At midnight, the moon rises to the dome.

In the longhouse of the Morning Star Forest Dancers, Luca, who was sitting on the bed, looked up at the moonlight above his head, as if he was waiting for something.

The exhaustion of the long wait made the elf's pupils bloodshot, and he wondered more and more whether he had to wait any longer.

"Bang ——!"

Just as Lukka was about to give up, an elven guard suddenly slammed open the door of the longhouse and rushed in in a panic, waking up all the war dancers in the room.

"Lord Luka, and all of you from the Morning Star Forest... Oh no! I just ......."

"Calm down, don't panic. Luka, who knew it in his heart, first pressed the war dancers on both sides, and then looked at the guard gently: "Tell me slowly, what's wrong?"

"One of the guards was knocked unconscious and thrown in the woods outside the Misty Moon Court, and was spotted by the night patrol war dancers!" the young elf's face was still pale, and he didn't get any better:

"Not only that, but when I just came from under the cloud canopy tree, I also found a shoe print at the entrance - that style is definitely not an elf!"

"What?!" Luca, a gentle and honest man, immediately showed a look of "great surprise": "You mean that a foreign clan has mixed into the Misty Moon Court, and it is likely to be on the Cloud Canopy Tree?!"

The pale-faced guard looked at him and nodded excitedly.

"No matter what the other party wants to do, it should still be on the cloud canopy tree now, and we must mobilize all the war dancers in the Misty Moon Court to surround and flank this guy!"

"You Morning Star Forest are the closest group of War Dancers to the Cloud Canopy Tree, so I'll notify you first, and then I'll notify the others!"

"Wait!" Luca, who suddenly noticed something, quickly stretched out his hand to stop him: "You mean... We were the first to be notified by you?"

"Yes!"

"Who else knows but us?"

"No, I'm worried that there are too many messages, and it's easy to startle snakes. The young elf replied honestly.

Lukka secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and subconsciously glanced at the cloud crown tree in the distance.

"You're doing a good job, very good. Lukka looked at the young elf with a calm gaze, and patted him on the shoulder: "In this way, don't notify the war dancers of the other settlements yet, and let the guards immediately block the perimeter of the Misty Moon Court." ”

"But ......"

"This is a foreigner, no matter what he wants to do in the Misty Moon Court, he can't stay in the settlement; He's definitely going to run, so we have to seal off the settlement as soon as possible so he can't leave!" Lukka snapped:

"It's up to our Morning Star Forest's War Dancers to surround him, and the rest of the guards to cordon off on the perimeter - make sure nothing goes wrong!"

"Okay, I'll go!"

The latter nodded vigorously and glanced at Lukka very gratefully: "I'm sorry, I made it difficult for you when you came, I told the elders of the Misty Moon Court a long time ago that the eastern clans who resisted the invasion of ogres could never be ......"

"Let's go!"

Lukka waved his hand, interrupting the word he was about to utter.

The young elf bowed his head again, then solemnly turned away.

"Luca, we're really going to ......"

As soon as a war dancer stepped forward, he was stopped by Luka raising his hand, and the middle-aged elf cautiously closed the door, then turned to look at the war dancers behind him: "Everyone bring weapons and be ready for anything." ”

"Tonight, be careful!"

................................................

Shadow Sword?

Loren, frowning slightly, chewed on the word he had just heard, his eyes fixed on the blade in the Azorean elf's hand.

What do you mean?

It's something like... Some kind of "shadow"-related ability?

Loren struggled to recall every fragment of that moment, and the fragmented memories turned into frame-by-frame images in his mind, showing all the details in front of him without reservation.

Middle... The moment he stabbed with his long knife... The shadow of the blade seems to be ......

...... It's gone?

"What the hell is going on... Right?"

The mild-mannered Middel chuckled and said to himself with a chuckle as he swam away with his sword: "Maybe if I continue to entangle with this Azorean elf, I will be able to see through the mystery of the way of the samurai, which is completely different from the 'wizard faction'." ”

The black-haired wizard tugged at the corners of his mouth, ignoring him this time.

