One Sneeze Destroys A Magical Civilization

Chapter 191 The Duke of Baldur's Gate's Sao Operation

In the early morning, as the sun slowly rose from the sea in the east, Candlekeep ushered in a brand new day.

However, unlike yesterday’s lively debate, many people left the largest library on the west coast in a horse-drawn carriage and were greeted by the morning sun with satisfaction.

In order to express his gratitude and respect to these invited scholars, pastors and mages, "Volume Guardian" Urlant personally came to the door to see him off.

Especially when he came in front of Zuo Si, this man who always maintains a serious and arrogant attitude on weekdays even showed a very rare "kind" smile.

And the terrifying power of this smile even made other monks and priests serving Oghma feel like they had seen a ghost.

Because in their impression, Urlant had never smiled at anyone like this.

If it weren't for the "Guardian of the Book", it would be impossible to be charmed and controlled by any means, and someone would definitely try to cast [Disarm Magic] on him.

fortunately!

This kind of oolong finally did not appear.

I saw Urlant offering a large book with a black cover in both hands, and said in a slightly emotional tone: "Your Excellency South. In order to thank you for your novel viewpoints and discussions at the debate, this precious book "The Origin of Ten Thousand Laws" is given to you as a gift.

Although there is no spell recorded in this book.

But it tells in detail the evolution of magic from witches to elves, to Netheril and Imaskar empires.

And each civilization has a different understanding of magic.

It is said that the person who wrote this book once read the famous [Netheril Scroll].

Therefore, he explained the essence of magic in the most easy-to-understand way.

I believe this will be very helpful for you to learn magic knowledge in the future, and even create your own spells. "

"Excellent book, express my thanks to the God of Knowledge." Zuo Si responded with a smile.

He took it and only flipped two pages, and immediately realized that this book should be written by Oghma himself, and given to him by the "Guardian of the Book".

After all, in the whole of Faerun right now, among the creatures who have actually read the [Netheril Scroll] and survived to this day, it is estimated that apart from their creator Sarukh, only the chosen ones of the goddess of magic and Netherese are left. There are a few grand arcanists who turned into liches left behind after the Er civilization went to destruction.

And it is absolutely impossible for these people to share the most precious memories and knowledge in their minds with others.

So Oghma, the god of knowledge, is the only god capable of doing so, and at the same time motivated to do so.

"You know?!" Urlant was obviously taken aback.

Zuo Si nodded lightly: "Of course. Because this book is not something that can be written from the perspective of a mortal. It even explains how to use the primitive and uncontrollable Magical energy shapes spells. Do you think a mortal would think of that?"

Urlant replied with a wry smile: "Sorry, I haven't read this book. Because it is a gift from the great God of Knowledge. In addition, Candlekeep will open the door to you at any time from now on. "

"Thank you. But I don't think I will come to Candlekeep again for a long time."

After saying this, Zuo Si gave the other party a standard mage salute, then turned around and stepped onto the carriage to signal the dragonborn knight Davidian to set off.

Although he didn't have much money left, he still decided to take a look at Waterdeep City in the north and make a land card in the Lost City of Leylines.

You must know that it was originally the ruins of the old capital of the ancient elf kingdom - Alyn Tada.

It's just that when the elves left, they released an extremely powerful spell, completely erasing all traces of the entire city's existence.

But this spell has an unknown side effect, that is, it will leave an eternal magic net node in place.

All surrounding magical energy will inevitably flow to this node, thus forming an extremely powerful core.

The reason why Earthline Lost City was able to build a large-scale magical barrier like "Mysuo" is the support of the amazing energy emitted by this magic net node.

Most importantly, this magic web node cannot be seen, touched, or unraveled, and it will drive mortals who have lived nearby for too long into madness.

Especially arcane spellcasters who are closely connected with the magic net, such as mages, warlocks, and bards.

They will subconsciously form a desire for the magic net node, wanting to stay near the node forever and unwilling to leave.

It is said that the madness of the "crazy mage" Helast Heipao was most likely affected by this magic net node.

This also explains why his madness is only shown in "Leyline Lost City", and once he leaves and returns to the surface, he immediately returns to a sane and polite state.

And such a magic net node happens to be an excellent choice for making high-level land cards.

