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 becoming 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 obvious 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!

你们要做的就是服从我下达的命令！ 听懂了吗？”

伴随着最后一个字脱口而出，帐篷里不管是效忠于沙洛佛克的仆从，还是那些为了维持部队战斗力没有清理掉的军官，都立刻被巴尔之子无意之中释放出来的气势震慑住。

他们根本不敢违抗这位军队最高统帅的意志，只能大声做出肯定的回应。

很快，在沙洛佛克的命令下，博德之门方面开始全力运转。

没过几个小时，还在行军的士兵就陆陆续续拖着疲惫不堪的身体进入营寨。

至此，交战双方终于都在理论上集结完了所有的队伍。

其中博德之门方面林林总总加在一起一共一万两千人，有四千多人是来自像贝尔苟斯特这类周边地区城镇的援军。

而散提尔堡方面由于有暴君节杖这个作弊器，傅佐尔·钱伯瑞愣是把麾下的怪物大军数量扩充到三万人的规模，一万八千多都是作为底层苦力和炮灰存在的普通地精。

没办法。

这玩意的生育跟繁殖能力实在是太逆天了，几乎可以跟蟑螂、老鼠、蚊子相提并论。

不管自然环境多么恶劣的地方，你永远都能看到这些绿皮或者棕色皮肤小个子的身影。

但一般地精的战斗力嘛……

懂得都懂。

总结起来就一句话，千万不要对它们抱有任何希望。

在神器——碎魔晶掀起的冰风谷战役中，就曾经有成千上万的地精大军在魔法魅惑、暗示和洗脑的加持下，以前所未有的狂热涌向十镇并发起进攻，而且还有巨人、野蛮人和其他一些怪物帮忙。

可结果呢？

这些家伙被仅有不到两百人的民兵和一些武装平民挡了下来。

平均每杀死一个人类，地精们需要付出二十乃至三十个的伤亡。

如此离谱的战损比足以证明它们的拉跨程度。

傅佐尔·钱伯瑞对于地精的战斗力无疑是非常清楚地，所以压根也没指望它们能起到什么关键作用。

事实上招募地精真正的作用只有一个，那就是制造混乱并消耗敌军士兵的体力。

毕竟杀人可是个相当耗费体力活。

等敌人杀地精杀的累了，再把精锐的兽人、半兽人、大地精派出去，配合食人魔、巨魔和巨人发起猛烈冲击，必然能够制造巨大的伤亡，甚至是把一个步兵方阵打崩。

另外在征服巴里斯凯尔桥附近的重镇——索巴时，傅佐尔·钱伯瑞还顺路去了一趟巨龙森林，与居住在里边的几条绿龙达成合作协议。

所以他在这场即将爆发的大战中，不管是数量还是实力都牢牢占据着绝对的上风。

唯一不确定的因素就只有沙洛佛克这个已经变得十分危险的巴尔之子。

身为班恩的选民，曾经与萨马斯特合作一起研究过银火奥秘的人，傅佐尔·钱伯瑞非常清楚神之子，尤其是巴尔的神之子意味着什么。

虽然他身体里也有暴政之神赐予的少量神力，可肯定无法与能够通过不断吞噬兄弟姐妹而壮大自身的沙洛佛克相比。

一旦沙洛佛克力量超过某个临界点，甚至是领悟如何运用死亡与杀戮神职的部分权柄，那么即便是自己这个选民也无法与之抗衡。

傅佐尔·钱伯瑞之所以没有趁着对方立足未稳率先发动攻击，其实就是担心会出现类似的情况。

因为沙洛佛克的种种表现太过于自信了，甚至到了自负的程度。

尽管席曼蒙也送来了另外一个巴尔之子，可傅佐尔·钱伯瑞却并不相信傻乎乎的阿伯戴尔会是沙洛佛克的对手。

就在他摸着下巴上的胡须思考下一步应该怎么做的时候，一道传送门突然凭空开启。

还没等周围其他几名守卫和法师反应过来，左思便从门的另外一边在走了出来，面带微笑的打了声招呼：“上午好。几天不见，你看起来似乎有点紧张？”

“紧张？ 不，我只是有些担心那个叫做沙洛佛克的巴尔之子掌握的底牌。

毕竟巨魔之爪附近的桥梁与浅滩，可是动荡之年谋杀之神巴尔陨落的地方。

把这里作为战场很容易发生预料之外的突发情况。

比起这个，我倒是对你最近的一些行动很感兴趣。

如果不介意的话，能告诉我那位刚刚封神的杰比多·图兰是怎么回事吗？ 要是没记错的话，当初拿走那颗风暴之眼的人可是萨扎斯坦。”

