A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

"Dear ladies! And dispensable lowly men! Cheer!

today! Thos from Eredlin City has brought us a wonderful killing.

But this is just the beginning!

Next, he will challenge the two-headed giant continuously! Dreadclaw! Troll! Kuo Tao fishman prince! Beholder! And a berserker powerful enough to make any dark elf tremble!

No matter what the final result is, I believe you should be able to see the picture you most long for in your heart.

Yes!

Today's arena is destined to be filled with blood!

May the great Queen Lolth bless every brave and fearless dark elf warrior!

Now, let the show begin! "

Accompanied by the impassioned roar of the tavern owner, the iron door connected to the arena cage finally slowly opened.

A giant over four meters tall with two heads on his neck was driven out of it with a whip studded with barbs.

He has very obvious masculine features, is naked from the waist up, does not wear any armor or clothing, and the weapon in his hand is limited to a thick and long wooden stick.

But no one would doubt that once this thing is smashed down, it can turn a living person into a bloody minced meat or meat pie in minutes.

You must know that although the two-headed giant in Faerûn is not very smart, and is dirty and smelly, there is absolutely no doubt about its fighting power.

If someone could put full plate armor on a two-headed giant, then this behemoth could destroy a fully armed human army, even an extremely powerful heavy cavalry, by itself.

Because even the charging horses and knights would still be as fragile as a newborn baby in front of them.

The most important thing is that the two-headed giant does not have a lifespan and growth cycle of hundreds of years like other giants.

Their growth rate is very fast, almost not much different from humans, and their life span is about seventy-five years old.

Especially between eight and ten months in the first year of life, they will quickly grow to more than two meters and have the ability to live independently.

Yes!

You read that right!

In just eight to ten months, a two-headed giant baby will transform into a terrifying predator in the wild.

The strength attribute of an adult two-headed giant can usually reach an astonishing twenty-three points. When they raise the thick wooden stick in their hands, the best choice is to immediately turn around and run out of its attack range.

Otherwise, any actions such as blocking or parrying are no different from seeking death.

Even if you are holding a strong shield, you will most likely be beaten to death with a stick.

But just when everyone thought that the two-headed giant was the first monster Zuo Si needed to challenge, a group of monsters with vulture heads and giant beetle-like bodies were also driven out of the dark passage.

You don't need to ask to know that this is the most distinctive monster in the Underdark and the most easily encountered monster in the wild - the Terrorclaw.

As the name suggests, their most powerful weapon is the sharp, curled claws at the front of their upper limbs.

If you are walking in a dark tunnel where you cannot see your fingers, and you are accidentally ambushed by a Dreadclaw, even a strong dark elf warrior will most likely be gutted in an instant.

There is no doubt that six direclaws plus a two-headed giant, this is the first of the next four battles.

Facing so many monsters at once, even a veteran like the legendary ranger Drizzt couldn't help but sweat for Zuo Si.

However, Zuo Si himself didn't have much reaction to this. He threw away the half-broken two-handed sword, bent down to pick up the magic giant sword left after Jodi's death, turned around and charged at Vinal outside the cage. He hooked his fingers.

The latter hurriedly came to the edge of the cage and asked in a slightly nervous tone: "Do you have anything to order?"

"What are the odds on the bet now?"

Zuo Si glanced at the tavern owner not far away with interest and asked, who was trying to please Mistress Keyue.

"Buy one for one if you can survive the first game, three for one if you can survive the second, five for one if you can survive the third, and twenty for one if you can survive four games and win the final victory." Wei Na I told the odds of the bet without thinking.

Hearing this answer, Zuo Si instantly showed an extremely cold and cruel smile: "Very good! Put all the money we have on hand and the things that can be mortgaged, and buy me to win the final victory. Dare to use me as a tool to make money, or even think about it Want to control my life and death? There is a price to pay."

It was obvious that Zuo Si had already figured out the other party's intentions from the moment the tavern owner showed his attentiveness to Mistress Keyue.

This guy didn't even want him to come out of the arena alive, so he took out so many monsters at the bottom of the box at all costs, just to make a lot of money from them.

Of course, the tavern owner is not the only one who holds similar thoughts, there are also a large number of gamblers who will lose if they buy Zuo Si.

