The players rested in Scarlet Castle for two days and then set off again to the Barony of Lim, eager to start hunting the gnoll clan there, but this time the intensity and frequency of the battles dropped.
It's not that the little players who were screaming and screaming because of the point pool have started to be lazy. They are still as full of energy and courage as before. It's purely because many local gnoll clans have moved to the Under Armor Hills, and they have been moved to the Under Armor Hills.
Miriam summoned the student party and the Meow Meow Brother team as negotiation consultants to be hunting near Bataxin, as well as some new witch hunter recruits who had been hunting here.
They have not been idle these days, and the direct result of the combined effects of several parties is that the number of local jackals has dropped sharply.
This has caused many individual players to give up on continuing to hunt Jackals in the wild to gain points, especially those who have only been in the game for a short time and are eager to upgrade in preparation for the Black Iron Trial and have moved back to the sewers of Scarlet Castle.
The number of ghoul "reserves" here is still sufficient, which can be used for them to fight to quickly improve their character levels. By the way, they can also buy a set of "ghoul series" equipment from the Blood Rat Gang, which is used by Tris.
The alchemy apprentices used it to practice primary enchantment, and the protective gear with weak endurance and dexterity enhancements was no longer inferior to the veteran sets in terms of quality.
At this point, there seems to be a subtle imbalance between players' enthusiasm and monster supply.
The return of some players made the previously empty sewers lively again, and also made the "Frostfang Claw" who had been wandering in the sewers doing tasks recently feel very uncomfortable.
He is a loner.
He seems to have a bit of social fear and doesn't like to act with many people. This is the main reason why he chose to become a thief under the Blood Rat Gang.
"There are too many people, it's time to leave."
With this thought in mind, Yaya took a few boxes retrieved from the edge of the sewer and sneaked along the wall back to the Blood Rat Gang's stronghold as a qualified thief should.
This place has been transformed into an underground tavern. Gas lamps are hung in the separated rooms. A veteran of the Blood Rat Gang serves as a bartender here. Some tables and chairs with traces of time are placed here. Several
Guys dressed as guards are sitting together enjoying fishing time.
Don't tell me, it looks quite impressive when you look at it like this.
However, Frostfang Claw looked around and couldn't find his professional trainer and the leader of the Rat Gang, Ms. Dorothy. He was hesitating whether to ask the bartender Freeman, but he saw the number two of the Rat Gang.
The figure made a cryptic gesture to him.
This is a gesture that can only be understood by people who live in the black zone. It means "The boss is not here and has gone to the second stronghold."
Frostfang Claw nodded.
He has been building up the reputation of the Blood Rat Gang since he entered the game. He has brought back "treasures" from dangerous areas in the sewers several times and has been truly regarded as a member of this underground team. He has not wasted time and brought the few he found.
The box was handed over to Old Freeman with today's mission, and then he turned towards the more hidden No. 2 Stronghold.
But before he got close, he heard a whimpering sound coming from the front, which startled Frostfang Claw.
Is there a wraith here?
No way!
This is obviously a safe zone.
He sneaked closer and before he had taken a few steps, he heard someone yelling from behind:
"Who's there! Get out!"
It was Ms. Dorothy's voice, but it was different from the past. Instead of the familiar carefreeness, it became a bit colder and colder.
Yaya immediately jumped out of the shadows and saw that his mentor had changed drastically.
Not only did he change into the combat uniform and cloak of the Nightcrawler of the Blood Vulture Clan, but his appearance changed from human to vampire, which was as magical as purchasing a "race conversion" service.
"what's wrong with you?"
The little player was startled and asked nervously.
Dorothy, whose eyes were swollen, had already grabbed the claw knife, but when she saw it was her disciple, she sighed and said with a sad face:
"What else could have happened? I was bitten by a vampire! Those damn guys forced me to become one of them, but this was not part of my plan. Becoming a vampire has never been my pursuit in life.
Oh, I hate Transia!"
"But I have read on the forum that first love is an act that both parties must agree to, otherwise it cannot proceed."
Frostfang Claw said suspiciously in his trademark restrained voice:
"So, you actually agree?"
Ms. Dorothy, who was still grieving for her lost human identity, suddenly stopped crying. She curled her lips, turned around and put her hands on her hips and scolded the apprentice who had exposed her disguise of sadness:
"Just be smart! Tell me how could I refuse in that situation? How dare I refuse?
