Mingtan Island is a small island located at the junction of the northern part of the Sword Sea and the southern part of the Sword Bay, with several affiliated small islands around it.
To the west are the Moonshae Islands, to the east are Baldur's Gate, to the north are the Korrin Isles, and to the south are the Nelanther Islands.
Judging from its location, it can be called an important maritime transportation hub.
This is also the reason why Luskan would take huge political and military risks to capture Mindan Island.
Controlling this place means being able to strategically suppress hostile city-states such as Neverwinter and Waterdeep at sea.
Not to mention the huge profits that can be brought by monopolizing the trade routes in the Sword Coast area.
But unfortunately, Mingtan Island is not like other city-states in the North, which fear the power of the Luskan Arcane Brotherhood and its fleet composed of a large number of pirates.
As a result, in a naval battle, Luskan's fleet was defeated by Mingtan Island and its allies, and fled back in disgrace.
During the battle, the outstanding sailors and mercenaries impressed all who witnessed the war.
From then on, the Arcane Brotherhood never again set their sights on the island.
Of course, this was not because Luskan was not strong enough, but because the price to take over here was too high, and there was nothing valuable on the island itself, so in the end it could only be left unresolved.
In addition, due to the pronunciation, many people often mistake Mingtan Island for Lantan Island south of the Nalanther Islands.
The latter is the foundation of the worship of Gond, the god of craftsmen.
It is rumored that the humans and dwarves there hate magic and worship technology, and many complex and advanced machines and technologies were born here.
It can even be said that Lantan Island is the place with the most advanced productivity and production technology in the entire continent of Faerun, apart from the magical factors.
It’s a pity that the island has been closed to the outside world all year round and has almost no communication with the outside world.
Obviously, Gunder, the god of craftsmen, is no fool. He understands the impact that the inventions created by his followers will have on the world, and how they will anger gods more powerful than himself.
Therefore, they decisively chose to close the country to the outside world to ensure that those overly advanced technologies would not affect the existing productivity and production levels of the continent of Faerun.
Simply put, it means playing by yourself behind closed doors.
Zuo Si had always wanted to visit Lantan Island, but unfortunately he never found the opportunity.
Vanessa obviously saw the confusion revealed by the leader of the organization, and hurriedly explained in a low voice: "Luskan did have a naval battle with Mingtan Island.
But the problem is that since the rise of the Nalanther Islands, not only has the pirates' living space been greatly reduced, but a large amount of trade volume has also been taken away from Mingtan Island.
Especially their mercenaries, it is difficult to find decent jobs.
So if a third party takes the lead, it is not impossible to form an alliance.”
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Interesting. I'll give you forty-eight hours to find out what happened on Mingtan Island." Zuo Si gave the order directly.
Only at this time could he feel the authority and power that came with being the leader of a powerful spellcasting organization.
Many times, just one sentence is enough and the people below will do their best to carry it out.
"I've sent people to investigate, and I believe there will be results soon." Vanessa assured without hesitation.
Zuo Si nodded slightly: "Then I'll leave this matter to you.
Remember, if Mindan Island is truly allied with Luskan, then destroy it without mercy.
Be it the self-proclaimed tyrant Tarnsir Embiilhan or those stupid and arrogant mercenaries, wipe them all out without leaving a single one alive.
From now on, adventurers and adventure teams will be allowed to exist in any area controlled by the organization, but mercenaries will absolutely not be allowed.
These guys who will do anything for money are nothing more than a scourge and a source of social instability.
So I don't care what their background is, I will treat them one by one. The first time they enter, I will give them a verbal warning, and the second time, I will impose a huge fine and deport them.
If you dare to do it a third time, gather your forces and destroy it right here and there."
When saying this, Zuo Si did not try to hide his naked contempt and disgust for the mercenary group.
He had a very bad impression of most mercenaries. They basically either took advantage of the chaos to loot the surrounding villages and towns, or tried every means to create chaos and tension, and then earn a lot of gold coins from wealthy employers.
Wherever these people are, the situation will basically become turbulent in a very short period of time.
After all, the market for mercenaries will only increase when there is a war.
For example, in the Kingdom of Tethyr, where a fierce civil war is raging, there are several active mercenary groups ranging in size from hundreds to one or two thousand people.
They might be serving one of the noble lords today, but tomorrow they would join another camp and turn against their former employer.
