Woody's voice was calm, but his expression was unclear. He was obviously lost in memories.
"Once upon a time, there was a couple who were engaged, but for some reason, he left his fiancée and chose to leave his hometown, but he promised to come back and tell her what he had experienced along the way..."
Kaqir naturally had no objections. He was not happy enough when Woody told the story, but when he heard the beginning, he was stunned at first, but soon he was attracted by the story of the protagonist in the story.
The story this time really felt like déjà vu, but he didn't say anything, choosing to listen quietly.
The story goes on like this. The couple and the fiancée left their hometown and returned. Later, the two got married naturally. However, the good times did not last long. Within a year, the woman who became his wife suffered from a strange disease.
, even the priest of the goddess of life invited from the city was helpless against her...
The man tried countless methods, but failed to improve his wife's condition. Instead, it got worse and became unsustainable. Finally, when Woody talked about the man who returned home, he sold his soul to the devil to gain strength in order to redeem himself.
When saving his seriously ill wife.
Kaqir is extremely worried about the fate of the protagonist, but he is also full of hope.
"Will he succeed now?" He couldn't help but ask.
"did not succeed!"
Woody glanced at Kaqir and replied calmly.
The power brought by the devil made him lose control of himself, and the negative hidden danger of becoming stronger caused by killing made him end the life of his seriously ill wife early.
Woody finished the story of a mortal and the devil very plainly. It was very boring and ordinary, a bit similar to the fables in religions that warn believers not to believe in the devil.
But these were things he had witnessed with his own eyes.
"What a fool. How could you believe the devil's words? They are devils who play with people's hearts and take pleasure in deception and lies."
"It's not impossible if you want me to say that. If you want, I'll be a king instead."
"Wake up, there is no king in Navia..."
…
In the carriage, someone in the bumpy carriage expressed his feelings. This was also the view of most people. It was difficult to empathize with him. Most of them were happy people who watched and said happy things.
However, Woody turned a deaf ear to their words and echoes. Instead, he stared at the Northland boy in front of him and spoke slowly.
"Kaqir, what do you think?"
The Northland boy seemed to be still immersed in the first tragic story Woody told today and struggled to get out. His face with some freckles was full of sadness, and he woke up only when he heard Woody's call.
But he didn't answer Woody's question honestly right away, but asked anxiously.
"Are everything you said true? It's a story, right?"
For some reason, he desperately hoped that this drama-filled plot was just a story, but the only answer he received was Woody's calm face with unclear emotions and anger, and a slow shake of his head, which was no different from the past.
tone.
"You can think it's false. Anyway, at the end of the story, the boy and his fiancée died together, which perfectly complied with the contract with the devil to be together forever."
"What do you think of the ending of this story?"
Woody just told the cruelest truth in a plain voice, and kept asking questions.
At this time, Kaqir, who seemed to have just woken up, shook his head blankly and answered.
"I have no idea!"
"I have no idea?"
"Yes, I don't know. If Sif and I encounter something like that, I will definitely choose to seize every opportunity to save him. Even if it is the devil, as long as I can prevent death from taking him away, I will agree to sign the contract
Contract, but when the time comes, I will not be as naive as him and make promises that are easy to be played and misinterpreted. I will seek greater benefits so that the devil cannot take advantage of the loopholes, and I will not let myself be stimulated or emotionally disturbed.
Losing control...I will not disobey my ancestors..."
Woody repeated his words, which seemed to flip a switch in his body. For the first time, Catcher's desire to pour out was so powerful that it completely overturned what some of the protagonists in Woody's stories had done.
Then he used the compensatory measures he took for granted to solve the matter, and after finishing speaking, he showed a rare smile of satisfaction.
After hearing this, Woody just showed a faint smile and asked.
"Are you a scholar?"
"no."
"Then do you understand Infernal?"
"don't know."
Kaqir, who seemed to understand something, added with a stubborn expression.
"Then I can go and learn. There must be someone in the North who knows this."
"Innocent."
When Woody heard this, he shook his head helplessly.
