What enveloped Cohen and Crow was darkness, a darkness that neither sight nor consciousness could penetrate. Although there was a sense of being grounded, the two of them knew that their feet were not the ground, and they did not even need to lower their heads to look.
The vampire's touch was floating in the endless darkness, with a layer of white light attached to the blade. Cohen and Crow looked at each other, each withdrew their hands that were still bleeding, and began to observe the surrounding environment, but soon,
The two people gave up this plan, because apart from darkness and nothingness, there was really nothing else here.
"The vitality required to open this door is not something ordinary humans can bear." Crow said softly: "If a person uses this dagger alone, even if they are as strong as you and me, their lives will be hanging by a thread."
"Besides opening doors, the biggest use of this dagger is to steal other people's life force and use it for your own use. I have used it a long time ago."
"Understood." Crow nodded: "Because you have used it more frequently recently, the dagger has stored a lot of life force that you have not absorbed, which just fills the gap. Otherwise, we will only have half a life left now."
"Why do you open the door in this way? What's the profound meaning in it?"
"Probably to prevent gods and demons from taking advantage of troubled waters." Crow said: "Although gods and demons are powerful, the nature of their vitality is different from humans. Such a large amount of vitality cannot be disguised by gods and demons."
"But the life force in those daggers is drawn from different people." Cohen said: "You know, those death row prisoners."
"Opening the magic circle and contributing strength is not something that a sacrifice should accomplish." Crow sighed: "It is precisely because the vitality in the dagger comes from many people. Isn't it more like many people working together to open this magic circle? No way.
Needless to say, you are extremely lucky to have this kind of thing happen to you."
"Is it just me? Aren't you just as lucky?"
"I always have a way to escape, but you don't, so you are lucky."
"This joke is not very stylish." Cohen snorted and licked the wound on his hand: "I don't like it."
"It's rare for you to be so honest." Crow stared at the blood drops dripping from his hands. The blood drops directly sank into the darkness at his feet, but there was no sound of splashing: "Besides the way of opening the door, what else do you like?
?”
"Didn't I tell you? This young master..." Cohen smiled: "I'm afraid of the dark."
"Afraid of the dark?" Crow couldn't help rolling his eyes at him: "How many bad things have you done in the dark? Are you still afraid of the dark?"
"Everyone is afraid of the dark, but I can conquer my fear." Cohen said with a confident smile: "I can do things in the dark, I can defeat my opponents in the dark, that's because others are better than others.
I am more afraid because I understand the nature of darkness."
"What is the nature of darkness?" Crow asked humbly: "I am all ears."
"Darkness is darkness." When the crow rolled its eyes again, Cohen explained with a smile: "If you are strong enough and determined enough, then darkness is darkness. Other than that, darkness cannot represent anything, and there is nothing
Threats can neither cover your eyes and ears, nor blind your mind."
"It's a pity that you don't become a priest to cheat money." After hearing this explanation, a little smile escaped from the corner of the crow's mouth.
Cohen was stunned and replied: "I'm not lying."
"Yes." Crow nodded: "This is how all magicians defend themselves."
A muffled thunder exploded above the two of them, and the trembling sound rolled in all directions, as if to indicate something. The white light on the edge of the dagger gradually intensified, condensed like a liquid, slid down, and then dripped from the tip of the blade.
, broke and splashed at the moment of "touching the ground", and lit up a few tiny lines when it hit the ground again. The light moved faster and faster, and more and more lines were lit... Finally, the light under my feet
This "ground" was completely lit up, but the darkness in the distance remained the same.
"I really want to scold certain things." Cohen's face looked a little ugly.
The crow asked in a leisurely manner: "Why?"
"Because we are now like two potatoes on a plate." Cohen raised his head and looked: "What is going to appear below? A knife and fork? Or a huge pepper jar?"
"Your metaphor is very vivid, and I don't like it either." Crow nodded cooperatively: "Then why don't you scold him?"
"I have to make sure that the person I'm scolding has a mother, otherwise the scolding will be in vain..." A clear thunder sounded over the heads of the two people. Cohen, who was interrupted, jumped up angrily and faced the distant place.
Endless Darkness stretched out a finger and was about to curse, but at this moment the crow stretched out his hand to stop him, so he shouted dissatisfied at the crow: "What are you doing? Are they your relatives?"
If he had yelled at the crow like this before, Cohen would undoubtedly have been beaten up by him. But at this time, the crow just shook his head lightly and pointed behind Cohen: "You are in the wrong direction."
Cohen turned his head, looked sharply, and then slowly turned around, facing the humanoid object that was about three times the height of a normal human being.
