A knife carved from black bone slices shallowly cut through the rough bark, leaving inconspicuous lines on these towering trees, and then smeared blood on them, imbuing them with the power of spirit and blood, and so on three times for each mark......

Richard performed the operation of engraving the seal according to his memory, using the bone carver in his hand to leave a rune symbolizing the power of the dark on the trunk of a tree in the forest, and smeared his own blood on the rune, and then looked up at Dumont, who was doing the same thing not far away.

He walked over as if to greet the other person.

"The strength of these sigils alone is weak," Dumont said casually when he saw Richard approaching, "but as long as there are enough of them, they will have enough influence on Silandis." ”

"It's not enough...... It's not enough......" Richard muttered, his fingers unconsciously turning the bone knife in his hand.

"It's not enough to rely on the influence of these sigils alone, but the process will be accelerated once it begins, and when Silantis 'remembers' the day, it's time to pick the fruit," Dumont laughed, seeming confident about the future, "Those 'preachers' are not reliable, but at least this time, the information they provided came in handy." ”

Richard didn't speak, but slowly raised his head and looked up at the tree on which Dumont had just made his mark as if admiring the scenery—he looked so seriously that Dumont subconsciously raised his head and looked at the canopy above.

"What are you looking at? What's ...... on this?"

Richard jerked his arm up, almost folding his right arm into three pieces in a position and angle that a human joint would never have possible, allowing his hand to go around Dumont's field of vision, and stabbed the bone knife into the latter's chest.

But the small carving knife used to perform the ritual could not kill the dead, and the blow only pierced the flesh.

A sharp stabbing pain suddenly came from his chest, and this sudden and inexplicable attack made Dumont's mind blank for a moment, but he reacted immediately, slammed Richard's arm away, and pressed one hand on the injured area, while his body flashed back.

The pitch-black chains appeared instantly, and an ugly and hideous hound appeared behind Dumont, but before the hound could react, the death bird on Richard's shoulder swooped down, and a pair of giant skeletal wings extended and deformed like shackles, covering the hound in an instant, accompanied by the creaking bone struggle, collision and friction, the two demons were entangled, and it was difficult to separate for a while.

"Are you crazy?!" Dumont's eyes widened and he looked at Richard, who was standing expressionless not far away, in shock, "You want to kill me?!" ”

"No," Richard shook his head, glancing at the ghostly hound that had been temporarily controlled by the dead bird, and there was an inexplicable disgust on his face, but he said to Dumont very seriously, "I just want to help." ”

"Help me?" Dumont was stunned for a moment, he looked at Richard opposite, as if he was looking at a madman, but at the same time, a huge confusion arose in his heart - because the ritual knife cannot kill people, and the surprise attack of the other party just now only scratched himself at best, which made him not know how to react for a while, only one thing is certain: Richard's state is not right!

However, Richard nodded very seriously: "Yes, help you, your body is empty, I will help you fill in cotton, which can make you better." ”

“…… Cotton? Dumont subconsciously repeated the inexplicable word, "What crazy are you talking about......"

He stopped suddenly.

He felt like the stab wound in his chest was a little itchy.

This slight itching quickly turned into a strange sensation that could not be ignored, as if something was growing there and wriggling there.

He subconsciously reached out and scratched the itchy place, and then he didn't care to continue to be vigilant against Richard, who was obviously in an abnormal state, and looked down at his wound.

The blood was gone, and there was a faint white flocculent substance on the clothes stained with a little blood—the flocculent was gradually increasing, as if it were ...... It is transformed from blood.

After a moment's hesitation, Dumont pulled open his collar and saw that the small wound was healing, and between the wriggling and shrinking flesh, cotton was burrowing into his body little by little.

The entangled Deathbird and the Greyhound gradually ceased to fight, the ignorant demons didn't understand what hatred and anger were, and the emotions and perceptions of the symbiotes dictated their behavior—and as the bone wings gradually retracted, the two demons returned to their respective masters.

Dumont raised his head and looked at Richard who was standing opposite him with a somewhat subtle expression - he still remembered that the relationship between the other party and himself had never been very good, especially in recent times, although there was not much grudge, but sporadic friction occurred from time to time.

