Chapter 14 Chapter 12 Steel Monster

Life is magic, magic is life.Magic welled up from the heart of Simharon, and flowed from the holy well of the holy mountain ramparts to every object in the world: every pebble, every blade of grass, every drop of water was filled with magic, and every person in the world— — even those who have been declared dead — are full of magic.And in Simharon there is only one real dead man, and yet he has been driven far beyond the borders. And now, the Fountain of Magic is as if poisoned, the magic as if possessed by fear, which springs from a source of unfathomable darkness, so hidden and so dark that one-- For centuries - no memory of it.The Watchers on the Boundary cried out cries that no one heard, and the rocks of Simharon wailed in terror, and the trees shook their leaves wildly, and even the ground shook.

Mosiah couldn't move.Ten thousand spells of cleansing spells could not plunder his vitality as thoroughly as the fear in his heart. Its icy fingers had already stolen his sanity, breath and strength, making him unable to think, unable to do anything to the gradually dissipating clouds and mist. Unresponsive, he watched horror descend upon Simharon. It was a steel monster!Mosiah, who had worked in the furnace for several months, recognized the glowing metal scales, as did the few other mages on Simharon.The squat, toad-like object has a body the size of a griffin, but it has no wings, cannot fly, and has no feet. It can only crawl along the ground.Its head spun like an owl's, and Mosiah thought it was blind because it seemed to be ramming aimlessly all the time.The steel monster didn't care what was on the road, and rushed into the woods, knocking down the trees and tearing out the roots.It also crushed stone, churned the earth violently, and left the impression of clumsy steps in the trampled lawn and dirt.

Mosiah looked at it in bewilderment, wondering what cruel thing this terrible thing was, and how it had come into this world.After a while, he was surprised to find that the steel monster was not blind.It has eyes, just like the legendary basilisk, eyes not only for seeing... but also for killing. Mosiah was hiding in a clump of trees about twenty feet away from the steel monster when he suddenly saw a wizard flying towards him, avoiding the behemoth that was in the way.The sorcerer dashed through the air in panic, his red robe flying behind him, and at last easily left the slow, clumsy thing behind.

The steel monster's head was turning, as if it were chasing a prey and busy sniffing it out.Suddenly, a single eye—a sunken, black, hollow eye—flares open and takes aim at the flying warlock.The eye blinked again, and a thin beam of light shot out so quickly that Mosiah couldn't be sure what he really saw afterwards. The beam hit the wizard in the back, sending him crashing to the ground.His tense and frantic flight momentum pushed him forward for a while.He rolled gradually near Mosiah, who watched him hopefully.He was finally no longer alone and helpless!This firefighter will definitely know how the battle is going.Mosiah waited for him to stand up, because the fall just now was not too serious.However, the sorcerer did not move.

"He's not dead." Mosiah said to himself, trying to swallow the panic, as if trying to swallow bile stuck in his throat.He looked up and saw that the monster had stopped and its head was staring straight ahead. "How did he die? He has no wounds, nothing but a burnt hole in his robe...he should just pass out. I have to help..." But he took a few seconds To reach out the hand that was weakened by fright.Finally, while watching the steel monster carefully, he noticed that its head began to spin again—as if searching for the fallen prey.Mosiah walked slowly from the shelter of the woods to the wizard, and pulled him by the collar of his robe, dragging him back into the shade.

Mosiah turned the sorcerer over, but he knew the sorcerer was dead before he could see the glassy eyes and gaping mouth, for a small wisp of smoke coiled up from his chest .Seeing this, Mosiah was so frightened that his breath was stuck in his throat, and he immediately jumped away from the dead body. This flash of light, barely a second long, burned a hole through the wizard's body, like a red-hot poker burning a hole through the middle of cork. . The ground trembled beneath Mosiah's feet as the iron monstrosity approached for its next victim.Mosiah wanted to run away, but his legs seemed to lose all feeling.The sight of the dead sorcerer and the manner of his death so suddenly and swiftly took the heart out of Mosiah.Looking up from the dead body, he saw the huge monster approaching step by step, knowing that it must have seen him when it was looking for the downed wizard, but he still couldn't move a step.