There's nothing we can do about it, since the other party gives us more money.
This shows that the so-called professional ethics are all bullshit to most mercenaries.
"Understood! I swear that those mercenaries on Mingtan Island will never see tomorrow's sunrise." Vanessa's eyes flashed with a terrifying cold light.
It was obvious that the great necromancer was ready to launch a massacre and make all those foolish guys join his army of undead creatures.
"Don't be so hasty. We are a reasonable and neutral organization. Even if we want to take action, we must first find evidence against the other party. And I have a hunch that Mingtan Island's actions this time must be related to the Red Robe Wizard or the Zhentarim."
Zuo Si casually expressed his speculation.
Ever since he learned that the Arcane Brotherhood had cooperated with these two organizations, he had made comprehensive preparations.
Even if Manshoon and Sazastan came, there would be no way to prevent the end of the Arcane Brotherhood's rule over Luskan.
"I'll be careful."
Vanessa nodded slightly, then turned and headed for the teleportation room in the Mage Tower, using the fixed portal to return to the Nalanther Islands.
Along with him were several new liches who had joined the core of the organization.
After all these people left, Zuo Si focused his attention on making a suitable weapon for himself.
There is no doubt that with his current financial resources and the magical metals and materials in his hands, he is fully capable of making a sub-artifact like the Archmage's Staff.
But unfortunately, the staff is too cumbersome to use and is not as convenient as other weapons.
So after much deliberation, Zuo Si decided to make a melee weapon instead of the traditional cane used by most mages.
Although he himself has not received any form of melee training, he can gain corresponding experience through a lot of magic and divine arts.
In addition, melee weapons are far more confusing to the enemy than staffs, making the opponent unable to understand the situation and make wrong judgments.
Just do it!
Since the goal is to create a melee weapon, the main material must be a special metal that can accommodate magic power.
Secondly, a series of complex designs must be carried out in advance, such as how many magic symbols should be inlaid in total, what each one means, and what effect it can produce. All of these must be repeatedly checked and corrected.
Finally, it is necessary to integrate all the different systems of magic knowledge that Zuo Si has collected so far and inject them all into this weapon.
By then, at least dozens of magics from the first to the ninth ring will be needed.
Due to the heavy workload, Zuo Si soon forgot about the forces under his command and had unknowingly started secret battles with Luskan and the Arcane Brotherhood dozens of times.
Almost at the same time, in a tavern far away in the port of Mingtan Island, a middle-aged woman wearing a red robe and with a very obvious tattoo mark on the back of her bald head was sitting at a table, yawning out of boredom.
Judging from his attire and iconic tattoos, it's easy to tell that this guy is a member of the Red Coven.
About ten seconds later, a man in chain mail walked in from outside and bowed respectfully: "Master Ganir, according to your instructions, we have successfully dealt with Tarnsir Enbuilhan and controlled the entire island."
“Well done.”
The woman called Master Garnier stood up and slowly walked out of the tavern door.
At this moment, the port and urban area of Mingtan Island have been completely occupied by the red-robed wizards from Sel and their army.
Although the number of these troops was not large, there were only about five hundred people.
However, their equipment was extremely sophisticated, and they even had many low-level mages and apprentices assisting them.
With the help of some local mercenaries, they eventually defeated the island's guards at a very low cost.
As for Tarnsir Embiilhan, who had a certain level of warrior, he was killed on the spot as expected.
Judging from the charred body hanging in a conspicuous place, he was most likely killed by a huge fireball hitting his face, or was directly hit by lightning.
"I'll give you two days to gather all the forces on Mingtan Island and prepare to cooperate with Luskan's fleet to launch a sneak attack on the Nelanther Islands." G'niel gave the order without looking back.
As the highest leader of the Red Coven in the north-central region, she obviously had a very deep interest relationship with the Arcane Brotherhood.
Whether it's the huge profits made from selling addictive narcotics or purchasing relics from the Netheril era dug out from the underground, it can gain the favor of the organization's top ring mentors and chiefs.
After all, sufficient research funds are very important for mages, not to mention that there are relics from the Netheril era that can be used for research.
Thanks to these two points, G'Hanir was able to climb to his current position as a Level 11 Shaping Mage.
Otherwise, generally speaking, the highest decision-maker in a certain area within the Red Wizards' Coven is usually required to be a ring mage instructor of at least LV13 to LV15.