With more and more cards in hand, Zuo Si felt that he should increase the number of land cards a little.

At least make sure that if the land cards that are continuously in effect on the body are destroyed or stripped by the enemy's powerful spells, there must be at least one or two on hand that can be replaced immediately.

Otherwise, if you leave Faerun and go to other worlds, once the associated land cards disappear, even professions such as mages, priests, and mystics will lose their ability to cast spells instantly.

In addition, the magic items on the body that are not made into cards will also be invalid.

Simply put, the land card is equivalent to the channel connecting the planeswalker to the world.

As long as the corresponding land card is there, the planeswalker can use this channel to draw energy from another world, cast spells and use various magic items according to the magic rules of that world.

But if this connection is interrupted, they can only rely on the cards in their hands, or the new magic rules of the current world to fight.

As the main source of spells right now, Zuo Si certainly needs to ensure that there is no problem with his connection with Faerun.

Therefore, preparing a few more land cards has become an inevitable choice.

In his plan, at least four to five Faerun-exclusive land cards should be made, and all of them should be found in places similar to magic net nodes or places where magic energy is highly concentrated.

In this way, under the protection of the two summoned creatures, the carriage quickly left Candlekeep along the narrow narrow path, and within a few hours entered the "Coastal Avenue (also called the Gulf Coast Road)".

Since this road is a business road connecting important trade nodes such as Naxikai, Bellgost, and Arm of Friendship, the end point is the port city of Baldur's Gate at the mouth of the Chongsa River, so it looks quite lively.

Almost every half an hour or so, you can meet passing business travelers and passers-by.

Except for the occasional human bandits, goblins, and wolf men blocking the road, or hungry wolves, bears, and ogres, there are basically no major security issues.

After all, this is Faerun, and it is quite normal to encounter these monsters and beasts in the wild.

Generally speaking, as long as you hire a few adventurers and a small team of mercenaries, you can easily solve the possible dangers along the way.

Zuo Si didn't even take any action against this group of guys who no longer pose any real threat, but just let Isadora try to use her psion power, and they were easily dealt with.

There were even a few more upgraded [Large Dire Bear] and [Dire Wolves] summoning cards.

As for goblins, gnolls, human bandits and other harmful garbage that are not even worth as cannon fodder, they have all become nourishment for the nearby soil without exception.

Due to the boldness of Yigao people, the carriage didn't even stop at any village or inn along the way, even the famous "Friendly Arm" was no exception.

In just a few days, a group of four traveled through the cloak forest full of spiders, etter monsters and pterosaurs.

Just as Zuo Si was planning to enter Baldur's Gate and take a look at this natural harbor sandwiched between Waterdeep City and Askatra, he was suddenly informed by the guards at the gate that the dukes had just announced that the goddess of poison and disease Talon's faith is illegal in Baldur's Gate.

Therefore, all priests who serve this goddess are forbidden to enter, and he, the elect, is no exception.

Obviously, this was a retaliatory move by the Baldur's Gate ruling class after the negotiations at Candlekeep.

On the one hand, the priests and churches who expelled Talona can give an explanation to the merchants who have suffered huge losses, and let them understand that the reason why the Duke of Silver Shield made concessions was threatened.

On the other hand, doing so can effectively prevent Ammu from continuing to be intimidated by the same method in future trade disputes.

It has to be said that the dukes of Baldur's Gate do have brains.

No wonder he was played by Sarevok in the palm of his hand a few years later, and the judgments and reactions at critical moments were no different from pigs.

The stupidity is suffocating.

Do not!

Maybe the pigs are a little smarter than they are.

At least pigs will not be arrogant and think that everything is under their control.

It is estimated that those dukes may feel that they have signed a treaty with the Council of Six in Amn, so even if the pastor and church in Talona are expelled, Zuo Si, a voter, cannot make any drastic actions.

But they didn't know that Zuo Si was just a tool man in this negotiation.

Although he helped Sir Crispian with many ideas, he was not the direct beneficiary of this treaty.

At least not yet.

And the other party obviously overestimated his control over the Talona Church.

If there is no accident, it won't take long for the expelled priests to use various methods to let these arrogant dukes taste the bitter fruit they planted themselves.

After all, it is the consistent style of the believers of the goddess of poison and disease to take revenge.

