[Western Fantasy] The mystery of life and death

Sunset Town has been the base of the Aranti Presbyterian Church for many years.However, there was a large army setting up such a large-scale ambush in the outskirts of the town.In such a big battle, there was no assistance or response from Sunset Town.All this made Lorca extremely uneasy about the destination of the operation.

The facts really confirmed the ominous premonition in Lorca's heart.

At this time, Lorca was in an ancient monastery on the outskirts of Sunset Town. He had just healed Palmer and the two accompanying guards.In Palmer's narration, Lorca knew that an accident had happened to Sunset Town.

When Sunset Town was raided, Palmer escaped by relying on his loyal bodyguards to fight his way out of the siege. In order to lure away a group of masters, Elder Abelson is still alive and dead.The attack came too suddenly.It was too late to even call for help.The other elders scattered all over the place are not aware of this incident.

Palmer was already weak, and he was even more emaciated under the double torment of serious injuries and grief.His complexion was so pale that it was almost transparent due to blood loss due to serious injuries.Regardless of Luoka's dissuasion, he insisted on telling the whole process intermittently with great difficulty, and then collapsed on the pillow. His frail and lonely appearance reminded Luoka of the white mandala flower on the edge of the cliff of Yimejiluo Mountain, Fragile and swaying in the hunting mountain wind, it seems that it will be pushed away at any time and wither away.

It turned out that Sunset Town was almost completely destroyed.Loka clenched his fists tightly, his eyes were already red.

"Lorca, how are you...how?" Palmer asked weakly, "Yesterday... there was a big movement in the direction of the Doro... mountain pass, is it... you? It's really earth-shattering, the earth... is all here Trembling. We... thought it was... an earthquake."

Loka nodded mournfully.If he hadn't clenched his teeth, he would almost have cried in the wind and rain.But the current situation is so unpredictable that indulging emotions is a luxury.Only by calmly judging the situation can we lead the surviving clansmen out of a way out.

The surviving guards were all poisoned by the poisonous mist, everyone was seriously injured, and they couldn't bear the battle for a short time.Because of the great commotion caused by the war.Loka immediately led the guards to withdraw into the Doro Mountains, using the complex terrain to conceal their whereabouts.I don't know if the practice of preparing elders has improved my physique.Lorca himself was poisoned by the poisonous mist during the battle, and was stabbed in the back with a sword. He remembered that the blade penetrated into his lungs.But at the end of the war, Loka found that all the injuries on his body had already healed, as if he had never been injured.

Loka briefly treated the most life-threatening injuries for the team members, and ordered Eric to lead the team to hide their whereabouts in the deep valley and recover slowly.And he disguised himself as a merchant traveler and went to Sunset Town to inquire about the situation.Unexpectedly, the ominous premonition was verified.

Loka patted Palmer's hand, "Don't worry, most of us are fine." Thinking of the "small part" that disappeared, Loka's heart ached again.

Palmer looked worriedly out of the misty window, "They must have been injured, this weather..." Palmer sighed. "Lorca, you... where... did you end up? Eric... Pete... are they all okay?"

Loka frowned in pain, enduring the pain in his heart, "It's all in the Doro Valley, Pete... sacrificed!" His voice trembled uncontrollably.

Palmer held Lorca's hand tightly with his backhand, "Lorca, we... want revenge..." He looked at Lorca deeply. Our recent... all... encounters are... strange, I suspect... there is a traitor! "

Lorca was startled suddenly, Palmer's eyes were melancholy and deep, "Lorka, you have to be careful of all suspicious people."

For some reason, the figure of the shepherd suddenly flashed in Luoka's mind.That profile face is the same as Mason's.Doubts swirled in his heart.

In the oppressive silence, Palmer closed his eyes and recuperated for a while before he had the strength to speak. He said worriedly, "Lorca, I'm worried... They must be injured... here... it's safe... there are food, medicine, those The monk...has long escaped from the war. Dean Barrow is a good friend of Elder Abelson, and he helped us cover it up after several searches. Let Eric and the others come here to hide."

Loka was noncommittal, Dean Barrow had Elder Abelson's token on him, but what Loka cared about was that he was not from Aranti.Although the old dean was friendly and kind, Lorca decided to observe for a while before making a judgment.

He must now proceed with greater caution.Loka has dispatched "Headwind" to report the battle situation with the messenger leaves.Soon parents and other elders will be able to come to support.

"You have a good rest first, I'll go out and have a look." Lorca comforted Palmer with soft mana.See Palmer quickly fell asleep.He left silently, and climbed up to the belvedere of the monastery worriedly.

Here you can overlook the whole picture of the monastery. The lush grass is almost taller than a person, and it spreads, completely covering the original garden.In the dark and misty wind and rain, the simple stone buildings look dilapidated and gloomy.The blue-gray stone walls are covered with moss and signs of weather erosion.All the new brilliance will eventually peel off into melancholy and vicissitudes in the endless torrent of the river of fate.

