Those time travelers that year

Knowing that it couldn't be benevolent, the werewolf roared and pounced on Xia Er. Although it didn't know what was going on in this world, that didn't stop the werewolf from knowing that as long as it bit off the head of the boy in front of it, who was dressed in black and had dark gold eyes, it could leave this drastically changed world.

【witchcraft】

Facing the werewolf rushing towards him, Charles raised his hand and cast a spell, turning the werewolf into a frog, and then blasted it back with a Chaos Arrow.

At the same time, three curses or spells of duration, namely [Sacrifice], [Corruption], and [Unstable Affliction], were instantly cast on the [Werewolf].

"Kill him!"

The knights raised their greatswords and daggers, surrounding the werewolf. Freed from the spell's bindings, the werewolf looked at Sharl with suspicion. The werewolf couldn't mistake the legacy of the Demon Wizard, and at the same time, he thought of the rumor.

Unfortunately, by then, even if the werewolf had the thought of escaping, it was too late. The Farron Undead Guard surrounded him, and even with Vladimir's sacrifice, he couldn't stop the life force from being eroded by the three cursed spells and the pain that seeped into his body and soul. He struggled to break free of the encirclement, but before he could escape, a single Earthshattering Spike from Sharl shattered his hopes.

Finally, the red lightning of the [Finger of Death] struck the [Werewolf], tearing him to shreds...

135. Organizing the harvest

Battle report:

In the frontline battle, the Dire army retreated, and the Dire hero Clinkz was killed by the Radiant heroes Windranger and Earthshaker.

In the rear, the Battle of Frozen City ended with losses on both sides. The Nightmare side lost its border fortress and suffered over 100,000 casualties among its soldiers and civilians. The [Hell Lord] escaped with serious injuries, while the [Werewolf] disappeared without a trace and was ultimately presumed dead.

The Radiant forces successfully broke through the Dire's defenses, but lost thousands of soldiers in the forbidden spell. Of the five heroes who went to attack, only three returned severely wounded, while Treant Protector and Wanderer were confirmed dead.

……

夜魇

"Mobilize the remaining legions, notify the [Doomsday Bringers] and [Terrorblades] who are out there to return, and send someone to contact the [Queen of Pain]..."

"The war has begun!"

……

天辉

"The Treant Guardian and the Wandering Swordsman have both fallen in battle; the Legion Commander bears full responsibility..."

"Forget it, with a major battle imminent, it's not good to change generals at the last minute. Let her redeem herself by making meritorious contributions!"

"Notify [Kunka] to return with his ghost fleet. The great battle has begun."

——————————Divider Line——————————

The world has descended into chaos once more. Years after the Radiant and Dire ceased hostilities and began to lick their wounds, a new war is about to begin. Large numbers of troops and weapons have been transported to the battlefield, and heroes wielding extraordinary powers have been recalled and deployed to the machines of war. No one can predict how many lives this war will claim, and war will not be swayed by any individual's will.

Since it was unavoidable, the natural choice was to defeat the opponent to gain the greatest benefit. Driven by ambition, desire, military achievements, or something else, the war, propelled by the two camps, inevitably sped forward like a fast train.

Besides the military, a large number of adventurers and mercenaries, either seeking advancement or substantial rewards, responded to the call of both factions. Even before the two factions fully engaged in battle, these 'cannon fodder' had already begun the first round of clashes.

Meanwhile, as an outsider, Sharl had quietly infiltrated a border town within the Radiant faction. This town, called Viking, was located on the Radiant border, belonging to the Erathian human kingdom. Because of its proximity to the front lines, the town had lost its former tranquility and peace, as a large influx of outsiders poured into it.

The vast majority of them were hyenas drawn by the scent of war—mercenaries and adventurers. While mercenaries, due to their inherent discipline, could be kept in check and were often selected as reserves by the army, solo adventurers or groups of three or five were much harder to manage. Once they got drunk, one or two of them would inevitably cause trouble.

