Kefnet, the bird-headed god of mind, represents blue mana;
Representing black mana is Bontu, the god of glory with a dog's head; representing red mana is Hazoret, the god of fanaticism with a jackal's head; representing green mana is Rhonas, the god of fearlessness with a snake's head.
The above five are the animal-headed gods who appeared publicly on the Amonkhet plane and are active in the mortal world.
In addition to them, there are three insect-headed gods hiding in the darkness. They will only appear when the moment of glory comes and complete their mission, which is to kill all the beast-headed gods.
This was the script that Nicol Bolas wrote after he invaded the world and transformed it to his will.
For a long time, Zuo Si felt that the reason why the old dragon could do this so easily was entirely because the gods of Amonkhet were too weak and could not be compared with the true gods in the universe where Toril was located, who embodied certain philosophies, thoughts and beliefs.
After all, even the weakest demigod of the latter possesses the ability to "explode stars", which is roughly equivalent to the Titans in the Pantheon of the neighboring Azeroth universe.
The gods of the Amonkhet plane obviously do not possess such power. They are merely special life forms with powerful mana and partial support from the power of faith.
But after seeing the cat-headed god Oketa with his own eyes, Zuo Si realized that he had made a mistake, that is, he did not know enough about the diversity of this special creature.
Moreover, the beast-headed god was not as weak as he imagined. Instead, it was quite dangerous.
Almost every god is directly connected to the world's mana core, and through the faith of mortals, they can obtain abilities similar to extraordinary divine powers that mortals cannot resist at all.
The simplest example is the divine venom created by the fearless god Rhonas, which can definitely pose a huge threat to the gods of Faerun.
Therefore, the beast-headed god is not weak, but is slightly different in its form of existence and expression of divine power.
They do not seek the kind of destructive power that the gods of the universe where Toril lives, but rather integrate it into certain rules that they control.
But unfortunately, since these gods are bound to the entire Amonkhet mana core, when Nicol Bolas directly tamped with the mana core, they all inevitably fell, without even the slightest chance of resistance.
After figuring this out, Zuo Si felt more and more that his original decision to never become a god might have been the wisest choice he had ever made in his life.
Because no matter what kind of god it is, even the Titan God who is known to be the most unrestrained, its essence is still integrated with certain operating rules of the corresponding world or even the universe.
Although they can obtain great power and immortal life, they must also fulfill their obligations within the scope of their duties and are bound to them and can never escape.
On the contrary, only by firmly continuing along the path of the Planeswalker can one gain true freedom.
In this way, with the preliminary research on the beast-headed god of Amonkhet time and space, as well as the artifact staff given to him by the old dragon, Zuo Si quickly transferred his soul and consciousness back to the clone placed in the continent of Faerun.
The moment he woke up and took the staff out of the box, a human woman with long black hair and smooth skin suddenly appeared in front of him.
Needless to say, this is the incarnation sent down by the third generation magic goddess Midnight.
Fortunately, Zuo Si was quick enough to put on all the card-like clothes and equipment in an instant, avoiding the embarrassment of meeting each other naked. At the same time, he sighed and complained, "Please, can you give me a heads up or go through the main entrance next time you come? If you keep doing surprise attacks like this, I'm afraid I'll get a mental illness sooner or later."
"Ah! Sorry, I just suddenly felt that a powerful magical artifact had entered Toril, so I couldn't help but rush over to see what it was."
Midnight couldn't help but purse the corners of her mouth into a playful smile.
As the actual controller of the magic network and the goddess of magic standing at the pinnacle of all powerful divine powers, she certainly could not be unaware of the operation of her youngest chosen one, transferring the soul and consciousness between different incarnations.
Moreover, with the god's keen perception, he can see clearly everything he should and shouldn't see the moment he arrives.
But Midnight was already an experienced person and didn't care about these things. Instead, he thought the other person's slightly annoyed reaction was very interesting, even a little cute.
"Forget it, just be more careful next time."
Zuo Si shook his head helplessly, then handed over the inconspicuous staff.
Because he understood that being interested in everything related to magic was the innate nature of the Goddess of Magic, and he would inevitably be affected from the moment he obtained the priesthood.
