At dusk, the last rays of light paint the treetops red, and the trees and the town are hazy.

Thorne, facing the afterglow of the setting sun, walked among the dark red Twin Valence trees in Stallman Town, and walked towards an alley deep in the town.

The blood of the tiefling race contains the blood of the demons of the lower planes, which leads to the rejection of various civilizations, which directly causes most tieflings to reject the sins left by the ancient times and try to distance themselves from them. It does not mean that their living habits will not be affected in the slightest.

For example, most tieflings prefer dark colors, especially dark red.

This is also the main reason why all the houses in Stallman Town are scattered in every corner of the dark red trees.

Because the trees are dominated by twin Valens trees, which are polluted by the blood of the devil, their leaves will gradually change from light red to dark red as they grow throughout the year.

These twin Valens trees, polluted by the blood of the devil, are very similar to the tiefling race, so "twin Valens" means "sorrow" in the meaning of the tiefling race.

Thorne walked through the bushes and found a group of tieflings, mainly players, gathered under a sturdy tree. They brought juice, drinks, snacks and fruits, sitting around a large hide, talking and laughing. of talking.

"The days after crossing are actually very good. Although the wilderness is a little dangerous, as long as we can survive with our strength, we will definitely be able to fight for a good future."

A tiefling player wearing dark red leather armor sat cross-legged on the animal skin, sighing with emotion while waving the tail of his hips.

"Yeah, you don't know how much social pressure I faced when I just graduated. The house, car and bride price came one after another, which was overwhelming.

Well now, I don't have to worry about these things. Even if I die in the wilderness, I feel that my life is worth it. No matter what you think, I already love this place, I love this place to death. "

Another tiefling warlock in loose robes used magic to control a bottle of juice, took it in his hand, and then showed the two fangs on his upper jaw, and said to everyone with a smile.

"But I'm still a little worried about whether our town can withstand the onslaught of the gnolls. After all, this group of gnolls is one of the most powerful tribes in the Great Sword Mark Mountains." Another one-horned Tiff Player Lin stared at the swirling wine in the wine glass and poured a basin of cold water on the excited crowd.

"The night lord's mana has recovered today. We will launch a counterattack at night. There is a quasi-legendary warlock in charge. What's there to worry about."

"That's also..."

"Come! Cheers to our future. In tonight's battle, I don't know which unfortunate ashes will be scattered on the Emerald River, so we must cherish this moment of good time." A tiefling stood up and took the lead with a glass of wine. booed.

"Cheers!" Suddenly, everyone stood up and collided with various juices and drinks.

...

Thorne, who was hiding in the dark, looked at the talking and laughing tieflings, was silent for a while, and then stepped up to the destination.

Thorne traversed two or three chaotic alleys of twin Valens trees and stone houses, and finally reached the residence of Master Kairon, a house of dark red marble.

"Crench!"

So he gently pushed open the wooden door and walked in.

The moment he entered the stone house, Thorne immediately felt a rush of heat.

However, the imaginary sound of hammering and a faint scent of fragrant tobacco did not come from the room.

This made Thorne's heart skip a beat, as if he had guessed something.

He glanced around lightly, and found that there was only one person in this quiet and spacious room. The reclining chair in the corner was empty, and there was still a fine layer of dust on it.

It should have just been left, because he can clearly observe the traces of the reclining chair being wiped.

Thorne then turned his attention to the only tiefling player.

The tiefling was wearing nothing but trousers and a leather apron tied around his waist, and on his emaciated shoulders and chest, soot piled into black streaks along the ravines formed by the muscles, and orange from the forge beside him. The light of the fire made his sweaty body gleam slightly.

He was sitting at a marble table full of various enchanted props, fiddling with a dark red arrow so intently that Thorne pushed the door open and walked in without realizing it.

Whenever the carving knife in his hand left a rune pattern on the arrow, a drop of sweat would fall from his forehead as he trembled.

Seeing this, Thorne did not disturb the tiefling player who was making the burst arrow, but stood quietly, waiting for him to complete the work in his hand.

That's about half an hour...

The dedicated tiefling player finally finished the arrow, looking with satisfaction at the one-piece shape of the arrowhead, shaft and feathers of this special arrow engraved with demonic runes, before carefully inserting it. There are only a few quivers beside it.

Just when he was about to continue making the next one, he suddenly noticed a trace of cool air blowing from the house, he looked startled, and immediately turned his eyes to the direction of the door.

"Hello, I am a ranger who asked Master Kailong to help with enchanting last year. The purpose of coming here is to visit this enchanting master."

Thorne saw the tiefling player who turned his head, looked at the half of his face scalded by the flames, paused, and told his origins.

