boy and bone

In the vast desert, clumps of boulders that have been blown and worn by wind and sand for many years have become distorted and weird. Under the darkness of night, they look like hideous faces.

A string of footprints on the fine sand meanders towards the area that no one has set foot in for a long time.

A handsome figure wrapped in a robe faced the wind and sand alone, and at the end of his direction was only the strange stone forest that was described as a 'ghost castle'.

Suddenly, the surrounding sand was sunken, and the footsteps of the figure stopped.Several sand centipedes that have become bones rushed out of the sand cave to the surface, surrounding him in all directions like towering waves.In front of hundreds of gigantic monsters, this small figure looks so weak, it is presumed that his meager weight will be divided up without taking a few mouthfuls from the mouths of these carrion-smelling centipedes.

In a bounty tavern that sleeps all night near the border of the desert, a man hurriedly pushed the door open. Even in the dry and cold weather outside, his forehead was still dripping with sweat.

"Guest, what do you need?" In this desert, the owner of the tavern has seen many desperadoes rushing to his shop in a panic. kind of person.

The man didn't care about the sweat dripping down his cheeks, he said urgently: "I need the best knight! No, the best knight order!"

When the drinking people who liked to listen to the wind heard it, they all laughed and said: "Then you have come to the wrong place."

"If you want a knight order, you have to go to the clan hall to ask for instructions. This ordinary tavern doesn't have the characters you want."

The man said: "No, the clan's knights are not enough! They are not qualified!"

"Haha, little brother, I love to hear what you say." The drinker raised his glass and said, "Then I will correct you. What you are looking for is the Black Knights, the Black Knights."

The man didn't know what black knights were, and the concept of knights was not clear, so he responded indiscriminately: "Yes, yes, yes, in short, they are specially designed to deal with curses! I want the best! They say that you only need to come to this kind of tavern to find knights. "

The boss said: "There is nothing wrong with that. I am a bounty tavern. No matter what kind of black cavalry, loose cavalry, or black cavalry group, as long as they are named in the bounty guild, I have their contact star map here."

"May I ask your requirements? What level of black knight do you need and the type of reward you offer, and how much is the reward amount. Here is a reward application form, please fill it out as required. The more detailed you fill out, the easier it will be for you to receive the black knight. Reply." The boss handed out a piece of paper and a short quill very skillfully.

The man didn't know in advance that recruiting knights still required so many procedures. The more anxious he was, the more he didn't know how to write.

Just as he was getting dizzy with the rules and regulations on the reward sheet, there was a muffled sound from the door of the tavern, and at the same time the whole tavern trembled slightly.

The girl in white robe who was sitting closest to the door jumped out happily. She went up to the door, waiting to surprise the man who entered: "Kearns!"

The man wrapped in a black silk hood was obviously frightened. Although the face under the hood was shrouded in mist, the man's retreating body still revealed his surprise: "Miss! Why are you here?"

"I came here with you all the way from home!" The girl put her hand on the robe affectionately and took the man's arm as if she didn't notice the man's resistance.

"What's the noise outside?" The tavern owner couldn't ignore any movement in his territory.

The man in the cloak was worried that he could not respond to the girl's earnest gaze. When he heard the tavern owner's question, he immediately drew back and replied: "Sorry, boss, I tied the prey to your horse hitch outside. The prey is a bit big , I didn’t hold it steady when I tied it, and accidentally dropped it on the ground.”

The people in the tavern couldn't believe it: "What kind of prey makes such a big noise when it falls?"

Someone walked out of the tavern to find out, but they were shocked and shouted: "Yes... yes... the bone centipede! The bone centipede of the desert ghost castle!"

"It's its head! He cut off its head!" People moved after hearing the news, crowding at the door and looking at the huge curly arthropod skeleton on the horse hitch outside the door, which was already in a dead state.

The man who filled out the bounty list saw that the people in the tavern suddenly became frenzied. He didn't know why, so he asked the boss: "What is the bone centipede? Is it very powerful to kill it?"

The boss smiled and said: "The centipede with bones... To put it simply, it once swallowed up an entire country in the desert, a whole, not only all the people in that country, but also the cities that belonged to it. Its land, all its civilizations. And the Bone Centipede was the first creature to become the source of the curse. Before the Demon King, it occupied people's consciousness of fear and anxiety for quite a long time."

"What do you think it's like to kill the Demon King? I mean, you can probably understand why their emotions are so high."