It's like the other party is clearly neutral and tends to be kind, but has to tolerate the existence of many evil forces such as the Cult of the Dragon, the Red Robe Wizard, and the "Doomsday Crawler" Dorgothos, and even has to restrain voters in the good camp such as Elminster from actively causing trouble for the other party.
The reason is very simple.
It is these evil and cruel magical experiments conducted by organizations or individuals that are beneficial to the overall concept of "magic".
So whenever Zuo Si brought back some new magical knowledge, technology and artifacts from other worlds, the Goddess of Magic and the God of Knowledge would soon come to him.
He was no longer surprised by this.
Moreover, this mutual communication can also help them understand and master these magical knowledge faster.
Midnight picked up the artifact once used by the Mother of Magic, Karona, with great interest, feeling the powerful force contained in it. After a full minute, he asked in an uncertain tone, "Was it once the weapon of a certain God of Magic?"
Zuo Si nodded without hesitation: "Yes.
It is a weapon used by an artificial deity in another time and space called the Mother of Magic.
However, with the destruction of the god by its creator, most of the staff's power was lost.
But interestingly, this artifact seems to have the ability to enhance the holder's magical talents.
When I hold it, I feel all the energy in my body burning, boiling, and being purified repeatedly. "
“It’s not surprising.
Because the staff contains a power I have never seen before.
It can not only draw energy from the magic network, but also draw all forms of raw energy from the universe, and perform in-depth processing based on the type of magic and talent that the holder is proficient in.
In this way, whoever holds this artifact can maximize its advantages.
If I'm not mistaken, the reason why you feel the energy in your body burning, boiling, and repeatedly purified should be the effect of the spark of the mage.
In addition, you should also be able to sense that the purified energy is not under your control at all, as if it could burst out at any time, right?"
I have to say, Midnight is worthy of being the goddess of magic. She quickly figured out all the capabilities of this magical staff, as well as most of its internal structure and principles.
For her, no matter how complex and profound the magical knowledge is, she will be able to understand it after just touching it.
"Your guess is absolutely right. I want to upgrade and transform it now. Do you have any good suggestions?" Zuo Si asked very humbly.
Midnight thought for a moment and quickly answered: "Since this artifact does not use the magic principles of Toril, I am not sure how to upgrade and transform it.
But if you don't mind, I can try to use the various magical knowledge you brought back to make some repairs on it.
At least it allows you to purify and release controlled energy instead of pouring it out all at once.
In addition, I can also add the power of the magic network and silver fire into it.
This would make it almost the most powerful magical artifact on the continent of Faerun.
The only thing you need to be careful about is never giving it to any mortal besides yourself.
Because mortals cannot control such a powerful force.
They will be blown up by the energy absorbed by the staff, directly triggering a terrifying chaotic magic storm that can destroy a city or even a country."
"Then what are you waiting for? Please do it now."
Zuo Si agreed without even thinking about it.
He has always accepted good things like this kind of free stuff.
"As expected of you, the crown prince of hell chosen by Asmodeus. You are just like the devil in trying to take advantage of others."
Midnight obviously noticed the little thoughts of his young voter and immediately rolled his eyes in annoyance.
But even though she rolled her eyes, she still used her divine power to wrap the entire wooden staff and created seven gems of different colors, shining like stars, out of thin air.
In the blink of an eye, the seven gems were inlaid one by one on the top of the staff, forming a beautiful ring shape.
Then a silver magic metal produced from the kingdom of the Goddess of Magic - the Heart of Spells - surged out from the texture inside the wooden staff, forming complex lines, symbols and patterns on the surface.
Finally, a silver flame ignited from the end of the staff and then quickly spread to the top.
When the silver fire was completely extinguished, the originally plain wooden staff took on a completely different silver metallic texture than before, and the seven gems continued to flash with dazzling brilliance.
Midnight directly threw the repaired staff in his hand to Zuo Si and said bluntly: "Here, use it well.
Although I'm not quite sure what kind of enemies you have provoked outside, I can sense the urgency you subconsciously show.
If you need help, just ask. Don't be polite or embarrassed.
