Arcane Journey

Chapter 278 The Prince of Shadows
When the goddess Sharb casts the stars, the people of the world should put on the cloak of night.

The day was a little bit colder than usual, and the night looked chilly.

Inside the Shadow Temple in the floating city of Sacross.

In near-total darkness, in the smothering light of the brazier, the first three warriors fearlessly gave their lives to the Lost Lady, but the fourth warrior was not steadfast in his faith.

His lungs desperate for air in the shadows, his body struggled with it.

The eldest prince of the City of Shades, Revaran Tanshul, the high priest of the Lost Lady, stood beside the cold altar, a bone-piercing shadow energy surged from his slender fingers, tightly hugging a person lying on the altar on the head of the warrior.

No matter how hard he tried to breathe, shadow energy still poured into his body one after another.

"Be brave." Revalan said in a low voice, "We came from the shadows, and we will return to the shadows. Let go of your body and mind, and welcome the blessing of the goddess. Let the power of the shadows fill your body and blend into your soul." , the dead will never die, will rise again, never be silent, don't resist any more."

However, whether the warrior was buried in the wave of shadows and could not hear, or had completely abandoned his faith, he kicked and punched frantically.

Four heavily armed dark guards arrived quickly, held down his limbs, and fixed him securely on the altar.

"Great Goddess Shar." High Priest Rivaran pulled out the razor-sharp chakra from his belt, held the chakra with one hand, and stretched the other hand to the sky above the temple, praying in a voice as low as the night Said: "Let your servant be reborn from the darkness like you, give him the blessing of shadow, give him the power of darkness, give him the power of the dead..."

A stream of blood splattered, and the sharp wheel blade sliced ​​open the warrior's chest, revealing a throbbing heart.

everything is over.

As the gurgling blood seeped into the altar, the shadow energy around the warrior slowly converged in the beating heart.

His limbs no longer swayed, and his pale skin was gradually transformed into a dark color under the erosion of shadows.

At Rivaran's command, the four priests standing beside him grabbed the warrior's body by limbs and lifted him off the altar.

The priests gathered around the dead man and began to pray.

Waves of shadow energy symbolizing vitality were injected into the corpse, and as the blood-red heart in the chest kept beating, the wound began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the darkness, the dead soldier slowly opened his eyes, the pale red eyes were bewildered and full of fear.

Another person who was reborn in the shadows, Prince Ruivalan nodded with satisfaction, thinking to himself.

In the floating city of Sultanza, every priest serving the goddess will fail in the ritual of transforming ghosts, even the arcane ritual performed by the Supreme King Telamante is no exception.

But he—Rivalan Tanshul, high priest of the Lost Lady and leader of the Hall of Shadows—has never missed a shot.

Because he is the 'prophet' of the lost lady, the spiritual leader of the city of ghosts, he has traveled through the shadow palace of the goddess, and proclaimed the glory there to everyone in the city of Sultanza.

"Get up." Rui Valan said to the transformed ghost warrior, "You have accepted the blessing of the shadow and returned to us again. The dead will not die."

"It will definitely rise again!" The ghost warrior stood up and knelt on one knee, "Never be silent..."

With every word he squeezed out of his mouth, there was pain in his eyes.

Is this a kind of retention of life, or mourning for the dead?Rui Valan couldn't remember long ago, he only knew that this was the law of the world: everything was for the Lost Lady.

That's it.

"Starting today, you will belong to the gods," he told the reborn wraith warrior.

Four shade warriors gathered, each giving him a punch and a hug as a gift of joining.

Someone dressed him in the black armor of the Blackguard, and someone handed him a dark two-handed sword.

"From today onwards, you will belong to the darkness, and the darkness will protect all your secrets and traces, and make you fearless." Revaran said to him, "We pray that you wield your weapons fiercely and face loss bravely." Lady's old enemy."

The ceremony is over.

