Unlike the wealthy province of Gavony where the city of Thraben is located, this place is a high-altitude mountainous area with a large amount of stones mixed in the soil, so it is not suitable for agricultural cultivation.

But humans with strong adaptability have developed a unique animal husbandry here.

Driven by shepherds and sheepdogs, flocks of sheep, cattle and horses graze around the pastures that belong to their own families, and mainly survive on various dairy products, dried meat and other foods.

Of course, if there were merchants passing by, they would also sell some livestock, leather, dairy products, wool and other goods in exchange for salt, grain, iron products and other supplies.

In short, the people living on this land seem to be very comfortable, and there are very few monsters around that can threaten life, such as werewolves and undead creatures.

But if you think this is the most habitable paradise on the plane of Innistrad, you are wrong.

The reason why the province of Stensia is so "safe" is entirely because it is ruled by a more powerful evil force.

In the eyes of the latter, all human beings living on this land are "livestock" raised by themselves and the most important source of food.

They would immediately send people to ruthlessly eliminate any enemy that threatened their "herd".

This powerful evil force is none other than the vampires of Innistrad.

These guys divided the entire province of Stonsia into pieces of family or private territories by building one manor after another, and they could dispose of the humans in their territories at will.

At this moment, Zuo Si was in such a manor, enduring the fierce attack of Sorin Markov, the King of Innistrad.

In an empty hall filled with racks of various armors and weapons, the latter swung a silver sword, leaving only afterimages, and used all of his practical skills honed over thousands of years without mercy.

With such combat power, not to mention Zuo Si who had never received any close combat training, even a legendary warrior from Furen might not be able to withstand it.

As expected, the weapon in his hand was knocked down with a bang after just a few seconds. He knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, with sweat dripping from his forehead and cheeks to the ground.

"Seventeenth time! This is the seventeenth time you have dropped the weapon in your hand! How many times have I told you not to let the weapon leave your hand at any time." Sorin's tone was full of strong contempt and dissatisfaction.

Zuo Si rolled his eyes in annoyance and retorted, "I'm not a warrior, but a spellcaster. I really don't understand why you have to drag me to do this meaningless close combat training."

"Pointless? No! It's not pointless!

Remember, planeswalkers are not ordinary spellcasters.

You must do your best to make up for every shortcoming in yourself and ensure that you do not have any flaws that can be exploited by the enemy.

Now pick up your weapons and stand up! Since you have chosen me to be your teacher, you must obey my instructions. "

Sorin raised his foot and kicked the sword back to the ground.

"Damn it! I only want to learn the life magic part..." Zuo Si cursed in a low voice.

With no other options, he could only pick up his weapon and assume a defensive stance according to the sword-holding techniques the other party had taught him before.

Just a few seconds later, this powerful vampire planeswalker once again used his overwhelming swordsmanship to defeat Zuo Si, leaving him with no power to fight back at all.

Since Sorin is an ancient planeswalker, his physical fitness is even better than Zuo Si's. His strength attribute is at least 40 points. Every time his weapons collide, there will be a huge sonic boom and impact. His super high agility attribute allows him to easily perform all kinds of incredible movements, and his reaction speed is fast enough to dodge bullets.

In addition, he could not use any magical powers, let alone transform into a dragon, so Zuo Si had almost no way to deal with this "teacher".

At this moment, he truly realized what the words "ancient planeswalker" meant.

Over thousands or even tens of thousands of years, these old guys have already trained every aspect of themselves to a level of near perfection.

Take Sorin Markov for example, not only is he proficient in vampire necromancy and blood magic, he can also create life with the power of sparks and even awaken the consciousness of a planet, and his melee combat skills have reached a level that surpasses that of legendary warriors.

In particular, his gorgeous and deadly swordsmanship was the best among all the warriors Zuo Si had ever met.

When facing an opponent without any obvious flaws, it is not easy to defeat him even if you can gain a certain advantage in the spell confrontation.

And even if they are defeated, it is almost impossible to kill them all.

This means that for almost all the ancient planeswalkers that still exist today, no force can easily threaten their lives, unless they are tired of living and seek death.