Whether it is me or Oghma, the god of knowledge, we will give you enough support within our ability."
"Thank you very much. But I don't think you two can help me with this matter."
Zuo Si took the staff, bent down and bowed slightly.
Given Nicol Bolas's terrifying power that could easily drain and tear apart any time and space, as well as his reckless and reckless style of doing things without any fear, he didn't think that Io, the God of Gods, would allow him to enter Toril.
"Well, then I can only wish you the best."
Seeing that Zuo Si was unwilling to reveal this information, Midnight had no choice but to give up.
Just as she was about to turn around and leave, Zuo Si suddenly called her from behind: "Wait! How is Jebido Turan, the new god, doing now? I haven't heard from him for a long time."
“Jebido Turan?
He is still being exploited day and night by Talos.
According to the agreement I reached with the God of Storms, this new God of Magic needs to serve him for at least one year before he can come to the Heart of Spells to accept my protection.
I plan to have him serve as a servant of Azus when the time comes.
Don't worry, although the little dwarf is having a hard time right now, being threatened by the angry gods all day long, his life is still safe."
Midnight stopped and quickly gave a brief update on the current situation of the god of necromancy, necromancers, liches, and undead creatures.
Although she also wanted to quickly bring Jebido Turan under her control.
Unfortunately, the latter used the method of deification provided by Talos, the god of storms, so he must repay this favor regardless of both emotion and reason.
"I see. It looks like Jebido Turan will have to suffer for a while."
Zuo Si felt relieved when he learned that the dwarf, whom he had deified, was not in danger of life.
As for being oppressed by the God of Storms, there is nothing that can be done about it.
Look at the furious gods, which one of them has not been exploited by Talos?
The weaker winter goddess Auril was treated like a slave for many years and had to swallow her anger.
In comparison, a "fixed-term imprisonment" of just over a year is already quite good.
With the departure of the Magic Goddess Midnight, the room once again returned to peace.
Zuo Si left the Mage Tower and randomly found an uninhabited mountain. After testing the magical power that this artifact staff could bring, he soon showed an expression of great satisfaction.
Because with just one strike, the energy shock wave he released razed a mountain in the Yunwu Mountain Area to the ground.
The hard rock was completely defenseless against this devastating attack and instantly turned into powder and dust that was indistinguishable to the naked eye.
The snow and ice at high altitudes evaporated on the spot, forming thick gray clouds in the sky above.
You have to know that this is not the release of all energy.
By paying only about forty points of universal mana, one can gain terrifying power that far exceeds most legendary magic.
If all the energy stored in the Planeswalker's Spark were released at once, shattering a planet would not be a big problem at all.
Most importantly, the release of this energy shock is not restricted by any casting environment.
As long as there is energy that can be absorbed and utilized in the surrounding environment, Zuo Si can release shock waves with the help of the magic wand.
In addition, the staff also allows the holder to convert spell slots at will, turning it into a spellcasting system similar to mana.
For example, a high-level spell slot can be converted into three spell slots of one lower level, and vice versa. The magic memorized that day can also be copied to the blank spell slot that has just been converted.
This means that in spell duels, Zuo Si can use many more flexible and varied strategies and tactics.
As for the silver fire bestowed upon the chosen by the goddess of magic, it can be added to any spell at will when holding the staff.
Not only can it change the damage type and characteristics of the spell, but it can also directly ignore all magical immunity and resistance except for divine power and quasi-divine power.
Even divine power and quasi-divine power can only reduce some of the damage and impact, and cannot be directly immune like ordinary spells.
Just as Midnight had described, this staff could be considered the most powerful magical artifact in Toril.
At least that was the case until she herself used this knowledge and technology to create the next artifact.
Looking at the flattened mountain in front of him, Zuo Si couldn't help but sighed slightly: "Not enough, this is far from enough.
I need more power, more energy, more powerful artifacts, and a higher level of my planeswalker spark.
Just wait and see, dear Nicol Bolas.
One day I will take everything from you in the War of the Spark, from the blood of the primordial dragon to the power of the spark of the ancient planeswalkers.
Only I, and only I, can completely and thoroughly replace you.
But before that, I will continue to lie dormant and accumulate strength."
