Equipment Printing School Mage

Emiya was silent for a moment, then replied in an unprecedentedly murderous tone: [There was indeed an accident.]

We have no choice but to fight to the death with His Excellency the Archdruid.

Darkness can only be escaped once.

And the Holy Avenger will be late.

Forty-four piles of firewood

Khar's voice echoed through the holy ground for several times before finally fading away. Only the sound of the sacred tree's stems and leaves rubbing against each other in the night wind remained.

Their original combat power was insufficient, and due to Khara's intentional or unintentional arrangements, their combat power was divided again.

Now that they thought about it, Hollow Corner might be safe now, but the three of them truly had nowhere to retreat.

Their current situation can only be described as adding insult to injury.

Although this amnesiac time wizard gave a prophecy yesterday, the content was very vague.

Of course, from her perspective, she wasn't giving a prophecy, but simply couldn't recall the past accurately due to some highly probable reason related to time itself.

But she was very clear about one thing—they defeated Korhal. Based on this, the overall tone of the prophecy was optimistic.

Originally, he hadn't taken Yin's prophecy seriously. But now, every vague description in the prophecy had been fulfilled in the most unexpected ways.

They couldn't avoid the battle between them and Khara.

"What a waste of emotion." Fenwei looked at the dark sky and sighed with relief. "It won't be long before sunset. Perhaps by the time we reach the top of the holm oak tree, the last rays of light will have faded."

“By then, no light will be visible, whether under or above the tree.”

Emilia looked at her lost face and shook her head. "Don't be silly. It's only on nights without the sun or the moon that the stars shine extra brightly."

"The light will not disappear."

Fenwei was stunned for a moment, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Then I look forward to the time when the glory shines on me."

After calming Fenwei down, Emiya immediately turned to Yin and asked, "Miss Yin, can you foresee what's going to happen next?"

"...?" Yin looked bewildered, completely out of his mind. "Foresee? What foresee? I haven't studied prophecy."

I knew it.

Emiya sighed deeply. "Then, let's follow the original plan. Fenwei and I will go to the top of the sacred tree. Please stay in the middle of the oak tree. When I send the signal, the operation will officially begin. Okay?"

At this point, he hesitated: "...You still remember the plan, right? This plan was proposed today."

His words clearly annoyed the seemingly young Time Mage. Her cheeks bulged visibly. "—Are you defying my memory?! How could I have forgotten something that happened only half a day ago? It's just—"

“Shh! Shhh!!”

Emiya waved her hand quickly, stopping Yin from saying the most crucial step of their plan outside the tree house.

Druids can talk to trees, but that doesn't mean they know everything that happens in the forest. That being said, the area outside the treehouse is also a public place, not a place for conversation.

Emiya checked her equipment again.

The bowstring was already drawn tight, and three arrows lay quietly in the quiver at his waist.

The top of the Holy Oak, where they had their showdown with Korhal.

******

Todd, the long-forgotten priest of death, has been silent in the village of Hollow Corner for a long time.

What to do with this captive was a vexing problem. Although the bears were extremely dissatisfied with him, they had no habit of killing captives. But just letting him go? This made the bears quite unwilling.

So things were delayed like this - he was given some necessary water and food, but on weekdays he was tied to a big tree and left to experience wind and sun.

To the regret of the bear people, Todd showed amazing resilience at this time. Although he had been living a miserable life in the past few days, he insisted on not saying a word - if he opened his mouth to curse, the bear people would be eager to send him to death.

His patience was meaningful.

Todd's spirit has been severely worn down in the past few days: his vision has gradually begun to blur, and he has started to have tinnitus for no reason.

In a few days, perhaps he would be taken away by some good forces - such as the Harpers, who were everywhere on the Sword Coast.

Or perhaps, those two young men who knew clearly that the gods were not gods but suddenly attacked him might be the Harpists.

The location of this forest is a bit remote, right in the middle of several surrounding city-states, so the person who is coming to pick him up is still on the way.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow... He would appear in the Harper's chamber, and all the secrets in his mind would be pried out.

Hypocrites who claim to be kind may not torture or interrogate people... Unfortunately, in Faerun, there are too many ways to pry open a person's mouth.

