Arcane Journey

Chapter 160 The Picture of the Past
The city of Araby in the kingdom of Cormyr is almost as old as the imperial capital of Susar.

It was originally a camp and maintained a certain independence.

It is precisely because of its independence and its distance from the political center of the imperial capital Suzar that this gradually prosperous city has experienced more than ten rebellions and independences in history.

It wasn't until the Raul family ruled the city of Araby that the successive rebellions came to an end for more than two centuries.

However, any beautiful and desirable place will often cause the heart of evil to beat, and Araby City is no exception.

In the history that Bryan is familiar with, ten years ago in the Year of Flame and Despair, when Mokou Town was wiped out from the territory of Cormyr Kingdom, Araby City also encountered an unprecedented disaster.

During the Orc War ten years ago, the army of orcs and hobgoblins from the Horn of the Storm Mountains joined forces with the Dark Temple of the Zhentarim to occupy Araby City, the largest city in the northern part of the Kingdom of Cormyr.

All the goods exported from Araby City were looted, and all the remaining mercenary groups and civilians retreated to other cities.

The most desperate thing is that the believers of Bane, the god of tyranny, successfully descended an incarnation of the dark lord through bloody rituals.

In this chaotic war, even the temple of Timora, the goddess of fortune, was burned by the followers of Bane, and the same thing happened to Chauntia, the mother of the earth, Heim, the guardian god, Oghma, the god of knowledge, and war. Temple of the god Tempus.

At that time, the female lord, Myrcella Raul, was still in retreat in the blocked mage tower, preparing to break through the legendary realm in one fell swoop, so that the people of the Zhentalin Society seized the opportunity.

When the female lord broke through the legendary realm and walked out of the mage tower, looking at the devastated city, she vowed to take back her territory.

"Fight against evil, either fight side by side, or die separately, who will fight with Cormyr?!"

For this goal, she quickly recruited mercenaries, raiders, scouts, and adventurers, and then united with the priests and knights of many temples destroyed by Bane's believers, planned a night surprise attack, and successfully regained her territory.

The current Arabe City is more prosperous and prosperous than any other period in history.

And the name Myrcella Raul is also deeply respected by all the people in the Araby region.

Brian walked through the streets of Araby City, and the bustling noise reached his ears.

The market square in the civilian area is crowded and noisy, it is amazingly big and crowded, the vendors are shouting, the customers are shouting more fiercely, and the lost children are crying and crying.

The lowing of the cow, the bleating of the sheep, the clucking and croaking of the poultry.

Once again stepping into the city where he had lived in the game world for five years, and the familiar market, Brian couldn't help but immerse himself in it, as if he had returned to the game world.

Regrettably, he could clearly feel that he was different. The tall, white and hairy Jondas, the dark-skinned and dignified Sambia, the tall and sturdy Bedeman, As well as the heroic female warriors with long braids from places such as the tropical jungle of Chult, and even the gloomy and intimidating Cyril.
Crowds of all stripes from across the continent moved around Brian, studying every face that passed.

In the memory of the past, the figures of the players who were either laughing, returning home, filled with righteous indignation, dejected, or cursing, were only phantoms, like gray ghosts, which gradually thinned into mist and dissipated in his mind.

To him, the noisy street seemed so quiet that it made him feel a little out of place for a while.

He sighed softly. He thought he had let go of the past a long time ago, but he didn't realize until now that some things always popped up in his mind inadvertently, making him nostalgic.

Brian squeezed out from the crowd, and with a thought, his body seemed to activate the levitation spell uncontrollably, causing clusters of wind elemental energy to hover around his feet, slowly floating his body in the air.

He was suspended in the blue sky, overlooking the whole city. Familiar and unfamiliar buildings appeared in his sight, overlapping with the memories in his mind: Elf Skeleton Hotel, Dancing Dragon Lizard Tavern, Dongwang Inn, Vigilance Lynx, Weary Knight, Silver Goblet, Swinging Door, Crimson Spear.
Nothing has changed, as it was in the dream, as it was back then.

His gaze crossed the aristocratic district, and he vaguely saw the mage tower located in the central area of ​​Araby, and the slender, charming but strong figure who lived in it.

