The branches were carbonized in the flames, turned to ashes, scattered and flew into the air. Under the night, the warm flames infiltrate people's hearts, and the bright orange light drags everyone's shadows for a long time. An ancient song seems to be hidden in the firelight, reflected in the depths of the mangrove labyrinth, and the shadows of thick ink are intertwined.

The flame light reflected everyone's expressions, Ji Ta habitually bit her lip, frowned slightly, and her azure face was curious, Luo Yu was absent-minded, as if she was thinking about her own affairs. The elven girl looked attentive, and from time to time she looked back to notice the situation outside the mangrove forest.

Only Parker held his boots, squinted his black bean eyes, pecked his head and pecked his head, and then suddenly woke up and looked around in a panic.

Mazak's skin was bronzed in the firelight, and the patterns on his cheekbones became more and more prominent, and he looked at the bonfire in front of him intently, as if he could see through the flickering flames and see all the stories that had happened in that distant era.

He lightly rubbed his fingers against Galapeia's sharp blade, responding with a rough touch. The scene was a little silent for a while, the sparks exploded with a 'snap', the mangrove forest in the distance was quiet, and the sound of insects chirping from far and near came.

In the darkness, the occasional sound of entering the water distracted everyone.

Mazak lowered his sword and placed the blade flat on his lap before he spoke slowly. His voice was low and soothing, as if he was not telling, but reminiscing. Reminisce about a past from a distant era.

"The beginning of this story should begin with the time of the War of the Giants, the cataclysm that took place at the end of the Age of Magic. The Second Scourge descended on Ethorin, and brought the Scourge of Ethorin, the Giants and the Dark Dragon. ”

It was a history that everyone knows.

Fang Yu nodded silently.

In order to fight against the Star of Calamity, elves, dwarves and humans have put aside their previous suspicions and stood together for the first time to form a coalition to fight against the Star of Callight on the plains of Aztagjan. In the decisive battle, the elves and dwarves join forces to shatter the giants' delusions of invading Hailin, and the target of the humans is Lifgard, the king of the dark dragons.

And compared to the ancient Noumerin elves, and the dwarven kingdom with the legendary hero Thorin Os at that time. The mortal kingdoms of Essorin were little more than a nascent and loose city-state at that time.

These weak mortals looked far from being a match for the mighty Dark Dragon, not to mention the fact that it was also fraught with instability inside, with several kingdoms corrupted and degraded and reduced to servants of the Dark Dragon.

But at the critical moment, mortals made sacrifices. A group of valiant humans chose to drink the blood of the dragon and swore a vow to fight the dark dragon for generations to come—these men would become the forerunners of the Oath Keepers. The mortals also enlisted the help of the elves, who forged five dragon-slaying swords from the Root of Aitasis and the silver of the elves, and gifted them to five of the most prominent human heroes of the time.

It was one of the five dragon-slaying swords that finally slew Levgard, drank the blood of the dragon king, and caused the fire of Venus to fall into the dust, putting an end to the scourge of Essorin once and for all.

In the ages that followed, five swords were passed down through the generations in the hands of the Oath Keepers, and the sword bearers kept their oaths until the last dark dragon fell in the Swamp of Death seven hundred years ago. Since then, the Oath Keepers have vanished, leaving only the legend of the Dragon Slayer and their ancient proverbs.

Don't forget the enemies who have passed away—

“…… My ancestors are the descendants of the bearers of Galapeia," Mazak said slowly, the flame moving slightly, as if reflected in his dark eyes, "And our clan still has the blood of the demon dragon in our bodies to this day. But what was once glorious is now a source of deep suffering. The curse of the dragon's blood has always become a haunting haze for our clan, and the power of the dragon grows with age, and once it can't control its power, it will become a monster that looks like a dragon and not a dragon-"

"The dragonmen?" Fang Yu suddenly asked.

Mazak nodded.

"Dragon's minions, but there are more terrifying forms," replied the tall man in a deep voice, very calm, but as if telling a very natural thing, but its content was chilling. "You can only watch as the people you know every day—neighbors, friends, loved ones, and even loved ones—suddenly become those irrational monsters."

