With the sound of the elevator running, Shug became more and more curious about the nezumi colony and the "prophet" they called it.

From the old priest's mouth, Hug learned that this mysterious prophet suddenly appeared when the nezumi tribe was in the most dangerous situation, and that he, like himself, had been "picked up" from the abyss wasteland by the nezumi hunting party.

Upon entering the nezumi tribe, the prophet immediately showed himself to be different from the others.

Compared to the rat people who were anxious about the survival of their race and themselves, the Prophet always acted extremely calm and composed.

At the first time, it used a series of powerful magic at its disposal to gain absolute voice within the nezumi tribe, and then, as the new ruler, it began a series of adjustments and plans.

Abandon your precarious old settlement and move to the Sacred Mountain, where you can select experienced nezumi priests and teach them the magic and rituals that work in this strange world.

Train Artisans and guide them to craft weapons from the remains of the creatures of the Abyss, and teach hunters within their clan how to hunt more effectively.

It is no exaggeration to say that after this prophet came to the nezumi tribe, he was directly involved in all aspects of the development and continuation of the tribe.

What was even more convincing to the rats was that before the Great Migration began, the Prophet had grown a sacred horn on his head.

It is a symbol of the Chosen One of Mother Earth, a figurative expression of great rituals and abundant vitality.

It was from that moment that the tribe truly possessed a prophet who could convey oracles and make accurate predictions.

As he listened carefully to and understood the messages from the old priest, he carefully observed the huge shaft in which he was located.

He noticed that the walls of the shaft were unusually smooth, looking almost like flat sheets of metal, and that there were few joints or gaps in the shutting.

This kind of craftsmanship is completely impossible to achieve in today's Vann, and even with the aid of magic, there is no way to create such a huge metal plate and install it.

As for the mechanical structures that occasionally appear, it shows that the civilization that was once active in this world and built this structure is probably more advanced than Xiuge originally expected.

Even shug can feel a terrifying and subtle sense of familiarity in the structures and details that have been left behind.

After a heavy muffled thud, the crudely massive elevator finally stopped, and what appeared before Xiuge's eyes was an even more bizarre scene.

Cold, dim, dark green light and shadow shot out from the crystalline lamps of various styles, and they intertwined in the vast space in front of Xiuge's eyes, illuminating countless busy rat figures.

The space was so amazing that the rats were even able to build several floors of tall checkpoints around the elevator, where Shug could see many nezumi soldiers armed with spears and blades, as well as some huge ballistas that were clearly erected on top of the level and ready to fire.

At first glance, these ballistas resemble the old city defense weapons that have been abandoned by the inhabitants of Vann, but upon closer inspection, Shuge reveals that these giant ballistae contain many metal parts of unknown origin, and inside these metal parts, the magic of the Earth Mother Gods is flowing.

The kind of power that is both vital and destructive.

Obviously, the true power of these weapons will go far beyond the first impression of their rudimentary appearance.

The return of the hunting party and the arrival of the "messenger" had apparently been known to the nezumi tribe for a long time, and all the nezumi couldn't help but exclaim when they saw Shuge beside the old priest and the running rat that followed him, and some of them who were extremely devout in their beliefs couldn't help but start bowing in the direction of the running rat.

Processes such as interrogation and interrogation are obviously impossible to use on Xiuge.

As the gate of the level opened, Shug walked towards the interior of the settlement, surrounded by many nezumi.

It soon became clear to him that this so-called settlement already had the rudiments of a city, or rather, it could be regarded as a city in substance.

Although the settlements of the rat people are completely different from the cities, villages and towns of any race of Vann, the clutter of buildings made of a mixture of metal, wood, stone slabs and crystals finally presents the most surprising practicality for the rat people.

On more than one occasion as he walked down this "street", he saw young nezumi residents hurrying over seemingly superfluous structures carrying items on their backs, or suddenly curious young "rat cubs" poked their heads out of some strange passages and crevices, carefully observing and examining Xiuge's special visitor.

In addition to this, Schuege also saw a number of functional buildings with distinctive characteristics.

Shops, warehouses, squares......

There are camps for hunting parties and nezumi soldiers, and there are even buildings with a large number of "rat cubs", and according to the old priest, most of these gathered cubs are candidates for warriors, hunters, and even priests who have some talent to be trained by the tribe.

"If they don't behave well enough, or if they don't meet the tribe's requirements for some other reason, where are they sent? Expulsion? ”

"No, of course not! Emissary! ”

The old priest hurriedly shook his head and denied, "Look, look...... Everyone is very busy, and there is no end to the work here, even if they can't become warriors or priests, they can go to work in the workshop, or help maintain buildings and weapons, and carry heavy loads. ”

"Will there be thieves?"

"Yes, yes! Absolutely! ”

The old priest nodded, "However, the Prophet said that if a thief is caught, he will be thrown down the shaft, or he will be sent to the workshop as an experiment in magic and rituals...... No rat would want to suffer such consequences! ”

With that, Shug crossed the straight, wide street, and soon he was in the very center of the nezumi settlement.

In this area, the planning of the buildings is relatively loose and orderly, and several houses made of wood and stone slabs are the centerpiece, one of which stands out - the top of the house is inlaid with some dark green magic crystals, and on the side of it, there is a huge sculpture of a rat skull, and on either side of this skull, there are horns symbolizing the blessing of the mother earth goddess.

