"There's the Broken Wood Mountains ahead." He Dun pointed to the mountains in the distance and said to everyone, "Let's spend the night around here today." ”

"I think there's a little village over there." Lan Yue pointed to a place at the foot of the mountain where a few plumes of smoke had risen and asked, "Shall we go there to spend the night?" ”

"Well...... He Dun hesitated for a moment and explained to Lan Yue, "Actually, I've also thought about this problem. However, it is said that the people there are not very welcoming to outsiders. ”

"Why?" Lan Yue asked.

"It seems that it is because the business travelers who went there to stay there before always made a mess of people's streets, and the houses they lived in were not cleaned up." He Dun explained, "So then they didn't welcome people who came to stay overnight. ”

"There's something else going on."

"So I'd like to ask for everyone's opinions." He Dun continued, "Are you going to spend the night, or are you going to camp? After speaking, He Dun looked at everyone.

"It's all right." He Jian said.

"I don't care." Aaron said with a shrug.

"Where's Eugari?" He Dun looked at Youjiali who came from behind and asked, "Do you think it's better to spend the night or camp?" ”

"Huh?" Youjiali didn't hear He Dun's introduction to the village just now, so she immediately replied, "If you want me to choose, it's naturally better to spend the night." Not only do you not need to set up a tent or build a campfire, but it's better to sleep in a house than on the side of the road, isn't there anything wrong? ”

"No, that's not it." He Dun thought for a while and said, "That's true. Good! Then let's go there and spend the night! ”

So, Brother Shui commanded the convoy to drive in the direction of the village. The convoy first waited by the field near the entrance of the village for a while, and after He Dun went in and explained the situation to the village chief, it slowly entered the village.

The village doesn't seem to be very large, with a population of about 1,000 at most. However, the roads are very smooth and clean. On both sides of the road are thatched huts built of wood, and there are hardly any buildings above two floors in sight. There are hardly any villagers on the road, and most of them may still be working in the distant fields at this time. Occasionally, one or two children were chasing and playing on the side of the road, and it was only a moment before they were called home by an adult.

The convoy had not been in the village for a long time before coming to a halt.

"That's where we're staying today." He Dun pointed to a few simple wooden houses next to the convoy and said to Brother Shui, "You first place the convoy at the back of the house, and we will clean up in the house first." ”

"No problem." With that, Brother Shui beckoned the coachmen to take the convoy to the stable at the back of the wooden house.

At this time, everyone else entered the wooden house and began to arrange the tables and chairs, tidy up the room, and prepare dinner.

"What are you cooking?" In the kitchen, Yujiali looked at Lan Yue, who was cooking carefully, and asked curiously.

"I've stewed a big pot of the loot I hunted on the road and the fruits I gathered in the woods, and I named it "Secret Mountain Fruit Stewed Jackal Meat." Lan Yue replied happily.

"No wonder I don't think it smells the same as usual." Eugari said.

"Here, you taste." As she spoke, Lan Yue took a small plate and handed it to Youjiali.

"Hmm. It tastes very good. Eugari praised as she tasted it.

"Right? Right? Lan Yue looked even happier.

"Doesn't it seem like it's a little too cooked, though?" Lan Yue looked at the big pot full of food and said with some difficulty.

Yugari thought for a moment and suggested, "How about we send some to the owner?" It seems like it's on the other side. ”

"Okay, even if it's to show our gratitude." Lan Yue said approvingly.

So Eugari took a small pot of food and walked out of the hut with Miria towards a house not far from the road.

Arriving at the door, Miria stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door. In a few moments, the door opened. A well-proportioned middle-aged woman wearing a gray-blue coat and long black hair appeared in the doorway.

"Are you ......," the woman asked, confused.

"Hello! We were travelers who stayed on the opposite side today. Yugari said politely, "This is what we just cooked, if you don't dislike it, please try it." With that, Yujiali raised the small pot in her hand and looked at the woman with a smile.

"That's embarrassing." The woman said politely, "Let's go inside and sit down first." With that, the woman took the pot from Yugari's hand and led them into the house.

