The area around the foot of the mountain was full of remnants of snow and ice crust, and the sound of swarthy and sharp stones embedded in the ice was embedded in the ice, and with each step, the sound of the crust sparsely crushing and the squeezing stones would be heard in the vast black dead forest, and it was not long before the echo seemed to be doubled back. Sometimes Vorragon would stop and listen, always feeling that the echo was not from himself, and that a shadow was following his example at the end of the woods, mocking him. As long as he makes any movement, the shadow does what he does, he stretches his arms, and the shadow stretches his arms, and he bends his head, and the shadow does the same. Sometimes a bolt of lightning flashed through the tumbling storm, and the darkness ahead was lit up in an instant, and the misshapen dead wood and rotting shrubs were like a swarm of motionless maggots, twisting and wriggling. When the lightning faded and his eyes fell into darkness again, the black maggots would slowly approach him, tar-black blood dripping from their mouths and falling into the snow, melting holes.

Vorragon refused to enter the forest from time to time, and several hours had passed, and behind him was the towering Delong Snow Mountain, and the entire western sky was white, and the ice and snow had not melted for thousands of years, and the cold went straight to the marrow. Ahead, however, he retreated into the dark forest, where the tumbling storm spewed lightning at the end, and the Black Forest, which was held in his arms, became his minions.

The dilemma forced Vorragon to almost collapse, and only the north-south road could give him some comfort, if it was not good, he would choose to take these two paths. Unfortunately, this is very unlikely. What am I afraid of? Woragon found a rock at the foot of the mountain, crouched on the ice, took off his leather gloves, looked at his hands, and couldn't think of what he was worried about.

He had already killed many of the walking dead, and he was no longer afraid of ghosts from the undead realm, not to mention the strange beasts and horror stories that circulated among the human language. Since I'm not even afraid of death, I don't have to be afraid of this path, it's time to go, you idiot. Woragon collected his stiff expression, then pulled out one of his short swords from his back and held it against his chest, and through the leather gloves, the hilt of the sword was like a quill pen, which he could hold in two at any moment.

Gradually, the snow-capped mountains behind her were covered by a flowing black curtain, and she was no longer so white, but became filthy. The rotten air was mixed with a faint fishy stench, which came from the soft, slippery ground. Voragon couldn't see what was on the surface, but he was sure it must be soil made of ash and dead leaves, and perhaps blood spilling from the deep soil. Sometimes, suddenly, a dead tree lies in front of him, and its branches stretch out, grabbing the birds and prey. Voragon would take a few steps back, away from it, and look for a way out from both sides.

Lightning appeared frequently, sometimes golden, sometimes deep purple, and the black forest changed its shape in a weaving of flashes, and sometimes he could distinguish the type of dead wood, and tell himself that a long time ago, it was also full of greenery, infested with beasts, and perhaps the legendary river demon swamp was once a great river that flowed endlessly. Perhaps on the other side of the river is ....... There is no life left in the realm of the dead, from beginning to end. At this moment, Vorragon had already walked nearly half of the way, in fact, he didn't make a specific guess, but the snow-capped mountains behind him gradually became low, and the storm in front of him was already approaching.

It was not a storm, but a sign of death, and if death was what it was like, then Vorragon was in it. War can deprive countless people of their lives, without exception, for the purpose of power, wealth, and faith. It's all about losing badly compared to death. There was a scholar who tried to give his words as advice to those in power: 'People do not go to astrology because of the preciousness of life, nor do they make the most of every moment because of the infinite value of life, because of the fear of death and the judgment that will come sooner or later.' As to who it was, and what the final result was, Voragon did not remember. Now it was like a judgment before him.

"Stranger, your journey can end here. A deep voice came from the darkness. He searched for the sound, and saw a black silhouette crouching under the roots of the tree. More figures came from all sides, and Voragon could hear the sound of bows and arrows and swords grinding against leather.

