Half Elf Ranger

Chapter 404 Sword Master
Under the bleak moonlight, in the ruins where everything is quiet.

"Clap!"

Thorn's figure jumped down from the mound, and landed lightly on the ground, making a slight sound.

The few carrion birds hovering around the lizard man's corpse were startled by the uninvited visitor, and immediately flew away, leaving a hoarse cry in the deep night.

Beside the other corpses, six wolves were squatting there, their stinky and blood-stained mouths dripping with blood, spitting out white gas, their dark green pupils staring coldly at the uninvited ranger.

Smelling the disgusting smell of blood in the air, Thorne walked slowly amidst all eager eyes. He stepped over a corpse whose thigh had disappeared, and glanced at a few predators faintly. The black eyes hidden in the hood are bright and piercing.

"Woooooooo..."

In the bleak and silvery night, the ferocious wolf's strong body trembled the moment the ranger's sharp eyes swept over it, and then he lowered his head and let out a sobbing wail.

Immediately afterwards, these ferocious beasts turned around and ran towards the depths of the ruins at the same time as if they were ordered.

They ran unhurriedly, looking back at the uninvited guest and the leftover corpse of the lizard man from time to time.

——"Steel Soul Pai (Stance Skill): Listening and Discriminating Device!"

Thorne's mind moved, and the moment the energy of Qi rushed to his ears, his senses became extremely sharp due to his high concentration.

He easily heard the sound of them trampling dead branches and gravel from the path where the wargs disappeared, and stopping to look back.

I even heard the small footsteps of the little wizard hiding in the cellar who came out without heeding the advice.

"Clap!"

Suddenly, the movement of a stone falling to the ground attracted Thorne's scrutiny.

His calm gaze slowly moved to the direction where the stone fell to the ground, and his right hand also touched the position of the sword hilt that made him most at ease.

——"Deadly attack!"

The moment he grasped the hilt of the sword, Thorne suddenly felt the air flow behind him accelerate, and the faint shadow energy overflowed in the breeze.

"clang!"

The ear-piercing sounds of gold and iron clashing erupted in the night sky, shining brilliant sparks, and at the same time startled away a few greedy worgs who were peeping in the dark.

Immediately, the two colliding figures dispersed, each holding a sharp blade, occupying a position exclusively for themselves, and also assumed the most favorable posture for attacking.

Thorne calmly stared at the opponent with long withered white hair blown up by the breeze not far away.

I saw that he was raising his proud head, smiling and slowly pulling out a straight-edged knife with a cold light shining from behind, and then stretched out his hand frivolously to hook his fingers, showing a provocative gesture.

Thorne smiled and nodded slightly in response.

Immediately afterwards, the muscles of his whole body tensed suddenly, and the lean body hidden in the cloak rushed forward like an arrow that left the string.

"Clang clang clang!"

In the night, sharp blades rubbed against each other to produce screams of protest, and brilliant sparks exploded from the intertwined figures not to be outdone.

Master of drow swordsmanship!

After several rounds of confrontation, Thorne recognized the opponent's profession.

As someone who has stayed in the Underdark for a period of time, he is too familiar with the advanced professional swordsmanship master of the dark elves.

This is a melee class that is advanced from the basic class drow warrior.

Drow warriors and drow swordsmanship masters are a set of the most suitable strengthening routes carefully designed for male dark elf fighters in combination with their own racial characteristics.

Although a dark elf who can successfully advance to a master of swordsmanship is almost always a leader or an elite fighter in his family.

However, in this city of Rezim, which is full of infighting, Thorn still encountered several swordsmanship masters who became prisoners due to failure in infighting in the arena.

Therefore, he is still very familiar with the exquisite sword moves and attack methods of these drow sword masters.

Among them, the core professional specialty of drow swordsmanship masters is "handling sword like a god", a powerful specialty that can greatly enhance their swordsmanship attack speed and deadly accuracy.

Only by mastering this specialty can one be qualified to become a qualified swordsmanship master.

Even the native dark elves with relatively good talents still need more than ten years of practice and training to successfully master it.

Although dark elves have a long lifespan, ten years is a very long time for them in a society full of infighting since their mother's womb. It is obviously impossible for them to practice their skills in a safe and stable manner.

Of course, for their players, they only need to meet a few prerequisites for advanced swordsmanship masters to be able to successfully master it.

Although swordsmanship master is a relatively powerful advanced profession in dark elf society, for Thorn, its degree of danger is not as terrible as imagined.

After all, he also learned a special sword technique of mixing a wandering swordsman and a master swordsman under Karlock's teaching.

