Chapter 549: The Professor with Complex Ingredients

Deep in the palace of Roland City, thousands of candles illuminate the magnificent court, the warm candlelight stretching the decaying shadows long.

The elderly King is sitting on a chair inlaid with velvet cushions, with a leisurely smile on his face, enjoying a candlelight dinner.

The long dining table is filled with all kinds of delicacies, from fresh oysters chilled with magic to venison stewed with spices and red wine for a whole day, every dish is as exquisite as a work of art.

Although his aging stomach can no longer handle so much grease, he still maintains the restraint of the royal family, cutting a small piece from every dish and sending it into his mouth, chewing carefully to show respect for the chef's hard work, and then signaling the servant to withdraw it.

Eating or not is one thing, the royal family's face cannot be lost, otherwise, wouldn't it lose the face of the kingdom if it spread out?

Halfway through the meal, Theoden felt it was about enough, so he put down the silver knife and fork and gently shook the gold bell by his hand.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The crisp bell sound echoed in the empty restaurant.

Soon, a waiter carried a silver tray and walked up, his expression respectful and cautious.

In that exquisite tray, there was only a gold wine cup the size of a thumb, the cup mouth narrow and shallow, holding only one mouthful.

The clear and transparent liquid is like a transparent slime, emitting a pale golden flow in the candlelight, as if it were liquefied stars.

The waiter held his breath, fearing to spill a little bit, carefully placing the wine cup in front of the King.

Immediately after, he retreated in a hurry with his head down, as if avoiding some kind of plague, not daring to stay here for another second.

The heavy door closed, and the huge restaurant was left with only the King.

Theoden wiped the corners of his mouth with a white handkerchief in a leisurely manner, a trace of greed flashing in those murky old eyes.

He stretched out his withered fingers, picked up the exquisite little wine cup, raised his head, and drank the golden liquid in one gulp.

The cold and holy liquid slid down his throat, instantly turning into a scorching torrent rushing to his head, circling twice, and then diving all the way down.

The next second, the King's pupils dilated sharply, actually turning into a piece of murky gray-white!

The originally magnificent restaurant faded in his eyes, the walls peeled off, the dome collapsed, and the surroundings turned into a pitch-black and deep dry well!

Countless twisted and transparent shadows surged out from the darkness, they surrounded the dining table, making shrill wails and screams.

"Please... stop hitting!"

"Ah—! My leg! My leg—!"

"Mom... Mom save me... I don't want to die here..."

"Kill me... please kill me..."

"The Lionheart Knights are on their way... brother, hold on for a while longer... Haigemo will come to save us!"

"Released... brother, I am finally released..."

That noisy sound was full of despair, and even more full of resentment toward the living.

That bone-deep hatred was like the gloomy wind whistling between the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain Range, trying to tear apart the old man sitting at the end of the dining table.

However, Theoden just sat there quietly, like a cold statue. He watched this performance called pain without any pity, letting the wind of karma blow in front of him.

Rather than being indifferent, the calm expression looked more like he was enjoying it, like listening to a violin performance.

It's just that the strings and the bow are the internal organs of the Lain people.

Those ugly souls gradually lost their strength, and His Majesty was also a bit tired, so he opened his mouth and took a light sip.

Those souls crying in the air seemed to be attracted by some kind of suction, turning into countless fine light spots, gathering together, as if ripe wheat had been brewed into wine.

He took a light sip and absorbed the essence into his stomach.

As the last wail dissipated like smoke, the darkness also retreated like a tide, and the vanished light returned to the luxurious palace.

The candlelight was still warm, and the delicacies on the dining table were still moving.

The King's gray-white pupils returned to clarity, and a flush of satisfaction appeared on that face full of age spots and wrinkles.

Although the traces left by time were still deep, he looked radiant, as if he were ten years younger.

It's just that the space between his eyebrows was even deeper than before.

This old man suddenly stretched out his tongue somewhat mischievously, licking his dry lips, savoring the sweetness that reached the soul.

"This taste..."

"It's really good."

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Spinor County, the summer night wind brought a trace of long-lost coolness to the northern border.

