ninth dragon stone

"I'm not interested in marrying a wife and having children, being promoted to an official position; I can also stay by your side without returning to my hometown for the rest of my life. It doesn't matter if your lover has someone else, I will do my best to protect everything about her. You know, I'm not afraid of difficulties, I'm not afraid of bloodshed, it doesn't even matter if you don't love me, as long as you need me, I can do anything - as long as you need me."

The flowers in the cemetery put their roots on the coffin, exuding an intoxicating aroma, and the boy's voice was very light and even cheerful, describing the heavy vows as if they were a sweet dream.

"If you need it, I am willing to die for you."

■

The reality is far from being so calm and calm as described in a few words.Because of the confession of the attendant, the Crown Prince suddenly became the prime suspect of regicide, and he couldn't find any evidence to defend himself for a while, so Pope Fian VI refused to crown him.His younger brother, Prince Inks, was very sad because of his father's sudden death. He didn't drink a drop of water for two whole days, and swore a heavy oath that he must find out the murderer and never let him go lightly.Therefore, even his elder brother refused to recognize the legitimacy of his power until he was cleared of suspicion.

Unfortunately, there happened to be a rift in the fief of Inks caused by a broken seal, and the demons in the city of the abyss were constantly pouring into the surface world from the rift.The crown prince has been slow to send reinforcements to the local area, hoping to force Inks to admit himself, but Inks refuses to give in, and insists on relying on the support of a little soldiers and people in the territory.His strength is far from enough to resist the large-scale invasion of the demons. In less than a week, the human race retreated across the board, and the demons spread from the territory of Inks to the surrounding fiefdoms of other nobles and the adjacent Pope.All of a sudden, Angrose reached a critical juncture that had not been seen in more than a hundred years. The memory of the dark age, which had been almost wiped from people's minds, was once again awakened through word of mouth.

Luoxian's court has long been busy.The prime minister was so anxious that his beard trembled: "No matter how much your Highness has a feud with Lord Inks, you can't watch him die. If that happens, the hearts of the people in the world will be completely chilled!" Let the ghosts and ghosts rage, the bishop in red robes showed embarrassment, and told the crown prince that Fian VI was very firm and asked him to agree to accept the investigation and trial of the Holy See.

Hearing this, the crown prince was so angry that he called the case: "Judgment? Where did the trial come from? If I agree, wouldn't it be the same as tacitly acquiescing to slander?"

There was silence everywhere, and the crown prince walked away angrily under the gaze of the people.

Therefore, Inks continued to rely on his territory and his people to fight against the demon army. Perhaps it was the sense of crisis that they could not retreat that boosted their fighting spirit, and even won a few battles.The little nobles in the surrounding area felt his tenacity, and gathered under his command to fight the enemy together, but they couldn't change the general trend of the battlefield after all.The south of his fief is adjacent to the Papal State, but Fian VI doesn't seem nervous at all. While letting his cronies try to repair the seal, he seems to be comparing with Crown Prince Angros who can hold his breath: He neither ordered priests, paladins, or mages to fight, nor approved the request of the Southern Card Kingdom to support Angrose.Time has entered a desperate tug-of-war.

The people in Silver Spring Town and Gloria are watching the battle anxiously, especially the large number of Anglos among them, who are full of thoughts about their homeland at this moment.Things became even more complicated in front of Rolandes and Tinosha: it was no secret that the Pope had a grudge against them, but what role did he play in this crisis?Opposing him at this time may not be worth the loss, and obeying him is hard to avoid being used.Especially Tinosha, he had seen the seal design manuscript that Ichelde left to the human Holy See back then, and he also knew the operation mechanism of undead magic. Based on his knowledge and experience, he felt that the large-scale destruction of this seal at this time was extremely abnormal.

Sitting among several young and strong paladins, the old man looked even thinner, but his eyes swept over their faces one by one, and his sharp expression still made people dare not be contemptuous. "Maybe the Pope intends to take this opportunity to wipe out all of us dissidents, of course, this is the worst case," he said.

"Impossible," Rolanders' first reaction was to deny, "The cost of doing this is too high. It is true that we can be wiped out, but there are countless innocent soldiers and people involved. Our fate depends on the Pope." Is it so expensive in your eyes?"

