The diamond-shaped formation was placed horizontally in the Ghost Shadow Forest. The hunting points at the north and south ends were more than six hundred meters apart, and the east and west ends were about two and a half kilometers apart. There were a total of twenty hunting teams in this long and narrow area.
In the sky, Little White was circling back and forth at an altitude of three hundred meters. It could make one round in less than two minutes.
The hunting point that Jon was stationed at was at the northernmost end. About three hundred meters behind it, there was a small hill beside a stream. It was the base of Barristan's cavalry team.
At the top of the hill, a bonfire was burning. Five men and one woman sat around it. There were four rangers, Barristan, and Danny.
This place was almost the center of the diamond-shaped formation. Therefore, Danny was also guarding there with Big Black. If there was any movement, she would be able to rush over to provide support as quickly as possible.
Well, Danny was currently in the true form of the queen. With five knights acting as meat shields beside her, she was not afraid at all even if the deviant ghosts sneaked over.
Two of the four rangers were acquaintances of Danny. They were the former Royal Forest bandit Ulma and the commander of the Shadow Tower, Sir Mallister. The remaining two men in black were also around forty years old.
They were all experienced rangers with more than ten years of patrolling experience in the Ghost Shadow Forest.
In the professional terms of modern novels, the four of them were all elite soldiers.
"I was born to belong to the forest. When I was young, I was a bandit in the Royal Forest who robbed the rich to help the poor. When I was middle-aged, I was sent to the Great Wall and spent the rest of my life in this forest. I dare say that I can find him before the Other Ghosts smell me. "Ulma picked up the leather pouch and took a sip of wine. He bared his teeth and bragged to the Queen.
Sir Mallister frowned and said with a heavy expression, "Be careful. This operation was a little rushed. We should have arrived at noon. We did not scout the terrain, and the traps were not perfect."
"There's nothing we can do about it. The deviant ghosts move at night. After tonight, the corpses will be revived. There's no time for us to make arrangements, "Sir Barristan said.
Ulma chewed on half of the sausage, and the gray beard at the side of his mouth shook with the sound of chewing. He asked in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, where did you go in the afternoon? I heard from the red-robed woman that you were fighting with the servants of EsGod? "
The old ranger regretted it as soon as he asked.
As expected, the atmosphere around them froze in an instant. His four companions looked at him strangely, then curiously peeked at Queen Danny …
Wu Erma quickly gulped down a mouthful of wine and swallowed the meat in his mouth. He forced a smile and said, "I drank too much and became muddle-headed. How can I ask about Your Majesty's secret?"
Danny rolled her eyes at him. "It was supposed to be an honorable battle, but now that you've said it, it's become a shameful affair."
"Uh …" The old ranger's face reddened, and he didn't know what to do.
"I met the Three-Eyed Crow. "Danny didn't plan to hide it. The witch in Hejian County, the ghost of Noble Heart, knew about it, and so did Melisandre.
If the red-robed woman knew, it meant that the higher-ups of the Deer Party knew as well. She did not believe that Erlu was not as curious as Wu Erma.
"Three-eyed Crow?" The light of the fire illuminated everyone's bewildered faces.
"You've never heard of it? Isn't there a 'Three-eyed Crow' in the legends of the Northern Territory? "Danny was also confused.
"No, I'm from White Harbor, and I've never heard of the Three-eyed Crow." A gray-blonde Night Watcher named Dustin Snow shook his head.
"Then, have you heard of the Green Prophet?" Danny asked again.
"I've heard of it. There are a hundred legends in the Northern Territory, and ninety of them are related to the Green Prophet, "Dustin said in surprise.
"The characters in the fairy tales are the same as the eccentrics, children of the forest, and deviant ghosts. Rational people wouldn't believe in their existence. I didn't believe in them for decades, but now … "A bitter smile appeared on Sir Mallister's determined face.
"Could it be that the Three-Eyed Crow is the Green Prophet? Did he find His Majesty?" Barristan asked in concern.
