A scrawled portrait was pasted on the lower right corner of the post, and the word "village chief" was thoughtfully written in the blank space, as if no one in the village knew him. The village chief in the portrait is sketched in black charcoal, and he can barely make out the approximation.

"Is that what anyone wants to guide us to investigate the whereabouts of the village chief?" Griffith examined the back of the notice paper, but found nothing.

"It's not anyone," Galadia shook her head with her arms crossed, "it's the memory and will of the seal, and it doesn't necessarily correspond to reality. ”

With that, she drew the dagger Griffey had given her and began to chant the spell. Without the aid of a wand, a faint layer of silver light envelops the dagger, granting it magical abilities for a certain period of time.

Once the enchantment was complete, the elf stopped, patrolling around and waiting for the cast cooldown to expire, ready to apply temporary effects to other weapons.

"Galadia, tell me about the information you have, including your conjectures and knowledge of the promotion ceremony. Griffith watched her prepare and made a request.

"Well, that, can, don't you say it?"

"No, I can't. ”

"You're dead!"

The elf clasped his hands to his chest and walked around in circles in the clearing, "The essence of the promotion ceremony is a trial. Although it is possible to get out of the Realm Seal by applying the corresponding seal rules, the fusion of ritual and seal means that there will be battles and dangers here that will test my spellcasting ability and Ranger characteristics.

"The trial process is limited by the rules of the world's origin, and in many cases, it will exclude external intervention and equipment assistance, and thoroughly test the trialist's mastery and use of extraordinary abilities.

"Judging from past cases, my trials will test me to create enchanted weapons and positions from local materials, and then use the characteristics of a ranger to fight that huge and powerful monster. Its strength is bound to crush me, and once caught or hit head-on, it can be fatal, and in the process, my lethality, combat endurance, tactical arrangement, and mobility will be tested to the extreme.

"This trial will allow me to be fully tempered, strengthen my understanding of extraordinary characteristics and powers, and lay the foundation for future growth, which is not only dangerous, but also a good thing. In case I really can't defeat the monsters here, I can also decrypt and escape according to the characteristics of the seal, and there is still a chance of success. ”

With that, Miss Elf looked at Griffith with her head held high, as if she were asking if she was satisfied.

With this information, Griffith can basically predict the characteristics of the next battle and formulate countermeasures. The essence of the trial is not to kill the trialist, but to guide them in the direction of progress, so even if the enemy is far stronger on paper than the two, as long as the tactical design is carefully designed, the next battle still has a better chance of winning.

But why is Galadia reluctant to tell the truth?

Although Miss Elf explained in detail, the loopholes were also obvious. She withheld an important piece of information and tried to pretend to be candid.

Griffith stared into the elf's big eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment, and Galadia looked away, continuing to enchant her weapon.

Griffith said without any tone: "Galadia, even if you hide it and don't say it, I have already seen through it. ”

The second dagger had already been enchanted, and the girl who was pretending to inspect it had a calm look on her face.

But the long, pointed ears jumped a little when they heard the words "have seen through", exposing all her thoughts.

"Hmph, what are you thinking!" she snorted coldly and disdainfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, a vague and noisy murmur suddenly came. The blackened figures reappeared, huddled around the two of them.

Galadia was taken aback. An illusory figure passed directly through her body, as if it were not on the same plane as her.

The whispers gradually became clearer.

"I know, he did it, that freak. ”

"Shhhh However, I also saw him arguing with the village chief and even making a move. ”

"Stupid freak, why don't you approve of this proposal that is good for everyone?"

"I guess the village chief has been killed......"

"yes~"

"We're going to ask the mages and knights stationed in the town for help. ”

"We're going to send someone for help right now. ”

The chaotic voices sounded like dozens of villagers talking, but every word was clearly discernible. Their figures quickly blurred, disappearing into thin air along with the words.

It appears that one of the unnamed villagers opposed the relocation of the village, and that others knew that he had clashed with the missing village chief. The villagers obviously didn't like him, but they were very suspicious of him, and even asked for extraordinary people.

Griffith glanced at Galadia, just in time to meet her wandering gaze.

"Maybe it's the monster we encountered at the beginning," Galadia looked away for a moment, "This monster is amazingly powerful, and it can defeat the extraordinary team led by the stationed mage, it must be an extraordinary one." ”

Griffith said with some regret: "It's a pity that I didn't have the opportunity to learn about the past case records in this area before leaving, otherwise I should be able to have a general understanding of what happened, and the records of the death of the caster must not be missing." ”

"It's too late to say this now, and there are so many local materials, how can they be prepared one by one without clues," the elf shook his head, "If the secret of the seal is known to the public, it will not form a seal, we continue to explore, and we can find the answer here."