I carried a terrible danger with me. Those ghost-like guys have been chasing me for many years. Now there happens to be a Blood Vulture clan willing to protect me. I am happy before it is too late. But I also have to give an explanation to the gang members.
I could only act a scene with Lady Adele.
I have good news for you, Yaya.
From now on, we, master and disciple, will be eating the 'imperial food'. Not only have I settled my identity issue, I have also begged a favor for you from Mrs. Adele.
After you complete the Black Iron Trial, you can directly join Lady Adele and become her 'warrior' without going through any more tests."
"Don't call me 'Ya'!"
Although Frostfang Claw is socially fearful, he is still a big man. He has never been used to such cute and endearing names. He waved his hand and said:
"I haven't made a decision yet, but vampires are too high-profile and not suitable for me."
"Hey, this can't be done!"
Dorothy laughed and strode forward, took her apprentice's shoulders very proudly, and said:
"I just took a job from Mrs. Adele, but I still need your help. It just so happens that I will go out to help you with the black iron trial this time. How are your theft and lockpicking practices going?"
Frostfang Claw glanced at his character interface and replied:
"I'm proficient in stealing, and I'm a master in picking locks."
"Ha! I knew you had talent."
Dorothy raised her eyebrows and said:
"The two of us are going to follow Lady Adele's other three descendants to the Under Armor Hills and walk around the gnoll camp for reconnaissance.
This life is quite dangerous.
You need to find a place for you to practice your skills first. I heard that there is a secret treasure house in the Blood Vulture Corridor.
I never dared to think about this before, but now that I am also a member of the Blood Vultures, it is only natural for me to pay homage to my family's sacred place.
Of course I can swagger in, but you have to sneak in and not be discovered.
If you can do it, I will teach you the ‘Shadow Escape Technique’!
This is a serious secret technique that I learned after studying with a master halfling thief for a long time in the Explorers Association!
How about it?
I said I will not treat our own people badly."
——
Thirty minutes later, Murphy, who was doing today's sword practice with Necessary Evil, suddenly heard a loud bang in the corridor, followed by a harsh psychic shock coming from below.
That was the signal that the secret treasure house had been breached, and the anti-theft psychic spell Tris had deployed there was triggered.
ha?
Is there a thief in the base camp?
Or has Wolfsbane Nightcrawler gotten in?
Murphy raised his eyebrows, grabbed the necessary evil hanging in the air and rushed over.
As a result, when I got there, I saw a little player wearing night clothes in a very awkward position, being restrained in the air by dense purple psychic chains that looked like spider webs, unable to move.
In his hand he still held the burglar's tools for picking locks.
The most exaggerated thing is that he has opened three levels of the seven-level spiritual energy + mechanical code lock in the secret treasure house in front of him.
Fortunately, Tris had a foresight and rearranged the psychic traps in the secret treasure house after taking office as Grand Duke, otherwise they would have been broken through by this "daring" thief.
But what surprised Murphy was that although the little player in front of him had reached level 10, he had not passed the Black Iron Trial. So, how did this guy sneak in under the strict patrols of the corridor guards? Where did he come from?
Are you brave enough to enter the Blood Vulture Corridor alone?
Are the guards arranged by Tris taking advantage of the situation?
Or is this guy really talented at sneaking around?
With doubts, Murphy stepped forward with his sword, stretched out his hand and pulled down the hood used by Frostfang Claw, revealing a rather handsome face.
This guy's facial features look quite neutral, and he is obviously very young but has a strange sense of vicissitudes of life. When he came into contact with his calculation orb, Murphy also extracted this little guy's character information:
Tester ID: Frostfang Claw
Rank: Level 10·Professional
Occupation: Level 10 Thief/Level 10 Rogue/Master of Appraisal·Archaeology Specialization
Character Specialties: [Dexterous Hands], [Fire Eyes: He has been engaged in archaeological work for a long time and can quickly judge the value and authenticity of items], [Social Phobia: Due to a strong resistance to communicating with others, long-term efforts to reduce the sense of existence make others
The probability of perception is reduced.】
The specialties of these three characters made Murphy feel surprised.
Blanch!
Shouldn't we recruit someone to fight back?