Grave keepers, yes, that's them. One of them approached him and removed his weapon, while four others kept a distance from him with bows and arrows. The men wore brown cloaks and gray scarves around their faces. Woracan couldn't see the faces of these men, but he could feel the calmness and composure that emanated. "Why did a ranger come here in the Black Forest, and what is your purpose?"

"I don't know if the Man in Black is an old friend of yours, although we've never met. Wola Gontan said.

"Men in black, I'm sorry, I can't trust you for a while, there are dead people roaming this land, they are good at disguise, sinister and cunning, so ...... To prove your words to be true, please come with us. ”

That's the best answer, Woragon thought, and he finally made it alive to see the grave keeper.

They wandered in the forest for several hours, during which Voragon asked the grave keeper about trivial matters, such as food sources, water sources, the appearance of the river demon swamp, how the undead had climbed the Delon Snow Mountain, and whether they would be uncomfortable living in a place where there was no sunlight all day long. But the answer was only silence, a group of seven people, no one paid attention to him, and no one cared about him. Three archers followed, two archers clamped the sides, and two others led the way.

When he was close enough to the storm, Woragan saw the castle, lying in a barren basin, shimmering like a frightened silver hedgehog under the eyes of a roaring storm.

The castle was a strange triangle, with high black walls built into an impregnable fortress, and the blood-red gate stood in front of Voragon in front of him, the huge knocker was a man high, and the door was covered with rivets the size of a palm, and a horn made of steel was embedded in the high wall above the gate, and the horn pointed to the dark storm in the sky.

The guards and warriors of the city gestured, and in a few moments, a crack slowly opened in the gate. Entering the gate is an empty inner courtyard, flanked by stone steps leading to the city walls, surrounded by beams and eaves made of white rock and inlaid with green moonstones. Woragon thought that the castle standing in the darkness was not the same as the darkness, but when he came to the castle, he completely dismissed this foolish idea. Green and white light flows along the walls, illuminating the entire courtyard as if it were a pearl in the dark.

The two imprisoned Vorragon in a hut on the south side of the courtyard and locked the door. Through the small window of the room, you can clearly hear the sound of the storm roaring, boom ~ boom, never stop.

What does it feel like to be eaten?" Woracan muttered to himself as he gazed into the blood-soaked darkness beyond the light, "as terrible as a rotten worm eating a lion alive?" the sound of chewing bones, or falling into the endless abyss, and having a drink with the spirits of the undead who hate the men in black? Maybe they will torture me forever, and make me worse off than dead, if so, I'd rather be chewed to the bones by the disgusting rotten worms, ah! No, I won't choose either, I'll kill myself with my weapon." ”

He came to the window, and through the white stone partition window, the glow of the wandering light flashed before his eyes, like a gentle sigh in the breeze. The courtyard floor is also white, and there are stone steps leading to the battlements, and on the wall, six guards guard the eastern wall, which is facing the storm. After a while, two men stepped out of the house to the north, they were talking Cheche, and walked towards Voragan's bedroom.

There was a sound of the iron rope opening, and the two of them had changed their attire, one wearing a simple and simple linen robe and linen trousers, and the other wearing a light blue robe of no color. The two had no chain mail to protect themselves from and no swords to defend themselves from. It seems much safer here than outside the walls.

"Alone through the Strait, through the Delon Mountains, and effortlessly through the Black Forest, the Man in Black must be an extraordinary man, tell me about your organization," the man in the light blue robe spoke. He had a thick beard and dark curly hair, but he was actually very young, but his beard set off his age very much.

"The question couldn't be simpler. Woragon sat on the wooden bed with a relaxed expression, "The grave keeper and the man in black are born from the same root, and we all have what you have." But what we have, you don't. In the final analysis, the difference between one capturing the dead in the dark and the other capturing the dead in the light is quite large. ”

The man in the light blue robe smiled, "Why are you here?"

"I want to see Lord Awinhay and deliver the letter of the leader of the Men in Black, Maester Peshir. ”

"I'm sorry you couldn't see him. ”

"Why?"