Veronica frowned slightly after hearing this, while Inge looked at Tinosha's face and knew that he was not joking.

If it's what he said, he thought, do knights and mages have any chance of winning?He once heard Jon talk about the past. At the end of the dark age, humans gathered almost all available troops and formed a huge alliance that has never been seen before or since. Fight back to the city of the abyss.Since then, because of the indestructibility of the "Ishield Seal", the demons have been firmly isolated from the surface world to kill each other.The city of the abyss has existed in people's legends for a long time. Inge heard rumors that there are hundreds of years of scorching heat and endless winters, and every day the prisoners live there is a life-and-death war for survival.If this is the case, the Pope has released those victors who have survived hundreds of years from the seal, can they really be defeated by the Knights Templar and the Academy of Mages?Is he really sure to control the situation himself?

He was nothing more than a paladin, none of these questions could answer.He felt as if he was walking in a thick fog at this moment, behind the thick fog there was something far away and beyond ordinary people's understanding that was staring at him intently, the fog condensed into cold water droplets, quietly, quietly flowing into his veins deep in the heart.

"Rolanders," he heard Tinosha suddenly ask, "are you willing to let your subordinates participate in this war?"

Rolanders sighed, and unconsciously avoided Tinosha's gaze: "If it's really what you said, I... don't know."

He hesitated.

Tinosha stood up from the chair, dusted off her robe, and smiled slightly, looking kindly. "I plan to go to Minghui City to see what happened in person. If the Pope allows, then I will naturally make my own judgment after seeing the seal with my own eyes; and if he refuses..."

"Goria will not participate in the battle."

■

But in the end Rolanders didn't wait for him.When the news came that Gloria refused to join the war, expelled the bishop, and closed the city gates, the town of Silver Spring was already shrouded in the solemn and tense atmosphere before the expedition, and it was about to become an empty city.The news of Gloria has not brought any fluctuations here, because everyone here has already understood their upcoming destiny, which is to obey the order of the Holy See and participate in the war in Anglos.

Leiana was riding a horse, standing side by side with Veronica at the city gate, clutching the rein with a bloodless face: "Why... Didn't you say that the Pope might not be at ease? Listen to him, isn't it? Are you throwing yourself into a trap..."

She was still afraid—of course she was afraid, although she had vowed to be Veronica's comrade-in-arms a long time ago, but until now she vaguely understood what war is like, the idea of ​​"I might die" It also became more and more real.

Veronica turned to look at her, and smiled a little, trying to convey a little comfort. "It's not as scary as you think, haven't we all survived so many times? From now on, stay by my side and don't run away," she said in a very calm voice, "Joseline too, let her Either follow Inge, or follow Rolanders." Leiana nodded ignorantly.But Veronica knew in her heart how severe the situation before her was. Even though she had fought hand to hand with the demons many times before, it didn't mean she could come back from the battlefield unscathed this time; she, Rolanders, Yin All grids are like this.But what can be done?

They are the Knights Templar. From the day of their birth, they have taken the responsibility of eradicating evil and defending their homeland. This is the supreme belief and principle passed down from generation to generation by the Knights.The conflict with the Pope has undoubtedly taken a backseat at this time. Angrose is in critical condition and needs help. It is not an exaggeration to say that these one-in-a-million paladins live for today.

She still remembered that after Tinosha left that day, Rolandes turned to her and said, "Veronica, go and tell the bishop to let him contact the Holy See. I hope that before we join Prince Inks, the supplies shipped from Minghui City be able to arrive first.”

She did it almost immediately, without asking a single "why," and neither did Inge.

Because they all know that fighting for their compatriots and brothers and sisters is their supreme mission.

The march was not long, and when they arrived, Inkers evidently welcomed them very much.Inge observed him with some curiosity. He was probably not yet 40 years old, and looked a little older than Rolanders. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and the armor covering his body seemed full of strength.After meeting Rowlands, he greeted him briefly and got to the point.His upper and lower lips spit out a series of words quickly from the middle of the beard, and his voice sounded serious and serious. With his expression, it felt like he was really at the critical moment of life and death.

