章節 45: An acolyte's pet
[Island of Bones, Dwarven Mountains Underground Level 3, Blue Wolf Mercenary Settlement]
"Sir, Acolyte Edwin's party has come back", a blue-caped acolyte said after being allowed in the the general's tent, Darius' tent.
"Finally! How are they faring?", Darius hurriedly answered, sighing in relief that the party that had disappeared returned.
"They received some injuries. Party leader Edwin lost his arm after encountering the mutant Kobold shaman, but there were no deaths", the scout reported
"This kobold shaman again, huh?", Darius scoffed, "Still, acomodate them and heal their injuries. Thanks to Vanessa, the settlement has become a safe space, her runes being a great help to us"
"Yes, sir!", the scout said before bidding his farewell, his face covered in cold sweat as he was being stared by Darius' new pet, a monstrous desolate bear that was exhaling smoke every time it breathed.
Over the past few months, the forces of the Blue Wolf Mercenaries had dwindled considerably. Even getting food was challenging, so they split their usual parties into teams of three, to match those of the Crimson Clan that often wandered and patrolled in the area.
Be it the Crimson Clan or the Blue Wolf Mercenaries, both factions did not seek actively the annihilation of the other but rather aimed at hindering each other path. There would be much less encounters compared to the beginning, and the few encounters that happened were mostly resulting in skirmishes without casualties.
For the crimson clan, it was an attempt at prolonging the war and reducing overall casualties, fully aware of their advantageous situations with the map of the underground and their general construction being quite fast. Now, they even possessed a numerical advantage. If she wanted, Janna could already order an all-out attack on the Blue Wolf Mercenaries, but dozens would die in the process, which was a blow to the Crimson Clan that Janna hoped to avoid. Plus, the settlement of the Blue Wolf Mercenary was well structured and the blow might not even be sufficient to assure a clear victor from the war.
The goal of this faction war was to defend the Dwarven Underground mountains. If they won but were reduced to a couple of acolytes, other small-sized factions would turn their eyes onto them and the original goal of theirs would be reduced to nothingness.
For the blue wolf mercenaries, it was simply a matter of survival. Darius was fully aware of his situation, and defeat after defeat made him realize the precarity of the battle. The Shadow Witch, Vanessa, a genius had arisen in the underground as the most talented acolyte in the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group. Considering that there were the likes of Party leader Edwin, a flame acolyte who had killed four Crimson Clan acolytes already, or Ice Countess Sheila whose fame was spread accross the Dalian empire, it was not a small feat.
With her runic knowledge, she had somehow managed to turn the settlement into a crude fortress that prevented regular spirits from haunting the dreams of acolytes. Their biggest predicament, being the presence of Ghost Maidens, evil spirits of dead female adventurers, now solved.
The beasts and kobolds in the area, however, never complied with those hidden rules between the two factions, and still caused a headache to Darius. Every time he sent a party, they might disappear and return injured, or worse still, not return at all.
Without a sustainable way to get food, their only choice was the moonlight mushrooms that granted them light, and were rich in proteins, and meat from monsters in the underground. The rest of the plants, whenever they encountered some, were mostly poisonous and the horrifying death of one of their peers after tasting a red fruit sent chills to whoever had a thought of testing new aliments.
After encountering a desolate bear, Darius decided to tame it with brute force. Though it was still an infant, it would soon grow into a terrifying elite beginner rank beast and be a formidable force to reckon with. It could already breath fire and overpower knights.
The crimson clan had won the first major battles, but the war was far from won.
每周推薦票狀態
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榜單 
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