Chapter 288 Troll Underground Palace and Guilty Crown
…
After reading it, Matthew accepted the task without hesitation and reported accurate information about his companions to his two companions.
The two of them showed surprised expressions at the same time:
"Do you also have oracle skills (gossip)?"
Matthew smiled modestly:
"It's not as good as the intelligence capabilities of the two of you. It's just a little sense of smell based on my peers."
Luo Lan asked with great interest:
"Intelligence capabilities against peers?"
"So you learned it from Silver Snake?"
"But if you feel it after ten kilometers, you still haven't grasped the essence! I heard that that guy can smell the odor of his colleagues hundreds of kilometers away..."
Carmela corrected after hearing this:
"If it's a necromancer, it should smell fishy, right?"
Lorraine asked:
"Is it a big difference?"
Carmela said seriously:
"I think precise word choice is the most important part of expression and communication. If you always treat words with such a careless attitude, then sooner or later the gods will take away your talent."
Luo Lan showed an exaggerated expression:
"Fortunately I don't believe in any gods!"
"To be honest, I think you do have more say than me in the field of heavy-armed melee combat, but when it comes to words, forget it. Are you trying to compare your literary attainments with a legendary poet?"
Carmela said seriously:
"I was born in a choir, and I also received several years of church training in art and literature... I have no other intention, I am just discussing the matter."
The two of them exchanged words with each other, and soon the topic changed.
The more Matthew listened, the more something seemed wrong.
The two people started talking about body art and aesthetics through simple text expressions, and soon also talked about cosmos, astronomy and art education.
Chatting and chatting.
The tension between the two was much less intense. On the contrary, there was even a sense of sympathy between the two of them!
This is hard for Matthew.
He felt like an NPC standing next to him.
Moreover, there was no obvious trend in the chat between the two people.
If I had to summarize one thing, it would be the trend that makes Matthew increasingly incomprehensible...
"Wait, can you stop?"
Matthew couldn't help but speak:
"Don't you care at all about the colleagues I just mentioned?"
Carmela blinked:
"Well enough."
Luo Lan even laughed:
"Do you need to be very concerned?"
"Matthew, you have just seen this lady's fighting power. Not to mention a few of her colleagues, even if the green dragon comes over, you still have to give her a cigarette..."
Speaking of which.
Luo Lan suddenly asked:
"Smoking?"
Carmela refused righteously and said:
"Clergy of Chuyue Church are not allowed to smoke!"
A trace of regret just appeared on Luo Lan's face.
Carmela said softly:
"Do you have any cigars? I can have some."
Lorraine Dale took out a beautifully packaged box from his underwear pocket with his backhand.
He took out two cigars from the box, handed one to Carmela, and lit it with mage fire.
The bald priest in red robe skillfully took the cigar, took two deep puffs, and his eyes became brighter.
Luo Lan smiled and lit one along with him.
For a while.
The two of them chatted happily and happily.
"So can clergy smoke cigars?"
Lorraine asked with a smile.
Carmela replied seriously:
"If the church doesn't prohibit it, then you can smoke it."
"And I don't smoke often. The main reason is that I often use herbal medicine to treat patients. In order to familiarize myself with the medicinal properties of various herbal medicines, I personally taste various plant ingredients, and cigars are just one of them..."
Lorraine nodded:
"It is understandable that clergy are actually quite stressed. I met a priest a long time ago who also loved cigars. The reason he gave was that smoking a good cigar would bring him closer to his god.
.”
Carmela asked curiously:
"What happened next?"
Lorraine shrugged:
"Due to the Seven Saints Alliance's suppression of Tianlun Palace, the pastor secretly ran the church with poor performance. Eventually the church closed down and he couldn't afford to smoke cigars, so he changed his profession and became a thief. I met him again many years later.
, he is already a well-known local thief."
Carmela asked:
"So he just gave up on his gods?"
Lorraine shook his head:
"His god died the year after the church collapsed. There are countless weak gods who ended up like this in the Tianlun Palace.
To be honest, I don't like magic sticks, maybe there are factors of the times in it.
In my life experience, anyone who has faith has lived a miserable life, and the God they believe in also died helplessly in a lonely and cold state.
I can't interpret these things with a perspective beyond the times. I just feel that this is an era that is not very friendly to gods and believers.
