"A change at dawn?"
Hao Ren became curious, "What is it?"
”"The village is not always active, and when the first rays of the dawn shine on the fence at the edge of the village, everything immediately loses its vitality and falls into a peculiar state of suspended animation.I suspect that this magical land doesn't work perfectly, so it needs to 'rest' for a few hours every day.By noon, the village would be restored. ”"It looks like the distortion of time and space here will be reduced after dawn," Vivien thought for a moment, "and it should be easier to break through the blockade by then, and it will prevent any traps from being triggered." ”Hao Ren also nodded approvingly: "Well, and I can wake this thing up after dawn - or I have to carry her out." ”Everyone's eyes fell on Lily, who was sleeping soundly, and everyone showed gentle eyes that cared for the silly dog, and Vivien sighed: "The lack of heart eyes is really the treasure of life, I don't know how she can eat and sleep no matter where she goes." ”This night, except for Lily, who was asleep, everyone didn't have much rest.Hesperius remembered the events of the Olympus family, and many thoughts kept her awake; Vivien was sensitive to the strange atmosphere that lingered in the village, and she was a nocturnal creature herself, so she simply didn't sleep all night; Hao Ren couldn't fall asleep because of the constant noise coming from the square, so he worked with the data terminal to study how to communicate with the little evil spirit, and the result was that his finger was bitten several times......
As for Pierre, according to him, as long as he acted in a manner that was in accordance with the rules of the villagers' movements, he could weaken their vigilance, and he had bypassed today's surveillance, and no one would come to him until noon the next day, so he found another room in the longhouse and slept for the night.As for the Wang brothers and Catherine who stayed in the square, Pierre said that they had been "too immersed in this land, and they were quite seriously assimilated", and it was difficult to regain their senses at present, and rash contact with them would only cause the curse power of this land to become alert, so the best thing to do was to leave it alone, if the curse could be lifted from the outside in time, they might still have the possibility of recovery.The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight shone into the village, Hao Ren and the others immediately felt that the atmosphere in the neighborhood had indeed begun to change."
It seems to be quiet," Vivien listened carefully to the movement in the village, "and the activity of the creatures is waning. ”The data terminal also reported: "The distortion of the surrounding time and space is decreasing, and it is confirmed that some kind of energy decline is occurring on a large scale." ”Pierre left the longhouse with Hao Ren and walked through the village that had suddenly become quiet.Everything around is different.The old houses were more dilapidated than before, the mottled wooden walls and roads were covered in a gray gray as if they had faded their colors, and a strange smell of dirt and a slight putrid smell floated in the air, but it was impossible to tell where the smell came from.Lily rubbed her eyes and yawned heavily, and the strange smell in the air made her frown: "Huha......
It smells bad. ”Pierre led the group towards the edge of the village, where they didn't see any more villagers, and the place was now lifeless, as cold and silent as a tomb.Hao Ren asked curiously, "Where have all the people gone?"
Did it disappear because the magic was declining?
”"They're all in the house."
Pierre said, coming to a small hut by the side of the road, and pushing open the rotten door.A middle-aged villager was lying quietly on a low bed in a wooden house, Hao Ren stepped forward to take a look, and found that the villager's skin was shriveled and pale, and his body was collapsing abnormally as if he was dehydrated, but he was not dead: when he got closer, Hao Ren found that the villager's chest was still rising and falling slightly, and he was still breathing, but faintly imperceptible.Vivien stepped forward and touched the other party's skin: "It's lower than my body temperature." ”"Living, but no different from death," Hesperius whispered, "This phenomenon of the living dead was quite common in the Egyptian god realm, and they were good at making legions of half-dead, but it was still not the same as here. ”"Nothing in this land is an illusion, the houses are real objects that have been maintained by magic to this day, and the villagers are also living humans, but supernatural forces have distorted everything and made them exist in a rather strange state," Pierre shook his head, "To be honest, I don't know what will happen once the curse is really lifted, maybe without the support of magical power, the people here will die instantly, and the village will be reduced to ashes in an instant......"
"According to you, this village was actually reduced to ashes more than two hundred years ago, Now this land is only entrenched in a ghost that refuses to disperse," Hesperius glanced at the spirit detective, "as for the villagers here......
