It is quite large, almost four times the size of the Cloak Forest closest to Baldur's Gate, and there are no complex hills or mountains around it. There are only endless oak, beech, red pine, birch and other trees growing on the plains.
It is one of the three major forests in the West Heartland area, along with the Viper Forest and Riverine Forest.
Apart from various monsters, dragons, wild beasts, bandits and three druid orders belonging to different factions, there is almost no trace of civilization. Even the barbarian tribes commonly seen in the north do not exist.
For a long time, neither the human lords living nearby nor the woodcutters, hunters and other professions dared to approach the Sharptooth Forest easily.
Because beasts, monsters, and dragons may not kill them, but extreme environmentalist druids and rangers will definitely kill anyone who dares to destroy the so-called "nature".
Even civilians who dared to build villages and cultivate farmland outside this area would be slaughtered mercilessly.
Over the past few hundred years, at least tens of thousands of ordinary people have died at the hands of the three druid orders, and countless villages, towns and farms have been destroyed.
Over time, people living on this land reached a consensus that they must never get close to the Sharptooth Forest, otherwise the entire family, young and old, would die without a burial place.
Although Baldur's Gate and other powerful towns had organized armies to launch a siege against these extreme druidic sects, they all failed in the end.
With their understanding and control of the forest, druids and their allies, including tree spirits, beasts, and plants, can easily annihilate invading enemies in the depths of the forest.
The towns that suffered heavy losses realized that fighting a group of druids in the forest was simply seeking death, so they gave up their original plans and allowed these guys to control the Sharptooth Forest and the surrounding land, while acquiescing in the other party's exercise of their own power and rules in the area.
But now, with Zuo Si's strong rise, all the forests, mountains, swamps and wilderness on the west coast of the entire Faerun continent from the south of the Winding River have been forcibly brought under his control.
As for those separatist forces that occupied the mountains or forests and became kings, they were basically either swallowed up and wiped out by the huge monster army controlled by the Purgatory Red Dragon Wilmes and the dragons under her command, or they voluntarily bowed their heads and accepted to be incorporated and transformed.
Especially the Druid sect representing the power of nature, almost every one of them received a visit from the nature goddess, Nimidona.
Some of the Druid groups who were unwilling to listen to the advice and change their beliefs and who still resisted were all slaughtered mercilessly;
Another group of druids who were also unwilling to change their beliefs but did not choose violent resistance were expelled from the empire's rule.
However, in addition to these two groups of people, there is another group that chooses to change their beliefs and become believers of the goddess of poison and disease.
To be precise, it is another new aspect that Talona is establishing - the goddess of natural degradation and the cycle of all things.
Since obtaining the priesthood of spores, she has obtained the priesthood of fungi through continuous evolution and understanding. At the same time, she has also obtained the priesthood of microorganisms by merging fungi, bacteria and viruses, and evolved the birth and death of life, as well as the concept of degradation and recycling of all things.
This concept directly broke the so-called checks and balances theory of "nature" proposed by Silvanus, the father of oak, and opened up a new understanding of nature.
In her theory, the forests, mountains, wilderness, and swamps that Silvanus admired were just a tiny part of the great natural world, and there was no need to waste time and energy on protecting them.
It is the intelligent creatures that created civilization that should truly protect these natural resources.
Because if they wantonly carry out large-scale destruction of the surrounding natural environment, it will inevitably lead to a series of catastrophic consequences such as extreme climate change, soil erosion, etc.
At that time, the entire civilization will decline and even perish.
After the demise of a civilization, the land will no longer be subject to sustained human destruction, and will slowly recover over thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years.
From the perspective of the long evolution of nature and life, this is just a blink of an eye.
After all, all of this happens inside the planet Toril, and matter and energy are simply undergoing rounds of degradation and recycling inside the planet.
There is no doubt that Talona's new doctrines have successfully allowed her to get rid of her past evil image and become a completely neutral deity.
Not only that, she is also gradually getting rid of her dependence on mortal beliefs and turning towards more grand natural gods.
If you succeed in the end, you will be able to integrate and become a part of the birth, death, degradation and cycle of life on the planet Toril.