But from the perspective of others, isn’t this a blessing?”
After listening, Carmela nodded thoughtfully:
"But this era is not the entire history of humans or other intelligent creatures, and it may change in the future."
Lorraine flicked the ashes of his cigarette:
"Who knows?"
Carmela took two more puffs and then changed the topic:
"The cigars taste good. Where can I buy them?"
Luo Lan said:
"Made at home."
Carmela asked in surprise:
"Your family sells tobacco?"
"No wonder you became a poet!"
"Born as an orphan like me, I am destined to only follow the path of a priest or a monk..."
I saw the two of them suddenly chatting passionately.
Matthew, who couldn't stand the smell of tobacco, walked away silently.
He has calmed down now.
He has already reacted.
Due to his previous experiences and habits, Matthew always likes to arrange everything in detail before each event.
But this operation is different.
The leader is a legendary priest, and the other follower is a legendary poet and deceitful demigod.
You don’t need to worry so much at all!
Just paddle after the big guy.
They must have their reasons for not caring about their peers. Matthew doesn't need to think so much.
On the other hand.
His urgency about robbing tombs is not that strong either.
To put it bluntly, this operation was a temporary meal replacement planned by Matthew when his trip to Jade Cangting was blocked.
How much he wants to rob tombs.
At most, it was based on the strange idea that "if a necromancer doesn't try tomb robbing, his career will always feel unsatisfactory."
Just think of it as an outing, it’s not bad to gain a lot of experience!
A few minutes later.
Lorraine and Carmela ended their fuming interlude and came to Matthew. The former asked:
"What are you doing?"
Matthew replied while waving the shovel in his hand:
"Remove the weeds near these trees, have you seen it? This weed called thorn blood has a strong hindrance to the growth of the trees. These trees have almost been sucked out of their nutrients. If things go on like this, death is inevitable.
Avoided ending.”
"Since I saw it, I just helped them."
During the conversation.
Matthew vigorously cleaned the ground nearby.
quickly.
The blood from the thorns near the black pine trees was cleaned up.
In the surprised eyes of the two people.
Matthew also took all the thorns and blood into his luggage.
"What purpose do these weeds have?"
Lorraine asked curiously.
Matthew explained:
"This kind of weed has many uses. On the one hand, they are very suitable for raising pigs, cattle, sheep, horses and other animals;
On the other hand, after the blood of thorns is burned to ashes, it can be used to make a hemostatic ointment, which promotes the self-healing of human tissues..."
Carmela couldn't help it:
"You are a necromancer, and you tinker with these things all day long?"
"No wonder you don't have the fishy smell of an ordinary necromancer!"
Luo Lan immediately interrupted:
"I still think the smell is more appropriate."
Carmela raised her eyebrows.
Lorraine refused to give in.
Matthew sighed and went to weed the black pine tree on the other side with the shovel.
While weeding.
He also thought about the white tiger elf Jasmine for a while.
"That white tiger of hers is so beautiful!"
Matthew thought with great envy.
…
Forty minutes later.
In the east part of the dilapidated forest, in front of a two-story wooden house.
Matthew and the three of them stood side by side.
Although Lorraine and Carmela kept bickering along the way.
But fortunately, their trip was not delayed.
This is Carmela's retreat. Matthew noticed that in addition to the cabin itself, there is also a large medicine garden next to it.
The medicine garden is surrounded by a simple fence, and the shadows of a large number of herbs can be vaguely seen.
"You actually grew so many herbs!"
Lorraine looked a little surprised.
Carmela snorted coldly:
"You don't think I just made up a random excuse to defraud you of your cigars, do you?"
"Besides, I can't rely solely on magic to save people."
"Come in."
Carmela led the two people inside.
But they did not enter the hut, but entered the medicine garden next to it.
Carmela strode ahead.
Matthew followed suit.
In the process, he keenly discovered that there were a large number of psychedelic potions grown in the medicine garden!
Except for some drugs that may be used for anesthesia.
More are highly addictive hallucinogens!
In the lush greenery, Matthew even saw a familiar figure!
"Collin's tobacco?"
He couldn't help but snorted.
Carmela in front responded casually:
"Yes, do you want it?"
Matthew waved his hand:
"I'm just curious as to why you would grow such...forbidden things?"