Even if he didn't practice to great success in the precipitation of time, it would not be difficult for him to deal with some enemies with similar strength one-on-one by cooperating with the moves of the Steel Soul School.

Just like the opponent in front of him, although his swordsmanship is so fast and exquisite that he can hardly find any flaws, the extremely fierce attack of the opponent's straight-edged knife is also completely resisted by his mastered swordsmanship skills.

It can be seen from this that his six-dimensional attributes and hard power are definitely higher than his opponents.

At least he hasn't even used a skill yet.

Thorn sideways avoided the opponent's thrust, and the desert wind sword surrounded by faint flames took advantage of the situation to slash horizontally. The target of the attack was very clear, pointing directly at the enemy's abdomen which was only covered by the dark black chain armor.

"clang!"

The opponent drew his sword back to block, and the two sharp blades entangled together, rubbing against each other to produce a piercing symphony and a series of fine sparks.

——"A sword for a sword!"

Immediately afterwards, the sword master turned his wrist holding the knife slightly, and the straight-edged knife in his hand that parried the sharp sword followed the rotation of his wrist, successfully deflecting Thorne's attacking weapon, and at the same time, the sharp wind from the blade also responded with the ultimate force. A fierce and deadly counterattack.

"I've been guarding against your move for a long time." Thorne was not surprised but pleased when he noticed the shifting blade.

"Sword for sword" is the deadliest sword move used by drow sword masters in duels.

Its effect is similar to the defensive and counter-offensive feat of "Attack Concentration", but it is more like an enhanced version of it, the only difference is that it is only effective for light blade weapons.

In order to successfully master the "Sword for Sword" feat, in addition to the pre-feat "Defensive Attack", the agility attribute must reach 20 points, and there are also very high requirements for physical coordination and toughness.

Among all humanoid races, the body flexibility of elves (including dark elves) can be said to be among the best.

This natural flexibility can even enable them to do some difficult movements and various postures that are unimaginable to normal people.

Similarly, such difficult combat skills are relatively easy to master.

Faced with the opponent's weird and tricky counterattack, Thorne's free left hand had already pressed the position of the other sword in advance, ready to go.

"Zheng!"

At the moment when the blade was approaching, he drew out a steel soul sword emitting a pale blue light under the pale moonlight like lightning, and successfully knocked the straight-edged sword that was attacking his chest away with the fierce attack of drawing the sword.

——"Steel Soul School (strike skill): Jade Slash!"

At the same time, Thorne, who succeeded in the attack, took advantage of the moment when the opponent failed to attack and was amazed, and focused his mental power to capture the weakness in his defense. chest.

——"Whirlwind attack!"

Just when Thorne's attack was about to succeed, the aura of the swordsman master suddenly changed, and the attack suddenly became extremely ferocious. While parrying the Desert Wind Sword, the straight-edged knife in his hand directly turned into afterimages, forming a series of invisible The wind of the sword lifted up the residual leaves on the ground like a raging wind, and also forced back the counterattack of Thorne's double swords.

Looking at the attack launched by the master swordsman, a trace of surprise flashed in his solemn eyes, and he thought to himself: "Have you mastered the 'Whirlwind Attack' so well? "

"Whirlwind Attack" is also a move of the swordsmanship master. If it is their player, as long as the swordsmanship master level is raised to level 5, it can be mastered automatically.

This kind of move can not only deal with the enemies attacking in groups, but also display the most ferocious attack in the duel.

Through the observation just now, Thorn judged that the opponent's "Whirlwind Attack" had at least reached the proficiency level.

However, his attacks seemed to be continuous like a violent storm. Under normal circumstances, the enemy would have already been cut through the flesh by the blade or surrendered.

In terms of Thorne's strength, the threat to him is not as great as imagined.

As long as he can block them all or directly distance him, the opponent will show obvious flaws at the end.

Moreover, the most important thing is that the swordsmanship master's "Whirlwind Attack" cannot exert its true power without the cooperation of "Qi Raising Slash".

His "Whirlwind Attack" seems to be more proficient in using it than the orc swordsman Kutaig, but the threat is not as great as the swordsman who cooperates with "Qi Raising Slash".

"Clang clang clang!"

In the ruins, the clanging sound of metal collisions resounded again, and brilliant sparks exploded again and again.

Faced with such a ferocious attack, Thorne naturally would not head-on head-on, but chose to avoid the edge temporarily, while waving his two swords to block the blades, while constantly retreating.

After a while, he was forced back by the opponent's offensive for more than ten steps in a row.

However, when Thorn was about to be cornered, the Sword Master's "Whirlwind Attack" was coming to an end. After all, this was a high-explosive move that consumed a lot of energy.

