Chapter 36: Tristram
Elena felt safe and secure whenever she was with this young traveller. The monsters that took her sisters and her a lot to effort to kill were like cabbages in front of him. All the monster were stopped by him and couldn't even get close to her. That man was like an insurmountable wall that blocked off all danger...
Reality had overturned her perception of their master-mercenary relationship. According to everyone's knowledge, including leader Kashaya, mercenaries were simply tools used by travellers. Some despicable travellers used their poor mercenaries to attract monsters and use them as human shields; this led to significant casualties in [Rogue Encampment].
But in order to maintain the existence of the camp and to protect the weak residents who had no combat abilities, female rogues had to be hired as mercenaries for travellers and sacrifice themselves.
Obviously, the young barbarian traveller in front of her wasn't like that. Elena didn't know if the tales were untrue or if she just got lucky and met a kind and brave traveller.
"Maybe it's because of the time that has passed. After 60 years of isolation, all the past travellers disappeared and the camp became an abandoned place. He was the first traveller to step into rogue encampment after 60 years...Everything has changed." Elena had found an excuse.
Fei laughed as he saw the slightly nervous expression on the hot mercenaries face; he didn't say anything. He turned around and walked back to the portal. Elena, who still had a lot of stuff on her mind, quickly followed Fei.
...
It took Fei less than 10 minutes to go back from [Dark Wood] to [Stoney Field].
It was fast because when Fei went to get the scroll translated from Akara, he also bought two [Health Potions]; one for himself and one for Elena. Also, the monsters on the way back had already been cleared, so there weren't too many obstacles.
They quickly found the Cairn Stones.
Fei took out the translated scroll and touched the five stones carefully in the order they were displayed on the scroll. Suddenly, the sky dimmed and everything around them turned dark.
Harsh winds blew against the plains and lifted up all the dry leaves from the ground. It felt like the end of the world. At that moment, five blue beams shot off the five stones and slowly merged together, forming a bloody red giant portal in the center of the five stones. It looked like a pool of blood, and a yellow light was looming inside of it.
It was the portal to Tristram, where the 'obscene' old man Cain was locked up.
Fei stood there and sighed, "The way that these five stones shone was quite frightening, they made a large haze."
Elena was quite shocked as well.
The things she saw when following Fei for the past two hours were way more exciting than what she had experienced the past twenty one years.
"After we go through the portal, there will be a ton of monsters and demons. Be careful and follow me tightly, don't rush forward..." Fei turned around and told Elena. He felt that he didn't stress hard enough, so he continued, "Remember, if things get too dangerous, just turn around and escape from here. Don't be so stubborn."
According to the plot, Tristram had already been destroyed by the awaken Diablo, and it turned into a paradise for monsters and demons. The great paladin Griswald had also fallen here and turned into a powerful demon; he was the boss in Tristram. If Fei wanted to rescue Cain successfully, it was going to take some effort. Fei was confident that he could sweep out all the monsters at Tristram by taking it slowly. He had about 20 [Minor Healing Potions] in his [Item Slot]. They were enough to support Fei and Elena in the upcoming battle.
However, if the situation became dangerous, he might not be able to protect Elena. If this magic archer was surrounded by monsters, she would surely be torn into pieces. That's why Fei reminded Elena about her safety so many times.
After Fei said that, he stepped into the portal and disappeared from [Stoney Field].
Elena's heart warmed. Although there was nothing special about what Fei said, she felt his care – care directed at someone close.
"He is the one that deserves my effort and sacrifice."
She pondered for a little while, and then a resolute expression appeared on her face, as if she had made some sort of decision. She then quickly stepped into the portal.
...
...
At Chambord.
The sun was about to rise to the center of the sky.
The mysterious, black armoured enemies still didn't move. The sea of enemies occupied the bridge on Zuli River. Like a huge black snake hissing with its scarlet forked tongue, they were waiting for the best moment to strike.
