Although the largest river north of Baldur's Gate running from northeast to southwest, the Winding River is actually divided into two parts: the upper and lower reaches.

The upstream source is called the Snaketail River, and its fresh water resources come from the High Forest, the Serpent Mountains adjacent to the High Forest, and the Cherimba Swamp further west. They finally converge at the three-way intersection north of the Barriskel Bridge and flow into the Sword Bay along the downstream J-shaped river channel.

The Troll's Claw is a group of mountains with not too high altitudes standing on both sides of the upper reaches of the U-shaped river.

Although its area is not large, its geographical location is very important for both warring parties.

Standing on the top of the mountain, you can almost overlook the situation of the entire battlefield below, as well as the enemy's troop movements.

If there were no ready-made roads leading to the top of the mountain, one could only climb the rugged and steep stone walls and hillsides with difficulty. If one was not careful, one would easily fall down and become a corpse to be eaten by the local trolls. It is estimated that they would have already started fighting over the advantageous terrain on the high ground.

You must know that since the Troll Claws completely surrounded both sides of the river, both Baldur's Gate and Zhentil Keep actually had to face a two-front war.

One of the battlefields is located on the north bank of the Wanting River, and the other battlefield is located in the Land of Death on the south bank of the Wanting River.

If you only concentrate your forces and want to gamble everything on one battlefield, then there is a great possibility that the enemy will secretly cross the river and attack you from behind, and you will completely collapse and be defeated under the pincer attack from both sides.

Most importantly, the mountains blocked the normal vision, resulting in no one on the two battlefields being able to see what was happening on the other side.

The situation on Zhentil Keep is a little better. There are relatively more spellcasters such as mages, warlocks and priests. They can cast flying magic or magic eyes to observe at all times, and then notify the other side through magic such as teleportation.

But for Baldur's Gate, which is relatively short of magical power, things become quite troublesome.

Although Sarevok also has a small number of wizards and warlocks under his command, they are ultimately not as strong as the wealth accumulated by Zhentil Keep through years of cultivation.

What's more, the arcane magic resources in the Baldur's Gate area have long been monopolized by Habaser Derin, who was promoted to a legendary lich.

Without his approval, no wizard in this area would dare to take sides casually.

Once they accidentally offended this big guy and caused the sales and supply channels of the "Witch Grocery Store" to be cut off, it would be like being sentenced to death for most mid- and low-level arcane spellcasters.

Even many important spellcasting materials might be hard to come by, not to mention the equipment, props, and potions you made yourself that can't be quickly exchanged for money.

After all, not all mages will waste time and energy to learn and master the ability of [Casting Spells without Materials].

Fortunately, through the efforts of his men, Sarevok won the support of a shadow druid sect in the Cloak Forest.

The latter's ability to control and talk to animals successfully makes up for its own lack of magical reconnaissance and communication capabilities.

But the price is that after winning the war and becoming the ruler of the West Heartland region, he must order people to stop cutting down forests and trees, not allow anyone to hunt in the forest, and close all mines and metal smelting industries to ensure that the great power of nature has control over this land.

There is no doubt that just by listening to these requirements, you can know what kind of people the Shadow Druids are.

They are those extreme lunatics who love to massacre villages and towns, trying to eliminate all civilization, industry, agriculture and excessive population, and restore the world to the most primitive and barbaric state of the survival of the fittest.

But what the Shadow Druids didn't know was that Sarevok had no intention of fulfilling his promise. His real purpose was to create a brutal massacre, and it would be best if all the soldiers on both sides were killed and no one was left alive.

In this way, a large amount of killing and death will stimulate the divinity and power of Baal in the body until the spark is ignited and he will be deified on the spot and inherit his father's blood throne.

Therefore, no matter whether it was the army urgently recruited under his command, the Shadow Druid sect, or the bandits, adventurers, and mercenaries who joined for money, land, and noble titles, they were all resources and consumables on the road to become a god.