"Devil King..." The palm of the man holding the short feather pen couldn't help oozing some moisture. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed the reward list and ran to the man who killed the bone centipede: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency! I have a I want to do business with you, please help me!"

Before the man in the robe spoke to him, the girl in white robe beside him pushed him away: "Kerns is a Knight of the Sacred Deer, and all his actions need the permission of the Sacred Deer Palace. You, if you want to do business, find someone else." Bar."

Even if the man is not familiar with this field, he can still know that the Knight of the Sacred Deer is the highest level among all knights, but the Knight of the Sacred Deer is strictly managed, and it is impossible for ordinary people from the outside world to come into contact with it.When the man heard that this person was the Knight of the Sacred Deer, he became more determined and could not let go of this unique opportunity: "Please! I will give you any amount!"

"This has nothing to do with money, you go find someone else! Don't disturb Kerns' rest." The white-robed girl scolded, and she was about to go upstairs to rest with the man in the robe on her arm: "Kerns just completed a difficult task It must be very hard, I have already booked a room in this tavern and wait for you, am I very considerate!"

There were two dry laughs from under the robe, and he pulled his arm away from the girl's without a trace.

The man had nothing to do. Seeing that he couldn't stop him, he rushed towards the man in the robe and grabbed his robe tightly: "Help me! Your Excellency, only you can save me! The devil... the devil wants to kill me!" .”

The guest room upstairs in the tavern, Kernes led the person into the room.

"Thank you, Your Excellency the Knight." The man sat on the chair awkwardly, as if he was always on guard for something.

Kerns waved his hand and replied, "You don't need to thank me first, please explain your situation before I can respond."

"What's the matter with the 'devil king' you just mentioned?" Kerns asked.

"Yes." The man's Adam's apple slid up and down nervously, and said: "I am not exaggerating, please believe me. The devil king is resurrected!"

Kerns remained silent, but the girl in white robe couldn't help but rolled her eyes.

"I know, because of this incident, I was regarded as a lunatic by others. But I am not lying, this is what I saw with my own eyes! The devil is resurrected! Because I... we saw his resurrection, and he sent people to hunt us down."

"You guys?" Kernes asked, "Can you describe it in more detail?"

The man nodded: "About a year ago, I mortgaged my family inheritance to a black market dealer because of gambling debts. It didn't take long for me to regret it, and I wanted to go to the black market dealer to redeem the things , I followed him all the way to a black market freighter, on board he found me, and called me to a cabin on the ship and said he wanted to talk to me in detail. There were boxes full of boxes, it was a warehouse. Later I Only then did I realize that those things were all going to be auctioned on the black market, and they were all ulterior things collected from illegal means."

"I begged the businessman to give me back the things, but he refused and put me in a warehouse, and then had some of the thugs he hired at the time give me a lesson."

"At that moment, out of nowhere, a little boy appeared, he was naked, like when he was just born. He injured the thugs, caused a tsunami, and ended up with the freighter. He sank to the bottom of the sea... But I know that he must not have died, because he is the devil! He is coming back to take revenge on us." The man's mood became more and more restless.

Kerns listened carefully, he had a little doubt: "Why do you think that little boy is the devil?"

"He has demon bones on him! The demon bones lie on him! They run around all over his body. He can also manipulate the demon bones to release curses and become a high-level demon attendant. The tsunami must have been caused by him."

Kerns asked: "What kind of magic bone? Do you remember its size?"

The man said: "Of course I remember, it is a whole, a complete left forearm. If the boy manipulated that kind of ordinary small and broken bone, I would not be so sure, it is a whole piece, That boy is naked and doesn't have any armor on his body, if it wasn't for the Demon King himself, who would dare to touch it with bare hands..."

The white-robed girl who was dismissive at first suddenly became serious when she heard this.The magic bones sealed by the clans have been stolen frequently in the past hundred years, and most of them have disappeared today. In order not to cause panic among the people, this matter has always been a secret mission of the Knights' Temple-Sacred Deer Palace.And the clans whose seals have expired also tacitly maintain their superficial glory, and have never said anything about it.The complete magic bones are generally kept by the big clan seals, and the only ones smuggled on the black market are those small bones. The man who came to ask for help looked ordinary, and the rather complete magic bones he said were indeed in line with the previous reports of the big clan. The shape of the lost magic bone, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't even make it up.

Kerns said cautiously: "Just by manipulating the magic bone does not prove that the boy you saw is the devil. He may be using the curse illegally."

"No, he is the Demon King." The man said firmly.

Kernes was skeptical of his conviction.