The outpost located by the logging yard had sparse lights, and the soldier carrying a rifle sat on the watchtower looking around boredly, with long wolf howls vaguely audible in the distance.

"This one should be Bronze level."

He muttered to himself, sketching with a pencil in his notebook, imagining what the magic wolf wandering in the forest looked like.

This was one of his few hobbies to pass the time.

After retiring, he planned to be a painter and then publish the strange monsters he drew in his spare time into a picture book.

Maybe it could sell for some money.

At the same time, the outpost next to the watchtower was bustling.

The few sentries who had just changed shifts brought two bottles of private spirits, and the moment the cork was pulled, the spicy wine aroma instantly hooked everyone's gluttony.

"Restrain yourselves, it's working hours now."

Cavalry Captain Clark scolded with a straight face, but looking at the eager eyes of his subordinates, he softened his heart.

In this godforsaken borderland, there was only the howling of beasts and the grinding of undead teeth for company, so drinking a little to build up courage was fine.

The most critical thing was that his own gluttony was also hooked.

"... But for everyone's hard work, the brothers who changed shifts can drink before going to sleep. Those on the night shift are not allowed to touch a drop, do you hear me?"

"Captain is wise!"

Looking at the captain with a straight face, the crowd cheered, hooking shoulders and backs, sitting at the table, and started shouting to divide the wine.

A bottle of wine was soon divided in half, and a young lad with a good eye walked to the captain's side, smiling and stuffing it into the captain's hand.

"Captain, I confiscated half a bottle of wine from these drunks, please check it!"

"You kid."

Clark scolded with a smile, kicking the guy's thigh, but his hand honestly took the wine bottle handed by the young lad.

Just as he was about to challenge his own "rules," his gaze suddenly fell on the young man in the corner who had been shrinking his body.

I saw the little lad who escaped from the Ratman nest staring dead at the wine bottle in his hand, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, like a traveler in the desert seeing an oasis.

Clark's heart moved, carrying the wine bottle and walking over, sitting on the bench next to him, deliberately drinking a sip in front of him.

Then, he shook the wine bottle in front of Hailage'er.

"Want a drink?"

Hailage'er seemed to be awakened, nodding desperately, his emaciated fingers gripping his trousers tightly, his face full of desire.

Clark untied a tin cup from his waist and poured him a small mouthful. Hailage'er couldn't wait to pick up the cup and gulp it down.

The spicy liquid burned down his throat, choking him into coughing a few times, but that face full of dirt showed a long-lost intoxication.

"Saint Xisi is above... is this distilled from grain?"

Hailage'er narrowed his eyes, muttering in his mouth, "I only drank it once, that was when I was a child, I took advantage of my old man not paying attention and stole a little from his cup..."

This glass of wine seemed to open the floodgates of his memory, letting him briefly forget the fear in front of him and return to the past that was poor but still stable.

Later, life got worse day by day, until the fire in the Winter Moon last year burned everything to ashes and blew him to this remote place.

Hailage'er looked at the wine bottle in Clark's hand with eager eyes, humbly extending his cup.

"My lord... can I have another mouthful?"

Clark shook the wine bottle, the liquid inside clattering. He didn't pour the wine immediately, but stared into Hailage'er's eyes.

"Only with a story is there wine. If you want another mouthful, tell me, what exactly did you encounter in that cave?"

Hailage'er's hand shook violently, and an extremely painful expression appeared on his face.

That was the fear deeply planted in the bone marrow; even though he had escaped, recalling those scenes still made him tremble all over.

He struggled internally, and finally, under the temptation of alcohol, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

"That's not a pleasant memory... those rats whipped us, locked us in water cages with only our heads exposed, roasted our soles with fire, and pricked our nails with rusty needles... and, they would release rats to bite us. Not ordinary field mice, but Slave Rats as big as wolves with red eyes."

The laughter in the outpost gradually disappeared, and the soldiers all pricked up their ears, looking here with expressions of eating melons.

Clark frowned.

"Just torturing you?"

Hailage'er nodded stiffly.

"Yes, only torture."

"What is the significance of doing this?"

"I don't know... I really don't know..."

