The Hometown of Bloodshed

The rooms in the shelter are like nodes in a spider's web, and they are connected by tunnels to form a rather three-dimensional network.

In order to hide their tracks, Spell Banisher, who lives on this web, rarely goes outside.

Behind the scenes, Sela would compare the Spell Banisher to a moth trapped in a spider's web.

But after receiving a small gift, she changed her mind.

It was a moth that secretes silk threads from its mouthparts and the end of its belly capsule.

The threads they spun were thinner than spider silk, and like their bodies, they were almost transparent.

For small creatures, the webs woven by such moths are deadly traps like spider webs.

"If it hadn't been for the cocoon shaped like a dew, I wouldn't have noticed its presence." Keane said.

"This is the first time I've seen a moth that can weave a web.

It will take me some time to observe its habits." Sela set the bug box aside.

It's time we got down to business.

You know what I'm referring to."

The FluoMush in the spell weaving hall had been extinguished, and the flickering magical energy was the only source of light at hand.

A few spell banishers were scattered in the darkness of the hall, watching Master Sosbin's demonstration.

If it weren't for the reflections in the eyes of these onlookers, a passerby would have thought it was a one-man show without an audience.

"..."

"'Spellbreaking,' as the name implies, is to destroy the enemy's spells.

Therefore, magical defense and resistance do not fall into this category."Only the act of disabling, deflecting, or even reversing the enemy's spells can be called'spell breaking'."

"..."

"'Spellbreakers' are first and foremost very good spellcasters so that they can understand the principles of magic." If willing, those powerful spellbreakers can block the enemy's spells for a period of time by interfering with the caster's incantations.

Some spellbreakers who understand the spiritual realm can even make the enemy forget the spell they just used."

"..."

"The theory is that all magic can be broken.

However, the use of spell-breaking is not so widespread, and it will be affected by many factors.

So spellbreakers often need to weigh a variety of factors.

Too far from the enemy, and the spellbreaker will not have enough insight into the enemy's spell, while too close to the enemy, and the spellbreaker will not have enough time to recite the spell.

But we are Spell Banishers, and our lineage gives us a certain advantage—"

"Does destroying an enemy's mana shield also fall under the category of spell breaking?" Keane interrupted Sosbin.

"Yes," It can disable the enemy's spells.

But what I'm going to say below is the key.

Whether or not you can successfully perform a spell break depends not only on the method and timing of use, but also on the difference in power between the two sides.

If you want to break some archmage's mana shield and you don't have enough power to fight it, then you need to seek the right timing."

Not long ago, Keane had successfully powered up magical energy, but his process of channeling the spell's energy was a mixed bag.

As far as Sela could remember, excluding the complete recitation of the spell to destroy the mana shield, his companion's most successful spell casting was to channel the lightning energy to his fingertips.

After that, due to forgetting the last syllable of the spell, he failed to release the magical energy in time and was struck down by the reverse lightning bolt.

Sosbin attributed the reason for this to the divine nature of Ciara, which Keane could never let go of when the goddess failed to heal herself.

For Sela, a heart full of blood is like a juicy tomato, while a fresh liver is more like a tender cutlet of meat.

These foods give her ample strength to drive her inner blood magic and quietly awaken her long-hidden vampire nature.

When her spirit is happy, she reveals her true self unconsciously, perhaps with slightly red eyes, or perhaps with the silver tips of her teeth half hidden between her lips.

----------

The moment the stone door of the refuge closed, a whispered conversation came slowly from the darkness ahead.

"..."

"Repayment is the deepest longing."

"Fear because of isolation."

"Last Sighs...

Dying Wishes..."

"Silence." Sosbin's cryptic whisper silenced the murmur of the pattering rain.

"Surely you are not looking for Ms.

Sela in full armor." Sosbin usually follows his voice into the dark underworld, but this time he did not.

"Master, I—"

"No, there is no need for words.

They know the purpose of your trip.

Your mourning has been turned into a dagger.

Remember, the Path of Shadows is the Path of His.

The Path of Binding Shadows Forward is the Path of Spell Banishment." Having said that, Sosbin used his voice to open a shortcut to the ground.

----------

The events of a few months ago may have long been forgotten by others, but they never faded in Keane's memory.

Every time he thought of the people on the list still breathing, his heart felt like a knife.

