Underneath the hood, is the face of a young man with smooth skin and no beard. Although that face looks young, it has a pair of eyes that have gone through the vicissitudes of time. His skin was very white, not the kind of natural fairness, but a sickly pale. This is also one of the side effects of practicing black magic on humans. Now Ashrufat can say with certainty that this mysterious man is a dark mage.

"Tsk...... This horse is really good. It's so vividly done, it's so realistic. If you were a different person, you would probably think that this is an ordinary horse, right? It's really bold and ingenious. The mysterious man walked around the nightmare pony and was amazed. "It was also well handled, without any rancid smell. How the hell did you do that?"

Ashrufat was able to hide his dark magic with his own strength, but Nightmare Ponies did not. Normally, this was not a big deal, as Eshuruphat kept a low profile as much as possible, and the natural aura of dark magic from the Nightmare Pony was very weak, so it didn't attract anyone's special attention along the way. But this one is specialized in cultivating black magic after all, and it's not surprising to feel the true face of the Nightmare Horse.

"My name is Hein," the dark mage introduced himself, and raised his hands to show that he was not hostile. "I haven't asked your Excellency for your name. ”

"My name is Ashrufat. ”

"Hmm...... I've never heard of that name. But, Ashrufat, what are you doing here?" Haiyin looked at his peers in front of him. As a sign of politeness, Ashrufat had already jumped off his mount and came face to face with him.

"Because of a little personal matter. Ashrufat didn't mind delaying for a while, but he didn't want to reveal too much.

"I wonder if this is a private affair with the legendary vampire Baron Pinold, the one who has been active in West Vania lately?" Heinhar laughed. "Don't look at me with that look, you can guess it. As a gift for our chance encounter, and as an apology for my rudeness, I would like to give you a small piece of advice: you don't have to waste your time. ”

"For what?" said this time it was Ashrufat's turn to be surprised.

"Are you looking to that vampire for new knowledge and power?" asked Hein. "Maybe your teacher told you about it...... In the inheritance of the dark arts, there is a set path. If one day, a magician is no longer satisfied with the status quo, but thirsts for more knowledge and power, if one day, he wants to pursue the ultimate mysteries, if one day, he longs to open the door to eternal life, then he should rely on his strength to embark on a pilgrimage to the source of black magic, Kalean. There, the Immortal Queen possesses knowledge and mysteries far beyond human imagination, and she generously rewards those who serve her. ”

"Unfortunately," Hein's face flashed a sarcastic smile. "The Vampire War has put an end to this tradition, and Callean is now left with nothing but ruins. All the knowledge accumulated by time immemorial has been destroyed by the Church. The legacy of the dark arts has been severed. That's why you heard about vampires and rushed to Sivania, because there is still the last vampire here, and the last being who holds the ultimate mysteries. Am I right?"

Ashrufat didn't answer, but his silence seemed to the other party to be tantamount to acquiescence.

"Unfortunately, this is not reliable. Hein said. "Legends don't have to be true, they can be rumors. ”

"Unreliable? That night, I saw ...... with my own eyes."

"Seeing the Undead Legion with your own eyes?" This time, Hain is Ha Lu Ha Da Lu smiled. "I've seen it with my own eyes. Did you see a group of skeletons glowing green outside the city on a dark night?"

Ashrufat nodded.

"And then, naturally, the next day, when the alarm in the city was lifted, you went to look for the place where the skeleton appeared last night, but you didn't find anything, not even the breath of black magic?"

"That's right. Ashrufat admitted.

"And then you naively thought that it must be some special magical effect that obliterates all the breath of black magic?"

"Is there anything wrong? That kind of scene, if it were created by illusion, would be a big project, and it would definitely not be able to hide the perception of a magic cultivator. ”

"Indeed, indeed. The smile on Hein's face grew even deeper. "It can't be an illusion, but it doesn't have to be real. Young friend, if it weren't for my pet's help, maybe I'd be thinking the same as you would be right now. ”

Ashrufat noticed that the other party had been thinking of himself as a senior, but from an objective point of view, this person named Hein would not be more than thirty years old, or even a little younger.

"Master, black magic has a noticeable effect on humans to reduce aging. In her mind, Carrie explained Eshurufat's question, "Dark magic can change the nature of human beings to a certain extent, prolong their lifespan, and increase their vitality. Especially so that they can always maintain the appearance of youth. But this change is limited, and their lifespan is only 'extended', not an infinite life like you. ”

Hein turned half of his body and sent a magical summoning into the bushes in the distance, where he had come out. Then, Ashruphat saw several figures emerge from their hiding places, and they moved closer in small steps. Those are not human figures, but beasts.