After all, this is the city of Menzoberranzan, home to 20,000 extremely chaotic and evil dark elves.

They didn't care about the life or death of a mere outsider, even if the outsider killed the third-ranked martial arts master and attracted the attention of a matron and several high-level priestesses.

They just want to see scenes of cruelty, blood and death, and by the way, make a lot of money from gambling.

"As you wish!"

Vinal undoubtedly felt the displeasure revealed in Zuo Si's eyes and tone. Without saying a word, she walked towards the bar where they were busy counting gambling funds and accepting bets from customers.

After a while, she successfully persuaded the other party to convert the entire caravan's goods and slaves into 100,000 gold coins, and then added some random magic items, scrolls and cash, and finally completed the entire caravan for 170,000 gold coins. The biggest bet ever made in the pub.

And this move immediately made the tavern owner, who had been complacent about seizing the opportunity to make a fortune overnight, become sweaty the next second.

Because he is not a fool and knows what it means for Vinal to bet such a high amount.

This means that Zuo Si has absolute confidence in his own strength!

He is so confident that he is sure of winning the final victory even when facing terrifying monsters like the Beholder, the Kuo-Toa Prince, and the Berserker.

Likewise, this was extremely terrible news for him.

Because in his arrangement and calculation, Zuo Si could only survive the second round at best, and then die in the third round.

This is why winning the fourth game will offer exaggerated odds of 1 to 20.

If you don't open it at a higher price, how can you attract the bully to take the initiative to take out all the money in his pocket?

But the problem now is that if Zuo Si really comes out of the arena alive, then with the current betting situation, even if the tavern owner goes bankrupt and sells himself into a slave, it is impossible for him to be able to compensate the bettors with millions of gold coins. people.

According to the laws of Menzoberranzan, a guy who cannot repay his debts will most likely end up worse than becoming a slave.

"Boss, would you like to..."

Another dark elf male next to him made a very subtle movement to cut his throat.

As representatives of chaotic evil, dark elves believe in the truth that as long as there is no evidence, it is equivalent to nothing happening.

So expecting them to obey the rules honestly is just a daydream.

Taking the arena in this tavern as an example, it is extremely common to manipulate the outcome of the battle through some small means.

In fact, many times before the game starts, some ingredients are added to a glass of wine or a bottle of healing potion to recover from injuries, such as some mushroom powder that can produce hallucinations, or alchemy that slows down the senses and reactions. poison.

In short, dark elves have terrifying talents that outsiders cannot imagine when it comes to poisoning and plotting against others.

Many of them had successfully poisoned their brothers and sisters when they were children.

Of course, if the target is very cautious and refuses to drink anything handed to him by a stranger, then there are a large number of mechanisms hidden under the floor of the arena, which can emit highly toxic smoke at any time, or it may be enough to kill a person alive. Burning oil and flames.

The tavern owner only needs to find any reason, such as to make the battle more interesting, to activate these mechanisms to cause trouble for the people inside, or even kill them directly.

Anyway, what most guests want to see is just blood and killing full of sensory stimulation.

As for who killed whom, they didn't care.

"Don't act rashly yet! At least wait until the first battle is over. The matron and eldest daughter of the Obloza family are watching the battle, playing tricks in front of several high-level priestesses. I'm worried that it will be self-defeating."

The tavern owner hesitated for a long time and finally gave up his tempting proposal.

Because he didn't dare to bet on whether Matron Keyue, who held huge power, would suddenly turn against her after she noticed it.

But what the tavern owner didn't know was that the conversation he had just had with his men was heard clearly by another dark elf girl hiding in an inconspicuous corner.

This girl not only has a stunningly beautiful appearance, but also wears a badge on her chest that symbolizes the members of the "Ban Rui" family.

Most importantly, she does not wear a snake-head whip, a weapon that symbolizes her status as a priestess of Lolth, like most dark elf noble women.

Instead, he carried a spell book used to copy arcane magic, as well as several valuable magic items.

"Conspiracy, betrayal, poisoning, assassination, life in Menzoberranzan is really the same." The dark elf girl sarcastically said in a slightly contemptuous tone.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, she suddenly noticed a burst of piercing screams and cheers erupting from the arena not far away.

