However, with the end of the pioneering era, fewer and fewer people crossed Xena Forest to head to the Great Glacier. In the first two centuries of the first era, there were still a few adventurers who would try their luck there, but as more and more people went missing, the Great Glacier and the Heather Hills gradually became synonymous with death.
In Duke Hoffman's memory, the last time an adventurer appeared in the Eagle Castle was around the year of the croaking of frogs. After that, no one came here again, and the Eagle Castle gradually became a desolate border area that no one patronized.
Thus, he couldn't help but be curious about what the elves were doing in the east. Was it related to the legendary treasure buried in the Great Glacier?
With such curiosity, he ordered people to keep watch at the entrance of the forest day and night, wanting to see when the elves would return.
But no one would have thought that the elves would be gone for three months. After that, there was no news of them at all. After a short summer, the Ten Cities region entered the bleak autumn season. Before the snowfall, both beasts and humans had to stock up on food. The residents of the Far Eagle Castle also had to prepare for the annual festival. All kinds of mundane affairs began to become busy. Naturally, he had forgotten about this matter.
After all, regardless of whether the Elves were completely annihilated in the Great Glacier or whether they brought back any treasures, it had nothing to do with the residents of Eagle Castle. Although Duke Schoffman was the owner of this place, there was nothing he could do about the Wild Elves, especially when the Templar Church did not show any obvious attitude.
Just like that, on the night before the Winter Ritual, the Hunter he sent to Xena Forest suddenly appeared outside the gates of Eagle Fortress as though he had gone mad and declared loudly, "That's right, the Hunter who I sent to Xena Forest.
He saw an army of spirits.
Naturally, no one believed this nonsense at first, but the hunter was determined not to take a step closer to the forest. He swore solemnly, and looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He shouted at everyone, saying something about ghosts, pale armies, and the like.
Eagle Castle wasn't big, and there weren't many residents. Naturally, such an incident quickly spread to the duke's ears. His attitude was different from normal people. When he heard about this unlucky young man's encounter, he immediately thought of the ancient legend of his family.
The ancestral spirits in the forest.
According to the legend, the ancestors of Eagle Castle had received a gift from the ancestral spirits in the forest. That was how they were able to establish a foothold on this land and establish this territory. From then on, they became nobles of the Ten Cities.
However, there weren't many written records of that legend in the family. He had only heard his grandfather talk about it once, and only then did he know that there was such a thing.
Although the legend sounded like a fairy tale, it was said that the ancestor who built the Far Eagle Castle had once lost his way in the forest. In the midst of hunger and cold, he had hallucinations and saw the ancestor spirits in the forest. The ancestor spirits led him to a forest full of carvings. There, they entertained him and gave him a fire seed and a piece of stone.
Later, the ancestral spirits of Eagle Castle, Eagle, of Eagle, Eagle Castle, Eagle, Eagle, and Eagle castle, Eagle Castle.
That fire seed was still preserved within the Far Eagle Castle's sacred hall, illuminating this desolate land for thousands of years. As for that piece of stone, it was said that during a winter hunt, due to the accidental death of the Far Eagle Castle's patriarch, it was forever left in the depths of the forest.
It was also from that era that the Xena Forest in winter became a forbidden area for Eagle Castle.
The descendants of Eagle Castle had always believed that the piece of stone was their lucky charm, because ever since the piece of stone was lost, the family began to decline. Knight explorers and adventurers no longer appeared on this land, and the once prosperous Eagle Castle fell into a difficult situation.
Duke Schoffman was a devout believer of the Holy Church, and he had always maintained a respectful attitude towards the ancestral spirits in the forest and these mysterious legends. However, in his heart, he also believed that the missing piece of stone had a special connection with the rise and fall of Eagle Castle.
However, he had a different opinion from his grandfather and parents. He believed that the piece of stone was a sacred item bestowed to the family by Sage Fanzin, and that the family had suffered such a punishment because they had carelessly lost it.
Just like the ancestors of the family, he had always wanted to find the piece of stone.
And the scene that the young hunter had described that night was no doubt an opportunity, igniting the old duke's long-cherished wish.
In the young hunter's description, the army he saw advancing in the fog was very similar to the legend that had been passed down in the family for generations.
The ancestral spirits in the forest had appeared once again.