The steel monster got closer and closer.Mosiah could smell its disgusting stench, and coughed on the choking smoke that rose from under its belly.Cowardly in the woods, he no longer has the consciousness to escape.At this time, apart from being frightened, there was nothing left in my mind. No doubt that was what saved his life. Then the steel monster swerved and rumbled past him like a wolf past a rabbit petrified by its enemies, knowing instinctively that any movement would attract unwanted attention. Mosiah watched the thing wobble away from him, its ugly head—now blind again—swirling left and right in search of more prey.When it passed slowly by the wizard's corpse, it didn't even look at it, nor sniff it.

A centaur kills and mutilates a corpse out of rage; a dragon kills for food; a griffin and a chimera kill for food; a giant kills out of ignorance of his own great power.However, this steel monster kills people with a clear purpose and ruthlessness, but without obvious motives or even interests. Although the clouds had cleared and Mosiah could find and return to his combat unit, he was still trembling and huddled in the woods, wanting to leave and afraid to leave, wanting to stay but afraid to stay.The steel monster was still within his sight and hearing, its stench still filled the air, and its "big blind head" was still wandering blindly among the plants.

Will it have its kind in these four weeks?Mosiah leaned limply against a tree, eager to know the answer to this question.His body reacted to the fright, and he began to tremble, his eyes unconsciously looking at the corpse of the wizard lying not far away.What is this hideous steel monster that Xavier created?Mosiah quickly turned his eyes away from the pale and terrified face of the dead body, and stopped looking at the fine smoke rings emerging from the charred robe... that robe. Mosiah looked back at the corpse, eyes wide.The sorcerer wears Merilon's robes! "Bless Emin!" Mosiah murmured in a low voice, and his eyes returned to the steel monster.It just went out of his sight and walked to the other end of the small hill. "That monster is... from our side? Is that why it didn't attack me?"

Demon Artisan!He immediately thought of them.He wiped the cold sweat off his mouth with trembling hands, and hurriedly glanced around, hoping to see other members of the same combat unit.Most of those members are real craftsmen—that is, people who were born and raised in hidden witch religions. People in witch religions are all studying dark crafts, and they should know.Maybe they've been secretly creating this troll in the past in an attempt to rule the world.He had heard enough of them talking like that. Mosiah closed his eyes, remembering what the steel monster had looked like—the metal scales and the breath that reminded him of smoke from a furnace.

