Chapter 21: The Spirit of the Sword (Part 2)

一个低沉的咒语从艾米的嘴里逸出:"莫赫.

巨大的战斧在透明的空气中呼啸而过,随着咒语的发出,艾米消失在了稀薄的空气中."你这个懦夫,别躲!"德鲁将他的巨斧划过虚空,希望能击中他看不见的对手.他用另一只手在口袋里翻找着什么.从角落里传来了致命的咒语,"Wulher",金色的闪电再次闪过."嗖——"一把剑划破空气的声音在虚空中回荡.突然,艾米再次出现在德鲁的身边.冰刃闪过一丝白色,然后消失在狂战士身后.Drew 向前翻滚,翻滚了两次,然后重重地撞在了地上.一个卷轴从他手中滑落,描绘了一只蓝色的眼睛-每个人都知道那是一种增强视野的结界,能够看到那些看不见的人."呀!"艾米抬起右手,原地旋转,向周围的佣兵们行了个胜利的礼,然后收集了 200 枚金币."谢谢你,先生.这里有 150 枚金币,"艾米恭敬地将 150 枚金币递给老矮人."哈哈,看到有礼貌的年轻人真好.一个双职业 2 级法师和剑客无疑是我们可靠的伴侣.我觉得不需要再多讨论了,"老矮人一只手接过硬币,另一只手举起了一个大高脚杯.里面的蓝色液体散发出诱人的香气:"为我们的年轻战友和我们合作的成功干杯——""干杯——"人群回荡着,举起了他们的高脚杯."为了确保任务的成功,我们需要重组我们的团队,"老矮人以异常严肃的语气说."所有雪狼骑士将组成第一梯队,由兰德带领.您熟悉森林地形,负责前方侦察.狂战士将组成第二个梯队,负责由 Drew 领导的战斗.其余的将组成第三梯队,战士和骑士保护法师和牧师.任何有异议的人都可以随时退出."我们早点休息,天亮就出发吧,"阿峰礼貌地建议道.离开最后一个露营地,他们深入冰雪森林.正如最初约定的那样,三名狼骑者带路,紧随其后的是 20 米后的四名狂战士.出发后,他们才意识到 Drew 是一名骑士狂战士,骑着一条巨大的地龙,高过两个人.其他人跟在狂战士身后 20 米处.穿过森林的进展非常缓慢,每天 10 公里已经是一个相当大的成就了.在旅途中,佣兵伙伴们对大青山和艾米身上观察到的一个独特特征感到惊讶:当他们穿过森林时,他们几乎没有发出任何声音.一只脚会抬起,而另一只脚几乎不会着地,他们的身体似乎本能地避开树枝,仿佛树木故意为他们让路.夜幕降临,围着熊熊燃烧的篝火,直率的老矮人说出了大家的好奇心."哈,我怎么说呢,"艾米挠了挠头."你看,我们师父严禁透露这技能."每个人的脸上都露出失望的表情——没有人能强迫别人泄露他们的秘密."嗯,"艾米犹豫的语气重新点燃了一丝希望."如果你愿意付钱,我可能会教你.它不会花太多钱,每个只需要 100 个金币.哈,想象一下,这项技能非常有用,可以让你在混乱的环境中保持不被发现并优雅地移动,比如在舞台上表演."够逗了,"大青山打断了艾米的动作."很简单:每天赤身裸体地穿过茂密的森林,持续一年,你就会开始看到结果.如果你愿意,也可以尝试在夜间跑步,沿途增强你的夜视能力."哈哈,你们是好兄弟.谢谢你的提示.看来这个方法对训练年轻的雇佣兵有用,"阿峰笑道.在大陆上,使用剑的武者很少,所以从一开始,艾米和大青山就与阿峰的紫心剑佣兵团紧密相连,在旅途中讨论剑法."我和我的战友都爱剑,"阿峰在摇曳的火光下举起了他的双手巨剑."在所有武器中,只有剑这么直截了当.从表面上看,它似乎很脆弱,无法承受沉重的打击——据说这把剑是人类最早的武器.有句话说:剑是所有武器的祖先.经过无数年的磨砺,从刀柄到握把,从刀刃,到最后的刀刃,无疑是无数大师磨练的结果.随着更多武器的出现和职业的发展,许多人放弃了剑,转而使用其他武器.但这并没有削弱这把剑的力量.据说造物主挥舞着一把巨大的红剑——'流淌的萤火虫'."艾米,大青山,你知道的,人类使用剑的时间太长了,以至于他们拥有其他武器所缺乏的东西——灵魂,"阿凤的同伴,那个阻止艾米和大青山协助的年轻人,插话道.根据阿风的介绍,他叫千里雪,是他们法师学徒时代的同门弟子.他对剑充满热情但不愿放弃魔法,目前是一名 1 级法师和剑士,B 级雇佣兵."烈酒?"艾米和大青山振作起来."是的,艾米,就像与风灵交流一样,试着感知你的剑中是否有东西在流动,"千里雪建议道.Amy held the blade gently against his face, using his hand, face, and ear to feel—"Ah, it's true, it feels like something's flowing, cold, leaping, laughing—could it really be the sword's spirit?""Your perception is excellent. A Feng and I are both mages, and we discovered this secret by chance. Look at the sword's blade; during its forging, microscopic scales form layers unseen by the naked eye, concealing the sword's spirit. We've tried using the sword as a conduit for casting spells," Qianlixue's words were interrupted."Is it possible?" Amy asked eagerly. "I've always wanted to speed up my spellcasting using a conduit, but I never knew how to use a sword for it.""Of course. But you'll need to embed a crystal in the hilt. If you're only casting ice assault spells, it's unnecessary since your sword is already imbued with magic. Based on my assessment, it must have at least a level 3 enchantment.""I can only summon level 3 spells for now, though it's said to go up to level 5—" Qianlixue suddenly covered Amy's mouth. "Never reveal this secret. A weapon imbued with high-level magic will