——"Steel Soul School (strike skill): Jade Slash!"

At the moment when the attack was over, Thorne did not miss this opportunity, instantly seized the sword master's flaw, and launched the most vicious counterattack.

I saw the desert wind sword in his hand ready to go, and the steel soul sword flashed with sword shadows reaching the target's neck.

"Don't be impulsive, you are your own."

When the sharp sword in Thorn's hand fell to the opponent's shoulder, he stopped abruptly, and turned around and said to the little wizard who had just arrived behind him and was preparing to cast spell support.

Pardo was taken aback when he heard the words, and then forcibly stopped the unfinished spell.

"Why are you here?" At the same time, the unanimous question of the two combatants sounded from the ruins.

"...The last time I came to Twilight Town, I saw a piece of equipment that I liked at the plane merchant. Because I was short of money, I passed it by, so I came back again."

With both swords back in their sheaths, Thorne looked at Horat, the half-drow assassin from Twilight Town, and said with a smile, "What about you? Could it be the same as me? Why didn't you tell me earlier, I'll bring you back That’s fine, I’ll trouble you to go there yourself.”

"Cut! Who will believe your nonsense." Horat squinted at the smiling ranger, curling his lips.

He ran all the way from Pushang Town to Twilight Town just for a piece of equipment. For Horat, this kind of lie thinner than rice paper is just to coax children.

However, he was very sensible and did not choose to ask more questions.

After finishing speaking, he put away his weapon, kicked away a lizardman corpse lying on the rock beside him and had half its head gnawed off, and then sat on it without hesitation.

Then, under Thorne's watching eyes, he unhurriedly took out a delicate small pipe from his pocket, lit it, took two puffs hard, took a few deep breaths, and smashed his mouth again. Only then pointed to Pardo who just came over, and explained his purpose: "I came for this little guy."

"By the way, why do you two get mixed up?" Horat finished speaking, as if he had noticed something was wrong, his pale red eyes lingered on the two of them for a while, and asked in doubt.

"I happened to meet." Thorne stopped the little wizard's words with his eyes, and said to Horat who was breathing in smoke.

He was telling the truth, because the two of them did meet by chance, and at the same time, he also guessed the real purpose of this guy's coming here at night.

"Hello, this cute little wizard, let me know. I'm Horat from Twilight Town." After hearing Thorne's answer, Horat relaxed and immediately got up and walked to Pardo. , introducing himself enthusiastically.

"Paldo from Winter City." Pardo reached out and shook his hand, said his name, and then cast doubtful eyes on the half-drow assassin in front of him.

"Gest from Talan Village notified me with his animal companion, claiming that an Arcanist player from Winter City is on his way to Twilight Town. Come and meet you."

Horat met the little wizard's puzzled gaze, glanced at the gnawed and mutilated lizardman corpses not far away, reached out and patted his shoulder and said:

"It seems that the danger has been lifted by you, then we will rest here for one night, and tomorrow I will take you to Twilight Town, it is a town established by our compatriots, believe me, you will definitely like the atmosphere there .”

"Thank you for your kindness, but I have already decided to go to Fallstown when I left Winter City, I am really sorry."

Pardo took a look at Thorne, then looked apologetically at Hollat ​​in front of him, and expressed his thoughts.

"Ah? You have already decided... So you two knew each other before?" Horat was surprised, and the pipe he handed to his mouth almost poked his nostrils, and then he suddenly said to himself:
"Oh, why did I forget this, this kid has been in Winter City for half a year, it's normal to know you."

After Horat finished speaking, he came to Thorne again and complained: "Hey! Thorne, you said that you met by chance, you obviously came here on purpose to poach the corner of our Twilight Town."

"You can say whatever you want." Thorne frowned and waved away the second-hand smoke from Horat's body, showing an expression of being too lazy to pay attention to the other party.

For this little wizard to go to Fallstown with him, he naturally readily agreed.

The only thing he didn't expect was that this little guy had already decided where he was going since he left Winter City.

If he hadn't appeared here, Thorne believed that with the hard work of the Twilight Town group, they would definitely be able to convince this seemingly innocent little guy to stay.

After all, this is an arcanist who is directly employed, and his future growth potential is still very high.

According to Anderina, if it wasn't for the sudden intervention of the sorcerer Anakeys, the sorceress would have been persuaded to stay in Twilight Town, and it is estimated that there will be nothing wrong with him in the future.

"Then, on behalf of everyone in Fallstown, I welcome you to join me. I hope you will like it and make it your second home." Thorne walked up to Pardo and spoke in a slightly formal manner. he said.