I saw Zuo Si standing in the middle of the iron cage, surrounded by a two-headed giant and six Terrorclaw monsters. With a calmness and elegance that cannot be described in words, he completed a magic spell [Grease Technique] between the electric light and flint. 】.

As a result, just when the group of monsters were about to rush forward, they all slipped and fell heavily to the ground.

Especially the two-headed giant, which weighed more than two tons, crushed one of the Terrorclaws into a meat pie when it fell.

The hard shell on the latter's body failed to provide any protection at all. Instead, the flesh, flesh and internal organs inside were squeezed out under the huge external pressure, making a muffled sound.

One of the kidneys flew out from the gap in the shell, landed on the ground less than one meter away from the girl, and then bounced high.

As a very rare user of arcane magic among dark elf women, this girl was completely shocked by the appropriate timing of using magic in front of her. She not only stopped subconsciously, but also stared at the figure in the cage with her eyes wide open. A man who looks younger than himself.

The next second...

Zuo Si used an even more terrifying method to kill five Terrorclaw monsters and a two-headed giant.

He first raised his finger, aimed at the eyes of the two-headed giant, and shot out a large piece of hot and deadly white steam.

A ring of magic [Steam Jet]!

This is a magic with very similar power and range to [Burning Hand]. It can affect all creatures within a fan-shaped range of about ten meters in front.

When the terrifying high-temperature steam sprayed into the eyes of the two-headed giant, the giant immediately fell into madness due to the unbearable pain, and picked up the deadly stick in his hand and smashed it wildly.

Before the two Terrorclaws who were relatively close could realize what was happening, their heads were blown open by a thick wooden stick falling from the sky.

After the other three Terrorclaws discovered that their companions had been killed, they ignored Zuo Si, who was hiding far away, and turned around to attack the two-headed giant.

Due to the influence of the greasy spell on the ground, they were unable to stand up from the ground in a short period of time. They could only lie down and grapple with each other in an extremely ugly and brutal way.

Among them, the Terrorclaw wielded its sharp claws and kept leaving horrific wounds one after another on the giant. The giant could not see anything because his eyes were burned by the steam. When he felt that he was being attacked somewhere, he immediately waved the weapon in his hand. The stick hit him.

In this way, both sides were getting more and more injured and bleeding more and more.

Finally, when they were exhausted and could no longer move, Zuo Si walked over with the giant sword in his hand and ended their miserable lives one by one.

Using only two first-level magics, the two-headed giant and the direclaw, which required an entire dark elf patrol, were easily dealt with.

Not to mention the ordinary dark elf spectators who were stunned, even Matron Kyo, who had always maintained a condescending attitude, couldn't help but stand up from her seat, with an expression of disbelief on her face.

There is no doubt that this fighting method full of skill and wisdom is completely different from the performance of killing Jody just now with pure swordsmanship and brute force.

What's more, Zuo Si also showed his arcane spellcasting ability for the first time.

Plop!

Plop!

Plop!

The dark elf girl felt that her heart was beating wildly, and her brain was completely filled with an inexplicable excitement and excitement that could not be described in words.

Because she discovered that the spell-casting skills displayed by the young man in the iron cage in the battle just now were exactly the "adaptation to adaptability" that her father, an archmage, often emphasized.

Don't stick to the level and power of the spell, just look at whether it is suitable for the current environment and situation, and decide what kind of spell is most effective through observation, understanding and analysis.

Thinking of this, the dark elf girl immediately rushed to the iron cage of the arena like crazy and shouted at Zuo Si who was wiping the blood on his sword: "Hey! Foreigner! How did you do that just now?"

"Huh? How did you do that?"

Zuo Si was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and stared at this dark elf girl who was still very beautiful even by human standards in modern society.

"Magic! The timing of your magic use just now!" the girl quickly added.

"Ah! That's just the result of long-term combat experience. After all, the two-headed giant and the Terrorclaw are not smart creatures, and their weight is very alarming. When such a monster falls, it will inevitably produce a very violent impact. , so the greasy technique will work very well. As for [Steam Jet], it is simply to make the two-headed giant go crazy, thereby inducing the two groups of monsters to kill each other." Zuo Si explained with a smile.

Because he suddenly discovered that the girl in front of him was different from the other chaotic, evil, and bloodthirsty dark elves around her. Not only did she have a pair of very bright and clear eyes, but she was also full of curiosity and a strong thirst for knowledge about magic.

