The branches were carbonized in the flames, turned into ashes, scattered in all directions, and rose into the sky. Under the night, the warm fire soaked people's hearts, and the bright orange light dragged everyone's shadow long. There seemed to be an ancient song hidden in the firelight.
The song is reflected in the depths of the mangrove maze, and the shadows of thick ink are intertwined with shadows.
The flames reflected everyone's expressions. Jita habitually bit her lip and frowned slightly. Tianlan had a curious look on her face. Luo Yu was absent-minded, as if thinking about her own things. The elf girl looked focused and turned around from time to time.
Pay attention to what's going on outside the mangroves.
Only Parker was holding his boots, squinting his black eyes, pecking his head again and again, then suddenly woke up and looked around in panic.
Mazak's skin turned bronze in the firelight, and the patterns on his cheekbones became more prominent. He looked seriously at the bonfire in front of him, and his eyes seemed to be able to see through the swaying flames and see all the stories that happened in that long-ago era.
.
He gently rubbed the sharp blade of Jalapea with his fingers and responded with a rough touch. The scene was a little quiet for a moment, sparks exploded with a 'pop' sound, the mangroves in the distance were quiet, and the sound of insects came from far and near.
.
In the darkness, the occasional sound of water entering distracted everyone's attention.
Mazak put down his sword, placed the blade flat on his knees, and then spoke slowly. His voice was low and soothing, as if he was not recounting, but recalling a past event from a distant era.
"The beginning of this story should be told from the era of the Giant War, the cataclysm that occurred at the end of the Magic Era. The second evil star Verdant came to Essolin and caused the Disaster of Essolin - the giants and
Dark Dragon."
That is a piece of history that everyone knows.
Fang Yu nodded silently.
In order to fight against the Star of Disaster, the Elves, the dwarves and humans put aside their past grievances and stood together for the first time to form an alliance. They launched a decisive battle with the Star of Disaster on the plains of Aztarjan. In the decisive battle, the elves and the dwarves joined forces.
The giant's delusion of invading the sea forest was shattered, and the human target was Lifgard, the king of the dark dragon.
Compared with the ancient Numerin elves and the dwarf kingdom with the legendary hero Thorinos at that time, the several mortal kingdoms of Essolin were just a new and loose city-state at that time.
These weak mortals seem far from being a match for the powerful Dark Dragon, not to mention that its interior is full of unstable factors. Several kingdoms have become corrupted and become servants of the Dark Dragon.
But at the critical moment, mortals made sacrifices. A group of heroic humans chose to drink the blood of the dragon and swore an oath to be enemies with the dark dragon for generations and never stop dying - these people later became the predecessors of the Oath Keepers.
Mortals also received help from the fairies. The fairies forged five dragon-slaying swords using the roots of Ataxis and the silver of fairies, and gave them to the five most outstanding human heroes of the time.
It was one of these five dragon-slaying swords that finally killed Lifgard, drank the blood of the dragon king, caused the fire of Venus to fall into the dust, and completely ended the disaster of Eshorin.
In the era that followed, the five swords were passed down from generation to generation in the hands of the Oath Keepers, and the sword holders always abided by their ancient oaths, until the last dark dragon perished in the Dead Swamp seven hundred years ago. From then on, the Oath Keepers
Then they disappeared, leaving only the legend of dragon slayers and their ancient mottos in the world.
Don’t forget your dead enemies——
"...My ancestors are the descendants of the holders of Jalapea," Mazak said slowly, and the flames moved slightly, as if reflected in his dark eyes: "And our clan still has the spirit in our body to this day.
The blood of the dragon flows. But the glory of the past has now become the source of deep pain. The curse of dragon blood has always been a lingering haze for our family. The power of the dragon increases with age, and once you can't control yourself
With the power, you will become a monster that looks like a dragon but not a dragon——"
"Dragon's minions, but there are more terrifying forms," the tall man replied in a low voice, very calm, but seemed to be telling a very natural thing, but the content was chilling. "You can only
I watched helplessly as people I was familiar with in my daily life—neighbors, friends, relatives and even loved ones—suddenly turned into irrational monsters."
"...The process has no signs and cannot be reversed. When everything happens, you can only choose to kill it or be killed by it. For hundreds of years, we have been accepting this fate, as if we have already
We were used to it. But it wasn’t until about a hundred years ago that the prophecy came true.”