As the last word came out of his mouth, Zuo Si turned into a ball of white light and disappeared on the spot.
…
Meanwhile, in a temporary lair far away in the north.
With the help of the Dragon Cult, Kurremos had successfully transformed the silver dragon, which he had tortured to the point of being on the verge of death and completely collapsed, into a dracolich.
Looking at the undead form that exuded a strong negative energy, the silver dragon instantly opened his mouth and screamed like crazy: “NO!!!!!!!!!!!!”
What the hell did you bastards do to me? Wasn't it enough to torture me by forcing me to lay eggs through rape and evil magic rituals?
Why should we deprive ourselves of even the final peace of death?
Don't you have any compassion or humanity in your hearts?"
Faced with such questioning, Kurremos's reaction was simply to raise the phylactery in his hand and responded without a trace of emotion: "Of course it's not enough! Blame it on you being Castellanferian's sister.
It's all because of you annoying silver dragons who always like to meddle in other people's business.
Remember, you are now an undead creature, a dragon lich most hated by all metal dragons, and my slave.
If you don't want your soul to be doomed and completely disappear, then you must obey every order I give you.
Otherwise I will destroy your phylactery without hesitation."
moment!
The silver dragon, which had transformed into a dracolich, stopped all movements and stared at the "filial son" and the life box he held with its two red eyes.
Because she had just been transformed, she looked not much different from when she was alive, and still maintained her beautiful demeanor and scales.
But the problem is that just because there is no change in appearance does not mean there is no change in the heart and mind.
In fact, from the moment the transformation was completed, the instincts of the undead creature had been injected into the soul of the silver dragon, causing permanent and irreversible changes to it.
If she were still alive, she would definitely rush up to the other person without hesitation and die together with him.
Seeing that the threat had the desired effect, a satisfied smile suddenly appeared on Kuerremos' face: “Very good, it seems that you have understood your current situation.
This is a good start for you and me.
Now I ask you to go to the High Forest immediately and cooperate with the Zhentarim intelligence network operating there to spread the news that you were ambushed and injured, and try to lure the two most important leaders of the Harpist Alliance over there.
I believe that with your intelligence, you should know who I am referring to, right? Don't try to play tricks! Because everything you do will not escape my eyes. "
"Did you deliberately start the fight between Scar Klaus and the Harpist?" Silver Dragon narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively.
She was obviously no fool, and through this order she keenly perceived the evil conspiracy behind the whole thing.
"Haha, who else could it be? After this incident, the top leaders of the Harpist Alliance will be wiped out, and they will completely lose the sphere of influence they have been operating in the North for many years.
And I will become the undisputed king of all the monsters and barbarian tribes in the vast wilderness and forests.
If I were you, I would give up those unrealistic fantasies of the past and actively embrace reality.
As long as you perform well enough, I don't mind leaving you a front position in my kingdom."
After saying that, Kurremos gave the other party a look that told him to take care of himself, then turned around and walked towards another cave nearby with the life box.
The silver dragon, who learned the truth, stood where it was, with unconcealable pain and struggle in its eyes. After about three to five minutes, it seemed to have finally made up its mind, walked out of the cave, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky, flying towards the direction of the Supreme Forest.
After she completely disappeared at the end of the sky, Kurremos instructed the Saren spirit Agatha who was following him: "Keep an eye on this girl. If you find any abnormal behavior from her, notify me directly."
"knew."
Agatha instantly activated her teleportation ability and disappeared on the spot with the shadow energy core.
As the creator and key participant of the entire plan, Kurremos knew that everything was ready now. He only had to wait for Elminster and Storm Silver to set off for the High Forest. Then he could join forces with Hared III to lure the ancient red dragon, Scar Klaus, to launch an attack on the Harper leaders, thus completely kicking off this war.
But it's not easy.
After all, both Elminster and Storm Silverhand have experienced too many conspiracies and calculations, and they have rich experience in dealing with this.
Once the real intention is discovered by the two in advance, the scenario of both sides suffering losses and then taking advantage may have to be changed to a head-on collision.
But Kuerremos obviously didn't want to expose himself so early, and would rather continue to hide behind the scenes and control everything.