However, it was precisely because of this that Xia Er was able to hide himself well among this motley crew of people. Who would have thought that an outsider, comparable to a hero, would stoop to mingling with such a group of scoundrels?!

Looking out the window of the hotel where I was staying, I could see the guys who wanted to coast through the war making a ruckus in the town below. Sending these 'cannon fodder' to test the waters and complete some tasks before the battle had become one of the tacit rules between the Radiant and Dire.

However, Charles paid no heed to the 'cannon fodder' below, glancing at them briefly before closing the window. More than the impending battle, Charles was concerned with the spoils of this encounter. Reality taught him that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Reaping the benefits without lifting a finger was always better than engaging in a life-or-death struggle himself.

Although he was unlucky enough to be hit by a stray bullet midway through, that mishap was negligible compared to the gains he made. The souls of three heroes—the Wandering Swordsman, the Treant Protector, and the Werewolf—were captured, joining the previously captured Warlock. The souls of all four heroes now belong to Sharl, and there were other gains as well.

The Wandering Swordsman contributed three soul equipment items to Sharl: the Blinking Dagger, the Echoing Blade, and the Crystal Sword. The Crystal Sword can be further upgraded to the Daedalus's Lament. Unfortunately, Sharl lacks both the Demon Blade and the recipe scroll. All things considered, the only truly usable item is the Blinking Dagger, which is rather useless for Sharl, who already possesses teleportation abilities.

The 【Tree Spirit Guardian】set consists of: 【Mekensom】, 【Arcane Boots】, and 【Drum of Endurance】. 【Mekensom】 is a jewel formed from various individual pieces pieced together in an unknown way, radiating a blue light. It provides bonuses to all attributes, as well as armor. It also has an aura effect that accelerates the health regeneration of friendly units within a certain range; when actively activated, it instantly restores the health of surrounding units and provides a certain armor bonus for 25 seconds.

The Arcane Shoes are a pair of blue shoes that radiate magical light and have golden patterns on them. They can increase the wearer's movement speed and mana, and when activated, they can directly restore a portion of the mana of friendly units within range.

The [Resilient Drum] provides bonuses to all attributes, with the highest boost to Intelligence. It also enhances the user's attack and increases mana regeneration by 50%, along with a movement speed aura. There is also an active version that provides attack speed and movement speed buffs to allies.

Compared to the two above, [Mekensom] is useless for Sharl. Both eating candy and absorbing mana through life force are far more effective. The same goes for [Arcane Boots]; without a movement speed bonus, they're practically useless for Sharl, whose automatic mana regeneration speed completely outclasses them. [Traveling Boots] and [Phase Boots] would likely be better. Only [Drum of Resilience] is truly usable.

The Werewolf's equipment included: Vladimir's Offering, Power Treads, and Shadowblade. Vladimir's Offering was useless to him; Shar didn't consider himself the type of Nord barbarian who needed melee combat. Power Treads were better; the attribute-switching effect was far superior to the practically useless Arcane Treads. Well, he'd make do...

The Shadow Blade is a slightly better item, increasing attack speed and attack power. It also has an active skill: Shadow Step, which grants invisibility and increased speed, and allows the user to pass through units. Attacks while out of invisibility deal additional damage. Furthermore, it can be upgraded to Silver Edge by combining it with the Ultimate Orb.

However, upon closer inspection, almost all of these [Heroes] use items specifically designed for melee combat. Xia Erke had no desire to engage in hand-to-hand combat. After considering his options, he realized he already possessed a Staff of Agility, a Refresher Orb, and a transitional Ring of Aquila. He could replace the Ring of Aquila and instead equipped himself with the Drum of Endurance, Power Treads, Shadowblade, and Echoing Blade.

With this, in a sense, Ciel has collected all six essential items, which is truly cause for celebration!

