Volume 10 Bugs Chapter 26: Die with Unclosed Eyes
The warrior is always fighting alone!
Yes, use your body as a shield, stand tall in front of your comrades, and turn your fighting back into a safe place without threats. In front of you are those terrifying and powerful enemies. They are so close to you that the hot air from their mouths can almost condense into water droplets on your face. And all you can see is their bloody mouths shouting wildly, the shining blades in their hands, and the red liquid that seems to never stop gushing out of their bodies.
In the eyes of the best warriors, they can never see their comrades. Your body is the forefront of the battle. In front of you are only the enemy, the terrible weapons that are eager to suck your life, and the blood that is splashing all over the sky, surrounding you with a strong salty smell, and seems to never dissipate - that comes from both your enemies and your own body!
This is your profession, your mission, your life. When everyone else is exhausted and ready to retire, you must fight to the end and not retreat a single step. The only way to free you from this heroic and dangerous responsibility is the eternal night of death.
In this sense, being a warrior is indeed a solitary profession.
Because of this, the most trusted partner in the heart of every warrior is not the rescuer who can bring him back to life when his life is in danger, nor the long-range attacker who can help and kill the enemy from ten steps away, but the strong shield and sharp blade in his hand that he will never abandon. This is the first barrier he can rely on when facing a strong enemy, and it is also his last chance to save his life between life and death. When he holds them tightly in his palm, it also means that he has his life and destiny in his own hands.
Therefore, every warrior is a proud paranoid. They only believe in their own strength and courage, and always think that only fighting with the enemy face to face, tearing the body with a sharp blade, and crushing the opponent with their own courage and fighting spirit can be regarded as a real battle. Other combat techniques are more or less opportunistic, and the effect is really questionable.
I looked at the "Devil Prison Fighting Soul" summoned by Ding Ding Xiaoge with this thought in mind. I didn't have high expectations for this hideous-looking demon from another world. In my opinion, no matter what kind of magic it is, it is difficult to bring a decisive reversal to our current battle situation - not to mention that it is just a summoning magic of less than 50 levels...
This scarlet magic creature first threw a ball of "Slowness Mist" that could reduce attack power into the enemy group, and then carelessly put on a layer of "Courage Armor" that could improve defense power for a short period of time, and then used its low and hoarse roar to perform a "Hot-Blooded Roar" that could increase the critical strike chance of teammates, and then rushed into a group of Undead Guards with murderous intent, and its two sharp claws crossed and swung, and a series of colorful numbers suddenly burst out above the heads of the three "Bone Guards" - if I'm not mistaken, this claw at least comes with a series of additional attack effects such as "group attack", "poisonous", "tear", "heavy blow"... and so on. The damage values caused by various effects are flying in the sky in a line, which is dazzling. When I finally managed to chop a "Bone Archer" to the ground after almost cutting a hole in my sword, the Demonic Prison War Spirit had already killed his second opponent cleanly and neatly, and was extending his dangerous claws to the third unfortunate Undead Warrior - at this time his health had only been lost by less than two-thirds.
Actually, this is nothing special. It can just withstand attacks like a heavily armored warrior, deal damage like a sharp assassin, weaken enemies like a dark sorcerer who is proficient in spells, and assist comrades like a bard. That's all. Other than that, there is nothing special about him...
Damn it, this kind of self-deceiving slander does not make my severely traumatized warrior heart feel any better!
Power is a dangerous thing, especially when a certain power is strong enough to break the balance of this world and threaten the origin of the existence of the entire world, this power itself should be eliminated - no matter who holds it. The omnipotent and all-knowing Supreme God Darimos obviously would not ignore this simple truth. Therefore, among the many power laws he created for this world, he imposed strict restrictions on the summoning and use of powerful servants such as the "Devil Prison War Soul".
This kind of alien monster can only exist in a large magical space like a "copy" - although I know nothing about the mysterious and strange space magic, I guess this is because the use of "copy" magic interferes with and weakens the power of the space laws established by the Supreme God - once it leaves the "copy" space, the "Demon Prison Fighting Soul" will immediately be sucked into the space cracks at the edge of the copy and cannot continue to survive in this world. This also confirms my guess to a certain extent.
Moreover, after successfully summoning the "Devil's Prison War Soul", the warlocks will lose a lot of ability to use magic - I guess this is because they must maintain a spiritual connection with these horrible alien monsters, so their ability to control magic is greatly weakened.
Despite the many restrictions, the fighting power of the Hell Soul was still extremely fierce compared to other servants summoned by the Orc Warlock. Moreover, its wisdom was definitely not comparable to those low-level monsters that could only make "squeaking" sounds.