"I see!"

The dark elf girl nodded thoughtfully.

"If you don't mind, can you tell me your name?" Zuo Si tried quietly.

The dark elf girl pursed her lips and responded with a smile: "My name is Lirael, Lirael Baenre. I'm glad to meet you. By the way, the tavern owner over there has no good intentions towards you."

"Lirael Baenre? Are you the daughter of Archmage Gonfu?" Zuo Si raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He obviously did not expect that on the first day he arrived in Menzoberranzan, he would meet this dark elf woman who was almost as rebellious and legendary as Drizzt.

But compared to Drizzt's upbringing, which was full of darkness, pain, betrayal and death, Lirael's childhood was obviously much happier.

Because this girl's father is one of the few people in the entire city of Menzoberranzan who is truly qualified to control his own destiny, a legendary mage whose spellcasting level exceeds LV20.

Even the current mistress of Ban Rui, the first family, does not dare to call this brother a lowly man when facing him, but wants to talk to him as an equal.

Therefore, Gonfu Baenre's status in this city is very special, so special that as a man, he even has the right to choose his own spouse and treat him as a tool and doll to vent his desires.

When the Archmage learned that one of his mistresses was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter with magical talents, he immediately killed the former without hesitation.

After all, the Dark Elves are a matriarchal society, so the first ownership of a child always belongs to the mother.

Only by killing his mother could he legally take over the custody of his daughter.

Immediately afterwards, under the pampering of her biological father, Gromph, Lirael lived a free life that other dark elf children could hardly even imagine.

She doesn't have to worry about being whipped by the high priestess for making mistakes. She has a mansion of her own, a large number of servants and slaves surrounding herself, and even a small zoo to raise those who are interested. animal.

While young Drizzt endured the pain of being ravaged and tortured by his sisters, Lirael could leave home at any time, go to the tavern to drink with the rough mercenaries, throw darts, and learn from the human slaves from the surface world. Common, even befriend each other, sneak out of Menzoberranzan and explore the Underdark.

It can be said that any dark elf's childhood would appear extremely dark, painful and desperate when compared with Lirael's.

It is precisely this kind of unrestrained free life that makes the dark elf girl not as evil as her compatriots, but rather as willful as a spoiled rich lady.

If there is no external interference, she will soon embark on the road to the surface world and become a disciple of the Dark Maiden Eilistraee.

But now, Lirael should still be forced by Triel, the current mistress of the Baenre family, to enter the Spider Academy to learn religious knowledge and prepare to become a traditional high-level priestess in the future.

"you know me?"

A look of confusion appeared on the dark elf girl's face.

After all, her reputation is limited to Menzoberranzan, and outsiders like Zuo Si should not know about it.

Zuo Si smiled and replied: "Of course! As a woman, carrying a spell book instead of a snake-head whip in a dark elf city is a bit untraditional, what do you think?"

"Hahahaha! You are very interesting! At least you are much better than those guys who look in awe when they hear my father's name and family name. If you can come out alive, I will invite you to my house for a drink. What? Like?" Lirael winked playfully.

"It's my honor." Zuo Si agreed without hesitation.

While the two were talking quietly, the closed iron door behind the arena finally opened again, and a large group of goblin slaves rushed out. They hooked the corpse on the ground with iron hooks and dragged it into the unknown road next to it. Leading to somewhere in the sewer.

However, considering the relative scarcity of food in the Underdark, dark elves have the habit of never wasting food.

Most of these corpses will undergo some simple processing and then be fed to slaves or raised carnivorous monsters.

After the bodies were cleaned up, the tavern owner with a somewhat ugly face walked up to the front desk again, forced a smile and shouted to everyone: "Look! Soth from Eredlin City!

The most courageous and fearless warrior of the great Queen Lolth!

Killed a two-headed giant and six Terrorclaws effortlessly!

What a glorious achievement this is!

Next, to make the fight more challenging, I decided to bring in the most terrifying beholder in the Underdark.

Cheers! People of Menzoberranzan! You are about to enjoy a wonderful fight. "

Hearing the word beholder, many dark elves present could not help but gasp.