In order to reach Windrose Valley as soon as possible, he kept walking through the shadows of the trees, trying to redeem the lost time with his speedy footsteps.

After nightfall, Keane rests under a low, dense canopy of trees.

A campfire burned in the earthen pit to provide heat and cover his eyes and ears.

After setting the usual traps, he pulled out the clues and read them over and over until he could tell where each one led before lying down.

Keane gripped his weapon and stood guard.

When he turned back, Sela was already sitting by the fire.

"It's a shame you've never experienced flight." Sela broke off a branch and threw it into the campfire."Which do you think is faster, running or flying?" She snapped another branch, as if she were breaking a rib that wouldn't give in.

Seeing his companion's dry lips, Keane handed over a water bag.

I'm sorry, Sela.

You must have searched for a long time."

"Nope."Not too long." Sela spoke without meaning to."To find your trail, I just followed a stream and flew until I saw the snow line." Then I wandered through the wolves' hunting grounds for half a day, asking for the fallen ravens in the woods in the process, and almost walking into elven territory." She emptied her bag of water in one gulp."Is that how you thanked me?"

"Yes," I don't want you to run, let alone risk your life."

"So now you're winging it and starting to worry that I'll hold you back."

Keane is not lying; he really does not want Sela to take any risks.

But Sela seems to have misinterpreted his intentions, which makes Keane helpless.

"I'm just scared to make the choice again."

Hearing this, Sela sighed.

She wasn't going to continue chastising her companion and instead grabbed a branch and fiddled with the campfire.

I've spent more time in the Golden Waterwheel than you have.Like you, I have good reason to seek revenge.

In Noah, women are allowed to fight in battles.

You can't deny that."

"Yes." Keane felt a little taken aback."But you had said you weren't a Noah." You don't like the traditions? "

Don't be silly, I only said that to put off the idiots.

Anyway, if you're worried about me getting hurt, then you should be putting up a shield around me, not leaving me out of it."You're a lot bigger now than you were before, but that doesn't mean you're as strong as I am." Sela pointed to her shoulder, where she had been wounded by an elven arrow."Will your wound heal by the third day?"

Sela's words left Keane speechless and unable to do anything but nod his head.

Shortly after falling asleep, images appeared in Keane's consciousness.

At first, he thought he was dreaming, but the images came so clearly and so real.

A group of people dressed in jungle-colored clothing with weeds and leaves on their heads moved noiselessly through the depression.

Keane sat up and recalled the image in his mind.

From the orientation, those people should be on the other side of the mountain.

Unsure if it was a vision or a fact, he came to the ridge.

The scene below was just as he had seen in his dream.

"I recognize this group, this group of elves to be exact." Keane spoke to Blackfeather.

He then quietly withdrew to the camp and extinguished the fire, waking his companion again and gesturing for her to follow.

Upon reaching the ridge, Sela quickly recognized the group of elves who had attacked her."Let's stay quiet and wait for them to leave."

Keane drew an arrow from his pouch, the elf's three-bladed arrowhead mounted at the tip."I think we should give this back to them." With that, he drew his bowstring full and aimed at the elf at the front of the group, releasing it in a flash of a slight pause in his target.

"An ambush! Hunters of Ursula (the goddess of beasts and hunting of the Wissahne world)! Prepare to fight! "

The elves took cover, then opened their bows and looked for the enemy.

Keane pulled Sela into the darkness and disappeared.

The two stopped only after they were far from the elven party.

"Ursula's hunters, ambushers, and hunting experts have been stolen by their former prey." This will cause them no small setback.

How did you find out about them?

"It wasn't me, it was the crows that found it."

"It?" Sela raised an eyebrow, willfully.

"Yes.

It showed me what it saw, and I'm not sure that's what's going on."

----------

A crow flew over Ironstone Town, and instead of announcing its arrival with a raspy call, it just landed on the roof of a house and pecked at the moths in the beams, looking up from time to time to keep an eye on the townspeople.

Although it is already summer, Ironstone Town has not regained its usual vitality.

It seems that with the departure of the last winter not only the frost and the wind, but also those withered lives and fragile souls.

The town is less children's fights.

Outside the mine, the two new furnaces were working day and night.

Some of the guards came and went between the furnaces and the tavern, most of them carrying honey wine for the summer heat.

At the edge of the forest, a campfire the size of a hand burns quietly behind the trees.

