The north wind howled, a frigid breeze whipping in from the northern sea. Tiny ice crystals relentlessly stung the faces of the people, obscuring their surroundings in Hardship Town.
At the foot of an unnamed mountain, the wildlings huddled in a dilapidated hall, shivering with fear. They stared at the surrounding Brute Soldiers, who were arrayed in attack formation, their faces impassive. Even more terrifying was the fire elemental burning with a fierce blaze beside the soldiers.
Their eyes were filled with confusion and terror. However, the strangest thing was that they lacked the usual savagery and arrogance of wildlings, a stark contrast to those Marko had encountered in the Northern Territory and Beyond the Great Wall.
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At that moment, Marko sat in a chair, observing the various tribal chieftains before him. The chieftain who had initially spoken to Marko stood in the center of the group, though he was now somewhat disheveled, his fur coat badly damaged, and his right arm hanging limp, seemingly dislocated.
Wolf Fang was addressing them.
"Our Lord is the incarnation of a god on earth. You have seen his power. He has personally slain three Wights. If you are willing to submit to him, he will bestow upon you food and clothing. You will no longer need to worry about hunger or cold, nor will you be attacked by Wights!"
Wolf Fang's somewhat youthful tone was filled with confidence, instantly calming the few chieftains who had been hesitant. After exchanging glances, they began to converse amongst themselves. After a while,
A woman of around 50 years old suddenly stepped forward from the group. She had a long ponytail, her hair was white, her face etched with deep wrinkles, and her eyes were strikingly white, giving her an air of mystery.
She said to Marko, "The fellow from the south, is the short girl beside you a Child of the Forest?"
Wolf Fang then scolded her:
"Use respectful language! You 'hypocritical free people,' you who only know how to burn, kill, and plunder, you are not qualified to speak to our Lord!"
Marko waved his hand, signaling Wolf Fang to calm down. He then said to the old woman:
"Does this have anything to do with whether you submit to me? When I ask you to submit, you refuse. When I ask you to leave, you also refuse. Do I have to kill you all?"
The old woman, hearing this, looked a little embarrassed. "I! I want to confirm something, this esteemed Magna (Magna means Lord or Master in ancient language)! We came here because we all received divine revelation, and the one who gave us the divine revelation was a Child of the Forest, so I want to confirm if it's the one beside you!"
After hearing the old woman's explanation, Marko turned his gaze to Moonshadow beside him. Moonshadow also whispered to Marko.
"No."
Marko asked the old woman with interest, "Tell me! I'll answer your questions based on your answers!"
The old woman coughed lightly and slowly explained the events that led them to be there.
The old woman's name was Na. She was a Forest Witch from Beyond the Great Wall. Forest Witches were a unique profession in this world. They could settle down or wander around, acting as village doctors. They used traditional herbal treatments to heal and some also used spells and magic. Some Forest Witches were also known for their dreams and prophecies.
This old woman, Na, said that she used to live with her tribe in the Deer Horn River Basin, but due to the Wights' invasion, a large number of refugees fled into the Ghost Shadow Forest.
Especially the refugees from the Red Hall, who directly seized their territory. Just as they were preparing to fight to the death with their enemies, Na had a strange dream. In the dream, she met a Child of the Forest, who told her that they would find a new beginning in Hardship Town.
Na thought she was the only one experiencing this. However, early the next morning, someone in the tribe started talking about it. After asking around, she found that almost everyone had the same dream.
After discussing it with the tribe's leader, they decided to go to Hardship Town to seek the divine revelation they had seen in their dreams. The closer they got to Hardship Town, the clearer the dreams became. The Child of the Forest performed a miracle in their dreams, telling them to rebuild Hardship Town, so they had been working on this task for some time.
"Oh! This is interesting! Although I don't know who this Child of the Forest is! But, I can let you see the real Child of the Forest! Moonshadow!"
Marko said with some curiosity.
After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Moonshadow, who also cooperated by removing her hood. Her exquisite face and purple eyes made everyone's vision blur, and they unconsciously became entranced.
Na saw this and shook her head, saying to Marko:
"Respected Magna! The Child of the Forest in our dreams isn't as beautiful as this one, but I believe this is all the guidance of the Gods. I can represent my Deer Horn Tribe and swear allegiance to you, to have us kneel before you, this child of the gods, and not those arrogant kings from the south!"
"One day, you will be glad of your decision. I accept the allegiance of your tribe and provide you with protection!"
Marko said calmly.
Seeing this old woman take the lead and submit, Marko took the opportunity to use the "Blessing Ritual". The huge angel's phantom, accompanied by his increasingly impassioned tone, appeared very sacred!
It really felt like something had descended from the heavens, filling everyone's hearts with a sense of reverence. Marko's "Blessing Ritual" was becoming more and more skillful.
The barbarian chieftains around them watched this miraculous scene, and one by one, they knelt before Marko. Marko was filled with joy and quickly told everyone to rise. He also ordered the Brute Soldiers nearby to withdraw. The fire elementals, their summoning time over, vanished instantly.
In the recent battle, the Brute Soldiers, relying on their powerful strength and coordinated formations, had directly defeated the retreating barbarian warriors. After confiscating all the warriors' weapons, Marko brought these tribal chieftains before him. At first, Marko asked them to submit, but these fellows wouldn't budge. They wouldn't leave either, which led to the scene where Wolf Fang spoke earlier.
That evening, Marko hosted a banquet for these tribal chieftains. During the banquet, Marko used Soul Link on them one by one. He discovered that these fellows were genuinely willing to submit. The reason for this was because their bodies were under some kind of mind-based magic. This was the real reason they were willing to truly submit. Marko's recently used "Blessing Ritual" magic seemed to have triggered a resonance with the magic in their bodies, which is why these "freemen" knelt before Marko!