Yes, they must have done it.The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the deeper his hatred.I will never trust them again, never will... When panicked he made this decision, there was still a part of his mind that was calmly thinking that this might not be the case.Mosiah looked down and found that he still held the bow in his hand (he had completely forgotten that he had a weapon in the tense moment just now.) How crude and grotesque it seemed to him!He thought of the time it took to forge such a tool, of the hours of hammering and sweating of the men to make such a tool.He recalled the steel monster again—the gleaming metal scales and the sure-footed gait on uneven ground.Even if the craftsmen were unable to make such things in the era when they had power and status, how could they do it now?They have little ability to make a usable bow. Big drops of rain hit Mosiah's face, and the increasing wind made his already shivering body even colder.A magical storm is forming, and the sky is darkening with thunderclouds.A bolt of lightning in the shape of a blade pierced the sky, the surrounding thunder rumbled through the sky, his heart almost stopped beating, and at this moment he thought of the steel monster again.When he glanced at the wizard's dead body... suddenly he started to run wildly. Panic drove him from his hiding place.He found himself stumbling over the uneven ground, still holding a heavy bow and arrow, still looking around in a panic.Panicked, desperate to find someone else, anyone, anyone who could let him know what the hell was going on.He wants to know what's going on - he wants to know - and that desire is stronger than the horror of seeing the steel monster.Once he can understand the current battle situation, the fear will definitely disappear! The storm lashed down on Mosiah, whipping and whipping him with wind and hail, and he rushed on even faster.The rain was pouring into his eyes, and he couldn't see anything, but he kept running, and ended up like some crazy soldier, crashing headlong into a tree, slipping and falling on the wet grass, tangled in weeds Living. In the end, he tossed himself scarred, and finally stopped, curled up in a grove.Sitting slumped on the ground with his back against the tree trunk, panting, he suddenly thought of it. "Singin!" In fear, he had completely forgotten about his former companion. "Sinkin should know what's going on, he always does," said Mosiah hopefully. "But where the hell is he?" Mosiah took off the quiver hanging from his shoulder, put it on the ground, and kicked it. "Sinkin?" he called out through the storm, feeling stupid as hell, but still holding out the hope of hearing the same invariable response—"Hey, old mate!" However, among the metal arrows, there is no green and orange feather arrow.Mosiah kicked the quiver again angrily.There was only silence in response. "Why should I expect that idiot to be around?" he muttered, wiping the rain off his face - rain mingled with fear and frustration and tears of knowing he was totally lost. "He will only cause trouble. I—" Mosiah suddenly fell silent, listening carefully. Thunder rumbled around him, and lightning lit up the misty gloom, and the sky was as bright as day.But amidst the noise of the storm and the rest of it, he thought he heard it...yes, he heard it again. there's noise! Because he relaxed, his whole body went limp all of a sudden, and the bow in his hand almost fell to the ground.Trembling, he put it down gently, and looked through the cracks in the dripping leaves.The voice was very close to him, apparently coming from another grove a few meters away, but he didn't understand the meaning of those voices, and the sound of wind and rain made it even more difficult to understand.Perhaps a centaur.Mosiah hesitated for a while, and then listened carefully.No!Someone must be talking!Undoubtedly they are the wizards. Mosiah moved forward cautiously.He was going to yell again when he got close enough, the last thing he wanted to do was startle some nervous wizard and find himself transfigured into a frog.He could hear them easily now, and it sounded like some men were there in the grove, shouting some kind of password.Words of joyful reassurance and gratitude for finding a friend rushed to his lips, but Mosiah couldn't say it at all. The young man slowed down as he reached the trees surrounding the grove.why?Mosiah was puzzled.His mind urged him to rush forward, but a deeper instinct kept his mouth shut and his feet light.Maybe it was because—he could hear them even in the storm—he didn't understand what these people were saying.Maybe it's because a long time ago, the unpleasant experience with Duke Xisi in the grove taught him a painful and profound lesson: that is, to be cautious in all actions, and maybe it's the same reason that he was safe from the steel monster, a kind of Animal-like self-preservation instinct. Mosiah quietly walked around a tree. He knew that under the cover of the wind and rain, it was impossible for him to be found. He also knew that in such a heavy rain, it would be difficult for him to see everything, so he moved quietly to the source of the sound. , Gently pushing aside the wet leaves, he finally saw them. He froze immovably—not out of fear or caution.He didn't feel anything, it was as if the brain had left him and said, "I've had enough, I'll find someone else if I have any problems to solve. Goodbye." Those who were talking were people, but They don't look like anyone they've seen or imagined before. There were six of them in all, and they were supposed to be men, judging from their voices and muscular bodies.At first Mosiah thought they had iron heads, seeing the light reflecting off their shiny scalps.Then, when one of them removed the head and wiped the sweat from his forehead, Mosiah realized that the eccentrics were all