Finally, after an hour of one-sided ravages, Sorin finally ended today's close combat training. He put away his weapons and solemnly warned: "If you are willing to devote a little of your concentration and seriousness in learning magic to swordsmanship and fighting, I believe it won't take long for you to reach a first-class level. Don't underestimate this primitive and ancient skill, because magic may become extremely unstable due to certain external factors, but swordsmanship and fighting skills will never become unstable. The more critical the moment, the more it can help you out of trouble."

"Maybe you're right. But if magic really becomes extremely unstable due to external factors, I would rather find a way to change and adapt to the new magical environment than waste time on some bullshit swordplay."

Zuo Si casually threw the battered training sword into the weapons pile, his tone full of contempt and disdain for close combat.

In his opinion, spellcasters should find ways to use magic to solve all problems and troubles.

If you can't do it, it means that your understanding of magic is not deep enough and you don't have enough knowledge.

Sorin's theory is as ridiculous as the modern society's advocacy of the lethality of hand-to-hand combat such as martial arts, judo, and Muay Thai.

Aren’t those so-called world mixed martial arts championship champions awesome enough?

As a result, when encountering criminals, he would still be easily killed with a dagger.

Not to mention the even more powerful "American Iai".

When a gunshot is heard, no matter what martial arts you practice, you will have to lie down obediently.

"Humph! Sooner or later you will suffer a great loss because of your arrogance."

There is no doubt that Zuo Si's disdainful attitude towards swordsmanship and fighting made Sorin Markov very annoyed, but he was also helpless.

Because he witnessed with his own eyes how this young human planeswalker learned the essence of his own original life magic in less than two days.

That kind of terrifying learning speed was something the ancient planeswalker had never seen in his thousands of years of life.

It was for this reason that Suo Lin wanted to try to tap Zuo Si's potential, and swordsmanship and fighting skills courses were one of them.

But unfortunately, Zuo Si was clearly full of resistance, contempt and disdain for this kind of training, and was not very cooperative from the beginning.

Especially in the attitude towards weapons, there is not the slightest bit of the warrior spirit of "the sword is there as long as the man is there".

Once they find themselves no match for their opponent, they will immediately and decisively drop or throw their weapons away to delay time.

Obviously, this is the typical way of thinking of a pure spellcaster.

Because only a spellcaster would regard the sword in his hand as a prop, rather than treating it as his second life like a warrior.

Although Sorin tried several times to correct it, he failed in the end as expected.

After all, anyone who can ignite the spark to become a planeswalker has an extremely strong "self-awareness", and if they decide on something, they will never easily change their attitude.

After the combat training, Zuo Si, led by his servant, went to the bathroom on the first floor, took off all his clothes and jumped directly into the boiling hot water to soak in order to quickly relax the muscles in his upper limbs that were red and swollen due to the violent collision.

After a while, he began to feel pain in his arm. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn Sorin! He hit me too hard! If it were an ordinary person, he would have turned me into a bloody mist in just two hits."

"But it is undeniable that he is indeed an excellent teacher, isn't he?"

The diary, which was piled on the steps with the clothes, asked back with a smile.

Zuo Si nodded slightly. "Yes, he is indeed a very good teacher. After a few days of study, I have a deeper understanding of the power of sparks, and I have also figured out the essence of creating life magic. Except that the daily melee combat training is a bit annoying, everything else is fine."

"What do you plan to do next? Return to Zendikar first, or go to Tarkir with Sorin to participate in the resurrection of the spirit dragon Ugin? Or go to Earth and use the power of the Well of Souls to create your own god?" the diary asked with interest.

Zuo Si answered directly: "Of course it is the last one.

After all, from the moment I tried to stop the seal of the Eldrazi from being opened, I had already stood on the opposite side of the old dragon Nicol Bolas.

So you have to prepare more trump cards.

Don't forget, he and Wu Jin are the only Elder Dragons hatched from the eggs laid by the Primeval Dragon.

I experienced the terrible dragon melee that year.

Furthermore, in the future War of the Spark, he attempted to seize and sacrifice the sparks of other planeswalkers in order to make himself the most powerful being in the entire multiverse.