……

More than acquiring the full set of six powerful items, Sharl was more concerned about the captured [Hero] souls. Before that, he hadn't had time to deal with the [Hero] souls, so they had been left unused. Now, he finally had time to process these true spoils of war.

136. Sorting out the harvest (continued)

As for extracting equipment from fallen heroes, what Xia Er values ​​more is the soul of those heroes. In the real world, there's no such thing as resurrection in a fountain or buying back. So, without the Aegis of Immortality, if these heroes die, they're truly dead. For Xia Er, that's exactly what he wants—the deaths of these heroes. If he uses control methods while they're alive, even if it succeeds, given the nature of traditional editors, these manipulated heroes might, at some point, break free of control as if in a plot device and fight back.

Think about it, how many examples like this are there in Azeroth! Even someone as powerful as the Lich King, who resurrected heroes as his minions, could easily allow the Forsaken to break free of his control if he wasn't careful. Besides, even if he also manipulates souls, I don't think he can compare to the Lich King or the leaders of the Burning Legion. Didn't you see that Sargeras infiltrated Medivh's soul before Medivh was even born? In the end, didn't Medivh still rebel against him?!

Therefore, after imprisoning the souls of these "heroes," Charles had to spend time personally erasing their memories bit by bit, leaving only what was necessary for him. However, just like with the dragon souls he initially acquired in the Elder Scrolls world, dragon souls were immortal in the Elder Scrolls, beyond the control of even the Demon Gods; in other words, the immortality of dragon souls was a rule of the Elder Scrolls. In the Elder Scrolls, no matter how hard Charles tried, he was completely powerless against the dragon souls imprisoned in the Soul Stones. However, after leaving the Elder Scrolls, without the world's protection, the dragon souls were simply destroyed.

Now, while the souls of these heroes aren't as intractable as the dragon souls in the Elder Scrolls world, they can't be dealt with in a short time. However, now that things have calmed down, Sharl has finally found the time to deal with these hero souls.

First, there was the soul of the Warlock Gadin. Aside from the Demon Wizard, the Warlock was arguably the most fitting element for Sharl himself. Separating Gadin from his soul was much simpler; Sharl had no intention of making Gadin his subordinate. He simply and brutally tore Gadin's entire soul apart, then extracted the Heroic power he desired. As for what would become of Gadin's soul, Sharl had no time to concern himself with that.

Finally, after two days of meticulously extracting Gadin's power from his soul, the Warlock's soul vanished completely. Only four smaller soul stones remained, sealing his Hero skills, signifying his existence. These four soul stones contained the Warlock's four skills: Fatal Link, Shadow Word, Cataclysm, and the ultimate spell, Chaos Sacrifice.

To be honest, of the four skills, [Shadow Word] is the least useful for Shar. As a warlock in WoW, Shar has plenty of curse spells. Spells like [Fatal Link] are much more interesting for him. Imagine binding an enemy with [Fatal Link], then unleashing a barrage of Affliction curses, and finally using Destruction spells to double-blast them. Even if you have high resistances, so what? Your minions aren't as strong as you. With [Fatal Link] spreading the damage by 25%, you'll still get hit. Against enemies who like to summon minions to gang up on you, this skill is simply divine.

[Upheaval] This kind of control skill isn't very useful, and Ciel doesn't think it's very effective either. If you really encounter an enemy whose speed is faster than your reaction time, like the Flash in the TV series, you can't lock onto the opponent, and they can instantly rush out of the skill's range.

The final, ultimate spell, comparable to a mushroom bomb, is the one Sharl values ​​most. In the game, this skill summons hellfire and stuns enemies for one second. However, in reality, the impact and destructive power of a gigantic creature summoned from nowhere and crashing down at supersonic speed is far beyond what the game's stats can capture. This is quite different from the effect shown in the game. When Gadin used this spell, it created a towering pillar of fire, impressive in both power and spectacle. For Sharl, this is a perfectly viable alternative when he doesn't want to use demon summoning spells to avoid entanglement with the Burning Legion, serving as a pet.