The smoke it raises blends in with the surrounding watery mist, indistinguishable to the naked eye.

"The bear claw ice peak emblem, the person wearing the weapon." Keane read off the clues he had jotted down earlier comparing the features on the guards."I don't remember who the local lord is.

What is certain is that he is not influential enough to use the emblem to mark his warriors."

"Sounds like these guys wearing emblems took over the place." Sela wrapped up her cloak and lay down by the campfire."We'll figure it out.

Until then, we rest."

After nightfall, Keane strangled a lone guard with his bowstring and dragged him into the woods.

"You-" the guard coughed while covering his injured neck."Who the fuck are you!" He squeezed out.

Keane did not speak, quietly giving the guards time to catch their breath.

The guard struggled to sit up, clinging to the large tree behind him.

He stared at the medium-sized native with a short beard in front of him.

He could not tell the other man's age because the light was too dim."All right! Bastard! What do you want here?!"

"Schoen Han, do you recognize it?"

The guard coughed a few more times, "He's crippled.

He lost his last eye and received a knife in his back, and is now confined to the tavern in town called the 'Mammoth Nose'.

He now calls himself 'Dry Spring Shaan' or 'Shaan Dry Spring', which was his name before he became a lord.

Who cares.

Anyway, he can't be a warrior for the lord anymore."

Keane puts away his weapon as a way to get the other man to relax.

He wanted the other man to tell the truth so that he could find out who all had a hand in this."Tell me what happened, in detail."

"A few months ago, in order to weaken the power of the Highlanders, the Lord of the Valley ordered Schoen Han to lead us to the Golden Waterwheel to plunder it.

We failed to capture a few men and had to bring back the villagers as Frostfire Yush wanted.

One night, those villagers attacked us.

Two of the women seriously wounded Lord Schoen Han."

Keane looked at his clues, "Have any of you been bitten?"

"It was Jon.

he took over Schoen Han's command of our fight and was bitten in the face by one of the women."

"Where is Jon now?"

"He was made a lord and has gone back to Ice City."

"Where are the others involved in the looting?"

"Except for Jon and the one who died that night, everyone else is stationed in the tavern." The guard slowly rose to his feet holding onto the trunk of the tree, "You know I've said enough.

I'm not an idiot.

I know you're going to kill me, but I'll fight you to the end!" With that, he lunged.

Without much thought, Keane swung his battle axe and chopped off his head.

----------

In a slight creaking sound, the wooden door slowly opened.

A woman tightly wrapped in a cloak walked into the tavern.

The smell of alcohol hit her face, and the corners of her mouth rose slightly.

A thick, curved ivory tusk hangs prominently on the wall as the tavern's sign, with the words "Mammoth Trunk" carved into it.

The sign is decorated with a knot of wheat sheaves woven with leather cord, a traditional decoration of the Noah people.

At this moment, most of the guests have already left.

The bar was empty.

A few drunken guards are gathered around a table relying on a simple drinking game to pass the extra energy.

They put a coin on the shield and turn it.

When the shield stops spinning, the brass plate stops in front of whoever drinks.

Noticing the strange woman's arrival, a guard picked up a bottle and staggered over to her."Really! Hiccup, Killian's (the Wissane world's god of martial arts and war) maids are not as tempting as you are! Hiccup, I'm the big man here, Jia Yurr.

what's your name? Where are you from?"

"My name is Sela.

I got lost.

Luckily, I found my way here." The woman said.

"Hiccup, why don't you come join us for a few drinks." The guard reached out his arm and put it on the woman's shoulder.

"Yes! Come on!" The other guards echoed.

"I'd love to join you." Sela pulled the guy who had offered him the door to her and slowly unleashed her charms on him."But I'm looking for help.

My sister, she sprained her ankle.

I left her on the side of the road.

She needs a couple of strong men to carry her over."

The guard was so captivated by the woman in front of him that his eyes wouldn't leave for a moment."My brother and I can give you a hand, provided that -"

Sela stared intently into the guard's eyes.

Soon, the hypnotic gaze allowed the vampire's will to penetrate the guy's mind."I need everyone, everyone."

"Yes, all of them." The guard repeated mechanically.

He then turned to the others, "You drunks! Come over here, all of you! Let's go help the maid find her sisters! Hiccup-"

----------

The torches in the darkness were as feeble as candles in the wind.