"Master, what shall we do now?"

Davidian stood on the bridge and stared at the city gate not far away, and asked in an uncertain tone.

His vertical pupils like a giant dragon and the faint dragon power that inadvertently emanated made the guards guarding the door very nervous.

In addition, the name of Talona's voters also caused a lot of psychological pressure on her.

After all, with the defeat of the monster army in the south and the feat of slaying the dragon, it was gradually spread to the north by many businessmen and adventurers.

So even Baldur's Gate began to spread gossip about the goddess of poison and plague having a very powerful and powerful electorate.

"What else can we do, we can only continue on land." Zuo Si shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

It's just a waste of time anyway.

He was not idle when he was on the road in the carriage. He learned many four-ring magics and practiced new super magic skills. His life was quite fulfilling.

Anyway, it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years.

He has the means to make the Duke of Baldur's Gate pay a heavy price for humiliating himself.

"Sous, I can control those guards." Isadora whispered in her ear.

But Zuo Si smiled and shook her head, gently stroked the girl's hair and explained: "Forget it, don't make things difficult for these ordinary soldiers who obey orders. Don't worry, I'm not angry. Because it won't be long before Bode Zhi The dukes of the door will come up and kneel and beg me to let them go."

When he said these words, he did not shy away from the soldiers guarding the city gate at all, but let them hear clearly.

moment!

The leader's face changed.

But before he could do anything, he saw Zuo Si and his group driving away in a carriage.

When he came back to his senses, the carriage had disappeared into the distant horizon.

"Damn it! Go and report to Duke Irtan, we may be in big trouble this time." The captain shouted at one of his soldiers.

The latter didn't dare to neglect at all, and quickly rode his horse towards the fortress of the flame fist mercenary headquarters.

It's a pity that everything is too late...

After running for more than ten kilometers in one breath, Zuo Si finally ordered the carriage to stop when he was about to reach the "land of death", and then summoned Vanessa without hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, the lich who received the magical message cast a teleportation spell and appeared beside the carriage.

He first glanced around very cautiously, and after confirming that there was no danger, he put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

"May I ask you to call me at this time, do you have any urgent orders?"

"How is the plan to integrate the pirate forces of the Nelanthir Islands going?" Zuo Si asked straight to the point.

As soon as this incident was mentioned, Vanessa immediately became excited, and hurriedly reported: "Not long ago, I just controlled a pirate leader named Eric and set off a rebellion against Captain Bloody.

This operation not only succeeded in taking over the latter's forces, but also exchanged Hallett's head for a large bounty in Amn.

Immediately afterwards, I sent several of my apprentices to assist the pirate in launching several naval battles, and almost six large pirate gangs and more than 20 small pirate gangs have been wiped out.

Using the corpses of those dead, I transformed a large number of low-level undead as cannon fodder in battle.

With the help of the spells recorded in the "Book of the Dead", he successfully created several intelligent high-level undead as commanders.

Now it has almost brought several of the largest and most habitable islands of the Neilanser Islands under control.

Even those mysterious ocean towers were occupied one by one by me and several other core members, transformed them into simple mage towers, and established permanent portals.

Four of the ogre mages were captured alive and are currently imprisoned in the dungeon.

It is estimated that in about one or two months, all the pirates should be wiped out, and the city and villages will be established. "

"So fast?" Zuo Si was obviously taken aback.

He originally thought that an operation of this scale, even with the help of several liches, would take a year or so to complete.

"Of course. The Nelanthir Islands didn't have any decent forces. The reason why pirates are rampant is entirely because many organizations want to use these guys to do some shady things. But now with our Intervene, this island is finally ending chaos and ushering in the dawn of order. By the way, haven't you always been less interested in this matter?"

Vanessa asked very strangely.

Zuo Si laughed at herself and said, "I suddenly discovered that if you don't have any power behind you, others will treat you like a persimmon and try to humiliate you."

"Humiliation! Who? Who dared to treat you like this? Please tell me! I promise to kill his entire family and make them into undead creatures, so that he can live forever in pain, despair and curse."

The cold light in Vanessa's eyes soared, and her tone was even colder and full of killing intent.

"It's the dukes of Baldur's Gate.