If the power of the Warlock is a perfect match for Sharl, then the next three Heroes are not so suitable for him.

The Wandering Swordsman, the Werewolf, and the Treant Protector are all strength-based heroes. The first two's hero skills are designed for melee combat, while the Treant Protector's skills are completely incompatible with him. Moreover, when collecting the Treant Protector's remains, the spirit-like hero's soul had already dissipated, in other words, returned to nature. Only a mutilated body remained. If Sharl knew how to craft wands or staves, that body would undoubtedly be excellent material. If he could learn all the runes, he could even try to counterfeit the Eternal Spear from the Treant Protector's remains. Unfortunately, during the Type-Moon era, he neither summoned the unlucky Hounds nor had the ability to summon Master.

Rather than wasting the remains of the Treant Protector, it was better to make the best use of them one last time. Fortunately, Sharl did have a way to deal with them. After sinking the remains of the Treant Protector into a Reality Marble, he poured the Abyss into the remains, using the Abyss's ability to distort matter to give this lifeless and soulless piece of wood a new life.

He turned Medea's complete version of the Dragon Tooth Soldier into the Fran Street Dance Troupe.

The dragon soul contained within the soul stone was transformed into an ancient dragon, but it could only breathe ice and not breathe fire...

In the main world, a dancer was also created, although she was a weakling who had just been born before she left...

"Alright, let's make use of waste, make use of waste..." After dealing with the remains of the [Tree Spirit Guardian], Xia Er muttered to himself as he waited for the Abyss to completely transform it. "...Anyway, it was a weak boss, so it's just right."

"I have a feeling that I'll really have to open a dungeon and become a demon king in the future, otherwise these bosses are just sitting idle and useless!"

Today, the hunting pit was updated.

137. Harvest and sorting completed.

Having dealt with the Treant Protector, Charles now possesses the souls and corpses of the Wandering Swordsman and the Werewolf. With a Frostmourne, Charles would likely have resurrected them both as undead without hesitation, but unfortunately, he didn't have one.

First, there's the [Wandering Swordsman], whose skills are all about charging in and attacking. If Ciel were to follow Ding's path and style, the [Wandering Swordsman]'s skills would be quite good, effective in both one-on-one combat and group battles. However, Ciel doesn't want to end up like Ding, constantly getting stabbed in the chest...

As for how to deal with it, Sharl ultimately decided to sink it directly into the abyss, just like the Treant Guardian. Of course, the Wandering Swordsman's soul still needed to be dealt with first.

Dealing with the [Wandering Swordsman] was actually quite tricky. Initially, Sharl planned to make him a boss, but then felt it would be a waste. After some thought, he decided it was better to make him a wandering spirit. Of course, his appearance needed a makeover; for example, his greatsword would be replaced with a Smoke Greatsword (Long live the Greatsword Cult!), and his armor would be changed to the Wolf Knight Set.

In this way, a new wandering spirit is born. Even if it's not a boss, it's no less powerful than a boss, like that Ice Knight who's terrible at killing...

However, the [Wandering Swordsman] is not like the [Tree Spirit Guardian], whose soul dissipates before it can be captured, leaving only a fragmented body—a [hero]. His body is intact, and his soul was captured by the bounded field immediately, so it's impossible to reshape him immediately. He can only put it aside for now and proceed slowly. Charles estimates that it probably won't be completed before he leaves this world.

On the contrary, the werewolf's side left Charles feeling somewhat uninterested. If he could, he would much rather kill the Hell Lord; that ability to turn damage into healing was simply too overpowered, like reversing the laws of life and death. Unfortunately, it was the werewolf who stayed to finish off the enemies, but since he already had a dog, taking another would be redundant. So, Charles chose to feed the werewolf's body directly to the dog, and then, like the warlock, extracted the hero's legacy and power from the soul. Because he already had a wolf, Charles took the werewolf's ultimate ability, Transformation, to improve Agmani's Polymorph spell, while giving the rest to the dog to enhance its combat capabilities.

