A little off. It was understandable that there were no sentinels before, but now they stood at a distance where they could see the dried food skewers through the window, and they hadn't found a single living person. Not to mention the dark whistle, there is not even a person who stands on a high place to let out the wind.

This is completely contrary to their understanding of pagan ways of doing things. You must know that this is an organization that can arrange ambushes even for smugglers, and with the size of this forest village, it is estimated that it will take at least a few years to build with the inhabited population, and some irreplaceable materials need to be imported from the outside world, and the conditions of almost complete closure are the best missionary environment.

Like a hunter lost in the forest strayed into a mirage, an entire village jumped out of the wooded background and came to the fore.

An ominous silence was deposited between the buildings, and after the stopped team consciously stopped talking, it blended with the atmosphere of the forest, condensed into a dead silence against them, accompanied by a strong sense of being watched from all directions.

The extremely quiet atmosphere makes people dare not act rashly, and they are imprisoned in place like falling into an invisible swamp, and only their own slight breathing and heartbeat are in the concentration and breathlessness.

Until someone couldn't help but let out a sneeze that broke the deadlock. Despite his best efforts, the sound of the air rushing out of his teeth could be heard far through the forest, far enough to be heard by the people who might exist in the village in such silence.

Nothing happened.

Everyone turned to the source of the sound and glared angrily at the guy who was covering his mouth and looking terrified.

But the oppressive feeling did dissipate somewhat. Perhaps the only explanation is that there was no imaginary ambush at all, and that it was simply that the group of infidels had abandoned their stronghold and left?

"I'm sorry, I suddenly felt some itching in my nose." The perpetrator pinched the wings of his nose and covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to stop the physiological response, but the itching sensation on the mucous membranes seemed to be too strong to be contained, and the throat squirmed and let out a second sneeze, squirting something that scratched the sensitive nerve.

"Be quiet, let's go in slowly." Martin waved the order and directed the team forward.

"Ah...... Sneeze! ”

Before the words could be finished, another sneeze sounded. He just wanted to reprimand the servant who had a bad cold, but found that this time it was not the same position.

Turning his head, he saw that Kraft was pulling out a black square cloth to cover his mouth and nose, and tying it with rope to the back of his neck and the back of his head. There was more than one piece to prepare, and there was also a surplus that was handed to Koop to wear.

Seeing Martin looking at this side, he waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, "My nose is a little uncomfortable." ”

In fact, more than that, he felt that the ubiquitous rippling atmosphere constantly touched his spirit, so that his brain was always in a slightly drunken state for the past few days, and a little heaviness and dizziness when he was sick and fever fed back to his body.

And just now, a burst of nasopharyngeal itching without warning triggered the reflex of the respiratory tract to exclude foreign bodies, and it was still very strong, as if the wind wrapped in dust had penetrated into the nostrils.

【Dust】

The empty silence of the space, the smell of dust from the pavement, pulled the memory back into the hallway of the Rivers University Night Dinner, and stood in front of the door that didn't stop anything.

The ripples in my mind were still shaking, and the vague concept of rippling water ripples became clearer when I approached here, or rather after the sneeze.

He now feels like it's more like ...... The windswept wheat fields swayed and rippled, but much shorter, arranged in short rows, and laid out like blankets in every inch where they could be blown by the air currents.

"It's not quite right, try to stand where other people can see it later, and don't walk away alone."

Kraft drew his sword and moved closer to Martin, and as the team advanced, Koop followed him from behind, protecting the flank.

The shield-wielding follower followed the knight to the front, bending down to hide his body behind the shield as much as possible, and the crossbowman prepared to counterattack the enemy at the edge of the woods.

Leaving the cover of the trees, they began to speed up, rushing through a small uncovered clearing, reaching the outermost ring of buildings in the village, climbing over the fence against the house walls, and reaching the corners of the small windows that could become shooting holes, listening to the inner movements.

Ordinary people who have not been specially trained to deal with such a posture are likely to be at a loss, not knowing where to aim, blindly shooting arrows or throwing down their weapons to flee, let alone hand-to-hand combat.

However, the tense and orderly action becomes a one-man mime, and not a single arrow is shot out of the shadows to match their wonderful performance.

There was no sound of activity in the house, no nervous gasps, and when they ceased to move, the thick silence naturally enveloped them, and the village was silent, indifferent to the intruder.

Barrow departed from the protection of his servants, and before Martin could stop him, he kicked open the nearest door, which was not much better than a plank, and was kicked out and smashed into the dusty house.

The incoming sunlight appears in the dust, and the pillars of light illuminate the looming humanoid sitting at the table, unsuspectingly with its back to the door.

Hu Cong followed closely, reflexively raising his shield and throwing his axe, then drawing his dagger to guard the still shadowy part of the room.

The figure waited impassively for the thrower to come, slicing through its shoulder blades unimpeded, shattering a whole piece of bone and brittleness, and the impact carried the unbalanced chair down, kicking up another cloud of dust.

"What's going on?" Mistaken for a reliant, Martin and Kraft hurried to catch up.

