The next morning, it was still dark in the twilight forest.

Diego shuddered from his nightmare. He squinted and looked around, it was very silent, and in the fog, he could vaguely see the Night Elf sitting on a tree stump in the distance and looking around.

He got up from the ground, moved his body, and realized that all the injuries he had suffered yesterday had healed. It seems that the Night Elves have faithfully fulfilled their obligations as friends, as he has always been.

He took a step and walked towards Masrae.

Hearing his approach, the Night Elf turned around and looked at him with concern, "How's it going?" ”

"Very good, thank you, Masrae, and I'm so sorry to get you involved." Diego said apologetically, in fact, when he set off yesterday, he was furious and didn't even ask for the Night Elves' permission, because he knew that Masrae would definitely go with him.

Masrae looked at him disdainfully and rolled his eyes. Obviously, he thinks Diego is talking nonsense, not sincere at all.

"In that case, then you can settle it for breakfast." Masrae said dissatisfied.

Diego gratefully complied. He took out some sun-dried beef leg mushrooms, hard jerky, cold cheese, and a small marching pot from the devil's cloth bag, and boiled a pot of broth. He didn't let Guan Haifa catch any game, and although it would be easy for him and the big cat, he wasn't sure if the meat of these demonically irradiated and polluted beasts would be edible, and it was better not to risk it.

After a haphazard breakfast, they set off again. Because it was daytime, they moved much faster than at night. Halfway through the morning, Diego was surprised to find that they had arrived at the Rotten Grass Farm, the place where they had been passing by and had stayed for a noon.

The necromancer's trail becomes even more evident here. His undead pets obviously didn't know what a queue was, and they walked very scattered, and the wheat fields that had already begun to rot were trampled into twisted ravines by them, like scars cut by the evil force on the earth.

The ravines led to the only two remaining buildings on the farm, but they did not see a single undead outside the house. Maybe the necromancer circled them all. However, judging from the tracks they have trodden in the wheat fields, there are at least thirty of them, if not more.

"We'd better not go in, it's hard to play your range advantage in tight spaces." Masrae said worriedly.

"Then get them out." Diego said. He pulled out a flaming magazine and replaced it, then fired a shot.

It has to be said that Diego has become more and more impatient, and he prefers to use simple and crude solutions to many problems. Masrae didn't know if this change in his friend was good or bad. Although he himself has this temper many times, is it really good for two people to take risks together?

Before Masrae could say anything, a crimson flame bomb slammed into the wooden roof and exploded violently. This kind of fire-setting weapon is obviously the most suitable for this kind of place, and the lava core powder in the warhead is scattered in all directions, almost igniting the entire roof in the blink of an eye, and the long tongue of fire licks greedily, and after a while, in a burst of beeps. The beams and pillars that were burned into a sea of fire could no longer hold on, and they were burned down with a bang. The stables lasted a little longer, but they were quickly burned to the ground.

Incredibly, neither of them saw anyone escape from either house, whether dead or alive. This is not normal, according to Staven's expression all along, Diego could hardly believe that this necromancer would die so silently.

He walked around the burning farmhouse, but without seeing any sign of the undead monsters leaving around the farmhouse, he didn't give up, but walked a little south. Sure enough, on the edge of the farm, he found a puddle of pus on the ground. Now it seems that all the signs point to the fact that the necromancer has left behind his slow-moving undead pets. Left on his own. Perhaps he sensed someone catching up.

This upset Diego a little, as the prey was already alert and could bite back at any moment, which would be a nuisance. But that doesn't dampen Diego's determination, he's just a little troublesome.

They followed the trail left by the necromancer to the south, until they reached the dark river. By the river. The trail is gone.

"What should I do?" Masrae was a little undecided, if the target was only to cross the river and flee to the other side, it would be fine to say, there would always be a trace, but if he escaped along the river by boat, it would be troublesome - who could guess whether he would swim against the current or sail down the river?

Diego pondered for a moment, but decided to go to the other side first.

"Let's go to the other side first to see if he has fled to the western wilderness, although this is very unlikely, and if we can't find any trace of him, we will go downstream along the river."

"Why don't you look upstream?" Masrae asked, puzzled.

"His injury won't heal that quickly, it's too much work to swim against the current, and it's hard for him to do it." Diego explained that, in fact, he suspected that Stavon's injuries would never heal, as the necromancer was clearly working in the direction of transforming into a lich, and the damage to his flesh ~ body was already a little indifferent to him.

They searched along the river and finally found a small dilapidated fishing boat in a small river, but did not find its owner, and it was clear that the fisherman had been gone for a long time.

The boat hadn't been used for a long time, and it was decaying, and in some places it was covered with green moss. When Diego jumped on it, the planks even creaked, raising fears that it might step on a hole at any moment. But for the vengeful Diego, he can't care so much.

The two of them quickly crossed the Dark River and came to the opposite bank.

As Diego had expected, they zigzagged far from the riverbank, but found no traces. It seems that Staven did not go ashore. So they returned to the river again and sailed downstream along the river.

The boat is not suitable for long voyages, but it is still up to the task of a calm, dark river. The Night Elves held the penny and skillfully controlled the direction of the ship, which was not difficult for him at all, because the elves had to cross a wide sea when traveling between Russelan and Auberdine, so the Night Elves were no strangers to maneuvering the boat and sailing.

They walked south along the wide, dark river. The scenery on both sides of the river is completely different, creating a stark contrast - the east shore is a gloomy jungle hidden in the mist, and the west is a vast expanse of wilderness.

Due to the shelter of the riverbank, it was difficult for the wind to blow here, and the river became silent, and there was no birdsong to break the silence. By this time, the sun had gradually set to the west, and finally slowly disappeared below the horizon. Twilight brings with it a dark and starless night, and the air on the water is eerie and cold.

Diego listened to the river flowing under the boat, and suddenly fell into unease and anxiety. He realized that he had fallen into a mistake - even if Staven did go south, he could abandon the boat and land at any time, how could they tell when he had left the Dark River? He watched the shore intently, hoping to see the ship that the necromancer had left behind, but the shore was overgrown with reeds and cattails, and there was no place to hide a boat. He did so in vain.

But his anxiety was relieved the next morning, and after a conversation with a beaver that was damming the shore, Masrae brought him good news.

"Yesterday evening, it saw a small boat passing by here, and it should be Staven."

"How does it know it's him?" Diego asked, puzzled.

Of course it didn't know, I guessed, because the rancid smell of the boat as it passed over its head was very disturbing to it, exactly like the scavenging monitor lizards that emanated. You know, animals are much more sensitive to death than we are. ”

Diego felt a lot more at ease, and his mood improved.

On the third day of the voyage, the scenery on both sides of the river began to change, and the terrain on the banks of the river began to become uneven and hilly. Soon, they found themselves in a hill-strewn, densely forested area, with slopes on either side hidden under dense trees, vines, and ferns. Birds and apes were spotted in the jungle on both sides of the riverbank, and Diego saw many huge crocodiles crawling lazily on the banks of the river basking in the sun.

Diego knew that they had left the Twilight Forest and had come to the southernmost point of the continent, the Valley of Thorns. (To be continued.) )