In this way, the "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" scenario has been resolved, and all the gains have been tallied. However, this situation will probably only happen once. Next time, those "heroes" will likely not team up alone to engage in battles. According to the customs of this world, they will basically be leading armies into battle.

In the midst of a large-scale battle, it wouldn't be so easy for Charles to try and fish in troubled waters or become the last fisherman.

He had stayed in this small town for several days. Aside from staying in his room to process the soul of the [Hero] piece by piece and take stock of his spoils, he hadn't been idle. At least in this place where all sorts of people gathered, it was easy to extract some information from the mercenaries and adventurers if he was careful. Moreover, with the help of the [Soul Stealing Curse], most of these mercenaries and adventurers, who were mostly only at the entry-level or formal professional level, were easily controlled by the [Soul Stealing Curse] due to the large difference in strength.

From their words, Sharl roughly understood the current state of the war in this world. In fact, the current stalemate was largely due to Sharl's actions at the Annihilation Academy, where he forcibly seized the [Demon Wizard]'s legacy and then murdered Gadin, the [Warlock] [Hero]. Geographically, the Annihilation Academy wasn't far from the city where the siege had taken place that night. If Gadin, the [Hero], had been present on the Nightmare's side, they could have easily eliminated the [Prophet] and [Tree Spirit Guardian] in the wilderness. Even if the three [Heroes] who were attacking the city returned to reinforce, the [Warlock]'s ultimate spell, [Chaos Sacrifice], could have easily killed all five.

Unfortunately, because of Ciel, all of the above became hypothetical.

Faced with the Radiant's surprise attack, the Dire chose to abandon the entire city, more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians, sacrificing them to save the Radiant's heroes. However, similarly, without Shar's interference, the Lycan should have been able to kill the Frost Curse-afflicted Wanderer and Treant Protector and escape unscathed. Ultimately, though, Shar reaped the greatest advantage in this team fight between the Dire and Radiant... truly commendable...

……

After staying in the room for a while, Ciel pushed open the inn door and casually pulled over a black cloak hanging to the side, draping it over his shoulders. Hiding his face in the cloak's hood, Ciel stepped out of the room.

Following the wooden staircase down the stairs and turning through a corridor, Charles arrived at the first floor of the inn. Just like in many novels, on the first floor of the inn, some foreign mercenaries and adventurers sat in twos and threes at tables, drinking and bragging.

However, there weren't any idiots willing to walk right into their shoes and ask for trouble, nor were there any drunken lunatics spouting nonsense. After all, real mercenaries can't be completely drunk; otherwise, who would hire them? And those adventurers were either alone or in small groups near the front lines. If they messed things up because of drinking, no one would pity them.

Even if someone caused trouble, Xia Er didn't care. Having stayed in this town for some time, he had already investigated its situation. There weren't any heroes capable of threatening him, not even high-level professionals at first. Later, two high-level professionals arrived, but they were mercenaries and adventurers from outside. In other words, even if everyone in the town were gathered together, they couldn't defeat Xia Er now. He wouldn't even need to personally intervene; summoning the Flame Demon and the Black Wolf would be enough to easily wipe out the town.

The reason Charles stayed here was simply to gather intelligence on the journey to Radiant City, especially regarding the Fountain of Life, since the energy reserves needed to complete the Third Law were currently far from sufficient. And coincidentally, Charles had already discovered the location of a Fountain of Life.

In the center of a Radiant city called Uronos, located slightly behind the border between the Dire and Radiant realms, the Radiant would never have placed the Fountain of Life so close to the front lines if it weren't for the fact that such a thing couldn't be moved. However, precisely because of this, Uronos's defenses were far stronger than those of the Dire city that had been embroiled in the battle between the heroes that night.