It has been cloudy and rainy since last night after the war.Luoka thought, could it be that God is also mourning the lost life?He stood silently alone in the watchtower, which was the highest point of the monastery, and in the distance he could see the wilderness where the battle took place a few days ago.Layers of leaden gray long clouds pressed the heavy sky to the horizon. Under the dark and heavy sky, mottled scars left on the earth by the fierce battle a few days ago remained everywhere in the wasteland.

Under the dim sky, the howling wind swept across the gloomy wilderness, sobbing hoarsely, as if countless broken souls were still mourning and fighting.The passionate and fighting life has been buried deep in the cold and silent soil, only the steep outline of the Doro Mountains has been accompanied by the cold silence forever.

Loka knew that the wounds on the earth would eventually be healed by the passage of time, and would eventually be covered up without a trace in the lush greenery.But the pain in the heart will not stop, and the grief is constantly gnawing at the bleeding heart, constantly etching the wounds in the heart deeply.

"Your Highness! Let's go!"

Pete's last cry seemed to keep ringing in his ears.That resolute figure kept coming to mind.

Lorca seemed to stand like a silent stone sculpture.Let it soak in the cold rain cloak, let it be beaten by the howling wind.The grief surging in his chest finally turned into tears and rolled down.But grief doesn't ease one iota.

Pete has followed Lorca since his childhood experience.He has a forthright temperament and bravery in combat, which is deeply appreciated by Lorca.He is also one of the most loyal followers of Lorca.

After Lorca disappeared unexpectedly and returned, he fell into confusion and pain for a while. He doubted everyone in the investigation team.Pete was once listed as a key suspect in Lorca's mind.Because Pete was indeed in a very suspicious position on the day of the accident, it is likely that he was the one behind the scenes, or he might be a witness.And at the banquet, Pete suddenly appeared and interrupted what Michel wanted to say, whether it was intentional or unintentional.All this deepened Lorca's suspicion of Pete.

But during that time, Pete endured Lorca's suspicion and approached Altai on his own initiative.In the end, Loka was able to collect the evidence of Altai's use of Yimihua, and in a critical moment, he broke the restriction in time to enter the secret room and rescue Palmer. Pete really contributed.

Pete later confessed to Lorca that he stopped Michael that night in order to avoid alarming the enemy without hard evidence.But he didn't expect that Michel would be murdered so quickly.

In view of Pete's merits, Lorca proposed to the elders to promote him to the post of chief guard.However, even though Pete has made great contributions, Loka cannot restore the previous trust in Pete.He has been bitter about Pete because of Michael's death.Lorca always believed that if Michel hadn't been interrupted at that time, maybe he wouldn't have died, and there was no need to silence the secrets that had been spoken.He even believes that Pete indirectly caused Michael's death.

In fact, after leaving the secret realm, Roka still led the team that had followed him since he was a boy.But looking at these familiar faces, he could no longer trust these subordinates without hesitation.Lorca's behavior became more and more indifferent, assertive, and bossy.

Why?Why?always like this?

Michael was cleared of suspicion because he was killed.

And Pete ultimately proved his loyalty by sacrificing fearlessly.

Why?Why should only the dead be trusted?

At this moment, recalling the suspicion and alienation towards Pete, guilt and remorse tore the wound of grief even more deeply.

Lorca wept silently on his back in the cold rain.His handsome face was pale and gloomy, the rain mixed with hot tears flowed from the corners of his eyes into his temples, and the luster of his blond hair was also dimmed in the cold wind and rain.In the cold wind and rain, his high eyebrows and eyes were covered with thick sadness, as steep and deep as a knife.

In the war, in addition to Pete, dozens of people died in battle.Although compared with the huge casualties of the enemy's corpses strewn across the field, this loss of casualties is almost nothing.But the team led by Loka is almost the best elite of the younger generation of the Aranti tribe.Everyone's magic and martial arts cultivation base is a rare top master in today's mainland.For the current precarious Alanti tribe, every lost member is a major loss that cannot be made up for a long time in the future.

What's more, they have all followed Loka for many years.Although Loka is an expensive prince, he has more friendship with these subordinates who have fought side by side for many years.He knew everyone's name, their combat style, and even their temperament and preferences.Now every time Lorca thinks of a name, his heart feels like being hit by a heavy hammer.

And now even Sunset Town...

In the cold wind and rain, the gravel path of the monastery extended to the misty distance. Luoka had never been so low, and he felt that the road ahead was gloomy.But this dark and unclear road can only be walked reluctantly.I can't see anything clearly on the road ahead, and I still don't know which force is targeting the Aranti tribe.

Lorca remembered Palmer's words—"I suspect...there is a mole!"

"Lorca, you have to be careful of all suspicious people."

He couldn't help thinking of the strange shepherd again.Appears near the battlefield every time.And he looks exactly like the executed Mason!

Yesterday's battle was interrupted by a flood of wild buffalo.Such a large-scale irregular migration, with obvious traces of magic, is obviously subject to artificial trends.

Could it be the shepherd?