Even without mortal believers, as long as this cycle continues, Talona will still maintain her powerful divine power, just like Talos, the god of storms.
But right now, her grand blueprint is still missing the last piece of the puzzle, which is the death priesthood of the late god of murder, Baal.
At this moment, the incarnation of the goddess was looking down at the druid group who were performing a ceremony in the Sharptooth Forest below.
I saw a man who looked to be around 40 years old holding up a dead and decaying animal corpse, muttering something, and then placing it on the altar.
Soon, under the influence of divine magic, a large number of microorganisms in the body decomposed rapidly, and the corpse completely disappeared in less than a minute and merged into the deep pit under the altar.
The weeds, leaves, straw, wheat husks, rotten wood, animal and human feces piled up in the deep pit were all completely fermented in the process, turning into perfect nutrients that could greatly increase the fertility of the land.
Upon seeing this, the other druids, rangers and farmers from nearby villages immediately knelt on the ground and chanted hymns loudly, praising the greatness of the goddess of natural degradation and the cycle of all things.
Because these fertilizers produced through unique divine magic not only prove the theory of natural degradation and recycling of all things, but also enable crops in the farmland to obtain unprecedented bumper harvests in the autumn.
People are always particularly sensitive to things that are closely related to their own interests.
For a group of farmers who make a living from farming, nothing is more important than increasing the output of the land.
Therefore, when Talona was able to grant the priests and druids who believed in her the divine arts of "degradation" and "fertilizer creation", she was naturally able to win the worship of millions of peasant families in those areas where the Church of the Earth Mother, Changtiia, had a weak presence or did not exist at all.
After all, the effects of those fermented fertilizers are something that everyone can feel personally.
What's more, the West Coast Empire is frantically building water conservancy and irrigation projects and farms in the West Heartland area, aiming to transform the great plains of the Green Wilderness area into a huge granary.
Feeling the increase in divine power brought to her by more and more mortal believers, the goddess who descended in the form of a black bird turned around and asked the natural god servant standing beside her: "Where do you think mortals' belief in gods comes from? Is it the kind of exchange of interests that Soth believes in?
Or is it based on their narrow understanding of this world and even the universe?
Or is it the awe, fear and worship of a powerful being that one cannot understand?"
Nimidona lowered her head in thought for a moment, then quickly shook her head and replied, “I’m sorry, noble goddess, I don’t know.
Because based on my observations in recent times, I have discovered that the reasons why mortals develop beliefs are often very complicated.
The proportion in which interests play a role is often higher.
If joining a church or believing in a god can bring immediate benefits, then most mortals with weaker wills will change their beliefs immediately.
For example, many of the farmers you see now used to believe in Lathander, the Lord of the Dawn, and Heim, the Guardian God.
Because the churches of these two gods once dominated the order of this area and protected the village from evil forces and wild beasts free of charge.
But now, as my father's empire replaced the former and established a new order, people no longer need the protection of the church's power and begin to pursue a wealthy life and more material and spiritual enjoyment. Naturally, they begin to believe in you who can create fertilizers to increase land output.
Only when land output increases can farmers' income increase and they can earn money to buy a wide range of goods and services.
This change in attitude was so rapid that the Church of the Lord of Dawn and the Church of the Guardian God lost a large number of believers before they could react.
Perhaps Father sees this clearly, so he has specially developed a series of plans to help you expand your influence and reshape the new doctrine.
After all, the faith of ordinary people is simply a belief based on subjective consciousness.
By allowing them to gain benefits from their faith, they can naturally strengthen their trust and eventually become more and more devout. "
“You are right.
Dear Thors showed me how fragile and fickle the faith of mortals can be.
He also took the time to pave a way for me to maintain powerful divine power without relying on the faith of mortals.
In this world, if you don't want to decline and die like the ancient sun god Amaunator who was suddenly abandoned by mortal believers, the best way is to become part of the rules.
For example, there is the goddess of magic who is the embodiment of the magic web, the god of death who symbolizes the end of life, the goddess of night who represents night, darkness, and secrets, and the Mother Earth who is the will formed by the planet beneath our feet.
The common feature of these gods is that their divine duties themselves are part of the objective laws governing the operation of the world.
