Chapter 40: The Beginning and the End
Before Liu Li's body was left by the caravan, more than two-thirds of the way to Sin City had been completed, but the remaining less than one-third of the way was not so easy to walk. This place is already in the depths of the swamp, and sometimes there will be powerful magical beasts, but fortunately, Liu Li is already proficient in black spells, and he has also adapted to the swamp environment for a while, so it is not difficult to deal with it. But what surprised Liu Li the most was the performance of the squirrel, she was not a spellcaster, Liu Li was very sure, but for the black element, this girl who fell out of the black hole had a sensitivity far beyond ordinary people, coupled with excellent hiding skills, although it couldn't bring Liu Li much help in the battle, but at least it wouldn't cause any trouble.
A few days together had given the two of them a little more understanding, at least the squirrel already knew that this was not the world she was familiar with. In this dangerous environment where monsters are frequently infested, she didn't dwell too much on this matter, which also made Liu Li realize that her world might not be peaceful like here. The squirrel's fighting skills are very skilled, although he is not a real martial artist, and he does not understand the power skills that belong to the martial artist, but in the face of battle, the appearance of a dagger flying up and down his fingertips can also make Liu Li see that in the environment she was in before, fighting was also commonplace for her.
Looking at the girl who followed her, Liu Li's thoughts drifted back to the time when she had just been picked up by Kamal a few years ago. Squirrels are much better than they were at the beginning, and if they could have done what she did, maybe Kamal and they wouldn't have died.
Liu Li shook his head, as if he wanted to shake out the haze in his heart, after all, the deceased was gone, and it would be useless to regret it. The most important thing now is to arrive safely in Sin City, but I still have a task on my shoulders. And then there's this squirrel...... Well, this girl, Liu Li finally knows why her name is Squirrel, she can always magically find nuts in this rotten swamp that can be eaten, God knows what kind of talent this is.
"I wish you were a necromancer now. "Around the campfire, the squirrel slumped tiredly, rubbing his feet in pain from walking for too long. "If you could get a few bone-dead beasts to pull the cart, we'd probably be in the sin city you mentioned. ”
"Tell me about your Death Elemental over there. Liu Li was very curious about the death element in the squirrel's mouth, and even the black elements that she brought over that seemed to be extremely decaying were carefully collected by Liu Li and stored in the black hole, because in the past two days, Liu Li has always floated a small ball with a diameter of less than one centimeter. Although this little thing seemed to be in the way during the battle, Liu Li didn't dare to throw it away casually. This is another black element that exhibits completely different characteristics from the black elements commonly found in this world, although it is essentially the same, but Liu Li does not want to give up the opportunity to learn about another world through it. You know, the exploration of the unknown is the driving force behind the caster's progress.
"It's no different from the elementals here, it's just not so quiet, on our side, the death elemental is evolving in a more decaying direction all the time, until it is annihilated......" Squirrel recalled, telling Liu Li what she knew about the black element. But listening to her words, a trace of doubt gradually rose from the bottom of Liu Li's heart. As she said before, she was chased by a necromancer because she didn't dodge a spell called Necromantic Imprisonment. But looking at her current devotion to necromancy, and the fact that she is clearly not the caster, the implications are worth pondering. Judging from the performance of getting along during this time, although the squirrel often experienced battles, she also had no worries about food and clothing in her life, and judging from the clothes she wore when she crossed over, there was basically not much wear and tear on her refined leather armor, and the dagger in her hand did not look like it was often pierced into the flesh, and there was not even a trace of congealed blood on it.
Liu Li didn't probe into each other's secrets, after all, the two had just met for a short time, and they were far from being close enough to probe each other's secrets. Thinking of this, Liu Li still misses the elves he met in Post Town, even if they were not familiar with each other, they were far more comfortable communicating with each other than they are now.
"Can you put that thing a little farther away, I don't want to get too close to it. Of course, the squirrel refers to the black hole that contains the "death element" suspended next to Liu Li. However, Liu Li didn't have a good way to do this, maintaining spiritual communication for a long time was a more energy-consuming thing, and if he put this black hole that required him to maintain casting spells all the time to ensure that it would not collapse too far, even with his spiritual power, it would be unbearable. Liu Li couldn't help but sigh again at the inadequacy of his cultivation, according to what Landolia said, if the spell cultivation could reach the third order, it was completely possible to use the spatial characteristics of the black hole to create a stable storage space. Although it is far less convenient to use than the space items created by high-level mages, and it takes a certain amount of time to collect or release items, it is still good to store some things that are not commonly used.
The night was thick, but Liu Li suddenly woke up, gently signaled to the squirrel who was keeping vigil to be quiet, and then summoned a black hole, directly engulfing the still burning bonfire. It's not that he senses that there are any dangerous magical beasts nearby, and it is impossible for Liu Li, who is asleep, to maintain a state of "omniscience" all the time, but the light tremor coming from the meditation space will not lie, there must be something that will make him feel this way in the dark.
Without explaining too much to the squirrel, Liu Li directly turned on the state of "omniscience", since it was an induction from the meditation space, it meant that it must be related to the elements. The flow of black elementals is the same as usual, and as it gets deeper into the swamp, its activity increases. However, just as Liu Li turned his gaze in the direction of Sin City, the calm elemental flow seemed to be disturbed by something, and some unusual waves appeared. And this kind of fluctuation does not seem to be new.
