There is not a single cloud in the gloomy sky, the cold wind blows, making people shiver with cold, Stan doesn't know where he is, there is nothing around him, as if everything on the earth has disappeared, only the empty horizon remains.

Just as he was wondering, a cloud of black smoke appeared out of thin air, and a black figure walked out of it, his body was constantly bubbling with black gas, and his whole face was shrouded in black smoke.

"Who are you?" Stan can't make out the other man's face.

The black figure slowly walked forward. "You know who I am, Stan. ”

"Dark Lord!" Stan jerked to his feet and tried to rush towards the figure, but was knocked down by a violent headache, and fell down again with a steady.

"Don't be in such a hurry, knight. There was a sense of relief in the figure's tone. "See who these people are?"

Stan, holding back the pain that almost made his head burst, slowly lifted his head, only to see several figures standing on either side of the Dark Lord at some point. Dressed in armor, with swords in their hands, and burly figures, there is no doubt that they were all warriors.

"Is this?" Stan's head is crushed by the pain.

"These are the lords of Cumberland. The dark lord said proudly, "They have all fallen at my feet, what are you still struggling with?"

"Nonsense, Lord Cumberland would rather die than surrender to you!" Stan fell to the ground.

"Don't kid yourself, you've seen it all the way. "The black aura on the dark lord has become even stronger. "Sooner or later, you will be as useful to me as they are. ”

"Impossible! absolutely impossible!" Stan shouted, suffocating himself to his feet, only to find that it was so dark that he couldn't see anything clearly, and the dark lord and figure were all gone. The ensuing headache seemed to tear his head apart and knock him down again.

"Stan!" a familiar voice comes into his ears.

Stan falls to the ground and slowly opens his eyes, revealing a beautiful, tired face in the dimness. "Nellfi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Stan. Nerfi places the wet towel that had fallen on the floor back on Stan's forehead. "But you had a fever, it was hot, and luckily you woke up, I thought you would never wake up again. As she spoke, tears filled the girl's eyes.

"I thought we wouldn't be able to escape this time. Stan relaxes his limbs and looks at the ceiling reflected by the fire's firelight. "What is this place?"

"A hunter's hut, I guess. Nerfi sat on the ground. "I don't know how long I've been unconscious, when I woke up still on horseback, and you're lying on the ground not far away, it's still raining, but it's not heavy, I used flying to carry you back on horseback, and I found here. ”

"It's not safe here, and the demons will find us at any time. Stan says and tries to get up again, but immediately lies back down. "Put out the fire. ”

"The demon shouldn't be able to find it here. "It's between two hills, surrounded by several woods, and it's impossible to see from the outside. ”

Stan takes a deep breath. "It's not easy for you to find here, and I'm in a coma. ”

"It's God's will, and there have been times when I didn't know why I changed direction, and if I had just followed the same route, I would never have found it. Nerfi picked up the teacup and drank.

Stan slowly sits up against the wall, his constant headache preventing him from making a big move, and after some struggle, he finally sits down with his back against the wall. "I think someone must have saved us, you must know about evil magic. ”

"Evil magic?" Nalfi looked at Stan in surprise.

"Yes, evil magic. Stan said with a hard face. "Shortly after I met Fern and them, we were attacked by corpses on the White River, and Ness told me it was a creation of evil magic. ”

"Dead bodies? Yes, evil magic can manipulate the bodies of the dead. Nerfi thought for a moment and said, "Did you mean there was a dead body just now?"

"Yes, not long after we escaped from Gaiman City, we were surrounded by demons in an abandoned village, and just when I thought we were dead, suddenly a group of dead bodies rushed out of the village house and entangled the demons, and we were able to escape. Stan leans limply against the wall after saying that.

Nalfi pours a cup of hot tea and hands it to Stan. "If it's a group of dead corpses, it's not easy to manipulate them, it takes quite a lot of mana, and the manipulator must be a high-level mage. ”

Stan takes the teacup and slurps it slowly. "There should be only a handful of high-level mages left in Varys who can still use evil magic, can you think of who it is?"

Nerfi shook her head. "Evil magic is forbidden magic, and even if someone learns it, it will not let others know about it. ”

Stan finishes his hot tea and breathes his breath. "Let's not talk about that, let's talk about what to do next. ”

Nellfi fills Stan's teacup again. "Is that piece of paper you got in Gaiman City still there?"

Stan nodded, slowly pulling the parchment out of the parchment pocket on his chest and handing it to Nerfi.

Nerfi carefully flipped open the parchment, which was coated with a layer of grease and sealed the words under the layer of oil, the handwriting still legible even after Stan was drenched in the torrential rain. "Even Clarero couldn't resist the temptation of the Dark Lord, it was too difficult to keep his mind free of distractions. ”

Stan remembered the dream and felt a palpitation in his heart.

But at least in the end he came to his senses, and he understood that the Lord of the Darkness was just using him. Nerfi folds the parchment again and returns it to Stan. ”

"But Gaiman was gone, and it was too late. Stan puts away the parchment and reluctantly puts down his teacup. "Even the villages around Gaiman are not immune. Something suddenly occurred to him, and he struggled to sit up straight. "We must go to Fadar immediately and not allow a similar tragedy to happen again. But immediately, the pain in his head made him hold his head, and the towel fell to the ground.

Nellfi picks up the towel, washes it in a nearby basin, and hands it to Stan again. "With your current physical condition, it is a question of whether you can get to Fadar or not, and even if you get there, you will have no combat power. ”

Stan tilts his head and puts a towel over his forehead. "You're right, but we have to get on the road as soon as possible. He looked out the window, and it was just as dim. "Is it evening?"

"Yes, you slept almost all day. Nerfi picked out a loaf of bread from the ground that was not too soaked. "Our luggage was almost drenched in the rain, and most of the food was soaked, so we had to eat it. ”

Stan looks at the bread, the headache makes him unappetizing, but he takes the bread anyway, tears a small strip and stuffs it into his mouth. "One more night's rest tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow morning, we have to go. ”

Nerfi doesn't speak, and the girl just looks at Stan quietly, and the brief silence makes Stan's mind finally turn. "By the way, Nerfi, you're fine, you've run out of mental energy in Gaiman City, and now you're ...... again" Stan touched his right hand and leg, where the wounds had healed. "You've healed me again, and you need to rest. ”

Hearing Stan's concern for him, a smile appears on Nerfi's face. "Before, I was frightened by the sudden appearance of the demon in Gaiman Castle, and I involuntarily released all my mental power in an instant, which caused only a short flight technique to fail to survive to the end, but now it's okay, I'm not in physical pain, I just need time to recover. ”

"That's great. Stan's heart relaxes, and he takes off his still wet cloak and coat, lays it out by the fire, and then sleeps, looking at the ceiling above his head, and recalling his previous dream.

Nerfi's clothes had been dried before Stan woke up, and the girl sat across the fire, staring at Stan motionless, the knight's unconscious murmur lingering in her mind for a long time.