The sun is high

Along with the sound of the elevator operating, Shuge became more and more curious about the rat-man settlement and the "prophet" they talked about.

From the old priest's mouth, Xiuge learned that this mysterious prophet suddenly appeared when the Ratman tribe was in the most dangerous situation. Like himself, it was "picked up" by the Ratman hunting team from the Dark Abyss Wasteland. Back.

After coming to the rat-men tribe, this prophet immediately showed that he was different from other rat-men.

Compared to those ratmen who were struggling for the survival of the group and themselves, the prophet always behaved extremely calmly and calmly.

At the first opportunity, it used a series of powerful magics it mastered to gain absolute say within the rat tribe. Then, as the new leader, it began a series of adjustments and plans.

Abandon the precarious old settlement and move to this "sacred mountain", select experienced rat priests and teach them the magic and rituals that can be used normally in this strange world.

Train craftsmen, guide them to use the body remains of the Dark Abyss creations to create weapons, and teach the hunters in the group how to hunt more effectively.

It is no exaggeration to say that after this prophet came to the rat tribe, he was directly involved in all aspects of the development and continuation of the tribe.

What convinced the rat people even more was that before the Great Migration officially began, huge sacred horns actually grew on the prophet's head.

It is a symbol of the divine choice of Mother Earth, a concrete expression of great rituals and abundant vitality.

It was from that moment that the tribe truly had a prophet who could convey the oracle and make accurate predictions.

While Xiuge listened carefully and understood the messages conveyed by the old priest, he carefully observed the huge shaft where he was.

He noticed that the four walls of the shaft were extremely smooth, almost like pieces of flat metal plates, and Xiuge could hardly see any traces or gaps of connection.

This kind of craftsmanship is completely impossible to achieve in Van En today. Even with the assistance of magic, people have no way to create such a huge metal plate and install it.

As for the mechanical structures that occasionally appear, it shows that the civilization that was once active in this world and built this building may have developed beyond Xiuge's original expectations.

In fact, Xiuge could feel a terrifying and subtle sense of familiarity in the structures and details left behind.

After a heavy muffled sound, the crude and huge elevator finally stopped, and what appeared in front of Xiuge's eyes was an even more bizarre scene.

Cold, dark dark green light and shadow shot out from those crystal lamps of different styles. They intertwined with each other in the vast space in front of Xiuge, illuminating countless busy rat figures.

The space here is so amazing that the rat people were even able to build several tall checkpoints around the elevator. On these checkpoints, Shuge also saw many rat soldiers armed with spears and blades, as well as some It is a huge ballista that is obviously set up on the level and can be fired at any time.

The style of these ballistae is quite strange. At first glance, they are somewhat similar to the old city defense weapons that have been abandoned by the residents of Vanen. However, after careful observation, Shuge discovered that these giant ballistae have many unknown origins. The metal parts, inside these metal parts, flow with the unique magic power of the Earth Mother God's family members.

That kind of power that is both vital and destructive.

Obviously, the real power these weapons can exert may far exceed the first impression given by their simple appearance.

The return of the hunting team and the arrival of the "messenger" had obviously been known to the rat tribe for a long time. When they saw Shuge next to the old priest and the running rats following Shuge, all the rat men couldn't help but scream. In awe, some of the young rat people who were extremely devout to their faith even couldn't help but start to kowtow in the direction of the running rat.

Processes such as questioning and interrogation are obviously impossible to use on Xiuge.

As the gate of the checkpoint opened, Xiuge walked towards the interior of the settlement surrounded by many rat men.

Soon Xiuge realized that this so-called settlement actually had the prototype of a city, or it could be said that it could already be regarded as a substantial city.

Although the settlements of the rat people are completely different from the cities and villages of any race in Vann, the chaotic buildings made of metal, wood, stone slabs and crystals are ultimately the most consistent with the rat people. Amazing utility for a group of people.

While walking along this "street", Shuge saw more than once young ratmen residents carrying items that needed to be carried on their backs and rushing past those seemingly redundant building structures, or they would suddenly Some curious young "rat cubs" poked their heads out of some strange passages and gaps, carefully observing and sizing up this special visitor, Shuge.

In addition, Xiuge also saw many functional buildings with distinctive features.

Shops, warehouses, squares...

There are camps specially provided for hunting teams and rat soldiers to live in, and there are even buildings where a large number of "rat cubs" are gathered. According to the old priest, most of these gathered cubs have certain talents. Candidates who can be trained by the tribe to become warriors, hunters and even priests.

"If they don't perform well enough, or fail to meet the tribe's requirements for some other reason, where will they be sent? Will they be expelled?"

"No, of course not! Messenger!"

The old priest quickly shook his head in denial and said: "Look, you see... everyone is very busy. There is endless work to do here. Even if they can't become warriors or priests, they can still work in the workshop or help with maintenance." Buildings and weapons, moving heavy objects.”

"Will there be thieves?"

"Yes, yes! Of course I will!"

The old priest nodded: "However, the prophet said that once the thief is caught, he will be thrown directly from the shaft, or he will be sent to the workshop to be used as an experiment for magic and ritual... No rat would think You have to bear the consequences!”

In this way, Xiuge walked through this straight and wide street, and soon he came to the center of the rat-man settlement.

