Chapter 22 “Terror Illusion Goblin”
What a bizarre scene.
Du Wei just stood there, impervious to that terrifying injury. The gaping hole produced by that attack went straight through his chest and out his back, but the reaction coming off his face was completely different. It’s like he didn’t even notice the bloody wound.
Just like that, as Du Wei staggered a few steps forward again, another Griffon swooped in at him to everyone’s astonishment. Overturned on the ground with severe wounds made by those slashing claws, gushes of splattering blood spilled everywhere….
“Master!”
Robert recklessly charged forward with bloodshot eyes, but by then Du Wei’s tiny body was already crawling up. Swaying, he seems to be smiling…… The fact that Du Wei could actually smile at a time like this gave everyone an indescribable creepiness.
Raising his head, this tiny youth laughed maniacally at the Griffons filling the sky: “If this is your illusion, then I’ve already had enough of this dream. If you can, let the dream end!”
By now Robert had charged over, the broadsword in his hand becoming a brilliant streak shooting at the Griffon that last attacked Du Wei. This loyal knight didn’t hold back any of his battle Qi, even to the extent that it exceeded what his body’s capable of supporting. Every muscle on the knight’s imposing frame came forward, as if blood was seeping through the surface of his skin.
The broadsword wearing that battle Qi cleaved the sky and even went as far as to impale deeply into the solid plumage of the Griffon, sending it tumbling down from the air as a result!
Throwing himself at Du Wei, Robert embraced the young lord and used his very back to shield him from whatever’s in the sky…..
“Robert.” Du Wei gasped for air in his arms, still smiling with blood streaming down his mouth: “Listen, we’re being played, this is all fake.” He points to his own wounds: “Look, with wounds like these, an ordinary person would have long died. But……”
Robert wasn’t an idiot, and finally caught on to the discrepancy. The feeling Du Wei gave him… Such a small and weak youth hadn’t died yet while suffering such fatal wounds! Even for a powerful warrior, injuries like these would have turned the person into a corpse by now.
“My spirit senses are stronger than the common folk, that’s why the illusions are unable to fully affect me.” Du Wei gasped for air again: “Unfortunately, I don’t know how to break it… This might be a kind of mind magic, or maybe an illusion spell.”
“Illusion spell……” Robert thought deeply, then roared in a loud voice: “Solskjaer! Mister Solskjaer!”
Protected at the very center of the soldiers, Solskjaer heard the call and responded.
Dodging the oncoming attacks from the Griffons again with Du Wei in his arm, Robert suffered another round of wounds on his back. Even his armor became scratched and mangled as a result.
“Think of something! The lord says it’s some kind of illusion magic!” Robert roared.
Solskjaer began to sweat profusely. He wasn’t after all a true magician, and the pharmaceutical tricks he used to emulate magic only extended to fire spells. In many ways, he hasn’t really dabbled into the realm of magic yet.
By now Robert has already returned with Du Wei in toe.
Exclaiming, Solskjaer tries to explain: “I don’t have any way to break the illusion… if we could get rid of these creatures, then maybe, just like how we got rid of that rhinoceros and demon wolf.”
Robert couldn’t restrain himself and began scolding the mage, “enough of this nonsense! If we had the ability to do that then I wouldn’t need you to tell me!”
Meanwhile, Du Wei had been smiling the entire time in Robert’s arm, his voice low, “Robert, listen, let me ask you something… Every knight with imperial training of the battle Qi should have a valve weak point right? Where is your weak point?”
“…….” Robert stared blankly at the boy. He hadn’t expected his young lord to ask such a question in a moment like this.
“Tell me quickly.” Du Wei continues, “I have a plan.”
Each knight training in battle Dou Qi would have his own valve weak points. Whenever a knight utilizes their battle Qi, their strength could reach several times that of their muscles limit, or even more if they are talented. But it’s precisely this secret that every practitioner would zealously guard with their life because its lethal to themselves if made public. So, how can he divulge this information so lightly?
But as Robert lowered his head, his heart shook at the sight in front of him. Seeing the blood ridden young lord in his arms, he grits his teeth and said: “At… the right side of my stomach, below the fourth rib…”
As soon as his words ended, Du Wei’s eye emulated a bizarre light! Nobody knew where this frail youth had gotten that strength from, but he suddenly rolled around and struggled free from Robert’s grasp. Once on the floor, he swiftly drew the dagger tied to the knight’s leg and stabbed Robert in the chest!
