Chapter 447 Primal Fear
"There's not much space in the valley's hinterland. If the enemy is hiding here, it should be easy to spot their whereabouts from our perspective, but so far we can't even see the slightest sign of trouble, which is a bit strange." Edward said with a frown .
"If the Shepherd and Brother Jack have come, where do you think they are most likely to hide?" Thomas asked.
"Probably hiding in a tree." Martin looked towards the lush canopy. "That banyan tree is full of branches and leaves. Let alone hiding a few people in the branches, it is no problem to build a wooden house."
"A place that looks easy to hide on the surface is more likely to arouse the suspicion of the opponent. If I were a 'shepherd', I would not hide in the tree. The top of the cliff opposite the big tree has a wider view, which is suitable for watching the valley from a high position. "
A Zhi stroked the whiskers of the mouse, and made a guess from the professional perspective of a senior thief.
Joan didn't participate in the conversation, but put his hands in his coat pockets, clutching the "Magic Siren" made by the Digger tentacles, vaguely expecting something to happen.
Seeing that it was already noon, everyone lost interest in chatting, and yawned one after another as if infected.
Just when he was drowsy, Qiao An suddenly straightened his upper body, and cast his scorching gaze out the window.
"What's the matter, Joan?" Rebecca was the first to notice that he was behaving strangely.
Joan didn't make a sound, and took out the siren from her pocket to show her - the tentacles made of countless fine ring-shaped limbs were buzzing and vibrating!
"Has the 'Shepherd' come?" Rebecca stared out the window with wide eyes, but she couldn't see a single figure.
"They're here." Joan moved the tentacles left and right to detect the location of the uninvited guest according to the angle of the tentacles' deflection. "The three of them are all invisible."
"'Shepherd' is a druid, right?" Xiao Miao muttered in surprise, "Druids know invisibility?"
"He won't, but Big Jack probably will, that's enough!" Joan turned around and spread his palms to Thomas, "Anti-stealth potion!"
"Here, are two bottles enough? I still have some in my storage bag!" Thomas held a bottle of "Seeing Invisibility" potion in each hand.
"The more the better, it's best to give each person a bottle." Edward snatched a bottle of potion.
"No problem!" Thomas handed the remaining bottle of potion to Joan, opened the storage bag and took out another pile of potions, "1-2 ring arcane potions, I have everything here, if you need it, come to me, Don't be shy!"
"As expected of the number one rich young master in Leiden Port, problems that can be solved with money are not considered problems in the eyes of our young master Thomas."
Xiao Miao teased with a smile, and was not slow in her hands. She grabbed a bottle of anti-hidden potion, uncorked the bottle and gulped it down.
Joan drank the potion, wiped the corner of his mouth casually, and turned to look out the window.
Facts show that Ah Zhi's judgment is more reliable. Three vague figures stand side by side on the top of the cliff opposite the big banyan tree. Two of them are brothers Jack. Although the man standing in the center is the first time he has seen him, Joan has seen it several times. heard tales about him.
"Shepherd" Idar is thin and muscular, and the only clothing on his body is a small animal skin bag hanging around his neck.
The bare skin seemed to be covered with a layer of beeswax, and there was no hair from head to toe. The bald head glowed with a yellowish waxy luster in the sun. The tall hooked nose and narrow eyes made Joan excited. An indescribable sense of terror—like a grotesque scene in a nightmare, materializing into a living human form.
Joan has come into contact with a lot of weird creatures since he was a child, from the "grey bag beast" with a hideous appearance and a simple heart, to the "lisk dragon girl" with a beautiful appearance and a vicious heart, to goblins and trolls who are as ugly and evil as they are in their hearts. Monsters, ogres and jackals had all made him feel afraid, but he saw a lot of monsters, and gradually he didn't think it was strange.
Only this "shepherd" aroused an almost physical discomfort in his heart.
This discomfort is a complex emotion formed by the fusion of strong disgust and extreme fear, which makes him feel inexplicable.
In terms of strength, the "Shepherd" is not necessarily stronger than the wolf queen Alpha, and even worse than the fire giant lord Bilester. Why is he the most terrifying?
In terms of scary looks, the shepherd's figure and facial features are not ugly. If you put on clothes, tattoo eyebrows, grow a beard, and wear a wig, it won't stand out in the crowd at all, but if you take off these The external modification becomes extremely terrifying.
Joan is not the kind of person who is too conservative to see naked.
Brother Jack was also naked, and his appearance was far uglier than Idar's, but the mental impact on him was far less than Idal's.
What exactly is going on?
Qiao An calmed down, suppressed the discomfort and carefully observed Idar, gradually savoring the subtleties of why this person frightened him.
"Shepherd" Idar looks like an ordinary person who can be seen everywhere in daily life at first glance, but he is naked and hairless, which reflects the characteristics of going against daily life and brings a strong sense of disobedience.
For example, if a toy tiger and a toy doll are placed in front of people, most people will think that the toy doll is more terrifying than the toy tiger.
People don't look at toy tigers the same way they look at real tigers, but they can't help looking at dolls as "living people"—it does look like a living person, but it's not exactly the same. Unfamiliar nuances are the source of horror.
In a well-ordered and stable society, only a lunatic would walk naked in broad daylight like Idar, and behave calmly and without shame.
However, Qiao An knew very well that the "shepherd" was not a lunatic, and his mental level was even higher than that of ordinary people, which brought a stronger sense of disobedience.
This person is neither crazy nor stupid, why would he do this?
Once this question arises, it is natural to get such an answer:
He did this on purpose, using this almost crazy way to show his beliefs, as if he was using his body and behavior to mock the well-dressed and well-groomed public, so as to show that he is the only normal person. people are not normal.
Realizing this, Joan naturally felt anger, fear and disgust.
Because the existence of people like Idar not only threatens Joan himself, but also challenges the social order and way of life of the civilized world. It is a complete negation of the evolution of human society from barbarism to civilization for tens of thousands of years. This is what frightens "Shepherd" Idar the most!