In a trance, Brian seemed to have returned to the blood-stained city again, the dazzling red sunset, as if struggling to vent his anger, tilting his last peripheral vision.

And in that city shrouded in the blood-stained, blood-stained sunset light:

The call to retreat sounded.

Brian stood on the devastated city wall, waved his staff condescendingly, and summoned a stone wall. A ghost mage quickly cast dispelling magic, causing the stone wall blocking the way to collapse, leaving a gap, and fled in a panic.

"Beautiful!" The little devil, the magic pet lying on his shoulder, screamed: "Go to his banshee's grandma, close the door and beat the dog, master, another big fireball!"

So Brian did.

The wailing of the enemy and the excited scream of the little devil came out of the rumbling explosion.

The army of Shade City was so eager to break into Araby City, but now they just want to leave as soon as possible.

The army composed of players and original residents is doing everything they can to stop them. They try their best to resist the gate, while the enemy is desperately trying to tear a hole and escape.

The battlefield once again fell into fierce hand-to-hand combat.

They retreated!
The low-pitched horns of the City of Shades pierced the battlefield again, and the enemy quickly rushed out through the narrower and narrower city gates.

Not only were the orc invaders at the west gate fleeing back into the forests and mountains, but the enemies to the east were also retreating to safety.

Brian put away his staff and looked up at the sky, he was trembling with relief.

He saw the floating city of Sacross, which was salvaged from the Sea of ​​Falling Stars, hovering in the sky, and it seemed to have received the same order, flying staggeringly into the sky.

The army of Araby City was victorious, yes, they were victorious, facing the Floating Void City of Shadow City, they actually repelled the enemy.

A ray of teleportation circle emerged.

The figure of the female lord Myrcella Lauer emerged, and a smile appeared on her pale face, "I have seen all your performance, just like I promised, when the war is over, I will personally award you a purple prize." Dragon Seal Ring, and become the pioneer of the Kingdom of Cormyr."

With the lord's assurance, Brian also smiled, because he could finally have his own territory in the game world in a legitimate way.

The first thing he thought of was Mokou Town leading to the Enook Desert. After the war was over, he must unite several large player guild forces to capture Mokou Town.

"Do you think they will have another wave of attack?" The female lord looked up at the sky and asked thoughtfully.

"It's hard to say. The people in Shadow City have suffered heavy losses, and the troops need to be regrouped and deployed. Besides, their floating city has also suffered damage to varying degrees, and the Harpist scouts have long been lurking inside, ready to destroy their secret energy core."

"I think so too," she said. "The battle is over, you can go to rest."

"Rest! Rest!" the magic pet screamed excitedly, "Master, I want to eat roasted chicken legs!"

"I'll find a chance to rest."

Bryan ignored the pet's rude request and said, "But we have too many wounded people, even someone like me who doesn't know how to heal magic, should go and help wrap the bandages."

The female lord looked at him with a gratified smile, "Then let's help those in need now."

Brian looked around. Many clergymen appeared among the crowd taking care of the wounded. Ranger players commanded their animal companions to keep sniffing through the rubble, searching for survivors.

Among a large pile of rubble, three survivors were rescued by the players like digging sweet potatoes. Although they were injured, they were still alive, with smiles on their dirty faces.

A figure wandering aimlessly near the ruins of the 'Tired Knight' hotel appeared in the sight of the two.

Brian and the female lord immediately ran over, feeling relieved that her assistant Sissy survived.

But when the young human girl turned her head to look at him, it hurt his heart.

This girl, who participated in this kind of tragic war for the first time, was pale, her lips were bloodless, and her wide round eyes were like two bottomless hollows.

The mistress bent down and patted her tousled hair reassuringly.

"I thought I knew... what it would be like," the girl said softly.

Brian couldn't believe this soft and weak voice. He once quarreled with the tower spirit of the mage tower, and shouted at an ancient dragon.

"You can read all the books in this world, Sissy, but there is no text that can tell you what war really looks like." Arabe's mistress said.

"Then... are you used to such a scene?"

Sissy stretched out her injured arm and pointed to the corpses that were still scattered on the ground, "Look at the people who were alive a few hours ago, now become... like this"

At the end, her voice was hoarse, and Brian felt a little relieved to see the tears welling up in the girl's eyes.