"The devil knows more than three hundred ways of writing in the language of hell, and he is also proficient in thousands of ways to get you to sign a contract, and unknowingly adds contract regulations. Do you think you can play with it in the contract? Or do you think you can play with it?
You think you can trick it."
"You are like a little goat negotiating with a giant dragon. It is ridiculous to think that if you put a few fences around yourself to prevent it from entering, you will be safe."
"Then what should I do? Can I just watch her die?" Kaqir's face was extremely pale and his expression was tangled, as if he was really like the protagonist in the story, trapped in a choice. This question seemed to be
Asking Woody is actually asking yourself.
Woody looked at him and sighed helplessly.
"You have no choice. Your only choice is to refuse its temptation. In the face of no absolute strength, no one is willing to negotiate rules with you."
"His original sin is to be weak and to protect things that are difficult for him to protect. Even if it's not him, it would be the same if it were someone else."
Woody's words are very straightforward, and he almost nakedly analyzes the male protagonist's situation in the story because of his weakness. When faced with the infernal creatures that have no mercy at all, it is better to pray for their blessings than to find ways to solve it.
"Okay, this time my story is really finished!" Woody stood up without hesitation this time because he noticed the movement on the luxury carriage. Cecil, who had been meditating all night, seemed to be ready for her day.
Spell, he would not miss this rare opportunity. After she got off the carriage, Woody also rode on Grape and followed...
The original plan to arrive at the Golden Valley around early morning has been ruined by heavy rain. Now the Nudong Merchant Group has only traveled four-fifths of the planned distance, and there are still a full five days before reaching the rest point of the Golden Valley.
one-third of the distance.
However, at this location, the Nudong Merchant Group has returned to the trade road built by the kingdom. The gravel road is no longer the artificial yellow mud road in the Forest of Whispers. The road conditions are no longer bumpy. The most important thing is that the rain has lightened up.
Although the sky is still gloomy and there is no sunlight, this is good news.
"Good day, Miss Cecil."
Woody shouted from a distance, and Cecil, who was surrounded by guards, immediately felt something. He turned around and saw the black-haired boy riding a high horse.
"Good day, Mr. Woody."
Cecil responded with a rather formal aristocratic etiquette. If it were not for riding on a horse and the inconsistency of the primitive forest constructed by the surrounding wild weeds and bushes that ruined everything, people might think that this was a
At a ball given by a duke.
"What's matter?"
After Woody got closer, the court mage asked in a low voice that only two people could hear clearly, but her face was still quite surprised. She never thought that Woody would take the initiative to come to her. The guards around her
He had the good sense to stay ten steps away from Cecil, leaving space for the two men and women of similar age who were riding side by side.
"Let's take a walk. I still had some doubts that I didn't understand yesterday. I want to ask again today."
"Oh, do you still have any doubts? Didn't I make everything clear yesterday?"
When Woody said this, Cecil was even more confused and couldn't understand, just like having a late-night snack the night before and obviously eating fried rice noodles, and the next day a friend who was traveling with him asked you if the mutton skewers were delicious.
"Be careful, there is someone!"
Of course, before Cecil fell into deeper self-doubt, she saw with sharp eyes that Woody raised the magic ring that her teacher gave him, although it was not clear what its effect was.
, but as an item taken by a legendary mage, it is naturally not a mortal thing, so Cecil showed a little surprise when he saw the power of faith on the ring constructing a crooked but not fully formed warning universal language, but
His face soon returned to his normal expression, showing no emotion or anger, as if he hadn't seen anything.
"I remembered. Since I don't understand, I'll explain it to you again."
"You all retreat, he and I will go for a walk in front. We don't need your protection."
She tried her best to control her tone calmly, and the latter sentence was an explanation to the guards around her. As an advanced spell caster who has already stepped into the ranks of eighth-level spells, Cecil no longer needs as many guards as before.
Only through protection can one avoid assassination and beheading attacks.
Whether it is the golem or the triggering spells and chain accident spells engraved on the robes, they are much stronger than a bunch of guards who have not reached the tenth professional level and have completed the advancement threshold.