The reason why it is said to be an object is that it is purely composed of some dim light. You can vaguely see the human facial features, limbs, clothing, and even the subtle expression on the face - cold, stern, can be distinguished.
Majesty, but also with a hint of compassion and persistence... This feeling is like a faint thought, radiating fluctuations around.
Cohen received it sensitively. Although he was a little dissatisfied with its pretentiousness, he had some feelings in his heart.
It is not a magical creature, although its creation and existence must be caused by magic. Because Cohen felt the powerful power in its body, which is not something ordinary magical creatures can possess. To put it bluntly, the boulder lord outside carries its shoes.
Neither of them deserve it... Both Cohen and Crow are undoubtedly strong men in the world, but at this moment, both physically and psychologically, they both subconsciously went on the defensive.
They looked at each other in silence, each other's gazes surrounding each other as densely as silk. Although there was no actual action, the warlike alert posture on both sides made the atmosphere very tense. After confirming that the other party was also taking a defensive stance, Cohen
He and the crow slowly converged their gazes. Since they were not aggressive, they could communicate.
"This is really a treasure trove." Cohen said softly: "This one alone can make all the magicians in the continent crazy, right?"
"I'm afraid even the gods and demons will be greatly surprised." Crow replied: "If it is an opponent, at least I will be very excited."
"I have a feeling that it won't be an opponent..." Cohen's words were somewhat meaningful: "Oh, its eyes have changed. Is it going to speak?"
But it wasn't "it" that wanted to speak, but words came from all directions. After the initial chaotic and intermittent voice, clear voices continued to sound from all directions, but unfortunately, they were all in unfamiliar languages, and some
Quick, some slow, some sharp, some rich, all repeated twice, making Cohen and Crow confused, and the expressions on their faces became more and more helpless.
But "it"'s eyes were still watching Cohen and Crow quietly, with no intention of speaking.
"...human beings in confusion, prisoners in their minds..." Suddenly, a voice that was just right for Cohen and Crow to understand sounded beside them. Almost at the same time, the two confused people subconsciously adjusted their heads.
position, listen carefully.
"...Human beings in confusion, prisoners in their hearts..." Cohen and Crow looked at each other and said in unison: "Old sayings of priests!"
All the sounds disappeared completely after Cohen and Crow said these words. When they looked up, they saw that "it" had closed its eyes, and only the eyelids were trembling slightly.
The ancient language of priests is the oldest language on the continent of Bis today, because it was the "language used to communicate with gods" between the Temple of Light and the Temple of Darkness in ancient times. With the spread of the two temples, it was also the most widely circulated language.
One language, the official language of the Divine Alliance and the Demonic Alliance, and even countless local languages are derived from the ancient priestly language. But as the years go by, the differences between various derived languages and the ancient priestly language become more and more important. Proficient in the ancient priestly language
There are fewer and fewer people.
But now, even among the aristocratic scholars and the priests of the two temples, there are only a few who are familiar with the ancient priest language, and more people only start to learn it after assuming a certain position.
For example, Cohen, who was born in an aristocratic family, had briefly studied it when he was a child, but he threw what he had learned into oblivion as a teenager. However, after becoming the emperor, he often had to deal with priests and superiors.
Only then did he humbly work with Princess Feilin for a period of time. Even so, Cohen could only reach the level of being able to use it proficiently, and he could not even speak of being proficient.
"This place is so old that even the ancient priest language ranks behind many languages." Cohen couldn't help but sigh: "I also have to admit that the person who designed this link is very smart. At least he understands that the most important thing is to communicate with each other, and then
The language of communication is determined by our subtle reactions.”
Crow nodded silently and stared closely at the "person" in front of him. It was not important to him whether he could communicate with the other person.
The person who was watched by the crow slowly opened his eyes, opened his lips slightly, and spoke the ancient priest's words with an extraordinary power: "Those who are sacrifices are making sacrifices."
Under the guidance of the magic blade, you have arrived at my domain."
"Sorry, we are not sacrifices." Cohen replied with a stern face: "We just entered the wrong door."
"On the altar of life, in front of the life watcher, there is no need for anyone to lie. Testing and deception will not necessarily bring you benefits." After hearing Cohen's nonsense, the other party's tone did not become harsh: "Although you can enter
The people at the Altar of Life are all powerful humans, but please believe that compared to me, you are still weak."
"Obviously, we have respect for you." Cohen, who was evaluated as "weak", replied: "But I think it is inappropriate for anyone to rashly evaluate the strength and weakness of others."
"I accept your respect and apologize for my words." The tall watchman nodded and continued his topic: "You have come to the altar of life with the consciousness of sacrificing your life. Then, you will
You can review the history of mankind here, and everything that has been forgotten, concealed, and tampered with will appear in front of you. Then, you will have to take on the responsibility and obligation to save your kind..."