They decreed that I, the elect of Talona, ​​the poisonous and diseased woman, be forbidden from entering the city.

To be honest, I still haven't figured out where their guts come from, and the underlying thinking logic behind their actions.

But there's no need to be so bloody and brutal.

My way of revenge is very simple, that is to use the most extreme way to attack the city's business and completely cut off the sea trade of Baldur's Gate. "

Zuo Si spoke his thoughts in a casual tone.

He is not a nice gentleman, and he will not be like those guys who claim to be kind and righteous, who are publicly humiliated and dare not retaliate.

What's more, as a commercial port city, Baldur's Gate was founded on trade.

So as long as trade is hit, it is equivalent to prying the foundation of Baldur's Gate's survival.

When businessmen begin to realize that these so-called "dukes" can no longer provide them with protection and benefits, but instead become a stumbling block preventing them from making money, their fate is self-evident.

There is no need for Zuo Si to do it himself, just to release a little news, and naturally countless people will do everything possible to make these dukes die.

"Crackdown on trade? You mean to let the pirate fleet blockade the port?" Vanessa rubbed her chin with a playful smile.

You must know that unlike the Amn Empire, which has a huge navy, Baldur's Gate is just a city-state, so there is not so much money to build a powerful navy.

In many cases, when dealing with threats at sea, some merchant ships are often temporarily requisitioned, and then rely on the catapults and ballistas in the port and on the shore to fight back defensively.

This also means that the city's sea defense is very weak.

As long as the pirates of the Nelanthir Islands are gathered together, it is entirely possible to completely cut off the sea trade route of Baldur's Gate.

Zuo Si waved his hands with a half-smile: "No, don't block the port, let alone rob merchant ships, that's too ostentatious, and it will easily attract the intervention of the Northern Land Lords Alliance.

All we have to do is collect protection fees from all passing ships.

If it is a merchant ship bound for Amn, Calimshan, Tethyr, Waterdeep, Neverwinter, or Luskan, then 10% of the total value of all goods will be levied.

But if it is a merchant ship sailing to Baldur's Gate, then 20 to 30% will be charged.

And issue a flag to all ships that have collected protection fees.

All merchant ships flying this flag will no longer be plundered by pirates in the entire Sea of ​​Swords to the Sea of ​​Glory.

In the event of a plunder, we will not only avenge it, but also compensate the ship and cargo at the original price.

In this way, we get money, and merchants get security, and the surrounding sea trade routes will prosper.

At the same time, this approach will not violate the bottom line of the Northland Lords Alliance, the Harper Alliance, and the Church of Gods of the good camp.

After all, order is better than chaos.

Even if this order is not very in line with their values.

After the practice was formed, all businessmen who traveled by sea discovered that the cost of doing business in Baldur's Gate was much higher than that in other cities.

Guess what they will choose?

They will not hesitate to abandon the natural harbor of Baldur's Gate.

The dukes who rule this city will then pay for their arrogance and stupidity, even kneeling down and begging for my forgiveness.

In addition, compared to a quick death, I personally prefer to let the enemy taste enough pain before dying, and even let the other party watch them lose their most cherished things bit by bit.

For the dukes of Baldur's Gate, the prosperity and wealth of Baldur's Gate are what they value most.

but me……

Take these two things away from them slowly. "

Hearing these words, Vanessa seemed to have seen the future of the decline of Baldur's Gate, as well as the fearful and desperate reactions of the dukes. Her whole body was instantly sublimated, and she touched her chest deeply with one hand in an unprecedented respectful gesture. bowed.

"Your wisdom and means of revenge are beyond my reach. In addition, I also understand that real revenge should not just make myself happy, but to make the enemy taste the pain as much as possible, but at the same time there is nothing to do. Please rest assured, I will Immediately notify everyone to cooperate with this matter.”

"Remember, manage those pirates well, and let them understand that the Neilanthel Islands in the future will be an orderly, open and tolerant country. I will throw away all the bad habits in the past, and learn to be a civilized person from now on." Zuo Si exhorted meaningfully.

Vanessa understood immediately, and couldn't help laughing: "Hahahaha! I'm already doing this without you telling me. However, only about half of the thousands of islands in the Neilanser Islands have fresh water resources. You How do you go about developing it?"