Hailage'er hugged his head, his body began to twitch violently, as if he had been scared out of his wits, and even his soul was trembling.

"But a lad who was locked up with me speculated that they... seem to be collecting something? He said those rats don't want to kill us, they need some kind of aura released when we are in extreme fear and despair. But later he died, and I really don't know anything else."

Looking at Hailage'er who was on the verge of collapse, Clark was silent for a moment, poured him another half cup of wine, and patted his back to soothe his nervous emotions.

"Drink, drink it and you'll feel better... also tell me, what are the characteristics of those who were taken away?"

He didn't want to uncover his scars, but these clues might let them know whether the royal explorers who were taken away were still alive.

Hailage'er held the cup and took a big gulp, his eyes gradually becoming hollow, and a trace of unnatural clarity appeared under the effect of alcohol.

"They are all fellows like me..."

"Like you?"

"Yes, the crazy ones are taken away, the ones not crazy enough are sent back to continue..."

Hailage'er suddenly laughed, but the laughter was uglier than crying, like an undead crawling out of a grave.

"The unqualified ones will be brought back, and then another beating. The most miserable ones are those who pretend to be crazy, and are sent back... the Ratmen will lock them in a cage with wolves."

A young soldier swallowed his saliva.

"Saint Xisi is above..."

A veteran not far away took a sip of wine and said silently.

"This sounds like a slaughterhouse."

Treating people like livestock.

He simply couldn't believe that such a thing was happening on the land blessed by the Holy Light.

Clark was silent for a while and stuffed the remaining half bottle of wine into Hailage'er's hand.

Hailage'er didn't use the cup anymore, grabbed the wine bottle and raised his head to gulp it down.

Not long after, he was completely drunk, lying on the ground and starting to act crazy, muttering nonsense, crying for a while, laughing for a while, and kneeling to beg for mercy from the shadows on the wall from time to time.

The crowd looked at each other, all feeling their backs cold.

Clark was the same, looking at Hailage'er rolling on the ground and saying nothing.

The young soldier walked to Clark's side, looked at the guy rolling on the ground, and looked at his captain.

"Captain, this..."

"Take him out to blow the wind and sober up." A veteran suggested.

"Forget it, let him be drunk like this, being awake is also suffering." Another sighed.

They couldn't imagine what the distant Roland City was like, but the pain in front of them was hard not to make them feel complicated, because that guy was a servant of the Holy Light just like them.

His pain was not at the end of the world, but right under their eyelids.

Just then, a crisp sound suddenly came from the forest outside the outpost.

"Crack."

That was the sound of a tree trunk being pushed over, although it came from a very far place, it sounded particularly harsh in the quiet night.

Except for Hailage'er who was still acting crazy on the ground, everyone in the outpost became alert, and a veteran frowned.

"What sound?"

"Could it be a bear?"

"Doesn't sound like it..."

"I'll go check."

Clark picked up the rifle leaning against the table, beckoned to two brave veterans, and the three carefully pushed open the door and walked into the night.

The open space outside the outpost was quiet, and the forest in the distance was the same; the previous movement was like an illusion, with only the rustling sound of leaves in the night wind.

Clark shouted at the wooden watchtower in the high place.

"Tom! Is there any movement up there?"

No response.

Clark's heart sank, and a trace of bad premonition surged.

He gripped the rifle tightly, signaled the two veterans to guard the bottom, and he himself touched the watchtower lightly along the ladder.

The moment he climbed onto the platform, he saw Tom, who was on night duty, lying on the railing, motionless, with snoring sounds drifting from his mouth.

"This brat, actually dares to sleep while on duty?"

Clark breathed a sigh of relief, but also a bit annoyed. He walked up and shook Tom's shoulder hard.

Tom's body swayed softly with his shaking, his face tilted to the other side, sleeping soundly, as if he wouldn't wake up even if the sky fell.

Clark was planning to give him two slaps to wake him up, when a very light whisper suddenly came to his ear. "Shh—"

It was a girl's voice, carrying a chilling coldness in her laziness.

"People are sleeping soundly, don't wake them up."