In the living room, two men were sitting at a round table discussing something. One of them was a sturdy man, wearing a dark and brown shirt, and was supposed to be in his early thirties. Sitting across from him was a man with a little gray hair and a blue-gray outfit, who looked like he was already past middle age. In the corner of the room, there was a little girl who looked to be five or six years old, sitting motionless on the bench, looking at the puppet in her hand with a dull gaze.

"Please take a seat." The woman placed the pot on the round table and beckoned Yugari to sit down. The whole room is very simplely furnished, except for a round table and a few chairs, and a set of wooden cabinets, there is almost no extra furniture. However, the cleaning is very clean, and there is hardly a single stain visible.

"It just so happens that the village chief is here." The woman introduced, "These two are the guests who are staying on the other side tonight. Let's talk, I'll go in and make some tea. With that, the woman walked into the next room.

"Hello! My name is Eugari, and this is Miria Hill. Thank you very much for letting us stay in the village. Eugari and Miria stood up together and thanked her.

"Nothing, you're welcome." The older man said, "This is as it should be. But you didn't come at the right time, something happened in the village recently, and everyone is busy, so we don't have much time to entertain you. I'm sorry. ”

"Don't bother. Already thankful. "I don't know what's going on, is there anything we can do to help?" ”

The village chief looked a little embarrassed, and seemed hesitant to tell Yugari about them. Just then, the woman brought in the tea. The village chief picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Actually, it's like this. We just had a wildfire here recently. Although it has been extinguished now, the damage is quite large, so everyone is busy dealing with it. ”

"That's right...... That's really ......" Yujali was about to say something more, when Miria picked up and asked, "Why?" I don't think the mountains are very close to the village, and the location is opposite to the direction of the fields. The weather here hasn't been dry lately, and there haven't been any thunderstorms, so I don't think anyone will go there, right? ”

"This ......" After listening to Miria's words, the village chief was obviously a little unprepared, and he didn't think about how to answer for a while. After being silent for a while, the village chief smiled bitterly, "Little girl, you are really amazing." How to say it. ”

"Hey—" the village chief sighed and continued, "I didn't plan to hide it anyway. ”

"We have to start from the beginning. In fact, there is also a group of swamp long-snouting noxyles living in this area, about hundreds or even thousands, at the foot of the nearby mountain. It is said that they were already there a long, long time ago, before this village existed. For a long time, we have been living in harmony. In the cave near where they live, there is an underground lake with many schools of delicious and nutritious fish. However, due to the surrounding environment, it is impossible for ordinary humans to enter and capture it. However, this is nothing for the Eidolin, who are very good at moving in the water. So for a long time, we used to exchange some finished goods, such as cloth, armor, and all kinds of production tools. They are also very willing. We've always had such a great relationship. ”

"But lately, I've wondered if I've made a mistake." Speaking of this, the village chief frowned and continued, "In the past year, I have often organized the villagers to take the surplus fish they have exchanged for to the Eternal City to sell. Because it is very popular, it sells very well, although it makes a lot of money, everyone is happy, and some of the old equipment in the village has been updated. However, because the sale was so good, it seemed to offend some big businessmen, so there were often troubles for us later. This wildfire, as we later investigated, was the work of one of the wealthy businessmen who colluded with an unclean guild. ”

The village chief paused and said sadly, "I'm really sorry for those night spirits. Because of some of our contradictions, they have been ruined and corpses are scattered all over the field. ”

"It stands to reason that the Guild Alliance should prohibit the Guild from accepting such a commission." Yugari asked suspiciously.

"I guess I haven't released a commission before." Miria explained, "Although the Guild Alliance does explicitly prohibit guilds from participating in commissions that are traded without the Guild Alliance's approval, there will still be some 'gray guilds' who privately accept all kinds of illegal commissions for profit. Although it will be punished very severely if it is discovered by the Guild Alliance, it is still repeatedly banned under the temptation of huge profits. ”

"If that's the case, is there anything we can do to help?" Eugari asked.

The village chief frowned and said, "Actually, before this, we also found many guilds and adventurers, and we have communicated with them many times, but they can't solve it. ”

"What is it?" Eugari asked.