Motioning for the squirrel to follow, the two men crept forward. A familiar team and familiar people appeared in front of Liu Li's eyes. That's Eve's convoy, and the confrontation with it is still the "mask". Liu Li noticed that the familiar fluctuation was emitted by the unknown object in the carriage that Eve was in before. But now, in Liu Li's perception, the feeling of that fluctuation is different, or more accurately, Liu Li has finally figured out what that strange fluctuation is. The black hole floating next to Liu Li can be said to be no different from the feeling that the fluctuations gave him. That's the element of death, another manifestation of the black element in addition to darkness.
As a spellcaster, especially a spellcaster who studied under Landolia, a fifth-order dark mage, Liu Li had never heard of such a characteristic of the black element in this world before. However, whether it is the black hole floating around him or the item that Eve carries, it all proves that the "death element" in the squirrel's mouth is real.
"Eve, you can't escape, hand over the Bones of the Secret Words. The man confronting the caravan was wearing a mask, and his face could not be seen clearly, but it was also evident from Kong Wu's powerful stature that he possessed great strength. Through his words, Liu Li finally knew the name of the item that caused the fluctuation of the black element. He and Eve had known each other for a long time, and Liu Li could hear from the conversation that it was a tone facing acquaintances, but it was obvious that acquaintances were also divided into friends or enemies, and their relationship was obviously the second type.
"Don't think about it, the Bones of Secret Words must be destroyed, this thing should not exist in this world in the first place. "The beautiful caravan steward no longer has the outstanding appearance of Liu Li when he first saw him, and he is not wearing the well-cut clothes he was wearing at the beginning. Dressed in leather armor, she looked a little embarrassed, and the expression on her face was tired, but it was clear from the stubborn eyes that she had not given up hope.
"Don't struggle, my patience is limited. The masked man's tone grew more and more impatient, "Eve, my men haven't attacked your carriage even once, but if you continue to be ignorant like this, don't blame me for not remembering the friendship I had back then." ”
"Ian, back when you decided to do that, we didn't have a good relationship anymore. Eve didn't know what she was thinking, and Liu Li, who was in a state of "omniscience", obviously saw tears from the corners of her eyes that she was reluctant to shed. However, what attracted Liu Li's attention even more was the name she shouted, "Ian", which was the goal of her mission. Landolia had instructed to take him back, or to make it impossible for him to go back.
"Ian? No, I've long since abandoned that name, and now I'm just a mask. Perhaps because of the dominance, Ian's tone seemed relaxed. "You know what? When I heard from my men about the failure of the ambush, I was really worried for a while. I'm really afraid that the crazy woman will come to me for trouble, but it seems that he is dead, and even his body has been left behind by you, and it has been wiped out in the elemental tides. ”
Liu Li didn't rush to make a move, and the mask Ian was wearing was undoubtedly a magic storage item. Liu Li didn't know what kind of spells were stored in the mask, but from the flow of the surrounding elements, he could tell that the mask must contain extremely powerful power.
"Hmph, I will definitely go back with your head and personally ask Sister Landuo for sin. There was a flash of determination in Eve's eyes. As William's lover, she and Landolia are naturally familiar with each other, and when she saw Liu Li casting the black hole spell, she also recognized Liu Li's identity. However, the Secret Whisper Bone in her hand is related to the safety of the entire continent, and she can only watch Liu Li desperately and can't help.
Listening to the conversation between the two, Liu Li finally figured out the ins and outs of the whole thing. William, the son of Dean Ex and Eve's lover, is a renowned Warcraft scholar who has been searching for a way to coexist with a strong physique and magical spells. And the bones of an unknown creature that happened to open a new door for his goal. This skeleton contains a rich black element, but the nature of the expression is completely different from the black element that already exists in this world.
Ian is Eve's cousin, who has no talent for magic, but has an extraordinary yearning for the magical world of magic. In the process of accidentally touching the bones, a small part of the strange black element contained in the bones flowed into Ian's body, and he was surprised to find that this small black element could be used by him freely, and he also became greedy. In order to keep the bones for himself, Ian made up a lie that he had seen a humanoid creature in the southern forests that could cast spells and was extremely strong. Ian, as his lover's cousin, William naturally believed his words, so he disappeared into the southern forest. Just when Ian thinks he can finally keep the magical bone for himself, the whole thing is noticed by Eve under his carelessness. As a young girl, Eve took the risk of stealing the bones from him and told Ex about it, and Landolia and Wells naturally knew what had happened. Wells, who majored in the red element, didn't mention it for the time being, both Ex and Landolia had their own unique opinions on the cultivation of the black element, and the black element in the bones exuded an aura of endless decay that also discouraged them. (Well, the main thing is that Dean Ex is deterred, and Landolia has to be deterred by the threat of her own teacher.) )
After years of inquiry, Eve finally knew that the destruction of this ominous skeleton could only be achieved in the place where the black element was most intense, and she was not worried about leaving this matter to others, so she had to go on this trip herself. Unexpectedly, after the matter was revealed, Ian, who had nowhere to stay, would hide in the swamp of Sin City. Ian, who fused some of the elements in the skeleton, still had a faint sense of this skeleton, and he naturally would not let go of this opportunity after operating in Sin City for decades. But perhaps it was Ian's overjoyed action that allowed Landolia, who was far away in Alonor, to find some clues, which led to Liu Li's mission this time.