Clark's hair exploded instantly, and he wanted to turn back to aim his gun, but his joints were as sluggish as if they had rusted.

This is... magic?!

Before he could figure out what it was, his head had only turned halfway when an irresistible sleepiness struck like a tide.

His vision began to blur, and the world began to flip.

★￠O

In the last second before his consciousness sank completely into darkness, he caught a glimpse of a petite figure sitting on the railing of the watchtower.

She had a profile as exquisite as a porcelain doll, yawning boredly. And under the silver moonlight, the pair of slightly curved small horns flashed with demonic ghostly light.

Little demon...?

How could there be... a little demon here?

"Thump—"

With the memory and confusion of the broken film, Clark fell heavily beside his sleeping brother and fell into the boundless dream.

The two people under the watchtower fell at the same time, as did the few sentries in the outpost.

Facing the sneak attack of a transcendent, ordinary mortals had no power to fight back at all.

"Ha—"

Sitting on the railing of the watchtower, Youxi yawned long, boredly changing her crossed legs, her little feet dangling beside the railing and swaying.

I heard it was a mission personally explained by the Demon King. She had 120% energy before setting off, but didn't expect that after arriving at the destination, she was actually just guarding a group of humans.

A demon guarding humans...

Although it sounds fresh, there is no fun in pranks, and it is not as interesting as jumping in a vat full of grapes.

Thinking that everyone in Thunder City was drinking the foot-washing water of the Nightmare Township, she was so excited that she could drink two big bowls of mushrooms in a row.

Thinking of this, Youxi's eyeballs turned, her gaze unconsciously falling on the water bottle at the human soldier's waist, and her stomach flooded with bad water again.

Why not—

Add some ingredients to them.

The corners of her mouth split to the roots of her ears, and just when Youxi was eager to move, the sound from afar saved these two unlucky ghosts.

If the water was really changed to iced black tea, it would be a psychological shadow for a lifetime.

"Stop playing, Youxi! Xixi King is still fighting in front, let's go help quickly!" Flapping her wings and hovering in front of her, Mixi shouted urgently.

Youxi curled her lips, muttering reluctantly.

"Got it, really... just a few miscellaneous fish, Xixi King pinched them all to death with one finger, do we still need to take action?"

Mixi said helplessly.

"That may be so, but we should be more cautious, okay... Youxi always capsized because of carelessness, right... Remember the Earth Dragon clan time?"

Looking at the worried Mixi, Youxi's expression stiffened, and she couldn't help but think of the tragic memory that almost ended up on the table.

"... They all became the Palace Guard clan, why do you still remember this?"

"Because because, that is really scary, Mixi thought Youxi would never come back. If Xixi King was also put on the table, the respected Demon King would probably take it out on Youxi..."

Thinking of the Demon King's terrifying methods, Youxi's relaxed expression couldn't hold up, and bean-sized sweat drops dripped on the ground like rain.

"I, I didn't say I wouldn't go... time to go, Mixi!"

Not daring to delay for another second, the wings behind Youxi shook violently, and the whole person turned into a black stream of light and rushed into the sky, fearing that she would be late by a second.

Mixi followed closely behind Youxi and flew toward the forest to the north.

Rising into the sky with her were the companions lurking in the shadows around the outpost, and those dense little demons formed a cloud covering the moonlight in the sky.

They were like a group of bloodthirsty bats whistling in the night sky, passing over the treetops silently, casting the shadow of death on the earth.

At the same time, in the nearby forest, the pale moonlight illuminated the bloody battlefield.

Sitting on a slender tree trunk, Xixi, light as a swallow, looked down at the ground lazily, her lotus-root-like legs elegantly crossed together.

A head of scarlet short hair was slightly raised in the night wind, and under the neat bangs was a pair of demonic red pupils, emitting a strange charm that captured the soul.

Under the onion-white moonlight, dozens of Plague Tooth Assassin corpses lay horizontally and vertically, and the death state of every Ratman was extremely ferocious.

These were the strongest warriors in the Rotten Flesh Clan, each of which had undergone cruel selection and poison tempering, with a strength of at least Bronze level, and the leader even reached the Silver rank.