However, due to the sparse population and the wild frozen land in the northern part of Faerun and Luskan, not many people were willing to blow the cold wind, which gave her a great bargain.
In fact, the Cyre Concession that appeared in Baldur's Gate not long ago was actually the work of G'Haniel.
Taking advantage of the conflicts between factions within a town as a starting point, and then finding the right time to extend her own hand in, has always been her forte.
"Master, I don't understand why you agreed to the conditions proposed by the Arcane Brotherhood? Under normal circumstances, shouldn't we remain neutral and not help either side until one of the parties is in a weak position, then lend a helping hand and demand generous rewards?" The man in chain armor cautiously probed.
In Cyre, the red robed wizards have supreme status and power.
As for the others, they all have to provide various services around these "bald guys" who shave their heads to increase the area of the magical tattoos.
Therefore, even though he is a capable warrior and captain, he must pay attention to the tone and attitude of his speech.
Otherwise, this sinister and cunning woman in front of him might deliberately arrange for him to die in the next mission at any time.
Garnier pursed his lips and explained meaningfully: "No, you don't understand. The rise of the Nelanther Islands has begun to squeeze our profits.
In particular, a large number of low-priced magic items, equipment and potions are snatching away the market and customers that should have belonged to us.
In addition, they have banned all pirates from entering their area of control, so the funds of the Arcane Brotherhood are rapidly drying up and they are unable to purchase more goods from us.
Taking all the above into consideration, I decided to join forces with the Arcane Brotherhood and launch a sneak attack using Mingtan Island as a forward base.
It doesn't matter even if we fail. As long as we can inflict a severe blow on the ports and cities they have just built, similar situations will be alleviated.
What's more, isn't this all done by Mingtan Island?
It has nothing to do with us, the Cyrus."
moment!
The warrior understood the sinister intentions of the bald woman in front of him, and immediately glanced with sympathy at the mercenaries who were still cheering for victory not far away.
It's obvious without asking that these guys have been fooled and will be used as cannon fodder to die.
There is absolutely no way any of them would survive this sneak attack.
It is not difficult to see from the decision made by Garnier that she has no idea who is the controller behind the Nelanther Islands.
After all, Vanessa and her group of liches were only manipulating things behind the scenes and had never really appeared on the stage.
Moreover, the conversation between the two had already been heard clearly by a thief hiding in the darkness.
After collecting enough information, the latter quickly found a deserted place, activated the teleportation magic scroll he carried with him, and disappeared without a trace.
Obviously, he was the spy planted by the Lich on Mingtan Island.
…
At the same time, in the Lord's Hall of Neverwinter Castle, Lord Nasir was reading a piece of intelligence sent by his men.
After a full minute, he asked in an incredulous tone, "Is this information accurate? Orcs in the north are dying in large numbers for some unknown reason?"
"Of course! I assure you with my own honor and life that this incredible scene is happening. For this reason, I even went to several orc tribe camps that are relatively close to Neverwinter. As a result, I found that there was not a single living person inside except for corpses that were eaten beyond recognition by wild beasts. In addition, judging from the state of the dead, they all died of some terrible disease."
A human thief covered in brown skin answered in the affirmative without hesitation.
As the head of Neverwinter's intelligence agency, he himself is a member of the Neverwinter Nine Guards.
It's just that they need to lurk in the dark all year round to collect intelligence and spy on the enemy, so they rarely appear in public.
"You mean... a plague is spreading among the orc tribe? Are our people showing any signs of infection?"
Lord Nasir obviously realized the seriousness of the problem.
After all, plague is such a terrible thing.
Once the damage spreads, the population of a city may be halved in an instant.
In addition, the death of a large number of civilians will also cause panic and riots.
He would rather take up sword and fight the evil army of Luskan than face the invisible threat of plague.
The intelligence chief shook his head slightly. "Not yet. All those who came back, including me, went to the Temple of the God of Justice to be examined by the priests. I also found that the bodies were only orcs, but not those half-orcs. Similarly, the nearby goblin and barbarian tribes were not affected at all."
"A plague that only infects orcs? How is that possible!" Aribeth couldn't help but exclaim.
"Ma'am, this is not impossible. At least I know someone who can do it. He came to Neverwinter not long ago and has even formed an alliance with us to deal with our evil neighbor Luskan to the north." The intelligence chief stated his guess directly.