When his health points dropped to a dangerous range, he would complain to Tintin Xiaoge in the awkward common language of the continent: "You idiot, share your soul with me, it's written , otherwise don't bother me." Whenever this happened, Tintin Xiaoge would use the "Soul Balance" spell in a timely manner to evenly distribute the health points of himself and the Demon Prison Fighting Soul.
Not only that, when the magic effect of "Attenuation Cloud" that reduces the enemy's defense is eliminated, the Demon Prison War Spirit will shout indignantly: "They were not so strong just now, can't you think of another way?"
When there are too many enemies and the Hell Soul cannot handle them alone, it will loudly warn: "I think you should not only share your soul with me, but also share your enemies with me."
Even when Tintin's health was depleted too much, this all-powerful alien monster would remind him with concern: "Get away, your soul belongs to me, I don't want you to be killed by these bastards!"
…
At first, Ding Ding Xiao Ge tried to fight in another way, but soon he found that the advice of the Devil Prison War Soul was really good advice that he could not refuse. Having been used to the slow state of "stuck" for a long time , Ding Ding Xiao Ge seemed to have difficulty adapting to this high-intensity battle. He could only listen to the Devil Prison War Soul and finally handed over the command of the battle to his servant demon and fought completely according to his instructions:
"You idiot, share your soul with me..." The Hell Soul cursed among a group of undead guards, loudly humiliating its master. Although its defense was quite strong, it was attacked by four or five enemies at the same time, and its health was still depleted very quickly.
While Tintin was busy casting the "Soul Balance" spell, he whispered in confusion: "Who is whose familiar?" This question immediately attracted several contemptuous looks from us.
"You idiot..."
The cry of the Devil's Prison Fighting Spirit is like an intriguing answer...
…
The fighting power of the Hell Soul was indeed far beyond our expectations, but unfortunately, in the face of the overwhelming numerical advantage of the Corrupted Minions, any form of "power" is only a relative concept. In an unprecedentedly brutal confrontation, the Hell Soul was too aggressive and attracted the attention of six Death Guards at the same time. Although he bravely killed two of them, the damage he suffered was far beyond his ability to bear. After being pierced by a sharp beam of lightning, this brave alien servant finally completed his first mission in this world, screaming and turning into a ball of red smoke, and was sucked into a space crack that appeared out of thin air.
Without the huge help of the Demon Prison Soul, we could hardly move forward in this fortress full of dangers. As a last resort, we could only find a small piece of safe open space to make a brief correction and wait for Ding Ding Xiaoge's summoning skill to be restored.
"Hey, where is Niu Baiwan? Why hasn't he come back yet?" It was not until this time that Ding Ding Xiaoge remembered that there seemed to be a deceased person among us who had fallen behind and had not returned.
Thinking about the existence of Niu Baiwan again, I can't help but feel a little sorry: I have been getting along very well with the Demon Prison War Soul recently, so I don't feel the slightest sadness about Niu Baiwan's death. You know, the Demon Prison War Soul wouldn't scream for help when half of its health was just knocked off, nor would it leave me alone in the middle of a group of enemies and flee, nor would it wave a dangerous stone pillar beside me, hitting me on the head from time to time...
To be honest, Niu Baiwan's greatest contribution to this adventure was his death in exchange for the appearance of the Demon Prison Soul. I think he really made a lot of money in this one-life-for-one-life deal. I racked my brains to barely remember some of the things about Niu Baiwan that are worth remembering: he at least knew some sacred magic to restore life - although most of this magic was used on himself.
"Yeah, it's been so long..." Nocturne in B-flat minor was also a little puzzled, "...Where on earth did this guy die?"
Suddenly, Nocturne in B-flat minor froze for a moment, as if it suddenly remembered something, and glanced at me meaningfully. This little hint made me suddenly feel a hint of enlightenment. Based on our understanding of our old friend the Minotaur...
"Could it be that..."
A serious ominous premonition suddenly enveloped my heart.
"Wait, let me send him a message first." As he said that, the dwarf bard took out his magic notebook and sent a message to Niu Baiwan's ghost.
His actions greatly corrected my worldview - before that, I always thought that messages to the dead should be written on pieces of paper and burned...
"Where are you?" Nocturne's message was brief and clear.
Not long after, we received a reply from Niu Baiwan:
"I also want to know the answer..." Niu Baiwan's reply was meaningful.
really……
Nocturne in B-flat minor and I sighed deeply at the same time and looked at each other helplessly:
"Why are you lost again?"
"I'm not lost!" Niu Baiwan argued firmly, "I just don't know where I am!"
"Ask him what he can see around him." I reminded Nocturne. I am very confident in my memory. As long as I have been to a place, I will never forget even the slightest detail. As long as he can tell me one or two familiar sights nearby, I can point him to the right path.
