Ringer and his team trudged in the shallow water area outside the swamp.
The night is dark, and the moon tonight is still a half-shaped curved hook. The full moon of the Sicilia Peninsula has long been famous, but travelers from afar seem to have no such honor to see its bright figure. The stars are faintly overhead. Sprinkling through the gaps between the branches and leaves, bringing a few precious rays of light.
Most of the trees in the swamp are mangroves, with lush branches and leaves, and aerial roots that penetrate into the water. They are dense like a deep maze. When the mist comes at night, the huge and tangled root network is like a strange shadow in the mist, accompanied by a crashing sound. The sound of rushing water gives people an eerie feeling.
This is the impression that Xugen Swamp has on peninsula people. After all, more than half of the folklore rumors are spread here, mentioning werewolves jumping under the moon, vampires skimming high cliffs, and even monsters with deer heads and bodies, etc. The Harpy Here, the demon imitates the cry of a baby to lure the woodcutter deep into the swamp and eat its flesh and blood; the short magic stone spirit throws sharp stones from the darkness, killing several adventurers who want to enter the swamp in search of ancient treasures... Some may be They all come out of nowhere, but some of them actually happened.
There are white bones buried deep under this seemingly calm water surface. The shallow water area is fine, but if you enter the deeper water area, it will be more difficult to move forward. The dark night and turbid water surface will make it difficult to see the situation under the water. , I don’t know whether I am stepping onto solid mud or a soft sand pit. Falling in the cold water is not such a pleasant experience, and some dangerous hunters actually lurk in some deep pits, which will bring A more deadly threat.
Ringer could only pray that they would find the vampire named Leticia outside.
Although judging from the search results in the past few days, the possibility is very low.
He walked at the front, pushed aside a clump of water weeds, stepped on the roots of the mangrove to reach a depression slightly above the water, and took a short rest here. Mainly because of the physical strength of others, trekking in the water was not that easy. The push of water will hinder people's progress. At the same time, you need to be careful to avoid those aerial roots hidden under the water to avoid tripping.
Therefore, after advancing for about half an hour, except for the little goblin Xiemi who was sitting on top of Medien's head and hitching a ride, everyone else had tired expressions on their faces, and they were in need of a good rest to relieve themselves from the darkness. The pressure of the arduous trek.
If it weren't for the fact that the proprietress hadn't specially cast magical fairy magic on everyone before leaving Cloud Whale Sky Island, allowing the group to temporarily avoid the rampant leeches, leeches, water flies, stinging water fleas and other blood-sucking insects underwater, I'm afraid they would look like what they are now Even more embarrassing.
There are also mangroves growing in the depressions, and their aerial roots are natural chairs for travelers to sit on and rest. As soon as Alice sat down, she started to complain, not that it was too dark, too thick, and the fog was too thick, and the road was too difficult to walk. And so on, but complaining that the journey has been uneventful and nothing happened - giving people a feeling of much ado about nothing.
But this time, Ringer felt that what she said made sense, because it was indeed too calm in the swamp. Everything was shrouded in dead darkness, with only the chirping of insects still echoing, and occasionally a few shrill night owl sounds.
The cry immediately caused the fish in the water to scatter uneasily, and the sudden sound of water waves highlighted the eerie silence.
There are dots of fluorescent lights in the distance, guiding the direction like will-o'-the-wisps. They are actually glowing bugs or moss in the swamp. There are also some larger and brighter light spots mixed in, but they are a species called Spiral Saberella.
The first tentacles of benthic organisms. They use this bright light to attract small animals in the swamp, such as water birds and swimming fish. Then they will rush out of the sand pit and swallow the prey with their spiral-shaped mouth full of sharp teeth.
, is a very dangerous hunter.
Ringer recognized them and secretly remembered them in his mind, saying that he would have to avoid that area later.
It is said that the Xugen Swamp is a paradise for aliens, but after they entered the swamp, they did not see even a single alien, only ordinary creatures. Probably as the Deadwood Demon said, they all went to Foloze under the temptation of the Eternal Fang.
The castle responded to Gundaruff's call. The territory they left behind was unattended, and wild animals did not dare to go deep. It was barely a safe path.
Although they were looking for Leticia, they actually had no direction, so they could only follow the usual practice and let Ringer use the priest's grace scroll magic [Premonition], and at the same time gradually go deeper along these safe paths, waiting for spiritual revelation. As for which paths are safe enough, it is not difficult to identify, because not all aliens are as good at disguising themselves as dead wood demons and like to live in the natural environment. There are also some aliens that are deeply influenced by human culture, even in swamps
Various large-scale buildings have also been built as residences. Most of these buildings are castles, and some are accompanied by city walls, bunkers, towers and arrow towers, which are very reminiscent of two centuries ago.
The time is indeed right: the aliens in the Xugen Swamp were first expelled here two centuries ago. At that time, they had long been integrated into civilized society, and the alien races headed by the five major families began to enjoy
It inherited the architectural style, food and art created by humans, and was tainted with the bad customs called blood lineage and aristocratic ethos, and it was not abandoned even after escaping into the Xugen Swamp in embarrassment.
On the contrary, perhaps it is more dependent, because without this distinction, it is not enough to reflect one's nobility. How can the five major families that dominate human society regard those barbaric and mediocre vulgar things as the same kind? p>
The huge ancient buildings silhouetted in the mist are the best evidence.
However, some ancient buildings still retain their complete appearance, showing the solemn style and architectural techniques from two centuries ago, while some are dilapidated. The courtyards have long been overgrown with weeds, and the entire wall is covered with mangroves.
The roots invaded and even grew directly to the roof. From their state, Ringer could vaguely glimpse the rise and fall of these heterogeneous families. Even if they fled into the swamp and faced the common enemy, the battle between them never stopped.
.
It is said that among the Five Fangs family, only the Wolf Fang Neo Ursu and the Blood Fang Valenhild have preserved relatively intact power, while the rest of the Lion Fang, Wind Fang and Sen Fang have quietly withdrawn from the stage of history. By
From this point of view, whether Gundaruf's alliance can finally be formed depends not only on how strong the aliens' desire for the Fang of Eternity is, but also on the attitude of the Valenhilde family.
The well-preserved ancient buildings can be bypassed from the edge, while the completely abandoned and dilapidated ancient buildings can be passed directly. As their pace gradually deepens, the surrounding environment becomes increasingly gloomy and depressing.
The water pulsated and flowed forward. There were three or four swimming fish on the bottom of the water, swimming past Linge's ankles. The slippery touch was simply creepy.
Light like fireflies floated, and in the distance an unknown water bird suddenly flew across the water, drew a straight trajectory, broke out of the mangroves, and gradually disappeared into the melancholy night. At this time, Ringer -
—Including everyone else, they all heard a muffled exclamation from behind: "Yeah!?"