Their only value is to die on the battlefield and bring more kills to the enemy before they die.

As for winning or losing, becoming the king of the mortal world will gain more wealth, fame, land, beauties and power...

Excuse me.

These things, which are extremely precious in the eyes of mortals, do not interest Sarevok, who is free from vulgar tastes, at all.

At the moment, he was sitting in the largest tent in the camp, feeling the power of Baal, the god of murder, becoming agitated as the small groups of cavalrymen outside continued to kill each other. His eyes flashed with a terrifying red light, and he asked without raising his head, "How long will it take for our army to be fully assembled and reorganized?"

"At least five hours, Your Excellency."

A male officer who replaced Duke Iltan's former confidant in charge of the Flame Fist Mercenaries quickly stepped forward and answered.

In any case, Sarevok became the Duke of Baldur's Gate and came to power through the normal process.

Therefore, no matter how many people in the Flame Fist Mercenaries miss Irtan, they must now obey the orders given by the new commander.

Otherwise they will not be able to receive generous military pay and may even risk being disbanded on the spot.

"Too slow! Send someone to urge those guys who are still marching to speed up."

There was obviously strong dissatisfaction and impatience in Sarevok's tone.

He knew very well that his identity as the Son of Bhaal could not be concealed for long and would soon become known to everyone.

Therefore, the sooner the decisive battle is launched, the better.

Otherwise, if it is delayed any further, changes are likely to occur.

Especially if his true intentions were known to his subordinates, the army of tens of thousands might fall apart in a matter of minutes.

"Your Excellency, our soldiers are now marching for fifteen hours a day, almost from dawn to dusk.

This is almost the limit.

If the speed increases any further, I'm afraid many people who can't stand it will choose to run away.

What's more, even if they dragged their tired bodies to the battlefield, they might not be able to engage in battle immediately.

After all, the enemy arrived at the battlefield several days earlier than us.

Moreover, among their soldiers there are a large number of monsters such as trolls, ogres, orcs, gnolls, goblins, etc.

They are far more capable than us in terms of endurance and tolerance of casualties.

In addition, Zhentil Castle has rich experience in warfare due to its long-term wars.

The organization and obedience of the Church of Bane, the God of Tyranny, are the strongest in the continent of Faerun.

I think we must not rush into the game against them and should make sure we don't make any mistakes first."

Another officer suggested cautiously.

It has to be said that there are still wise people in Baldur's Gate who know that the chances of winning this war are actually very low for their side.

Instead of taking the initiative to attack and launch a decisive battle, it is better to build a camp on the spot and then ask for help from Waterdeep in the north or Amn in the south.

In fact, if we look at the history of the rise and expansion of Zhentilburg, we will know that no city-state can rely on its own strength to fight against the evil army united around the Church of Bane.

Apart from the interference of those top powerful beings, from the Moon Sea to the Falling Star Sea, there are only a handful of countries capable of defeating them in a head-on war.

Among them, Cormyr, the earliest feudal kingdom of mankind, is one of them, Cyre ruled by red-robed wizards is also one of them, and the Mulhorand Empire can barely be considered one.

As for the rest, it is basically difficult for them to cause any trouble in the face of the powerful military force of Zhentil Keep and the infiltration, assassination and control of the Zhentarim.

The large number of towns occupied by the Church of Bane is a living example.

If it weren't for the Harpists led by Elminster causing trouble, the area west of the Moon Sea and the Sea of Falling Stars would have long been the sphere of influence of the Church of Bane.

"Humph! Are you afraid of our enemies?"

Sarevok suddenly raised his head and stared at the other person with a look of slight contempt and sarcasm.

The officer quickly shook his head and explained: "No, Your Excellency, you misunderstood. I just want to win at the lowest cost."

But Sarevok immediately interrupted with a sneer, "Misunderstanding? Hahahaha!

I don't think this is a misunderstanding.