He should have been able to dodge the attack easily, but as a knight of the Rowling House, and a steadfast retainer, he hesitated as a result of his personal loyalty. After all, this was no enemy attacking Robert, but rather… his own lord!
His chest armor had already been torn to rags in the fighting just now. With the icy cold dagger piercing into the right side of his chest, just below the fourth rib, Robert felt a peculiar sensation of iron slipping through his flesh…
Most certainly, Robert was the most shocked among everyone here. Looking at the young lord that was only inches away from him, he never thought the target of his devotion would suddenly turn on him with a dagger!
Contrary to the shocking scene, Du Wei’s expression remains serene and even a bit consoling in his gaze.
“Don’t worry Robert, I wouldn’t harm you. It’s just a nightmare.”
At Du Wei’s muffled voice, Robert made a dull groan before going limp, his body abandoning all resistance as he fell to the ground….
Du Wei slowly stood up amidst everyone’s cries of alarm, the dagger in his hand still dripping with blood. As all the Rowling guards stared at him with shock, Du Wei just laughed and dropped the dagger.
Smiling slightly, he commanded: “Dreamland, end!”
When Du Wei’s dagger pierced the knight’s chest, the Griffons filling the sky suddenly issued a mournful howl! Then like vindictive hawks, the Griffons dove towards Du Wei in unison at every direction.
Looking from the side, those sharp claws and beaks of the lion birds gave no doubt about the brutal end awaiting Du Wei when they rip through his flesh.
Everyone shut their eyes, all of them believing their end was near.
But at this moment, something strange happened.
The first Griffon to charge at Du Wei suddenly exploded into countless motes of light…… Followed by the rest freezing in midair! Their bodies began to crackle, and then countless lines of ruptures sprang across the surface before they all exploded into tense bursts of light…..
Finally, with a boom……
Everyone couldn’t help but lower their heads against the countless rays of light, not daring to look at the source directly. The only exception being Du Wei. Still cold with a smile on his face, he alone stood there with his back arched straight, his head high as he watched the extraordinary scene unfold in the air.
One by one the Griffons were crushed, dissolving, becoming countless specks of light scattering to the wind……
Under the effect of the brilliant radiance, even the evening sky seems to rewind back to an earlier part of the day! Du Wei could even feel the space around him, that’s right, the very space around him distorting. The surrounding trees, underbrush, comrades, even the corpses and blood on the ground, all of it distorted……
Finally, with a bang, everything became quiet……
The forest, was still the same forest.
The sky, was still the same sky.
The distant mountain, was still the same distant mountain.
The sunset, was still the same sunset.
But the blood on the ground, those heartbreaking pieces of mangled corpses, all disappeared.
In their place were his people, lying on the ground in an unscrupulous mess. Sir Spann and his subordinates, those Rowling family guardsmen ‘casualties’, were all fine. Their eyes remain closed, but they were clearly alive, only unconscious.
Du Wei looked at himself and found his own fatal injuries gone, without a trace of it ever happening.
Meanwhile Robert remains at his feet…… Astonishingly, the knight suffered no injury like he was supposed to.
Whether it was the injuries from the recent battle or from the stabbing incurred by Du Wei…… They were all gone!
His armor remains intact, the only blemish being the scratch on the right side of his breastplate, approximately at the spot where his fourth rib resided. That’s exactly where Du Wei had stabbed him with the dagger just now, but how could a feeble youth without martial skills have pierced the armor? At most he could leave a mark on it, which was what happened here, a scratch mark.
Du Wei made an effort to pat Robert’s face, rousing the knight from his sleep.
Upon opening his eyes, Robert found his young lord looking down at him, smiling with an apparent grin: “Sorry, I didn’t have a choice just now… Because you were the apparent source of our situation. All those Griffons were based on the memories of your most terrifying experience in your life, and manufactured from the delusions in your heart…… So, my only choice was to knock you out of the dreamland, and once you were unconscious, the illusion didn’t have a source to cling onto, naturally disappearing as a result.”
As for Du Wei stabbing Robert just now…… He had only stabbed him in the dream.