"For research, Mr. Matthew."
Carmela replied solemnly:
"In addition to being a clergyman, I am also an herbalist."
"The reason why the Wood Elf Yue Yao has a good relationship with me is because I have a closer personal relationship with their superiors. A long time ago, the senior officials of Jade Cangting commissioned me to prepare a formula that can relieve the symptoms of those who are heartbroken. In order to
To achieve this goal, research on Colin tobacco leaves is naturally inevitable."
That being said.
But the solemn look on Matthew's face has not faded.
The main reason is that the name of Colin's Tobacco Leaf is so famous. It is a magical plant from purgatory. It was originally a terrible species created by Baator, the Lord of Nine Hells, in order to corrupt the elves.
The effect of this thing is.
Immediately after taking it, a slight psychedelic effect will occur. After about fifteen minutes, the user will gain the ability to "break the limit on the number of spells cast"!
As we all know.
In Irondor, almost all magic has a daily number of uses.
After the number limit is exceeded, it will be difficult for even the most skilled mage to cast the same spell.
This is actually a limitation of the human body.
Because magic, or ether, is highly corrosive.
It itself, without control, will trace the source of any spellcasting power.
If you use the same spell a lot on the same day.
Then your brain may be reversely locked by the etheric field and form a fixed infection circuit.
It's been a long time.
The etherification of the brain is inevitable, uncontrollable, and unsurmountable.
Even the gods, in an almost cheating way, use their godhead to replace themselves to resist the trend of etherification.
Therefore, in ancient times, after the first group of people who came into contact with magic (mainly trolls, elves, and humans) paid an extremely heavy price, several top powerhouses among them set bloodline restrictions on their descendants.
.
This bloodline restriction spread rapidly during the reproduction process of humans and other races.
It has taken thousands of years to form the human body's self-protection mechanism.
Colin tobacco leaves can completely destroy this mechanism.
However, the reason why this thing is very targeted is that if humans only smoke it once or twice, they will not be addicted. It takes many times to take effect.
The elves are different.
Colin's tobacco leaves have a 100% one-time strong addiction to all elven creatures.
Back then, Baator almost used this thing to control all the elves.
Fortunately, the gods stopped him in time.
Later, there were several incidents where other purgatory lords used Qorin's tobacco leaves to infiltrate wood elves or night elves.
Although the impact was not as severe as the first time.
But there are still many heartless people active near the Trace of the Dead in Jade Cangting.
They were the victims of Colin's tobacco.
"So, how did you study Colin tobacco leaves?"
Matthew is still very curious about Carmela's research methods.
Unexpectedly, the latter tore off a large handful of Colin's tobacco leaves and started chewing them:
"It's almost like smoking a cigar."
"Let yourself be addicted first, and then solve the countermeasures. I already have some plans, but some of the drugs will have to wait until next spring to be found."
Matthew was stunned.
Although humans are not that addictive to Colin tobacco leaves, eating so much at once will definitely lead to addiction, right?
"Of course, even if I am addicted, as long as I want to quit, the God of the First Moon will give me the power to completely quit all kinds of addictive things."
Carmela smiled and explained:
"It's not so much that the God of the First Moon helped me get rid of my addiction to other substances. It's better to say that my belief itself is the most addictive thing, and he has a strong exclusivity and does not allow other addictive things to occupy me.
My body and mind.”
"So if your friend gets into bad habits, you can send him to me and let him believe in the God of the First Moon. Maybe there will be a good ending!"
Luo Lan immediately interrupted:
"Don't listen to her. If getting rid of addiction through faith is a feasible solution, then the brainwashing technique of the necromancer is also feasible."
Carmela glared at him.
But at this time, the three of them had reached the end of the medicine garden.
But he saw Carmela moving a potion away neatly with her hands and feet.
The soil underneath fell off quickly.
A dark hole was revealed.
"Is this the tomb down here?"
Matthew was a little excited.
Carmela shook her head:
"This is the road leading to the green dragon's lair, and the green dragon's lair happens to be built just outside the ruins of the Emerald City, the old capital of the wood elves!"
"Due to an unknown aberration many years ago, the wood elves evacuated from the Emerald City overnight. When they left, they set up an insurmountable ritual field barrier around the Emerald City, and there was only one gap in this barrier.