Obviously, this is the abode of the Nezumi Prophet.

"It's here, it's here!"

The old priest stopped, and bowed his head respectfully to Shuge: "Messenger, the prophet wants to see you alone......"

Shuge nodded, then raised his hand and patted the back of the Rat Running Beside him, who realized, and immediately dissipated into an ethereal black cloud, which disappeared into Xiuge's figure.

In this way, under the watchful eyes of the priests, Shug walked alone towards the abode of the Nezumi Prophet.

In fact, aside from the huge sculpture of the rat skull, the Prophet's abode didn't seem to have much of a special place, and here Shug didn't even feel too much magic, it seemed that the Nezumi Prophet's habits were not the same as those of Vane's other mages, or that he trusted the other members of the Nezumi clan enough to protect his private place with elaborate rituals.

So he tread the gravel-paved road and came to the gate of the house.

The door was not shut, but it was hidden, so he knocked twice on the door, then pushed it open and walked inside.

It was the first time that Hug had actually stepped into the abode of the nezumi race, and he had expected to see a very chaotic and dirty scene, but the reality was much better than Hug had imagined, everything in the room seemed to be in order, the furniture was crude but neatly arranged, the tables and chairs were complete, and there were even two cabinets made of thick stone slabs, filled with all kinds of strange objects.

Although the rats are hunched and clumsy, their actual proportions are quite close to those of humans, so nothing here gives Xiuge a sense of abnormality, and even makes Xiuge mistakenly think that he has stepped into the residence of a reclusive wild mage.

"Guest, please come up there."

A hoarse voice came suddenly, and Xiuge raised his eyes in some surprise, it was clearly a lingua franca, although the accent was a little strange, but the words were very clear, and the meaning was also very accurate.

So he immediately stepped up the stairs to the side, and soon followed the voice's instructions to the second floor of the house.

In the light of the crystallized lamp, Xiuge finally met the owner of the place.

He was a little disappointed, because what appeared in front of him was indeed a nezumi, an elderly nezumi who looked extremely thin and had begun to lose a lot of hair on his body.

The biggest difference between it and other nezumi is the huge horns that grow on both sides of the head, and Shug can see that inside these two horns, there is an obscure dark green light and shadow flowing slowly, and this is an important symbol of the blessing and favor of Mother Earth Goddess.

Completely different from Shuge's calmness, the moment he saw Xiuge, the Nezumi Prophet's body began to tremble involuntarily, its face trembled, and its mouth couldn't help but open and close.

At this point, it was clearly very excited.

"Sit, sit...... You may be seated! ”

Under the influence of emotion, the Prophet stumbled a little, pointed to a chair with its paws, and stiffened itself, grabbing a pair of glasses from the side and placing them on its head.

Immediately afterward, the room fell silent.

Both Shug and the Prophet were busy observing each other, and both were waiting for the other to take the initiative to speak.

In the end, it was the emotional Prophet who broke the silence first.

"I ...... You understand what I'm saying, these words, right? ”

This is a somewhat strange question.

Combined with the prophet's peculiar lingua franca, it inexplicably reveals a very subtle emotion.

For a moment, Xiuge even felt the rat man in front of him choke.

He nodded and spoke, "Of course I understand, it's the lingua franca of Vann...... Your pronunciation and grammar seem to be a bit old, though. ”

Hearing this, the Nezumi Prophet's eyes flickered for a moment, and then it asked in a hoarse voice, "How long has it been?" Right now...... When is the current Vane? ”

"The Karther calendar officially ended in the year 2700, and Merlinle and the Legislature named the new era 'Black Sun'."

Shug replied softly, but the power of the words seemed to be a little too great for the Nezumi Prophet, and it froze in its chair, its expression completely still.

It was silent for a long, long time, as if it were seriously contemplating the specific meaning of the words that Shuge had spoken.

At last, its dark green eyes flickered twice, and then Shog saw precious tears flowing down its eyes.

"Kathel Calendar...... The end of the Cartesian calendar, Merinle and ...... Black Sun ......"

It muttered to itself, the light in its horns flickering violently with the mood swings, and after a long time, the Prophet finally came to his senses, looked at Shug, and said, "Ask questions, guest, we must all have a lot of questions for each other...... You've just answered one of my questions, and now it's my turn to answer. ”

Shuge nodded, and then he looked at the stone slabs that had been piled up in the corners of the room, carved with various intricate patterns.

Even in the dim light at this time, Xiuge could easily make out some familiar structures in these magical patterns, some subtle structures that he had repeatedly studied and studied during this time.

So he asked, "My first question is about you, the prophet. ”

"Just ask."

"What shall I call you? Or what exactly is your real name in the past? ”

Listening to Shuge's question, the Prophet nodded, and then it asked rhetorically, "Hmm...... I guess you've guessed before, right? ”

"Yes, the priest told me before that their prophet had prophesied about magical flames, and that it was because they saw the light of the fire that they set out for me in the wasteland."

"From that point on, I was a little confused, and after you asked me that question, I was even more sure of my guess...... Little did I know that you not only managed to escape from the Abyssal Hounds, but also returned to the Abyss as a nezumi and have survived ever since. ”

Speaking of this, Xiuge breathed a long sigh of relief, and he looked at the other party seriously: "Am I right?" Mr. Azifoo? ”

(End of chapter)