There's only half a day left. But the half day was as long as the same year.
Abel, Gordon, and Alan rested on the same tablet, and not far away Shevell and Wood sat on the same tablet. Abel and Gordon discussed things in the dark in Apneese and no longer avoided Alan, though Alan was never able to keep up with the conversation and had trouble even fully understanding the non-standard language with its Northern accent. As for the rest of the family, they're stuck in this dark forest forever.
An hour ago, the team was attacked again by the Tumens, and Arcane and Owu became the standard. This time, the family did not receive any warning. When the Arcane barrier of the Otherworldly was opened, it was found that no one from Grenn had been seen. When the group found the trail of Tunmen, they chose to go into hiding instead of giving the family advance notice as before. As a result, the whole family was open to the wolves in front of Tunmen, and Abel, who had never left Alan's side since he had been taken hostage, was in a safe position in the event of an attack. But the others were not so lucky. The two technicians on the outside had one wiped in the neck and the other shot in a sieve.
Without Grenn's finishing power as a raider and sellsword, the group's attacks were simply not enough, and the Armagicians' scattered fireballs and wind blades were better than nothing to counter them, but such attacks did nothing to push the Tumenowers at a safe distance, making the already stretched defenses even more difficult. In the end, Gordon had to hand over his last remaining card, and after a whirlwind of flying blades, the otherworldly finally broke through the jungle warriors. This time, however, the Tumens and the Epians never reached some kind of agreement, and the Tumens saw that this time the Epians were a spent force and would not let them go. And having learned from his predecessor's example that his position was rarely exposed, Abel had no chance of risking his life with the Wind Spear for a decapitation. As they watched and chased closer and closer, the family Arcanists, who had previously been dissatisfied with Abel's decision to move on, stood up.
Wynne and Joseph, the last remaining Arcane masters, suddenly broke through the Arcane walls, braced themselves with steel, and ran in reverse to the Tumens' murderous cries.
"You go, I'm in the way!"
These were the last words either of them would ever say to this world, and then they disappeared into the darkness, filled with the breaking of arrows and blades, the killing cries of Tumen, and the scattered cries of death... Slowly all voices fell silent, and Alan could only hear the dark murmurs of the infested fungus, whether it was because the fighting was over or because they had finally escaped the claws of the Tumens.
It wasn't long before Grenn suddenly appeared with his sellsword, who had been far behind but unable to escape the battle. Shevell had difficulty resisting the urge to kill the two and five, even the extraordinary ones, who were weak at this point. The strength of the strongest Gordon and Shevell cards have been out, and need time to recover, plus more than 30 hours of continuous combat, two people's reserve energy finally like Abel, bottom. In this state, against one of the best of the Owuls, even three of them, there was only fifty to one, not to mention the crossbows behind Grenn. At close range, there was not enough time for an Arcane with no energy to recite a spell. Neither side would be assured of victory if it came to a fight, but casualties would be heavy.
Grenn, however, had no intention of fighting. He did not know how much power the Arcane had left, and there was a rogue out there. Grenn would not risk anything until he knew what was going on. Look at Xavier full of hostility and alert eyes, mercenary regiment all understand their head of judgment is right, so big a secret, how can the Deco family tolerate too many people now! Now that the recently passed mine is under development, the more important its secrets become, the more plausible the option of killing people to keep them quiet.
Alan and Wood were protected by Abel, while Shevell and Gordon kept their eyes fixed on the Sellsword behind them. Grenn walked behind them. From a distance, it looks like the front and back of a team, only more remote from each other.
In this strange balancing act, the Epians pause to cherish their precious moments of rest, between the fact that Wood, as a human being, really needs rest and the fact that the otherworldly beings at the bottom of their energies need time to build up their energy.
Alan could not keep up with the Epian language, so he turned his attention to the mercenaries not far away. These rough-heft men also eat quietly, sleep quietly, and look around quietly, far from being disorganized mercenaries. Some of them had been doing their best to keep Alan safe until a few days later, but they had their share of heckling as Grenn put the dagger around his neck.
By the time Abel and Gordon had finished talking, Abel was thinking, his right hand rubbing the slimy skin of the mushroom tree trunk. The surface of the mushroom tree is covered with a transparent liquid of bacteria. The texture of the fungal flaky inside is hard to feel, but you can still feel it. The secretions on the surface of the tablets were a little less, but there were always more or less, and everyone's robes were now covered in disgusting bacterial liquid.
'Abel,' said Alan, resuming the conversation when they were no longer speaking, 'why do you refuse to give me up so far?' Alan was well aware of his worth, a total liability under the diplomatic constraints of the interior, but Abel never stopped protecting him, even though Shevell and Gordon had no problem with it.
Abel slowly took her hand back from the trunk, shook off the fungus, and frowned. "Ellen, we haven't known each other long, but you've been one of my own since the day you agreed to be king of the family. As long as you wear the Arcane robes of your house, you are a member of your house. The Deco has not renounced the tradition of Allies."
