The moonlight's cold gleam shone on the Steel Spear, and my spearplay was like a swimming dragon bursting from the sea!
The three men in front of me were quickly skewered, and when the others sensed something was wrong, they turned toward Buck again.
Buck was the type who had tremendous strength but little agility, which put him at a severe disadvantage in this kind of fight. He had already suffered many wounds, and if those men charged him again, the consequences would be disastrous!
"Watch out!"
Hearing my shout, Buck swung his club and tried to break through, but the ropes thrown by those men caught around his legs. Unexpectedly, he swung his thick arms and sent the men holding the ropes flying!
I took the opportunity to reach his side. "Are you all right?"
"A minor matter. After herding sheep for so many years, mosquito bites are nothing unusual. But you, Shepherd, would be committing a grave sin if you were injured in my home!"
"Don't worry. They can't hurt me."
We caught our breath and prepared to continue fighting. At that moment, all the Shadow Order followers withdrew from the battle, vanishing into the surrounding shadows before beginning to hurl concealed weapons!
It had little effect on me, but Buck couldn't withstand it. Before long, two concealed weapons struck him in the chest, and blood poured from the wounds!
He flew into a rage. The muscles on his body turned crimson, making him look like a furnace!
Seeing Buck injured, the Shadow Order followers launched another assault. However, they had miscalculated. Buck was even more ferocious than before!
"Damned trash! Come out! I'll tear you to pieces..."
He threw aside his wooden club. His hands became two steel pincers. Anyone he touched either had their limbs torn off or was ripped in half. Although he himself suffered even more fatal wounds, he never fell.
The Shadow Order followers were stunned. Could this big man really not be killed? Why did he fight more fiercely the more seriously he was injured? Seeing that Buck was unstoppable, they vanished again.
With no target left to attack, Buck finally could hold on no longer. He crashed to the ground like a giant. At that moment, someone who had been ripped in half actually spoke!
"Shadow is everywhere. I will kill everyone connected to Senior Sister Alanta!"
It was Zed's voice!
The man Buck had just torn in half was actually speaking in Zed's voice. What kind of bizarre magic was this?
"Why are you involving innocent people, Zed!"
"No one is innocent. Not from the moment you saw me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Baru, who had just arrived, crushed the head of the man in two. He could no longer speak, but the Shadow Order followers attacked again like nightmares.
There was no doubt that I had caused Buck's injuries. Frustration and hatred surged through me, and I became furious. Today, I would kill them all and force Zed to come out!
Just as I was about to slaughter them, several bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky, illuminating the surroundings as brightly as day. Not a single Shadow Order follower escaped being struck down!
Immediately afterward, two short figures came before me: Poppy and Kennen!
"Are you all right, Zhao Xin?"
"I'm fine, but... If only you'd come sooner." I looked at Buck lying on the ground, my heart filled with grief.
The ground was a complete mess. Corpses were scattered everywhere, some human and some sheep. Baru had also fallen into a pool of blood, its throat and abdomen slashed open. Strangely, it was still convulsing.
Kennen walked over and examined it carefully. Then he reached into its stomach and pulled out a black crystal. "There may still be hope."
After saying that, he placed the stone against the wound on Buck's chest. To my astonishment, the blood vessels inside the wound slowly reconnected, and his muscles began to regenerate. Before long, the wound miraculously healed!
"What is going on?"
"This ram must have gone through some strange experience. I sensed a special power within its body and found this stone. Unfortunately, after saving this man, the ram will have to die."
After Kennen finished speaking, Buck suddenly coughed several times and then sat up.
"What happened? Just now, I felt as though I was about to be consumed by rage. The world before my eyes became blurry, and then cold darkness enveloped me. I thought I had died, but now I've actually awakened."
"Baru saved you..."
I told him what had happened. He sat there blankly for a while before turning to look at the ram's corpse.
"I thought that when I died, you would still be alive and kicking. I never expected that you would... that you would die just like this..."
As Buck spoke, he began to cry. A burly man was grieving from the bottom of his heart...
After so many years together, even an inanimate object would inspire deep affection, let alone an animal companion they had lived alongside day and night.
Until the sky began to brighten, he still remained beside Baru. I patted him on the shoulder.
"Baru isn't dead. It has merely changed the way it survives. Its life force is inside you. Pull yourself together!"
"Phew... I'm fine. I was just thinking about something. I want to return to the Freljord and tell Hris and Gragas that Baru has died."
As Buck spoke, he stood and sawed off the ram's horns, hanging them from his waist. "These are gifts for them."
After the sun rose, Baru's corpse rapidly decayed and dried up. It seemed that it should have died long ago, and the power of the black crystal had kept it alive until now. It was just like Buck's revival. I had no idea why this stone possessed such miraculous power.
Buck made a few simple preparations and was about to leave when I suddenly remembered the Ageless Water. "Oh, right. Where is the Ageless Water? Could you help me get some before you go?"
"There is no Ageless Water. It is merely a rumor spread by the world. If such a thing truly existed, how could I have kept it safe? I'm sorry, Shepherd, for only telling you now."
"All right. If that's the case, there's nothing we can do. Be careful on the road!"
After Buck left, Kennen stared intently at me. "Did he just call you Shepherd?"
"Yes. Zhao Xin, the Shepherd beneath the Western Harbinger, the one who interprets the Wind God's oracle."
"No wonder we could never find Zhao Xin's successor after all these years. You were still alive. Later, we'll report the situation to the Western Harbinger. For now, let's deal with the matter concerning the Kinkou Order."
"What happened to the Kinkou Order? I just came from there."
"Ever since my master died, I haven't returned to the order. This time, when I went back, I felt that something was abnormal. The entire monastery was permeated by a kind of magic, and its aura was concealed extremely well."
"Magic? I didn't sense anything. Who could it be?"
"I'm also curious about who did it and why, so I intend to investigate."
At that moment, Poppy told me why she had left earlier. Yesterday, when we arrived at the entrance to the Kinkou Monastery, she suddenly sensed the presence of a Yordle nearby.
At first, she was afraid it might be one of her prank-loving fellow Yordles, so she didn't tell me directly. Later, she discovered that it was Kennen, who had lived there for many years.
By the time the two of them returned to the monastery together, I had already left. After learning from Shen that I had come here, they followed me and unexpectedly encountered people from the Shadow Order.
"Then let's return with Kennen now!"