“I seem to see the sea…”
Sea? I looked around, and saw rolling hills and jungles everywhere. The scorching sun cast a green shadow at the feet of everything. The solid earth filled my vision. The ocean that Niu Baiwan mentioned seemed to exist only in legends, and was even farther, farther, farther away than the sun in the sky...
I opened the map and looked at the endless vast ocean surrounding the Falvi continent with tears in my eyes - only God knew that the soul of this person with a poor sense of direction had drifted to the edge of this world.
"Please come back soon, we are all waiting for you!" The Nocturne in B flat minor sent a sincere and affectionate call to our comrades who are separated by life and death.
"You guys are so loyal (tears rushing)..." Niu Baiwan used his brief but vivid words to express the true love he felt at this moment because of his friends' perseverance, "...you guys go first, don't let me hold everyone back!"
"In fact, you've already been a burden..." Nocturne replied immediately, "...If the team is not complete, we won't be able to summon the fighting spirit..."
Niu Baiwan used a magical and strange character to reply to us: "囧..."
This strange character that looked like a magic spell was completely incomprehensible to me, but perhaps it really had some kind of magic that went straight to the soul, making me feel disappointed, embarrassed and depressed.
Sometimes we really can't figure out whether "honesty" is an admirable virtue or a bad habit that hurts people's feelings...
About five minutes later, Niu Baiwan's soul finally re-entered the range of the "Stone Fortress". At this time, we can see the direction of his soul coordinates on the map. The black dot that symbolizes the poor soul of the Tauren Paladin weaves a complex route map on the map with his amazing and pathetic sense of direction. His soul was completely lost in the ruins of the dilapidated castle from the moment he entered the gate. He struggled in and out of an alley that was only a hundred steps long for five or six times before accepting the cruel reality that this was a dead end. Not long after, Niu Baiwan's courageous and resolute Paladin soul rushed straight to the command tower where the fortress's supreme commander, Black Sir Arthur Denggot, was located. Of course, an illusory soul could not cause any harm to the most powerful enemy in the castle. Not long after, he ended this futile journey in disgrace. The worst thing was that there was a seven-way intersection around the abandoned castle’s central fountain. Niu Baiwan ran seven laps around the circular fountain before running headfirst into the avenue leading to the fortress’ exit…
Honestly, I no longer have any hope for the future of Falvi Continent. Compared to the end of the world, I'm afraid it will take longer for Niu Baiwan's soul to find his body.
Just when my despair had reached its peak, the situation finally took a turn for the better: Niu Baiwan accidentally turned onto the right road leading to us, and walked straight over without being tempted by the forks on both sides. This was definitely an accident, I firmly believe it, but this is where the surprise and fun of life lies: we always have this great honor to witness some low-probability events with our own eyes.
When Niu Baiwan, who had come back to life, appeared in front of us again carrying his obsidian pillar, I felt a lot of emotions in my heart, the strongest feeling among which was: I never thought that I would be able to see him again before I die of old age in this life...
The five members of the adventure team were reunited, and the conditions for summoning the Hell Spirit were finally met again. The adventurers, eager to save the world, did not hesitate at all, and the half-orc warlock Ding Ding Xiaoge immediately chanted a long spell to summon a powerful servant demon.
"I wonder who will be unlucky this time..." I looked at other people's faces with some ill intention.
The fairy came down to earth with her face on the ground, her complexion turned pale with fear. She patted her chest and muttered softly: "...Don't be me, don't be me..." Although Niu Baiwan's return ensured that the blood sacrificer could be resurrected immediately, not many people would be willing to endure the devastating dark moment when death comes.
"Niu Baiwan, I see that there is a black spot on your forehead. I'm afraid that you will die young. I hope it won't be your turn this time..." Nocturne in B flat minor winked mischievously at the Minotaur Paladin who had just resurrected.
"You are talking nonsense. How can it be such a coincidence that I have been in trouble twice in a row? You should worry about yourself. If you keep talking nonsense, you will have to deal with the corpse when you die. I will not come to resurrect you..." Niu Baiwan didn't care at all, grinning and laughing frankly - indeed, the chance of becoming a random sacrifice twice in a row is too small. In our minds, Niu Baiwan has been completely excluded from the category of potential sacrifices this time, and even Nocturne himself may not take his joke seriously.
A strong light flashed again, but we didn't panic again after having experienced it once before. When the strong light faded and our vision was restored, we opened our eyes again and calmly looked for the victim this time...
A great philosopher once said: "If a bad outcome can happen, it will happen, and it will lead to the worst possible outcome."
Facts have proved that this sentence is a truth that can stand the test of practice!
"Lao Niu, why is it really you again..."
Niu Baiwan's cold body rolled his eyes, stuck out his long tongue, and lay on the ground with his eyes wide open...
