Cyberzaun, Machinarium

Chapter 47: Shadow Attacks

When was the so-called glory lost?

Was it from the time my father was caught using poison in a duel?

Or was it even earlier, when my father stopped accepting challenges?

Orpheus Laurent had thought about this question carefully. Amid the ridicule of others and the mutual accusations of his family, Orpheus felt that he understood the ultimate question.

Perhaps the family had lost its way when it was constantly praised.

His own family began to become obsessed with the title of the strongest duelist and satisfied with the compliments from others.

Honey-like lies soaked the sharp sword, and it eventually became rusty. In vain, it relied on external things to embellish it.

Perhaps this was Lauster's problem, so Orpheus chose a path of self-exile, away from the rest of the family.

Maybe he was not as important as he thought. After all, his sister Fiona had stood up and defended her once shaky reputation through blood and scars.

Maybe my path can't even be called self-exile. Maybe I'm just escaping from everything in front of me, trying to forget my responsibilities.

As if swimming, my body became heavier and heavier, slowly blending into the quiet night. What was amazing was that the quiet night did not feel cold, but rather warm, making me feel relaxed. . . 1

"Awake……"

Now that his sister had revived the family's reputation, perhaps it would be better for him to completely abandon the name of Orpheus. He had never felt so relaxed before. The name of Hafen was like a safe haven for him.

"Wake up...ah..."

There is nothing that cannot be let go, you just need to learn how to simply escape.

"Damn it, wake up, we are under attack"

Orpheus felt a sense of weightlessness and moved forward suddenly. He paused for a moment in confusion before he remembered what he was doing.

I was supposed to be the night watchman, but I fell asleep, which was a real dereliction of duty, especially when I was woken up by my employer pushing me off the shaft of the cart I was leaning on.

Wait, push it down

Orpheus suddenly woke up, drew out the sword in his hand, and looked around vigilantly.

Screams and wailing could be heard one after another throughout the camp. The fire that was supposed to be burning had already lost its temperature, and there was an abnormal thin layer of frost on their armor.

"Can you hear me? We were attacked. You are a local, can you tell me what happened?" Enoch was hugging the curled-up Jinx tightly. She looked more painful than everyone else combined. She wailed and clasped Enoch's arm tightly, leaving scratches on his arm.

"I don't know, but we have to wake up the others." Orpheus shook his heavy head and ran towards the people around him. He had to wake everyone up as soon as possible, otherwise it was hard to say how many people could withstand the current situation.

"Great, that's some practical advice." Enoch grabbed Jinx's hands tightly, spread them apart and fixed them next to her head, while pressing down on her kicking legs. "As you can see, I'm a little busy right now. Can you help me?"

While Orpheus was busy pouring cold water from the water bag to wake others up, Enoch pulled out one hand and shook the girl almost frantically, "Wake up, wake up quickly, are you sleeping too soundly?"

Perhaps because more and more people around her woke up, Jinx's struggle slowly stopped. After a while, the girl opened her eyes in confusion, but she was still not conscious.

But the good news is that she finally stopped tearing things. Thanks to her, the bionic skin of Enoch's prosthesis was torn to pieces. Judging from the appearance alone, he was obviously the most seriously injured among those present.

"Are you having a nightmare?" Enoch tried his best to smile, but the frightened girl didn't hear a word he said. She just kept shrinking into Enoch's arms, sticking close to him, trying to share the not-so-high warmth between them.

"Does anyone have any idea about what just happened?" Holding the terrified Jinx, Enoch turned to look at the confused crowd. Perhaps it was the work of a wizard or something like that. The people in the caravan were bewitched in their sleep without knowing it. Strangely, it had little effect on Enoch, and he woke up not long after.

"It's a demon, definitely a demon!" Minfu screamed, "My grandfather said that the wizards hate all humans. They summon demons to hurt everyone. They will be cut by knives, burned by fire, and whipped, and eventually die miserably."

"Great, your story is really helpful. Now should we all be ready to die?" Enoch looked at the campsite, which seemed even more chaotic because of the mention of the devil, with a headache. He finally came to the supply vehicle in the dark and fired the flares carried by the vehicle into the surrounding sky.