No matter from which perspective, this is an enemy that we must be especially cautious and vigilant against."

"So that's why you dragged Sorin Markov and Nahiri, two ancient planeswalkers, into trouble with Nicol Bolas?" The diary instantly understood its owner's intention.

"Right. The more planeswalkers that come to trouble Nicol Bolas, the less likely he will notice my presence. Of course, even if he does, I have more than one backup plan. After all, I am actually very interested in the spell he holds. To be exact, I am very, very interested in it."

When saying this, Zuo Si did not hide his ambition to replace Lao Long and complete the Spark War.

Just when the diary was about to say something, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the bathroom door.

Immediately afterwards, Nisha opened the door and walked in from outside.

"Are you going back to Zendikar?" Zuo Si asked in surprise.

"Well. Now that the seal of the Eldrazi is no longer a threat, there is no need for me to stay in Innistrad. The dark environment and air here make me feel very uncomfortable. Besides, I miss my hometown and my fellow elves living in the forest." Nisha gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.

"In that case, I can only wish you a safe journey." Zuo Si offered his blessing with a smile.

Through communication with Sorin, this novice who once knew nothing about the Eldrazi now fully understands how terrifying the natural disasters from the Blind Eternity are, so he will no longer make rash moves such as breaking the seal and releasing the Eldrazi.

Just the opposite!

She became a guardian sworn to protect the seal and ensure that the Eldrazi were never released.

Of course, this was also what Sorin intended.

After all, this cunning vampire hopes that the local planeswalkers in Zendikar can take on the responsibility of maintaining and protecting the seal, so that he doesn't have to go and check on the situation every once in a while.

All I can say is that at this stage, Nisha is still too naive and very easy to be exploited by others.

However, Zuo Si did not expose Sorin's little trick. After a simple farewell, he watched the elven mage activate the power of the spark and disappear on the spot.

As soon as Nisha left, the vampire walked in from outside the bathroom and asked in a slightly playful tone: "Has that interesting elf beside you gone home?"

"Yes, she's back home. Now there are two planeswalkers in Zendikar who know the truth about the Eldrazi. I believe it won't be easy for anyone else to break the seal."

As Zuo Si spoke, he walked out of the scalding pool, cleaned the water stains on his body with magic, and then put on his clothes and various magical equipment one by one.

After he had done all this, he asked tentatively without even looking up: "Are you also going to Tarkir?"

"Isn't this obvious? Whether facing the threat of the Eldrazi or fighting Nicol Bolas, we will definitely need the help of Ugin's power. So resurrecting him becomes something that must be done."

Sorin made no attempt to conceal his intention and stated it directly.

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Zuo Si asked casually without any sincerity.

Sorin sneered and refused. "Forget it. I am enough for this kind of thing. You should continue to find more allies and prepare for the coming war. Oh, and here is the moonsilver you requested."

As the last word came out of his mouth, a piece of hard metal shining with silver light fell to the ground with a bang, smashing a small hole in the tiles on the ground.

"Thank you very much."

Zuo Si picked it up without hesitation and stuffed it into the shoulder bag he was carrying.

This thing is a precious material that he intends to use to strengthen the holy sword again. Its value cannot be measured by money.

Sorin shrugged nonchalantly. "You're welcome. If there's nothing else important, I'll leave first."

The next second...

He activated the power of sparks and disappeared on the spot.

Seeing that his master had already left, Zuo Si obviously had no need to stay any longer, so he also prepared to activate the power of the spark and leave Innistrad.

But just when he was about to perform an ultra-long-distance transmission across time and space, he suddenly felt a force interfering with him. As a result, the transmission deviated instantly and he suddenly came to another strange world.

I saw a giant dragon with huge sharp horns on its head appear out of nowhere less than ten meters away.

This dragon is so huge and slender that just showing half of its body is enough to make people feel a strong sense of oppression.

Between the two horns, there was an oval-shaped stone floating.

The Elder Dragon—Nicol Bolas!

Zuo Si recognized the other person's identity almost at first sight.