If the soul dissipates, leaving only an empty shell, these people are nothing more than walking corpses, and the moment they are fully 'transformed', these people are already dead.What we need to do now is to lift the curse as soon as possible, so that the three who have not yet been completely consumed can live. ”At the edge of the village, the low, dilapidated wooden fence still crumbling to draw a boundary for this cursed place, Pierre stood in front of the fence, looked at the gloomy forest outside, and shook his head: "I can't get out of here even when the magic power is weakened, and the power of this border will not change with time." ”Hao Ren reached out to the outside of the fence, and this time, he clearly felt his hand pass through an invisible barrier.He had never felt the barrier when he stepped into the village before.This barrier repels transgressions, and he senses a momentary fluctuation in energy, and then the data terminal begins to read an ever-increasing value, and the terminal immediately warns: "The skew of time and space is intensifying!"
This place is being re-closed!
”Hao Ren withdrew his hand, and sure enough, the space-time closure detected by the data terminal gradually recovered."
As expected, you can use brute force to break through the blockade, but this will also touch the secret realm enchantment, and when you stop crossing the border, the boundary will be restored immediately," Hao Ren turned around, "It's very much like an unattended vigilance system, following strict rules. ”Vivien looked at Pierre, "We can take you out, but to be honest, you'd better stay here - we're going to the noble mansion to track down the source of the curse, which is probably much more dangerous than here in the village, and we may not be able to protect you in the event of an emergency." ”Pierre smiled, "I also think it's better to stay here, I'll only get in the way of you in the past." ”"Then wait for our good news," Hao Ren patted Pierre on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we won't leave you alone." ”"I can only hope for you," Pierre grinned and looked at Vivien, "Your suggestion is worth considering—maybe it's time for me to retire from this industry." ”"By the way, you can take this thing," Hao Ren felt in his pocket, took out a small communicator and handed it to Pierre, "Use this to keep in touch with us, it's easy to use." ”Pierre took the communicator and frowned slightly: "I'm afraid that the enchantment around the village will interfere with the signal, right?"
”"Don't worry," Hao Ren gave a thumbs up, "This thing's signal isn't so easy to interfere with."
You stay in the village and observe the situation, we go to lift the curse, and we need to contact each other if anything changes. ”Pierre then put the communicator into his place and nodded firmly.After inquiring about the general location of the noble mansion, Hao Ren and his party forcibly broke through the spatial blockade at the border of the village and came to the normal forest area.When crossing that boundary, the entire village shook violently, as if the magical power entrenched in the depths of the earth was furious because of the escape of the "prey", but as Hao Ren and his party completely broke through the boundary, all the anomalies quickly recovered.The process of getting out of the "predicament" is unbelievably simple, but Hao Ren knows that the "curse" of this village is not a problem for his group at all, and the real problem is the secret behind it: the missing Hecules, the ancient artifact with Vivien's powers, and the historical truth that caused the village to be cursed.Finding out these things is the thing that stands in front of them.The road in the forest is still rough and difficult to walk, but the surrounding atmosphere is noticeably fresher after leaving the confines of the village, and the rough road seems less tiresome to follow.Hesperith walked at the front of the group, and she casually said, "I always feel that the village is not just 'cursed'. ”"Yes, the barrier around the village is the result of a careful arrangement, with a clear purpose, 'only in but not out,'" Vivien replied, "more like a cage than a curse." ”"The cage is used to lock things," Hao Ren said quietly, "if someone deliberately creates the boundaries of the village, then he must be worried that something will escape from the village, as for the people trapped inside......
I'm afraid it's just an accidental casualty. ”At this time, Lily had completely woken up, she listened to the conversation between Hao Ren and Vivien, and interjected: "Then is this cage too weak?"
At our level, you can walk out directly. ”Hao Ren thought for a while: "Then there are only two explanations, either this cage is really so weak, or this cage has been broken through, and now all that remains is a shell that is not strong...... " At this time, Hesperius suddenly spoke up and interrupted Hao Ren's words: "It seems to be the front." ”(To be continued.) )