Look at how scared you are of the enemy! And listen to what you just said! You are afraid! You are terrified! If all of us soldiers at Baldur's Gate think like you, how can we defeat Fuzor Chamberlain and drive the army of Zhentil Keep into the sea?

remember!

From now on, I don't want to hear anything about boosting others' ambitions and destroying my own prestige!

All you have to do is obey the orders I give you! Do you understand?"

As the last word came out of his mouth, all the servants in the tent who were loyal to Sharevok and the officers who were not cleared out in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops were immediately shocked by the aura that the Son of Bhaal unintentionally released.

They did not dare to disobey the will of the supreme commander of the army and could only respond loudly in the affirmative.

Soon, under Sarevok's orders, Baldur's Gate began to operate at full capacity.

Within a few hours, the soldiers who were still marching began to drag their exhausted bodies into the camp one after another.

At this point, both warring parties have finally assembled all their teams in theory.

Among them, there are a total of 12,000 people on the Baldur's Gate side, and more than 4,000 of them are reinforcements from surrounding towns such as Belgost.

As for Zhentil Keep, thanks to the cheat device called Scepter of Tyrant, Fuzor Chamberlain managed to expand the number of monster troops under his command to 30,000 people, more than 18,000 of whom were ordinary goblins serving as low-level laborers and cannon fodder.

no way.

The fertility and reproduction ability of this thing is so incredible that it can almost be compared with cockroaches, rats and mosquitoes.

No matter how harsh the natural environment is, you can always see these green or brown little guys.

But the fighting power of ordinary goblins...

Those who understand will understand.

To sum it up in one sentence, don't have any hope for them.

In the Battle of Icewind Dale caused by the artifact, the Crystal Shard, tens of thousands of goblin troops, under the blessing of magical enchantment, suggestion and brainwashing, rushed to the Ten Towns and launched an attack with unprecedented enthusiasm, and were helped by giants, barbarians and other monsters.

But what is the result?

These guys were stopped by a militia of less than two hundred people and some armed civilians.

On average, for every human killed, the goblins suffer twenty or even thirty casualties.

Such an outrageous casualty ratio is enough to prove how bad they are.

Fu Zol Chamberlain was undoubtedly very clear about the fighting power of the goblins, so he didn't expect them to play any key role at all.

In fact, there is only one real purpose for recruiting goblins, which is to create chaos and consume the physical strength of enemy soldiers.

After all, killing is a very physically demanding job.

When the enemy is tired of killing goblins, send out elite orcs, half-orcs, and hobgoblins to cooperate with ogres, trolls, and giants to launch a fierce attack, which will inevitably cause huge casualties and even destroy an infantry phalanx.

In addition, when conquering Soba, an important town near the Balriskel Bridge, Fuzor Chamberlain also went to the Dragon Forest and reached a cooperation agreement with several green dragons living there.

Therefore, in this war that is about to break out, he has an absolute advantage in both numbers and strength.

The only uncertain factor is Sarevok, the son of Bhaal who has become extremely dangerous.

As a chosen one of Bane, and one who had worked with Sammaster to study the mysteries of the Silver Fire, Fuzor Chamberlain knew very well what it meant to be a Son of God, especially a Son of Baal.

Although he also has a small amount of divine power granted by the God of Tyranny, it is certainly not comparable to Sarevok, who can strengthen himself by constantly devouring his brothers and sisters.

Once Sarevok's power exceeds a certain critical point, or even he realizes how to use some of the authority of the priesthood of death and killing, then even he, the chosen one, will not be able to compete with him.

The reason why Fu Zuoer Chamberlain did not launch an attack while the opponent was not yet firmly established was that he was worried that a similar situation would occur.

Because Sarevok's performance was too confident, even to the point of being conceited.

Although Simamon also sent another son of Bhaal, Fuzor Chamberlain did not believe that the foolish Aberdare would be a match for Sarevok.

