Half a month has passed since the conversation with the village chief.
Ash was in a state of conflict for half a month, feeling both uneasy and expectant.
He knew that the magical magic from the outside world would destroy the peace and tranquility of the village, but he could not control his yearning for magic.
They want to get close to magic, but they also want magic to never spread to their village.
The conflicting emotions, coupled with the bad premonition that had always been lingering in his chest, made him feel anxious from time to time.
At this time, he would always go to the high ground, sit next to the stone tower, hold the cold leaves marks on his arms, and calm himself down.
This period of time is particularly quiet and comfortable.
Bathing in the faint sunlight after the beginning of autumn, smelling the astringent smell of grass blown by the wind, leaning against the stone tower, closing my eyes, the image of a young man dancing alone in the moonlight appeared again and again in my mind, tall and thin, his appearance changing unpredictably under the light and shadow, inexplicably charming.
As time passed, the figure did not fade or blur, but became clearer.
Ash recalled more tiny details.
For example, the young man's ears were hidden under his long silver hair, and only when his body turned did the hair rise up, revealing a moment. Those ears were different from theirs, they were pointed and thin, and the shape was strange but extremely delicate.
For example, the young man’s eyes had a circle of dark blue shadows under his eyelids, as if he was sleep deprived, which was particularly noticeable against his pale skin color.
For example, the young man's teeth, only when he opened his lips slightly occasionally, he could see two sharp canine teeth that were also different from those of ordinary people. In Ash's eyes, they were still delicate and cute.
…
Sigourney, who was far away, would not know that even though he had not told the boy his name, he still thought about him day and night. Touching the mark, he felt at ease.
But such a moment of time was suddenly broken by the collapse of the stone tower.
It was an early morning.
Ash came out of the wooden house and just as he stepped out of the door, he saw a stone tower as tall as a person collapse in an instant, turned into dust, and was blown away by the wind.
In his opinion, this was an extremely ordinary morning. The weather was fine, there was no storm, no lightning or thunder, and even the sun was not too hot or too cold. There were no other people or animals around.
He was the only one here. But he did nothing.
But according to the old people in the village, the stone tower that had existed since the beginning of recorded history and had stood firm despite the passage of time, disappeared completely in such a harmless morning.
It also disappeared unexpectedly.
Ash stood there in shock, his mind blank for dozens of seconds.
He suspected that he was still dreaming, so he closed his eyes and opened them again, but there was still nothing in front of him.
Where the stone tower was originally located, there is only a circle of bare ground with no grass, proving that there once was a stone tower there.
"How could this be..." Ash muttered, walking to the original location of the stone tower in disbelief, and even stretched out his hand to touch it, but only caught a handful of wind.
“…Really no more.”
He took a step back in shock, then seemed to remember something and ran towards the village.
His heart was beating fast, faster than ever before, so violently that it seemed like it would burst out of his chest.
The feeling of uneasiness reached its peak at this moment.
He rushed into Derek's house.
"It's broken!" he shouted to Derek. "It's gone!"
The stone tower, which had accompanied him for sixteen years like a father and a mother, disappeared without any warning.
When Ash said this, his brain finally received this reality, his throat choked, and he couldn't say the rest of the words.
No, there were signs.
Isn’t the uneasiness I feel these days a kind of omen?
Ash was emotionally agitated and in a trance. He and Derek went to find the village chief and went to the high ground to check together.
Confirmed: the stone tower has indeed disappeared.
Derek was shocked: "It's really gone!"
"Is it a warning?" Fann seemed to be thinking about it. "Speaking of which, the stone tower has existed for a long time. It's not an exaggeration to say that it is the guardian of our village... So, is there anything going to happen recently?"
Even though they didn't have the same mysterious sense as Ash, they also sensed some dangerous movement from the sudden disappearance of the stone tower.
On this sunny morning, on the high ground, the young man had red eyes, while the two adults beside him looked more cautious as their eyes met.
At this time, they were either sad or alert, but they never expected that the change came so quickly and did not give them any time to be sad or alert.
At noon that day.
Ash, who had asked for leave from teacher Nathan and was sitting blankly in his original position in the stone tower, was the first to notice——
A huge black shadow was rapidly approaching from afar, high in the sky.
It was as if a thick dark cloud floated over Duogu Village in the blink of an eye, blocking the blue sky and casting its huge shadow, covering the entire village.
From the time Ash saw it to the time he immediately stood up, in just that short period of time, it had already approached him like a ghost.