That's why he asked the other to be with him when he decided to act in groups—because he didn't want Richard to make any "small moves" out of his sight.

He would never have imagined that this guy would do such a thing to himself.

After hesitating for a long time, Dumont finally spoke a little awkwardly: "You are still strange. ”

Richard laughed, and in an instant, the insignificant rift between him and Dumont was eliminated - @#¥% repaired the brotherhood between him and his compatriots.

"We should help other people," Richard said sincerely, "and everybody's hollow in their bodies, and they all need cotton." ”

"Yes, everybody needs cotton...... Dumont was still a little uncomfortable with his new self, and his expression was a little awkward when he spoke, but he agreed with Richard's suggestion, "We can start with Shahril's group - he is an honest and hardworking man." ”

"No problem, but we need to plan for it, people who don't have cotton are irrational, and they may not know the importance of cotton yet – just like you just did. We need to take their attitudes into account......"

"Yes, the rabbi also thinks you need to plan ......"

"We can talk about it as we go."

"Let's go, then." "Let's go." "Let's go."

Richard and Dumont looked up at the misty forest path, and then took a step into the depths of this misty dream.

The rabbi went hunting.

……

The ground covered in ash and black slag creaked and gave the illusion that it was going to sink at any moment, and the remnants of collapsed and broken branches crisscrossed the forest more than the bushes and vines of the forest.

Nina and Maurice struggled to walk through the vast wreckage, which stretched for an unknown extent, and after a while, they were only moving around its edges.

"It's harder to walk than in the forest outside," Nina muttered, "and there are still paths in the forest that have been trodden by wild animals...... It's full of ashes that can sink in with one kick. ”

As she spoke, she lifted her foot from the ashes and black scum, her dirty shoes frowning.

Holding on to a charred branch beside her, she took off the shoe on her left foot and poured it outward, pouring out several stones and black slag.

"And I think we've been just spinning around the edge of the scorched earth all along," she added, "and will we really find our way to the center of the wreckage?" ”

"The collapsed canopy blocked the way to the main trunk of Silandis...... It's a bit of a hassle. Morris said with a frown, looking at the jagged blackened branches in the distance.

Although they are branches, the scale of those things has actually exceeded the concept of "branches", and the remains of branches that fell from the top of the World Tree can be described as "terrifying in scale", even some of the branches that are proportionally "twigs" are often 100 meters long, and the diameter is almost that of a tower—they crisscross and fall on this scorched earth, forming a massive structure that is more like a ...... than charred dead branches when viewed from a distance A giant city that has collapsed from the clouds.

In the face of such a pile of "fallen branches and leaves", it is unrealistic to use brute force to open the way, and the only way is to take a detour, all kinds of detours, or risk burrowing into the gaps between the branches and looking for those paths that have not been completely blocked by the ashes.

"If Miss Vana were here, maybe she would have rushed in in a straight line," the thought of "brute force to open the way" came to mind, and Nina couldn't help but mutter, "These wrecks in the way can't stop her from punching." ”

"Vanna is not only brute force," as an elder who has known Vana for a long time, Morris couldn't help but say when he heard this, "and even she is afraid that she will ...... in the face of this kind of thing"

He stopped halfway through his speech, as if hesitating.

After a moment, he shook his head: "Well, not necessarily, maybe she really can." ”

"Actually, I can ...... too," Nina muttered quietly.

Maurice glanced at the girl, as if to say something, but just as he was about to speak, a breeze suddenly blew over the Ash Land—and in the sudden dust mist, he and Nina saw a vague shadow not far in front of him that seemed to flicker.

It looked like a ...... standing blankly in the wind. Genie?

Nina was stunned for a moment, and then turned her head suddenly: "Mr. Morris, did you see the ...... over there just now?"

"I see," Maurice said without waiting for Nina to finish, his expression becoming a little serious, "it seems to be an elf." ”

"It doesn't look like 'Shireen'......" Nina said uncertainly, "and it's dressed like ...... It's like ......"

She hesitated, not daring to draw conclusions for a while, but Morris nodded slightly-

"Like the inhabitants of Breeze."

(End of chapter)