At least for a short period of time, the land here was covered with light as bright as day...Except for a cloud of black fog floating not far away, no other abnormalities that could run or jump were found.

"Everyone, abandon your baggage, take your own things, and prepare to run." While shouting, Enoch raised the plasma cannon that had been briefly preheated and fired at the black fog. The blue plasma seemed to be connected into a line and all of it smashed into the black fog.

The dark mass shrank and stopped moving. Enoch also had to stop because of the overheating of the gun barrel. Taking advantage of the short break, everyone started running towards the nearest village.

"Do you have any epic records on what to do when encountering something like this? Does the magic stone work on that thing?" Enoch held Jinx in his arms, who was barely moving, and asked the two knowledgeable Demacia locals.

"I do not know"

"Great, you can still be called a poet? I always thought a bard should at least be well-informed!" Enoch sarcastically mocked Orpheus, who looked guilty.

"This is normal. Demacia has always been very secretive about mages and their creations. The few records are mostly kept in the Illuminati's library. Even the nursery rhymes only warn people to be careful of demons... and most of them are accompanied by mottos like "cannot be killed." Lux frowned, her hands clasped tightly to her chest, and she looked like she had not yet recovered from the nightmare.

"Is there any record of how to drive it away? We have to find something that can help."

"I haven't heard of it. How about trying the Forbidden Magic Stone? Or you can try to break it. I heard from Benso that you have a lot of powerful things." Orpheus drew his bow and arrow from time to time, shooting in vain at the slowly approaching black fog, and controlled the horse to come to Enoch's side, hoping that the merchant could come up with some eye-catching products.

"You are kidding me"

Chapter 48: Fear

Generally speaking, when you are faced with a piece of scrap metal that needs to be processed

Enoch often prioritizes choosing the right tools, trying to melt them into liquid with high temperatures, or corrode them clean with strong acids.

If you don't have these devices at hand, you can use a hammer, but obviously, the hammer you use will definitely be huge and heavy. It's not that a small hammer can't be used, but the changes it causes to the metal are pitifully small.

Enoch was in such an awkward situation when facing this faceless demon. He didn't know what he could use to smash its body, and the hammer at hand was pitifully small, and he only had a plasma cannon that was still dissipating heat.

Thinking of this, Enoch started his recent daily activities again - slandering these stubborn Demacia jars behind their backs. If he had a mortar, Enoch was sure that he would not be the one running away now.

But now there is good news. This demon seems to have difficulty walking and will not be able to catch up for a while.

"Let me ask you something. If the thing behind us follows us into the nearby village, there won't be any problems, right? For example, it can obtain more energy and become bigger."

Orpheus quickly stopped his horse, followed by Lux. This seemed to have a chain reaction. The people around him also reined in their horses after seeing this. Enoch did the same. After running a distance, he turned his horse back to the team.

"Why should we stop? I don't really understand."

"We can't bring danger to the nearby villages. There may be no knights there. They don't have enough horses and can't catch up with us," Orpheus said in a deep voice, holding the whip tightly.

"Perhaps you should try to change direction and flee towards the capital. I will stay here and drag him around for a few rounds. Maybe we can find someone to deal with him..."

"You are very noble, and I must admit your bravery, but I remind you that the person following you is a demon. Even the dumbest people know how to tell who runs fast and who runs slow. Where do you get the confidence to divert his attention and lead her in circles?"

"I don't know, so I will try my best to delay it. Anyway, let me try. It's better than being chased all the time." After adjusting the straps on his body, Orpheus began to prepare himself.

"Personally, I think suicide cannot demonstrate your bravery, nor is it a good choice. It's night time now. If the guide is gone, who knows where we will end up." Enoch stopped the knight from doing this great act, and fired another flare into the sky.

"I want to blow it to pieces." A shrill female voice sounded from his arms. Enoch then realized that Jinx had gotten rid of her self-destructive look and was now filled with rage, wanting to direct it all at the enemy.

"Calm down. While there is no movement from the other side, my suggestion is to find someone who knows what's going on first. That way, whether we blow it up or seal it, we..."

Before he finished speaking, the demon in the distance seemed to have received some signal. The black fog spread rapidly and moved quickly towards the surroundings. Before Enoch and his group could react, the energy had already spread far away.