"Ahem!" Barrow lifted his visor and coughed as he exited the room, "It's nothing, see for yourselves." If that's the case, I guess we don't have any physical work to do here. ”

A sitting-up "trellis" overgrown with brightly colored mushrooms collapsed in the dust, a smooth cluster of mushrooms covered in dust, and a well-aimed throwing axe embedded in its shoulder.

"Looks like your guys are pretty good at this?" Martin let down his sword and let out a long sigh of relief, he almost thought that there was some new trap in the room, and that new things often meant a price for trial and error.

The flying dust settled, and the servant who threw out the throwing axe carefully checked the rest of the small space in the room, hiding the embarrassment of his nervous move.

"It's better to be faster than slower, but don't use this axe anymore." Patting him on the shoulder, Martin stopped him from reusing the half-submerged axe, "What's your name?" ”

"Bright, Bright Ray, Barrow Knight's servant."

"Very well, Bright, for the vigil today. Hopefully, the night breeze will make you calmer and make friends and foes when things are out of your hands. ”

A false alarm is not a big deal. Considering that the other party is Barrow's person and has a surname, Martin does not intend to delve into the other party's momentary mistakes, but only symbolically orders the vigil to reflect, "Open a few more rooms, see if you can find anything, don't be alone." ”

"Professor, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing." Kraft shook his head, looking away from the seated corpse. Its posture is very peculiar, not sitting normally, but sitting backwards, lying on the back of the chair with its hands, raising its head as if it is drowning and suffocating, and a handful of yellow mushrooms with claw-like stalks growing out of the hollow eye sockets and mouth, holding up the cascading umbrella cover like a mask.

Because of the growth and fusion of the fungus, it grew completely together with the chair, so that it remained in this position after falling.

The upright sitting position, commonly seen in people with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a position that is forced to be taken when it is difficult to breathe to reduce symptoms.

Kraft tries to recreate the scene. At that time, it was going through a seizure, and it was likely to wake up in the middle of a night's sleep, wanting to sit for a while and relieve the feeling of suffocation through this inadvertent position.

In general, this is true.

But since I've seen it here, it's not working. Something killed it at this point, not respiratory disease or heart failure, it shouldn't have been so fast and still in this position. Before he had time to change his posture, he froze in suffocation.

"It's scary, let's go see the others." I can't say anything like rest, and I must have died a less peaceful death. Kraft looked around the room, and unsurprisingly saw a ring hanging from the wall, without wings.

Houses were opened, and inside were fungal growth substrates of various shapes, all of which had disappeared in their clothing, but when they died, they were all dressed in a colorful appearance beyond human aesthetics, so that those who witnessed them could find different horrors and amazing experiences on each shell.

The eerie experience strikes at the consciousness of the living, even the boundary between fear and amazement, causing people to ignore their essence at some point, as if entering a grand celebration that has never been seen before, and the guests are all dressed in Luo Qi in bold and new styles.

There were also many open doors, and the owner was nowhere to be found, and Kraft passed through the laneways through the low cottages and found them on the main road that led to the main entrance of the central church.

A gorgeous road.

Barrow and his attendants, who arrived first, were stunned by the dazzling colors, the stained glass that resembled rose windows was ten times more abundant, shattered into fragments of size and melted on the ground, and the colored scriptures painted by ore dyes grew out of the soil and painted in front of the stone steps of the church where the perfect circle symbol was hung.

The colourful human forms had melted into a thriving fungal swarm, and it was impossible to tell whether the devotees were making a pilgrimage to the end of the road or going to a feast together. The corona-like open folds grow at a high place, resembling a corolla with a grooved back.

For those who are shocked, it is no longer simply disgusting and frightened, but even more afraid that they do not find this scene disgusting, as if this is the natural cycle of what should be done, the manifestation of some cult power.

"Lord......" Barrow's sword fell to his side, and for the first time, the brave knight who sometimes seemed reckless, retreated.

Martin, who had seen the autopsy scene, did better, but he was stunned for a moment in disbelief and recovered from his surprise.

"You're right, Professor, sooner or later those who get into these things will swallow the bitter fruit of their own planting." He retreated into the alleyway, rubbing the mushroom crumbs off his shoes, "Since they're already eating their own fruits, we shouldn't be staying here." ”

The meaning of retreat is overflowing.

I can understand such thoughts, the scene is too exciting for normal people, but in fact, it has not lost order at this time, and it can indeed be regarded as an elite division.

"But......" Kraft glanced at the church. The ring marker is fixed to the wall that seems to have deliberately left a crack, which is undoubtedly the heart of the pagan village, and there may be some useful clues to be found in it to solve the puzzle.

However, this is not the right time, even Barrow and Martin are shaken, and the others are afraid that an emotional breakdown is imminent, and if they insist on entering now, there will probably be an accident.

"Let's set up camp and gather some firewood by the way." It was getting late, and Kraft didn't think it would be a good idea to go deep alone at this point, "If there's really no way, we'll burn it clean." ”

(End of chapter)