"Is this my fate, young master? I am assigned a mission every time!" Cohen muttered. Cohen had a strong aversion to being forcibly assigned missions and responsibilities, and he would never mind offending him for this.
anyone.
"You have doubts?" The Watcher looked at Cohen.
"Of course!" Cohen looked back at the Watcher without hesitation: "Before communicating with each other, shouldn't we introduce ourselves? In my opinion, the title of Life Watcher does not represent any position or meaning. I want to know you
Who is it and who is it working for?"
Just like a crow picking a strong opponent, the most special thing about Cohen's nature is that he is not afraid of strength. He was able to deal with the Light Gods as a boy without suffering any disadvantages. Moreover, he has been the emperor for so many years, so he knows better than the Life Watcher.
How to build momentum? If you really want to talk about "the majestic treasure", Cohen is much better than the watcher when he dresses up. How can he be suppressed by the watcher!
"You risked your life to come here, but you don't know the significance of this place?" The watchman frowned: "Didn't the outside servants tell you?"
"Servants? Are they those vampires?" Cohen spread his hands: "Unfortunately, they all died thousands of years ago."
"Lie!" The Watcher's body shook slightly, and the next voice was almost deafening: "They are a race that has inherited powerful power from generation to generation. They are stationed in dozens of secret palaces and have the mission of selecting strong human beings for the altar of life. How is it possible?
All dead?"
"If you don't believe it, just go check it out." Cohen, who was questioned, shrugged: "Anyway, we didn't see any living people the whole way in."
"Check? That's not my responsibility. In this case, I will no longer investigate why you are here." The watchman who learned the bad news only lost his composure for a moment, and then calmed down. He looked at Cohen,
Then look at the crow who has remained silent next to Cohen, and asks slowly: "In today's continent, above humans, do the Guangming Clan and the Dark Clan still exist?"
"Your Excellency, are you talking about the Gods of Light and the Demons of Darkness?" After receiving confirmation from the Watcher, Cohen smiled coldly: "They still exist, and they live very comfortably."
"The Light Clan and the Dark Clan still exist, so my mission still exists." The Watcher nodded and continued: "The Altar of Life was created by the most outstanding group of human heroes during the peak period of mankind.
The purpose of establishing the altar is to summon the strong men of mankind, to win freedom from the hands of the Light Clan and the Dark Clan, and to escape from the fate of being enslaved!"
"It's a great idea, very ambitious!" Cohen began to applaud: "But please allow me to ask a question, why do human heroes at their peak not go to the hands of gods and demons to seize what they want, but leave the altar behind?
What about gathering people? Using an altar to gather people is too slow, no matter what."
"Of course they have tried it themselves!" The Watcher was very dissatisfied with Cohen's question: "You must know that the Altar of Life is a place that carries wills!"
Cohen glanced at the crow, his eyes contained a lot of information, and then turned to the watcher and said: "I understand. But unfortunately, we are not here to be the savior of mankind as you expected, such a big secret,
We can't carry it because we are just ordinary humans who are greedy for treasures. If there is nothing else, we want to say goodbye."
"Why you are here is not a problem. The key is that you are already here, and you have passed the previous selection based on your strength." The Watcher was not surprised by Cohen's words: "Especially for humans, greed is not a bad thing, because that
At least it shows that you still have desire and motivation in your hearts."
"I like this sentence!" Cohen praised sincerely: "Your Excellency is much smarter than most people!"
"The Altar of Life is to give ordinary humans a goal and a direction to move towards the goal. It does not forcefully stipulate what you should do in the future." The watcher remained unmoved and continued: "The outstanding human beings who established the Altar of Life
, there is no physical difference from ordinary humans, except that they have a great goal and the will to achieve this goal. As long as you carry this will and mission, you are no longer ordinary humans."
"Why are you sure that we will carry out this will and mission?" Cohen asked: "You should know that human beings are human beings, and it is our natural reaction to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages."
"Of course I know this, and the pioneers who established the Altar of Life also know this." The Watcher was not surprised, but responded very humanely: "After I have shown you some things, I believe you will naturally make your own decisions.
choose."
"So that's it. I'm looking forward to what you are going to show us." Cohen secretly made a few gestures to the crow, which means: be careful, this guy may be silenced later!
"Before we begin, I would like to know the current structure of the mainland." The watcher was not eager: "The more detailed you can be, the better."
"Basically, Bisi Continent is still the same as before. Bisi Empire has just completed a series of wars and successfully expanded the empire's territory..."
Cohen just said a few words when he was stopped by the watchman: "Let's talk about the macro situation first, and then describe the details."