He came to the hall of the lord's mansion in Sacross City to receive the envoy from Sambia.

They are the rulers of the Kingdom of Sambia, the female commander Mirabetta, who form an alliance with the city of ghosts, and devote all their efforts to support the reconstruction of the floating city of Sacross.

In the Kingdom of Sembia, money knows no borders. As long as merchants can make money, they don't care who the ruler is at all, and the City of Shadows doesn't care who pays taxes.

After all, a dead businessman can neither make money nor pay taxes.

"My lord, have you heard?" Rui Valan had just entered the hall when a military adjutant of Sambia sweated profusely and squeezed away the people at the table, saying out of breath:
"The messenger from the other side of the field is back! We have won! We have won the battle! We have won the battle! Today is ours, ours! We have defeated the enemy. We have beaten them to pieces!"

"Quiet!" Rui Valan frowned, and said coldly, "You made my head split from your quarrel. You have defeated the enemy. The battlefield and the victory belong to you. It's really amazing."

The envoys of Sembia fell silent and looked at Prince Shade in surprise.

"Aren't you happy, my lord?" One of the envoys asked tentatively, "We can directly invade the eastern region of the Kingdom of Cormyr after taking down High Valley Castle on Thunder Peak."

"Happy, but I want to celebrate quietly." Rui Varan said flatly.

The messengers fell silent and looked at each other.

Like a pack of puppies, Prince Shade thought, a pack of megalomaniacs blinded by victory.

He was not surprised by this victory, because it was a war without any suspense.

Besieging a small border town of the Sambia rebels, in addition to Sembia's 5000 regular army, there are also 100 ghost mages and 300 ghost fighters to assist.

In this level of war, they would still be overjoyed, yelling, slapping their thighs with their scepters, and celebrating their victory with wine... It's amazing!
He stretched out his hand suddenly, gathered the map and documents on the table, then raised his head and looked around.

"Listen carefully." Prince Yinhun said coldly, "I want to issue new instructions."

The Sembian envoys stood up expectantly.

"Every one of you," he said to the emissaries, "have heard the speeches delivered by your female leaders, but I want to point out that these words do not apply to the current situation, and you still have to carry out my orders .”

"Give war to the castle, and peace to the village. This is what your female commander Mirabetta said to his commanders. You also know this principle." The ghost prince added:

"You have been taught in military training, but this principle only applies to today. From tomorrow onwards, you will forget it. From tomorrow onwards, we will abide by another very different principle, which will also be our war cry from now on. , convey this slogan and my order to your commander-in-chief: no one will be left alive, no grass or tree will be left behind, we will leave scorched earth behind us, starting tomorrow, we will cross the armistice line with the Kingdom of Cormyr, Let the whole kingdom be reduced to ashes."

He cleared his throat loudly, and continued, "And before the soldiers leave the scorched earth, you have to remove as much as possible from this land, as long as it is valuable wealth, anything, mines and deposits, coins, Valuables, works of art..."

Watching Sembia's envoy leave, the Shadow Prince sat alone in the hall, filling a glass of wine for himself.

While sipping the fine wine in his glass, he thought about his next plan.

Regarding the conquest of the Kingdom of Sembia and the successful flying of the floating city Sacross in the sky, the whole process was smoother than he had imagined.

But when he thought of Miss Lost's next plan, he couldn't help frowning.

In the Goddess's plan, two cities had to be sacrificed, Udulin, the capital of Sambia, and Tivanton, the city of Cormyr.

Recalling the defeat against the Kingdom of Cormyr, Rivaran hated the Hand of the High King, Hajhorna.

Just then, the dark shadow twisted.

Prince Yinhun's expression changed, he immediately put down his wine glass, and asked into the air, "What's the news from Suzar City?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young warrior in dark black armor appeared in front of him.

His face was as sharp as a sharp knife, and there seemed to be an eternal coldness in his deep black eyes.