Therefore, regardless of whether mortals believe in them or not, they will always be part of the powerful divine power."
As she spoke, Talona, who maintained her black bird form, had a hint of emotion in her tone.
Once upon a time, she, like the other gods, believed that if she wanted to become powerful, she had to constantly expand faith, make mortals fear, revere and be afraid of her, and then obediently give up everything for her.
But now, with her horizons broadened and her deeper understanding of various philosophical thoughts, she finally realized what a huge mistake she had made before.
In other words, his spirit was constantly influenced by those believers whose hearts were filled with malice and greed, and he completely turned into a manic, irritable, and petty mad evil god.
However, with the arrival of Zuo Si and the establishment of a new sect, a large number of believers who tended to be neutral and kind pulled the goddess back from the evil camp.
Therefore, Talona was very glad that when Zuo Si first came to this world, she was attracted to him and decisively sent down her incarnation to force him to become her chosen one.
Thinking of this, she raised her head again and stared at the nature attendant and asked, "Why did you come to the Sharptooth Forest this time? Are you here to check the faith status of the Druids in this area?"
Nimidona shook her head slightly: “No, of course not.
I have expelled or destroyed all Druid sects that persist in believing in the God of Nature.
There is nothing worth paying attention to in the entire Sharptooth Forest.
The main reason I came here this time was because my father ordered me to find the whereabouts of a sacred artifact - the [Ring of Mithreen].
The Elf Kingdom in the Wildas Forest believes that this is the last place where the elven god of puzzles, Mythrin Serret, appeared, and the ring should be hidden somewhere deep in the forest.
As a Seraph who controls the power of nature, my perception in the forest is far higher than that of other creatures, even most gods.
So if the artifact is really in the forest, I can definitely find it."
"Can I help you?"
Talona asked with interest.
“Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
After all, Mythrin Serret hasn't performed miracles for a long time, and there aren't many believers left even among the elves.
His father thought that he was most likely too weak to incarnate upon Toril.
So in theory it’s not a very dangerous job.”
After saying that, Nimidona flapped her wings, flew into the sky and disappeared into the night.
Watching her retreating figure, Talona whispered in a voice that only she could hear: "Ring of Mythrien? Soth really likes to collect these artifacts and messy magical knowledge.
Since he likes it so much, I will create a special artifact for him next time we meet.
But what would be a better form for this artifact? A weapon? A book? Or ordinary equipment like amulets, boots, belts, etc.? It would be best to wait until you obtain the priesthood of death and become a powerful god before preparing for it.
This will make the artifact even more powerful."
While muttering to herself, Talona's black bird incarnation quickly spread its wings and flew away, intending to go to the River Forest and the Dragon Forest to check out the druid sects that believed in her.
She was obviously not worried at all about the Son of Baal who was causing more and more trouble in the south, and she didn't think that the dead god of murder Baal could cause any trouble.
Compared to these, the goddess was actually more looking forward to Zuo Si appearing before her with the priesthood of death, and what might happen afterwards.
…
At the same time, outside the temple that originally belonged to the surface elves, located deep in the southern Wildas Forest.
Aberdare's party had arrived at their camp, led by the forest elf warriors, and were negotiating with General Sofaridas, who led the army.
The reason is simple.
The elven commander needs to figure out the intentions of this mixed group of humans, half-elves and drow, and why they suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
After all, the increasingly worsening situation made him feel exhausted, and he was eager to return to Sodanisla immediately to save his hometown which was about to fall completely.
The constant anxiety, tension, worry and fear made this commander with a total warrior level of LV16 seem a little rude and suspicious.
He even called over Elhan, his best interrogator, and several priests who were responsible for casting the second-ring divine spell [Realm of Honesty] without asking for permission from Sancho and the others.
Obviously, the forest elves hope to use this simple and crude method to confirm whether the adventure team in front of them is an enemy or a friend.
"Damn it! What do you mean?"
Aberdare, who also had a bad temper, immediately exuded a suffocating murderous aura when he realized what the other party wanted to do.
"Calm down, human. We don't want to cause trouble. We just want to find out whether you are the enemy. Don't forget, there is a drow in your team."