Of course, he is not the only one who thinks this way.
Ximanmeng, the master of the Dark Intelligence Network, made the same choice.
Taking advantage of the Harper's infiltration of the Zhentarim, he continued to spread all kinds of false information to seduce Elminster.
To this end, he even sent out several of his most elite teams to roam around the outskirts of the High Forest. Occasionally, he would summon some demons through sacrifice, pretending to be doing something big, making the elven villages and druid sects living in the area nervous and uneasy.
Elminster, who was currently visiting the Habel family in Longsaddle Town, immediately frowned and fell into deep thought after hearing the news brought back by the harpists.
The recent violent conflicts between towns, villages and wilderness in the North had caused this thousand-year-old man to feel exhausted for the first time in his life.
The most important thing is that the feeling of watching the other party play their cards against you and being unable to do anything about it is simply terrible.
No matter what you do or what you choose, the end result will be wrong.
There is no doubt that Zuo Si taught this great sage of the Shadow Valley a solid lesson in the areas of politics, economics, and human nature.
If it weren't for the rulers of Longsaddle Town, the Harbell family, a typical wizard family that was far less concerned about wealth and trade than other towns, and was still able to maintain a relatively neutral and friendly attitude towards the Harper Alliance, Elminster might not even have a place to stay and could only camp in a tent in the wild.
The current situation in the North is that almost all towns and villages have united and made it clear that they do not welcome the Harper Alliance's concept of balance and prohibit any Harper from operating in their own territory.
Although it has not reached the point where Harpists are executed immediately upon capture like in other regions, it is certain that they will be thrown into prison.
Elminster and Storm Silverhand himself were explicitly barred from entering many towns and cities, and were not allowed to enter their territory.
In desperation, they temporarily stayed at the Hubbel family's home in Chang'an Town and used it as the most important contact point for the Harpist Alliance in the North.
"How are you?"
Storm Silverhand asked, looking at the expression on the face of the First Chosen One of the Goddess of Magic.
As one of the seven sisters who had followed Elminster for a long time, she had never seen him look so tired, and her heart was filled with worry.
The old man smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "I'm fine, but I'm not sure whether this information is a smokescreen deliberately released by the enemy, or whether they really want to do something.
It is obvious that without Manshoon's radical strategy, the Zhentarim led by Ximamon will become more insidious, cunning and difficult to deal with than before.
He never engaged us in a head-on confrontation, but instead kept pulling and maneuvering, making all the harpists run around in a hurry.
It would be fine if it was just Ximanmeng causing trouble.
But the problem is that there is more than one force in the north that is besieging us.
The worst thing is that Soth, who poses the greatest threat, has not yet been dealt with. The chain reaction caused by the trade alliance alone has made the living environment of all Harpers extremely harsh.
Under these circumstances, countless people gave up their identity as Harpers, and even more began to hate and reject the entire organization.
I’m worried that if this continues, the loss of manpower alone will cause our network in the North to completely collapse.”
"Since you know you are no match for me, why don't you admit defeat? As we are both chosen by the Magic Goddess, I believe Soth will not kill you.
And regardless of our stance or not, we should all admit that he was indeed an excellent ruler who brought a rich and prosperous life to the vast majority of ordinary people.
As for the development of wilderness, I think the dispute between the two sides should be resolved through negotiation.”
Storm Silverhand spoke out the opinions that he had kept in his heart for a long time.
She really couldn't understand why the other party was so persistent in engaging in this battle of thoughts, consciousness, concepts and values.
"Give up?"
Elminster couldn't help laughing, and while laughing he lit his beloved pipe, took a deep puff and patiently explained: "If I admit defeat now, I will no longer be the person who dared to face all dangers and difficulties.
You don't understand, Soth brought more than just prosperity and abundance to this world.
If that's the case, why would I stop it?
What is truly dangerous about him is that he has quietly changed the thoughts, cognitions and values of thousands of people.
Look at the originally simple people in the North. What have they become now in order to make money and live a better life? The devil called greed in their hearts has been seduced by Soth's series of policies and is madly devouring all the inherent ethics and morals.