"That's right. I had seen the patriarch of the Eidolon a long time ago, a very powerful shaman. I've always felt that with its abilities, it shouldn't be easily defeated by ordinary adventurers. But this time, according to our later investigation, someone should have leaked information about this patriarch in advance, and I don't know how to invite the sealing mage and seal the patriarch in the Sealing Tower. ”

"Seal Mage?"

"It's a group of special magicians who have been screened out since their birth, received special baptisms, sacrificed all other desires, and focused only on sealing spells all their lives." Miria explained to Yugari, "It is said that there are no more than five hundred sealing mages in the world, and they are special forces that are only part of the Eternal City. However, it stands to reason that they only accept commissions officially recognized by the Guild Alliance, and other than that, they cannot carry out tasks casually. Miria also said she couldn't understand why there was a sealing mage.

"Can they seal anything into the Sealing Tower?" Yugari asked Miria.

"Theoretically, it should be possible." Miria continued, "However, the stronger the target of the seal, the more mages will participate in the seal, and the more time-consuming the sealing process will be. It is said that a giant dragon was sealed a long time ago, and about 100 sealing mages were dispatched. Actually, to be precise, it is not directly sealed the target into the Demon Sealing Tower. Instead, they seal the target into the magic seal crystal carried by the magician, and then they bring the crystal back to the vicinity of the Sealing Tower and cast a teleportation spell, which will eventually seal the target into the Sealing Tower. ”

"I see." Yugari nodded and continued to ask the village chief, "Then what do you mean......

The village chief was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "We are thinking, hoping that someone can save the Eidolon Patriarch from the Demon Sealing Tower. ”

"Impossible." Miria said categorically, "The Demon Sealing Tower is built with extremely powerful magical materials, and no matter how powerful a monster is, it cannot be broken from within. What's more, all creatures that enter the Demon Sealing Tower will continue to be eaten away by the Demon Sealing Tower, constantly losing health and mana until they die. Moreover, there is only a one-way passage from the bottom to the upper floor of the Demon Sealing Tower, so even if someone enters and finds the patriarch, there is no way to save him, and he can't ...... Wait a minute. Speaking of this, Miria thought for a moment and corrected, "It seems that people can be teleported from inside the Demon Sealing Tower now, but only for adventurers who have been subjected to a timed teleportation spell outside the tower in advance. ”

"What's going on?" Eugari asked.

"That's right. In recent years, with the continuous breakthrough in the field of magical research, and the enthusiasm of adventurers to constantly challenge their limits, the Sealed Demon Tower has gradually become a test tower for adventurers. Now for all adventurers who wish to enter the tower to cultivate, the Eternal City will charge a certain fee, mainly to impose a special layer of timed teleportation spells on them. This spell will automatically teleport the adventurer back to the original casting location after a certain amount of time. Although more and more adventurers eager to push the limits have entered the interior to cultivate, it is said that most of them have been teleported back in the form of corpses. ”

"Is there any way to teleport the Eidolon out as well?" Yugari continued to ask.

"I guess it doesn't work." Miria said negatively, "Because this teleportation spell can only teleport back the adventurer himself and his carrying, and other lifeforms cannot teleport back." Of course, the Hunter's battle pet or something, if it's in the magic space, it's no problem. ”

"If that's the case, then, if, I mean if." Yugari asked, "Let the sealing mage enter the tower, seal the night spirit inside into the magic seal crystal, and then teleport back together?" ”

"What?" Miria was surprised to hear Eugari's words, and replied, "It's an idea, and it should be doable. However, the Sealing Mage should not be allowed to enter the Sealing Tower. Therefore, it is only theoretically said in the past, but in practice it still does not work. ”

"Then no one else can use the Seal Spell?" Yugari continued to ask.