Just as he was stroking his beard and thinking about what to do next, a portal suddenly opened out of nowhere.

Before the other guards and mages around could react, Zuo Si walked out from the other side of the door and greeted them with a smile: "Good morning. I haven't seen you for a few days. You seem a little nervous?"

"Nervous? No, I'm just a little worried about the hidden card held by the son of Bhaal named Sarevok.

After all, the bridge and shallows near the Troll's Claw were where Baal, the God of Murder, fell during the Troubled Years.

Using this place as a battlefield could easily lead to unexpected emergencies.

Compared to this, I am more interested in some of your recent actions.

If you don't mind, can you tell me about the newly deified Jebido Turan? If I remember correctly, it was Sazastan who took the Eye of the Storm. "

Fuzzol Chamberlain suddenly raised his head, his eyes sparkling with curiosity and inquiry.

Ever since he killed the real Manshoon and became the supreme leader of Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim, he has been able to receive all kinds of information through the dark intelligence network every day, naturally including what happened in Cyre.

"Haven't you already learned the details of the process through the Zhentarim's intelligence network?

Why do you still ask? You know, there are some things and secrets that ordinary people should not ask about casually.

Excessive curiosity will only hurt you! "

Zuo Si warned meaningfully.

But Fuzor Chamberlain did not give up and continued to try to analyze: "Jebido Turan should be one of the great wizards of the Masked Wizard Guild of Askatra, and also a dwarf wizard of the illusion department.

Since he successfully seized power from the Council of Six, he should be your subordinate.

In other words, you turned one of your subordinates into a god through some unknown means, and played a trick on Sazastan.

I think the chief necromancer of the red robe wizard must be hating you to death now."

"So what? Can he come and bite me?"

Zuo Si shrugged nonchalantly.

Anyway, few people know what happened during the deification ceremony.

One of the insiders, Velsharoon, has been transformed into a devil, and is also a summoned creature card of the Planeswalker. There is no way he could reveal the secret.

As for the remaining few people who knew the truth, they were not mortals at all, but gods who were high above.

The first is the biggest beneficiary, Jebido Turan, who has just become the god of necromancy and liches. He will definitely not tell the truth.

The second is Talos, the God of Storms, who has been following the development of events from beginning to end. With his violent, irritable, and destructive character, he is probably too lazy to explain anything to weak mortals.

Finally, Midnight, the magic goddess who is in a state of panic, is also unable to announce the secret of mortal deification to the public.

So no matter what the outside world speculates, what Zuo Si has to do is not to reveal any key information, maintain this sense of mystery that inspires endless reverie, and even make others feel strong awe and fear of him.

"As expected of you, you are so fearless. Maybe this is why the great Bane likes you! As a tyrant, you must stay strong and make the weak submit to you."

Seeing that he could not get any useful information out of the question, Fu Zuoer Chamberlain gave a calm compliment and decisively ended the topic.

However, he did not give up, but planned to let Ximanmeng investigate the relevant personnel after the war was over.

Especially Visharoon who dug out the Eye of the Storm in the desert of the Purple Dust Plains.

Zuo Si undoubtedly sensed the other party's thoughts and intentions, smiled indifferently, and then asked: "When do you plan to launch a decisive battle? You know, the longer the time is delayed, the more likely it is to cause interference from external forces.

Especially Waterdeep and the Kingdom of Cormyr, they are now beginning to get restless.

As for the former, you all know needless to say that those masked lords and guild leaders have always tried to maintain their absolute leadership in the Jianhai area.

Coupled with external pressure from trade alliances and a sharply deteriorating business environment, they have a strong desire to do something to prove their hegemony in the region.

The current king of Cormyr, Arsane IV, is a man with great ambitions.

This can be seen from the fact that he traveled thousands of miles across the Falling Star Sea with his army to support Serraman in the north of Cyre and repelled the nomadic tribal army from the Endless Wasteland.