"Macro situation?" Cohen asked with a vague understanding.
"For example, the current status and influence of the Guangming Clan and the Dark Clan, then their minions, and then the Human Empire, layer by layer."
"Understood." Cohen gave a complete account of the current situation on the entire continent. He described it from the perspective of a bystander. The description was also very general, but the amount of information in it was huge, from the history he knew to the recent
There were all the major events that happened just now, but the terms Divine Alliance and Demonic Alliance were not mentioned - because the Watchers had not mentioned them before.
The Watchmen did not single out Cohen's omission, but were rather interested in some of the details Cohen mentioned, which even related to governance, culture, and the education of mankind itself.
"It still hasn't changed." After Cohen explained, the watchman sighed faintly: "Everything is back to where it started..."
Cohen suddenly shuddered, because it was really strange to see such a tall man sighing in front of him.
Fortunately, the watcher did not continue to be distracted, and quickly turned his attention to the two of them: "You know, what are the strongest leader-level mages and warriors in mankind today? The most powerful army in the human empire...such as Sibi
What is the level of the most elite army in the Asian Empire?"
The watchman's question is very interesting. He will never know that the person most qualified to answer this question is actually standing in front of him.
Cohen thought for a while before replying: "You should know that the strongest human beings have always been from the east to the west. They rarely have the chance to meet, so it is difficult to have an appropriate standard of judgment."
"Exceptions do not matter."
"In terms of magic, the most powerful ones according to common standards are magicians." After watching Cohen hum and haha without saying anything for a long time, Crow took over: "Except for the healing system, today's magic is mainly divided into water, fire, and earth.
Wind, lightning, and vassals of certain races and gods and demons also have some special or uncommon magics, including natural, curse, amplification, life, etc. Taking the most common fire magic, magic
The most powerful top-level magic used by a guide alone can attack targets within a range. According to the records we know, depending on the attack intensity and preparation time, this attack can cover a range of one mile or even five miles."
"Fire magic." The watcher asked, "Is it a spark that starts a prairie fire?"
"I don't know what Catching Fire is." Cohen shook his head: "But this range of magic is called Meteor Rain. Although the intensity of use by magicians of each level is different, the pattern is the same. They are all brewing at high altitude.
Then guide the bolide to crash into and burn the target."
"It seems that today's magic is still at a very rough level, and there is no space or spiritual magic." The watcher asked again: "What about warriors?"
"It's more chaotic, and there is no clear standard. The most powerful one..." Cohen explained the approximate combat power of the Temple Knights.
"Just as rough." The watcher asked again: "What about the most elite army of the Sbia Empire?"
Cohen selected a medium regiment of the Guards and gave a brief description.
"I roughly understand." The watcher was silent for a while, and then said to the two of them: "The Altar of Life was built by humans, there is no doubt about it. You should also feel by now that the construction of the Altar of Life involves
The level in all aspects...such as magic, has far exceeded the level of the world you live in."
"The feeling...isn't too deep." Cohen smiled.
"The fire magic I am familiar with is like this." The watcher pointed his finger, and a screen of light appeared in front of him, with a beautiful plain showing on it, which was extremely vast.
"In the 437th year of the Awakening Calendar, a human mage challenged the leader of the mage in the Valley of Sorrows. This was the challenger's opening test. The magic used was a spark that started a prairie fire." On the light screen, a spark shone in the center of the plain, and then started to burn at an incredible speed.
It radiated out, instantly igniting the entire wilderness, and then turned into rolling waves of fire, overlapping and moving one after another!
"Within fifteen miles, there is not an inch of grass left, and half a foot of soil is scorched."
Cohen and Crow remained silent. They understood that this opening test was much more powerful than the meteor shower, leaving no gap for attack at all! Some of the doubts they had originally disappeared under the watcher's step-by-step explanation.
"The leader mage uses water magic to deal with it...the flames are gone, and the wind three feet above the head can freeze and crack gold and stone..."
"The challenger casts a spell, the fire element, the delicate flame dyes the clouds, and the columnar flame stretches across the sky for thirty miles..."
"The leader mage casts a spell, water system, midnight frost, instant freezing flame..."
"Wait a minute!" It was Crow who interrupted the Watcher's explanation: "These two mages cast spells without chanting or preparation?"
"Chanting and preparation? No need. In the world I know well, a qualified mage can only be picked up at your fingertips and moved at will." The watcher said softly: "A mage of this level who is qualified to challenge the leader, when dealing with attacks from others, must
The strength, category, and even the name of the magic used are very strict, otherwise it would not be considered appropriate."
Cohen couldn't help but sigh: "This fight was... really stylish."
He originally wanted to say it was really perverted. (To be continued)