But he did not show even the slightest panic. Instead, he calmly and elegantly placed one hand on his chest and bowed, "I am truly flattered to be summoned personally by the great Dragon Lord."

"You have quite a bit of courage."

Nicol Bolas's lips curled up slightly in a playful smile.

"Is it just courage?" Zuo Si raised his head and asked with the same smile.

Hearing this, Nicol Bolas finally couldn't help but burst into a deafening laugh: "Hahahaha! You really are very funny! Young human planeswalker! You know what? In the entire universe, you are the first person who dares to speak like this to my face after destroying my plan.

As a reward for your bravery, I decided to give you a chance to explain.

Remember, you only have three minutes. If you can't convince me within three minutes, you will die here today."

"Ruin your plan? I think there seems to be some misunderstanding between us. Everything I do is to serve your ambitious and great goal." Zuo Si said sincerely.

"Um?!"

This sentence instantly confused Nicol Bolas.

Zuo Si took advantage of the other party's moment of distraction to quickly explain: "Great Dragon Lord, if I am not mistaken, the ultimate goal of all your plans should be to collect more Sparks of Planeswalkers, right? And what I am doing is to make those Planeswalkers with the most powerful Sparks constantly approach you on their own, right?"

"According to what you said, I should not punish you but reward you instead?"

Nico Pola was immediately amused by the shamelessness of the young human in front of him.

Even though he knew that what he had just said was all nonsense and sophistry, his original strong murderous intent eventually subsided.

Because in the eyes of this old dragon, Zuo Si, who was "afraid of death" and "greedy for life", was obviously not a die-hard enemy. Instead, he was a subordinate who could be recruited for his own use through coercion and inducement.

“Of course you should reward me.

Because I'm going to bring you the largest number of planeswalkers, and the sparks they possess, at the moment the War of the Spark breaks out.

Besides, don't you think it would be a good idea to unite all the enemies and place a spy among them to control their every move.

Is it actually much easier to control the situation than if they acted on their own?"

Zuo Si asked back with a sinister smile on his face.

Without a doubt!

These words instantly moved Nicol Bolas's heart, and at the same time he began to look at this young man who dared to talk big in front of him in a different light.

After a full minute, he said in a slightly playful tone: "I admit that your proposal is indeed very tempting. But the question is, why should I believe you? What do you want from me?"

Zuo Si answered humbly, "You don't need to believe me, just believe in yourself. After all, who in this universe dares to betray the great Dragon Lord Nicol Bolas? Moreover, it won't be long before you will go from Dragon Lord to Dragon God. What I want is just a little insignificant knowledge and magical power."

“Knowledge and power?

Ah! I see ambition in your eyes.

That's great! Since you've decided to pledge your allegiance to me, I'll give you a small task as a test.

Within one year, help me find at least two people who have the potential to ignite the spark and become planeswalkers.

Here, here is a spell that can be used to identify whether there is a dormant spark in the target's body. You can use it to identify it.

Remember, don’t let me down, because if I do, you will pay a very high price for it.”

After saying this, Nicol Bolas swung his right front claw violently, tearing open a space rift, and then his huge body went straight into it and disappeared without a trace.

Zuo Si stood there respectfully, and waited for several minutes to confirm that the other party had really left. Then he let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a self-deprecating smile: "It was not easy, but I finally got away with it."

"You don't really want to walk the tightrope as a double agent, do you?" the diary asked worriedly.

"Why not? Do you think I'm one of those righteous people who fight for love and peace? No! I have always been loyal only to my own ambitions and endless desire for knowledge and power. And I also really want to see how powerful the planeswalkers can be before the power of the spark is weakened."

As he said this, a chilling light flashed in Zuo Si's eyes.

From what he knew, Nicol Bolas started the War of the Spark because he found a powerful magical spell called the Elder Curse.

Through this spell, as long as enough planeswalker sparks are sacrificed at one time, the user can gather the power of these sparks together to strengthen his own spark until it is restored to its original state without any restrictions.

That is to say, just like the first group of planeswalkers who surpassed the gods, they can open up space at will and create life and civilization according to their own will.

(End of this chapter)