His Majesty had not taken action previously, mainly because of the unstable situation caused by the sharp fluctuations in domestic food prices.

Now that Sambia is embroiled in civil war, food prices are gradually returning to normal as the borders are closed, and the country has enough time to start a war.

With the strength of Cormyr's Purple Dragon Knights and Battle Mages, they can cut off your retreat back to Zhentil Keep at any time."

Fuzor Chamberlain was silent for a moment, then immediately responded, "Give me a day! This time tomorrow I will set up my formation for a decisive battle with Sarovok.

But are you sure that the son of Bhaal named Aberdair can really succeed in killing Sarevok?

Why do I feel like there's something wrong with his brain? He seems impulsive and stupid?"

Zuo Si chuckled and consoled him, "Don't worry, I'm already here. It doesn't matter even if Aberdale fails.

I have many alternatives.

What's more, I also intend to find out the current state of Baal, the God of Murder, through the fateful battle between these two sons of Baal."

"The status of Baal, the god of murder? Didn't he die at the hands of Cyric during the Time of Troubles?"

Fuzzol Chamberlain frowned in confusion.

At that time, Cyric was just a mortal and had no ability to kill a god.

Also, what makes you think that a god is dead once he dies? Even Bane can come back from the astral plane, not to mention Baal who knew his own death in advance and bred countless offspring.

In fact, the three gods of death who fell in the turbulent years were not completely dead at all, but left a backdoor for resurrection.

The back door of Bane, the god of tyranny, is his son who has become a demigod; Melkor, the god of death, stored his divine power, divinity and part of his essence in the artifact - the Crown of Horns at the moment of death, waiting for the opportunity to return again; Baal, the god of murder, mass-produced countless descendants, intending to gather strength again through mutual killing and devouring of these offspring, and ultimately achieve the goal of resurrection in the body of the last son of Baal.

In other words, Baal, who is still lying dead in the astral realm, is actually conscious.

Every killing and devouring among the sons of Bhaal increases his power and draws his attention..."

Zuo Si made no secret and openly revealed the plans made by the God of Murder on the eve of the turbulent years.

You have to know that the Son of Bhaal was not created in just a few years as many people believe.

Just the opposite!

This process may have lasted for one or two hundred years or even two or three hundred years.

Especially for long-lived species like dragons, elves, and giants, it takes hundreds of years for them to grow up, so the seeds must be sown early.

On the contrary, races with relatively short lifespans, such as humans, goblins, and orcs, were basically produced in large quantities on the eve of the turbulent years.

Therefore, the age difference among the Sons of Baal is very shocking. There are blue dragons like Abazigo, whose sons have grown up, and little guys like Sancho and Imoen who are not even eighteen years old.

"So... you plan to kill the resurrection plan of Baal, the God of Murder, and then support one of your own people to take the throne?"

Fu Zuoer Chamberlain seemed to have noticed something, and two rays of light flashed in his eyes.

“Haha, this is just the most insignificant part of the whole huge plan.

I had perfected ideas for Sons of Bhaal and the Void Throne of Blood a long time ago.

Anyone who wants to join this game or desires to have a piece of the pie will be my enemy.

Oh, by the way, remember to kill all the monster bandits, shapeshifters and shadow druids under Sarevok's command.

I don't want to have to go through the trouble of cleaning them up after I capture Baldur's Gate."

As the last word came out of his mouth, Zuo Si left a playful expression to the Moon Sea Tyrant, then activated the teleportation magic and disappeared on the spot.

Fu Zuoer Chamberlain sat in a chair, silently savoring the meaning. After about two or three minutes, he stood up and began to give orders, asking the army, which had rested for several days, to start moving.

He placed his main force on the south bank of the Wanting River, on a plain some distance away from the Land of Death.

The remaining troops took up position in the open area on the north bank with the best view, to prevent the Baldur's Gate cavalry from crossing the river in shallow water and launching a surprise attack from behind.