As he said this, Elhan stared at Viconia with a vigilant look.
The desperate fights and shocking casualty rates in recent days inevitably made him develop a strong hatred for the dark elves.
If the warrior who came back to report had not mentioned that the drow woman in front of him had killed many of her own kind in the battle, he would have even skipped the interrogation and executed her.
"Humph! Stupid fellow.
Who do you think you're talking to?
Do you think that an army of just a few hundred people can pose a threat to us?
The one standing here at this moment is the Son of Bhaal, who killed his way through Uster-Nazar in the Underdark and made the dark elves in the entire city tremble in fear.
If they want, they can kill you all in the same way at any time.
So shut up!
Put away your ridiculous arrogance and pride, or I guarantee you will die a miserable death."
Viconia obviously didn't buy it and started to speak sarcastically and threaten people directly.
Although she had long since broken away from her original tribe and the control of the spider goddess Rose, the contempt for the surface elves she had developed since childhood was still ingrained in her bones.
Elhan was visibly outraged.
Just as he subconsciously grasped the enchanted scimitar and was about to teach Viconia a lesson, the priest who was casting divine magic beside him immediately said in an extremely shocked tone, "The truth! She... everything she said just now is the truth!"
"What? The truth! You mean... these people really killed all of Uster Nasa, causing the dark elves in the entire city to flee in fear?"
Elhan was stunned for a moment, his pupils dilated rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if he could not believe the priests' judgment.
After all, Uster-Nasa is home to tens of thousands of dark elves. Even if only a small part of them is dispatched, the Forest Elf Kingdom will feel like it is facing a formidable enemy, not to mention killing their way through the enemy's base camp.
Even those bards who like to use exaggeration to describe heroic stories probably wouldn't dare to write such a plot.
But he also knew that the greatest feature of the divine spell [Realm of Honesty] was that people within its coverage area could not lie.
Therefore, since Viconia can speak so fluently, it means that there is absolutely no lie in it.