Although their dark skin gives them strong magic resistance, in the face of the endless rays of the beholder, they will be charmed, petrified, dissociated, or even die directly from the powerful negative energy after a few rounds. Energy rays.

Soon, at the tavern owner's signal, a huge brown meat ball slowly flew out from behind the iron door.

Coming out with it were four underground trolls controlled by charm rays.

"Wow! Is this an adult beholder? It looks really scary!"

Lirael subconsciously took two steps back.

Because she knew very well that the anti-magic field emitted by the beholder's main eye was an absolute nightmare for spellcasters.

With my current poor spellcasting level, I don't have the ability to fight against it.

But Zuo Si smiled disapprovingly, shrugged his shoulders and comforted: "Don't be afraid! It's just a beholder. In fact, this kind of creature is not as difficult to deal with as you think, especially if it lives in the dark underground for a long time. The beholders in the environment actually have a very fatal flaw."

"Oh? What kind of flaw is it?" Lirael asked enthusiastically.

"It's...light!"

The moment the last word came out of his mouth, Zuo Si raised his hand and released a flash strong enough to blind everyone around him.

A ring of magic [Dawn Burst]!

This is a typical evocation spell. Its effect is to create a light source that is thousands of times brighter than sunlight within a few meters of the surrounding area.

Although it itself does not cause any substantial damage, for those underground creatures accustomed to dark environments, it can cause complete blindness in the eyes in a short period of time, accompanied by strong stinging and burning sensations.

Strictly speaking, [Dawn Burst] should be regarded as a super enhanced version of the zero-ring [Flash Technique].

When this spell took effect, the entire hotel suddenly erupted into painful wails and screams. Many people covered their eyes and shed tears while cursing hysterically.

Obviously, Zuo Si's indiscriminate attack caused all the dark elves to suffer.

certainly!

As a direct victim, the beholder completely lost its perception of the surrounding environment within a few seconds of its appearance.

Whether it was the huge main eye or the eye stalks growing around the fleshy balls, they were all closed after the flash of bright light.

As we all know, a beholder is at its most vulnerable when all of its eyes are forced shut.

Zuo Si raised his hands without hesitation and began to chant a spell loudly, completing a series of spells before the audience had time to recover their vision.

He first forcibly lowered the beholder's magic resistance.

Then a fireball and ice storm blasted away this feared monster in the Underdark and the trolls controlled by it.

The whole process takes less than a minute!

When the dark elves in the tavern regained their sight, only half-burnt bodies were left in the arena, followed by bodies that were frozen in ice.

"Damn it! What just happened?" A dark elf warrior asked his companions in an uncertain tone.

"It seems like magic! The stranger used magic to kill the beholder and the trolls controlled by it!"

Another male soldier next to him responded with an uncertain tone.

"But...but isn't he a warrior?"

"Warrior? Don't be ridiculous! Have you ever seen a warrior who can use arcane magic of level four or above? This guy is basically a mage!"

"No! No! I think this guy should be a warrior and a mage!"

"No wonder he's not wearing armor! It turns out it's for the convenience of casting spells at any time!"

Obviously, the dark elves are not as ignorant and stupid as ordinary residents of the surface world, and they quickly judged part of Zuo Si's strength from the battle just now.

Although the professional combination of warrior and mage is not very common, it is not completely absent.

It's just that there are too few people who can take advantage of the integration of these two professions.

Most of the "tactics" basically either forget to use spells during the battle and just swing the sword to kill people, or they don't dare to confront the enemy head-on, and only know how to hide behind teammates and release spells, which cannot take advantage of the advantages of a part-time warrior.

Seeing that the beholder he had carefully prepared was killed so easily, the tavern owner finally panicked, and immediately grabbed his men by the collar and asked sternly: "The only monsters we have left are a Kuo Tao fishman prince and a You’re crazy about fighting demons, right?”

The latter nodded vigorously: "No...that's right! Boss! There are just two battles left, and we can only send one at a time. As for the remaining slave cannon fodder among the orcs, half-orcs, and bugbears , there should be no threat to that foreigner at all."

"Damn! Send these two monsters to me in the next game! Remember! At any cost! Absolutely! Absolutely! Never allow that guy to come out of the arena alive! Otherwise, I will twist your head. Come down!" the tavern owner threatened fiercely.

"at all costs?"

The Dark Elf's men raised their heads, their eyes flashing with evil light.

