Chapter 1705 The Legend of Black Pine Forest

Standing in any street in Greenway, even in the deepest and most cramped places, as long as you look up to the border area of ​​the city near the black pine forest, you can see the glowing green.

That is the enchanted high wall known as the "Green Forest Barrier". It is based on the unique gray-white clinite in the southern border of the empire and is inlaid with 30,000 rune stone bricks made by elven craftsmen. It protects the city from being swallowed up by the forest. An engineering marvel, it forms a unique and exclusive life cycle to ensure that the land where Greenway is located is completely isolated from the land of the black pine forest. This spectacle is the most unique scenery of Greenway.

Hao Ren and his party, who were visiting this place for the first time, were naturally attracted by the majestic high wall that could be seen from anywhere. Now, listening to Evana's description of the city and the black pine forest, their curiosity was even greater. .

"The Black Pine Forest is one of the biggest mysteries in the Dragon Empire. Even the empire's own scholars cannot explain this vast forest. No one knows where this dense jungle, which is equivalent to several provinces, is. It was formed in the 1960s. Anyway, since the empire expanded its territory to the south, it has been entrenched in this land." Evana looked at the scene outside the car window and introduced it while admiring it. "The vitality of this forest makes those who claim to be The elves who are the children of the jungle are puzzled: whether it is cut down or burned, the black pine forest can recover within a few days. Sometimes you cut down a big tree, and it will even begin to sprout and regenerate under your nose, and it will grow more and more. The deeper into the forest, the more obvious this abnormal vitality becomes..."

Having said this, Evana paused for a moment and raised her finger to point to the city buildings in the distance: "Have you seen this city? Greenway was originally part of the black pine forest, but because it is located on the edge, the life cycle is relatively complex. It’s weak. The Imperials succeeded in isolating and stabilizing it after making great efforts, but if we go deeper inside, not even the rune stone bricks made by the elves can stop the erosion and counterattack of the forest.”

Charlemagne added: "That's why the empire gave up the development of this forest - this forest is like a stubborn dragon, clinging to its territory. Human beings have spent several generations and countless financial and material resources, but they can only get rid of it. It digs out a little bit of ash from under its claws, and it’s not worth the loss at all.”

Vivian laughed: "It seems that the emperor who claims to have the dragon soul will also be soft on this forest dragon."

On the other side, hearing such a description, Hao Ren's first thought was of course - the eldest son.

Those epic creatures that live inside the planet occasionally poke their tentacles out of the surface, and when they do, they evolve the tentacles that stick out into something like a forest or a giant tree for camouflage, and those with the firstborn tentacles Plants that have evolved have similar super vitality. The most obvious example is the twisted woodland in Horleta.

But this is Lahirien, a place far away from the dream plane. There cannot be any eldest son here - Nolan's planetary scan also confirmed this.

Then the strange vitality of the black pine forest seems a bit interesting.

"Since the vitality of the black pine forest is so strong, why hasn't it covered the entire empire after so many years?" Lily asked curiously, "And I also saw the green forest barrier just now. It blocked the light. In this section of Greenway, the forest didn’t spread where there were no barriers.”

"This is the second incredible place in the Black Pine Forest," Evana smiled lightly. She seemed to be happy to introduce these things to others. If she hadn't been born to be a princess in this life, she might have been a five-star tour guide. "The black pine forest has extremely strong vitality. If a piece of it is destroyed, it will recover quickly. But other than that, it will not continue to expand at all - its scope is fixed, regardless of weather and geology for thousands of years. No matter how it changes, it neither expands nor shrinks. Of course, the few pioneering points built by the Imperials on the edge of the forest are the only "defects" of this forest, but compared with the entire forest, these defects are really insignificant. , not even one thousandth of its total area.”

"The so-called forest spread is actually just the Greenway people's own statement. The land they occupy originally belonged to this forest." Charlemagne shook his head, seeming to be quite disdainful of the locals on this point.

"It's neither expanding nor shrinking..." Hao Ren rubbed his chin, showing a thoughtful expression.

"I really don't know how you, the 'World Tree Temple', usually live. The degree of isolation from the world is too serious. You don't even know the famous black pine forest." Evana shook her head and sighed, "When I first heard your name, I thought you were hiding in the Black Pine Forest. After all, the name of your temple is somewhat related to the legend of the Black Pine Forest."

Lily's curiosity was suddenly aroused again: "The legend of the Black Pine Forest? Tell me, tell me..."

"They are all made up by adventurers and third-rate scholars," Charlemagne waved his hand disdainfully. Although he had received an orthodox education from the royal family since childhood, he was aware of these rumors and legends, but he never disdained to believe them, "This land The unusual vitality of the forest cannot be explained by common sense, so many people make random guesses. There is a saying that there is a 'Spring of the World' in the center of this forest. That spring is the origin of all life in the entire world, and its power spreads The black pine forest was formed when it came out. It is said that as long as you drink the water of the World Spring, a person can live forever - so this legend also has a supporting legend, that is, His Majesty Berrentine is not a dragon soul, but drinks the water of the World Spring. The spring water will make you immortal."