The young tiefling player first wiped the sweat from his forehead, then quickly covered his loose crimson hair to cover half of his face scalded by the flames, and glanced at the ranger who had seen several times before, his voice was slightly He replied in a hoarse and low voice: "Master Kairon passed away a month ago."

"That's a pity, do you know where he is buried?" Thorne, who had already guessed the result, was not too surprised. He was silent for a while, and then said his thoughts calmly: "I think Come and worship."

"According to tradition...every dead tiefling needs to be cremated, and then swayed in the wilderness, forest, lake or river." The tiefling player held an arrow shaft tightly in his hand and paused for a moment. , said slowly;

"In this way, their corpses with demon blood will not pollute the land of this world again, and their resting souls will not be used by the evil ones."

"I'm very sorry to bother you." After listening to the other party's words, Thorne glanced apologetically at the tiefling player, ready to turn and leave.

"Wait a minute! Mentor Kairon said before he left that if you return here again, let me tell you a word." Noticing that the Ranger was about to leave, Tieflin stopped him and continued. :

"In the chaotic and turbulent years, in the easternmost part of the continent, an endless wilderness leading to the continent of Karatu is the main battlefield of the abyss demon, and there are still cracks in the abyss, so there are many people who have studied the abyss demon in that place. Grandmaster."

"I see, thank you." Thorne looked startled, bowed slightly to the tiefling player, and left the house quietly.

...

The cool breeze blows, the twin Valens tree swaying in the wind, the leaves awakened by the spring breeze are like clusters of flames burning on the branches. .

Thorne, who had left the stone house of Master Kairon, sat on a stone bench beside a twin Valence tree in the town, looking at the sky that was gradually losing its color.

"呱~呱~呱~"

Suddenly, a sad crow chirping sounded, interrupting his contemplation.

Immediately afterwards, a little crow flew through the flaming leaves and flew to Thorne.

I saw it flapping its small wings and hovering above his head a few times, and then landed in the outstretched palm.

Thorne and the little crow looked at each other for a moment, and used "animal conversation" to communicate the information the other party conveyed to him.

"Is the situation in Stallman already so serious?" Thorne frowned slightly, stroking the smooth feathers of the little crow, and whispered to himself.

After a while, he waved his hand to disperse the little crow in his palm, ready to get up and leave.

However, before he got up, a little tiefling girl appeared in his sight, and walked straight towards him with cheerful steps.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are the big half-elf brother who came here last fall, right." Before the tiefling girl approached, she waved her hand and said happily to Thorne.

"...Yes." Thorne hesitated, then nodded.

Next, he looked at the slender tiefling girl with a pale red face and a little freckles not far away. She was dressed in dark red coarse linen and looked like a very simple rural girl.

When he noticed the two modern colorful bows tied on the horns of the tiefling girl's forehead, he immediately remembered that the tiefling girl once brought him food in the hotel.

However, although Thorne remembered her identity, when he saw the two colorful bows, there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Because this bow is obviously different from the color I saw half a year ago.

So what puzzled him was that although the colors were different, the production methods were very similar, all knotted, shrunk and folded from the same place.

As a keen ranger, he can still observe these small details, and he can clearly see that this bow tie has only been made in the last few days.

If he remembered correctly, the little girl had told him the origin of the bow.

"It was given by a very gentle big sister, but unfortunately she turned into a winged monster and flew away half a year ago, and has never come back since." Thorne recalled what the tiefling girl told him. a word.

Could it be that this so-called 'gentle elder sister' flew back again, Thorne, who thought of this, couldn't help guessing secretly.

Just as he stared at the bow in a daze, the tiefling girl in front of her had already approached. She glanced at Thorne secretly, and then happily shared her happiness with him:

"Big brother half-elf, did you know that the gentle elder sister who flew away flew back and became a powerful paladin."

It was the succubus paladin.

After listening to the excited words of the tiefling girl, Thorne showed a sudden look.

He glanced at the girl in front of him with a smile, and said casually, "Then this... gentle big sister is very kind to you."

Speaking of her gentleness, Thorne felt that this was the most offensive thing he had ever said, because the cold succubus paladin he had seen couldn't be associated with gentleness at all.

As for the tenderest...of course his Andrina.

"Although she likes me very much, since she flew back, I have never seen her smile. She looks like a different person, and sometimes hugs me in her arms and weeps." Tiff Lin girl recalled the memory of getting along with the succubus paladin, and her bright big eyes gradually dimmed.

"Maybe it's because she misses her family." Thorne didn't know how to answer, so he replied perfunctorily.

"Unfortunately, the eldest sister's sister was killed by a gnoll, otherwise she would not have turned into a winged monster and flew away, but fortunately she is back." The tiefling girl seemed to recall a painful memory, He looked sad.