“…… There is no warning and there is no way to reverse the process. When everything happens, you can only choose to kill it, or be killed by it. For hundreds of years, we have been accepting this fate, as if we have long been accustomed to it. But it wasn't until about a hundred years ago that that prophecy came true. ”

Everyone was silent, except for the cracking of sparks, and no one expected to hear such a story.

Fang Yu vaguely guessed something, but still couldn't help but ask, "That prophecy?" ”

Mazak glanced at him and replied, "The enemy, who has already died, is back again." ”

The sound was like a gust of cold wind, which made the flames dim a little, and everyone couldn't help but shiver.

There was some silence around the campfire, and the tall man gently stroked the bright blade before he said slowly, "...... After the Battle of the Dead Swamp, my people returned to Istanya to live in seclusion, and spent six hundred years in the land of the Silver Sands, which was not peaceful but peaceful. But since the last time the moon of the sea forest rose, the power of the dragon's blood had become apparently active, and it was at that time that a baby girl named Eveliel Nicol Bolas was born in the clan—"

"She was born with the golden eyes of a dragon, the most ominous sign of our species. Originally, according to the ancient tradition of the Oath Keepers, we should have abandoned this baby girl, but for some special reason, let her stay in the clan. And that became the cause of all the disasters that followed, as the baby girl grew up, the power of the dragon's blood increased day by day, gradually far surpassing that of mortals, and she showed an excellent endowment since she was a child, and could control the power of the dragon's blood almost perfectly. ”

"At that time, the high priest of our clan also thought that maybe she could find a solution to the curse, and once and for all, let our clan no longer be troubled by the power of dragon blood. It is because of his persistence that the baby girl is able to grow up, and until she reaches adulthood, everything seems normal. She seemed destined to be the best oath keeper our people had ever seen, even far more than my ancestor, Shyud, who had been trained as a Garapea's sword-bearer. ”

"But in the seventeenth year, the year of our coming-of-age ceremony, everything changed."

"Nobody really knows what happened that day. My ancestor was on his way to Kaorin-Ishurian, a sword-wielding experience, but when he returned to his clan, all he saw was embers and ruins, charred stumps, men, women, mothers and children, old men and children, and no one survived......"

Goo-dong.

Sky Blue swallowed palely. The rest of the people didn't look any better.

Only Mazak is still slowly recounting: "On that day, we lost almost all of our people. The patriarch, who had her heart gouged out and the high priest who had been raising and supporting her all the time, was also torn to shreds by her. Only one of my ancestors survived and swore revenge. ”

He looked back at everyone and replied, "She became a dragon, and she became our sworn enemy, and you should know the story after that." But there are some details that you may not know, and that's why Nicol Bolas was called the Witch of the Dragon in Karin-Ishurian—"

"Nicol Bolas is a cunning dragon, unlike all of our previous enemies, who reassembled the servants of darkness who had lurked in the mortal realms since the days of the War of the Giants before my ancestors found her. Hiding in the shadows, she reached out to the royal family, seducing the kings of that generation, and in the name of Countess Everil, she unleashed a bloody massacre in Cowlin-Ihurian, a dark era in which the royal family was discredited and the alliance was nearly divided, until her true colors were revealed. ”

"Then came the great battle, in which my ancestor Thuyod fought her head-on, and cut off a corner and a claw of Galapeia, blinding her in one eye, and causing her to retreat with serious wounds. After that, King Cowling abdicated and passed the throne to his only remaining daughter, the grandmother of His Majesty the King, the only queen in Cowling's history. ”

At this point, Mazak suddenly stopped.

Fang Yu could hear it, and couldn't help but ask, "What about after that?" ”

The tall man reversed the blade, casting a bright reflection between his eyes, and he stared at the sword as if thinking about something. After a long time, he continued to answer:

“…… No one has seen her since. Some people have heard of seeing a wounded dragon flying over the sea of clouds, while others say that she hid in the shadows of the Dragonroaring Mountains, waiting for the day when she recovers. Others say that she has fallen into the depths of the swamp, and that the huge skeleton still stands in the middle of the swamp, and in the mist, the broken corner still tells the story of the past. ”

"Is it really dead, the dragon?" Azure asked in a whisper.

Attila glared at her, "Don't interrupt when others are talking, Frey. The little French girl stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.