"First select a few large islands to grow food and raise poultry and livestock to ensure that the food sources on the islands will not be controlled by others.

The rest of the islands with fresh water grow sugar cane, and the islands without fresh water grow salt.

The former is a valuable luxury item, while the latter is an indispensable thing in everyone's daily life, so there is basically no need to worry about sales.

In addition, fishing, drying salted fish, and cultivating pearls in shallow seas can all be good development directions.

Especially the fiber of coconut is very suitable for making ropes, fishing nets, brushes, mats, and the coconut meat can also be dried and sold as a commodity.

With commodities, merchants will naturally be attracted to come to buy and sell.

However, the immediate problem to be solved is the shortage of labor on the island.

I think we can do something in the Kingdom of Tethyr, which is in the middle of a civil war, to attract some war-torn civilians or refugees to settle here.

Promise that anyone who is willing to open up wasteland will be given free land, seeds and tools.

And then spend money to buy slaves from Calimshan..."

Without even thinking about it, Zuo Si blurted out a lot of very useful suggestions.

As a person from the age of information explosion, he has a natural advantage in this regard.

In particular, the level of productivity development in Faerun is so low, less than half a kilogram of salt, and the retail price can be sold at an outrageous price of five gold coins.

With so much money, you can buy almost 450 kilograms of wheat, or 225 kilograms of flour, or more than 200 tender and delicious chickens.

As for the reason is also very simple.

That is, most cities do not master the refining technology of "salt", which is a necessity for survival.

Especially coarse salt extracted from seawater cannot be eaten directly because it is mixed with too many harmful impurities.

It is also necessary to filter out the impurities through a series of complicated processes, and finally get the real edible salt.

And these crafts are often monopolized by some chambers of commerce and nobles, and they regard them as core secrets and never let them out.

As a result, many port cities on the west coast of Faerun are obviously close to the sea, but they still have to import salt from outside, which is a strange scene.

"It sounds like you have a comprehensive plan.

Don't worry about the labor force. If it doesn't work, use undead creatures instead.

But where can the technology needed by these industries come from?

If magic is used, the cost will become infinitely high. "

Vanessa was obviously in trouble.

As a mage, magic is the first thing he thinks of when he encounters trouble.

This is why the development of natural science in Faerun is so slow.

Because magic is so convenient that it is almost omnipotent.

For example, with fireball and lightning, who would consider making and using those primitive artillery that are dangerous and not very powerful?

So there is no soil for science to survive and develop here.

In the era when the magic civilization of Netheril flourished, the archarcanists not only had the power to change the natural environment and climate, but even formed a fleet that could go deep into space, explore other planets in the crystal wall and try to establish colonies.

In contrast, the earth science system, which seems to be very technologically advanced, is currently no more than allowing humans to briefly land on the moon.

To sum up, almost all smart people in Faerun will choose to become a mage, rather than waste time and energy, to study those sciences that may not be discovered by later generations until decades or even hundreds of years after their death .

After all, the two ancient magic empires, Netheril and Imasca, have already demonstrated how high magic can reach, but no one has ever shown the future of science.

In addition, after becoming a mage, you get real magic power, and you can even escape death and gain eternal life, but anyone who is not a fool knows how to choose.

However, the disadvantage of magic is also very obvious, that is, it cannot benefit the people at the bottom.

Just the opposite!

It needs to continuously squeeze the lower class civilians to obtain the resources and wealth necessary to study magic.

This is also why, almost all powerful magical civilizations have adopted slavery without exception.

Zuo Si sometimes feels that he is very lucky to have received two educations in science and magic, so he is not as easy to fall into the limitations of thinking as most mages.

Seeing Vanessa's embarrassed look, he immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will be responsible for providing a full set of industrial technology. All you have to do is supervise and execute."

"If this is the case, then there is no problem. To be honest, I was still a little confused about what kind of place I want to build the Neilanser Islands. But now, it seems that I suddenly have a direction."

There was admiration in Vanessa's eyes.

Because the more he understands, the more he feels that Zuo Si's head is full of all kinds of knowledge and whimsical ideas.

And these knowledge and whimsy are exactly what I lack.

In addition, the notes from the "Book of the Dead" and the necromancer Asta also benefited Vanessa, who is a professional necromancer.