The man hesitated for a moment, "Lord Awenhai is not in the castle, he has already gone to the Blood Gate of the River Demon Swamp and will not be able to return for a while. ”

"Did I come here after a hellish ordeal, and the end result was to sit here and wait for your leader to return? Voragon whispered.

"Hell's ordeal?" the warrior got up and looked out the window, "when you actually go to hell, you'll know what it's like, your skin rots, your tongue falls off, your eyes go blind, and at last you're left with a skeleton, and you'll know what hell it's like when you've lost your good memories, you've lost the people you love, the people who love you, and there's nothing but hatred in your heart." ”

Woragon was furious, but in the end he suppressed his anger. "When will your leader return?"

"Two days at least. ”

"Two days?" Woragan incredulous, "means I'll be living in a dilapidated house for two days?"

"Of course not, you can come and go freely in the castle, we will provide you with comfortable houses, and you will eat and drink with us. Until Lord Awinhay returns. He took out a yellowish biscuit from his pocket and handed it to Woragon, "Forgive me for taking the liberty of it, my name is Lan Yi, the guard officer at the South Gate Checkpoint, and the one next to me is called ...... Cow Plin . ”

"'Don't laugh' Koplin. His friend answered, "Because my mouth is crooked when I laugh, so that my companions will think of me as a ghost, and in such a dark place, do not do such a foolish thing." "His appearance is mediocre, even a little ugly, and his white skin does look a bit like an undead in the dark, which also reminds Woragon of Warner, the 'foxface' of the Men in Black.

"My name is Worakon. He didn't need to say much, because the exchange for the road was also indifference, and he had to be silent.

"No outsider has ever been in the Black Forest, and the last meeting was two hundred years back, and your leader, Maester Peshir, climbed the Delon Snow Mountain alone to the Scarlet Fortress, where he and Lord Awinhay walked for a day along the River Demon Swamp. Now that Maester Pesil is not here, but one of his excellent warriors, you must have been blessed by the Grewin Star. ”

Woragon nodded, "If it weren't for the blessing, I'm afraid I would have frozen to death in the snowy mountains." ”

"So what the hell has become of the place where you live now, Lanya Continent, yes, in the continent west of the Weeping Sea, who is the king of that land? It is said that the Pillar of Dawn in the Holy Lake Bay has become a den of robbers, and all the gold in it has been robbed, and the Greenthorn Nation...... ，”

"That's enough!" Vorragon interrupted, "I'm not here to explain this to you, if you want to know, go back and see for yourself." ”

Lan said, "The Scarlet Fortress is blessed by the Light of Ainoa, the darkness is inaccessible, and the snow-capped mountains provide us with an uninterrupted source of water. He pointed to the biscuit in Woragon's hand, "We eat this, Sino biscuit, so I've told you all your answers." ”

You guys are naïve to want to trade things with me. "Well, I'll tell you, but I'll wait until Lord Awinhay returns, and we can talk about something else before then. He suddenly remembered what Maester Pesil had said to him, and what had happened in Dragonflytown. "It is said that on the other side of the river demon swamp is the realm of the undead. ”

"Maybe, maybe not. ”

"Yo, I like this answer, do you want to tell me too, and tell me when Avenhay returns?"

"I admit that this answer is the most accurate, for none of us have crossed the river swamp except Lord Awinhay, which is said to be inhabited by countless roaring beasts on the other side of the swamp, and that storm is their work and a barrier against the invasion of the undead." ”

"It's a pity that the dead in the human world have never decreased. ”

"Even if you pass through that storm, you won't necessarily be able to reach the realm of the dead. Walking in the dark, no one can see whether it is a cliff or a trap. ”

"Only your leaders have this experience. ”

"Nothing can be hard for a Guardian. Lan walked towards the door, "We're all just mortals, mortals on a mission. Kaplin followed.

No, from the day we were blessed by the stars of Grevyn, we were no longer mortal.