"The boatman in black robes? Sounds like the God of Death who ferries the River Styx in the story."
The bard whispered the stories of this era.
"We shouldn't have any money on us, right?"
The old knight was very worried.
"Since you have made a choice, you cannot regret it. I think there will always be a way."
The witch said, and the story continued.
"The poor travelers did not have enough gold coins to pay the cost of crossing the river, and retreating represented the failure of the journey, which was an unacceptable result for them. So the kind-hearted boatman proposed to use the soul of one of you to pay for the other four.
I wonder if you can accept the shipping fee."
The god asked the five people. Just like before, neither Shade nor the witch was willing to sacrifice their companions here:
"Of course not. We are traveling together."
"The rejected boatman is not angry, but reminds you that there is a one-eyed giant living not far away. He may have enough gold coins for you to pay for crossing the river."
Shade thought there would be choices next, but he didn't expect the story to jump directly to the next stage.
"So before lunch, you found the Cyclops living in the cave. The grumpy giant was very angry because he was disturbed. The battle began."
God said with a smile, and her voice was very gentle and lulling people to sleep in the background of the crackling bonfire. She has always had this tone since she appeared, as if she was really sharing the night with the travelers she met by chance.
little story.
"How are we going to fight?"
Shade asked, and God replied:
"Of course we really have to fight."
"Ah? Sorry, what?"
Before Shade finished speaking, everyone felt the temperature in the humid and rancid air suddenly rise. The sound of heavy footsteps appeared at the edge of the foggy forest almost in the next second. The first thing was the fiery red light, which almost made Shade
He and the witch thought there was a fire in the forest, but then, a huge fiery red figure that was two stories high walked into the camp with heavy steps and roared.
Its body seemed to be made of black rock, and the huge black body was wrapped in blazing flames. The giant's two arms held a flaming sword and a flaming whip respectively, and the face that should have had two eyes
, because one eye seemed to be blinded, so only the left eye was open.
The hot temperature made it difficult to breathe, and the pressure from the high-level life forms made the old knight, bard and maid tremble. Of course, the latter's performance was obviously better than that of the men.
Shade and the witch stood together and looked at the "Cyclops" in astonishment. In Shade's opinion, the elegant witch even said a localized swear word:
"Damn! This is not a Cyclops! This is a Balrog with one eye blind!"
This Balrog does not look very old, and it is not an evil spirit demon from the third era, but an individual of the demon race itself. Its power is far less powerful than the arsonist Sophie that Shade and the doctor saw in the Sikal Mountains.
kes, but this is definitely not an easy enemy to deal with.
Shade raised his hand to prepare to meet the enemy, but when he looked around, he was surprised to see that the gods, campfires and tents had disappeared. Now, standing next to him was an old gray horse and a white unicorn.
, the flying colorful parrot and the gray hound standing on the back of the unicorn:
"Um?"
This scene was so funny that Shade thought he had instantly become a circus leader.
"Um?"
The unicorn also made a confused sound, and then realized that everyone had really turned into the travelers in the story.
The change occurred quite suddenly, but the attack launched by the Balrog swinging his flaming whip did not give them a chance to exchange their thoughts on their "transformation".
Shade jumped up without even thinking, and at the same time, the dark sin chains in his sleeves were whipped towards the fiery red whip like a whip.
The whip's original target was the parrot, but fortunately the bard was very self-aware and flew away quickly while Shade protected him, so no one was injured in the first confrontation.
In the loud sound of Peng~, the dark chains that seemed to be able to absorb light collided with the fiery red whip exuding sparks. The two piercing sounds even aroused the oscillation of the air, causing the flames on the Balrog's body to ignite.
Strange optical effects.
Sparks flew everywhere, and the tall Balrog's long whip became entangled with the chain in Shade's hand, whose body was covered with golden cracks. Both parties pushed backwards at the same time, and the long whip and chain stretched straight in the air, allowing the flying sparks to illuminate the darkness.
While in the forest, Shade, who used the [Red Dragon Power], was actually on the same level as Balrog in terms of strength.
A steady stream of power was flowing into Shade's body from his feet, making him feel that his strength was still increasing. He slowly moved back, and the Balrog was dragged forward with his movements. It obviously didn't
I have encountered humans who were able to resist it in terms of strength, but after a moment of surprise, the mouth in the flames opened, and high-heat flames spurted out in a straight line.
"I'll stop it!"