"I think we might be in trouble." A group of people all dismounted. Judging from the speed at which the information spread, it was obvious that the other party was playing a game that was not interesting at all.

"Ha, that's perfect, let me meet him." Before anyone else could react, Jinx had already aimed the gun forward and pulled the trigger.

An attack without a specific target can do nothing other than reveal the fact that one is panicking.

The air of invisible matter seemed to be covered with a layer of gauze, and something seemed to be gestating in the darkness.

Tap... tap... tap..., the sound of a wooden stick hitting the ground came from afar, the ominous cry of crows came from far away, and the hoarse sound like a rusty bearing turning also came from the distance little by little.

"It's all... your fault. It's all... your... fault..."1

"No... No, I didn't." Jinx stood there in a daze, motionless, the muzzle of the gun turning helplessly towards the ground, unable to bring her even a little sense of security.

"Jinx?" Seeing that the situation was not good, Enoch pulled the girl and hid her behind him. Now Jinx seemed to be offline and had no reaction. She just gasped instinctively, like a fish that had come ashore.

"Damn it!" Enoch cursed inwardly. This was not a solution. He already knew that this was the devil.

There is no doubt that it is Fiddlesticks who Jinx absolutely cannot face.

He was the demon summoned by the foolish wizard, the first cry of fear, clearly the kind of thing that could be driven away and sealed but not killed.

Enoch no longer cared whether it was useful or what consequences it might cause, and took out a large piece of glowing magic-forbidden stone from his bag - this was originally prepared for some short-sighted wizard.

Enoch stuffed the forbidden magic stone into the plasma cannon as ammunition through its own barrel. I hope it won't explode as designed.

A dazzling blue light flashed, and a large piece of half-melted magic-forbidden stone liquid quickly hit the crooked body of the ancient terror. Part of it splashed with the impact, and more of it pierced through the demon and flew away.

The plasma cannon on Enoch's left arm was successfully destroyed, and the external bionic armor could no longer be closed. Instead, red metal could be vaguely seen flowing in the gap.

The result was not ideal. After all, the unpleasant sound of grinding never stopped. But it was obvious that some damage had been done. The magic-forbidden stone broke apart part of the body. Through the round hole on Fiddlesticks' body, one could see the camp that had just left in the distance.

"I'm out of tricks. So...if anyone has any tricks up their sleeve, please use them now."

Fiddlesticks was obviously enraged, and a flock of crows rushed over in an instant, blocking the nearby vision and separating the several people.

Enoch held Jinx's hand tightly, and without hesitation, he lifted the half-kneeling girl up, picked up the electromagnetic pistol that had fallen to the side, and began to look forward to watching this night.

After all, in the limited records and legends, Fiddlesticks reaps fear at night. I hope those poets will stop artistically beautifying this aspect.

Or maybe I hope that the riders traveling on the main road during the day can find the problem.

"It's not my fault... I didn't mean to..." Hearing the girl's low voice, Enoch hardened his heart and knocked Jinx unconscious. Now, the long-haired, big-mouthed crows turned around and screamed happily at Enoch as if they had eaten a fat bug.

"It's fake... Everything is fake, fake..."

...?

"Deception, illusion... the world is fake..."

Enoch suddenly calmed down. He thought this was a little funny. He waited for a while. The crows around him did not add any new words except repeating them.

"Are you serious? You think I should be afraid of this?"

“Fake…fake…?”

"I can think this is all an illusion, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it, idiot."1

The crows flew up into the sky as if humiliated, and just as Enoch was secretly on guard, they suddenly scattered and disappeared.

"Few people can stay calm in front of Fiddlesticks. You are much better than the one on his back." A tall woman with glasses came from behind and lightly tapped the crossbow on the back of her hand to kill the dancing crows. "If you want to hurt it, I suggest you use holy silver."

Chapter 49: The Hunter and the Prey

Have we met before? I am sure that if I ever have the pleasure of speaking to you, I will never forget such a remarkable lady.

Seeing the crows around him scattered, Enoch breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the tall lady and consciously used the fancy modifier "

The first impression of this woman was that of a sharp blade flashing with cold light. If you get close to it, you will be cut. There is no doubt that this woman is a skilled hunter. Even when she is standing in front of Enoch, part of her body still seems to be hidden in the dark.