Since the only bridge over the Winding River, the Barriskel Bridge, was controlled by Zhentil Keep, Fuzor Chamberlain could quickly mobilize his troops without having to take a raft or find shallow water like his opponents.

…

On the other side, less than ten kilometers away, at the top of the Troll Claw Mountain, Aberdare and his group were sitting in an open space to rest.

The reason why they chose to climb up with all their effort was to occupy a favorable position so that they could observe the entire battlefield from a high vantage point, and then find and lock onto the position of Sharevok, waiting for an opportunity to launch a decapitation attack on him.

To this end, the team also obtained a scroll of mass teleportation from Manshoon's last clone.

This scroll allows everyone to instantly teleport to any location within sight.

Don't think that taking the enemy general's head in the midst of thousands of troops is crazy.

In Faerun, the same tactics are actually quite common when high-level spellcasters are involved.

This is why many powerful rulers must possess a certain professional level, or even be a powerful warrior or spellcaster themselves.

In many ancient aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years, there are very few good-for-nothings or prodigals.

Because any family that encounters this situation would never be able to continue to this day.

They had long since died in the enemy's beheading operations during frequent wars and conflicts, and in the end their entire family was slaughtered.

So in Faerun, a noble can be described as arrogant, evil, cunning, insidious, cruel, cold-blooded, bloodthirsty, or tyrannical, but stupid is rarely used.

"How long are we going to wait here?"

After drinking some clean spring water, Aberdare wiped his face and couldn't help asking.

No one knew whether it was the influence of Baal's bloodline, the desire to avenge his adoptive father Gorion, or the anger caused by being framed, but his face looked quite scary at the moment.

Especially the blood vessels under the skin, which vaguely bulge out near the forehead and cheeks, forming a very strange pattern and design.

If Zuo Si or Sharevok were here, they would definitely recognize that these patterns are almost exactly the same as what they would look like after they transformed into a killer.

Jasira undoubtedly noticed this, and responded with a slightly worried tone: “Judging from the postures of both sides, the fight should start at this time tomorrow.

That means we need to stay in the mountains for at least a day or two.

How do you feel now? Do you notice anything wrong?

Aberdare clenched his fists tightly and replied through gritted teeth: "I'm fine!

Better than ever!

It seems like there is endless energy in my body!

This time, I must chop off Sarevok's head with my own hands as a sacrifice to Gorion.

At the same time, let him know what the price is for provoking us."

"Be careful, I feel like you've become more and more bloodthirsty and your emotions are getting more and more out of control recently. This is not a good sign!" Jasira warned in a low voice.

"Don't worry, my anger will only be directed at my enemies."

Aberdare apparently did not take his adoptive father's friend's warning to heart, but instead looked forward to the coming war.

In contrast, Imoen, another son of Bhaal in the team, obviously had not awakened yet. He did not feel the restlessness of his blood at all, and still maintained his quirky style and cheerful personality. He was leaning against Artio and reading a book about the principles and introduction of magic.

Maybe because they have become familiar with each other, she is no longer afraid of this polar bear cub who would show extreme violence during battles like she was at the beginning. Instead, she likes to be with it very much.

On the one hand, it gives her a sense of security, and on the other hand, girls of her age rarely can resist the temptation of cute furry animals.

After all, when not in a fighting state, Artio usually maintains the size of a sub-adult black bear. He looks round and cute, and not dangerous at all.

"Hey! Xiaobai, if I become a powerful wizard in the future, how about you become my magical pet?"

Imoen suddenly put down the book in his hand and poked Artio's soft belly with a finger.

"Wuwuwu——"

The polar bear cub shook his head without hesitation to express his refusal.

It felt that if it dared to betray its master, even if it was lucky enough to survive, its eggs would probably be forcibly removed as punishment.

As a bear determined to pass on its genetic genes, it has long been prepared to find a hundred or eighty female bears as mates as soon as it reaches adulthood, and then give birth to hundreds of offspring.