Then he opened his administrator system with a strange look on his face, called up the test application of the guy in front of him, looked at it carefully, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
The good news is that the brother in front of him has no history of engaging in illegal activities, so Murphy does not need to think about how to contact the local police.
The bad news is that he is actually considered an "official" person and is the backbone of an archaeological team in a province in the central and western regions. He is somewhat famous in the industry because he has participated in the excavation of several large tombs.
No wonder he was put into the game, this guy is indeed a talent.
"kid"
With a cold face, Murphy released the embarrassed Frostfang Claw from the psychic imprisonment. He patted the young player on the shoulder and said:
"Do you know that your behavior just now has triggered the serious discipline of the Blood Eagle Clan. Maybe I should tie you to a cross and accept the punishment of sunburn."
"Gu"
Yaya swallowed his saliva and stammered:
"This is my professional mission! Mr. Murphy, I didn't want it either. I was just tricked by my mentor!"
"Um?"
Murphy narrowed his eyes.
He saw the claw knife hanging from Frostfang Claw's waist. This kind of weapon can only be used by the Blood Rat Gang in his territory.
He immediately understood that this should be "Razor" Dorothy's little "protest" against Adele's forced embrace of her for the first time. The cunning female thief knew that Murphy would not really punish his warrior.
This is obviously a prank.
The Frostfang Claw in front of him was indeed tricked by the NPC. It seemed that he really didn't have a specific concept of "danger" in this game.
"Well, you look stupid, no wonder you are being taken advantage of."
Murphy put away the necessary evil and said to the anxious little player in front of him:
"I don't have to punish you, but you have to serve the Scarlet Castle. Go to the Under Armor Hills and make good use of your hard-trained stealth skills to collect them and other animals in the camp of the Jackal Warlord Ken Porter.
Evidence of collusion between the Wolfsbane Clan.
As long as you bring back enough information, your crime of trespassing on the treasure house will be cleared."
"Ding"
The sound of the hidden mission being triggered made Frostfang Claw sigh.
He should have been happy to receive a hidden mission, but he couldn't be happy. Alas, the NPCs in this game are so cunning. Who would have thought that his mentor would trick him?
Sure enough, my life creed of more than 20 years ago was correct. Too much contact with others can only bring misfortune!——
"Your name is Hogg? Is it you who just reported to my guards that you have a secret passage into Scarlet Castle?"
In the Gnoll tent in the Under Armor Hills, warlord Ken Porter looked at the skinny and small member of the same race in front of him with suspicion.
This guy is too thin.
Maybe they are suffering from some disease. Such individuals will be regarded as a bad omen among the gnoll clans in the Dark Mountains. They will be strangled to death and thrown away when they are born. This can only happen in a remote place like Transia.
of individuals survived.
As a warlord, it originally didn't want to meet such a guy, but Hogg's mixed-race fur that originated from the Mossy Valley gave it a chance to "meet" him.
Even in the society of gnolls, "regional discrimination" still exists.
I am the jackal man from the Dark Mountains. You Transian bastards will keep your opinions to yourself!
"Yes, my lord!"
Hogg lay down under Ken Porter's "throne" made of lynx and bear bones with a face full of fear.
It didn't hide anything. It told the whole process of how it was sent by Ken Porter to recruit the jackals in the south some time ago, how it was captured, how it was thrown into the vampire arena, and how it finally plotted to escape.
He used some language skills and spoke confusingly like a real jackal.
But Ken Porter got it.
Especially after hearing that Hogg escaped from a hidden waterway in the sewers of Scarlet Castle, a cunning glint immediately flashed in the dark green ruthless eyes of the warlord Jackal.
It realized that it already had information in its hand that could satisfy the greedy Korando, and at the same time, it could shut up that guy's mouth.
Korando's purpose of using the Jackals to attack the Blood Vulture Clan is obvious, but Kenbot is not a fool. It came to Transia with the "important mission" of the Bonegnawing Clan, and the army it gathered
Not to realize some bullshit vampire ambition.
What it should consider is forming a force in Transia and cooperating with its superiors to complete the important tasks assigned by the clan, and then waiting for an opportunity to destroy the defense of Transia and surrounding areas before the black disaster officially occurs.
Even a jackal wouldn't bother to do such a thing as using his own cubs to make wedding clothes for Wolfsbane vampires.
"good, very good, excellent!"