"As far as I know, no. Although I have heard of magicians who can use spells to seal some magic items, there are magicians who can seal some rare spells, and there seem to be magicians who can seal some special demons or something, but there are magicians who can seal all creatures indiscriminately, except for the sealing mages of the Eternal City, there should be no more. Moreover, the magic seal crystal is basically only authorized to be made by the Eternal City, and it will not be sold easily. Even if some of them occasionally flow into the black market, they are basically very expensive, and ordinary people cannot afford to spend even if they go bankrupt. Therefore, the targets that can be sealed are generally very harmful, or the targets that the guild alliance thinks are very necessary, or they will not waste a lot of manpower and financial resources to seal. ”

"That's really hard." After listening to this, Yugari said to herself.

"I've asked a lot of people before, and most of them have answered like this." The man in a black and brown shirt next to the village chief said sadly, "Now that my daughter is sick again, I don't have the energy to help the village chief deal with this matter. ”

"What's wrong with her? It doesn't matter, right? At this point, Eugari asked as she looked at the little girl sitting in the corner.

"That's right. She stumbled upon the corpse of the burnt Eidolon, who seemed to be her friend. The doctor said that she had suffered a great mental blow, so there was nothing the doctor could do about it as it was. I'm going to take her to the big city another day. ”

Miria stood up at this time, walked to the little girl's side, looked at her empty and dull gaze, slowly took her into her arms, gently stroked her hair, and said, "I remember when I was a child, when I first witnessed the loss of a loved one, it was like this. The doctor said that it is best to take some foods to nourish and calm the nerves. ”

"That's right." Speaking of this, Miria remembered something, "Do you still have the Ning Xin Fruit that was given to us on the way?" That kind of fruit works very well. ”

"Yes." As she spoke, Yujiali put on her gloves and took out a lot of Ning Xin Fruit and put them on the table, "That's pretty much it, it's all here." ”

"What is this?" The man asked, confused.

"It's a heart nut, and it's very effective in treating her symptoms." Miria said to the man, "Cook some for her every day, I think it will be fine in a few days." ”

"That's so grateful." The man said with some excitement.

"That's right. Before boiling these fruits, do not take them directly with your hands, there will be adverse reactions, and you must remember to wear gloves. Miria instructed.

At this time, the woman came out of the kitchen with her meal and said, "Dinner is ready, let's talk while eating." Don't go hungry. ”

"yes." At this time, the man also beckoned, "Let's eat first." Try our meals here. ”

"Ah, no." Yujali and Miria hurriedly excused themselves, "Thank you for your kindness, we're going to rush back, so we're not going to eat dinner here, I'm really sorry." ”

"Let's eat together." The woman warmly invited, "You're welcome." ”

"I really don't need to." "I really have to rush back, and we will eat together next time." ”

With that, Eugari and Miria got up to leave.

"How embarrassing is this, you have done us so much that we haven't even eaten a meal......" the man said embarrassedly.

"It's okay, it's okay." Yugari excused herself.

After that, the man escorted Yugari and Miria out of the door, watched them walk back to the hut, and then returned to the living room.

As soon as Youjiali and the others entered the gate, He Jian immediately beckoned, "You have come at the right time. Dinner has just been prepared, come over quickly, or it's going to be cold. ”

"Here we go." Yugari replied, and then pulled Miria to the table, where she sat next to Li Yaqi and Conya, and enjoyed a delicious dinner together.

During the meal, Youjiali told He Dun and them what she had just learned from the village chief. Although everyone is also very interested in helping something. But after discussing it for a long time, I still can't think of any good way. In the end, I had no choice but to give up.

After dinner, everything in the hall was cleaned up, and everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Only Li Yaqi and Konya were left lying on the roof, facing the clear night sky, chatting leisurely.

"Did you catch any fish later?" Li Yaqi asked jokingly.

"What nonsense, I'm always on the road, not to mention fish, I don't even have a pond." Konya replied dissatisfied.

Suddenly, Conya sat up and said, "By the way, when I came, I seemed to see a big pond not far from the village. ”

"So what?" Li Yaqi said uninterestedly.

"Maybe there's a big fish in there!" Konya said.