There was no need for Ash to run into the village to inform everyone.
Because everyone in the village noticed it——
"Look up at the sky!"
"Oh my god! What a big ship..."
"The ship, the ship is in the sky, in the sky..."
“Is this a ship?”
"What the hell is this?!"
"Well, that's scary..."
"Wow...Mom, I'm scared..."
…
The thing in the sky had an extremely strong presence. It suddenly darkened the sky in the village, allowing everyone to discover it at the first moment and be shocked by it.
It looks like a huge ship, with tall masts, billowing sails, and oars that rise and fall like waves. Its surface is pitch black, as if it absorbs all the light around it, giving off a heavy, oppressive feeling.
But how can a ship fly in the sky?
No, it should be said, besides birds with wings, what else can fly in the sky?
So...what kind of existence is this?
"magic!"
Ash on the high ground and the few people in the village who knew the situation all uttered this word at the same time.
“Here they come!”
"The wizard is coming!"
"Magic is coming!"
This terrifying thought quietly emerged in their hearts.
"Dear villagers of Duogu Village." A voice without any emotion sounded in everyone's mind at the same time, "Nice to meet you. We are the Ninth Wizard Tower under the Red Throne, and the Third Army under the command of Lord Gray Robe Wizard Napton."
"It is now officially announced that Duogu Village will be incorporated into my Ninth Wizard Tower from today onwards and become the territory of Lord Knapton."
"From now on, you are all subjects of Lord Knapton."
"Mr. Knapton will bring you a more convenient and better life." This voice that made people feel completely unable to feel good continued to speak. Even if the villagers covered their ears, the voice still continued to enter their brains. "We will register your identities as soon as possible. I hope you will obey the arrangements and not make unnecessary resistance."
What does it mean that Duogu Village has become the territory of so-and-so?
When did they become subjects of so-and-so?
Follow the instructions? Don't resist?
What on earth was going on? What was the Crimson Throne? What was the Wizard Tower? These were things that I had never heard of before. Just like this bizarre black ship, they seemed to have suddenly appeared from another time and space, leaving people in disbelief and bewilderment.
"Now, please gather at the entrance of the village, line up in an orderly manner, and register your identity."
"If anyone tries to resist, hide, or escape—"
"boom!"
A streak of light passed by the black ship, and it instantly landed on an open space in the village, exploding into a dazzling fire and a deafening explosion.
After the fire, a huge charred pit appeared in its place.
"As a gift for our first meeting, we sincerely offer you our first piece of advice as you enter a new era—"
"Don't try to provoke a wizard."
…
…
…
From the moment the explosion sounded to the moment the sound from the black ship fell, the village fell into a heart-wrenching silence.
There was complete silence.
It was not until the first cry of a child was heard that the whole village suddenly exploded and became extremely excited, as if it was contagious.
Some villagers ran around the village in a daze and panic, some dragged their families back home, locked the doors tightly, hugged each other and trembled at home, and others still stood there in a daze, unable to believe the facts and unable to accept the reality.
"You have all afternoon to register," the voice continued, ignoring the chaos. "We will pass through here again at night. If anyone slips through the net, your whole village will explode like it did just now. Do you understand?"
Vann stood outside the house, looking up at the black ship with a serious expression.
With their limited imagination, they were completely unable to depict the horror of the black ships, so all the preparations they had made in advance seemed ridiculous like an ant trying to shake a tree in the face of the black ships.
Magic was indeed like a natural disaster. When it swept over them, they had no way to avoid it, and they couldn't even try to stop a chariot with their bare hands.
"Village Chief, what should we do?"
Several guys in the hunting team reacted quickly and soon gathered around Vann.
Compromise? Run? Fight?
If they were faced with a howling hurricane or a raging torrent, what would they choose? Whether they turned and ran away or faced it bravely, they would eventually be swallowed up.
Now, in the face of the catastrophic magic, compromise is the only way out.
"Gather everyone at the entrance of the village." Vann took a deep breath, his tone heavy but still calm, "Let everyone stay calm. At least, these people have no intention of hurting us for the time being." Otherwise, the threatening explosion just now would not have only landed on the open ground.
——If it falls among the crowd, the deterrent effect will be obviously greater.
Fan En's blue eyes darkened.
The author has something to say: Ash (worried): Author, my heart beats faster all the time, is there something wrong with my body?
Code: emmm...it will be fine after you learn some magic, I promise!!!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