General Sofaridas also gasped and began to quickly scan the team members. After half a minute, he asked, "Which of you is the Son of Baal?"
"All three of us!"
Sancho took the initiative to step forward, first pointing at himself, then at Aberdare and Imoen.
The next second...
All the elves, including General Sofaridas and Elhan, opened their mouths in shock.
Because they couldn't believe it even in their dreams that half of the six-man team before them were Sons of God.
Especially the aura that Sancho deliberately released made everyone want to kneel down and worship him.
At this time, if General Sofaridas, a high-ranking official in the Elf Kingdom, still doesn't understand what is going on, he can just die.
He immediately raised his hand to signal all the priests to stop their magic, and hurriedly placed one hand on his chest and bowed deeply to the extremely young human boy in front of him.
"Ha! How funny! Your faces now remind me of those goblin slaves who bully the weak and fear the strong."
Viconia taunted without mercy.
不过就在这家伙还想更进一步刺激这些森林精灵的时候，桑乔却用凌厉的眼神制止了她的挑衅，开门见山的说道：“将军阁下，我知道你们在这里与黑暗精灵交战积累了很多的怨气和仇恨。
但问题是我们并不是你的敌人，而是艾瑞尼卡斯的敌人。
我们之所以从幽暗地域追到这里，就是为了能够杀死他、从他身上抢回同伴被篡夺的命运。
你可以理解为这是一场巴尔之子的内战。
所以如果方便的话，最好帮指明前往索丹尼斯拉的路。
我们越早抵达那里，你们的城市和国家也就能越早获得解放。”
“被篡夺的命运？巴尔之子的内战？你的意思是强那雷斯夺去了一位巴尔之子的神力与神性！”
在意识到艾瑞尼卡斯都干了些什么之后，梭法利达斯将军的呼吸一下子变得急促起来，心跳也跟着加速到了平时的三倍。
他现在终于明白，为何这个昔日受人尊敬的高等法师会封闭索丹尼斯拉的入口。
原来对方想要的是汲取生命之树那庞大的能量封神。
如果让这个亵渎神明的家伙最终成功，那么每一个索丹尼斯拉的精灵都会成为不折不扣的罪人。
但是很快，梭法利达斯将军就露出了无比苦涩的笑容，一脸无奈的回应道：“虽然我非常想要给你们指一条路。
可遗憾的是强那雷斯在突袭了索丹尼斯拉之后，就已经借助魔法迷锁的力量封闭了入口。
现在就连我们自己也找不到回家的路了。”
“什么？难道就没有其他的办法了吗？”
贾希拉眉头紧锁的追问。
“办法倒是有一个。
在这座神殿里，原本供奉着一件拥有强大魔法力量的神器——莱恩之灯。
它刻有古老的魔法咒符和精灵诸神所赐予的祝福。
世界上没有任何力量可以阻止其返回精灵的故土。
所以只要持有莱恩之灯，不管是魔法迷锁还是其他什么幻象、结界，都会在瞬间现出原形并失去原本效果。
但问题它在黑暗精灵发动突袭之后就被偷走了。
即便我们的法师日以继夜通过预言系魔法调查它的下落也一无所获。
如果你们能够找回神灯，我们就可以联手杀回去让强那雷斯为自己的行为付出代价。”
在意识到这支冒险小队可能就是己方最大的帮手之后，梭法利达斯将军一股脑把所有重要的信息都说了出来。
因为他十分清楚，以现如今令人绝望的局势，巴尔之子就是阻止艾瑞尼卡斯最后的希望。
这个时候要是还藏着掖着无异于自取灭亡。
“莱恩之灯？好吧，我们会想办法找到它的。”
意识到无法从这些森林精灵身上得到其他有用的信息，桑乔果断结束了对话，带着小队迅速离开简陋的营地，打算先回阿斯卡特拉的法师塔找自己的导师。
不过还没等一行人走出多远，一个浑身上下皮肤惨白、穿着黑色紧身衣的女性身影缓缓从一棵参天大树后面走了出来。
她散发出来的惊人负能量和刺鼻的血腥味，顿时让这一路上都在高强度战斗，根本没来得及好好休息的小队成员，纷纷拔出武器摆出戒备姿态。
尤其是可以在某种程度上控制神力的桑乔，一下子就判断出对方是个强大的吸血鬼尊主，可以直接顶着正午最猛烈太阳光自由行动的那种。
“放松，我并不是来找麻烦的。恰恰相反，我是来给你们送一件进入索丹尼斯拉必须的道具。”
说着，吸血鬼从身后取出一个用不知名金属编制而成的精美提灯。