"Soth, the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease Talona?"
Lord Nasir's face suddenly showed an expression of sudden realization, but then he frowned and asked, "Why did he do this?"
The intelligence chief replied in an uncertain tone: "I personally tend to think that he is taking revenge on the orcs for their wanted bounty on him and an attack that occurred near Silvermoon City not long ago.
Based on the intelligence obtained from the Harpers, the Orc Gods sent two Chosen and a large number of elite warriors to try to kill Thoth, but ultimately failed.
So it makes sense that he would unleash a terrible plague on the orcs as retaliation.
You have to know that this young man has an unusually strong desire for revenge.
And they never treat intelligent humanoid creatures such as orcs, goblins, gnolls, and ogres as human beings.
In Athkatra, he even raised a group of goblins infected with lycanthropy and sold them to wizards who needed to conduct necromancy experiments.
"So... this situation is a good thing for us?"
Lord Nasir stroked the thick beard on his chin.
"Yes. Without the threat of orcs, it will be a good thing for all the towns and villages in the North. At least they don't have to worry about the massive invasions and looting by orcs every autumn and winter." The intelligence chief gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.
He had seen too many villages slaughtered by these green-skinned and dirty beasts, and had rescued many female captives who had been ravaged and abused, so he had no sympathy for the orcs at all, and wished that all the orcs in the world would die.
In comparison, Erebeth, a paladin serving the god of justice Tyr, seems to be more conflicted.
On the one hand, she was happy that the civilians could live in peace without the threat of orcs.
On the other hand, the justice she believed in did not allow her to approve of the release of plague and indiscriminate massacres.
Perhaps it is this contradiction between law and kindness that leads to its tragic fate.
Fortunately, Lord Nasir was a warrior rather than a paladin, so he didn't hesitate and immediately couldn't help laughing: "Hahaha! No orcs? This is simply the best news I have heard in all these years as a lord. It seems that even the power of poison and plague can produce amazing effects as long as it is used in the right place. Next time we meet, I must thank Soth."
"Well! I will go talk to the wizard of the Star Cloak later." Lord Nasir nodded slightly.
After this brief briefing, the intelligence chief quickly turned around and left Neverwinter Castle, leaving only Eribes and Lord Nasir in the hall.