But he wasn't interested in dying for the organization. He would rather trade secrets for more benefits from the Harpers.

So now, he chose to grit his teeth.

However, the speed at which the world changes is always beyond the expectations of mortals.

Although Hollowhorn is called a village, its layout is actually very different from any other village - it has no boundaries with the surrounding forest at all, and the homes of bear families are scattered on the edge of the Sharptooth Forest.

Therefore, the gaps in this settlement are actually surprisingly large.

Just as Todd was dozing off, a dark figure silently passed through the village. Even though the Sharptooth Forest was now dark, the figure seemed to be able to see through the darkness, precisely avoiding every fragile branch and dead leaf, making no sound along the way.

Soon, the intruder discovered the prisoner tied to the tree.

Before Todd could react, the intruder quietly approached him and suddenly covered his mouth, while the dagger flashing with cold light had already touched Todd's neck.

The intruder said in a strangely accented Common, "Be quiet. If you dare to scream, I'll kill you instantly. If you understand, just blink once."

The grogginess he had felt immediately vanished. Todd blinked violently.

"Are you a prisoner of this hollow corner? Yes blink once, not twice."

Although strictly speaking, it was not the people from the Hollow Corner who captured Todd, there was no point in dwelling on it at the moment.

Faced with his only hope of escape, Todd blinked without hesitation.

"Do you know anything about the situation in this village?"

Even if you don’t understand at this time, you have to blink!

After receiving repeated confirmations, the intruder finally asked the last question with satisfaction: "Can you move on your own now?"

Todd blinked almost out of habit, then felt the numbness in his legs and blinked again.

“……*&*￥”

The intruder cursed in his native language: "I'm rescuing you now, you come with me. Don't talk or ask questions along the way. I'll pin you to the ground, and you'll be silent, or I'll abandon you. Do you understand?"

Todd blinked as hard as he could.

"Good. Cover your mouth."

After looking around, the intruder took out a dagger from his waist and struggled to cut the rope on Todd.

"&^%^! Are the people here bears?! There's no need to tie the rope so tightly!"

However, straw rope is not a sharp weapon after all.

The intruder cursed and then increased his strength to cut the rope. He then carried Todd on his back.

Then, the escape journey began.

Tonight, the previously somewhat lazy residents were fully armed. Patrols moved through the forest in twos and threes, but without torches. Todd had no night vision, and he only noticed the villagers when they breathed.

However, villagers were just villagers after all. Even if they were incredibly strong, they couldn't compare to a professional stalker.

Although there were many dangerous scenes along the way, the two of them finally managed to escape and reach their destination.

A hastily built camp. Only one tent was larger than the others, and a faint light shone through it. The camp was filled with the heavy stench of sweat and the sound of heavy breathing. Even the occasional howl of wolves could be heard.

The intruder dropped his prize to the ground, leaving him embedded headfirst in the leaves.

He casually said to Todd, "Just wait here obediently." Then he quickly walked into the largest tent.

After a while, two shadowy figures emerged from the tent. One of them turned Todd over and asked, "Are you a prisoner of the Hollow Corner? Why were you tied up by them?"

At this moment, another man holding a torch exclaimed in surprise: "...Todd?! Didn't you get a promotion?! How did you end up in the hands of a group of villagers?"

Todd stretched out his hand to block the light, and after adjusting to the torch, he saw the scene in front of him.

Both men wore black chain mail shirts woven with vines, and the person standing to his left... no, that wasn't a human. That humanoid creature had red skin, pointed ears, and a body similar to a human's.

——A hobgoblin.

Although the second person looked no different from a human, he had a pair of barely visible horns on his forehead.

Todd shouted almost immediately: "Moonsong?! So you are in the Sharptooth Forest?"

Forty-five I feel ashamed

Emiya and her group quietly returned to the tree house. Next, Emiya and Fenwei will turn to open action, while Yin will hide with the help of invisibility.

However, the invisible anxiety between Emiya and Fenwei didn't spread to Yin at all. Yin watched Emiya recite the spell and even had the leisure to comment: "Hmph, I really like the hand gestures you use to cast invisibility. The pronunciation of the spell is also very precise. You have a solid foundation."

At this point, even Emiya couldn't help but sigh, "Miss Yin, if we go up this time, we might not be able to come back. By then, we won't be able to help you with your safety."