"All in all, the situation is not optimistic, the cracks are still expanding, and I don't know what those people in Minghui City are doing." He seemed a little resentful, but finally said, "Your help is really timely."

Rolanders nodded politely: "I want to meet the leader of the pastor of Minghui City."

"No problem," Inks said, leading the way, "I was going to take you there too. But I know that the bishop came with you, and then the priests all obeyed his command. These are ?”

His quick steps stopped suddenly in front of Inge, and he stood there staring at them.Rolanders replied naturally: "My subordinates, those two ladies are the pastors of Silver Spring Town."

"Very good." Inks' eyes stayed on them one by one for a while, but he didn't express any opinion.It wasn't until his gaze finally fell on Leiana that he asked, "Are you a priest too?"

Leiana was so nervous that her heart jumped into her throat, but she still forced herself to answer calmly: "Yes, I'm still an intern."

Inks suddenly realized and nodded, patted her on the shoulder and said, "Come on!" Leyana was a little hurt from the iron glove, so that her expression was a little distorted when she thanked the prince.Then Incks passed them.Rowlands declined to comment on his actions, saying only to Inger and Veronica, "Come along."

The camp of Inks was very large. His army, the little lords who came to help the battle, the priests sent by Minghui City, and the supplies they delivered were all together. Not far away was the new camp that Rolanders and the others set up.The camp was obviously set up hastily, even in a mess, but Inks was very familiar with it, and took them to the tents of the priests in two or three steps.He opened the curtain of a tent, and the voice came in the same order as the people who came: "Pastor Leno!"

Leno was a middle-aged man in a black robe. He was bending over to write something on the only table just now. When he heard Inks barging in, he couldn't help but straighten up, a little surprised: "Why are you here?...Ah, yes Lord Rolanders!"

As he spoke, he bowed slightly to them, and then straightened up before showing a gloomy expression towards Rolandes: "You are the only one here, so the rumors of Goroja's refusal to fight are true?"

"It is true," Rolanders replied, "all the priests and paladins of Silver Spring are here, just as the Pope ordered."

Inks didn't take the disappointment shown by Leno seriously, snorted and said: "That old guy Tinosha! It doesn't matter, whether he likes to come or not, we can win this war just the same!"

Rolanders glanced at him. "You mean," the faint sarcasm in his tone can only be heard by Inge and Veronica, "How was the battle in the past week? Troop casualties? How long can the supplies last?" He asked the two personal.

Inkers replied: "Don't worry about the supplies. The Holy See's transportation capacity is not to be chosen. A batch of supplies for you just arrived yesterday. I will send someone to the next camp later."

Leno interface: "As for the wounded, we can still treat them with the current number of people, and some colleagues from Silver Spring Town will be more confident. It's just that because the mages don't participate in the battle, we have always shouldered the responsibility of cooperating in the battle. To be honest, this is not something we are good at. Everyone is very tired... But there is no way to do it. Fortunately, the fighting power of the demons coming out of the cracks is still very average. The emergence of two ogre ‖ monsters is enough for us to drink a pot. But some great enemies will appear later..." He stopped talking, and his brows and eyes were full of worry again.

There was silence in the tent, even Inks.In the end, it was Rolanders who broke it, and he turned to the prince: "Your Highness, please find a map and bring it, I now know how to help you."

The result of the discussion that day was to give priority to solving a salient where the enemy penetrated into one's own line of defense. The ordinary army of Incks and his allies launched an attack in the front to attract the enemy, and the Knights Templar outflanked from the flanks. .Leno—or later, the priests led by the bishop of Silver Spring Town, if nothing else happens, will be with the ordinary human army, because their combat effectiveness is weaker and their main duty is to contain the enemy, so they need to prolong the existence of their active forces as much as possible time.As long as Rolanders and the others start the second battle, the battle is basically guaranteed.