"There are also legends that there is a temple standing in the black pine forest, called the Temple of Life. The content is similar to the Fountain of the World, but it is said that you need to pray quietly for a night in the Temple of Life to gain eternal life," Evana laughed, " But everyone feels that praying in the temple all night is more troublesome than drinking a sip of spring water, so more people think that the spring of the world is more reliable."

Hao Ren covered his forehead: "Based on your last sentence alone, I feel that neither statement is reliable..."

"They are all legends anyway, none of them can be trusted," Charlemagne snorted. "Although the black pine forest is a bit dangerous, it is not absolutely insurmountable. In fact, after so many generations of hard work, the imperial people have long been in the black pine forest. Several relatively stable paths have been found. Occasionally, brave adventurers with advanced skills will explore unexplored places in the black pine forest. There are also many people who come back alive, but no one has ever discovered anything about life. Spring and temple. In addition, there are many airship flights that regularly fly over the black pine forest. From above, the forest is clearly visible, but there are no temples and springs."

Hao Ren was previously curious about how the black pine forest was so miraculous, how could he and his group pass through it. It was only when he heard Charlemagne mentioning the existence of roads in the forest that he suddenly realized, but then he became a little curious: "There are roads in the forest. Road? Doesn’t it mean that the deeper you go into the forest, the stronger the life force will be, and the traces left by humans will be erased almost instantly?”

"Those roads were not opened by man, but existed in the forest originally," Evana explained. "This is also an unsolved mystery: those roads have obvious traces of artificial construction, are paved with stone slabs, and have lights on the side of the road. , there are even things like stone houses appearing on both sides of some roads, but those were all things that existed before the Imperials discovered this forest. Some people speculate that those are relics of civilization from the previous era, but this guess is smaller than the Fountain of Life. The theory of "kind" is not reliable...and it cannot explain the reason why those roads are not swallowed up by the forest..."

Hao Ren couldn't help but look at Vivian.

This statement...maybe the most reliable one.

"There are endless stories about the black pine forest." Charlemagne noticed that the convoy was approaching the green forest barrier, so he was about to end the topic. "There are many forked roads in the black pine forest. I have planned the best way to the north. Route, if your curiosity about that forest is really that strong, then wait until you go in and take a good look with your own eyes."

Although Greenway is a wonderful city worth visiting, the group obviously did not spend too much time here. The convoy went straight through the central avenue of the city and went straight to the northern exit of the city after completing the pass procedures.

In this direction, a majestic green forest barrier blocks the forest from outside, and at the bottom of the giant wall are twelve magnificent gates. These gates have a significant elf style. The tall and elegant door leaves are also engraved with the inscriptions of elf craftsmen and The glorious deeds of mankind working together to build this miraculous city - now, the first human pioneers of the city have been dead for many years, but the elves who carved the "Oath on the Door" are still working for the city. Their main The task is to monitor the changes in the black pine forest on the other side of the city wall, and to guard these gates with human soldiers.

Elves with thousands of years of life are very loyal to their duties.

These elegant creatures with pointed ears are distributed all over the world. It is said that they once established a powerful dynasty. But now the ancient elven empire has become a legend. Except for a few small kingdoms that have survived, they still live in isolation in the forest. In addition, most of the elves have already integrated into various human countries, and the elves of the Dragon Empire are the most thoroughly integrated wave. Probably because this country has an immortal emperor who can understand the various thoughts and living habits of the elves with longer lifespans, the elves in the Dragon Empire are living quite well.

There were very few people waiting in line in front of the gate to enter the black pine forest, and even only three of the twelve gates were opened. It seems that although the black pine forest is rich in products, the mystery and danger of the forest itself still make it difficult. Many people are put off.

There are basically only three types of people who dare to enter the forest: the first type is the locals of Greenway, who are familiar with the conditions at the edge of the forest and make a living by mining forest ores or rare herbs in certain fixed areas; the second type are skilled adventurers. Or, they will go a little deeper and follow the existing roads in the black pine forest to find those beast dens and strongholds where monsters are infested. They will not leave the forest roads too far, but they can still hunt many precious things. Prey, a successful adventure can bring back enough wealth for everyone to squander for half a year; the third category is travelers or caravans, who are preparing to take shortcuts through the forest roads to the north or west. The main reason for doing this is to save expensive Airship fare, after all, unless you are very unlucky and encounter the migration of monsters, it is relatively safe to just follow the road in the forest.

The caravan disguised by Hao Ren and his party used the third reason to obtain a permit to enter the black pine forest.

Since there were not many people in line, the convoy quickly approached the towering gate. Hao Ren saw imperial soldiers wearing black light armor and elf rangers wearing green ranger coats standing in front of the gate, but The most eye-catching among the gate guards are the black sword knights wearing heavy armor and carrying black mechanical swords at their waists.