"If you still can't get a signal from us... you'll have no choice but to try to leave the Sharptooth Forest on your own."

Although all the predictions given by Yin were very optimistic, Emilia still did not intend to be excited about it - even if it made him look quite pessimistic.

Of course, the most amazing thing is that Yin, who clearly didn't remember... or didn't know his own prophecy, didn't show any nervousness at all at this moment.

Her figure had already vanished in the light and shadow, but her voice remained clear: "Will worrying improve your chances of success? If not, you might as well use the time you spend complaining to consider tactics. Even gods don't like to clean up after their believers."

"Ha," Emiya replied unhappily. "Alright then. How do you effectively harm an enemy in an anti-magic field?"

Anti-magic Field, this extremely high-level spell, is one of the most terrifying killing moves in the world. This spell, or rather, its effect, suppresses all magical effects on both sides, transforming even the most powerful weapons and armor back into ordinary iron. At the same time, no spells can be effective within the Anti-magic Field—a terrifying killer move in the magic-stricken Faerun.

"Oh, that's a very meaningful question," Yin answered without hesitation. "The best answer is, of course, for the clumsy warriors to just go in and hack and slash. The next best option is to use spells from the conjuration department."

"An antimagic field [suppresses] magic. Magic cannot be activated or taken effect within it—but some spells can bypass its effects. For example, a spell simply [creates] an effect. And after the creation is over, the effect of the spell is over. In other words, the effect does not rely on the spell to maintain it."

"Such an effect can effectively harm targets within the anti-magic field, as the spell would have already ended."

Fenwei blinked in surprise. "...So the anti-magic field can be circumvented?"

Yin replied, "Rather, Druid spells already have many that summon certain objects to attack."

Fenwe was thoughtful.

Although Yin has lost his memory, his proficiency in magic is indeed genuine.

Just as they were holding their final pre-war meeting, the tree house shook violently, as if struck by a heavy hammer. At the same time, the distinct sound of branches breaking and falling to the ground could be heard from outside.

"?!" This scene was beyond everyone's expectations. Fenwei looked up in astonishment.

The thick stench of sulfur filled their mouths and noses.

The thick beech branches had spread outside the oak tree house at some point, and now they had forced their way into the tree house in a violent manner.

If a while passes, perhaps these branches will even fill up all the space in the tree house.

The most shocking thing is that there is a faint red glow on the branches of the beech tree.

Perhaps it was the cracks that appeared in the skin when flesh expanded too much, or the tattoos and war marks carved into the bark of a tree.

Maybe it was a lacerated wound, or perhaps it was lava gushing out during an earthquake.

At this moment, Khar's voice finally arrived: "--I regret that the effects of Moonsong's rebellion seem to be spreading. Everyone, please come to Oaktop immediately. The situation in the Holy Land cannot be delayed any further."

Yin frowned. "...The stench of sulfur. That Moonsong seems to have some connection to the lower planes. But I don't pay much attention to the activities of the lower planes."

Sometimes, I really don’t know if Yin has lost his memory.

Emilia expressionlessly cast a disguise spell on herself, completely transforming her appearance and form. She then transformed the sword at her waist into a staff and her bow and quiver into ornaments. Then, she replied, "Everything will be clear when we reach the top of the oak tree."

Strangely enough, although Fenwë had always been responsible for guarding the Holy Oak, they had never found a way to reach the top. Now they were finally forced to go there, but they were forced by their enemies.

"Perhaps in Korhal's opinion, the guardian of the Holy Oak is about to change."

Keha hadn't lied. The sacred zelkova tree had indeed begun to run wild.

The sacred trees were already engaged in a fierce struggle, otherwise their branches wouldn't have interwoven in mid-air, forming pathways. However, the ancient trees' competition inevitably took place over years and months, so the sacred ground seemed quite peaceful most of the time.

However, the rebellion of the sacred beech trees has completely broken this false balance, bringing the deadly battle between the sacred trees to the surface.

Next to the tree house lay a broken root, the source of the loud crash.

The roots of the sacred trees were originally entangled with each other in the holy land, but with the rampage of the sacred beech tree, the balance has completely tilted to one side.