The latter obviously noticed the contradiction and struggle in the former's heart, and immediately smiled and said: "Don't think too much, and don't try to get stuck in a rut.
Justice is never absolute but a very broad concept.
And since you are not a priest, there is no need to try to define the good or evil tendencies of various behaviors.
You are a paladin, and paladins are only to follow their heart and instincts."
艾瑞贝斯苦笑着回应道：“可是我真的很想要搞清楚，索斯这种行为究竟应该算是善良还是邪恶？ 从结果来看，他对一个种族进行无差别屠杀，肯定应该算是不折不扣的邪恶行径。
可屠杀兽人却又间接解救了不少被掳走作为奴隶的俘虏，同时也给饱受兽人劫掠的平民一个相对安全的生活环境。
如果从动机来看……”
还没等这位年轻的半精灵圣武士把话说完，纳西尔领主便打断道：“够了，我不是告诉你不要去纠结这些么？
人心和人性都是复杂的东西，不可能用善良和邪恶来进行简单粗暴的分类。
而且像兽人这种只知道破坏不知道生产创造的邪恶野兽，死的越多整个世界就会变得越美好。
如果你对此感到难以释怀，就去找个牧师倾诉一下。
另外，我听说你最近跟范斯维克的关系非常亲密？”
瞬间！
艾瑞贝斯露出了十分难为情的样子，红着脸赶忙解释道：“并不是您想象中那个样子。我们只是偶尔会聚在一起探讨关于自己对于正义的理解。您知道的，他是一个正义之神的牧师，可以在某种程度上为我解答一些问题。”
“好了，好了，不用跟解释。”
纳西尔领主可是过来人，怎么可能不知道两人之间那点小秘密。
但考虑到艾瑞贝斯的脸皮比较薄，所以他并没有立刻拆穿或是拿来调笑，仅仅只是随便找了个借口将其打发走。
事实上，北地兽人成片成片死于瘟疫的消息，很快就像飓风一样席卷了北地每一座城镇。
所有得知这一消息的当地统治者，终于意识到之前塔洛娜教会宣扬左思是“瘟疫之子”、灾祸之人”和“世界毁灭者”并非夸张，而是真的有这样的能力。
于是乎纷纷下令要求对他的行踪保持最高级别的关注。
因为北地兽人的大灭绝，让费伦大陆不少智商在线的统治者都意识到，左思就是一件可怕到极点的生化武器。
只要他想，随时可以让方圆数百乃至数千公里内人畜皆死、寸草不生。
同样的，这种对于剧毒、疾病和瘟疫的恐惧，也在无形中强化着塔洛娜的影响力。
不少地方为了讨好这位女神，不约而同在城市比较显眼的位置修建起神殿和雕像。
原本人人喊打宛如过街老鼠的牧师，也迅速从地下活动转到明面上大肆招揽信徒。
而这种扩张随着第一批从北方蛮荒之地历经千辛万苦逃回文明世界的俘虏平安抵达，终于来到了第一个高峰。
看着这群衣衫褴褛已经被认定为死亡的亲人和朋友活着出现在自己面前，不少人都喜极而泣。
在听完对方讲述的故事后，纷纷决定改信剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜。
还有一些跟兽人有着血海深仇的家庭，更是彻底投入教会的怀抱，跟着牧师们一起学习如何调制足以置人于死地的毒药，培养可以轻而易举让一座城市化作死地的瘟疫，打算给南方丛林中那些肆虐的兽人部落投毒。
当这种信仰和影响力的积累达到某个临界点的刹那，夜晚天空中那颗象征塔洛娜的星辰突然释放出比平日里明亮一万倍的光芒。
而这种光芒立刻让众神意识到，剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜正式跨过弱等神力，成为了中等神力中的一员。
从今往后，她无需在投靠任何强大神力，仅凭自己的力量就足以应付绝大多数的敌人。
毫无疑问，这种神力的提升除了让塔洛娜本人欣喜若狂之外，还引来了不少其他神明的嫉妒。
其中最典型的就是曾经跟她一起侍奉谋杀之神巴尔的劳薇塔。
此刻，在外层位面的神祇国度内，这位性格充满侵略性、专横跋扈、大胆无畏的女神，正挥舞着手中的鞭子疯狂抽打信徒的灵魂，像疯了一样咆哮道：“为什么？为什么是塔洛娜而不是我？”
只可惜，没人能给她答案。
强烈的不甘、嫉妒和愤恨，正如一条条毒蛇侵蚀着她的内心。
要知道在很长一段时间内，劳薇塔和塔洛娜都将彼此视为竞争对手。
可现在，后者已经与前者拉开了整整一个量级的差距。
更可气的是，两人原本已经商量好在巴尔死亡之后找个机会去投靠夜之女神莎尔。
但塔洛娜此刻明显已经不需要了。
就在劳薇塔为此感到愤恨不平的时候，一个熟悉的身影降临在了她的国度。
来者不是别人，正是剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜的化身。
“你来干什么？炫耀自己获得的力量吗？还有，你现在这副样子是怎回事？我记得你以前总是以一副老妪的形象示人。”劳薇塔咬牙切齿的质问道。
“炫耀？”
塔洛娜笑着摇了摇头。
“不，我可没有那么多闲工夫。我今天来是向你发出邀请的。
相信你已经知道了，我现在不仅有足够的力量保护自己，还可以给予你一定的庇护。
至于这个形象，原本就是我最初的样子，只不过后来受到信徒的影响而发生了一定程度的转变。
但是现在，在大量新信徒的影响下，我又恢复了本来的面目。
更何况，我最最深爱的选民和瘟疫之子——索斯，显然更喜欢这样的我。
说实话，我原本还以为自己晋升中等神力至少需要几年的时间。
可是他最近在北地的举动，把这个过程加速到了难以想象的地步。
尤其是那些凭空出现的神像和神殿，极大增强了我的影响力。
最后还要感谢一下神上神艾欧陛下。
如果不是他在动荡之年修改了规则，我神力也不可能增长的这么快。”
听到这番话，原本心底就燃烧着嫉妒之火的劳薇塔变得更加愤恨，立刻冷笑着讽刺道：“但你的选民却并不信奉你的教义，甚至不愿意跟你在凡间的教会有太多接触。而且他还跟知识之神和魔法女神眉来眼去。尤其是后者，在上一代的时候可是非常喜欢跟自己的选民乱搞呢。”
瞬间！
上一秒还洋洋得意的塔洛娜，下一秒脸色就变得阴沉无比，同时感觉自己头上绿油油的。
足足过了半分钟，她才死死攥着拳头低吼道：“没有人可以抢走索斯！他是我的！无论是身体还是灵魂！如果有谁胆敢触犯这条底线，那么我将不惜以毁灭整世界并且自我毁灭作为报复。记住！劳薇塔！这是你第一次触犯我的禁忌，所以我选择宽恕你。但如果再有下一次，我会非常乐意送你去星界躺尸。”