The pressure on the defensive wall was constantly increasing. There was no noise on the wall aside from the flow of the river. Everyone tensed up.
The soldiers and young adults were sweating like crazy. Their previously hyped morale had died down to a dangerous level after a few hours of waiting. Although Brook had the soldiers rotate every twenty minutes, the pressure was torturing and tiring everyone out.
The enemies had no sign of sieging. The constant silence was like an invisible knife stabbing at the soldiers' mental state, slowly cutting away their morale and bravery.
Brook's heart began sinking as time gradually passed. Pierce carried the [King's Sword] and walked back and forth anxiously in front of the watchtower. Everyone was looking through the broken wall of the watchtower. Their eyes focused on the young man who was 'meditating'.
It was King Alexander who had miraculously recovered. If someone said that there was still hope for Chambord at this tragic moment, then that hope would definitely come from the king.
Even the number one warrior in Chambord Lampard couldn't provide everyone the sense of security they needed, but somehow, the previously retarded king had comforted their hearts which were filled with fear.
...
...
Back at Tristram.
Right after Fei stepped out of the portal, a bunch of [Skeletons] surrounded him with their blades and started hacking at him.
"Damn, there's this many? And they're this aggressive?"
Fei swore in his mind, then quickly swung his axe. He struck horizontally and 'Boom!', the three closest [Skeletons] were smashed into bone fragments.
The real challenge had yet to come. The rest of the [Skeletons] flooded towards them. Behind the [Skeletons] were the [Zombies] that moved at a slower pace, and the [Fallen Shermans] that had a lot of armour. The monsters and demons in Tristram were mutated, and their damage and defense increased exponentially.
However, Fei was very strong. Everywhere his axe moved, monsters screamed and died brutally, but his attack speed was still not fast enough. He was wounded in between his attacks and his health was quickly dropping. It scared the crap out of Fei; he used warcry – [Howl] to scare away the monsters near him and give him the chance to chug some [Health Potions].
The effect of [Howl] quickly wore off and the monsters charged again.
At this moment –
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh -!"
Frost arrows flew at the monsters like hail.
Elena finally came out of the portal. She pulled her bow rapidly and the nearby monsters all froze.
"Keep your distance, don't rush. Stay behind me!" Fei yelled to Elena as he charged towards the monsters again and blocked them off so Elena could keep a safe distance and deal consistent damage.
Fei used [Howl] every time the monsters got too close; when they were affected by [Howl] and started to run off, Fei chased them and chopped off as many heads as possible. Once the effect wore off, he would repeat the same thing over and over again.
After about twenty minutes, the crowd of lower leveled monsters were swept out.
Fei finally had a chance to look at the town of Tristram. Tristram was destroyed and in ruins. The once bustling city was no more. The ground was filled with cracks, the buildings had collapsed and hell fire burned everywhere, causing black smoke to rise into the dark sky. The residents of the town had been killed by the monsters and turned into blood seeking demons and undead. They wandered about and charged at Fei and Elena when they saw the pair.
The final boss of Tristram was the fallen paladin Griswald. He was powerful and hard to kill. However, he hid in a ruined building and guarded Cain who was caged. This gave Fei sometime to prepare for the final battle.
Fei and Elena walked slowly, trying to not disturb the big boss. Eventually, they had encountered a crowd of [Skeleton Archers]. These archers were very smart, unlike the [Skeletons] that only knew how to charge. They would only shoot arrows from far away, and a majority of them wouldn't come closer to Fei and Elena. Some of the [Skeleton Archers] snuck up on Fei and Elena to attack them.
Fei signalled Elena to back off, and then switched to his secondary weapons.
A yellow light flashed.
[Azure Spiked Shield] and [Storm Sabre] appeared in Fei's hands. He quickly charged and stuck his sword into a [Skeleton Archer]'s head who was sneaking up on them, and then forcefully shook his sword.