wearing helmets, similar to the bucket-shaped contraptions that Simkin often wore. Aside from the helmets, the eccentrics all wore an identical suit of shiny metal that fit so well it looked like their skin.In fact, if Mosiah hadn't seen one of the men tugging down the glove to reveal flesh like his own, for all he knew it might have been their skin.After taking off his gloves, the man was absently fiddling with an object in his hand—an oval object, just the right size to hold in his hand. The man showed his plaything to one of his companions, and said something in their unintelligible language, obviously about it, for it sounded as if he loathed the object, and he shook it. To and fro.And his companion just shrugged his shoulders, didn't even glance at him, just kept looking out from the bushes, looking very nervous. The man holding the object continued to shake it until the other man hissed, at which point the man immediately reacted, pulled on his gloves, and turned to face the same direction as the other five partners.They were all crouching in the wet jungle, and now through the rain Mosiah could see that each of them was holding an ellipse in their hand, and had placed them in front of them to aim ahead. Mosiah followed them and looked forward, trying to figure out what attracted them.He still wasn't frightened, or even curious, he was numb with astonishment.If those men suddenly turned around and found him, he would probably just stand there and stare blankly at them.And one person did turn his head to look, but he turned too quickly because of his nervousness, and he was obviously more worried about what was ahead.Mosiah was hidden in the bushes and under the cover of heavy rain, so he was not seen. A sorcerer, a sorceress, and their catalyst saint suddenly appeared in another grove, some distance from the grove where Mosiah and these eccentrics hid.Those mages walked forward on tiptoe—from the terrified eyes and frightened expressions on their pale faces, Mosiah knew that these were the expressions on his own face now—it was obvious that they also encountered similar Scary experience.The black robes on their bodies indicated that they were Dukexis, and the metal-skinned monsters crouched lower when they saw them. Now Mosiah was much happier and more excited to see Duke Xisi than a lost child to see his parents again.Mosiah straightened up, leaning his back against the tree trunk, knowing that the wizard would surely cast a spell on those strange people, wishing only that he would stay out of the range of the spell, and the only thing he could do now was to wait for the inevitable Advent.Metal-skinned eccentrics move stealthily, using a technique that suggests they have been trained in concealment and ambushes.But they weren't moving quietly enough that Duke Xis could—supposedly—be able to spot a rabbit's location by the sound of its breathing. The sorcerer reacted immediately, turning his face to the woods, his black robe swirling around him.With a single finger, the sorcerer casts a magic spell: the magic cleansing spell, which is often the first trick Dukexis uses to attack others.The magic power of this wizard is very strong, and he must have been filled with life force by his catalyst saint, because although Mosiah is some distance away from the enemy, he can slightly feel that his life force has been sucked dry possible.Mosiah wanted to see the metal-skinned monsters fall and roll on the ground, seeing their helpless appearance after being robbed of their life force by magic spells. He was about to leave his hiding place and hoped to hear from Duke Xis what was happening now. things. However, he stopped in his tracks, looking very surprised.Magic purge doesn't work on those weirdos.Seeing that they themselves had been discovered by the sorcerer anyway, and there was no need to hide any longer, the eccentrics rose to their feet.Mosiah continued to watch, remembering another person who would not be affected by the magic removal spell in his mind-Joran. These weirdos turned out to be ghosts! One of the ghosts raised his right hand and pointed at the sorcerer. A beam of blinding light shot out from his palm instantly, and the air buzzed. In an instant, the sorcerer fell down.He died without a sound, leaving his catalyst saints to watch him in amazement, watching holes burn through his flesh and wisps of smoke rising from his black robes.At this time, Mosiah clearly recalled the death he witnessed not long ago. Mosiah looked from the sorcerer to his fellow Dukexis, but the sorceress had disappeared.Her disappearance disturbed the wraiths still crouching in the woods, their metal heads turning like the big metal heads of the steel monsters Mosiah had seen earlier.After a while, the one standing among the group of ghosts shrugged his shoulders, then pointed to the Catalyst Saint who was kneeling next to his master's body to perform the dying ceremony, and walked over. Mosiah clung to the trees, waiting in trepidation for them to kill the helpless poor catalyst saint.The ghosts walked towards the priest, and the Catalyst saint heard the ghosts coming towards him, but he didn't look up, and with the firm belief in his religion, he still continued his ritual, anointing the dead wizard's head with oil , recited the prayer firmly in his mouth: "By this holy anointing, may God forgive..." The ghost still raised its hand, aiming at the catalyst saint with a light-emitting object.To Mosiah's surprise, however, the eccentrics did not immediately kill the priest, and one of them (his movement hesitated, as if he had spotted Mosiah who was spying on him) reached out and grabbed the catalyst saint's arm. The Catalyst Saint angrily shook off the Wacky's grasping hand and continued to complete his religious ritual.Then the ghost looked towards another of the group of ghosts, as if asking