看到剧毒与疾病女神有发狂的迹象，劳薇塔立刻闭上嘴巴不敢再继续刺激对方。
她突然意识到，那个被誉为“瘟疫之子”的凡人，在对方心目中的地位恐怕高的吓人。
就这样相互对视了有两三分钟，等塔洛娜慢慢恢复平静，劳薇塔这才十分谨慎的试探道：“你真的想要邀请我？”
“没错！如你所愿，我已经是一名中等神力，并且在不久的未来还会变得更加强大，需要一些从神的协助。我们彼此之间最了解对方，所以如果你同意来做我的从神，我就会给予你庇护。”
塔洛娜没有任何掩饰的直截开出条件。
因为她知道，选择夜之女神莎尔只是当初的权宜之计，也可以称之为后路。
事实上这位最古老的双子女神之一，在教义上并不符合两人的理念。
但问题是，随着死亡三神的全部陨落，以及继承了死亡三神全部神职的希瑞克崛起，让劳薇塔和塔洛娜都感受到了前所未有的危机。
毕竟这个疯子在还是凡人的时候就敢背刺神明的圣者，其疯狂程度可想而知。
再加上她们俩都属于“前朝余孽”，所以哪怕是为了自身安全着想，也要先找一条粗点的大腿抱一抱。
不过随着塔洛娜晋升中等神力，劳薇塔明显有了一个更好的选择。
尽管两位女神之间曾经有过激烈的竞争，但也仅仅只是竞争而已，并没有上升到恩怨和神职的冲突。
更何况彼此之间还知根知底，根本不用担心会被暗算。
所以在沉思了片刻之后，劳薇塔马上点头同意道：“好！我同意做你的从神。”
说罢，她主动弯下腰鞠了一躬表示对于主神的敬意。
尽管这种身份的变化让虐待女神稍微感到有一点不适和难受，但比起去投靠夜之女神莎尔显然要靠谱的多。
就这样，剧毒与疾病女神和虐待女神正式缔结了上下级的同盟关系。
Almost at the same time, the goddess of night Shar, who was in the wasteland of destruction and despair, clearly sensed this with her series of powerful priesthoods. A playful smile suddenly appeared on her face, and she murmured in a voice that only she could hear: "Did Lavita reject my invitation and ally with Talona? Interesting! It seems that the origin of everything is related to the young man from another world. Fortunately, I have already arranged a chess piece in advance. Now all I need to do is wait patiently."
As the last word came out of her mouth, she raised her hand and created a dark gray mirror out of thin air.
Through the mirror, you can see the vampire queen Badi lying on the sofa with her favorite dark elf descendant, enjoying the afterglow of the flesh.
As a vampire, unlike other undead creatures, they will not completely lose all physical senses.
So they are more keen on pleasure than other undead creatures.
However, as one of the oldest twin goddesses in the world, Shar was not interested in such boring behavior. Instead, she stared at the life growing in Badi's belly with her dark and deep eyes.
After confirming that everything was normal, she closed the mirror and showed a satisfied expression: "It is really exciting to see what the dark seeds born after the fall of light can breed. It's a pity that the fragments of divine power remaining in the body of this Saint Amaunator are too small. Otherwise..."
It goes without saying that what happened in the underground temple of Askatla was the work of this goddess.
All of a sudden, there was the six-armed snake demon lord from the Abyss, the conspiracy of the goddess of night Shar, the war with Luskan and the Arcane Brotherhood that was about to break out, and the orcs who had suffered huge losses and were eager for revenge...
The west coast of Faerun continent is once again becoming turbulent.
Zuo Si, who was at the center of the storm, still stayed in the Mage Tower as if nothing had happened, concentrating on making a sword-shaped staff for himself.