透过包裹在周围的镜片，可以清晰看到里边透露出来的暗紫色幽光，以及金属部分内侧大量精灵独有的魔法符文。
最重要的是，这玩意散发着一股微弱的神力，与之前梭法利达斯将军的描述完全如出一辙。
“你为什么要帮我们？”
桑乔非常谨慎，没有立刻去接提灯，反而仔细打量着这名留着黑色短发、拥有前凸后翘傲人身材的女性吸血鬼。
“你以为是我想吗？
不，如果让我自己来选择，才不会让你们靠近艾瑞尼卡斯。
可惜，这是主人的意志。
而我无法违背主人的意志。”
说罢，女吸血鬼从阴影中走出来，随手将莱恩之灯放在一块平摊的石头上，满脸都是抗拒和敌视的表情。
不用问也知道，她正是艾瑞尼卡斯在这个世界上最后的血脉至亲，吸血鬼女王巴荻。
尽管无法违抗左思这个旅法师的命令，可在意识到自己的兄弟即将要死在这群人的手上，内心之中还是忍不住会感到痛苦、悲伤。
“主人？”
爱蒙好奇的眨了眨眼睛。
她有点无法理解究竟是什么样的人，居然可以控制这么强大的吸血鬼尊主，并且强迫其去做违背自己意志和想法的事情。
不过很可惜，巴荻显然不太想解释太多，放下提灯之后立刻便化作一只蝙蝠飞走了。
贾希拉径直走到近前拿起莱恩之灯，先是仔细检查了一番，确认没有问题才微微叹了口气说道：“好吧，我想咱们现在总算是拿到进入索丹尼斯拉的钥匙了。不过这件事情不管从什么角度来分析都让我感觉十分的不安。”
“你多虑了。”
桑乔显然察觉到了这大概率是自己导师的手笔，迅速接过提灯并点燃。
当里边开始冒出微弱的白色烟雾和绚丽夺目的光芒时，周围森林中遍布的参天大树有一部分立刻出现了扭曲。
紧跟着其中一颗大树的树干突然膨胀到直径超过数百米的范围，并且在上方的枝杈附近凭空出现了一个通往高处的螺旋形楼梯。
毫无疑问，这楼梯就是前往树上之城索丹尼斯拉的入口。
之前由于有魔法迷锁的保护，因此被完美的遮掩了起来。
“要去通知一下那群森林精灵吗？”
阿伯戴尔盯着入口用不是很确定的语气问。
桑乔毫不犹豫的回答道：“不需要。这是属于我们的战斗和试炼，没必要把外人牵扯进来。走吧，是时候去跟艾瑞尼卡斯算总账了。”
“我要亲手杀死这个邪恶的法师！把他黑色的心肝从肚子里挖出来为戴娜黑报仇！”明斯克表情狰狞的咆哮道。
虽然他的脑子不怎么好使，但却永远不会忘记艾瑞尼卡斯是如何用残忍手段杀害了自己发誓要豁出性命保护的女巫。
同样脸色吓人的还有在杜拉格之塔内承受了各种折磨，同时还被剥离神性和神力，差点就变成没有理智只知道疯狂杀戮的阿伯戴尔。
看到队友们都已经做好了心理准备，桑乔二话不说便带头第一个钻了进去。
其余人则紧随其后。
不过他们并没有带走莱恩之灯，而是将其留在了入口附近。
如果那些森林精灵会派出小队来附近巡逻，应该很快就能发现通往索丹尼斯拉的入口已经被打开，然后带着其余的军队杀回去收复被占领的城市。
就在三个巴尔之子沿着楼梯来到顶层，被这座建立在生命之树上的美丽城市而感到震撼无比时。
远在城市另外一边的宫殿内，艾瑞尼卡斯已经打破封印并击败了昔日的恋人，正站在生命之树内部的能量节点，将那些用魔法和神力塑造的虫子一个接一个的安置在指定位置。
精灵女王看到这一幕，立刻挣扎着从地上爬起来，大声呼喊道：“不！别这么做！求你了！强那雷斯！趁现在还可以回头，放弃你那不切实际的野心吧。”
“放弃？ 都走到了这一步你居然还想让我放弃？
不，亲爱的。
上一次我心软的代价就是失去了身为精灵的一切，被残忍放逐出自己的故乡。
这一次我不会再相信你了。
我会通过才智和双手夺回属于自己的一切。
看着吧，我会证明那些精灵诸神没什么了不起的。”
说罢，艾瑞尼卡斯便站在生命之树最核心的位置开始吟唱生涩的魔法咒语。
在他的催动下，所有的巨大虫子都不约而同把那针管状的口器插入生命之树的树干，源源不断抽取内部无法用语言形容的庞大能量。
伴随着这种疯狂的吸食，虫子的腹部很快便鼓了起来，并且绽放着象征生命能量的绿色光芒。
与此同时，艾瑞尼卡斯则通过魔法仪式把虫子肚子里的能量转移到自己的身体乃至灵魂中。
没过一会儿功夫，他曾经被剥夺的精灵本质和外在特征就重新恢复了。
最明显的就是脸上那张人皮魔法面具的自动脱落，露出一张消瘦英俊的脸庞。
同时光秃秃的脑袋上再一次长出了金黄色柔顺的长发。
很显然，这才是艾瑞尼卡斯身为精灵高等法师时的样子，更是女王艾丽星深爱着的那个男人。
But compared to the appearance, what really made Erinikas extremely excited was that his elven soul had returned.
Needless to say, he has already determined that as long as the entire plan is successfully completed, he can be promoted to an elven god 100%.
not enough!
It’s not enough!
I want more! Erinikas roared madly in his heart, hungry for more.
At this time, he had completely forgotten everything, gave up everything, and sacrificed everything, just to finally be able to cross the boundary between mortals and gods.