Because feeling sad is the first step in recovering from fear.

"Of course I'm used to it. Asmodeus, the Lord of the Nine Hells, is here. I have participated in the bloody battle in the abyss. This kind of small scene is simply..." The little devil's scream was quickly cut off by Brian.

"No, no matter how many times you go through it, you won't get used to it."

The Matriarch said, "It hurts, every time. But the strangeness wears off and you know how to pick yourself up and take the next step. Those who have passed away, all that you have lost, will want you to pick yourself up ...you will remember how to laugh, how to be grateful, how to enjoy life. But what has been experienced, will never be forgotten."

"I don't think I'll ever laugh again."

The girl's words were not realistic, but they were so sincere that Brian on the side almost believed them, "Why me, teacher? Why did they all die, but I survived?"

"We will never know the answer to this question. All we can do is honor the dead with fulfilled lives and make sure their sacrifices are not in vain. Think of how your parents loved you, think of them How grateful you'll be when you're spared."

The mistress of Arabey smiled, albeit bitterly, "Think how grateful I would be to see you spared."

The human girl named Sissy smiled and turned to help those in need.

At this moment, a huge figure hovered in the air, blocking the sunlight and casting shadows on Brian.

Marek, the warshaper who took the form of a golden dragon in his prime, descended from the sky.

"My lord, it's not good, the floating city is back." Marek, who was so weak that he seemed about to collapse at any moment, walked over and said, "He's coming this way, right now."

Suddenly, Brian's heart tightened, and he staggered, almost throwing the soldier's body in his hand.

He looked up, and sure enough, he found that in the dim yellow sky, the black spots that had disappeared long ago reappeared, and they were getting bigger at a speed visible to the naked eye. He felt a wave of fear attacking him.

The female lord looked up at the sky and frowned, "I feel that the power of magic is out of balance. This should be the reason why the Mither energy core of the floating city has lost its effect."

Fear hangs over everyone's heart and grabs everyone's heart, if the fallen floating city is coming towards Araby
"Fuck his banshee's grandma! The harpist must have done a good job. The war has already been won, but at this time, the floating city was destroyed."

Brian's familiar cursed inappropriately, but for the devil, the words were mostly excited.

This time, Brian didn't stop it.

For the first time, it danced and scolded very happily.

"The moment the floating city falls to the ground, the Mithr energy core will also explode together." The female lord's calmness made people feel scary, and she was thinking about countermeasures.

Brian sensed a tinge of tremor and fear in her words.

"Yes." Battlemage Marek replied: "The ghost mages in the floating city have gone crazy. Knowing that there is no hope of escaping, they are frantically gathering energy for the secret energy core."

"Oh! Big bang! Big bang!"

The little devil said excitedly, "Asmodeus, the lord of the Nine Prisons, is here, what I like most is the big bang! With a bang, they all fly high into the sky!"

Brian scolded coldly: "Shut up!"

"You just shut up, I curse you to turn into a purple rotten rag, and then tear you into pieces, poor little master, how dare you annoy the almighty little devil and familiar!"

He took the imp's left leg and tore it off his shoulder, interrupting its speech.

The little devil, hanging upside down, was fussing in Brian's hands, giving his master a nasty look, and then giving him the most humble toothy grin.

"Okay, master. I just want to remind you that the explosion is about to happen. Is it convenient for you to hold my leg?"

Brian flicked his hand and slapped the little devil in the stomach.

It lost its balance, Xisang screamed and fell to the ground cursing.

"Ta Ling, mobilize all the energy of the element pool, transfer the floating city, and buy some time for everyone to evacuate safely." The female lord made a calm decision.

The floating city is falling rapidly.
The female lord of Araby murmured a spell and danced her fingers intently, and one after another portals appeared in every corner of the city.

However, these portals are a drop in the bucket for the population of the entire city. The fleeing crowd flocked in, and the players cursed again and again.

Because the outline of the rapidly falling floating city was clearly visible, everyone felt fear, and everyone knew what it meant.