Yes!
You heard it right!
It was a staff in the shape of a long sword! In his opinion, the traditional staffs in Faerun were not suitable for him, and the wands in the Harry Potter world were too short.
Considering that close combat is occasionally needed, a sword with a variety of uses becomes the best choice.
However, this sword is slightly different from ordinary magic swords. Its main function is to enhance spellcasting, rather than rushing up and chopping people.
As for simple and crude blunt weapons, [Talona's Favor] is enough.
Unfortunately, this artifact has not yet successfully captured any valuable soul, so it cannot exert its full power for the time being.
Like Zuo Si, also busy making magic items is the six-armed snake demon lord Monahil deep underground.
But what she made was a teleportation orb.
When this bead, formed by the fusion of countless gems, pearls and human bones, was completed and inlaid into the portal, a rift connecting to the bottomless abyss was finally torn open.
Countless demons swarmed in from the other side like a tide.
The one rushing to the front was naturally the absolute ruler of the 531st floor of the abyss - the six-armed snake demon.
However, most ordinary snake demons are only three meters tall, far less huge than Monashir, who has become a secondary lord.
They were like well-trained officers, controlling the originally chaotic low-level demons at an extremely fast speed and preventing them from running around.
However, considering the limited space in the temple and the surrounding tunnels, only about three thousand demons were teleported in the first wave.
Among them, the lowest level cowards accounted for the vast majority.
As cannon fodder among cannon fodder, they do not even have complete independent consciousness and wisdom, but simply rely on numbers to overwhelm the enemy.
Just a small fragment of soul is enough to create a coward.
Moreover, these guys are extremely timid and cowardly. When they encounter an enemy stronger than themselves, they tend to scatter very quickly, or simply kneel down and beg for forgiveness from the other party.
The word "qie" in the word "qie mo" comes from this.
Of course, the demon lords had already thought of a solution, which was to send a formidable supervision team to kill all the cowardly demons who dared to turn around and escape.
Many mid-level and high-level demons are very happy to perform such tasks.
Sometimes, after a war, there is a high possibility that more cowards die at the hands of our own people than at the hands of the enemy.
But compared to ordinary human army soldiers, the cowards are undoubtedly powerful.
Although they are only about 1.23 meters tall, they weigh 80 kilograms and their strength attribute exceeds 12 points.
In addition, as a demon, he has a series of immunities, resistances and spell-like abilities, such as [Fear] and [Stinking Cloud].
Once a large-scale release is successful, it will definitely be a complete massacre for human soldiers without the support of spellcasters.
"Great Lord, the army has been assembled according to your orders. When can we launch the attack?"
A six-armed snake demon came to Monahil and asked respectfully.
"How is the war going in the abyss?" Monahill couldn't help but ask about the situation in her hometown first.
After all, the abyss is her base. If the territory of her hometown is lost, it will be meaningless no matter how many souls she harvests in the material world.
The six-armed snake demon responded without hesitation: "It's the same as when you left. The situation is still at a stalemate. The other party doesn't seem to have any plans to attack recently. Every day, they just send some low-level demons to launch a symbolic attack and then quickly retreat."
"Very good! Since our old rival has given us such an opportunity, let's make good use of it. Bring your people and immediately capture every corner of this city's sewers. But be careful not to alert the mortals on the ground. We will give them a big surprise tomorrow night."
As she said this, Mona Hill couldn't help but lick her lips with her tongue.
She could already smell the evil-smelling souls in the city of Askatla, and she was in a state of extreme excitement.
Because only such a soul can transform and create the most powerful demon.
In addition, luring those originally pure and noble souls into the abyss can also obtain very, very generous rewards from the abyss consciousness.
This is why countless Abyss Lords are keen to corrupt mortals, especially paladins who symbolize purity, nobility, and kindness.
Baphomet, the Minotaur King, and Pazuzu, the Wind Lord, would immediately grant power to a holy warrior when they heard him begging for help.
The purpose is to play the long game and catch the big fish, making the paladin dependent on the power bestowed by him, and eventually corrupted little by little.
Of course, the holy warriors are well aware of this.
So strictly speaking, the two sides are in a delicate state of game.
If the paladin can stick to his original intention, it is equivalent to using the power of these demon lords for free to survive the crisis.
But if not, the demon lord has a wonderful soul to harvest.
(End of this chapter)