What exactly is that Child of the Forest? It's completely unlike their magic!
Marko thought to himself, also becoming very interested in the Child of the Forest that had brought the barbarians here.
At this moment, Moonshadow, who was at his side, suddenly tugged at Marko's coat. Feeling the movement, Marko turned his head to look at Moonshadow. The little girl whispered into Marko's ear:
"I sensed the power of Blood Sacrifice on a Heart Tree nearby. Some souls with deep resentment were just crying to me. They were torn to pieces. I couldn't understand what they were saying; it's so unbearable!"
Marko patted her shoulder to comfort her. Whenever Moonshadow arrived in a new place, she would be troubled by the whispers of the undead. At such times, she would run to Marko's side to take refuge. Perhaps because of his necromancer talent, many resentful spirits and undead dared not get too close to him.
After Moonshadow evolved into a Flower Spirit, her power increased greatly. Sometimes, even far from the Heart Tree, she could still feel the resentment of those undead souls!
With Marko's help, Moonshadow's condition immediately improved a lot. The banquet passed quickly, and it was already late at night before they knew it. After the banquet, Marko and the others returned to the ship to rest.
Marko went to bed early because he wanted to see if the "Child of the Forest" would come to him tonight. According to Moonshadow, their group was definitely not the first batch of wildlings to arrive here. Some tribes might have already encountered some kind of disaster before.
Sure enough, as soon as Marko fell asleep, a visitor came to his world of consciousness. At this moment, a small pavilion suddenly appeared in a corner of his consciousness. A beautiful and alluring woman was sitting at a stone table inside the pavilion.
This small pavilion was a Western-style domed pavilion. The golden dome shone with light, looking very luxurious. The six pillars seemed to be carved from white jade. Various delicacies were placed on the stone table, making people drool!
And the owner of this pavilion was wearing a gray-black robe and gauze clothing, which looked elegant and graceful. Her black hair was like flowing black ink, gently tied behind her back. Her blood-red eyes emitted an eerie light. Coupled with her delicate face and snow-like skin, she looked like a noble and charming demoness.
That's right! A demoness! No matter what she looked like, the aura of chaos and disaster in her body still made Marko feel her identity. This was a demon's consciousness, a consciousness body凝聚ed by powerful soul power, unlike the three-eyed crow's. This was a more powerful consciousness body.
Marko felt a powerful entity in his consciousness seemed to be staring at him. To understand that female demon's purpose sooner, Marko quickly asked:
"Who are you? Were these wildlings drawn here by you? What exactly do you want?"
The woman looked at Marko with a smile, and said lightly:
"I just wanted to find a few fleshy souls, but I didn't expect to attract the main one like you. My luck is really good! I'm very curious! Someone as powerful as you is so weak in soul protection, so let me..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was stunned by the scene before her. A huge golden dragon suddenly appeared behind Marko. Its eyes were shining with golden light, as if some terrifying power was about to erupt.
The woman roared, and suddenly transformed into a sky full of red light spots, disappearing without a trace. Before leaving, her voice came over.
"Damn human! You have angered the Gods of the Stars, and you will be punished. I will eat your body and tear your soul apart!"
Ding! Triggered the quest 'Underground Passage'. The demon hiding underground has offended you. Eliminate her and make her pay for her rudeness! Rewards: 5000 Gold, 20 Wood, 20 Ore, 5 Sulfur.
After the female Demon disappeared, a mission prompt suddenly appeared in front of Marko. The system hadn't updated a mission for a long time since Marko returned from the Northern Territory. He didn't expect the reward to be so generous this time.
"A Demon? Is it a native Demon of this world? Or a being from another world or dimension? Is it related to the world of Aishan?"
After accepting the mission, Marko stood there and muttered to himself.
"That thing was too weak! Compared to those Demons in our memories, it was far too weak, and its bloodline was too mixed. It even had some Dragon and divine bloodlines, or rather, it's not even considered a Demon!"
A gentle female voice suddenly appeared behind Marko, her voice soft and heartwarming, as if it could soothe the soul.
Hearing this, Marko turned his head sharply and found that the Light Dragon was still behind him. His heart was full of questions. Usually, this big shot would just leave after finishing, but he didn't expect her to stay this time.
Marko was a little surprised and said to her:
"You're still here? Why aren't you disappearing this time? Why does your image look so much like that one? You shouldn't be that great being, right! What exactly are you?"
Marko had barely finished his question when the Light Dragon moved its head in front of him. She seemed even bigger than before. The Light Dragon, seemingly forgetting she had no physical form, sniffed at Marko out of habit, then opened her giant mouth and said:
"I am merely a soul lost in a temporal storm. A powerful being behind you gave me new life. I don't even know what I am! I only fully regained consciousness recently! My previous memories are very hazy. What? Have we met before?"
"Uh! This... never mind!"
Marko said speechlessly. It seemed this big fellow was just like him, knowing nothing!
Over the next period, Marko and the Light Dragon talked in detail. The Light Dragon retained a part of the memories of angels and Elrath, which was why she had been influenced by them before.
Marko's work on the Griffon Fortress seemed to have strengthened her soul. Now she could think and communicate normally, but she could still only reside in Marko's consciousness. Perhaps because Marko wasn't strong enough, or perhaps because the Griffon Fortress hadn't reached its peak level.
After talking with her for a while, Marko withdrew from his consciousness. Marko believed that she was very likely his future top-tier unit, an angel! Or something even more powerful!
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