After all, it was an important town in the south, so it was expected that the Black Sword Knight would personally serve as the gatekeeper.

There won't be too many guards boarding the vehicle for inspection. If there's trouble, Leah can still use her same trick to let the soldiers pass, so Hao Ren didn't feel any nervousness. He just stood in front of the window and looked curiously at the street outside. scenery.

His eyes were suddenly attracted by several imperial officials who were in a hurry.

Those imperial officials were walking past the guard post in the distance. They should all be dressed as military attaches, and judging from the way the nearby soldiers saluted them respectfully, their status should be high.

These imperial officers who used to be calm and proud in the past now looked worried. They were discussing something intensely as they hurried past the post. It seemed that an emergency had occurred. Seeing this situation, Hao Ren couldn't bear it immediately. He concentrated hard to hear the conversation between them.

But just when he was about to do so, Lily, who was sitting in the back of the carriage, had already recounted the voice she heard: "All the black sword knights sent to Gray Mountain City have lost contact... Earl Nahum refused to respond. The recruitment order from the imperial capital...it can be confirmed that the position of Gray Mountain City is on the side of Her Royal Highness...the signals of war...that's pretty much it."

Charlemagne and Evanna looked at Lily in surprise, not knowing what the other party meant by suddenly saying these: they neither noticed the imperial officials outside, nor could they hear the low voices talking in the distance.

"It seems that the civil war has finally spread to the southern border," Hao Ren explained in a low voice. "Lily heard the conversation of several imperial officers over there. Just as you expected, Earl Nahum of Gray Mountain City supported Kang Princess Stans—may even have killed the Black Sword Knight who went to Gray Mountain City to negotiate."

"Hiss--" Charlemagne took a breath subconsciously. He didn't expect the situation to change so quickly, and his next move was to look at the green forest gate that was already close at hand: the team had begun to be inspected, and only needed In a minute or two, the three caravans can pass through the gate and enter the black pine forest.

But there was a sudden throbbing in his heart. The door that was already in front of him seemed to be moving away from him. He felt that a crisis had quietly come, and this journey that had been going smoothly so far seemed to be about to lose control.

Hao Ren also noticed the changes in the prince, and his intuition was much stronger and more accurate than that of Charlemagne, who was a mere mortal. A cold feeling made him immediately open the cover at the back of the carriage and look in. direction of time.

A group of black sword knights wearing black armor are galloping towards this side on horseback.

The imperial soldiers guarding the Green Forest Gate had already inspected the caravan. Accompanied by two soldiers, a tall black sword knight walked into the car. Two cold eyes appeared from under the dark mask, and he glanced around. Watching everything in the carriage.

People near the gate - including soldiers and civilians waiting to pass - involuntarily cast their gazes on this ordinary-looking little caravan. To be more precise, their gazes were attracted by the ten men galloping on their horses. He was attracted by the coming black sword knights and immediately noticed the targets of the ten knights.

One of the knights galloping forward stepped forward, with two dots of red light coming from under his faceplate. He suddenly pulled out the black mechanical sword from his waist. The blade vibrated at high speed, emitting heat enough to melt steel. A hoarse roar came from the helmet: "Stop those three cars! Kill everyone in the cars without mercy!"

In the compartment of the caravan, the Black Sword Knight, who was performing an inspection mission, suddenly paused. Then the eye sockets on his visor lit up with red light as if burning, and a strong hostility and murderous aura suddenly spread.

Leah, who was squinting in sleep, suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the two red lights on the knight's faceplate: "Let me go!"

The black sword knight in the carriage trembled violently. He tried to use his willpower to resist this sudden force. However, after resisting for less than a second, he still struggled like a dying man from under his visor. Voice: "Let go..."

The soldier standing next to the knight noticed that the situation was strange and immediately questioned: "My lord?"

The roar from outside the car became clear: "...Everyone in the car, shoot to death without mercy!"

The Black Sword Knight, who was struggling under Leah's control, seemed to have gained infinite spiritual power after hearing this voice. After a violent convulsive trembling, he forcibly put the hand he had put down again on his waist. On the mechanical sword, with a buzzing sound of the magic mechanism being activated, he suddenly pulled out the sword and roared at Hao Ren and his party: "Execute... the order!!"

The reaction of the two imperial soldiers who had entered the carriage was less than half a second slower. After the knight launched the attack, they immediately raised their weapons and rushed over with a roar!

Charlemagne stood in front of Evana with one hand, and already held the sword at his waist with the other hand: "Back off, I..."

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Faced with the sudden loss of control, Leah could only sigh softly: "Alas..."

While sighing, all the weapons pointed at her - including the black mechanical sword and the two imperial standard long swords - quietly turned into ashes.

The Black Sword Knight fell straight down, while one of the two imperial soldiers was blown out of the car by the lightning ball thrown by Vivian, and the other was violently knocked down by Lily, breaking several bones and then thrown out of the car.

Hao Ren patted the rear guard panel of the carriage: "Rush over!"