, it was occupied by the ancient green dragon from that time. After the ancient green dragon built a nest here, it passed this nest to the green dragon Fatina who is now active near the Emerald Cangting."
"I lived in seclusion here for half a year. In addition to investigating most of the origins and details of the tomb, I spent the rest of the time digging this tunnel."
"It can help us quietly enter the green dragon's lair, and then sneak into the Emerald King City through the crack."
"The entrance to our destination is the underground palace of the Emerald City."
Hear this.
Matthew couldn't help but wonder:
"Who is qualified to build an underground palace in the royal city of the elves?"
Carmela shook her head and said:
"not human."
"But a troll."
"I have carefully studied the history of the world of Irondor. In the dark ages before the arrival of the gods, the trolls established an unprecedented empire on the southern land."
"At that time, humans and elves were just vassals of the trolls. The Emerald City of the Wood Elves was theoretically one of the territories of the Troll Empire. Therefore, buried under the underground palace of the Emerald City is a certain person from the era of the Troll Empire.
A high-ranking royal mage—that mage is also suspected to be related to the origin of the night elves."
"This is the oldest tomb in Irondor that I can find. I believe there will be a lot of ancient atmosphere in it. Just thinking about it is exciting..."
It turns out to be the troll’s underground palace!
Matthew suddenly understood.
At that moment, a group of people entered the tunnel, and Carmela introduced as they walked:
"The green dragon Fatina is a homeless person. In fact, she doesn't like this ancient dragon's lair.
I occasionally come back here just to avoid being chased by the wood elves.
Her strength is not very strong. The reason why the elves can't do anything to her is partly because Fatina is cunning enough and never hesitates to fight.
On the other hand, it's because the elves can't get close to this lair.
In fact, it’s not just this lair that they can’t get close to, but the Emerald King City!
I suspect there is something in the Emerald King that can greatly weaken the power of the elves and make them extremely weak.
This power leaked out and gathered in the dragon's nest, which made Jade Cangting helpless against this nest."
The tunnel is not spacious.
Carmela's voice echoed softly.
while walking.
Matthew suddenly had a strange look on his face:
"What if there is someone in the dragon's lair?"
Carmela replied with a pious tone:
"Then just adapt to circumstances!"
"I believe that the God of the First Moon will point me in the right direction!"
Matthew couldn't help but rub his temples.
Is this Carmela's style of doing things?
He secretly swore in his heart that if there was another underground alliance, he would personally control the plan.
Luo Lan came over:
"Is there any news about our colleagues?"
Matthew nodded:
"They are all in the dragon's lair."
Luo Lan said "Wow" and then said:
"It's just a few necromancers, it shouldn't be anything to worry about, right?"
Matthew blinked:
"Things have changed."
"Now, we are more than just one team!"
"To be precise, there should be four teams traveling together. They are all at the same coordinates of the Green Dragon's Lair. Normal people wouldn't dare to enter the Dragon's Lair in such a ostentatious manner, right? So is there a possibility that it was invited by the owner of the Dragon's Lair?
Did they come in?"
on the data column.
…
"Hint: You discovered more peers!
Peer Smell: You have discovered four different teams, all of which have experienced tomb robbers!
These four teams are from White Rock City, Gemstone Bay, Sword Winter City and the Underdark Region!
Your mission "Exceptionally jealous when meeting colleagues" has been updated!
For each additional group of companions expelled or killed, the duration of your "Nature Djinn" will be extended by ten seconds."
…
Listen to Matthew’s narration.
Carmela started rolling her eyes without saying anything.
Lorraine's ears also trembled as if convulsed.
A few seconds later.
The three of them looked at each other.
"There was indeed an accident. I don't know what happened to the green dragon Fatina. She actually recruited tomb robbers through her own network of channels. She seemed to want to take away an ancient item called the "Crown of Sin" in the troll's underground palace.
Items, those colleagues you noticed, should all come after hearing the news..."
Carmela pondered.
Matthew leaned against the authentic stone wall and asked:
"So what do we do now?"
Lorraine suggested:
"How about killing the dragon first and then robbing the tomb?"
Carmela shook her head:
"Fatina has a deep background. Killing her may not only attract the long-lost ancient green dragon, but also offend several lords in purgatory."
"Besides, slaying a dragon is too ostentatious, and it can easily attract some strange looks."