"Huh?" Li Yaqi replied in surprise, "Going fishing in the middle of the night?" Don't fish sleep? ”

"What's the matter?" Konya pouted, "Maybe someone goes out for a walk at night." ”

"Anyway, I'm going fishing, and I'll leave the task of vigilance to you!" After saying that, Konya jumped out of the wooden house and ran in the direction of the outside of the village, leaving Li Yaqi alone, and complained to the night sky, "I really think of one out and one out." ”

Conya ran to the edge of the pond, with the crystal clear water in front of her, the sparse and quiet woods on the opposite side, and the weeds under her feet. Konya immediately took out her fishing rod, sat down on a large rock next to her, and fished for it.

It wasn't long before Konya suddenly heard a chirping voice from the woods opposite. She looked up and saw a small, swampy nomad yelton, hiding by a large tree and shouting at her.

At first, Konya didn't care, after all, a weak swamp long-snouting Eidolon couldn't pose any threat to her. However, as time passed, the little night spirit still kept barking at her, and Conya didn't even see a fish shadow, so she couldn't help but get irritable. Finally, she stood up and shouted to the night spirit in the distance, "Don't scream, don't bother! When the Nightlings saw Cornya's actions, they immediately hid behind a tree. But when Cornia sat down on the rock again and continued fishing, it sprang out again and continued to bark.

"I'm so." Konya said to herself, "What are you yelling in the middle of the night, the fish are scared away." ”

"Okay." Speaking of this, Konya glared at the little night spirit in the distance and said, "Ability and language mastery." ”

"That! There are no fish in this water! Konya immediately understood the shouts of the Nightlings in the distance.

"What?!" Konya muttered unhappily. So, she immediately put down the fishing rod in her hand and rushed to the little night spirit as fast as she could. Frightened, the Nightlings immediately hid behind the trees.

Konya then appeared behind the little night spirit and asked angrily, "What did you just say?" ”

The little night spirit turned around and replied tremblingly, "I—I mean, that, there are no fish in the water. ”

"What? How do you know if there are no fish? Have you gone down and seen it? Konya said incredulously.

"The water here is shallow, and the other day there was a fire that killed all the fish here. There are no more fish left. The little night spirit said hesitantly.

"Really?" Conya asked dissatisfied, "Did you come all the way out of the mountains just to tell me there were no fish here?" ”

"That's not ......," Nightling replied.

"What's that?" Konya asked, a little uninterested.

"Please save our patriarch, it's been captured!" The little night spirit suddenly plucked up his courage and said loudly.

"Huh?" Cornia was a little surprised, but he immediately understood what the little night spirit meant, and then said disinterestedly, "What does this matter to me?" I'm too busy to pay attention to you. Good bye. ”

With that, Konya turned to leave.

At this moment, the little night spirit suddenly hugged Konya's feet and pleaded, "Please help us, we can give you a lot of fish." ”

"Huh?" Konya said disdainfully, "What do I want the fish for?" I don't scarce your fish. With that, he shook off the little night spirit and planned to leave.

At this point, the little night spirit pleaded in great pain and anxiety, "Please, if you will help us...... Our patriarch can teach you the magic of fishing. ”

"Huh?" Hearing this, Konya stopped, turned around in disbelief, and said to the little night spirit, "What nonsense. How can a weak creature like you have any powerful spells? ”

The little night spirit hugged Konya's feet again, and pleaded anxiously, "Really, I don't lie to you, we are very good at fishing." Our ancestors lived here hundreds of years ago and passed down a very powerful fishing spell. The patriarch had said before that this kind of spell was a very powerful spell that could be passed on to others. If...... If you can help us get the patriarch back, we'll pass on the spell to you. Please. ”

"Well...... "Konya hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the Nightling, and said, "Okay. But if you lie to me, I'll kill you all!" ”

"No, I won't lie to you." Nightlings replied loudly.

"So be it." Konya turned, "When I find your patriarch, I'll bring it here to find you." ”

"Thank you, thank you!" The Nightlings screamed loudly.

Yugari was lying on the bed, and when she was sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt someone shake her.

"Eugari, Eugari. Wake up. ”

In a hazy way, Yugari heard someone calling her name. So she slowly opened her sleepy eyes, rubbed her eyes and sat up, and said in a daze, "Huh? Konya? It's so late, what's the matter? ”

"Listen to me." Konya whispered in front of Yugari and said, "I want to leave the team for a few days." ”

"Huh?" Surprised, Eugari asked, "What's wrong?" What are you going to do? ”

"I'm going to the Demon Sealing Tower to get that night spirit out." Konya said calmly.

