The Vampire Governor knew that his Precursors were approaching the Dark Valley, and he should have gone to join them up and send them a quest as a guide NPC to the "new map", but after accidentally seeing the ancient imprints of the goatman tribe, Murphy changed his mind.

Theoretically, the area before stepping into the Black Flame Pass is not really the new map of the Dark Plague DLC, the Dark Mountains, and the area players are currently in is still a "safe zone", and they are on a side quest to find the Dark Valley as a final step out of the Starter Village.

As a stylish mainline NPC, you must be patient, and you can only surprise them when they need it most!

Therefore, Murphy thought for a moment and then resolutely continued his career as an "explorer".

He sent Refno to monitor the barren surface and the dark valley, while he searched for the goats in the Bafonte Canyon and began to search for the legendary dungeon.

Although it was the first time for Murphy to come to this barren new area, he didn't want to be like a novice like a headless fly, which was too inferior, so he decisively called for "foreign help" to help him open the unknown map.

The astral rift quietly opened under the attraction of the Vientiane device, and with a low roar, George, the lone wolf of the astral plane, who was becoming more and more ferocious, was summoned from the mountains and forests of the ancestral woodland to Murphy's feet with the steps of serious injury and initial recovery.

The poor fellow was banished by the wolves and did not dare to return to the astral plane, so he could only learn from the beasts of the material realm to find his own den in the wilderness.

The good news is that George, who has become the head wolf, relied on his strong physical fitness, not only easily defeated the largest group of timber wolves in the ancestral woodland, robbed their nests, made a comfortable nest for himself, but also occupied several she-wolves to "warm the bed" for himself.

The bad news is that there are many more "beast codes" to learn from living in the material world.

As an astral creature, George can't stay in the physical world for long, which will make it weak due to the erosion of energy from different planes, but now that it has an entity, it can try to breed its own "unique wolf pack" in Transnesia.

This hybrid of astral creatures and physical beasts would give George's descendants more brutal strength and more powerful talents than ordinary wolves, and it would also add a little surprise to Translasia's overly drab "monster line".

Murphy also plans to create a bit of "ghost beast" lore in the territory to attract hunter players.

And as a qualified master, Murphy has also asked Mannes the Endless to find a remote but safe place in the astral realm without the threat of the silver wolf's wolf pack, and George only needs to survive this difficult period before he can return to the astral plane and form his own wolf pack.

Although 60% of the astral wolves belong to the command of the silver wolf Kherson, a group is so prosperous that it can always find some "natural anti-bone boys" to exploit.

George's mood has actually been very bad recently, quite a kind of young wolf leaving home, but with Murphy's comfort and guidance, coupled with being beaten by Refno, the wolf has gradually accepted his current bad situation and tried to improve.

"Come, do your duty as a beast."

Murphy pointed to the barren earth around him, and said to George, who was sniffing left and right:

"Find the entrance to the dungeon of these goatmen! Maybe you can start a hunt to spice up your mood, the Endless is already helping you find a new territory, and you need to get ready to officially rebel against the tyranny of Kherson! ”

"Whew"

George let out a low hiss.

The wounded eye had left a terrible scar on its face, and as the scar healed, it wasn't ugly, at least in Murphy's opinion, it gave his astral wolf a "smack of story".

However, George would scold him in the vernacular of the astral wolves, and he could still understand it.

After all, it was Avalon who gave him the talent of "beast language", and the angry Murphy kicked George's ass, and he scolded:

"What do you mean I'm tired? Why didn't you say that when you relied on me to eat all kinds of good things to improve your strength? Now that you're down, you're going to dump the pot on me? Can you figure it out yourself?

Your master and I were also implicated by that bastard of Mannis, okay?

The devil knows that guy will be so bad in the astral plane!

Well, stop complaining and start looking for something! The Second Lord of the Blood Alliance Knights is still waiting for me to come over to discuss business, and I can't stay here for too long. ”

"Foul-mouthed George" let out another dirty hiss, and honestly performed his duties as a "search dog", and the astral wolf's sense of smell was indeed very good, and according to the smell left by the goatman, he took Murphy to run quickly through the red wilderness of the Bafantt Valley.

The vampire spread his wings and followed his dog southwest in the desolate night, and at the same time, he connected to Tracy's side through the quantum communication of the Creator Armor on his body, and told his most trusted "think tank girlfriend" what he had just discovered.

Trissy, who was still busy in the alchemy room to improve the recipe of the "Decisive Wine", responded casually while arranging the potion with her hands and feet:

"Oh, goatmen, that's a strange bunch of fellows.

I've been to their territory before, and I haven't been to the dungeon in Bafont Canyon, but I know that the goats have an underground city in the ancient mountains between the Mirror Lake of the Dark Mountains and the Grey Desert.

The hidden city is known as the 'Abyssal City of Vidia', the name of the goatmen's self-perceived ancestors, who call it the 'King of Curses' in awe.