In fact, not long ago, he had just completed touching the deepest magic net, and officially obtained the coveted nine-ring spell slot.

All of this started to change for the better when I met Zuo Si.

Therefore, Vanessa felt that the boy in front of him, who looked only about ten years old, was the one worthy of allegiance and following in his destiny.

After the two chatted for a while about their experience and experience in magic, he took the notes Zuo Si copied from the Candlekeep library on how to advance to the [Archmage], happily activated the teleportation magic and returned to his mage tower .

After watching the lich's figure completely disappear, Davidian took the initiative to ask for instructions: "Master, the land of death is ahead. Shall we camp here to rest, or go directly to find a farm for the night?"

"A place of death? Are there many undead creatures there?" Isadora asked very curiously.

"Of course. More than five hundred years ago, a tragic war broke out between Amn and the countries of the Sword Coast.

It is said that the dead people even made the negative energy of this land more than ten times higher than other places.

It has long been a paradise for zombies, ghouls, skeletons, ghosts and other undead creatures.

Over time, however, most of the undead creatures were cleaned up by clerics and paladins of good deities.

In recent decades, large farms have been re-established, and only a few skeletons and zombies are still wandering around. "

Zuo Si patiently gave an introduction to this blond girl who knew nothing about the outside world.

Since she had never left the administrative area of ​​Askatla since she was born, Isadora didn't know what the outside world was like at all, at best she only read a few books.

"Is it difficult to deal with undead creatures?" The girl asked cautiously.

Zuo Si replied seriously: "For you as a psion, undead creatures and constructs are the two most dangerous types of enemies in this world.

Because they don't have minds, you can't read their minds, let alone control their wills.

Remember, if you encounter undead, the best way is to use your direct damage psionic powers to attack, or summon the shield guardian in the amulet. "

The girl hurriedly nodded vigorously: "Yes! I remember."

"Let's go, let's find a farm to stay overnight. After sleeping in the carriage for so many days, I'm starting to miss the feeling of lying in bed." Zuo Si said with a smile to the Dragonborn Knight.

"As you wish."

Davidian, as always, regarded the master's request as the highest order, quickly flicked a beautiful whip, and drove the carriage along the endless plain.

After only ten minutes, I could vaguely see some skeletons in old and rusty armor wandering around outside the fence around the field next to them, as well as zombies that had rotted to the point that they didn't have much flesh.

Not only are they slow, but they are also very unresponsive.

No wonder those daring farmers dared to enter the land of death to open up wasteland.

It feels like even without a weapon, these weak undead creatures can be easily killed with a thicker wooden stick.

While everyone was admiring the strange scenery composed of skeletons, zombies and stretches of golden farmland, a three-story wooden hut built not far from the west side of the road attracted everyone's attention.

Davidian even used extremely skilled movements to slow down the two running horses, and then they stopped firmly at the door of the wooden house.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, he suddenly smelled a pungent smell of blood.

Out of subconscious first reaction, Davidian immediately pulled out the flaming long sword at his waist, and at the same time raised the shield behind his back to enter a state of alert.

Relying on his height advantage, the perimeter fence about two meters high was completely useless to him, and soon he saw a large pool of blood in the yard near the main entrance.

Moreover, the door of the wooden house was not closed, it was ajar.

"what happened?"

Zuo Si pushed open the door and came out from the compartment.

"Master, please be careful, there is something wrong with this house. I found blood at the door of the house, and the door was not closed."

Davidian told what he saw without looking back.

"Go in and have a look. Huntington, you stay at the door. If you find an unknown guy approaching, it doesn't matter who shoots an arrow first as a warning."

Zuo Si gave instructions calmly.

Because this kind of wooden house located in a rural area without any defense capabilities is too vulnerable to attacks by various monsters, robbers and wild beasts.

So no matter what happens in the house, he will not be surprised.

This is why, no matter the poor or the rich, as long as conditions permit, they will do their best to squeeze into cities or towns with certain defense capabilities.

Even if you can't enter the town, you will choose to seek refuge with a lord who owns a castle.

Only in this way can their lives and property safety be guaranteed at the slightest degree.

With a bang, Davidan kicked open the wooden door of the yard, and was the first to walk in.

Zuo Si took Isadora's hand and followed closely behind.