"Huh?!" Yugari shouted in surprise.

"Shhhh ”

Yugari nodded and continued, "What did you just say? ”

"I mean, I'm going to seal the Demon Tower and catch the Night Spirit." Konya repeated.

"Why? That's too dangerous. You've heard us talk about it at dinner. Even if it's you, it's very dangerous to get in. Besides, is there anything you can do to get the eidolon out of it? Eugari asked.

"Don't worry, I have my way." Konya said confidently, "I'll talk to Li Yaqi in a moment, if something goes wrong, he'll go to Lord Shanna to find a way." ”

"That's not good, in case it ......," Yugari said worriedly.

"Alright, let's do it." Konya said willfully, "Tomorrow remember to help me explain to everyone, and when I get the night spirit out, I'll catch you again." ”

Although Yujiali was still very worried, seeing that Konya was so resolute, she had no choice but to go. "Then you must be more careful, don't have an accident."

"Alright, alright. It's okay. Konya said impatiently, then turned away.

Early the next morning, Yujiali explained the situation to He Dun, only saying that Conya was temporarily away for a while because she had other things to do, and did not elaborate. He Dun also felt that there was no big problem. So, everyone packed their belongings, and after greeting the village chief and them for a while, they took their leave, and the convoy set out on the journey to the Night City again.

After Konya came out of Yugari's room, she explained the situation to Li Yaqi again, and then immediately mounted her Black Flame Nightmare Beast and ran in the direction of the Eternal City.

When Cornia arrived in the Eternal City, it was already noon the next day. The Eternal City was built on a scale that was not inferior to Staris, but it was clearly much less populous. Most of the people who come here are adventurers who want to challenge their limits in the Demon Sealing Tower. In other words, they are people who sacrifice their lives to challenge powerful beings.

Conya didn't go directly to the Demon Sealing Tower in the middle of the city, but first found an inn nearby to settle down. Then I carefully inquired with the shopkeepers and the adventurers who came and went about the details of the Sealed Demon Tower. When she heard the shopkeeper say that it would cost five gold coins to enter the Demon Sealing Tower, her jaw almost fell in surprise.

"So expensive?!" Konya said incredulously.

"Of course, little girl." The innkeeper patiently explained, "Because after entering, all the monsters destroyed, the materials collected, spell cheats, weapons and equipment, and everything else belong to the adventurer himself." In fact, not everyone goes in for trials or something, and there are many people who just go to pick up some materials, or the corpses of monsters, or even weapons and equipment abandoned by other adventurers after death. So if you think about it this way, there is still some money. ”

"However, I heard that most of the adventurers who went in were dead inside, didn't they?" Konya asked, confused.

"That's true. Who made them so greedy. The aunt said helplessly, "The greed for wealth, if you get this, you still want to take that, and if you take that, you want to take something else, until you meet the enemy and are killed." There is also the dissatisfaction with the challenge of the limit, and after challenging this, I want to find something more powerful, until I can't beat it, and I will die. That's why they died inside. ”

"What's wrong?" The aunt looked at Cornia and asked, "You don't want to go in, do you?" ”

"That's—that's not it." Konya stammered, "I just heard that the Demon Sealing Tower here is very famous, so I came here to visit and travel." ”

"That's good. Anyway, I don't understand the thoughts of people who come here all the way to pay for their deaths. After the aunt finished speaking, she turned around and went about her work.

"Since it's rare to come here, let's go around the city and see if there are any suitable supplies or sustenances to buy some back, and then we can have an explanation with Youjiali and them." Konya muttered as she walked out of the inn.

That afternoon, Konya walked around the Eternal City for a long time, basically inquiring about all the news about the Sealed Demon Tower, and bought a lot of souvenirs. At night, I was content to lie on the bed in the inn.

"Alright, everything is ready, tomorrow after entering the tower to catch the night spirit, you can return with a full load." As she thought so, Konya slowly drifted into the dream.