"Yes, deviant ghosts are real, and so is the Green Prophet. The Three-Eyed Crow is this generation's Green Prophet."
Danny turned to the White Knight sternly and asked, "When we were having lunch in Yang Halberd City, we saw a few crows in the tavern. Do you still remember?
At that time, I had a slight feeling that I was being watched, but you didn't find anything even after you checked your surroundings. It was only when we left Yang Halberd City and entered the Dorne Desert that the uncomfortable feeling of being watched disappeared. "
"Could it be that the Three-Eyed Crow found us at that time?" Barristan's expression changed drastically.
"He found me, but it has nothing to do with you."
Ulma was entranced by her words, and he couldn't help but ask, "The Three-Eyed Crow has been watching you all this time? I know about shapeshifters, and I also know about Auriel (the first master of the goshawk) and the Six Forms Man. The Green Prophet is a shapeshifter of a higher level. Could it be that he has a three-eyed crow as his companion, and he used the crow to follow you and monitor your every move? "
"You know quite a lot!" Danny looked at the old bandit in surprise.
Ulma grinned proudly before he said in disgust, "I've dealt with the barbarians for decades, and I've been watched and tracked countless times by the shapeshifters' animal companions.
They were very difficult to deal with, and I almost died several times. Those shapeshifters are all monsters, and their souls can enter the bodies of wild beasts. It's like wearing a beast's skin. "
Danny stared at the raging flames and said slowly, "Shapeshifters aren't monsters, and monsters come from the Shadow's heart and distorted human nature.
It's just like how some people use swords to kill people, and there are also people who use swords to guard the borders and protect the peace of the Seven Kingdoms. There's no distinction between evil and righteousness in the sword itself, and the key lies in whether the sword wielder's heart is bright or not. "
Ulma nodded thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, your state of mind is really open-minded. The Green Prophet treated you like that, yet you can still speak up for the shapeshifters. "
"Reason is reason, and you shouldn't distort facts because of personal feelings."
The queen's words caused several Night Watchers to nod repeatedly.
"However, you guessed one thing wrong, and the Green Prophet's methods are far superior to those of the shapeshifters."
Danny sighed and stretched out her right hand. The bonfire's flames danced and took the shape of a cow, a horse, a snake, a dragon, and so on. They had noses and eyes, and their fur and scales could be faintly seen. They roared and galloped around, and they were all very lifelike.
She then said calmly, "It's just like how fire wizards are proficient in controlling flames, and the Green Prophet is gifted in soul magic.
When I was being monitored by the Green Prophet's crows and the shapeshifters' animal companions, I could detect that something was amiss. If you sent crows to monitor me, you would surely alert the enemy, and the gains wouldn't make up for the losses. "
Danny turned toward Barristan and explained, "The Three-Eyed Crow left a wisp of his soul in my Sea of Consciousness, and the battle between him and me was a contest at the soul level. This is why I didn't inform you."
The knot in White Knight's heart disappeared, and she became worried again. She asked, "Does the Green Prophet want to control you like he controls his animal companions?"
"Hateful!" The expressions of Mallister and the other Night Watchers changed drastically, and they started cursing loudly.
"Humans aren't animals, and I'm not an ordinary person. If the Green Prophet dares to enter my soul openly, he will surely be courting death. His methods are gentle and cunning, and he's like a treacherous official with a glib tongue, who uses words to bewitch a muddle-headed king. "
When Danny saw that the more they listened, the more confused they became. She told them about the Evil God's whispers and the Evil God's deeds in the underground palace of the Jade Sea Lightning Island.
"Is it so terrifying to just whisper in your ear?" Ulma was skeptical. "If it were me, I would just ignore the Evil God's whispers and see what he can do to me."
"The Evil God and the Green Prophet didn't whisper in your ear, and you can't resist the whispers that come from your soul. The whispers on the soul level are like the cold wind on the body. If you stand naked in ice and snow, how can you resist the attack of the cold wind? "
"I wear clothes and put on a fur coat," the old ranger said.