Is he an enemy or a friend?If it was said that he appeared in the enemy camp for the first time, although the scene was weird, it looked like he was helping Lorca's camp.But yesterday, most of the guards who died on the side of the Yalante tribe did not die in battle, but were trampled to death by the sudden flood of buffalo.Loka thought of Pete's last figure again, and his heart, which had calmed down a little, twisted into a painful ball again.

Who is that shepherd?What force does he belong to?Could it be the remnants of the Miluo Sect?Want to take advantage of the situation when both sides are hurting?

The ability to drive animals...

That side face, exactly the same as Mason's, came to Lorca's mind repeatedly.He remembered the rumors about Mason in the secret realm.

Loka also thought of his strange disappearance.After his return, in order to play down the presbytery's speculation that he might be contaminated by magic, he has always avoided talking to others about the day of the accident.

And yesterday, maybe the weird herd of buffalo brought back memories, and Eric told him about the strange things he saw when he was inspecting the terrain near the habitat of the flame lizard the day before the accident.Eric had vaguely suspected that the weirdo who drove the giant lizard was Mason.However, Mason has since "died of his wounds".

What makes Loka uneasy is the small pool that Eric mentioned!It was the beginning of his mysterious disappearance!All this is indeed a conspiracy.Who is it that deliberately set up this trap?

Altai is dead.

Mason was also executed.

Who is that weirdo?

Is it all.His own disappearance, crisis in the secret realm, and successive ambushes were all plots planned by this weirdo? !

Suddenly Lorca sensed that someone was approaching the monastery again, but the aura was faintly present, which was very strange.He immediately became alert, quickly restrained his breath, stood sideways by the thick stone wall of the watchtower to hide his figure, and looked down——

In the misty rain and fog, a gray and blurry silhouette slowly walked along the gravel path.Like a cloud of shadow formed from the gray rain and fog, as he approached, the figure gradually became clear.Gradually, it became clear that it was a shepherd wearing a dark green linen smock! He was wearing a thick gray-green checked wool shawl.As if to cover the head to shelter from the wind and rain.He walked slowly with a shepherd's staff.At this time, the old Dean Barrow also noticed him, and walked out the door to meet him.

The shepherd stopped in front of the old dean and bowed to salute. Perhaps out of politeness, he took off his hood-like shawl backwards, revealing his black hair and face.Loka stared closely at his face, and found that it was just a mediocre shepherd, with a humble smile common to poor people, full of begging and fawning.This face is so ordinary that it is easy to forget.

While Lorca was disappointed, doubts abounded.He mustered all his energy to gaze intently into the shepherd's face.This face became blurred, and in the next moment, he saw clearly the true face under the illusion, it was - Mason!He will never be wrong!This familiar face, figure, and demeanor are Mason, a good friend who grew up with him and has been sentenced to execution!

Lorca's breath fluctuated violently amidst the huge shock.Mason, who was saluting Dean Barrow, suddenly raised his head and looked towards the watchtower.Lorca immediately dodged behind the stone wall and held his breath to restrain his breath fluctuations.

After a while, Luoka listened intently to the footsteps on the gravel path, and gradually walked to the abandoned back garden behind the monastery.He looked at Mason and Dean Barrow in the distance from the side of the stone wall.They had already reached the edge of the long and lush weeds. Dean Barrow's face was originally alert, but gradually became dazed and dull.Through the cover of the illusion, one can clearly see Mason's pale face with a stern expression, exuding an arrogance.The originally dreamy purple eyes became even darker, and at this time they were looking sharply at the old Dean Barrow.

Lorca was sure that he was Mason.

But Lorca had never seen Mason like this.They are close friends who have known each other for many years, but Loka has to admit that such a Mason is extremely strange.It also makes people feel faintly afraid.

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar friend in front of him, waves of surprise and uncertainty set off in Luoka's heart——

Mason had already been executed by the elders, why did he appear here again?

How could he escape the fire of purgatory under the strict monitoring of the Presbyterian Church?

He really is Mason!And that creepy shepherd too!

Was it he who performed the sorcery?

Why did he appear near the battlefield again?

Why doesn't he come to meet?

Why do you run away in such a hurry every time you meet?

Why is it here now?

Lorca felt strongly that Mason was closely related to the recent series of events.Could he... be that weirdo?

Looking at Mason who exudes indifferent majesty from a distance, Loka was surprised to find that deep in his heart he wanted to crawl under his feet tamely, waiting for his condescending call in a faint trembling.

Lorca dodged back to the stone wall, he felt his legs were a little weak, he leaned against the stone wall tightly, relying on this cold and thick leaning to support himself.Loka was extremely perplexed by this strange feeling, he closed his eyes, and silently recited "The Song of Gaia" with concentration... After a long time, he finally regained his composure.

Mason's appearance is too suspicious!And Loka realized something faintly in this strange feeling, something that he had been ignoring before.

Luoka's heroic face gradually became stern in the cold wind and rain.

Mason, what is your identity?What exactly are you trying to do?

The author has something to say:

Hey, Mason, your vest is off.