"Although we don't know the identity of the villager, he must have a place to live in the village, and we will search house to house and maybe find clues. ”

Although the sky is covered with gloomy ashes, the farmhouses in this village, called Taunt Village, are beautiful and tidy. Griffith inspected both homes and found that none of them had a habit of locking their doors.

In the empty house, half-eaten soups, vegetables, and rice are placed on the table, and open books lie on the rocking chairs. There are no stains on the neat floor, and the entrance to the entrance still has the loafers that the owner of the house changed out of when he left.

"The habits of the inhabitants of this area are quite different, and eating rice has only recently become popular in your country, and only a few areas used to have this hobby. Galadia followed Griffith and watched as he went from room to room.

"It's on the border between Verona and Odessa, many of which are owned by the High Mages of the Arcane Council, and have not been at war for years. If it weren't for the places where the nobility had been exploited, a wealthy village with the protection and support of mages would have fared well," Griffith said, "and it is understandable that some villagers are reluctant to change their accustomed way of life." ”

"But it's too much to kill the village chief and the garrison mage," the elf girl shook her head, "Oh wait, the mage was killed, but the village chief is just missing." Or to put it another way, could it be that the villagers who opposed the relocation imprisoned the village chief to thwart the vote, and then were found by the mage's team of Extraordinary Ones, who killed them in the resistance. ”

This villager's combat power is too strong, isn't it...... Griffith sighed slightly.

Several searches in succession have yielded nothing.

At that moment, the mournful sound of the trumpet reappeared, and the suffocating smell of burnt paste once again filled the air. The houses under the ashes quickly withered and decayed, leaving patches of charred black marks.

Here we go again!

Galadia took her longbow and mounted her feathered arrows, guarding Griffith back-to-back.

There was a rumbling roar on the ground, and something extraordinary was moving behind the houses in the distance. Griffith looked up and saw a terrifying shadow looming between the crumbling rooftops.

Monsters appeared.

Its momentum is so amazing that a faint glimpse can make people's hearts palpitate, and they dare not even look directly.

The questions that the elves concealed can only be asked later, and they can deal with the battle in front of them first.

"Galadia, back behind me and attack, keep moving, I'll hold back. Griffith took off his shield and lowered his armor, and his breath surrounded him with a cold and sharp aura.

"I'm a genius with dual characteristics, don't underestimate me!" the elf plucked the bowstring, staring at him without flinching, "My full force can wipe him out completely." ”

"No, that's too risky, it's better to stay mobile and don't rush it. We don't know what it has hidden powers. ”

"This is my trial, do you know more about the occult than I do?" said the elf stubbornly, "you hold back and buy me time." ”

The two quarreled, and they couldn't reach an agreement at such a dangerous time.

Unable to wait, Galadia bent her bow towards the ruins shrouded in shadow and danger. Arrows pierce the darkness like starlight, through the narrow crevices of the ruins. Immediately, a terrifying roar and scream erupted from the shadows behind the ruins.

The elves' archery skills are truly extraordinary. Griffith didn't even see the target's movement clearly, and Galadia had already predicted the monster's location, ignoring the obstruction of the line of sight and hitting the target with a single blow, and it was likely that the monster had even been left with a lot of injuries.

A dense creeping sound came from the darkness. Immediately afterward, dense brown carpet-like creatures emerged from all corners of the front.

That's a myriad of cockroaches the size of mice. They flapped their wings, squeaked and rubbed, sweeping the sky over.

At the same time, the giant with greasy pockets strides from behind the ruins. It wields a giant scythe, and every step shakes the earth, making it prohibitive. It's just that it has a horrible wound on its right shoulder, and it doesn't move quickly.

Galadia's agility is overwhelmingly superior to this monster. As long as she has enough long-range attack means, she can theoretically consume this monster without damage, and after being approached, she can also pull away again and pull repeatedly. The outcome of the battle will depend on which side lasts longer, her attack or the giant's life force.

If that's all there is, the trial would be too simple.

Griffith could clearly predict that the tide of cockroaches that followed the giant must be a threat to the unarmored Galadia. They will compress her maneuver space and vitality output, surround her, and even cause severe trauma.

Since Griffith is here, she should play the role of a meat shield and contain the enemy for her.