attract countless envious eyes; an ordinary person cannot possess such a treasure without risk."A Feng cast a reproachful glance at Amy. "Later, I abandoned magic to focus entirely on uncovering the secrets of swordsmanship, exploiting the sword's speed, agility, and precision. Eventually, I realized that during high-speed slashes, one could channel inner energy into sword qi, and as the sword's speed increased, multiple sword qi could be unleashed in an instant. Meanwhile, Xue couldn't let go of magic, so he continued using magical energy to summon the sword's spirit, discovering the commonalities between magic and swordsmanship. He can freely invoke the spirit's dance, resonating fully with himself to unleash immense damage.""Amy, we can't tell you more; you need to discover it for yourself. Da Qingshan, you must also explore the sword's mysteries. You aren't a mage, so you can't use the sword to emit sword qi, but once you understand the sword's construction better, you'll find it will become your friend," Qianlixue reassured Da Qingshan with a pat on the shoulder.That night, neither Amy nor Da Qingshan slept well. They kept their hands on their swords, hoping to sense the mysterious power within.Early the next morning, Amy got up to practice swordplay—only to find that the forest from last night had entirely vanished, replaced by a swirling milky-white mist."Da Qingshan," Amy nudged Da Qingshan awake.Clearly, more people were joining the morning practice as figures moved about, and more began to notice the significant change in their surroundings.Snow wolves, ground dragons, and other mounts let out strange cries."Ah—swamp—help—" a berserker's roar echoed from afar."Brothers—" Drew's hoarse voice called out."Everyone, don't panic. We're in a dangerous place; stay calm," A Feng's composed voice pierced through the thick white mist."Mages, cast levitation spells on everyone," the old dwarf instructed calmly. "It seems we're surrounded by a swamp. Everyone, tie yourselves to your companions with ropes; if levitation fades, don't immediately fall into the swamp.""Spirit of the Earth, release your captives," Amy cast levitation on himself and Da Qingshan.More mages began casting levitation spells.Following the cries, more people gathered at Drew and his brothers' campsite. Drew and his brothers knelt on the ground, weeping before a still-steaming mud pit."Enemies, we've got enemies incoming!"In the distance, the white mist swirled and shifted, gradually solidifying. One by one, white, leaping spirits emerged from the mist, laughing joyously as they launched an attack on the nearby crowd.A Feng's comrades quickly surged forward, four swords forming a web that shredded the leading spirits into pieces. But more and more spirits appeared; those torn apart reformed beyond the reach of the swords and swarmed again.