Before that, you must keep the breeding tools and never lose them.

"Why? Because of your master who hasn't shown up yet?" Imoen continued to ask with interest.

She was full of curiosity about this mysterious man who had never shown up from beginning to end.

After all, according to Jasira, the one who could make the great nature's darling, the Beast King, obey him must be a very legendary powerful druid or soul shaman.

“…”

Atio was clearly hesitant about telling the truth.

But the next second, it suddenly realized something, turned around abruptly, cast its gaze towards a huge rock on the top of the mountain, and roared loudly at the narrow gap between the rock and the ground: "ROAR!!!!!!!!!"

moment!

The other team members sitting not far away were all alarmed.

Jasira, who seemed to be very alert, ran over and asked immediately: "What's going on? Did you find anything?"

Since druids have a natural ability to understand animals, she quickly understood what the white bear cub meant and immediately whistled, summoning a squirrel from a nearby tree.

After receiving the order, the latter quickly dived into the crevice of the rock with a whoosh.

Within three or five seconds, a childish scream and curse were heard from inside.

"Ah!!!! Damn it! What the hell is this thing? Get out of here! Get out of my pants!"

"Is... is there someone? And it sounds like a boy!"

Khalid opened his mouth in surprise.

You have to know that not just anyone can climb up this mountain.

Not to mention that because there are no roads, many places require the use of ropes to climb. The troll hunters lurking nearby are enough to become a nightmare for many novice adventurers.

Without the power of strong acid and fire, it would be impossible to stop the trolls' unreasonable regeneration ability.

Fire glue and bottles of strong acid cost dozens or even hundreds of gold coins each, which is not something that every adventure team can afford.

"Just force him out and you'll find out."

Jasira completed the spell at an extremely fast speed.

In the blink of an eye, a large group of spiders as big as fists appeared out of nowhere and rushed in through the cracks in the rocks at an extremely fast speed.

Many of them are furry and have colorful patterns all over their bodies, which are creepy just to look at.

Its sharp mouthparts are enough to bite through human skin and leave horrific wounds.

There is no doubt that this is a typical second-ring druid spell [Flying Insects and Walking Beasts].

Its effect is to summon a swarm of bats, rats, and spiders to scare and distract enemies, making it difficult for them to maintain their concentration.

This trick is particularly useful for those who are afraid of rats, bats, and spiders.

There is even an 80 to 90 percent chance of interrupting the opponent's spellcasting, which is the best way for a druid to deal with a spellcaster.

Such a horrifying scene instantly frightened Aimon so much that his face turned pale. He subconsciously covered his mouth to prevent himself from screaming. At the same time, he was shaking slightly and sweating uncontrollably.

Being a kind-hearted girl, she had begun to sympathize with the boy hiding inside, and she stared at Jasira with fear-filled eyes, as if she were looking at a devil from the hell of Baator.

In less than a few seconds, just as everyone had expected, screams of ghosts and wolves howling were heard from the crevice.

"Spider...Spider? Aa ...

Immediately afterwards, a boy in a wizard's robe rushed out, rolling and crawling, and even hit his head against the stones several times without any reaction, obviously frightened out of his wits by the army of spiders.

Without asking, one knows that he is none other than Sancho, the son of Bal who was previously left here by Zuo Si.

He hid there to avoid Aberdare.

Unfortunately, although this rebellious boy avoided the sight of humans, he could not escape the sensitive sense of smell of animals.

"Don't run! Boy! I think you should explain how you got up here and why you are hiding from us."

The halfling thief Montaro grabbed Sancho by the collar.

Maybe because he saw that the other person was just a human child, he didn't take it seriously and didn't draw his weapon.

But in a flash, he paid the price for his carelessness.

Sancho suddenly raised his hand and made a very strange movement, while uttering some awkward and incomprehensible syllables from his mouth.

"No! He's a wizard!"

Thrall's face suddenly changed and he shouted a warning to his companions.

