Chapter 287 Murder in the Night
On this clear night, the wide river reflects the moonlight, and there are layers of silver-like ripples. On the empty river beach, only the sound of the waves echoes.
Qiao An looked towards the upper reaches of the river, illuminated by the bright moonlight, and a mountain peak could be vaguely seen rising from the ground.
The peak looks like a big bowl turned upside down in the north of the island, and the depression at the bottom of the bowl is a volcano that has been silent for hundreds of years.
The crater accumulates rainwater and forms a natural lake, which is the source of the Safari River.
The map provided by Azhi circled the area around the extinct volcano with a red pen and marked it as a dangerous area. It is said that the "Prince Razor" is entrenched in the forest around the volcano, so that the mountain and the volcanic lake are named after "Razor".
The place where Joan and the others are staying is just outside the red area, and the chance of encountering the razor boar is higher than other places. If you are unlucky, you may even bump into the "Prince Razor" who came for a walk by the river.
For the sake of safety, everyone agreed that it is not appropriate to run around at night, so they cleared an open space on the river beach to place the "campfire rosary" and set up camp on the spot.
When everyone was eating dinner around the campfire, the hound suddenly roared.
Immediately afterwards, I saw a group of wild boars running towards the campfire, grunting and chirping.
Fortunately, the leader was only a ferocious wild boar, and there was no razor boar in the pig herd.
Joan and Thomas quickly used the "greasy technique" to trap the group of wild boars, and the Tyndall brothers took the opportunity to kill the pigs.
After a while of wailing, all six wild boars were killed, adding 10 hunting points to Joan's team, plus fresh barbecue ingredients.
In view of the rampant wild boar activities here, Joan and the others dug a circle of trenches around the camp to strengthen the defense, and arranged special personnel to take turns to watch the night.
Theoretically, mages should not keep watch at night, but Joan has a "life support ring" in his hand, and sleeping for two hours every night is enough to restore energy.
In order to ensure that his companions get enough time to rest, Joan offered to keep watch until dawn, and then the Tyndall brothers took over his post.
As the night deepened, Thomas and the Tyndall brothers had already fallen asleep, and Joan sat alone by the fire reading a book.
The sound of gurgling water, the sound of the wind and the snoring from the tent all add to the silence of the night.
Joann opened a page of the book and looked up to the other side of the campfire.
The four hounds were sleeping soundly in the warm thatch, shaking their ears from time to time, maintaining a certain degree of vigilance even in their sleep.
In this quiet and peaceful atmosphere, Joan suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Slightly frowning, he took out the "siren" made from the tentacles of the digger insects from his jacket pocket, and leaned closer to observe the fire.
Sure enough, the tentacles trembled slightly, as if sensing that the abnormal creature was approaching the camp.
Joan stared at the siren with a hesitant expression.
This tentacle is so sensitive that even a hare breaking into the warning range will trigger a tremor.
Of course, hares do not pose a threat to sleeping people.
It remains to be seen whether the intruders are dangerous.
Joan stood up, turned around slowly with the siren in hand, and based on the deflection direction of the tentacles and the intensity of the tremor, he could determine the specific direction of the potential threat and how far it was from him.
After some careful detection, Joan confirmed that the abnormal creature was hidden in the dense bushes behind him, about two hundred yards away.
With such a long distance, and in the middle of the night, coupled with the cover of the bushes, it was impossible for Joan to see whether the opponent was a harmless hare or a beast hunting at night.
When he was hesitating whether to wake up the hounds and approach the bushes to search, the vibration of the siren suddenly weakened, and all signs indicated that the other party was moving away from the camp.
Joan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, put away the siren that had stopped vibrating, stood by the campfire, and stared at the bushes shrouded in darkness in the distance for a long time.
Although the alarm has been lifted, for some reason, the shadow in his heart still lingers.
...
At the same time that Joan was looking at the bushes, a naked tall and thin strange man was also looking through the bushes to observe the campsite on the river beach.
The brown-green skin with wooden texture is like a layer of natural protective color, which makes "Big Jack" almost integrated with the bushes. It is difficult for ordinary people to find his hiding place even if they come closer to observe.
However, Big Jack was surprised to find that the young man sitting by the bonfire in the opposite camp was far more vigilant than he expected, and he was aware of his existence from two hundred yards away. The sight of the bushes is proof.
Big Jack squatted in the bushes, his dark eye sockets flickered with strange lights.
Being noticed during the stealth was an unprecedented new experience for him, and this small setback could not dispel his killing intent.
The vigilant boy on the opposite side seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. According to previous follow-up observations, the other party was just a low-level mage.
Big Jack is confident that he can kill the opponent within ten seconds. As for the boy's companion... It is their greatest luck that they can die without pain in their sleep.
Big Jack made up his mind, and just as he was about to make a move, an owl suddenly flew in the night sky and landed on a branch beside him. Its bright eyes stared straight at him, as if it had other meanings.
Big Jack and the owl stared at each other for a few seconds before reaching out and grabbing its leg.
The owl didn't dodge until Big Jack untied the white cloth strips wrapped around its feet, and then flapped its wings and flew away.
Big Jack looked down at the words on the cloth, his eyes flickering.
The signer of this letter, "Idar", is a high-ranking deacon of the "Primitive Sect", and has a more resounding title called "Shepherd".
The shepherd sent an "animal messenger" to deliver this letter, asking Big Jack to go to a place outside Layton Harbor as soon as possible to meet with him and discuss important matters.
What exactly happened was not stated in the letter.
Big Jack crumpled the cloth into a ball silently, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it.
The shepherd has a higher position in the church than him, and was appointed by the pope to come to the Yalfheim area to perform important official duties.
As a peripheral member of the religious order, Big Jack must obey the call of the shepherd, so he had to end the killing contest with "Little Jack" ahead of schedule.
"You are lucky!"
Big Jack took a deep look at the young mage standing by the campfire, turned around quietly, and left the bushes.
...
Although the siren could no longer sense any threat, Joan still didn't dare to relax his vigilance, and stayed by the campfire to keep an eye on the wind and grass around him.
Till daylight came, and Dick and Roger arose to fill his watch.
Joan handed the siren to Roger for safekeeping, and got into the tent after a few instructions.
He closed his eyes, relaxed his tired body and nerves, and fell asleep unconsciously.