Inks seemed to admire Rolandes' appearance, and repeatedly said that with his help, victory would no longer be difficult.His words are very inspiring, and even Inge, who has just known him for a short time, is getting used to accepting what he says, and really feels that victory is already lying in the palm of his hand, waiting to close his palms.After leaving the tent, the cold wind could not completely take away the hot excitement that Inks left in his heart.Rolanders came out after him, and Inks, who was in front of them, had already explained the matter and strode away. Veronica also accompanied Leiana to arrange accommodation.There were only the two of them left. At this moment, Rolanders' voice sounded. It was Inge's familiar voice, but suppressed his rare irritability and anxiety.

"Mark my words, Inge."

His eyes were fixed on the ground, so Inge didn't quite catch his expression.But he knew the last half of what Rolanders hadn't said, just as he clearly recognized the hilt of his sword; he felt a huge stone in his heart seem to grow quietly heavier, like the black mist in the dark sky. For a moment, the cold and unknown face of the full moon was revealed.He still remembered that the night before he left Silver Spring Town, he was in Rowlands' room and saw him take out the sword that had been kept in good condition.

It's time to see if Dragonstone is as powerful as it is rumored to be. He remembered that Rolanders picked it up, and the sword blade reflected the candlelight, making his eyes a warm color.

He said to him in the candlelight that touched everything half-truth and half-fake, Inge, you are all right in my eyes, but sometimes it makes people a little worried. I made such a poisonous oath when I was 16 years old, I really can't do anything about you... But now, don't really do what you said, don't really be willing to die to follow me.

He put away the sword, returned to Inge's side, and rubbed the back of his neck vigorously.You must come back here alive, just for me.

■

Their approach worked.After several victories, Inks summoned all the generals and declared that Minghui City had found out the reason for the destruction of the seal, and they had now surrounded the invading demons. At this time, the encirclement should be tightened and the enemy should be limited to a range to prevent They continued to spread like a plague, and then the Bishop of Yinquan Town led his subordinates to restore the seal according to Minghui City's instructions.Everyone had no objection, and Rolandes also cooperated with him.Because the Knights Templar had the strongest combat effectiveness, they served as the vanguard of one of the two wings of the encirclement, and the other side was Inks' own troops, and the bishop followed Rolanders.

On the day of the general offensive, the first round of the offensive was launched quietly at dawn. Rolandes stepped on his horse, and the hazy mist in the forest condensed into fine water droplets on his body.He made the final confirmation with the bishop in a low voice. The priest walked together under the cover of the knight order. After detecting the enemy's hunting enchantment, he snatched the first mover to cast a powerful purification field, and suppressed the enchantment so that it would not take effect. Transfer the advantage of the enemy within a certain range to your own side and grab the upper hand.

"Don't worry." The bishop's attitude was very humble, making it impossible to feel his noble status. "I have worked with you in Silver Spring Town for many years, and we know each other well. Leave it to me."

So they set off swiftly and silently through the morning mist.The woods are not very suitable for cavalry to march, so they do not advance quickly, and it is difficult to maintain a stable formation.Leiana followed Veronica's side and rear, trying not to make a sound even while panting.The battles in the past few days have exhausted her physically and mentally. She found that what she had learned could not help her very much, so she simply took charge of Veronica's treatment and helped her occasionally. Reasons to stay with her.At this time, on the one hand, she was extremely exhausted physically and had to force her spirits, and on the other hand, her nerves were tense, and even the slightest disturbance would affect her.As she walked, she suddenly whispered, "Veronica..."

The latter looked at her upon hearing the words, Leiana frowned as if feeling it for a while, and then said dubiously: "We are on the verge of an ambush."

Her words were quickly confirmed.Jocelyn, who was following Rolandes, accurately detected the existence of the hunting barrier ahead, so Rolandes used gestures to stop the knights behind him. As expected, black figures of the enemy came out of the mottled colors of the forest after a while. come out.Rolanders turned his head and asked the bishop to cast the purification field loudly, and the latter did so immediately, and a gentle white light lit up on the battlefield for a while.This light seemed to give the knights present great support, and they were able to fight the enemy hand-to-hand without any scruples.

However, when Rolanders' sword was just stained with the first black blood, they discovered the problem.The white light dimmed, the surrounding scenery changed, and the enemies who came flooding in like a tide let out sharp and strange laughter.

"Oops," Veronica clenched her sword tightly, "That purification field isn't strong enough!"