Everyone was silent except for the crackling sound of sparks exploding. No one expected to hear such a story.
Fang Yu vaguely guessed something, but couldn't help but ask: "That prophecy?"
Mazak glanced at him and replied: "The enemy who passed away has returned again."
The sound was like a gust of cold wind, which dimmed the flames a bit and made everyone shiver.
There was some silence next to the campfire. The tall man gently touched the shining sword blade and then said slowly: "...After the battle in the Swamp of Death, my people returned to Istania to live in seclusion, in the Sea of Silver Sands.
Although the country is not peaceful, it has spent six hundred years peacefully. But since the last sea forest moon rose, the power of dragon blood has obviously become more active. It was at that time that a man was born in the clan.
Baby girl, named Everiel Nicol Bolas——"
"She was born with the golden eyes of a dragon, which is the most ominous sign for our clan. Originally, according to the ancient traditions of the Oath Keepers, we should have abandoned this baby girl, but for some special reasons, we allowed her to stay in the clan.
.And that became the cause of all subsequent disasters. As the baby girl grew up, the power of dragon blood increased day by day, gradually surpassing that of mortals. She had shown an excellent talent since she was a child, and could almost perfectly control the power of dragon blood.
"
"At that time, the high priest of our clan also thought that maybe we could find a solution to the curse through her, so that our clan would no longer be troubled by the power of dragon blood once and for all. Because of his persistence, the baby girl was able to grow up.
Before she came of age, everything seemed normal. She seemed destined to become the best Oath Keeper our family has ever produced, even far surpassing my ancestor Shuyode who was trained as a sword wielder of Garapea at the time.
.”
"But in the seventeenth year, which was also the coming of age ceremony for our family, everything changed."
"No one really knows what happened that day. My ancestor was on a pilgrimage to Korin-Ithurion - a necessary experience for sword-holders. However, when he returned to his clan, he saw
There are only embers and ruins, charred limbs, men, women, mothers and children, old people and young children, no one survived..."
Gudong.
Tian Lan swallowed with a pale face. The expressions of the others were not much better.
Only Mazak was still slowly narrating: "That day, we lost almost all of our clan members. The clan leader had her heart ripped out by her, and the high priest who had been raising and supporting her was also torn into pieces by her. Only I
One of the ancestors survived and swore revenge."
He turned back to look at everyone and replied: "She turned into a dragon and became our mortal enemy. You should all know the story after that. But there are some details that you may not know yet.
And that's why Nicol Bolas was called the Dragon Witch in Corin-Ithurion—"
"Nicol Bolas is a cunning dragon. She is unlike any of our previous enemies. Before my ancestors found her, she reunited those who had been lurking in the mortal realm since the days of the Giant War."
A servant of the darkness among them. She lurked in the dark, extended her tentacles to the royal family, seduced the King of Corin of that generation, and in the name of Countess Everiel, caused a bloody storm in Corin-Ithurion.
The massacre, in that dark era, the reputation of the royal family was tarnished and the alliance was almost split, until her true face was exposed."
"Then there was that unparalleled battle. During the frontal battle with her, my ancestor Shujod used Jialapea to cut off one of her horns and one of her claws, blinding one of her eyes and causing her to retreat with serious injuries. After that,
The King of Kaolin announced his abdication and passed the throne to his only remaining youngest daughter - the only queen in Kaolin's history and the grandmother of His Majesty the current King."
At this point, Mazak suddenly stopped.
Fang Yu was fascinated by what he heard and couldn't help but ask: "What happens after that?"
The tall man reversed the blade of the sword, casting a bright reflection between his eyes. He stared at the sword as if thinking about something. After a long while, he continued to answer:
"...No one has seen her since then. Some people say they saw an injured dragon flying across the sea of clouds, while others say she is hiding in the shadows of the Dragon Roaring Mountains, waiting for the day when her injury recovers.
.Some people say that she has perished in the depths of this swamp. The huge skeleton still stands in the middle of the swamp today. In the mist, the broken corner is still telling the story of the past."
"Is it really dead, that dragon?" Tian Lan asked softly.
Attila glared at her: "Don't interrupt when others are talking, Fuli." This little French girl stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.