Mazak was unimpressed and continued: "...... For various reasons, the royal family of Cowling concealed the truth of the year, perhaps also to prevent the scandal from dishonoring the royal family. But for us, the Oath Keeper is clearly aware of the state of his prey, and my ancestor Thuyod has set foot on the land several times since then, but unfortunately has not been able to find her. ”

Fang Yu and the others glanced at each other, and only then did they understand why no one had ever known that the dragon slaying hero Xiu Yod had repelled a dark dragon.

Mazak paused before continuing, "Until more than twenty years ago—"

"It was about twenty-seven years ago that my grandfather began to perceive the sudden activation of the magic that remained in the dragon's horns, which made us realize that Nicol Bolas was back, calling for the missing part of himself. Therefore, in order to follow the Oath Keeper's admonition, my grandfather brought my father and I to this swamp and set up this inn here, in fact, to monitor the dragon's movements. ”

"You're here for it?" Kita whispered, "But it still got its horn back, didn't it?" ”

"It is the work of the dragon-worshippers, who are fallen dark believers, willing servants and minions of the dragon. I had known about their plans, and I had the opportunity to stop them, but for some special reasons, I was able to get these people away with it. ”

The towering man said as he glanced at Fang Yu silently, his gaze falling on the back of the latter's right hand, the mark of the crown was obscured by the glove, but he seemed to be able to see it. His tone was very calm, not at all annoyed, "But it's not really a big deal, Nicol Bolas's cunning makes it impossible for her to show up until her strength is exhausted, and at least that way, we may be able to settle our past grievances with her sooner." ”

Fang Yu remembered the other party's previous conversation with the giant dragon and asked, "That's why you said that at that time, you deliberately let her go, right?" ”

Mazak did not affirm, but he did not deny it either.

Sky Blue had fully recovered after the initial nervousness, and looked at the former with little stars in her eyes, as if she had seen a living legend. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "So you're going to fight her single-handedly, are you as powerful as your ancestor Shuyod, Mr. Mazak?" ”

Mazak didn't answer the question directly, but said, "It's the fate of our people, little girl. ”

Fang Yu chewed on this term and asked, "However, I still have a question. Why do you want to tell us this, Mr. Mazak? ”

"Because I want you to do me a favor."

Everyone's eyes were subconsciously focused on Fang Yuan. Because Mazak was talking about you, not you, he was clearly referring to the square plover.

Fang Yu himself was also a little flattered, and said to Mazak unexpectedly: "But Mr. Mazak, I'm still a newcomer. ”

Tianlan couldn't help but look at him when he heard it, oh my God, such an interesting and exciting task, how could someone still push it out? But Fang Yu was not afraid to be an enemy of the dark dragon, he was worried that his level was too low to fulfill the other party's commission.

Mazak heard the meaning of his words and shook his head: "Don't worry, it's just a small thing, you can definitely do it." Before I head to the Traveler's Swamp, I wish to commission a trustworthy person to deliver something to an old acquaintance of mine who lives near Golland, and I hope that person is you-"

"Deliver a letter?"

"It's me?" Fang Yu and Tianlan asked rhetorically at the same time, but the former was in a genuinely inquiring tone, while the latter was disappointed.

In Sky Blue's opinion, the task of sending a message is about the lowest level of Aitalia, only slightly more advanced than helping people find lost items.

"Oathkeepers trust their instincts." Mazak replied, pulling out a palm-sized package from his pocket, tightly bound with oiled paper, apparently prepared. "I'm sure you can do it, all you need is a guarantee that you will never open the package and see what's inside until you arrive at Goland—"

Fang Yu was stunned, and saw a few lines of prompts appearing in the system window:

'Updated the event directory - The Witch of the Dragon. ’

'Updated the Upper Event Catalogue - The Arrival of the Third Scourge Star. ’

'Records of experience - 3200 points. ’

'Detected a potential incident, did you accept Mazak's commission?' ’

Mazak took the package and looked at him quietly. And the eyes of others also fell on Fang Yu.

The latter hesitated for only a moment before taking the package. Not to mention that he was very curious about this story, and just that Mazak had come to the rescue, he would not easily refuse. What's more, for him, this matter is just a gesture.

"I'll get it right, Mr. Mazak." Fang Yu earnestly assured.

Mazak looked at him, and did not seem to have the slightest doubt that this promise would be fulfilled, only nodded slightly.

The night was quiet.

Only the bright light of the campfire remained.

……