If executing an assassination mission, even if the target was a Gold-level powerhouse, they had the confidence to kill with one blow and then break away.

However, at this moment, facing Xixi's vast mental magic, the most elite killers of the Rotten Flesh Clan were suppressed and had no power to fight back!

The only remaining Ratman assassin knelt on the ground, his mouth and nose bleeding, but he still stared dead at the terrifying figure on the treetop.

He gasped, baring his full mouth of sharp teeth, his voice becoming sharp and harsh because of fear.

"You... are a demon from hell?! Why does hell intervene in Ratman affairs?! We have no conflict with you!"

"Hell? Ratman? I don't understand what you are talking about."

Xixi stretched out her little finger and dug her ear nonchalantly, then tilted her head lightly, a naive and cruel smile on her face.

"I only know that there is a group of arrogant little rats who are so ignorant of life and death, daring to be enemies with my Majesty."

"Majesty?! Which Majesty?" The Ratman assassin's pupils shrank, quickly searching in his not-so-big brain, trying to analyze who the other party was.

However, the Ratman's understanding of humans is roughly the same as the human's understanding of Ratmen.

No matter how he racked his brains, he couldn't think of who was targeting them, and why they were targeting them.

"This is not important."

Xixi smiled lightly, the scarlet killing intent in her eyes almost overflowing.

"Since you think I come from hell, why don't you ask when you go down after you die? If you have a chance to go down... but before that, you'd better explain who sent you? Otherwise, I guarantee you will experience what is called life is worse than death."

A trace of horror appeared on the Plague Tooth Assassin's face, the demon's strength was so strong that it made him despair.

Since it's death either way...

Evil grew from the side of his courage, he suddenly raised his front claws, revealing the exquisite short crossbow hidden under his wrist armor.

"Go to hell—!"

Bang!

With a short, crisp sound, a dark green crossbow bolt filled with poison tore through the air, heading straight for Xixi on the treetop.

Seeing that the crossbow bolt was about to pierce that petite head, the next second, it passed through without any obstruction and nailed into the tree trunk behind her.

The arrow cluster that missed its target trembled lightly like cicada wings, and the tree trunk hit by the crossbow arrow made a hissing corrosive sound.

"?!"

That Ratman assassin's eyes were about to bulge out, screaming and cursing "Demon thing!", throwing away the short crossbow in his hand and turning to run.

He exploded with the fastest speed in his life, using hands and feet, like a real rat, frantically shuttling through the forest, the sound of the wind whistling in his ears.

As long as he rushes out of this forest!

As long as he rushes into the hiding cave in the deep mountains!

Never mind demons—

Even the Sword Saint can't do anything to him!

Sharp Tooth Quilik had full confidence!

However, I don't know how long he escaped, but when he stopped exhausted, he was horrified to find that he had returned to the original place.

The familiar short crossbow lay on the ground, and not far away was the big tree he shot, and the crossbow arrow nailed to the tree trunk.

He actually got lost?!

In a panic, he was tripped by a tree root exposed on the ground, fell heavily to the ground, and rolled a few times before stopping.

Wiping away the branches and rotten leaves entangled in his eyes, he cursed and opened his eyes, only to find that he had returned to the original place again.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, a hair-raising feeling climbed up his back, and his four claws were cold to the bone, as if soaked in an ice cellar.

Everything in front of him was so unreal, like a nightmare.

However, the phantom pain in his knees and his chest that was about to explode were so real, and he had clearly run in the forest for a long time.

He couldn't tell for a moment whether he was awake or not.

Or fell from one nightmare into another nightmare.

"Don't waste your effort."

The playful voice came from overhead.

Xixi stretched her arms and stretched, changing her crossed legs, as if she had never moved half a point.

"In my nightmare, your spirit is like a slime kneaded by me, I can kill you in less than a second, do you think you can escape? Or honestly explain—"

Her words hadn't fallen yet, when she suddenly looked stern, the wings behind her shook violently, and her figure jumped into the air.

Hiss—!

Almost at the same time she left, a ghostly green beam cut across the position where she was sitting silently.