A wail cut through the silence.

It did not startle the mountains like the wolf's howl, but it was enough to startle away the drunkenness of a group of guards.

As he fell to the ground, the wounded man dropped his torch and yanked down his nearest companion."Take down this damn trap! I'll use it to serve the hunter's life!"

The other man picked up the torch and looked around, only to find that the woman who had just led the way was nowhere to be seen."Does anyone know where we are?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, an arrow coming from the darkness pierced into the man's thigh.

Immediately after, several more arrows attacked the group of unsuspecting warriors one after another.

None of these arrows were fatal, but they sowed confusion with the fueling potion they carried.

"Stay calm! Extinguish the flames!" This command briefly saved the day.

However, when several incendiary potions exploded at their feet, the group of warriors abandoned their companions and began to flee on their own.

What awaited them was a carefully placed tripwire.

Hiding in the shadows, Sela browsed the darkness for fleeing prey.

Those amber eyes glowed red.

The bloody teeth that showed between her lips were pale in the moonlight."You missed the shot on purpose."

"Yes.

Save each other and end up all buried." Keane gripped his battle axe and shield and began to chase down the fleeing enemies, just as they had chased down the villagers of the golden waterwheel that night.

A burned guy became the vampire's appetizer, and Sela pounced on the still gasping prey to drink the fresh blood."Too bad you're too old to be roasted." She dropped the body and pounced on another guy who had tripped over a trap."This one's just right."

"Mercy! Please -" before the words were finished, the warrior was already head over heels.

The guy next to him who had one breath left had his neck broken by a stomp.

Keane runs to the other enemies, "Run! Yes! Run like cowards! You will never enter Temple of the Spirits!"

Hearing this, the six surviving warriors stopped in their tracks.

Turning around, they found that the visitor was only one person.

Four of them looked at each other for a moment, then swung their weapons and swarmed forward.

The first three companions soon fell in a pool of blood.

When they saw the fourth guy get his throat bitten off by the blood-covered monster, the remaining two hesitated.

"Fuck Temple of the Spirits! He's a man-eating demon!" The shouter turned to continue his escape, only to be paralyzed with fear by another hideous face covered in blood.

After a short struggle of thought, the only guy left finally gathered his courage.

He picked up the battle axe that he had just thrown at himself but failed to hit, and rushed towards its owner, "I am the North Wind's-!"

Keane stepped forward and slammed his shield into his enemy's face, followed by grabbing his target's head and slamming it into his knee, breaking his neck.

The man on the ground was no longer struggling, and Sela was still exuberantly feeding on the blood pouring out of his arteries.

The vampire who had suddenly revealed her true nature was a far cry from the usual gentle apothecary.

After a few moments, she got up and wiped the blood from her mouth."What? Did it scare you?"

"No, Sela."

"Then don't gawk.

It's not over yet."

----------

In the upstairs room of the tavern, the two men found a soundly sleeping Schoen Han, with his waiter asleep in the foyer.

"What are you going to do? I know you brought some Fire-cracker Ants.

You want him to eat the Fire-cracker and watch his throat get ripped out.

But if he swallows those bugs, you'll have to think of something else." Sela warned in a low voice.

"If I choke his throat, he won't be able to swallow.

But now that you mention Fire-cracker Ant, I can't help thinking of a fire-cracker."

Shortly after leaving, Keane fetched two fire tongs and the crucible with the iron slurry.

Sela saw this and took a few steps back.

She picked up an empty bottle and walked toward the waiter's bed, "If the waiter wakes up, I'll knock him out with this."

Keane approached the bed and swung up and slammed Schoen Han in the chest.

Schoen Han covered his chest in an attempt to scream, but some kind of cold iron was shoved into his mouth and forcibly pried open.

The man, who had lost his vision, hissed and fought against the monster on top of him.

Unfortunately, the arm just holding the dagger was nailed to the bedpan with some kind of sharp object, while the other hand was sent into the monster's mouth in a panic.

A few fingers came with severe pain, unable to break free.

The slender but heavy sizzling stream showered into the wailing throat, like a flame of hatred that could not be cooled for a long time.

Sela extinguished the burning bedstead with a cold mist, then picked up the dagger next to the body and handed it back to her companion."This is your dagger.

Who taught you that just now, Veshan?"

"It's hate."