for instructions. Mosiah began to realize that the strange man should be a leader. He spoke some incomprehensible hell language and gestured, and then quietly backed away, allowing the catalyst saints to complete the religious ceremony in peace. wrong!Mosiah softly advised them in his hiding place, but as a ghost, it is definitely impossible to feel the growing tension in the air, and it is impossible to know that there is a kind of magic quietly happening around them, And gradually boiled up, not to know that the witch warlock is still nearby. "...all your sins, Amen." The prayer ceremony of the catalyst saints was finally completed.He reached out to close the wizard's eyes, and slowly stood up. Suddenly Mosiah heard a ghostly cry—a cry of horror and terror—resounding eerily in their metal heads.Looking at it, I saw that metal-skinned weirdo tremblingly pointing at the corpse—the corpse that was turning into a giant snake.The sorcerer's eyes just closed, then opened again immediately, the eyes were still burning with a kind of abnormal red magic power, and then the body elongated and expanded, becoming a reptile body about thicker than an oak tree.It lifted itself from the wet grass on its right leg, bobbing its flattened head slightly.A dead sorcerer - now transformed into a hooded cobra - towered well above the metal-skinned geek, its forked tongue thrusting in and out of its vicious maw stretch out. The leader of the Shades drew back in terror, and tried to aim the deadly beam at the snake, but his arm shook so violently that the beam missed its mark, but struck a branch, which burst into flames.At this time, the giant snake swiftly pounced on it, bit the shadow's shoulder with its fangs, and pierced through the metal skin without any effort.The wraith was in pain and terror, and his piercing cry echoed throughout the forest.Mosiah had to grit his teeth and endure the harsh sound until it ended with a death scream. The serpent jerked its fangs from its victim, and returned to gaze at the rest of its foes.The other ghosts were frightened and began to run away in a panic. They staggered and ran here and there in the woods.The catalyst saints standing next to the giant snake were also watching. When their figures disappeared from sight, when their screams were no longer audible, the giant snake shone slightly in the air, and then fell to the ground .The cobra, which lost its magical life, turned back into the corpse of a sorcerer. Realizing that he hadn't breathed for a while, Mosiah took a timid breath.He was shaking really badly, it was almost uncontrollable, and beads of sweat were constantly breaking out on his forehead.At this time, the witch warlock in black robe suddenly appeared and hovered beside him, frightening him out of his wits, his heart beating wildly in his chest.Just as he was about to escape, he was grabbed tightly by the strong hand of the witch warlock. "I said I would find him! Didn't I just bring you here?" A wronged voice came from a section of orange silk tied around the wrist of the witch warlock. "Are you Mosiah?" asked the sorceress.Her eyes glowed in the depths of her black hood, staring intently at Mosiah. "Yes, I recognized you." She answered her own question. Mosiah recognized her too, but could not speak, for the witch and sorcerer before him had once captured him and nearly killed him. The orange thread on the sorcerer's wrist suddenly disappeared, turning into a tall and thin Sim'jin in the air.But he was a Simkin out of shape—pale and distracted, and his usually trendy outfit looked so sloppy today: a pair of shorts made of coarse cotton thread looked like the The humble serf mage wore a crumpled leather coat over a scruffy silk shirt with torn sleeves, the orange thread still twitching bravely in his hand, but before long he was Put the end of the thread in your mouth and start chewing distractedly. "What the hell happened?" Mosiah gasped slightly, eyes shifting from Simkin to Warlock. "Yes, we are going to ask you this question!" The sorceress hissed at him, reminding him of the giant snake just now.Mosiah looked nervously at the sorcerer's corpse, and found that the catalyst saint was rushing towards them. "We can't stay here!" the Catalyst Saint said softly. "A steel monster is coming this way." "Teleportation corridor!" said the witch warlock, and the catalyst saint immediately opened a transmission corridor. Before the entrance opened, Sim Jin almost jumped in, and the catalyst saint followed closely behind him. Mosiah hesitated for a while, he could hear the low hum of the steel monster, and he could feel the ground shaking under his feet.However, he would rather choose to stay here, risking encountering the steel monster, than being with the sorceress whose presence and touch reminded him of the vines that bound him and penetrated into his body. The thorn in his flesh. "You idiot!" The sorcerer's hand gripped his arm tightly. "You will definitely not be able to survive if you meet it! It has no eyes, but it is by no means blind, and it can kill people without fail. Whether you want it or not, I will take you with me. But I prefer you to come willingly. We Need your help." The buzz grew louder.Mosiah thought of the wizard, the scene of his escape... the big hole left by the flesh and blood... But Mosiah still couldn't make up his mind—like a man trapped under a steep cliff with a big stone about to fall Like the man who came here, his only hope is to get into the black hole in the ground. "Where...?" His lips were so stiff that he could barely pronounce the words, and the teleportation corridor was about to be closed. "Emperor Xavier," said the sorceress, wrapping her hands around him ominously. Mosiah said "no" softly, but swallowed it again. "I'll go by myself." The portal opened again, sucked him in, and then hastily closed the entrance.