"Actually, I'm missing one thing." During the dinner, Kraft picked up a piece of lettuce and talked about something else, "What happened to Lecturer Petrie's relics?" ”

Martin held the wine glass, took a sip of the slightly sour red wine, and recalled with a frown: "It should be that the room where he is temporarily staying has been sealed, and when the news is sent to Dunling, the right person will receive it, or we will send it over." Why do you ask this? ”

"It stands to reason that each invitee to the gathering is required to give an academic report on the progress of their main research. Lecturer Petrie is no exception. Kraft put down his knife and continued, "The report is not an improvisational one, it should have been written long ago. ”

"Well, I guess no one thought to examine it at the time, but as you say, it should still be in our possession."

"yes, I'd like to take a look at the manuscript." Although I don't have much hope, it is also an idea to know more or less about Petri's recent research.

The vial of the pagan with a light black liquid was still in the package, and once you saw it, you should not forget the subtle sense of inducement that lurked.

The will to go through so many things is no longer what it used to be, and in the face of this substance, the false whispers in his mind that are constantly lingering can no longer move him, and some of the things that were only thought to be irrelevant associations at that time are clearer. The pure black liquid surface resembled a bottomless wellhead, leading to a dark and dull depth.

Black Liquor】

It's not surprising to see another black liquor, but you must know that Westminster is next to Tunling, and the place where the most suspicious is found is the most suspicious.

Add to that the fact that Petrie is from Tunling University, and the relationships that can be associated are inextricably linked, and it's hard not to think of something.

"It's really ghostly." Kraft picked up the lettuce and put it in his mouth, it was already a little cold, but it tasted good. He hastily finished dinner and left the table.

Outside, the sunset was completely obscure, and at the distance of the manor, the forest wall could be clearly seen across the open meadow.

They are wooden barriers erected like horses on the watery plains, or winding castles, with tree trunks as skeletons, branches and leaves as walls, filled with shrubs, climbing vines, parasitic ferns, and other appendages, rejecting all prying eyes.

The mycelium of the fungus digests the remnants of this vast biome in the aged humus layer beneath their feet, feeding the shiny variety of mushrooms.

If needed, Kraft thought, these things could also multiply on a larger scale, feeding and covering them with dense forests, until they spread like meadows all over the ground and even underground, eating the dead bark and decaying trees of the trees, and eventually forming the ubiquitous "fungal forests" that Martin described.

For a person who has never seen it, it is difficult to imagine the visual information transmitted indirectly by words, which can only be compared to standing inside an autosected infected corpse, stepping on the lungs with an umbrella lid blooming and collapsed, the top of the head is covered with probiotic folds on the dome of the ribs, and the mycelium is rooted in a web of subdiaphragmatic solid organs next door.

Only now that it has been replaced by another, larger lifeform, the forest has been infected by a wild fungus, and its death should be longer and more gorgeous.

But the clues in the hands of the current hand point here, and stepping into the forest may be an inevitable choice.

In the endless forest sea, he didn't expect the little fire oil he brought to set off any storms in the wet season, not to mention that he didn't intend to set fire to the bottom of the mountain prison to sit on, but to guard against an old acquaintance who particularly likes to be active in the depths.

"Uh, what a headache."

But this time it's much better, they are the professional armed forces of the thirty-something, not a lineup of scholars or logistics practitioners, and the threats they face are mainly identified as humans, and there is a record of being killed.

"Professor?" Martin approached from behind, and followed his line of sight curiously, and the overwhelming night swept in, smashing the forest walls and meadows and people into the starry zenith of the sound of insects.

"Are you worried that we're not going well?"

"So to speak." Kraft no longer looked at the forest wall, which was no longer visible, turned around and walked back into the warm light of the doorway, his thoughts were still wandering in the infinite world for a moment, and suddenly there was only a few visible steps around him, "We can see very little, too little. ”

"It's true that finding everything in the woods is a chore, and in the past we would hire local hunters or other people who knew the terrain."

"Oh? You used to go to the forest to look for something? ”

"Hunting, to be exact, will be frequent when the Duke is still in good health." Martin leaned against the door frame with his wine glass and took a sip in disgust, "After all, it's impossible to just eat and drink on a cruise, and there are very few things that taste good outside." ”

"But hunting is different, the surrounding nobles will participate, it is a very fun activity, and it is also an opportunity to show your ability. The duke's favorite fur comes from the prey he hunts. Don't you have this kind of activity over there? ”

"......" should actually exist, but the Wood family has always been far away from this social circle, and the location is remote, and the old Wood does not think that a group of people armed to drive and hunt wild beasts can show any martial virtue, so he did not participate in the tradition.

Kraft was only involved in practical hunting, and when it came to carnivores, he was mainly preceded by very unmartial traps and bait.

However, he can understand that it is probably equivalent to the otherworldly soul playing war game role-playing in the virtual world in a small amount of leisure time, paying attention to a sense of substitution, and the more he eats, the more he loves to play.

"Find the trails, trap them, and deliver the fatal blow. It's like hunting, it's up to them to fight back like wild beasts, or to find an opportunity to escape. Martin raised his glass to Kraft and drank the wine that tasted like sour grape juice in one gulp, "I wish us all the best." ”

Seemingly slightly drunk, he casually said, "The wine here tastes average, and when we get back to the port, I suggest we go and try the honey beer near Rivers University, I'll treat you." ”

"Thanks, but I don't drink much." Kraft declined the invitation, and drinking at the party was the most annoying part, "Speaking of which, where do we start tomorrow?" ”

"When you go to the lumber yard along the river, they don't like people who only move on the edges, sometimes they have to go a little deeper to find specific timber, and the housekeeper needs to supply them to the estate, so they know people." When it comes to business, the Duke's knights are still well organized.

"That couldn't be better." This entry point is also considered thoughtful, and Kraft agrees, "But speaking of which, I have always had a question, and it is just a personal curiosity, and it doesn't matter if it is inconvenient to answer." ”

"Have you or the church ever encountered anything like this before? I mean something that is obviously not normal, as inexplicable as this one is, and involves a pagan religion or some other gang or organization? ”

"In the time I've been with the Duke, I've not." Martin replied graciously, not shying away from it, "But I have heard many similar things, which may not be true, and most of them are tricks and deceptions in the end; It's rare that you don't figure it out, and it doesn't take much effort to deal with it and it ends inexplicably on its own. Probably the people who trade souls with demons will reap the consequences sooner or later, right? ”

"Indeed, sooner or later, it will reap the consequences." Kraft nodded approvingly, "Go to bed early, and leave me and Koop on duty tonight." Don't worry, I've always had a lot of energy. ”