The man's misty eyes seemed to be hesitating, and finally he looked at the face shrouded in mist in front of him: "Have you heard about the Forbidden Forest?"

"I've heard it a little bit," Kerns said.

"My name is Tejo Yechidoan. I am the heir of the Yechidoan family responsible for guarding the Forbidden Forest." The man said.

The white-robed girl raised a slender eyebrow: "I can't tell... you are a descendant of a famous family?"

Tai Qiao smiled bleakly: "It has long since fallen, and now Yeqi Duoan can barely be called a 'family', and there are only me and my grandma left in the family."

"The Forbidden Forest has been guarded by my family for generations. It is the only glory we have left, but I traded this glory for a temporary life. The inheritance I mortgaged to the black market dealer is the key to enter the Forbidden Forest."

"I have never been there, but I have heard the legends there. It is said that there is a palace that once belonged to the devil in the depths of the forbidden forest. After the death of the devil, it was covered by a lush curse. Fear of being consumed by the curse there."

"If something is hidden in the palace of the Forbidden Forest, it must not be a good thing." Tai Qiao said: "The reason why the black market merchant refused to return the inheritance to me is that he has already used the key The key to the Forbidden Forest is actually a rune, which will become invalid after being used once. The merchant used this rune to open the door of the palace, and brought out a coffin from inside."

"Whose coffin will belong to Ancuo in the devil's palace?" Tai Qiao laughed back: "The devil must not be completely sealed, he has been preparing for his resurrection."

Tai Qiao recalled: "When I first started, I didn't connect the boy who appeared out of nowhere with the devil. I thought he was accidental, or he was locked up in the warehouse by the black-hearted businessman and was about to be sent to the black market for auction. bed slave."

"Later, the cargo ship encountered a tsunami by chance. The people on that ship and I escaped before the ship was about to sink and survived. The magic bone and the boy fell into the waves and disappeared. The businessman will not give up his property, he He has been waiting at sea, and when the sea is calm, he sent people to salvage the goods in the boat, and most of them were caught. I took a look at their list at that time, there is a record of the magic bone, but there is no such boy And the businessman told me that he never does human trafficking." Tai Qiao paused, and said: "I had a bad feeling at the time, so I went to ask him to put the coffin back in the Forbidden Forest. The tsunami is an ominous omen, and he was already shaken and planned to let me take the coffin away... But when they fished the coffin up, the coffin lid that could not be pried off was loose, and it was empty inside."

"Thinking of the strange things that happened on the boat, I'm sure that the boy came out of the coffin in the Forbidden Forest. He is the devil king, and he was resurrected." Tejo said excitedly, "We woke him up!"

Kerns reassured: "These are all your associations, not sufficient evidence. The coffin you mentioned may not be as... um... nervous as you think. If it is really the devil's deliberate plan to resurrect it The coffin, the devil himself and his soul have become the source of curses, so the tools for his resurrection must be full of curses. Does the coffin you mentioned have a cursed breath?"

"...Not really, it looks very ordinary." Tai Qiao said, "But I'm sure that kid must be the devil."

Kerns said: "Your 'sure' is useless. If you are not at ease, you can send the coffin to the Holy Deer Palace, and there will be special personnel to help you detect whether the coffin has cursed runes."

Tai Qiao said: "The coffin is not in my hands. The black market merchant sold it long ago. At that time, a group of people bid extremely high, and the merchant felt that there would be no profit in returning it to me, so he sold it early."

"Do you know where it's sold?"

"I don't know." Tejo shook his head.

"What about the merchant?" Kernes asked.

Tai Qiao's body was shocked, he couldn't help but trembled and clenched his fists: "He died... On that ship that day, everyone who knew about it and saw that boy died, and now I'm the only one left One! It must be the boy... the Demon King must have done it!"

Kerns was startled.

Tai Qiao endured the chill all over his body: "Someone found me about a month ago and asked me what happened on the freighter. They were members of the Black Knights and the thugs hired by the businessman at that time. They said they All the brothers who were on that ship were cursed to death overnight, and the boss who hired them also disappeared. I guessed it must have something to do with the boy, so I told them about it, and they asked me to take them to that day Look for clues at the shipwreck, and when they and I got there...then we found the body of the black market trader soaked in the sea, it turned white, and his wrinkled skin was ripped off from the flesh..." Tejo covered his mouth, which was about to gag.

"The next one, the next one must be me, the devil will not let me go... Please, save me!"

Kerns was silent for a while, ignoring the objection of the white-robed girl next to him, and said, "I'll accept your reward."