In that case, was that stone fragment going to return to the Far Eagle Castle again?
Duke Schoffman couldn't help but have such thoughts. Although almost everyone advised against entering Xena Forest in winter, he definitely couldn't wait until spring when the ice and snow melted.
He thought that perhaps this was a test given to him by Sage Fanzin. If he didn't have the courage to accept this test, then the Eagle Castle would forever miss the opportunity to obtain the piece of stone.
With such a firm thought, he led the Knight and a few experienced hunters into the forest. However, after entering this mysterious forest, Duke Schoffman couldn't help but feel uneasy.
After all, there were just too many legends about it. Even the Xena Forest didn't only have good legends about it. Many people had gone missing in the forest in search of it, never to return. People often said that those people were sealed in the Xena Tree, becoming a human face on it.
Although Duke Schoffman had always been dismissive of the rumors of these rural farmers, when he truly entered this eerily quiet forest, those strange legends couldn't help but appear in everyone's hearts.
After Pierce entered the forest, not a single sound came from the forest for a long time. The sounds of the two hunting dogs were also swallowed up by the sea of trees. The silence made everyone's hair stand on end, as if something was constantly watching them from behind.
Duke Schoffman took off his mink gloves. He couldn't stand the silence and was about to order the Knight to do something, but it was at this time that he suddenly heard a whistle.
This sudden sound scared him so much that he almost fell off his horse, but it was at this time that he heard his Knight let out a cheer.
He quickly raised his head and saw Pierce walking out of the forest.
"What took you so long?" Duke Schoffman asked in dissatisfaction.
"I ran into some trouble," Pierce replied, "There was a person in the forest. His condition wasn't very good, so I spent some time to help him. Otherwise, I don't know if he would have survived."
"A person?"
"Yes, he doesn't seem to be a local. Before he fainted, he kept saying that he wanted to see you, my lord."
"He wanted to see me? Does he know me?" Duke Schoffman was slightly surprised.
"No, he said that he wanted to see the highest officer here, but we don't have any officers here. I think he was talking about you," Pierce replied. As he spoke, he took out something from his pocket. "He also gave me this. I don't know what it is."
Duke Schoffman's eyes narrowed slightly.
He saw that the old hunter was holding a piece of brown stone in his hand.
… …
The smoke over the Finhotos Strait finally dissipated after the last ray of sunlight disappeared into the horizon.
Enveloped by the will of the Holy Sword of Annihilation, the undead who had lost their will to fight did not resist for too long. The low-level undead were the first to betray the will of the Roman Black Rose and abandon their original master. When the black Knight, who resisted the most, was completely devoured by the wolves, there was no longer any suspense on the battlefield.
About half an hour later, Brando once again met the supreme of Madara.
She was obviously not in a good situation.
When he passed through the wolves, he saw that Her Majesty was surrounded in the middle of the wolves with a few famous undead lords in history.
Among these undead lords were the famous Lord of the Black Plague, Fasat, and the Pale King, Gao Duo. Both of them had fought against the Erouine in history. Brando had even fought Fasat head-on, and Gao Duo, the Pale King, was still active on the battlefield until the Second Age. During the Battle of Algash, he was directly opposite the allied army.
Brando knew that both of them were loyal followers of the Mercury Staff. One of them was transformed from a high-grade lich, and the other was wrapped in black armor. They seemed to be of the same race as Kabias.
At this moment, they were standing on the left and right of Her Majesty, each holding a weapon. Obviously, they did not intend to give up on resisting.
Between the two, the Black Plague had once caused a tragic massacre in Winomar. It and its underlings had directly turned all the Erouine people in Winomar into undead. Brando had personally experienced that massacre, and naturally did not intend to let this guy go.
However, at this moment, he did not even look at the repulsive guy. Instead, his gaze fell on Her Majesty.
The woman still maintained her cold and arrogant expression. She also looked at him coldly, as if she did not have the slightest self-consciousness of a loser. Her eyes were proud and firm.
Brando was silent for a while before he spoke, "Your Majesty, I think we should talk."
"What do you want to talk about, human?"
"It's about the Erouine and Madara."
A light flashed in the woman's black eyes, "The Holy Sword Judgment is in your hands. How do you plan to treat Madara?"
… …
(PS: Continue to ask for votes ~)
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