"She likes you so much, then you can be her sister, so that you can help your big sister fill the vacancy of family affection."

Thorne looked startled, smiled and patted the tiefling girl gently on the shoulder, and dropped a few gold coins in her pocket when she wasn't paying attention.

"Of course." The tiefling girl looked up at Thorne and nodded earnestly.

Then her two big eyes that were gradually brightening turned, and she asked very curiously: "Big brother half-elf, why are you here alone? Didn't that human sister come with you?"

Human sister?

Thorne was stunned by this curious little girl's question, and then he understood who she was referring to, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you know the two of us were together."

When he and Andrina were in Stallman Town, they didn't seem to have much contact, but this little girl said with certainty that the two of them were together. This brain circuit was too strange, and it would be unpredictable. ?

"Because half a year ago, I secretly saw the two of you sitting here chatting together, and I could see that the human sister liked you very much."

The tiefling girl blushed slightly, rubbed the corners of her clothes, shook her little tail, and said a little embarrassedly: "Also, when you were leaving, I secretly saw that the two of you were leaving together."

"..."

Thorne was immediately embarrassed, not knowing how to answer what the curious little girl said.

Half a year ago, when he left Stallman Town, he did notice a lot of tieflings' gazes.

After all, a half-elf wandering in a small town of the tiefling race, it's strange that he doesn't get attention, so he doesn't really care.

The only thing that surprised him was that at that time, Andrina already had a crush on herself, but she didn't know anything.

However, now that I think about it, I understand that if she doesn't like herself, how can she feel at ease to go to Waterfall Town with him.

After all, he is too stupid to even see such obvious hints as the sorceress...

Thorne recalled the simple conversation when he was sitting here with Andrina, and instantly understood that she had secretly conveyed her goodwill to him at that time, but she knew nothing like a piece of wood. .

"Is my EQ really so low? Impossible? This should have nothing to do with intelligence." Thorne couldn't help but glanced at the intelligence attribute, which had become 13 points, and thought to himself.

"That... or you go to play somewhere else, I have other things."

Thorne, who seemed to be hit, coughed deliberately, interrupting the little girl's unbridled gaze, blinking back and forth on his embarrassed face, and then got up to leave.

"Goodbye, big half-elf brother." The tiefling girl gave Thorne a nostalgic look and said a little reluctantly.

"Goodbye." Thorne smiled and watched the curious little girl leave.

When Thorne was about to leave, a figure shrouded in a dark red cloak suddenly appeared beside the big tree behind him.

After recognizing the identity of the other party, he asked subconsciously, "Lord of the Night, when did you appear here?"

Seeing the sorcerer Anaxis in front of him, Thorne vaguely remembered the cold black eyes that impressed him when he first met him.

At the beginning, he just glanced at it, and it made him feel as if he was being penetrated directly into his heart, causing him to have a kind of palpitations and fear in the depths of his heart.

Now, as his strength becomes stronger and his will attribute improves, he can finally clearly observe what those heart-pounding eyes look like.

Thorne found that the pupil of the night lord gradually turned into a long and narrow black prism under his gaze, and he quickly looked away when he noticed that something was wrong.

"What happened to Andrina, who came with you back then." The warlock didn't care about Thorne's rudeness, but stroked the little black cat in his arms and made a cold voice.

"She's fine with me." Thorne didn't quite understand the meaning of the other party's words, but he said it truthfully.

"Then I'm relieved." The warlock glanced lightly at the ring of protection and the ring of insight worn on Thorne's hand, and replied softly.

"Is the Night Lord looking for me?" Thorne then asked.

"Your strength has improved quite quickly, but you have to remember that when a road that vaguely appears in front of you appears, you must seize it and determine your future direction, otherwise you will be like me. , you need to go back and find it again.”

The sorcerer first nodded to Thorne secretly, and then said meaningfully: "The power from outside does not belong to him. Only the power obtained by relying on oneself is real. Although the road is difficult, you must not be impatient."

"Thanks to the night lord for his guidance, I will keep it in my heart." Thorne thanked her seriously.

He probably understood the sorcerer's words.

The so-called foreign power should refer to the power of faith, as well as the mysterious power taught by the suzerain of the warlocks.

Although these powers can make them grow faster, after all, this is the road that others have paved for them, and it does not belong to them at all.

That is to say, if you want to become a real powerhouse, you must blaze your own path.

"Lord of the Night, if allowed, I would also like to participate in the battle with the gnolls tonight." Then, Thorne took the initiative to explain the lord's purpose.

"Then, on behalf of the entire Stallman town, I thank you for your help." The Warlock Anaquis looked startled, the corners of her mouth curled up, the two fangs on her upper jaw stick out, and she sincerely expressed her sincerity to Thorne. Thank you.

…………