon Sunflower to him is to let Brenas send it to the High King Telemante. In this case, we are facing The followers of the Lost Lady are no longer the most troublesome threats like the Felin Demon Kui."
"They are much smarter than I thought. It seems that I have a good vision." Jin Long made an unexpected comment, and then said slightly worriedly, "It is true that if you let Yinhun City help you hold down Felin Demon Kui, we can deal with the followers of the Lost Lady with peace of mind, but... why are you so sure of Yinhun? The people in the city will definitely take action against the Felin Demon Kui."
"Because this is the last chance to eliminate the Felin Demon Kui. The High King Telamant, who has been secretly planning for thousands of years, has no other internal forces. After his intervention, he will never let go of this golden opportunity."
While sensing the location of the Candle Keep through teleportation magic, Brian explained to the golden dragon:
"Besides, the Felin Demon. Aoi's large-scale escape from the Saron Forbidden Wall was originally the responsibility of the Supreme King. After he drove the City of Shadows back to the material world, in order to learn more about these ancient monsters, he did not hesitate to open a gap in the Saron Forbidden Wall and try to enter the interior. Studying the secret of how to deal with Fei Lin Mokui was exactly what he did in the first place that led to today's situation, and he will not sit idly by because of this. ”
In fact, there was another reason why Brian didn't tell Paralandusk.
That is, in the information on studying the Felin Demon Sunflower given to Brenas, he also put in all the information he collected in the game world of his previous life.
These information are exactly how to find the 'Memory Tower', the mother nest of the Felin Demon Sunflower, after sneaking into the Forbidden Wall of Saron.
He believed that with the strength of High King Telamante, it would not be difficult to find the Memory Tower.
Once he is asked to find the memory tower of the Phayling Demon Kwai, the Phayling Demon Kwai wandering in the Enook Desert will desperately return to the Saron Forbidden Wall to ensure the safety of the memory tower. Otherwise, when the Memory Tower is destroyed, they will be like the Great Arcanists who were destroyed by the collapse of the magic network.
At this time, Brian no longer had much energy to deal with the phaerinn. He could only secretly pray that when he stopped the followers of the Lost Lady, High King Telamante could seize this opportunity. , destroying the Felin Demon Kui in one fell swoop.
In this case, at least half of the goal he promised in front of Iolum would be accomplished.
During the conversation, Brian had already located the location of Candlekeep on the coast of the Sword Coast.
With the light of the teleportation circle flashing, he opened a teleportation door and disappeared.
After a moment of spinning, Brian found himself on a muddy dirt road.
Obviously, there has been heavy rain here. Although the rain has stopped now, the dark clouds are still dense.
He saw a path branching off from the main road ahead, extending towards the sea.
A crow stood solemnly on a leaning wooden pole with two arm-shaped road signs, one said 'Lion's Path' and the other 'Candlekeep'.
Brian knew that Candlekeep, a castle known as the Palace of Knowledge, is located at the end of the Lion's Road, on a volcanic rock cliff overlooking the sea.
No one can reach Candlekeep directly through the teleportation circle or by flying. They must walk through the Lion's Road step by step like a devout believer and reach the end. Only then can one prove one's attitude towards knowledge.
Brian is no exception.
"It is said that Candlekeep was once the home of the 'Earth Prophet' Arcindo. The great library in the fort still preserves the predictions made by this great prophet about the future. It can only be found here. Find his traces.”
The will of the golden dragon Paralandusk left the arcane fire and returned a few seconds later, seemingly traveling all over the Sword Coast, his pleasant words filled with wonder. , "It feels so good to be free. It's incredible. I didn't expect that I was just trapped for a thousand years, and the world has changed so much..."
Brian ignored his words. Talking to himself, he headed towards the Lion's Road to Candlekeep.
To his surprise, after taking two steps, he saw a ragged man leading a leopard walking over from under a big tree beside the road.
Brian discovered that the other party’s goal was very clear, and it was for him.
This man looks no different from a beggar. His face is very rough, caused by years of wind and sun exposure. He has thick gray hair and wrinkled eyes. Although he is six feet tall and has a good figure, He is stout, but he walks a little hunched over and looks much shorter from a distance.
The ascetic among the warrior monks.
Brian probably guessed the true identity of this ascetic.
"Mr. Brian, by order of Master Savikas, Badrick has been waiting for you again for a long time." He clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to Brian and said, "Please."
His The hands were big and covered with callus scars, and the nails were filled with dirt.
In addition, he also has the largest pair of feet that Brian has ever seen among humans. Those feet seem to never wear shoes and are covered with black and hard calluses.
“Thank you.” Brian nodded slightly and returned the greeting.
He was not surprised that Master Savikalin of Candlekeep knew of his arrival in advance.
After all, Silvera Savikas is a lawful neutral tiefling archmage, one of the most famous wise men in Candlekeep, and an expert on the outer planes.
So, under the leadership of Badrick, the two people and a leopard walked along a winding path in the direction of Candlekeep.
The Lion's Road is not a smooth road, but mainly consists of dark swamps and steep mountains.
The land here is low-lying and humid, covered with barren sand dunes and salt marshes under the blue-gray sky. The road sometimes disappears among weeds and tidal puddles, only to reappear after a few hundred meters.
If Badrick hadn't led the way, Brian even had the illusion that he would be lost.
It stands to reason that facing such a harsh environment, as a spellcaster, Brian can deal with everything here with just a few simple spells.
However, what made him a little depressed was that the ascetic who led the way told him that convenient magic cannot test a person's devotion to knowledge.
This made Brian immediately understand that the other party was waiting for him here for his true purpose.
Remembering that the main mission of his trip was to borrow books from Candlekeep and look for traces of the Earth Prophet, he could only follow the Romans, just like an ordinary person, following Badrick's footsteps.
At this moment, Brian finally understood why Badrick walked barefoot.
Because the ground was very soft, Badrick had to hit it with a wooden stick in some places to ensure he could gain a foothold before moving on.
In this way, they crossed a dozen gentle rivers, where frogs and crickets lived, and terns glided high in the bay.
Once, a crocodile of about five meters suddenly jumped out of the swamp they were passing by. The leopard following Badrick suddenly jumped onto the crocodile's back, its sharp fangs One blow pierced the crocodile's scales, killing him instantly.
Seeing this scene, Brian couldn't help but secretly sigh: The good crocodile will eventually end up with the leopard.
(End of this chapter)