This female hunter reminded Enoch of Captain Tiana of the Fearless Vanguard. They were equally strong and dangerous. The only difference was that one was a warrior and the other was a hunter.

"Vayne... you can call me that. Put away your glib tongue, Zaun. Of course you have never seen me, but your fate has long been shrouded in darkness. I follow the smell of black magic."

Enoch couldn't see what the woman was thinking because of the red glasses, but from what she said, it didn't seem like she was here just to help. He felt like a targeted rabbit that would be picked off by the woman while she was fighting the devil.

"I'm sure I have nothing to do with black magic. I guess there might be some misunderstanding." Enoch tried to make some excuses. After all, it was not suitable to engage in internal strife at this time. He shook his left hand carefully. After a period of cooling, the prosthesis was no longer hot. He took advantage of this time to slightly turn sideways and hugged Jinx to his left.

"I'm not mistaken. You encountered an evil spell before and received the mark of black magic. I came here following this stink." Wayne stared at Enoch who was surrendering. "Also, take your right hand away. I know there is a knife hidden in it."

Enoch was not embarrassed when he was exposed. "So, we are friends to some extent?"

"No, I don't have any friends, I just need prey. But this time, our targets are all demons." He turned lightly, the corner of his clothes rolled up in an arc, and a giant crossbow behind him was lifted up by Vayne, and fired at the crows in front.

"Very good, Ms. Hunter, thank you for your help, but I want to say a few words... My accomplices are still in those things. Please be careful when you shoot." Seeing the lady stringing the bow and firing vigorously, Enoch felt a little worried. Being accidentally injured by such a large bow is not a trivial matter, especially since Lux is a mage. If she is hit by this thing, she might be seriously injured.

"Don't worry," Vayne said in a tone of teaching an amateur, "I never fail."

"That's really convincing. Could you please just tell me where exactly you are aiming at?" Enoch dodged the crossbow's shooting range. The thing was swaying back and forth in Vayne's hands. Now he had no long-range ability and could only use his mantis blade to chop up the crows that flew over without any eyes.

The pitch-black night light before my eyes had almost dimmed to the point where I could not see anything. The light from the flares was being absorbed by the surrounding black fog like nutrients.

"I'm looking for the demon's location. Your attack can drive away the demon, but unfortunately, you missed."

"Did you just say... your accent? I'm sure I hit it through, so..." Enoch was very sure that there was indeed a hole in Fiddlesticks' body just now, and it was his work.

"You should hit him in the head." Vayne rolled quickly on the ground, and fired another holy silver crossbow arrow, which penetrated far into the distance.

After all, he was a professional. The crows circling around him dispersed, and the heavy dark shadows around him gradually dissipated. The moonlight began to tear through the darkness again, illuminating the land.

"Did you take care of him?" The strange feeling of oppression gradually dissipated, and the companions nearby reappeared one by one, but they looked very bad - most of them were lying or kneeling, with no energy, and two of them seemed to be shouting at the top of their lungs, but no sound came out.

"No, it's in a very bad condition. It should be preparing to run. The blow you gave it was quite fierce. It needs to find nutrients again." Ignoring the people around who were in extremely bad condition, Wayne chased in the direction where the fog dissipated.

She felt the empty quiver.

There are still a lot of large arrows from the giant crossbow behind me, but the hand crossbows are basically all used up.

After all, Vayne had been chasing the scent of the demon all the way, and had not replenished her weapons several times. The demon she had just encountered was a demon that could transform into a flock of crows. With the remaining weapons, Vayne was not confident that she would be able to expel Fiddlesticks before using up all the holy silver.

"Where do you think she will escape to?" Orpheus asked as he got up from the ground. Although his face was pale, he was undoubtedly the one in the best condition among the people. After all, he was organized and his eyes were clear so far.

Looking at Orpheus, who was weak but still trying to stand up, Wayne nodded slightly, and his attitude became better. "It is a demon that represents fear. It creates and spreads fear, and then absorbs it as its own food. It should find a place to hide, and when the sun sets again, it will find a way to recover itself through attacks."