Four huge wolves came to Hein's side. These wolves were unusually large, almost as big as a shorter horse. The eyes of these beasts flashed with the unclean glow of black magic, and their bodies also reeked of corpses. All of this makes it clear that these are no ordinary beasts, but creations of dark magic, or more colloquially called "necromancy." In addition to the smell and eyes, if you look closely, you can see that parts of the wolves' bodies are rotten, and their coats are mottled with blood and stains.

"See? My latest masterpiece. Seeing Ashrufat looking at these wolves intently, Hein couldn't help but say a little proudly. "I used the ashes as a vehicle for condensing the energy of the dark arts, and then combined it with the wolf corpse to create them. Don't look at them as agile and fast, in fact it takes very little dark magic to maintain them. The only downside is that the manufacturing process is cumbersome. I call them dire wolves. ”

"It was with them," Hein continued, "that I finally cracked the secret of the Green Skull. ”

"Am I lucky enough to share this secret?" asked Ashrufat, cautiously.

"To put it bluntly, it's not worth a louse!" Hein didn't continue to sell Guanzi. "What do you see...... It can only be said that it is a scam, a trick of charlatans. See that?" he touched a dire wolf, then pulled out something.

The thing was a thin, hollow semi-circular sphere made of wood. Hein put it on her head and gestured to Ashrufat. Ashrufat noticed that the wooden hat was painted with a small amount of green. He reached for it and found that it was a green ore powder.

"What is this?" Ashruphat had a vague sense that something was wrong, but he couldn't connect the wooden hat with what Hein had just said.

"Doesn't this stuff look like a skull? And this powder, which is commonly called phosphor. Hein replied. "It's fluorescent powder, and it glows a faint green at night, but it's not very useful otherwise...... This ore is very common in Sivania. Now you get the idea, right?"

"Glows green...... This one...... The skull ...... "Ashruphat suddenly realized the truth.

"Original...... "No wonder the Undead Legion disappeared into thin air as soon as it dawned, and the magicians couldn't find the whereabouts of the Undead Legion with great effort.

"It's that simple. Hein tossed the wooden hat back to the Direwolf. "Someone wears this hat and paints the shape of a skeleton with phosphor on themselves. There is hair on the head, so you can't paint it directly with phosphor, so I use this hat instead. From a distance, it does look like a group of skeletons in action. ”

But that doesn't mean Baron Pinod doesn't exist. Ashrufat said. It wasn't so much that he was talking to Hein, but that he was talking to himself at the moment.

"At least it shows that the legend is not very reliable. Hein replied. "You can feel that, too. Although there are legends of vampires, they are never able to feel the presence of powerful black magic. Either the vampire is hiding itself, or there is no such vampire at all. ”

"That's all I have to say, and if you want to find out, I'm not against it. If you come up with any conclusions, I'd love to share them with me. I now live there on the edge of the southern forest...... With my disciples. You can go there and find me. Now I have to leave. By the way, there may not be vampires in Sivania, but it's a great place for people like us. The lackeys of the church are few and far between, and they are all concentrated in the excavation sites. We can be said to be very free here. ”

Ashrufat watched Hein's back go away, and only after a long time did he look at the little fluorescent powder on his finger in a daze.

"Master," Mimilu said only now that she had been staying there silently. "The smell is really familiar. Well...... That's when I smelled minerals in the woods below the city that day!"

"So, Baron Pinod doesn't exist?" he asked himself, muttering to himself.

"Master, we should find out anyway. In his head, Carrie began to cheer him up. "If this is a lie, a deception, then why is it designed? Why would anyone pretend to be a servant of a vampire who does not exist? Why do they know about the existence of Baron Pinold? According to my calculations, there is at least half a chance in this matter. And isn't the answer coming to you soon?"

"Carrie, I have a strong instinct ......" Eshurufat somehow changed the subject. "If Pinod doesn't exist, then the promise Cade gets is an empty word that can't be kept, right?"

"Of course, do you need to ask? But Pinod doesn't exist, so we'll have to think about something else. If you firmly stick to your previous opinion. Carrie sighed. "What's wrong, what are you thinking?"

"I was thinking that if this was a lie, one must be in a state of desperation to make up that kind of vampire lie. Ashrufat said blankly. Only the same desperate people are attracted to this lie.