Yada Tanshul, the second prince of the City of Shadows, is the supreme commander of the Dark Knights and Black Guards in the Lost Temple, and the most powerful assistant of the eldest prince Rui Valan.

"After the High King and Laroque entered the Realm of the Magic Web from the Twisted Tower in the Valley of Shadows, they have not returned to Sultanza until now." The second prince Yada reported the situation to him.

Rui Valan nodded thoughtfully.

In the plan of the Lost Lady, the Twisted Tower in the Valley of Shadows is also a crucial location, because it is the only place that can lead to the Realm of the Magic Web through the Material Plane.

As long as they finish arranging the ceremony in Guangze, the Supreme King can unite with Laroch to tear a scar from Mystra's magic net, and then let the shadow magic net gradually replace it.

"I still have news about Haj Horna." Yada's words shocked Rui Valan, and he quickly asked, "Where is he?"

As the person in charge of Cormyr, not only did Hajhorner's mission fail in the slightest, even the temple he secretly set up in Tifington was uprooted by the city's consul, almost ruining the Lost Lady's plan.

This made him start to feel murderous towards the Hand of the High King, thinking about how to let him disappear into this world forever like a secret, silently.

"According to the news from Sultanza, Hajhona has defected." Yada said, "According to reliable information, he went to Comanthor of the elves, and with him, there are also members of the Dragon Worship Cult." Leader Severin."

Comanso?
Prince Yinhun frowned. The various forces of Cormanthor are intertwined. At this critical moment, it is not the time for them to intervene.

"There will be a chance." Rui Valan's mouth curled into a sneer.

Hajhorna defected, and Vatik was killed in the battle against Dove Hawkhand and his wife. He felt that all these things were moving in the direction he wanted.

As long as he can finish repairing the floating city of Sacross and gain a foothold in the Kingdom of Sembia, he will definitely be able to establish a kingdom of ghosts that is strong enough to fight against the Supreme King.

However, the premise of all this is to win Tivington.

Thinking of this, he asked Yada again, "Is there any movement in Misty Valley?"

Misty Valley not only gathered the two electors of the Goddess of Magic, but even the lord of Mokou Town also arrived here.

Compared with the Goddess of Magic's Chosen Storm and Simbu, the one who made Rui Valan fear the most was actually the weakest Brian, the newly-appointed Lord Protector of the Kingdom of Cormyr.

From the moment he took Brian seriously, he had thoroughly investigated the other party's details through the dark intelligence network of the Zhentarim Society, the spider web of the drow, and the intelligence system of the City of Shadows.

After reading the detailed information about Bryan, anyone involved, including himself, is in disbelief. This is simply a legendary story.

A slave captured by the Twilight Merchant, not only successfully escaped from the city ruled by the dark elves, but also experienced the riots of many demon lords in the Underdark.

In the end, he returned to the surface safe and sound, and took Mokou Town as quickly as possible, and with the help of various forces, he defeated Hajhorner, who underestimated the enemy.

It wasn't until Ruivalan began to pay attention to Brian that he realized that the mage lord of Mokou Town, a Nether descendant from the magic kingdom of Harua, had gradually become his biggest threat right now.

What frightened him the most was that the wizard tower built by Brian actually held the magic pulse cannon from the period of the Nether Empire.

As a high priest of the Lost Lady and also a descendant of the Netherese, Rivalan is well aware of the horror of the magic pulse cannon, which is the root cause of his hesitation in attacking Mokou Town.

In his plan, only after finishing repairing the floating city of Sacross, would he prepare to launch a full-scale attack on the Kingdom of Cormyr.

And this day is not far away for him.

This is also the fundamental reason why he let Sembia's army take the lead in invading Cormyr.

Therefore, in order to prevent any mistakes in his plan, he must be aware of the recent movements of the electors of the goddess of magic in the Misty Valley area.

He would never allow this group of people in the way to make trouble behind him.