"As for what we should do..."
She thought for a few seconds, then patted her head:
"Can we join them?"
…
ten minutes later.
In the green dragon's lair.
The group of three people who came out of the secret passage and trotted all the way to the front hall got their wish and bumped into the green dragon Fatina who was lecturing the four teams.
Unexpectedly.
Fatina's external image is that of a slender girl wearing a green dress with two pointed tiger teeth.
"you?"
The green dragon looked at the three people who suddenly appeared with some confusion.
Carmela immediately replied:
"We are here to rob graves!"
Fatina sneered:
"nonsense!"
"You're not here to rob tombs, are you here to slay dragons?!"
"I mean, you're late! Forget it, stand up quickly. What I said before is not important. Let's listen to the rest!"
Three people in different disguises hurriedly entered the queue.
Within the hall.
Some malicious looks were thrown at me.
Matthew also looked at these colleagues carefully in secret.
Baiyan City looks like a necromancer, with an aura of poverty all over his body;
The people in Gem Bay are dressed like a group of businessmen, and all of them have smiling eyes. They don't look like tomb robbers at all;
The ones in Jiandong City were very strong and looked like mercenaries. Matthew couldn't help but wonder when he saw it - could it be that his colleagues in the north were all from the barbaric sect?
As for the underdark area, it's even more special.
This is simply a dense group of kobolds!
If the leader of the kobolds hadn't looked a little special and had a level as high as 20, no one would have taken this group of colleagues from the Underdark seriously!
"I don't care what you do inside, you can cooperate or you can fall out when you get in, but you must bring out what I want!"
"Do you see it? This is the Guilty Crown. Look carefully. In theory, it should be on the third floor of the underground palace, but it may also be on the fifth or seventh floor. It definitely cannot be an even numbered floor. Do you understand?"
The girl transformed from the green dragon walked carelessly in front of everyone, holding a portrait high.
After showing the portrait.
She also ordered a dragon servant to distribute initial rewards to the five teams.
Unexpectedly.
Fatina was extremely generous.
The four teams, including Matthew, were directly rewarded with one thousand gold coins per head!
Only when facing those kobolds.
Fatina shouted:
"You have too many people! Give you five thousand gold coins!"
"Whoever finds the crown, I will directly give him two hundred thousand gold coins, and everyone in his team can choose a treasure in this lair!"
"Now, everyone follow me!"
The green dragon girl works in a hurry.
Three minutes later.
The five teams arrived at the bottom of the Dragon's Nest, in front of a huge underground crack.
The other side of the crack is filled with a green barrier.
There was a small gap in the barrier where only a suspension bridge led to it.
"In first-come, first-served order, each team will set off one by one, with an interval of five minutes. Speed!"
Fatina arranged quickly.
The tomb robbers didn't have any objections and carried out the plan one by one.
Matthew and the others were the last to arrive, so they had to set off last.
When colleagues were crossing the suspension bridge.
They were looking at a set of huge murals on the other side of the suspension bridge.
The shape of that group of murals is a bit weird.
The main composition part is a column rising into the sky, with a mushroom-shaped swelling bulge above the column, which makes people easily conjure up strange associations.
And it's not far from the top of the column.
There is also a huge circle drawn on it.
The circles and cylinders oscillate in correspondence and have a tendency to attract each other.
This mural looked simple, but for some reason Matthew and the others were fascinated by it.
"This is a mural left by the trolls."
An extremely old voice suddenly appeared next to them.
Matthew looked back.
Found out it was the kobold warlock.
The latter said calmly:
"The culture of the Troll Empire has a strong tendency to worship fertility. Your naked eye sense is correct. The lower part of the mural depicts the penis, and the upper part symbolizes the purple palace of the female troll."
"In fact, the creation myth of the trolls originated from a solitary peak that pierced the sky. They believed that the solitary peak was the penis of a certain god, because the god pierced the sky from the earth, so it caused
Mother Sky was pregnant, and many intelligent races including trolls, humans, and elves came into being.”
"Crentwell, meet me?"
"We can cooperate with each other. My partner and I think you three are pretty good."
Matthew looked at the kobold who seemed to be showing off his good intentions, and suddenly smiled and said:
"Where did you get your partner?"
"Aren't you the only one around you from beginning to end?"