Blood tax

Chapter 426 I don't have such worldly desires~
After several hours of preparation, the four selected candidates took a small boat in a calm bay near the shore and approached the shore.The Typhon maintained its vigilance and sailed towards the open sea, waiting for the signal of confluence.

The four of them turned on the emblem of the chosen one, forming a layer of silver shield, which could not only reach the attack, but also protect themselves from the madness and mystery in the ruins.

They walked through the deserted countryside and came to the hills full of ruins.The clouds and mist above the head have lightened a little, and the desolate and desolate land has a special artistic conception under the hazy night.The silvery moonlight dyed the broken walls, squares, and broken towers in fantastic colors, almost merging with the sky, as if hanging a magic mirror reflecting the sky and the earth.

The deeper you go, the more shocking the sights are.The once prosperous and powerful city-state of Annoch was frozen in the summer night of 1425.Outlines of suburban villas and hotels can be seen from the surviving buildings. Exquisite silverware and porcelain are placed on long tables, and jewelry boxes, gold and silver, and dust crystals are scattered under the porch, all the way to the street outside.

Griffith leaned over and picked up a small gold coin.This is Anok's unique currency, a "gold pound" with a history of more than 2000 years of use. It is exquisitely crafted and of high purity. It is more valuable than the gold florin of Bayerland. One coin can pay a legionary soldier for a month salary.

Everything happened so suddenly, the residents of Anok seem to have suddenly realized that the end is coming, they rushed out with their treasures, and then disappeared without a trace...

Soon, the four of them entered the central area of ​​the city-state, and the surrounding buildings and mage towers were even more luxurious and magnificent.Although it has been unmaintained and exposed to wind and sun for nearly 20 years, the buildings here are still largely intact, and the interior murals and sculpture outlines still exist.Just when everyone was moving forward cautiously, Yamon suddenly came under a mural and pointed to the remnants on it in amazement.

As an extraordinary elf in Canaan, he seemed to be aware of the ancient secrets hidden in those abstract murals and raised sculpture traces.He studied the grotesque patterns on the murals with the unique curiosity of a "collector", and said with great interest:
"These humans are very good at discovering alternative sources of magic power. You see, these strange creatures that are imprisoned are obviously not species we are familiar with."

But to Griffith, it was just a series of continuous lines and a mess of arcs, ellipses and rectangles, both abstract and strange.He couldn't read it, and he didn't see any real value in it.

"This is the official record of the city-state, preserved in the form of murals," Galadia observed for a while, and explained to everyone, "Anok has a very strong magic civilization, although their population is small and the land is small, However, they still think they have the strength to challenge Canaan and Bayeran. These murals and sculptures record their process of researching magic and exploring the origin, which is valuable mystical knowledge, and may be worth learning from Canaan."

Hearing this, Amon nodded frequently, and even expressed the hope that he could stop here for a while and let him have a deeper understanding: "These murals extend all the way to the mage tower in the core area, we can go there to investigate."

Griffith looked forward along the road.It was an intricate, labyrinth-like complex of buildings. In the depths of the eaves and domes stood a tall mage tower, which seemed to be built of white stone, decorated with gold, blue and scarlet.

"This road is too narrow, and it may be ambushed," he shook his head, expressing his disagreement, "We should try our best to use your long-range capabilities in areas with good vision."

"I only need 5 minutes, no, 3 minutes is fine. I want to copy some..." Amon murmured, reluctant to leave the mural.

"If you don't go to the mage's tower, you can go this way to the city-state's secret library." Erza looked at the map for a while, then pointed to another direction, "maybe you can find many rare treasures."

"I have no such worldly desires."

Helping Galadia to get close to the miracle as soon as possible, and then leaving safely is the only thing I care about. I don't care about the inheritance and wealth of the lost city-state... Griffith thought firmly, and even snorted, He turned around and kicked at the side wall, trying to open a path between the houses and go to a place with a better view.

"boom!"

With this kick, the wall fell down in response, and instead of seeing an open space, there was a dazzling stream flowing down in front of them.

Countless gold coins, large sapphires and rubies, and many utensils and jewelry made of gold and silver flowed out of the holes in the wall like water.

"Ding Ding ~ Dang Dang!" The gold coins fell one after another, making a breathtaking sound, which was about to penetrate into the hearts of everyone present.The golden sand cascades into the pure gold goblet with a rustling sound; the jeweled goblet pours at the moment the gold overflows, and tumbles down in a string of pearls.

"Whoa~"

The wonderful timbre stirs people's hearts, as if there is a tinkling spring in front of a thirsty traveler in the desert.

