Ram Baru

The cold moonlight reflected on the Steel Spear, my spear technique was like a dragon emerging from the sea!

Baru was the type with great Strength but not much agility, making him very disadvantaged in this kind of fight. He had already sustained many injuries, and if these people charged at him again, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Careful!"

Hearing my shout, Baru swung his large club, attempting to break free. Unexpectedly, he was tripped by a rope thrown by these people. Who knew he would swing his two thick arms and directly hurl the person holding the rope away!

I seized the opportunity to rush to his side: "Are you okay?"

"Just a minor thing. After herding sheep for so many years, insect bites are common. It's you I'm worried about, Lord Shepherd. It would be a sin if you were injured at my place!"

"Don't worry, they can't hurt me yet."

We caught our breath and prepared to continue fighting. Just then, the Shadow Order disciples all withdrew from the battle, melting into the surrounding shadows and beginning to throw hidden weapons!

This had little effect on me, but Baru couldn't take it. In no time, two hidden weapons struck his chest, and blood flowed freely!

He was filled with rage, his muscles turning crimson, like a furnace!

Seeing Baru injured, the Shadow Order disciples attacked again. However, they had miscalculated; Baru was even fiercer than before!

"Damn scum! Come out here! I'll tear you to shreds..."

He dropped his wooden club and used his hands like steel pincers. Anyone he touched had their limbs torn off or was ripped in half. Although he himself sustained more fatal injuries, he never fell.

This time, the Shadow Order disciples were a bit stunned. Could this big guy be unkillable? Why did he fight harder the more injured he became? Seeing Baru unstoppable, these people vanished again.

Having lost his targets, Baru could no longer hold on. He fell to the ground with a thud like a giant. Just then, one of the people who had been torn in half actually spoke!

"Shadows are everywhere. I will kill everyone connected to Senior Sister Alanta!"

That was Zed's voice!

The person Baru had just torn in half was speaking in Zed's tone. What kind of bizarre magic was this?

"Why are you involving innocents, Zed!"

"No one is innocent, not since you met me!"

As soon as the words fell, the person who was in two halves had their head crushed by Baru, who had arrived, and could no longer speak. The Shadow Order members also attacked again like a nightmare.

There was no doubt that I had caused Baru's suffering. Regret and hatred surged in my heart. I became furious. Today, I would kill them all and lure Zed out!

Just as I was about to annihilate them, several bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky, instantly illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime. Not a single Shadow Order disciple was spared; they were all struck down!

Immediately, two small figures appeared before me: Poppy and Kennen!

"Are you okay, Zhao Xin?"

"I'm fine, but... if only you had come sooner." I looked at Baru lying on the ground, my heart filled with grief.

The ground was a mess, littered with corpses, both human and sheep. Baru was also lying in a pool of blood, his throat and abdomen cut open. Strangely, he was still twitching.

Kennen walked over to examine him closely and reached into his belly, pulling out a black crystal shard. "Perhaps there's still hope."

After speaking, he placed the stone on Baru's chest wound. I was astonished to see the blood vessels inside the wound slowly reconnecting, and the muscles regenerating. Soon, it miraculously healed!

"What's going on?"

"This ram, I don't know what strange experiences it's had. I felt a special power contained within it, and indeed, I found this stone. But unfortunately, after saving this person, the ram will die."

As Kennen finished speaking, Baru coughed violently, then sat up:

"What happened? I felt like I was about to be consumed by flames, the world before my eyes blurred, and then a cold darkness enveloped me. I thought I was dead, but now I've woken up."

"Baru saved you..."

I told him what had just happened. He stared blankly for a moment, then turned to look at the ram's corpse.

"I thought you'd still be hopping around after I died, but I didn't expect you to... you actually died like this..."

Baru started crying as he spoke, a burly man's genuine grief...

After so many years of companionship, even an inanimate object would develop deep feelings, let alone an animal companion with whom one spent every day.

Until the sky began to lighten, he still stayed by Baru's side. I patted his shoulder:

"Baru isn't dead, just in a different form of existence. Its life force is within you. Cheer up!"

"Hoo... I'm fine now. I was just considering something. I want to go to Freljord again to tell Hris and Gragas about Baru's death."

As Baru spoke, he stood up and sawed off the ram's horns, hanging them from his waist. "This is a gift for them."

After the sun came out, Baru's corpse rapidly rotted and dried up. It seemed it should have died long ago. It was the power of the black crystal that allowed it to live this long, just like Baru's revival. I wondered why this stone possessed such miraculous power.

Baru made some simple preparations and was about to leave. I suddenly remembered the Ageless Water: "Oh right, where is the Ageless Water? Can you get me some before you go?"

"There is no Ageless Water. It's all just a rumor spread by people. If such a thing truly existed, how could I possibly guard it? I'm sorry, Lord Shepherd, for not telling you until now."

"Alright, if that's the case, there's nothing I can do. Be careful on your journey!"

After Baru left, Kennen stared intently at me: "He just called you Shepherd?"

"Yes, the Shepherd Zhao Xin, who interprets the wind god's decree, second only to the Western Harbinger."

"No wonder we couldn't find Zhao Xin's successor for so many years. So you were still alive. We'll go to the Western Harbinger to report the situation later. For now, let's go deal with the Kinkou Order's affairs."

"What happened to the Kinkou Order? That's where I'm from."

"I haven't been back to the order since Master died. When I returned this time, I felt something was off. The entire temple was filled with a kind of magic, and the aura was very well concealed."

"Magic? I didn't sense any of that. Who could it be?"

"I'm also curious who did this and why they did it, so I'm going to investigate."

At this point, Poppy told me the reason for her earlier departure. Yesterday, when we arrived at the entrance of the Kinkou temple, she suddenly sensed the aura of a Yordle nearby.

At first, she was afraid it might be one of her kin who liked to play pranks, so she didn't tell me directly. Later, she discovered it was Kennen, who had been living there for many years.

By the time we both returned to the temple, I had already left. After learning from Shen that I had come here, she came looking for me and unexpectedly encountered someone from the Shadow Order.

"Then let's go back with Kennen now!"