That big tree that two people could hug was actually opened with a smooth cut like tofu cut by a knife.

The sound of the big tree collapsing followed, startling the birds sleeping in the forest, and the bird flock flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

A light laugh came from the shadows, followed by a cold and hoarse voice.

"Dodged quite fast."

Xixi, who was hovering in the air, narrowed her eyes slightly, although the relaxed expression didn't change at all, she had clearly brought out all her strength.

"Human... mage?!"

Xixi's voice carried a trace of alertness, although the relaxed expression didn't change at all, she had clearly brought out all her strength.

"Who are you?"

A low roar of threat came from her throat, the pressure of a Diamond-level powerhouse descended on this forest, and the dense mental power was like a boundless giant net.

However, facing the little demon flapping her wings, the mage hiding in the dark clouds just smiled faintly, as if he didn't put this primitive power in his eyes.

He admitted that this power was very strong.

But power does not equal lethality.

"Demon, you seem to have misunderstood your position."

The long-handled staff in his hand flipped, and the mage standing in the shadows looked at the sky indifferently, the tip of the staff again condensing dangerous light.

"I am the interrogator, the person who should answer the question is you."

The scarlet eyes burst out with unprecedented killing intent, Xixi was about to curse "Arrogant", when a leisurely voice suddenly descended around the two.

Even the Ratman with a dull gaze on the ground was involved, trembling uncontrollably.

"Who do you want to interrogate?"

The mage hiding in the shadows was slightly stunned, his hand raising the staff froze in mid-air, and a trace of suspicion floated in his eyes.

This voice...

So familiar!

Hearing that voice, Xixi's heart was filled with joy, and she looked toward the direction the voice came from behind her excitedly.

"Demon—"

"Shh."

With his index finger on his lips, Luo Yan, standing in the night, made a gesture of silence, lightly erasing the flapping of birds and the insect chirping resounding in the forest.

The travel cloak flew silently in the night wind, his face was wearing a mask that blurred the contours of his features, and the voice drifting from behind that mask became the only movement in this night.

"Focus."

Xixi's heart tightened, only then did she remember that she was still in a duel, and actually lost her vigilance because of the Demon King's arrival.

However—

It didn't make any difference.

The outcome had been decided.

Just as the voice fell, two figures, one big and one small, disappeared into the night sky at the same time.

At the same time, hundreds of dark green beams, like shuttling giant pythons, instantly swept the airspace above the forest sea!

The dark green staff tip emitted scorching death energy.

Looking at the figures that disappeared in the night sky, the gray-robed mage's face changed wildly, his left hand quickly reached for the lapel of his cloak, his index finger gripping the button and pulling hard.

"Hiss—"

Just as he tore open the magic scroll hidden there, a cold light as black as iron cut through his robe.

Boots landed, and the strong wind followed, blowing the fallen leaves.

Sarah, wearing a mask, made a "tsk" sound, her cold eyes scanning the vast forest, and then the flipped dagger returned to the scabbard.

"Let him run."

"Not an escape."

Luo Yan, who didn't know when he had reached the ground, stepped on the fallen leaves stained with Ratman blood and walked to not far from Sarah.

His index finger lifted slightly, and the rotten leaves piled on the ground were blown away by the wind, and a gold diamond ring and a bone staff floated up from beside his feet.

Seeing the "God Equipment" he sold cheaply to players, and the magic power remaining on it, a playful arc curled up on the corner of Luo Yan's mouth.

"The main body was never here to begin with."

Soul system, Holy Energy, plus some tricks of the Enchantment and a little bit of the Summoning school... and some things not found in the library.

Proficient in the spells of four schools, it seems that the ingredients of this "Professor" are not ordinary complex. ===== CHAPTER 550 =====

Seeing the "divine gear" he had sold cheaply to the players, along with the magic residue remaining on it, a playful curve tugged at the corner of Luo Yan's mouth.

"The main body was never here to begin with."

Soul School, Holy Energy, plus some tricks from the Enchanting and a little bit of the Summoning School... and some things not found in the library.

Proficient in the spells of four schools; it seems this "professor's" composition is more than just ordinarily complex.