Kenbot stood up with satisfaction.
It circled around the shivering Hogg several times, and saw the unfalsifiable and shameful slave mark on the other's back and the various wounds on its fur.
This was obviously formed after a fierce battle.
This little cripple is not lying, and he doesn't have the guts to deceive himself.
"Do you remember that road? Can you lead someone to find it?"
Kenbot asked in a low voice.
Hogg hesitated for a moment and nodded vigorously.
"Very good, just wait here."
The warlord called over his elite barbarians and asked them to find Corando. It then gave Hogg a face-to-face instruction and said:
"You go all over again with those wolfsbane vampires."
"Your Majesty! I will die! Your Majesty."
Hearing this, Hogg was so frightened that he hugged Kenbot's furry leg tightly, and he screamed weakly:
"I managed to escape with great difficulty, don't let me go back and die, Your Majesty, for the sake of my bloodline from Moss Valley!
I am loyal to you, Your Majesty."
"I'm not asking you to die!"
Ken Porter despised this timid guy very much, but now that he was able to use it, he "gently" comforted him:
"Just take them to the entrance, and they will walk the rest of the way on their own. As long as you silence the other party, you will have achieved merit. Didn't you say that one of my leaders rudely stole your clan?
Then I will return your tribe to you, appoint you as a centurion, and give you some females. Looking at you like this, although you are cowardly, you are also proud of your bloodline from the Mossy Valley, right?
When the great black disaster arrives, I can take you back to the Holy Land!
Don’t you want to go back?”
"I think! Even in my dreams, my father was still describing the grandeur of the Holy Land to me before he died."
Hogg swallowed, and he seemed to be persuaded.
After repeated hesitation, it finally made up its mind and nodded vigorously.
"Very well, go ahead and get ready, Hogg."
Kenbot waved his paw, asking the crippled bitch to leave his camp, and a few minutes later, Korando appeared in front of Kenbot again as a shadow.
This time the Jackal Warlord was very confident. He sat on his skeleton throne and proudly said to his collaborators:
"I paid a lot of elite casualties, and finally found a secret road for you that can lead directly to the interior of Scarlet Castle. Korando, I am not as shameless as you think, and I also have the virtue of abiding by the contract.
Of course I can tell you about this secret passage and send people to help you destroy the Blood Vulture Clan in one fell swoop.
But I want to make a deal with you."
Korando's heart suddenly moved when he saw how confident the jackal in front of him was.
Vampires are best at this kind of beheading operation. If there is a way to sneak into the local base camp, and with enough cannon fodder, they can kill the enemy chieftain with their own hands.
As far as he knew, the leader of the Blood Vulture Clan, Sarokdar, had been killed by witch hunters. Now the Governor of Transia was just a Black Iron-level vampire. The Thorn Clan was also cannibalizing the Blood Vulture traitors.
The Eagle Clan no longer has the power to maintain its rule.
This was the time when the Transian clan was at its weakest.
They even sent new soldiers to the battlefield, and they no longer had any more troops to defend their base camp.
The most important thing is that as far as the matter itself is concerned, although using the jackals is convenient, it is really not good to spread the news that he and the jackals are colluding.
If he could kill the last stubborn blood vulture by himself, he wouldn't mind moving his body.
"explain!"
Korando replied coldly. Kenbot didn't care about his rudeness. The warlord said:
"Cato region! I know that the Wolfsbane clan chose that place as your second base camp. You help the Bonegnasher clan open the door to the Cato region. After our army enters the mainland, we can ignore your faction.
Responsible for guarding the defense area there.
I just need to destroy it, and everything left in the ruins will be yours.
Since you have already cooperated with us, why not go further?
You see, no matter how powerful the black disaster is, it will eventually fade away. An ambitious wolf like you doesn't want to succumb to your clan leader all the time, right?
Don't you want to start your own family?
After we retreat, the two lands of Transia and Cato will be yours."
"How do you know the Wolfsbane clan's defense plan in the Cato region?!"
"You don't need to worry about that. We jackals have our own friends and they have great powers!
Give me your defense map in the Cato region! Not only can I help you destroy the Blood Vultures! I will also help you get rid of those competitors called 'compatriots'! And all you have to pay is an 'accidental'
'The lost defense plan."
"Hmph, that sounds nice, let me think about it first."