"That's the key. You're an ordinary person who doesn't know witchcraft or magic. When faced with a soul attack, your soul is as helpless as a plain-clothed soldier on the battlefield who doesn't have leather or mail armor.
As for me, I know magic, and I have a dragon as my companion. My soul is fully armed.
Even so, I'm still affected. Just like you now, wearing a thick fur coat, you're still attacked by the cold wind, and you have to stay warm by the fire. "
"I see." The five people by the fire were deep in thought, and they understood how terrifying the Evil God's whispers were.
"If the Green Prophet has his eyes on me, won't I be doomed?" Ulma said worriedly.
"Hahaha …" The men in black laughed. "Ulma, if the Green Prophet has his eyes on you, you can brag about it for the rest of your life!"
"Your Majesty, are you still troubled by the Green Prophet's whispers?" Barristan asked worriedly as he tightened the goatskin cloak around him.
"Hehe, you also saw that damned crow. Now, no evil god can affect me through the soul whispers because my soul is covered with a layer of Valleglia's steel armor. "Danny smiled proudly.
"Something's not right." Ulma was about to ask about the War of the Gods when his expression suddenly froze. He stood up and walked seven or eight steps away from the fire. The cold wind blew through the gaps between the tree trunks, taking away a large amount of heat from the old ranger.
Ulma shivered and spat out a large cloud of thick white mist. "Damn it, why is it so cold? Dustin, Dennis, do you guys feel anything unusual? The temperature is abnormally low now. It's never been this cold. "
"It's late, maybe …" Sir Mallister also stood up from the fire and walked to the old ranger's side. He looked up at the cold silver moon hanging in the western sky and said uncertainly, "It's almost three in the morning now. Maybe winter is coming, or maybe … Deviant ghosts? They should be here by now, but … "
He turned to Danny and said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, are you sure the Megalosaurus won't miss the sound of the gong in the cold wind?"
"It's late at night in the old forest. I can hear it even if I'm 300 meters away, let alone a dragon!" Danny said.
Ulma took a few deep breaths and exhaled heavily. He said hesitantly, "The smell is not right. Something's very wrong. Your Majesty, you'd better check it out yourself. "
Danny had been in the form of a dragon spirit all this time. Ever since she entered the Ghastly Forest, she had been feeling a faint sense of danger.
Although she did not clearly sense the intense waves of danger, she trusted the old ranger's intuition.
After all, she knew that the Megalosaurus was not as good as a dog (Stark's direwolf) when it came to foreseeing danger.
Danny climbed onto Blackie's back and rose into the sky in a moment.
In order to avoid missing the sound of the gong, she lowered her altitude and whizzed past the treetops a hundred meters away. Even the corpse guards on the branches below could hear the sound of the Megalosaurus flapping its wings above them.
About five minutes later, Blackie landed on the hill, but Danny did not go down. She said on the dragon's back, "Everything's normal. There's no sound of the gong. But there's still a few hours before dawn. I won't chat with you anymore. It's better to have two dragons patrolling together than one dragon. "
After she finished speaking, she did not wait for their reply and rode the dragon into the sky again.
"Hiss —" But this time, when they flew to the southernmost part of the patrol circle, Blackie suddenly growled in a low voice. Then, without Danny's orders, it continued to fly south at high speed.
"Blackie, why are you —" Danny had just called out in surprise when she suddenly stopped and listened carefully.
"Woo — Woo — Woo —" The bone-chilling wind blew, mixed with the low sound of the horn. It was almost impossible to tell whether it was the wind whistling or the long sound of the horn.
Danny's expression changed. On the Great Wall a few kilometers away, the Night Watchers were blowing the horn three times.
The first meant that the Night Watchers had returned, the second meant that the barbarians were attacking, and the third … For thousands of years, the Night Watchers had never blown the horn three times in a row.
Because three times meant that … deviant ghosts were attacking!
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