Passing through the yard full of various onions, radishes, cabbages, garlic and shallots, the three of them came to the half-hidden entrance of the wooden house, and at a glance they saw a large puddle of sticky blood that hadn't dried up on the ground.

"This is human blood!"

Davidian put a little bit of his finger in front of his nose and sniffed it, and immediately gave his judgment.

As a dragonborn, his sense of smell is very keen, even far surpassing most canids.

This is also the reason why you can smell the smell of blood from such a long distance.

"It seems that the owner of the house should have been killed. Let's go in and find out."

With that said, Zuo Si raised his hand to complete the spellcasting at an extremely fast speed, and blessed himself and Isadora with [Mage Armor].

But before he reached out to the half-open door, there was a sudden sound of footsteps inside, and then a middle-aged woman dressed as a peasant woman came out and asked vigilantly, "Who are you? Why did you break into my house?" s home?"

"Are you... the owner of this house?"

The expression on Zuo Si's face suddenly became very weird.

Davidian was the first to stand between the two of them.

Isadora also seemed to have read the memory of the other party through her psychic ability, holding Zuo Si's arm tightly with one hand, and holding the amulet around her neck that could summon the Shield Guardian.

"That's right! This is the house where my husband and I live. No matter who you are, please leave immediately. Otherwise, we will sound the alarm and call the militia around." The peasant woman warned loudly.

Unfortunately, her warning didn't scare anyone.

Zuo Si unceremoniously pointed to the blood on the ground and asked: "If you don't mind, can you tell me what happened to this pool of blood?"

The peasant woman's face changed slightly, and she waved her arms impatiently and roared: "That's the blood from the chicken I killed just now. It's none of your business! Get out!"

"Hey—are the acting skills of doppelgangers as bad as yours now? We just confirmed that the blood on the ground is human blood, not other poultry or livestock blood. In addition, I don't know if you have noticed that I am nervous Or when excited, the eyes will flash a silver light."

Zuo Si directly exposed the other party's identity.

yes!

The guy dressed as a peasant woman in front of me was disguised by a doppelganger.

With Oghma, the god of knowledge, having upgraded the constant [True Seeing] on the magic ring, when the doppelganger appeared, he had already seen the other party's original appearance.

"Damn it!"

Realizing that he was exposed, the doppelganger didn't hesitate for a second, turned around and tried to get into the house, and then jumped out the rear window to escape.

But before he could take a few steps, he suddenly stood there stupidly, as if he had been hit by a hold spell.

“You controlled it?” Zuo Si turned around and asked Isadora.

The girl shook her head lightly: "No. I tried to invade my mind to control it just now, but it failed. This monster seems to be immune to all charm spells. But then I used [Energy Shock] again, and this guy became what he is now. It looks like this. I think its shape-shifting ability should be useful to you."

"That's right. Shapeshifters are born spies and infiltrators. If used well, they can cause far more damage from within than a dragon."

Zuo Si took out a blank card and directly sealed the shapeshifter in front of him.

But the moment the icon and text appeared on the card, a black figure suddenly jumped down from the second floor.

Just as it was trying to sprint over the fence, an arrow whizzed through its thigh.

The severe pain turned the humanoid creature into a ground gourd on the spot, and opened its mouth to let out a heart-piercing scream.

At this moment, Isadora and David saw the true face of the shadow.

It has off-white skin, thin and long limbs, and octopus-like eyes. Its head is round and somewhat fat. Even when it is suffering, it has almost no expression on its face.

There is no doubt that this is a typical doppelganger.

With their innate ability to shapeshift and detect thoughts, they can pretend to be almost anyone, and even directly replace the latter's identity and position in society.

These two guys should have discussed it, came to kill the original owner of the house, and then disguised as them to infiltrate the nearby farms and even small towns bit by bit.

Unfortunately, they were unlucky. They happened to run into a group of Zuo Si who wanted to find a place to stay, and they were arrested on the spot.

Without any hesitation!

Zuo Si first asked Isadora to release [Energy Shock] again to make the shapeshifter lose its ability to resist, and then made it into a summoned creature card.

After finishing all this, he began to search the entire wooden house carefully, and finally found the bodies of the two victims in the cellar.

(end of this chapter)