"But if you care about my compound spell, why don't you let me follow the other way?"
Abel was silent. Although this was an unfortunate move, it did make Alan suffer from it: "Alan, I'm sorry for the prudence of the extended family. I can't let you go with the kids. Their names are Deco. And if you regret going north, the people with you won't be able to stop you. You're an Arcane." There was a pause, then Abel went on. "And the other two roads, if there were not so many accidents, would have been safer with us. Three superhumans and two Owu would have kept you safe anyway. It's just..."
Alan looked at Abel as she tried to speak and then stopped, and his heart cleared again. "No, thank you all the same." He had adjusted himself a great deal, though he was not accustomed to being on the edge of life and death many times, and he felt Abel's helplessness in these two words. The Deco family seems to want him, and they're paying a lot of money for it, and Abel is doing everything in his power to divert resources, even taking the best of the family with him for safety. But unfortunately, things turned out to be more than anyone expected, and Abel still feels insecure.
Abel continued to try to shift resources to Allen, from the moon crystals and the wind boots to several crystal diamonds that Wood later handed over, but the guilt only grew. I have given a lot of things, but the situation is getting more and more difficult. If I can't leave safely, what's the use?
'Gordon!
Shevell's short cry came from the ground, and the three of them, still embarrassed on the tablet, looked down and saw a ball of fire in their hands and waved them down.
Alan turned on the windboot and, using it dozens of times a day, became adept at windlifting and soon followed Abel and Gordon down to the bed of germs. He was about to ask Shevell what was the matter when he made a silent gesture to them, and then, worried enough, added, "Don't exclaim when you see anything."
After a few nods, the flames in Shevell's hands spread out across the green bed of bacteria, lighting up everything under the feet, and the crowd immediately understood why Shevell had told them several times to stay calm because under the bed of bacteria, covered with human bones and corpses!
Only bones, flesh and bones separated, ragged clothes, even the wound has not healed, blood and bacterial fluid mixed... Then more than one meter deep in the bacterial liquid lying in a dense mass of bodies, crisscrossing, layers and layers filled all the surrounding places, even more than the microorganism bed did not have time to digest all into nutrients. At the bottom of the layer, only a few fragments of bone and a few dollops of meat sauce were left, and the shape of the body was barely visible as it went up, and at the top, only the material of life could be seen. From these fragments, some of them looked like working miners, while others wore the clothes of the regular army of Tumen, and it was not clear whether they were written by other people.
The whole scene was sickening to watch, especially when the occasional lump of rotting meat was seen rolling about in a disorderly manner as the bed of fungus swelled. It would have been unappetising for days to come, but the few presents did not react much to it, and Alan merely shook his head to suppress the feeling of impending nausea. Too many people died in front of them these days. It's starting to go numb.
"It's probably a Tumen filling pit. It's unlikely to be the only one. There could be others." 'said Wood, dipping a finger into the mud, and smiling at Alan's seeming concern about the corrosivity of the bed.' Don't worry, the bioacid is almost exhausted here. There's no danger. When I was young, at the beginning of the Civil War in Lustig, there was a lot of this stuff, but here it's more natural and it gets rid of the bodies faster."
"But what's that got to do with us?" Gordon frowned. Their route was fixed, and they would not have noticed that the graveyard was the same except that it was more likely to be patrolled by the Tumens and they should not have stayed, but Shevell had no reason to care so much and called them all down.
Wood smiled wryly at the corners of his mouth. "It wouldn't matter if it was just a filling pit. The main thing is, Master Shevell and I found this." As he walked, Wood pulled out a small accessory from his bosom. It was a brooch, the design, and color of which had been badly corroded, but the material of the brooch itself was so good that even the nicks on the inside were still visible.
"This is... The red rose?" 'Alan asked, looking at the work on the top of the needle, where the close lines of the bar were forming the shape of a rose, even though there was no color. The Red rose was a symbol of the Sylville Empire when it was born. Once people saw such a shape, they would always consider the relationship with Sylville at the first moment.
"Yes," Abel affirmed, "and this brooch must be made of a special alloy, from the army in Sylville."
Shevell briefly described the scene of the discovery. The owner of the brooch was waiting for the green liquid to be swallowed in a bed of fungus not far ahead. The corrosion of the body and clothing was not very high, and the time of death was estimated to be not far away, probably within two months.
For two months, Silverland Army, Levy Mines.
If you put these three words together, anyone can think of them together. The director of the brooch was probably a member of the army sent by Emperor Silverland to protect the Levi Mines, which means that Silverland may have known McCabe's secret, but they had not had time to react to it! Further, Sekwibo did not know, and strategic enemy Silverland knew...
Great threat!
"Come on, we can't delay." Gordon knew that he and Shevell were not recovering well, but the situation was so sudden that he had to make an immediate decision. His voice was slow but firm. "Get in touch with Sykwibo as soon as possible. Abel, keep an eye on Wood and Alan and keep an eye on Green. '