"Didn't you say you want to transfer the Floating Void City?" Brian couldn't help asking, pinching the neck of the gloating familiar to prevent it from screaming.

A bad premonition was filling his heart.

"It's too late." The female lord struggled to utter a few words, her forehead was covered with sweat, and a few strands of soaked brown-red hair stuck to her pale cheeks.

"Let's go quickly." She said to Brian and Marek, "In this situation, I have to guide the floating city to the mage tower, and rely on the mage tower's protective barrier to minimize the power of the explosion, so that If so, as many people as possible will survive."

Brian was silent. He saw the outline of the rapidly falling floating city, the shell fossils inlaid on the rock wall when it sank to the bottom of the sea for dozens of centuries.

It's really too late if you don't escape.

"My lord, I can't let you do this! You still shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding the Kingdom of Cormyr." The war shaper Marek looked at her in horror.

"Everyone here shoulders the responsibility of rebuilding the Kingdom of Cormyr, but Araby is my city, and I must stay and defend it." The female lord said while casting spells, trying to change the floating city that was getting closer The trajectory of the fall made the body tremble unbearably.

"I see, let me help you." Marek opened his arms, his body grew golden scales at a speed visible to the naked eye, and dragon wings spread out from his back, finally turning into a huge figure.

He flapped his wings, and rushed towards the rapidly falling floating city like an arrow leaving the string.

At this moment, the huge dragon body of the golden dragon in his prime was like a tiny fly in front of the floating city.

However, it was this fly that, accompanied by a loud and clear roar, suddenly hit the inverted mountain of the floating city, causing it to tremble and change a trace of its falling trajectory.

"Hey, the tower is here, the tower is destroyed..." the tower spirit of the mage tower appeared beside the female lord, and said with a sigh.

In this city shrouded in blood and scarlet sunsets.

Brian looked at Arabe's lord Myrcella Lauer for the last time. Her well-maintained long brown-red hair was already messy at the moment, but even so, the pair of silver-gray eyes that impressed him still did not hesitate. He stared firmly at everything in front of him.

As if aware of his gaze, she turned her head slightly, and after a while, her pale lips were slightly raised, revealing the last dazzling smile to him.

"I'm sorry... I really have... tried my best..." She whispered to herself, closing her eyes in despair, desolate and helpless.

Brian's heart ached, he stretched out his hand tremblingly, and activated the teleportation spell to escape.

He saw from a distance that under the blood-red sunset, the suffocating shadow of the Floating Void City enveloped the towering mage tower, falling straight away like a meteorite.

The whole world was enveloped by the bang.

The towers in the center of the city were shattered, but the Wizard's Tower still stood tall, as if defying its impending fate.

Accompanied by the explosion of the Miser energy core, the floating city and the high tower were swallowed up by the arcane torrent in an instant and disappeared without a trace.

Heart-piercing cries came from the fleeing crowd, as if they were facing an abyss of despair.

"Stupid female human..." The little devil followed his master away, wiped the wet stuff on his face, and muttered sadly.

…………

When Brian came back from his distant memories, he found that he had been locked by three figures at some point.

The leader was an elf woman, wearing bright armor, with long silver-white hair hanging over her shoulders.

He noticed that there was a rune sword hanging on the other side's waist.

Behind the woman are two battle mages wearing purple cloaks and holding staffs.

"Outsider!" The silver-haired elf said indifferently, "You have violated Arab's air ban law, please come back to the lord's mansion with us."

"Of course, you can also choose to resist, but in Araby City, everyone must respect the lord and abide by the laws formulated by the Raul family."

Elven Sword Mage.

Feeling the same aura emanating from the elf woman as Hesaiah, Brian guessed their identities and realized his abruptness.

"I'll go with you." Noticing the pointing crowd below, he nodded and did not choose to resist.

Just when everyone was about to take him to the lord's mansion, the elf woman's figure suddenly paused, and a look of surprise appeared on her exquisite face.

She couldn't help turning around, and carefully looked at Brian behind him, "Are you the mage lord of Mokou Town?"

"Yes."

Brian said to her calmly.

"The lord sees you." The elf sword mage glanced at Brian, and said to the two battle mages behind him, "Go to the mage tower."

(End of this chapter)