Mazak didn't take it seriously and continued: "...For various reasons, the Kaolin royal family concealed the truth of that year, perhaps also to prevent the scandal from embarrassing the royal family. But for us, the Oath Keepers can understand
After that, my ancestor Shujod set foot on this land several times, but unfortunately he could not find her."
Fang Plover and the others looked at each other, and then they understood why no one had ever known that the dragon-slaying hero Shujod had defeated a giant dark dragon.
Mazak paused for a moment before continuing: "Until more than twenty years ago-"
"About twenty-seven years ago, my grandfather began to notice that the magic contained in the dragon's horn suddenly became active, which made us realize that Nicol Bolas was back again, calling for a missing part of himself.
. Therefore, in order to follow the Oath Keepers’ injunctions, my grandfather took my father and me to this swamp and built this hotel here. The purpose is actually to monitor the movements of this evil dragon.”
"That's why you came for it?" Jita asked in a low voice, "But it still got its horn back, didn't it?"
"That is the work of the Dragon Worshipers. Those people are depraved dark believers who are willing to be the servants and minions of the dragon. I actually knew their plan and had the opportunity to stop them, but due to some special reasons, I
Let these people take advantage of the situation."
As the towering man spoke, he silently glanced at Fang Plover, his eyes falling on the back of the latter's right hand. The mark of the crown was obscured by his gloves, but he seemed to be able to see it. His tone was very calm, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Annoyed: "But this is actually nothing. Nicol Bolas's cunning means that she will never show up easily before her power is restored. At least in this way, we may be able to settle the past grievances with her earlier.
"
Fang Yu remembered the other party's previous conversation with the giant dragon and asked: "So, you said that at that time. You meant to let her go, right?"
Mazak didn't confirm it, but he didn't deny it either.
After the initial nervousness, Tianlan had completely recovered. She looked at the former with stars in her eyes, as if she saw a living legend. She couldn't help but asked curiously: "So you have to fight her alone?"
Are you as powerful as your ancestor Shujod, Mr. Mazak?"
Mazak did not answer the question directly, and only said: "This is the fate of our family, little girl."
Fang Plover chewed on the term and asked: "But, I still have a question. Why do you tell us this specifically, Mr. Mazak?"
"Because I want you to do me a favor."
Everyone's eyes were subconsciously focused on Fang Plover. Because Mazak was talking about you, not you, he was obviously referring to Fang Plover.
Fang Yu himself was a little flattered, and unexpectedly said to Mazak: "But Mr. Mazak, I am still a newcomer."
After hearing this, Tian Lan couldn't help but wink at him. Oh my god, why would anyone push such an interesting and exciting mission out? But Fang Pulver was not afraid of being an enemy of the dark dragon. He was worried that his level was too low.
Unable to complete the other party's request.
Mazak heard the implication of his words and shook his head: "Don't worry, this is just a small thing, you can definitely do it. Before I go to Traveler Swamp, I hope to entrust a reliable person to send something to a
An old acquaintance of mine who lives near Grande, and I hope this person is you—"
"Deliver a message?"
"Is it me?" Fang Yu and Tian Lan asked at the same time, but the former had a genuine questioning tone, while the latter had a disappointed look on his face.
In Tianlan's view, tasks like delivering letters are about the lowest level in Aitalia, only slightly higher than helping people find lost items.
"Oathkeepers trust their intuition." Mazak replied, taking out a palm-sized package from his pocket. The package was tightly tied with oil paper and was obviously prepared. "I believe you can do it.
, I just need a guarantee that I will never open the package to see what is inside before arriving in Grande——"
Fang Yu was stunned for a moment, and saw a few lines of prompts appearing in the system window:
'Update event catalog - Dragon Witch.'
'Update the superior event catalog - the arrival of the third evil star.'
‘Record your knowledge and experience—3200 points.’
'A potential incident has been detected. Do you want to accept Mazak's commission?'
Mazak held the package and looked at him quietly. The eyes of others also fell on Fang Plover.
The latter only hesitated for a moment and then took the package. Not to mention that he was very curious about this story. Just saying that Mazak had come to the rescue before, he would not refuse easily. What's more, this matter was too important to him.
, it’s just a little effort.
"I will deliver it properly, Mr. Mazak." Fang Plover promised seriously.
Mazak looked at him and seemed to have no doubt whether this promise would be fulfilled. He only nodded slightly.