"There is a saying that the unknown is the greatest fear... But fear can also arouse unquenchable curiosity and desire for knowledge. The Azorean elf looked into Loren's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly:

"Your eyes, Lord Edward, tell me that you have seen through part of my little trick, and... Still want to know more. ”

He didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack, but walked leisurely around Loren, and was in good spirits to continue his "self-talk":

"It's a very dangerous idea, because too much curiosity can cause people to lose their vigilance from fear and put them in even more dangerous situations – like right now. ”

In the next second, the long knife in Middle's right hand was held horizontally behind him, and it struck again without warning.

Glimpse of white light!

"Bell ——!"

Loren instinctively slid backwards, the gray-blue sword could parry a slash to the neck, and at the same time turned defense into attack, "Bright Silver" stabbed straight at the face of the Azorean elf.

The smiling Middell didn't dodge either, his left hand against the end of the hilt, and stabbed at the black-haired wizard's neck.

The moonlight spilled in from the window was reflected on the two of them at the same time.

Very "tacit" The two of them chose to use this indomitable move, and they had nothing else to do with each other's lives!

Only the one who stabs the other party first can have time to dodge... The end of evasion is to fall into a situation of being passively beaten and slaughtered by others.

Victory or defeat is only on the sword......

"Poof——!

The long knife grazed the black-haired wizard's left shoulder, and the steel shoulder armor forged by the dwarves of Silverhelm Mountain shattered like a piece of paper.

The next moment, Loren, who didn't have time to dodge at all, was pressed against his neck by the blade, and the "bright silver" sword in his hand immediately dissipated.

The black-haired wizard, completely subdued, stared blankly into the eyes of the Azorean elves.

However, Middle, who succeeded in the battle, had a blue face, without the slightest hint of joy in his expression, and even his right hand holding the knife trembled slightly, almost slitting Loren's throat.

"Sure enough... You're still hiding. Middlel completely lost the randomness just now, his eyes widened for a moment, and then he froze:

"Can you tell me, Lord Edward, how did you see through it?"

The dark-haired wizard raised an eyebrow and glanced at the shadow behind Meadle.

"Moonlight?"

"No, you're in a hurry, Lord Middel. With a knife around his neck, Loren couldn't shake his head: "The moment I retreated, I couldn't wait to rush up, and I didn't do it until the last moment, when we were both in the moonlight." ”

So I thought about it... Guess what I found?"

"I find that every time your hands 'shake', you are standing in the moonlight;"

"I have to wonder if the length of the 'Shadow Folding Sword' is slightly related to the length of the shadow of the sword body - for example, at the moment when the sword body is refracted at a certain angle to the moonlight and drags the shadow out of three steps......

Middlel paused, and the smile on his lips became a little unnatural.

Feeling the blade on his neck, Loren could only sigh helplessly.

It is not difficult to detect the secret of the "Folding Shadow Sword", but it is difficult to see through the other party's routine.

The reason why he kept talking to himself and babbling a lot was not to interfere with his own judgment in order to sneak up on him, but to disguise his movements, so that he could focus on the tip of his knife and his steps.

Only in this way will he not notice that every time he "moves", he is standing in the moonlight, dragging the shadow of the knife body to the moment it connects with himself.

If it weren't for the last time he was too eager to kill himself, I'm afraid it wouldn't be so easy to find this flaw.

The shadow on the ground and the long knife in his hand were his weapons, secretive, invisible, deadly.

In comparison, almost every one of his tricks seems to be, well, the kind that moves very much.

That's really ...... Who is the assassin, himself or him?

"It's amazing, the first time I saw it, I could see through the 'Folding Shadow Sword'... Although there is an element of mistakes, if you lose, you lose. Middle, who was still smiling, gradually became solemn in his eyes:

"It is worthy of being the imperial guard of His Majesty the Emperor, and he is willing to gamble and lose. ”

"Thank you, can you let me go?"

"Of course not, killing Zai Xia is the most advantageous option for you, and the same is true for Zaixia. Midl shook his head and replied unabashedly:

"What's more, the insight you have just shown makes me have to suspect that the information you have received from me is far more than a 'Folding Shadow Sword'. ”

After a moment of silence, the room fell silent.