Inge hurriedly turned back to look for the priest, but found that there was no sign of them except Leiana and Jocelyn who were following them closely.He looked again at the swarming enemy army, and realized that they were in trouble for this group of knights who were alone in the deep.

Outside the barrier, the Bishop of Silver Spring watched Rolanders and the others disappear silently. There was a burst of exclamation and commotion around him, but he remained unmoved.Leno came to him cautiously, and asked with concern: "What to do, my lord? The barrier must be full of magic circles that are not good for them, and they will all die inside..."

The bishop took a deep look in that direction, and turned the horse's head: "The only way to break through the hunting barrier is to kill all the enemies and break through from the outside. We are not mages, so we can't solve this problem. Apart from going back to the station, there is no way to break through." There is no other way."

Leno was a little taken aback, partly because of his rhetoric, and partly because of his calm reaction.But he kept up.He didn't know anything about the conflict between the Pope and the Knights Templar, and he didn't know that in the attack order sent by Inks yesterday, Rolanders should launch an attack three hours earlier than Inks sent to his own army. Hours.

■

At the same time, Inge and the others, who were fighting hard in the barrier, did not know that there was something wrong with the information they received. They broke in first and attracted the enemy's troops originally deployed in front of Inks. kill more.This hunting enchantment is huge and exquisite, and it probably directly connects the crack between the city of the abyss and the surface world. There are also various magic circles and spells arranged in it as Leno expected, making the battle difficult.Soon they were scattered into several pieces by the enemy. Inge struggled to regroup the besieged companions little by little to avoid being broken one by one, finally found Veronica, but found that they had already followed Another part of Rowlanders' unit was far apart.

The sky in the enchantment is dark, without the sun or moon, and the light comes from the erratic phosphorous fire around and the magma erupting from the volcano in the distance.The sound of bones could be heard when Inge's horse stepped on the ground, and the cold wind in the distance also carried a rancid smell.He didn't know if the city of the abyss looked like this. If so, it was indeed a desperate place of exile.

"They're going there," Veronica pointed at a volcano, her horsewhip was turned on. The phosphorescent fire made her face turn pale, like a dead person. "We have to catch up quickly, because following Rolanders' There are very few people, and they won't last long."

Inge nodded, and immediately set off on his horse. The sporadic enemies that came up were dealt with by them in twos and threes.Just suddenly, there was a rumbling sound from the ground in the distance, and the horses were frightened and ran around, and Yinge could feel the tremor of the ground even when he was riding on the horseback.He quickly stabilized his horse and looked around: "Why—"

He was speechless halfway through the speech.The dark sky was suddenly illuminated, making his face and the faces of the people around him clear in an instant, illuminating his pale face and narrowed, slightly trembling pupils.The distant and sharp neigh drowned out his unconscious whispers, conveying a trace of inaudible fear carved into human bones:

"dragon……"

The giant dragon drilled out of the crack from the direction Veronica pointed at in the distance, spread its black night-like wings, and the flames that spewed out seemed to ignite a sun in this dark world.

Inge recovered immediately after a brief shock, and continued to move forward in that direction at high speed. Veronica called him beside him: "Inge!" But he ignored it.

A comrade-in-arms behind him was very clear-headed and shouted at him: "That's a dragon, we have no chance of winning without the support of a mage!"

Hearing this, Inge suddenly reined in the horse. "Then what should we do?" He turned around, found the speaker in the crowd with a precise glance, stared at him and said, "If we can't break this barrier, are we going to die inside?!" continue to chase.

Veronica's mind is also in chaos at the moment, but she also knows how bad it is to be trapped in the enchantment now.More than half of the comrades around him were already dead, but the hope of breaking through was really slim, and there was no other option but to move on.

"Come on," she said to Leiana and Jocelyn beside her. "Follow me. It's dangerous."

Leana nodded, and Jocelyn said something, and a small white light rose high between her hands, hanging in front of Veronica's horse.Escorted by the gentle holy light, a group of people passed through the dark and silent battlefield, like shooting stars across the icy winter night sky, galloping towards the burning end.

The author has something to say:

I was too busy a while ago, so I haven't updated for a long time... It will end tomorrow, this time it's true.