"That's right! Just go ahead and do it! I will bear all the consequences!"

After that, the tavern owner raised his cup and drank the liquor in one gulp, with a look of madness on his face, like a gambler who had put all his chips on the table.

On the other side, Mistress Keyue was sitting in the VIP seat specially prepared for her, constantly sticking out her tongue to lick her black and purple lips, and commented in a slightly excited voice: "What an outstanding young man, isn't he? Now I kind of understand why he dared to talk to me in that tone."

"Mother, do you want to invite him to join our family and replace Jodi's previous position?" the eldest daughter asked cautiously.

Matron Keyue smiled and asked, "Why not? It's just that I haven't decided yet whether to grant him the title of servant father or the title of martial arts master."

"Servant father? Sorry, mistress, I doubt whether he is capable of fulfilling this duty at his current age." The eldest daughter glanced at Zuo Si not far away with a slightly amused look.

"Haha, it doesn't matter. I have enough patience to wait for him to grow up and train him into my favorite shape. And... don't you think this is a very interesting and tasteful game?" Master Keyue Mother said meaningfully.

"Your interest and appetite are as good as ever. Understood, I will contact him personally after the battle is over." The eldest daughter bowed gracefully.

Mistress Keyue stood up and moved her sore legs a little, stretched out her hand to drag her eldest daughter's chin, and said in a slightly joking tone: "Don't worry, dear daughter, I will not monopolize this outstanding young man. Too long. After you get a taste of it, I will allow you to share it with your sisters, just like you shared Jody. Because I have found that maintaining this relationship can ease the conflicts within the family and make us better. We have to be more united.”

“I am touched by your kindness and generosity.”

The eldest daughter bent down and kissed the back of her mother's hand deeply.

Just when the mistress was about to say something, a male warrior wearing a noble badge walked over from a distance, lowered his head and reported in a tone without any emotion: "Mother, I found out about this tavern. The boss is trying to manipulate the outcome of the game.

One of his men had just injected a terrifying alchemical potion into the Kuo-Tao fishman prince, which could maximize his potential.

But the price is that within ten minutes at most, the Kuo Tao fishman prince will die suddenly.

Not only that, he also asked his men to send the drugged Kuo-Toa Prince and the Berserker into battle in one go.

It seemed that he wanted to kill the foreigner named Soth.

In addition, several others tried to poison the stranger's drinks and potions. "

"Oh? He shouldn't have been hit, right?" A half-smile appeared on the mistress's face.

The male warrior immediately shook his head: "No! On the contrary! He drank all the problematic potions and drinks delivered without leaving a drop. But what surprised me was that after drinking, not only did he accurately say Every ingredient in the additional poison was revealed, and there was a very precise estimate of the dosage and possible effects.”

"You mean...he drank it on purpose?" The eldest daughter's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes. What's even more interesting is that he himself didn't have any adverse reactions. On the contrary, all the guys who sent him potions and drinks were poisoned by the poisons they personally sent in the next few minutes, and died. It’s quite miserable.”

While saying these words, the male warrior raised his head and showed a sinister and evil smile.

You don't need to ask to know that he appreciates Zuo Si's unique way of revenge. It can even be said to be worship.

"Hahahaha! This good show is really getting more and more interesting. Now that Soss knows who wants to harm him, let's see what our outstanding young male will do."

The mistress laughed and sat back down in her seat, looking at the arena below with expectant eyes.

At the same time, when the owner of the tavern learned that all the men sent to poison him were dead, and they all died from the poison he had administered, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

If it weren't for his dark skin, his skin color would never change, and his entire face would probably be completely pale now.

Obviously, anyone who is not a fool will know that this is a revenge method for the other party to see through his little trick.

What really frightens him is that these guys who died from poisoning in front of him don't have a single scratch from head to toe, and there are no signs of poison being poured into their mouths or noses. It's completely like someone injected the poison into their bodies out of thin air, and it's Exceeding the previous dose by hundreds of times,

"Old...boss! What are we going to do now?" A dark elf male showed strong fear in his eyes.

"Now? Now we can only hope that the drugged Kuo-Tao fishman prince and the mad war demon can compete with each other."

The tavern owner instantly sat on the ground like a deflated rubber ball and gasped for air.