After hearing the order, the guards immediately dispersed and returned to the group. Only Cecil and Woody were walking on the road. Many people showed envy towards Woody. After all,
, the only person in the entire Nudong Merchant Group who can be in the same communication position as His Highness Cecil is this stranger of unknown origin.
This has led to many people really starting to doubt whether their Highness Cecil, the Pearl of the North, has really fallen in love with this mysterious and comely foreigner who looks slightly younger than her.
Black hair and golden eyes.
However, the strength is extremely strong.
For both of them, the discussion behind them was like a passing storm, leaving no trace in their hearts at all.
Woody drove the grapes and ran on the muddy road. As a magical object, the grapes, invested with astral essence, seemed to have never-tired energy. When the outline of the caravan could no longer be seen, Woody let the grapes
It slowed down, and the phantom horse that Cecil was riding arrived in a blink of an eye. Compared to the sparkle in Putao's eyes, the phantom horse seemed duller, but not slow, and arrived almost at the same time as her.
This section of the road after the rain was slightly less muddy than the previous one. There was only some accumulated water on the smooth gravel road, and there was a refreshing smell in the air. After washing, the whispering forest was even more obvious.
Luxurious and quiet.
When Cecil saw Woody stop, he dismounted knowingly, then picked up his staff, and directly arranged a circular ritual circle in an open space in the forest that integrated silence, blocked vision, and protected against damage.
, and at the same time, "counterspells" were arranged around to prevent prying eyes, so that this conversation would be foolproof.
When the magic circle was built, Cecil took Woody directly into this place. At present, she could display the highest level of posture. She has always believed in the young man in front of her, which is why he didn't say anything. Cecil
That's why Syl followed him.
"what happened?"
Cecil asked solemnly.
"I noticed something was wrong with you yesterday. Ever since you told the story about overseas affairs, you have become very strange."
Just like the intelligence attributes required by spellcasters, Cecil was able to complete the path of a spellcaster at such a young age in only about twenty years, which elves may take hundreds of years to complete. She is not stupid.
After thinking about it for a moment, you will know what exactly Woody wants to emphasize.
"Is it dangerous overseas?"
"It's possible. I'm just worried that Demogorgon will come back."
Woody has already thought of the wording, and he can completely regard his worries as doubts about the prince of the abyss.
"Then you mean..."
Cecil's face became a little ugly. After all, if what Woody said was true, then his previous cover-up behavior also pointed out that there might be someone in this business group under her command...
Insider.
Believers who have fallen into the abyss?
But... before leaving Palermo, Cecil didn't even feel anything strange. Even if the matter in Green Creek Town was solved, she now thinks it was just a coincidence. She happened to meet the cannibal tribe in order to provide sacrifices.
They were given to the demon lord of the abyss to besiege the town of Green Creek. The demons were not coming for them at all, but Woody's words today can be said to have truly refreshed her worldview.
"Then why is there danger at sea?"
Cecil secretly planned to observe the people around her and whether she had told others about her whereabouts. At the same time, she also did not forget to be curious about why Woody linked the sea with the devil of the abyss.
"If your teacher were here, he would definitely be able to answer your questions."
“Do you know saltwater marshes?”
"You know, the 88th level of the Abyss is the saltwater swamp, and it is now under the control of Demogorgon."
Cecil answered very quickly. These are some of the outer planes. Some planes even have detailed geographical knowledge. But the mages who learned this lesson at that time were obsessed with it. The outer planes
It's more colorful than they imagined.
"Then you should know what place is under the saltwater swamp."
"Shadow... sea?"
Cecil could barely recall the name.
"Then do you know who the demon lord is there?"
When Cecil faced Woody's question, it seemed as if she had returned to the scene a few years ago when she was a mage apprentice and heard the teacher explaining the outer plane.
She still cannot forget the evil symbol drawn on the blackboard during the lecture.
It was a large mouth filled with sharp teeth wrapped in six tentacles arranged in a spiral shape. The original appearance of its owner was still difficult to discern.
King of the Deep Sea.
Dagon.
In the Abyss, the only alliance Dagon established was between himself and Demogorgon.