After about half an hour, the crazy wizard began to glow with god-like majesty.
Seeing that she could no longer win back her former lover, Alixing closed her eyes in despair and laid on the ground crying silently. At the same time, her physical condition was deteriorating at an unimaginable speed, and she became haggard and old.
If you look closely, you will easily find that her situation seems to be closely related to the tree of life that blocks out the sun beneath her feet.
The more energy Erinikas drains, the weaker the Elven Queen becomes.
It can be predicted that if the entire Tree of Life is completely drained, then Alistar will inevitably die along with the former.
But unfortunately, there is no one in the entire palace who can stop Erinikas now.
Those elven warriors, mages, and priests who were ready to die had now all turned into mutilated corpses piled up in the room at the entrance.
The queen herself has also been drained of all her strength, and now she can't even cast the most basic zero-ring magic.
Erinikas demonstrated with his actions how terrifying a legendary wizard could be when he was at his full strength, and that he could easily destroy a city or even a country by himself.
Even the elven kingdom with a large number of high-level warriors, mages, rangers, and priests is no exception.
Just when Alixing began to feel her body getting heavier and her consciousness began to blur, she suddenly found Zuo Si's figure appeared on a tree stump only a few steps away from her. He even had a handful of Sodanisil's specialty raspberries in his hand, and he threw them into his mouth one by one, looking relaxed and comfortable.
"Your Majesty Soth?!"
The Elf Queen rubbed her eyes first, confirmed that this was not an illusion, then opened her mouth and tried to call the other party.
"Shh!"
Zuo Si put a finger on his lips to signal silence, then walked over to help Alixing up, and asked with a smile: "Dear Queen, you don't look well now, would you like to eat some raspberries and rest for a while?"
Alixing smiled bitterly and shook her head: "Thank you for your kindness, but my condition cannot be cured by eating a few raspberries.
If no one can stop Erinikas, the Tree of Life and I will die.
Moreover, all plants within a few kilometers around it will wither.
The elven villages scattered around the Wildas Forest will gradually disappear due to the loss of protection.
But I am a little curious, you are now inside the Tree of Life. Are you ready to intervene?"
"Haha, of course not.
Actually, I just came to see the show.
Just half an hour ago, my disciple Sancho and two other sons of Baal arrived in Sodanisla.
Now they are fighting against demons, beasts, golems and other creatures in the city.
It won't be long before they reach here and fight Erinikas.
So there is no need for you to be so pessimistic, but you should believe in the arrangement of fate.
Come, eat some raspberries to lighten your mood."
As he spoke, Zuo Si generously grabbed a handful of raspberries and stuffed them into Alixing's pocket. He ate them while admiring the magical deification ceremony created by Erinikas in the distance.
It has to be said that as one of the two existing magic systems in Faerun, the elves' advanced magic does have its own unique features.
At least when there is sufficient preparation time, the current mainstream magic system developed from the Netheril era will hardly gain any advantage in the confrontation.
Especially those insects that absorbed energy from the Tree of Life, which gave Zuo Si great inspiration and enlightenment.
In his opinion, this thing is similar to the Old Gods in the neighboring Azeroth universe.
They are all the kind that can sneak into places with huge energy sources like parasites to absorb power, and then influence the energy sources to gradually change them in the direction they want.
However, the workmanship of these insects made by Erinikas is still very rough, and many details are not perfect enough, so there is considerable room for improvement.
But considering that Erinikas was under time pressure, it was quite difficult to complete such a huge workload in a short time.
As for the other party's method of stimulating divinity by absorbing a large amount of life energy, Zuo Si did not want to make too many comments.
Because the risk of this thing is too great.
You have to know that Erinikas doesn't even have a single believer in the mortal world, let alone any organized church.
This means that even if he succeeds in becoming a god in the end, without the support of mortals’ faith he will soon fall into an extremely weak state, or even go directly to the astral realm to lie dead.
The elven gods don't even need to fight, just hold him back for a while and this guy will self-destruct.
Therefore, Zuo Si believed that Erinikas' deepest desire was not so much to be deified, but rather to hold his breath and ask the elves for what he considered "justice"...