In this area, the planning of the buildings should be relatively loose and orderly. Several houses made of wood and stone slabs are the core here. One of the houses is particularly eye-catching - the top of the house is inlaid with Some dark green magic crystals, and on the side, there is a huge rat skull sculpture hanging. On both sides of the skull, there are horns symbolizing the blessing of the Mother Earth.

Obviously, this is the residence of the rat prophet.

"Here we are, here we are!"

The old priest stopped and bowed his head respectfully to Shuge: "Messenger, the prophet wants to see you alone..."

Xiuge nodded, then raised his hand and patted the running rat beside him on the back. The latter understood and immediately dissipated into a misty black cloud and disappeared into Xiuge's figure.

In this way, under the gaze of all the priests, Shuge walked alone towards the residence of the rat prophet.

In fact, except for the huge rat skull sculpture, the prophet's residence did not seem to have much special features. Here, Xiuge didn't even feel the overt magical atmosphere. It seemed that this rat The human prophet's habits are different from those of Van En's other mages, or perhaps he trusts other members of the rat tribe enough that he does not need to use those complicated rituals to protect his private place.

In this way, Xiuge walked on the road paved with gravel and came to the door of the house.

The door was not closed, but just ajar, so Xiuge knocked on the door twice, then pushed it open and walked into the room.

This was the first time that Xiuge truly stepped into the home of the rat people. He originally thought that he would see an extremely chaotic and dirty scene. However, the actual situation was much better than Xiuge imagined. The room Everything inside seemed orderly. Although the furniture was crude, it was placed very neatly. There were complete tables and chairs, and there were even two cabinets made of thick stone slabs, filled with all kinds of strange objects.

Although the rat people are hunchbacked and rickety, their actual proportions are quite close to humans. Therefore, everything here does not give Shuge an abnormal feeling, and may even make Shuge mistakenly think that he has stepped into a secluded wilderness. The residence of the Master.

"Guest, please come up here."

A hoarse voice came suddenly, and Xiuge raised his eyes in surprise. It was clearly a common language. Although the accent was a little strange, the pronunciation was very clear and the meaning was expressed very accurately.

So Xiuge immediately stepped onto the stairs on the side, and soon followed the instructions of the voice to the second floor of the house.

In the light of the crystal lamp, Xiuge finally saw the owner of this place.

He was a little disappointed, because what appeared in front of him was indeed a rat man, an old rat man who looked extremely thin and had begun to lose a lot of hair on his body.

The biggest difference between it and other rat men was the huge horns growing on both sides of its head. Xiuge saw that inside these two horns, there was an obscure dark green light and shadow flowing slowly, and this was what got the Earth Mother to do it. An important symbol of God's blessing and care.

Completely different from Shuge's calmness, the moment he saw Shuge, the Rat Prophet's body began to tremble involuntarily, its face was trembling, and its mouth could not help opening and closing.

It was obviously very excited at this time.

"Sit, sit...please sit down!"

Under the influence of emotion, the prophet became a little staggering. He pointed to a chair with his paws, stood up vigorously, grabbed a pair of glasses from the side, and put them on his head.

Immediately afterwards, everyone in the room fell into silence.

Both Xiuge and the Prophet were busy observing each other, and both were waiting for the other party to take the initiative to speak.

In the end, it was the emotional prophet who broke the silence first.

"I...you understand what I said, these words, right?"

This is a somewhat strange question.

Coupled with the prophet's peculiar accent, it inexplicably revealed a very subtle emotion.

For a moment, Xiuge even felt that the rat man in front of him was choking.

He nodded and said, "Of course I understand, this is Van En's common language... However, your pronunciation and grammar seem a bit old."

Hearing this, the rat prophet's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he asked in a hoarse voice: "It's been a long time? Now... when is Van En now?"

"The Cartel Calendar officially ended in the year 2700, and Merlinle and the Law Council named the new era the 'Black Sun'."

Shuge answered softly, but the power of these words seemed to be too much for the rat prophet. It froze on the chair, its expression completely still.

It was silent for a long time, as if it was seriously thinking about the specific meaning of Shuge's words.

Finally, its green eyes flashed twice, and then Xiuge saw precious tears flowing down from its eyes.

"The Carter Calendar...the Carter Calendar is over, Merlin and...Black Sun..."

It murmured to itself, and the light in its horns flickered violently with the fluctuations of emotions. After a long time, the prophet finally recovered. It looked at Shuge and said: "Ask questions, guest, we must all There are many questions to ask the other party... You have just answered one of my questions, now it is my turn to answer you."

Xiuge nodded, and then he looked at the stone slabs piled in the corner of the room, engraved with various complicated patterns.

Even if the light was dim at this time, Xiuge could easily identify some familiar structures in these magic lines, some exquisite structures that he had studied and learned repeatedly during this period of time.

So he asked, "My first question is about you, the Prophet."

"Just ask."

"What should I call you? Or what is your real name in the past?"

After listening to Shuge's question, the prophet nodded, and then asked: "Well... I think you should have made some guesses before, right?"

"Yes, the priest told me before that their prophet once made a prophecy about magical flames, and it was precisely because they saw the fire that they set out to find me in the wilderness."

Xiuge replied: "From that time on, I felt a little confused, and after you asked me that question, I became more sure of my guess... But I really didn't expect that not only did you successfully He escaped during the pursuit of the Dark Abyss hounds, and then returned to the Dark Abyss as a ratman, and has survived until now."

Having said this, Shuge breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at the other party seriously: "Am I right? Mr. Azifu?"