But it was obviously too late.

Before Montaro could react, he saw a huge hand made of force field sweeping past his feet.

Bang! He almost instantly lost his balance and fell backwards on his back. The back of his head collided closely with a protruding rock, and his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

A first-level Shaping spell [Bigbai's Tribbing Palm], which is also the lowest-level spell in Bigbai's Big Hand series.

This spell only lasts for a moment, tripping the target enemy without actually causing any damage.

But the problem is that Montaro is obviously unlucky.

Although the spell did not cause any harm to him, the back of his fragile head came into close contact with the stone when he fell, eventually causing him to temporarily lose consciousness.

As to whether the important tissues in the back of the brain will be damaged or cause lifelong disability, it is unknown.

However, a boy of about seven or eight years old successfully performed a ring of magic, which obviously shocked everyone in the team.

Especially Imoen, who became interested in magic, had a mouth that became so big that you could almost see his little tongue in his throat.

She knew too well how difficult it was to learn magic, and she couldn't imagine that a kid who was only half her age was already a formal wizard.

"You little devil!"

Seeing his partner being defeated in one move, the human mage Thrall immediately became angry and shot out several magic missiles with his hand.

This is a common trick in spell duels.

No mage would expect a few missiles to kill the opponent; their real purpose is to interrupt the concentration of spellcasting and buy time to prepare the next spell.

If it is used against ordinary low-level wizards and apprentices, the magic missile trick is definitely a tried and tested method.

But the problem is that Sancho is obviously not an ordinary apprentice.

First of all, he is a powerful son of Baal who has awakened divine power and divinity. Secondly, his spellcasting skills were honed under the guidance of the Mage Tower consciousness and Zuo Si.

So what are the characteristics of Zuo Si's spellcasting when his level is relatively low?

The answer is very simple, that is, they can be as dirty and as insidious as they want, and they don't care about the process at all, everything is just to win the final victory.

Sancho, who was taught by Zuo Si, undoubtedly inherited this spirit. He instantly activated the [Shield Spell] granted by the robe to block the magic missile once a day, and then, to everyone's surprise, did not continue casting spells.

Instead, he took out a handful of powder made of unknown substance from his pocket and threw it forcefully at the enemy in front of him.

Because he had seized the upwind position when he rushed out, the powder was immediately sprinkled all over the faces and bodies of Aberdare and his group under the strong wind on the top of the mountain.

The moment the skin comes into contact with the powder, an indescribable itch quickly spreads over the body.

In less than a second, a layer of horrifying red spots appeared densely on the surface of the skin.

As a subconscious reaction, everyone began to scratch their faces, necks, and arms frantically. Not to mention continuing to concentrate on casting spells, even grabbing a weapon was a pipe dream.

The only thing everyone in the team can do now is scratch their itch desperately.

What's even worse is that some powder goes through the respiratory tract into the nasal and oral cavities which are densely packed with nerves and cannot be detected at all, causing even breathing problems.

Anyone with a little knowledge of modern medicine can tell that this is a very serious allergic reaction.

And those unknown powders are the culprits that induce allergies.

But since Sancho was wearing a pair of dragon skin gloves from beginning to end, he was not affected at all. Instead, he quickly retreated to a safe distance, raised his mouth and revealed a devilish and sinister smile.

In fact, the screaming and cursing just now were all deliberately pretended by him to confuse Aberdare and his group.

The purpose is naturally to lower the opponent's vigilance, rush out to seize the upper hand position, and then sprinkle the deadly powder taken from his mentor's laboratory.

Because Zuo Si taught him that being young is often a huge advantage.

As long as it is used well, it is possible to defeat enemies that are several times stronger than yourself.

Today, Sancho experienced this firsthand.

Likewise, he also understood why the saying "A good teacher produces good students" is always circulated in the magic world.

Having a good mentor can help apprentices avoid several or even more than ten years of detours...

(End of this chapter)