“...... You're thinking too much. Loren smiled an embarrassed but polite smile.

"Maybe, but it's always safe, isn't it?" Smiling, Middle's long knife around the black-haired wizard's neck was slightly forced, and the blade, which was as thin as a cicada's wings, tore apart little by little, tearing the flesh between his neck:

"Farewell, honorable Lord Edward, and use this summer moon at the end of the summer... Give you a ride!"

The long knife was swung down.

"Bell ——!"

At the moment of the hit, the black-haired wizard suddenly stabbed out the Hidden Blade from under the wrist of his left hand, which was able to stop the blade.

Middell looked startled.

Almost at the same time, the "bright silver" that fell into the right hand once again bloomed with a sword, and it struck a horizontal blow from the bottom to the top.

The long knife was raised, and a spark blocked the sword's path, and without hesitation, Middel immediately slid back three steps, narrowly dodging the black-haired wizard's sneak attack.

It's just a little bit... Loren sighed.

This is an opportunity that I almost lost my life for.

At the same time, the Azorean elves, who had taken a few steps back, had re-erected their long knives.

"Sure enough... Lord Edward, you are not an honest man. Middlel curled the corners of his mouth and whispered, "You've been holding the sword in your left hand so that I might think that the sword must be used with the glove in your left hand." ”

"You almost got it. ”

"Isn't that a little bit worse?" Loren smiled.

"Very well, so that we don't have any secrets from each other. Middell also smiled: "Let's fight to the death like real samurai and knights?"

"Okay, I have no opinion. Loren looked at him earnestly with a sincere expression.

Upright... I believe you're really crazy.

The next moment, the figures of the two disappeared from each other's sight at the same time, leaving only afterimages.

"Ding ——!"

The clash of blades collided, and the sword flicked the slash of the long knife away.

"——! Growth"

The long knife slanted and swept the sword aside with a burst of sparks, and Loren's door was wide open.

"Poof——!

Turning suddenly, Middlel gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, and stabbed the tip of his knife at the gap between his ribs and elbows, and stabbed it backwards.

The black-haired wizard, unable to dodge, slashed him with the armarmor of his right hand, the steel-forged armor and the nitrate leather armor underneath the blade split in two like butter.

The hanging sword was too late to block.

Got it... Middel's eyes flashed with fierceness.

However, the next moment - the black-haired wizard who set up the "Bright Silver" and the Azorean elf who reflexively raised their knives stopped moving at the same time.

The tip of the knife stopped less than two inches from Loren's throat.

The two of them, looking at each other, turned their eyes to the window and the door in a "tacit understanding".

"There are people, there are quite a few ... The aura was almost undetected, and only a war dancer could hide it so well. A smile appeared on the face of the Azorean elf: "It seems that you are not lucky tonight, Lord Edward." ”

"Yes, but how do I think I'm really lucky?" Loren laughed as well, looking meaningfully into the eyes of the Azorean elves.

In just a second, Middell immediately understood what he meant.

The scope of the Misty Moon Court was large, and the only people who were gathered so quickly and uniformly could only be war dancers from the same settlement—and in the Misty Moon Court, the closest settlement to the central cloud crown tree was ......

Morning Star Forest.

"I see... No wonder you were able to blend into the Misty Moon Court and not be aware of it. Middel's expression was thoughtful: "Morning Star Forest and the settlements in the east... Have you betrayed the other settlements of the Ancient Wood Forest and joined the Empire?"

"I didn't say that, it's just that you're thinking so. Loren smiled narrowly: "So here's the problem... Would you like to take a gamble with me?"

"If not, then I won't be able to escape tonight;"

"If it's really the way you think, then... Have you ever heard of the Black Prison of the Heavenly Dome Palace?"

"Nope. Midl shook his head.

"It's a nice place, a one-room, airtight, with dead bones, rats, and a wide variety of worms, a day and a night of constant greetings and bone-loosening manipulation from the inquisitor, and a phlebotomy in all forms and parts of the body when you are sick. ”

Loren smiled: "Of course, if you don't want to gamble, I have other ways to alleviate our embarrassment at this moment......"