It's strange for a unicorn to make a woman's voice, but the unicorn flapping its wings does barely manage to float into the air, facing the fire stream in the air. The soft white light shield around her body split the fire stream into two and avoided the ones on the ground.
All "people".
This was a rare battle scene that Shade faced in a normal time key mission, but after the first round of confrontation, Shade also realized that the Balrog that came from nowhere was much weaker than he thought.
If the witch hadn't turned into a unicorn now, with her spellcasting ability, it would never be Shade's turn to take action:
"Ma'am, you protect the others and I'll take care of it."
Shade said to the unicorn in the air. The witch also knew that she was completely unsuitable for this form of body, and her current state was even more unsuitable for fighting such a large thing, so she dropped to the ground with the gray hound on her back and met the parrot.
Meet up with Lao Ma.
Shade suddenly shook the chain in his hand. In the flying sparks, the chain and the long whip separated from each other and rolled back to their respective masters. The roaring one-eyed Balrog slashed the giant sword in his hand toward the ground, and the fiery red giant sword fell.
Towards the ground, the magma splashed out from the soil, and was blocked by the unicorn to protect the other three traveling companions. But Shade was not under the giant sword. After a group of red butterflies emitting scarlet light gathered in the air, Xia De hung upside down.
Under the dark night sky in the forest, De kicked out a blow that was like the moon falling.
The arc-shaped moonlight hit the Balrog, but was blocked by the latter with his arms crossed. But Shade, who fell from the air, did not give it any chance. The silver-white thunder spear appeared in his hand and he threw it forward with all his strength.
, the thunder gun flew towards the chest exposed due to the raised arms, and went straight through the heart of the Balrog that was seen through by the "seeing demon".
The unwilling roar almost shattered the eardrums, and the flames when the Balrog fell to the ground and exploded to death were barely blocked by the combined force of Shade's "Seal of Heaton" and the unicorn's pure white light shield.
But even so, the flames still rushed towards their faces, wrapping up one person and four beasts. When the flames dissipated, the five people were surprised to find that they were still sitting around the campfire and small tent with the gods and companions.
in a narrow open space.
There is still mist in the dense forest, but there are no traces of any battle around. It is still peaceful and peaceful. The sound of the crackling bonfire is the clearest sound at this moment. The strange area known as the "Lost Forest" is not
There are insects, birds and beasts.
But the battle just now was definitely not an illusion, because in front of Shade, there was a gray cloth bag tied with a hemp rope. He picked up the bag and shook it a few times. The sound of coins colliding with each other was very pleasant. He opened the bag.
Later, inside was the only [Devil's Gold Coin] left in Shad's hand.
"There are exactly five coins here."
Shade said, looking at the others who were all in shock. The bard was holding a piece of colorful feathers that he had taken out from nowhere in his left hand in horror, and was stroking his body desperately with his right hand; the old knight was
Looking even more tired, Shade even suspected that if he hadn't been determined, he might lie down and listen to the story later; the witch had a normal expression, just touching her forehead, as if she was worried that she really had a horn and only had a black skirt.
The maid didn't look too strange, she just pursed her lips and looked at the surrounding forest with some uneasiness.
"The Balrog just now should have been weakened by the 'story', otherwise there would be no reason to deal with it so easily. If so, all the dangers we encountered in the story are actually weakened versions, just like in the story
We are the same."
As Shade spoke, he looked at the god. The traveler, who had his back to the bonfire, still had a kind smile on his face.
So Shade threw the bag containing gold coins next to the card pile among everyone. Others also looked over because they heard the sound of the bag falling:
"This is the fare for crossing the river. We are going to take that boat."
After the bag landed on the ground, it actually bounced up, as if it contained an elastic sphere. Then, under the gaze of everyone, the bag actively "jumped" into the flames, and the god praised:
"The travelers brilliantly defeated the innocent Cyclops living in the forest and robbed it of all its savings. You paid the boatman to cross the river, and the boatman in black robes allowed you to board the boat. So, the Cyclops
The beast, the loyal dog, the parrot and the old horse stepped onto the dilapidated wooden boat one after another..."
Hearing this, Xia De knew that he was going to be unlucky this time:
"but."
"However, when the travelers under the moon tried to board the boat, they were blocked by the boatman."
The traveler looked at Sha De with bright eyes, so Sha De said helplessly:
"Boatman, why don't you let me board the boat? I've obviously paid enough for the boat, but is your greed making you want to ask for more?"
"The voice came from under the boatman's hood, and he answered with undeniable words: You are different from them. My ship can carry them. But you are different."