"Please take care of it in the future, I will protect it as my own home." Seeing Thorne's serious expression, Pardo corrected his expression and returned the same tone.

"Hey, if I knew you were here, I wouldn't have come here, and I made a trip for nothing." Seeing the two of them reaching a common intention in front of him, Horat, who was puffing out the smoke, complained depressingly.

"You guys go to rest, I'll watch the night tonight." Then, Thorne looked at Horat who was sitting on the stone smoking a cigarette.

The battle with the hobgoblin army had just ended, this guy came here non-stop after he was busy, and then the two had a fight, and then he was hit by the little wizard to his depressed heart, so Horat at this time is definitely mentally and physically He was exhausted, so the task of vigil naturally fell on him.

"Then I'll leave it to you." The unpretentious Horat got up and walked to the little wizard, and walked towards the hiding place with him.

"Go, rest early, and have to hurry tomorrow." Noticing Pardo's gaze, Thorne said to him.

Watching the two gradually disappear into the shadow of the ruins, Thorne looked up at the deep night, used telepathy to explain to his animal companion, and then walked towards the ruins of the city wall of Yuanshan Town.

In the deep night, dim stars appear in the sky one by one, like eyes looking at the world, curiously overlooking the mountains, rivers, swamps and forests of the Emerald Field.

I do not know how long it has been.

Thorn, who was sitting cross-legged on the ruins of the tower, slowly opened his eyes, and said to the shadow, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, just a little boring, come out for a walk to relax." Horat, who came out of the shadow, paused, then walked over, sat next to Thorn, and looked up at the sky.

"What are your plans for the future?" Thorne stopped Horat from taking out his pipe with sharp eyes, and chatted.

"Plan? What other plans do I have? Naturally, I will stay in Twilight Town for the rest of my life." Sensing Thorne's gaze, Horat subconsciously withdrew his hand from touching the pipe, and shrugged helplessly.

"Haven't you thought about wandering in other places in the future? The world is so big, it would be a pity not to go out and have a look." Thorne moved his legs that had not moved for a long time, and leaned against the wall in a more comfortable position superior.

He still knew a little about the character of the half-drow assassin in front of him.

What he didn't expect was that the tone of the other party's speech at this time was like a stone whose edges and corners have been smoothed.

"No, I don't want to go anywhere in my life. I think Twilight Town is pretty good."

After being told by Thorne, Horat seemed to recall some bad memories. He rubbed his forehead with a headache and said depressedly:

"At the beginning, I left Pushang Town and went to the Thorn Bird Assassin Academy in the Northland Wasteland to learn assassination skills. When I was about to graduate, I was thrown into the underground world. It was clearly arranged. After feeling the cruelty of this world there, I just want to spend the rest of my life as a wandering knight."

"You're an assassin who clamored to become a wandering knight, so why didn't you just choose another profession." Hearing the other party mention his thoughts, Thorne interrupted the other party's words and continued.

Horat's profession is a level 5 rogue/level 5 assassin, and a part-time level 5 drow warrior/level 5 drow swordsman. No matter how you look at it, he has nothing to do with those knights who uphold the will of the law.

"Who knew that such a stupid thing happened, it's too late to regret it." Horat gave Thorn a depressed look.

"Then why didn't you persist, but came to Twilight Town." Thorne asked casually.

"It's not because of my face and this white hair." Horat pointed to his light gray skin, then lowered his head and rubbed his messy long white hair, and said:
"When I came out of the Underdark, I was very happy because I finally saw the long-lost sunshine.

So I wanted to try to integrate into the world of the original residents. Who would have thought that when I approached their walls and towns with good intentions, what the hell would I get in exchange for all spit, abuse, stones, and hostility? The arrows... can only escape in embarrassment. "

"I thought you also wanted to be the second dual-knife ranger, Drizzt, to have a hack-and-slash adventure." Thorne joked with a smile.

Drizzt, the dark elf ranger with two swords, is also a legendary figure that has long since disappeared in the long river of history.

However, since this legendary ranger believed in the forest goddess Melika, this sum was accidentally recorded in the temple of the Serene Forest.

"Thinking about it now, I still think Waterfall Town is better, and only they can accept a half-drow elves, but unfortunately I can't go back, I really don't want to see the fierce eyes of the leader of Ost Like I owe him money, so I'll just stay in Twilight for the rest of my life."

"Don't worry, you won't see him in the future, so go back and have a look when you have time." Thorn was silent for a while, and finally reached out and patted Hollat ​​on the shoulder, saying.

"Why..." Horat was stunned for a moment, and then immediately realized the true meaning of Thorne's words, so he reached out cursingly and took out the pipe in his pocket and lit it.

(End of this chapter)