Can you imagine how corrupt and decadent the world we once knew would become once all this spreads to the entire continent of Faerun?
So that’s the biggest disagreement between us.”
Storm Silverhand nodded, not quite understanding, "Well, maybe you are right.
But the problem is that now the entire North needs us to put out fires everywhere. What do you think we should do with this information?
Ignore it? Or go and check out the details immediately? "
“Well—I think it’s best to wait until we’re done with Klaus.
After all, this is our biggest move in the past decade or so, and the opponent is a long-established ancient red dragon, so we must not take it lightly.
Once we succeed in killing Klaus, the rulers of Mirabar should at least look upon the Harpers with a new eye and allow us to continue our activities there."
Elminster hesitated for a moment and then stated his plan.
He knew very well that the reason the Harper Alliance had been able to hold on until now was because of the leadership of this group of top leaders with extremely firm beliefs and will.
If these key members suffered heavy casualties, many Harpers who went underground would immediately lose contact with the organization and would not even be able to prove their identities.
After all, the members of the Harper League are essentially spies and assassins. To maintain confidentiality, they usually communicate through single lines, and there is no so-called personnel list.
This means that when the leader and his deputy, who are key nodes, suddenly die at the same time without any time to make any arrangements, the activities of the Harpers in this area will instantly come to a standstill.
Putting aside other things, it would take a lot of effort just to find the lost harpist.
Storm Silverhand obviously did not agree with this overly conservative plan. He touched his chin and questioned, "But those Zhentarim are summoning demons everywhere. Aren't you afraid that the disaster of Hellgate Castle will happen again?"
"It shouldn't develop to that extent..."
When saying this, Elminster was obviously lacking in confidence.
As the name suggests, Hellgate Fort is a fortress occupied by demons from hell.
It is located in the northeast corner of the High Forest and was originally the Moon Elf city - Askhorn.
Later, after the collapse of the Netheril civilization, some human survivors occupied this place and began to settle down.
No one knows what happened afterwards, but many demons sneaked into the city and used excellent political skills to secretly control the rulers and civilians from top to bottom.
This situation continued until DR882, when it was finally noticed by a group of mages.
In order to eliminate the demons, the crazy wizard directly opened a portal to the bottomless abyss, allowing a steady stream of demons to rush out to fight their mortal enemies.
According to historians, the continuation of this bloody battle in the material plane tore apart the sky and the earth, turning the entire city into a living hell filled with killing and death.
In the end, the victorious devils built a sturdy fortress on the ruins of the original city, which is the famous Hellgate Fort.
In order to completely eliminate this huge threat, the Harper leaders secretly planned an operation long ago, intending to completely destroy it and expel it from the main material plane through a series of powerful magical rituals.
If it weren't for the series of events that happened later, I would probably have chosen to take action within one or two years.
Unfortunately, as the conflict with Scar-Man Klaus escalated, the Harpist had to abandon his previous plan and start dealing with this equally difficult ancient red dragon with all his strength.
Just as Storm Silverhand was about to say something, a middle-aged human woman wearing a harpist pin suddenly rushed in and reported in a breathless voice: "Bad news!
Someone claims to have spotted a wounded silver dragon near the High Forest.
It is most likely one of the two dragon allies who came to support us and suddenly disappeared along the way.
They may have been ambushed by the enemy and are in desperate need of our help."
"What?!"
Elminster suddenly stood up from his chair.
As a fierce man who had ridden a silver dragon, he had countless inexplicable and complex relationships with the metal dragon clan.
Especially the younger silver dragons, who might be the descendants of the silver dragon with whom they had an intimate relationship, may even call the Great Sage of Shadow Valley grandpa or uncle.
"It looks like we have to go anyway."
Storm Silverhand also stood up, put on the weapons and equipment placed beside him one by one, and made a gesture ready to set off.
Elminster nodded solemnly, "You are right. We really need to go and take a look this time. No matter what the Zhentarim and Ximamon are planning, we must stop them."
Just like that, the two chosen ones of the magic goddess simply packed up their things, said goodbye to the Habel family, rode their horses out of Longan Town and galloped eastward.
As for why they didn't use the convenient teleportation magic...