"What a sound of nature!" Griffith secretly exclaimed.The azure blue and crimson gemstones dotted the river of gold, flashing with fascinating colors, making his eyes sparkle.

Galadia saw her boyfriend staring at the stream of gold, silver, pearls and jade with wide eyes, as if he wanted to swallow them in one gulp.For a moment, she thought she was standing beside the money-grubbing dragon.

"Hey~ Don't you have such worldly desires?" Galadia held Griffith's face and slowly turned him around like a puppet to look at herself, "Is it more important for me or gold?"

"Um……"

"Look, he hesitated!" Erza covered her mouth and chuckled.

"It's just some shiny metal and stones, don't you care?" Miss Elf stood on her tiptoes and kissed Griffith's lips lightly.

The sweetness and fragrance flow between the lips and teeth, and the fresh forest breeze rippling in the heart.Griffith suddenly felt his mind become clearer.He didn't feel it before, but a light kiss made him hear the seductive tone lingering in his ears was fading away, and a strange feeling of being intoxicated and confused was pushed away.

Am I under an illusion?Or have you lost your mind?Griffith immediately became alert.He turned his head to look at the golden sand and precious stones all over the ground.That's tempting, but you shouldn't lose yourself.

"The environment here is abnormal!" Griffith said hastily, "I had a strange feeling just now..."

"Treasures occupied by strange beasts or secrets will be contaminated with weird aura," Ersha said, "Treasures of giant dragons are common, and even a little bit can devour people's hearts. In mysticism, this is called the evil disease of giant dragons." , those who are infected by it will contract the same disease - endless desire and greed for gold and jewels."

"I think it's more than that!" Griffith shook his head, "My resistance shouldn't be..."

"Okay, okay~" Galadia patted everyone's shoulders one by one, "Let's act, our task is to find miracles, as long as we focus on our true wishes, we won't get lost on the wrong path."

……

The four walked along the open road towards the core area of ​​the city-state.Griffith was at the forefront.He is the striker and shield of the team, walking at the forefront, followed by the high-sensitivity and high-mobility Galadia.

Miss Elf wandered through the team with nimble and light steps from time to time, scouting the surrounding environment.When she passed by once, Griffith whispered a question he had always cared about:

"So, what is your wish?"

"I'm on guard~"

The girl glanced at him complainingly, but still thought about it,

"Canaan has come to the edge of the cliff. If the supply of magic power cannot be reorganized, my compatriots will fall into chaos, and the cultists will take advantage of the momentum. They have already arranged chess pieces in secret.

"The situation of the half-elves and humans is even worse. When the situation was good before, Canaan could still provide them with food, but now even these are very difficult."

Griffith was taken aback.The trip to Canaan left him with many bad memories, but the life of the local people is definitely not one of them.It may not be considered the real kingdom of God there, but food and clothing are still guaranteed.

"Is it that serious?"

"Yeah." Galadia nodded, "Alan is doing better under mother's management, but the situation in other areas is very bad. I am the daughter of the consul, the heir and elder of the Villanoy family, this When I have to do something.

"If this sacrifice can bring them a stable supply of magic power...and so on."

A clear feeling swept over like a tide.Even Griffith felt that an illusory map formed in his mind, and three red dots appeared in the area near them.

Twelve o'clock in the middle of the night the location sensing came, and the two teams of draftees suddenly met without each other seeing each other.

Galadia's reaction was extremely quick.Without hesitation, she took off a bracelet and threw it into the sky.The bracelet was like a shooting star, flying towards the back of the group of people in an instant.

Driven by Galadia's chanting, a rift in space instantly opened beside her.

The Galadia team launched according to the tactics they had already formulated.While Amon and Erza faced the enemy head-on, Griffith rushed directly into the tunnel opened for him.

As soon as he entered, he felt that he was spinning through a lightless world.The surrounding scenery is exactly the same, but there are no animals or colors.

The road was two to 300 meters long, but he reached the other end of the tunnel within a second, appearing behind the enemy team.Immediately afterwards, he felt a light touch on his shoulder, and Galadia jumped out from behind.

"Wait for my illusion." Miss Elf's tone was cold, once she entered the state, her banner was completely different from the previous lively style.

Griffith immediately noticed that in the place where he was hiding just now, a figure exactly like Galadia was flashing rapidly, moving towards the nearby tower.

This is a common tactical action for rangers. After contacting the enemy, they seize the high ground with a good view and suppress the enemy as soon as possible.The attacks of the enemy team who saw this phantom also concentrated immediately, and the attacks of flames and storms almost devoured the world.

"Come on, Griffith!" Miss Elf pushed lightly, and Griffith was wrapped in the gust of wind, and swung his sword towards an enemy's back.

(End of this chapter)