Almost one-third of the goatmen of the Dark Mountains live in that giant dungeon, and the rest are exiled losers or skeletal boys who have run away on their own to make a career.

If you have the chance, you must go to the Abyss City to see the 'traditional arts' of the goats, those guys have completed sacrifice as an art, and the gladiatorial arena of the shadow elves is still inspired by the goatmen.

The barbarians would throw the other creatures they captured, along with the warriors among them, into the altar arena and sacrifice the blood and bones of the dead to their ancestors.

The proper cult style opened my eyes when I was still young at the time. ”

Tracey chattered to Murphy about what she had seen when she traveled to the Goatman City, and to Murphy's relief, there were no "interesting details" in this story of Tracey being chased around by the Goatmen.

Or maybe Tracey was beaten, but she carefully concealed the embarrassing details.

Murphy listened with satisfaction, and after Tracey had finished talking about his "glorious past", he asked:

"As for the Goatmen in the main city of the Dark Mountains, have you noticed the words they use in the past tense before? It's a Creator rune, I won't be mistaken! I think the goat-man might be a 'biological weapon' created by the creator or something.

Just from the same as the Gnoll. ”

"No, the goatmen's civilization, though evil and disbanded, is obviously much more civilized than the gnolls, and they have many legends about the 'Dark Ages,' which may sound outrageous, but I have used these stories as a reference for theological research.

I've found that these stories are connected to each other. ”

Tracey explained academically:

"Although it is not excluded that the ancestors of the goat people were a group of long-tongued women who were very good at bragging, and made up the stories of their own imagination, I prefer that the goat people were indeed a civilized race, and they had their own complete historical heritage, but then something happened that I didn't know, which caused their civilization to collapse in a very short period of time, and turned them into the current ghost of wool and blood.

As for the ancient runes you mentioned.

Pointless!

Because the goatmen themselves don't know the ancient writings.

They're just part of an evil ritual, but if you can recognize the runes, you might be able to piece together the goat-man's past.

I still remember that there is a small organization in Abyss City founded by the goat-man elders called 'Dark Roots', and they have been looking for the true origin of the goat-people and the truth about the historical upheaval, if you can find clues, then the goat-man slave owners in Abyss City will be willing to communicate with you.

The goatmen outside are a bunch of unorganized and undisciplined barbarians, but the goatmen of Abyss City still have a slightly savage but methodical way of hospitality, and they have a lot of good goods in their hands, especially their treasure trove of dark ciphers!

Hey, I'll tell you, it's a real place with the King of Spells' cool dark vestments and a set of legendary weapons, and I almost coughed up back then, not to mention all these boring old things.

In short, I feel that they have preserved the last dignity of civilization.

They themselves think so.

If I'm not mistaken, there is a small hidden stronghold of the Dark Roots near Hungry Mountain, where they have sent sentries to monitor the evil people they have exiled to the Bafute Gorge.

Once you have found them, you can go there and find them directly. ”

"Mm-hmm, well, I'm getting more and more inseparable from you, Tracey."

Murphy got the information he needed, and he laughed and said:

"Wait for my good news, you know that there is a small group of our young players who are interested in the history of the continent, and I guess they will enjoy the series of exploration missions given by the Dark Roots.

But before they go, I'll have to go around the dungeon in Bafant's Canyon to at least determine the strength of the monsters here, so that they can be prepared. ”

"You have to be careful."

When Triss heard this, she reminded:

"Although I didn't look for the dungeon in the Bafute Canyon because I was too lazy to go back because of time constraints, the Elder of the Dark Roots, Kazit Extinction, warned me that the Bafute Dagong was the goat-people's 'civilization heritage and dark tomb'.

It babbled on me that the dungeon held ancient evil secrets.

It is also said that the dungeon will devour all undesirable outsiders, and that the self-proclaimed civilized goat people will never come near it, they regard it as an ominous place, and that the area of the dungeon is a little larger than Abyss City, and it is a real labyrinth inside!

If the goats themselves don't know what's inside, then I think you have to be careful when you enter, don't go too deep. ”

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Murphy answered, and stopped bothering Tracey with her experiments.

He looked down from the air, and George had killed several savage goatmen trying to sneak up on the rocks below, and it hissed to tell Murphy that it had smelled the rotten smell of the dungeon.

That entrance is nearby.

"I wish this hellish place was a real labyrinth full of secrets, and the more goatmen and thugs in it, the better."

Murphy flapped his wings and landed on the ground, his staff sword in his hand and the hot melt sword he wore at his waist, and thought to himself:

"Any mature game should have a similar 'maze' gameplay, which is the best way for my young players to pass the time. The bottom line is that if the 'Dark Roots' could pay for this exploration, I could have made it a classic daily or weekly task.

And if this dungeon is big enough, then it is completely possible to create a dedicated dungeon area!

As my warriors emerge from the filthy swamp, they also need a step-by-step advanced mob farm, and in addition to the Black Scourge storyline, the Half-Elf and Goat-Man storyline is perfect as a side quest for the Dark Mountains.