Of course, it was due to Elminster's deplorable quirks and magical ideas.
He advocated that one must think twice and carefully when using magic, and try not to use it if possible, so no matter where he went, he would walk there. The number of times he used teleportation spells in his life could be said to be very few, and he did not look like a legendary wizard at all.
As soon as the two men left the Longsaddle Formation, the spy hiding in the dark reported what he had seen to Hared III who was active in Mirabar.
The man who had turned from love to hatred for Elminster had a vicious light in his eyes. He immediately used the resources at hand to offer a large reward, causing adventurers to flock to the deep mountains in the north.
His purpose was very simple, which was to provoke Scar Klaus to leave his lair and attack Mirabar.
In this way, the Harpists' top leaders who were gathering in this mining city would think that their plan had been exposed, and would be forced to take action in advance and fight to the death with this ancient red dragon.
There is no doubt that in this underground intelligence system game involving multiple parties, Hared III, Simamon and Kurremos have taken the initiative through a lot of operations.
It would depend on whether they could kill the Harpers' top brass before Elminster and Storm Silverhand could react.
…
On the other side, under the walls of De'Anisburg in southern Amn, the team led by Aberdare was staring at the tense and unsettling scene in front of them.
I saw more than a hundred corpses densely packed on top of the castle wall.
Only a small number of them are humans, and most of them are monsters such as orcs, half-orcs, gnolls, and goblins.
The former could easily be identified from their clothing as soldiers, servants and maids of the castle, but the bodies of the latter were puzzling.
Because they should have been the main force to attack the castle, but now each of them has "brain holes (physics)", and their skulls are empty without even a bit of brain matter.
What's even more terrible is that the moment they stepped into the castle, everyone heard some strange voice whispering in their minds. It only takes a few minutes to make people go crazy and become extremely irritable.
"Damn it! This is psychic power! I think we might be in big trouble this time."
Sancho, the team's intellectual leader, expressed his guess with a twitch of his mouth.
Although he had not seen any monsters so far, he could predict that there must be a considerable number of mind flayers in the castle.
Because the corpses on the city wall whose brains had been eaten clean could not have been done by any other species except the mind flayers.
"What do we do now?"
Nalia's face was full of tension and anxiety.
Because according to the information provided by the soldier who ran back to deliver the letter, her father did not give up the family business, but chose to stay in the castle and continue to hold on relying on the terrain advantage.
"Do you know of any secret passages in this castle that we can use to sneak in? It's too dangerous to attack from the front. We don't know how many monsters controlled by the Mind Flayer we will face."
While Sancho was quickly thinking of a countermeasure, Ce asked about the details.
After facing the legendary half-lich Kongos, he has completely completed his transformation. There is no trace of childishness in his eyes anymore, but instead a maturity and stability that does not match his age.
Especially the almost cold rationality that was revealed unintentionally, which made the knowledgeable Jaheira feel a chill down his spine, and secretly sighed that only a monster can teach another monster.
Yes, in the eyes of this half-elf druid, Zuo Si and Sancho have already gone beyond the category of "human".
Nalia quickly replied: "I know there is a secret passage that leads into the castle from the basement. But what about the whispers that keep echoing in my ears once I step into the castle?"
"Here, I just happened to bring a few bottles of mind-shielding potion. If each person drinks one, they will be able to ignore this kind of psychic interference for a short period of time.
Keep in mind, though, that the potion only lasts an hour and a half.
In other words, if we cannot eliminate the enemies inside within an hour and a half, we must withdraw immediately and give up.
Otherwise, within ten minutes at most, people with low intelligence will start to go crazy and be influenced and controlled by the other party."
Having said that, Sancho deliberately paused and turned his gaze towards Aberdare and Minsk. The implication of his words was self-evident.
Minsk was so stupid that he didn't notice anything wrong with the boy's eyes and was still talking to the yellow rat Bubu on his shoulder.
Instead, Aberdare's face turned red, and he obviously felt embarrassed and ashamed. He lowered his head to avoid eye contact with Sancho.
He didn't realize that he was slowly losing the leadership of the team without realizing it, and his status changed from leader to a mere executor.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