"The purpose of my coming here is mainly to report the news about Misty Valley to you." Yada said solemnly.

Seeing the other party's expression, Rui Valan knew that this group of voters had already started to act, which made him secretly guess what role Bryan played in this group of voters.

After all, it is still difficult for him to understand how this mage from Haruah instigated a rebellion against De Sud who remained neutral.

What role does his youngest brother, Braines, play in it, and why he hasn't heard any news about Brenas so far.

Among the many brothers of Rui Valan, the one he fears the most is Brenas, and at the same time, he also regards him as one of the obstacles that prevent him from becoming the lord of ghosts.

But the little prince has not found any news so far, so that he has been hesitant to put his plan against the High King into action.

"After the defenders of Misty Valley received the assistance of Tifington's army, they are now counterattacking other occupied areas of the valley under the leadership of the leader of the Silver Knights, Methema, and the ranger Azara of Melikai." Second Prince Yada Say:
"Scar Valley, Feather Valley, and Spike Valley have joined our troops, and they have already begun to respond to the army of Misty Valley. It may only be a matter of time before the entire valley falls."

"Didn't the female commander send troops to support it?" Rui Varan asked, frowning.

There are three main routes for him to choose to occupy the Kingdom of Cormyr. They are attacking Tivanton from the valley, attacking Thunderstone Fort through Thunder Peak, and the most difficult Mokou Town.

In his next plan, he would let Sembia's army attack from the valley and Thunder Peak to attract the attention of the Cormyrs, while he drove the repaired floating city to Mokou Town.

As long as Mokou Town, the bridgehead guarding the Cormyr border, is taken down.

Next, in the case of having a retreat, whether it is Arabe City or Susar, he can do it with ease.

In this case, the entire valley must be in their hands.

After all, there is absolutely nothing to be missed about the sacrifice of Tiffanyton.

"When the female commander heard the news, he immediately sent reinforcements." Yada pulled out a chair and sat beside Ruivalan, "But their army was defeated by the crazy witch Simbu on her own."

"The female commander is planning to let me send her a few legendary experts to deal with Simbu." Rui Valan said his guess, "Is that so?"

"Exactly." Yada replied, "If you can't solve Simbu, you won't be able to support the land we occupy."

"The Storm Queen of Aglaron suddenly made such a high-profile appearance at this time, I'm afraid it's not as simple as massacring the army." Rui Valan pondered slightly, and said to Yada, "I suspect they have other purposes."

"No matter what their purpose is." Yada said with a frown, "Currently, Simbu is indeed our most difficult enemy. If we don't deal with it, it will seriously hinder our next plan."

"Of course I know these things." Prince Yinhun filled Yada's and his own wine glasses in a calm manner, handed them to him, and said, "I've been on guard since we dealt with Elminster. Golaron's Wizard Queen, now finally comes in handy."

"How are you going to deal with her?" Yada took the wine glass and asked curiously.

"Do you still remember how the capital of Sembia fell?" Rui Valan said before Yada could ask, "I will treat this crazy witch well with 'Black Veil' Illyrel."

"So that's it. It seems that you have been prepared for a long time." Yada showed a surprised expression on his sharp face.

"Actually, what I'm most worried about is that this crazy witch came to Sacross in a fit of rage." Rui Valan said, "If she really storms the floating city, our progress in repairing the floating city may be delayed indefinitely."

"Judging from the current situation." He analyzed to Yada: "They should want Simbu to attract our attention, and then lurk inside Sacrosse. good at."

"This is their only chance, and this is the most effective and deadly means."

The Prince of Shadows said confidently, "Martik and Lamolek have completed the weaving of the mysteries in the floating city, and their Towers of Shadows are also functioning normally, and there is not much time left for them to counterattack."

"Actually, I've been waiting for their arrival." He added at the end, "Lamolek will also show them the power of the magic pulse cannon."

…………

(End of this chapter)