The best guide is not to force them to kill as many as they want, but to stimulate their desire to explore, and driven by 'love' and 'curiosity', they can finally help me restore the past of the Dark Mountains. ”

Murphy looked back in the direction of the Black Flame Pass.

He narrowed his eyes.

"What happened to the mysterious Eden? How did the Dark Mountains come to be? What does the predecessor of the Seven Clans of Vampires and the mysteries of the Land of Holy Blood, this seemingly cursed land have to do with the legend of the Creator?

Ahh

The Vampire Governor landed solidly on the ground with a cool spin.

With George's murderous roar, he drew his weapon and looked at the goatmen mob rushing out of the ground in front of him, noticing that these guys all had strange runes drawn in blood on their furry hearts.

"Look, my curiosity has been fully piqued, come on! Let me see the history hidden under the fog! ”

——

"Look, what do I see? A half-elf! With the arrogant blood of the Moon Elves flowing from your body, how did you have the courage to step into the territory of the Shadow Elves? ”

At the entrance to the Dark Valley, a sarcastic voice sounded from the other side, accompanied by dense footsteps, and Lady Adele and her three retinue were soon surrounded by a group of heavily armed half-elves.

The vampire intelligence officer was in no hurry to resist, her expressionless eyes flashing with disgust.

Because she sensed that there were several real shadow elves hidden among these half-elves, they were hiding in the dark and peeking on her side, this strange combination made Adele's impression of "hometown" suddenly worse.

These idiots!

The fathers did their best to escape from the gladiatorial arena of the shadow elves and gain freedom, but only sixty years later, the descendants of those brave were once again in cahoots with the shadow elves, and it seemed that the blood of the shadow elves in their bodies really carried a trace of innate depravity!

Fortunately, she only has a quarter of the elven blood, so she will not be bewitched by the shadow elves.

Behind Adele, the named Lumina looked dazed, and she looked at the tall figure in front of her who had come out of the darkness, who was also a half-elf, but her elven features were much richer than that of Lady Adele.

Slender than humans, her light posture when walking, as well as her pointed ears and eyes that glow in the dark, are representative of her lineage.

Lumina didn't know why this guy was so resistant to herself, but that didn't stop the half-elf bard from having a glistening look of joy in her heart when she saw so many elves in front of her.

This is the first time she's seen an elven settlement in the game!

Although they are only a group of half-elves, it is indeed a place for her to feel happy and relaxed.

If this place is open to prestige, Lumina will definitely be the first to rush to worship!

"Adele"

The figure approaching from the shadows did not care what Lumina was thinking, and she stopped a few steps away from Lady Adele, and said in a voice of remembrance and doubt:

"I thought you were long dead, it's a joy to see your childhood friend again, even though you've become a vampire, the Shadow Valley is still your home, and we exiles don't care about blood.

But as the current leader of the Dark Valley, before I accept you, I must ask clearly, are you going home this time? Or with other ideas? ”

"Lisa."

Lady Adele saw the woman's very similar face to Lady Bernice, and her long-blurred memories seemed to come alive again, especially the strange blue-gray hair of the other party, which reminded her of the few happy memories of her childhood.

She sighed and said:

"I'd love to tell you that I'm just going home, but we're all grown up, and childlike words can't hide reality, and I bring with me the will of my master and the kindness of Translasia.

The Black Plague is coming!

It is dangerous for you to remain here, and I hope that you will abandon the valley and move to Transcia to start a new life, and I will take over the Dark Valley and make it a front line against the Plague. ”

Whispers rang out in the darkness in front of him.

It was the half-elves exchanging ears, and the leader named Lisa scoffed at it.

She replied:

"Then you can go, Adele, my childhood friend, it's good that we're here to stay, especially since the last bloodlines of the Mejwa family have joined us, and the defenses of the Dark Valley have been greatly strengthened.

We are certainly no match for the Black Plague, but we can also close our valley and not get involved.

That's the trouble for you outsiders, not ours.

But I won't be so ruthless as to let the returning wanderer come back disappointed, and you can at least visit the place where you grew up and pay homage to your mother's grave.

Come with me, Adele.

You can spend the night in the valley tonight, but tomorrow morning you will have to leave, you have brought with you outside malice, which is not what the Dark Valley needs. ”

With that, Lisa simply turned around and left, and the half-elves who had followed her obeyed her, and they made way for the four girls in the dark.

The three young players looked at Adele, and the Baroness of Darkness waved her hand and motioned for them to follow.

She didn't say much to the half-elves around her, because now was not the time.

Adele frowned, she was not disappointed with Lisa's attitude, people who had been closed for too long had no good feelings about the outside world, and refusing it was not disappointing in her expectations, what really made Adele feel puzzled was these shadow elves who were mixed with the half-elves.

Before she can set out in her own actions, she must understand the story of these shadow elves.

She had a hunch that this truth was absolutely important to herself and to Master Murphy's cause!

(End of chapter)