138. Peeping from Beyond the World

Centered on the Fountain of Life, the entire city is enveloped in a permanent defense. Unlike the cities Sharl had previously encountered, which were rendered useless due to the closure of their control centers, the control center of Ulonos City remains within the Fountain of Life. The powerful energy contained within the fountain is such that even a [Hero] could not interfere with or shut down the entire defense. Furthermore, within the city's boundaries, all soldiers enjoy unlimited regeneration. In other words, unless instantly killed, any injuries sustained by the city's garrison personnel can be healed in a short time.

Even if a hero fights to the death, as long as their body is well-preserved and the time since death is not long, soaking their body in the spring can bring them back to life. Imagine how difficult it would be to conquer this city with its infinite mana and health regeneration! Moreover, it is said that at least three Radiant Heroes are stationed in this city at all times, ready to provide support should war break out.

Therefore, if Charles wants to take control of the Fountain of Life, he must be prepared to face the entire Radiant forces alone. He will then have to contend with the defenses and counterattacks of an entire city, as well as attacks from at least three Radiant heroes.

Even if all the power within the Realm of Limits were unleashed, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree. Charles wasn't that foolish, but the great battle between the Nightshade and the Radiant had given him an opportunity—an opportunity to storm the city. To achieve this, Charles needed to find a way to lure the Nightshade army to Uronos City to launch an attack.

However, given the current situation, while the Radiant lost two Heroes in the previous battles, the Dire also lost one Hero on the front lines. Furthermore, the Dire's werewolf was killed by Shar within their enchanted barrier. Thus, both sides have suffered losses, but the Dire's borders have been breached, leaving their rear wide open. The Lord of the Underworld has led his army in a retreat, seemingly intending to buy time. This shifts the focus of the battle to the Dire. Without the Dire's assistance, Shar doesn't believe he can conquer that city…

"What a run of bad luck!" Wandering aimlessly through the town's streets, Charles pondered his next plan. While he had gained something from coming to this world in a sense, he hadn't achieved much of his main goal. Filling the Reality Marble—the power extracted from the defeated heroes wasn't enough to completely perfect its rules. At least, the power rules of the four heroes—the Warlock, the Demon Wizard, the Wandering Swordsman, the Werewolf, and the Treant Protector—were unlikely to significantly contribute to Charles's plan to perfect the Reality Marble into a 'divine kingdom'.

The true heroes who can perfect the rules of a world are, for example, the four heroes who represent the four fundamental forces, as those who dig up Easter eggs say. I've only seen one: Keeper of the Light (weak interaction), but he ran away. The others—Chaos Knight (strong interaction), Enigma (gravity), and Io (electromagnetism)—have never even been seen.

Even if Ciel intends to make enemies all over the world, he still can't win!

Unless reality undergoes a significant change, Xia's current presence in the Dota world is futile. Unless he joins the Dire side and helps them defeat the Radiant, but that path he himself has already blocked. And the Radiant side, it's obvious, won't welcome him.

"In other words, staying in this world now is a waste of my time!" Shaking his head, Charles realized after careful consideration that staying in this world now meant he didn't know when he would have that opportunity again. "Bad luck! Forget it!" If he really wanted to have enough energy to complete the Third Law, he didn't necessarily have to hang himself in this world. Thinking about it that way, if he wanted enough energy to use, he didn't necessarily have to stay in this world.

"Anyway, I still have the coordinates of this world. I can just come back after a while!" After considering it, Xia Er decided to leave this world for the time being, which would also save time to travel to other worlds. Besides, this world is not like the previous worlds. Earth in the Type-Moon world is guarded by two major restraining forces, while in the Elder Scrolls world, there is a God of Time who is above both demons and holy spirits.

Since there are no worries about returning and no one will stop him, he can leave this world temporarily and come back to see if he can find an opportunity. After all, war doesn't end in a day or two; perhaps he will find an opportunity when he returns next time.