傅佐尔·钱伯瑞猛然间抬起头，眼睛里闪烁着好奇与探究的光芒。

自从干掉真正的曼松成为散提尔堡和散塔林会至高无上的领导者之后，他每天都能通过黑暗情报网得到各种各样的消息，自然也包括在塞尔发生的事情。

“你不是已经通过散塔林会的情报网得知具体过程了吗？

为什么还要问呢？ 要知道有些事情和秘密，可不是凡人应该随便打听的。

过重的好奇心只会害了你！”

左思意味深长的警告道。

但傅佐尔·钱伯瑞却并不死心，继续试着分析道：“杰比多·图兰应该是阿斯卡特拉蒙面法师公会的大法师之一，同时也是一名幻术系的侏儒法师。

自从成功夺取六人评议会的权力之后，他应该是你的手下。

也就是说，你通过某种不为人知的方式把一个自己的手下变成了神明，而且还狠狠的耍了萨扎斯坦。

我想这位红袍法师的死灵系首席现在一定快要恨死你了。”

“那又能怎么样？难道他还能来咬我吗？”

左思满不在乎的耸了耸肩膀。

反正现在根本没几个人知道在封神仪式过程中究竟都发生了什么。

知情者之一的维沙伦已经被转化成为魔鬼，而且还是旅法师的召唤生物卡牌，根本没可能会透露其中的秘密。

至于剩下的几个知情者，压根就不是凡人，而是高高在上的神祇。

首先是最大的受益者，刚刚成为死灵魔法和巫妖之神的杰比多·图兰，他肯定不会把真实情况说出去。

其次是从头到尾都在关注事态发展的风暴之神塔洛斯，以其狂暴、易怒、热衷于毁灭的性格，八成也懒得向弱小的凡人解释什么。

最后是正处于焦头烂额状态的魔法女神午夜，同样也不可能把凡人封神的秘密公布于众。

所以无论外界如何猜测，左思要做的就是不透露任何关键信息，维持这种令人产生无限遐想的神秘感，甚至是让别人对自己产生强烈的敬畏跟恐惧。

“真不愧是你，还真是有恃无恐呢。也许这就是伟大班恩喜欢你的原因！身为暴君就是要保持强势，让弱者臣服于自己的脚下。”

眼见问不出什么有用的信息，傅佐尔·钱伯瑞不动声色的恭维了一句，果断结束了这个话题。

不过他并没有放弃，而是打算等战争结束之后，让席曼蒙去调查一下相关人员。

尤其是在紫尘平原沙漠里把风暴之眼挖出来的维沙伦。

左思无疑察觉到了对方的想法跟意图，不以为意的笑了笑，随后开口问道：“你打算什么时候发起决战？ 要知道时间拖的越久，越有可能会引起外部势力的干涉。

尤其是深水城和科米尔王国，现如今都已经开始有点蠢蠢欲动。

前者不用多说你也知道，那些蒙面领主跟行会首领们，一直都试图维持自己在剑海一带绝对的领导地位。

再加上贸易同盟形成的外部压力与急剧恶化的商业环境，导致他们有很强的意愿来做点什么来证明自己在该地区所拥有的霸权。

科米尔王国的现任国王亚桑四世则是个拥有远大抱负的人。

这一点从他不远万里跨越整个坠星海带着军队支援塞尔北方的瑟莱曼，击退了来自无尽荒原的游牧部落大军就能看得出来。

这位国王陛下之前没有采取行动，主要是因为国内粮价剧烈波动导致的局势不稳。

现如今随着桑比亚陷入内战，粮食价格也随着封闭边境而渐渐趋于正常，已经可以腾出手来发动战争了。

以科米尔紫龙骑士和战法师的实力，随时都能掐断你返回散提尔堡的后路。”

傅佐尔·钱伯瑞沉默了片刻，立马回应道：“给我一天时间！ 明天的这个时候我会摆开阵势与沙洛佛克决战。

不过你确定那个叫做阿伯戴尔的巴尔之子真能成功干掉沙洛佛克？

我怎么觉得他的脑子好像有点问题，给一种既冲动又愚蠢的感觉？”

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 powerful legendary 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)