The Rowling family guards still standing also looked down at themselves with astonishment, then at the companions around them. They couldn’t comprehend what kind of strange method this little lord had used to make those terrifying magic beasts go away…… And the wounds they had just now as well.
Those already dead “comrades”, even those whose corpses had been torn apart, all lay unharmed on the ground.
The only one still injured was the lady knight Rolynn.
The wound on Rolynn’s hand was real! What she had used was the Moon clan’s secret technique…… Magic breaking field.
Within the radius of her secret technique, all magic shall be eliminated. Therefore, when she used it earlier, she alone and only she were able to break out of the illusion.
There wasn’t enough time to explain, and the only one who understood what has happened was the magician Solskjaer. Even though he didn’t have much ability in magic, he was exceptionally erudite in the lore’s of magic. He immediately pulled out several medicines and started applying them to the unconscious lady knight’s hand.
Picking the dagger off the ground, Du Wei looked over the weapon: “As expected, not a drop of blood.”
Holding the dagger, he began walking forward towards the bushes. At this moment everyone discovered that there seemed to be a small creature squirming through the underbrush in front.
It was a creature about the size of a big rat, its light green fur making it really difficult to discover…… That is if you didn’t look carefully.
Du Wei’s approach made this small creature immediately emit an alarmed shriek, but it moved too slowly. When it tried to escape through the underbrush, the dagger in Du Wei’s hand shot out, stabbing the ground in front of it, thus allowing Du Wei to place one foot on it……
Everyone can clearly see the little creature’s plump body now. Under the green fur was mostly a mass of spherical meat with a long and massive tail….. Sort of like a squirrel.
In fact, the creature’s appearance was practically just like that of a squirrel —— except for its weird green fur!
But what’s different was the tiny, sharp horn protruding from its forehead. Unlike other animals, this horn wasn’t made of bone, but of a bright crystal.
Du Wei was stepping on its tail, and as the little creature struggled to get free, it made tweeting screeches. Baring its teeth to screech at Du Wei, the horn on its head suddenly shone with a bright ray of light that struck Du Wei……
This bright light didn’t cause Du Wei the slightest harm; instead, he only felt countless memories surfacing from the bottom of his mind, like someone recalling former experiences….
Fear?
Yes, it seems the memories he was recalling was the most terrifying moments of his life!
He felt as if something was scanning his memories, but those dusty things in his mind weren’t part of this world, and as those terrible memories were brought out one by one, Du Wei shook his head hard……
He was infuriated!
Du Wei, who since came to this world had always worn an apathetic smile now had a furious complexion, anger bubbling up to his face!
Du Wei looked coldly at this little thing, then suddenly bent down and used a harsh low voice to say: “What, are you looking for the things I fear…… Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed!”
Holding out a hand to grab the little creature, Du Wei’s fingers wrapped tightly around its neck and pulled it up, speaking in a low voice: “If you can understand the fear in peoples’ hearts, then shouldn’t you be able to understand my words? Let me tell you…… Don’t think to play that game with me…… While there is fear in my heart, the things I fear do not exist in this world! The illusions you can make should be limited to only those things that are within the rules of this world…… Then, I’m sorry to say…… I don’t belong to this world!”
The little creature struggled to get free, the horn on its head constantly shooting beams of light at Du Wei, but the expression within its eyes finally showed fear and despair…… Because that light was the source of its illusion magic, and to this human across from it…… It was completely ineffective!
“Master……”
Just as Du Wei’s anger erupted, the surprised voice of the magician came from behind him.
Solskjaer had swiftly ran up to Du Wei’s side and carefully studied the little creature held in his hand. After a long time, this mage suddenly called out joyously: “My God! This is a ‘terror illusion goblin’!! According to historical records, this creature went extinct several centuries ago!! Heaven! Look at its forehead, the horn is already the length of a finger! This little creature is still an infant illusion goblin; it should be less than a century old!”
Du Wei’s voice was very cold: “What, it’s also a magic beast? Illusion goblin? Is it rare?”
Solskjaer’s face couldn’t help showing a greedy expression as he licked his lips: “This terror illusion goblin’ can use the fears in the hearts of men to deal with its enemies. It’s a superlatively intelligent magic beast that can’t even be compared to those common magic beast creatures! And, and……”
“And what?”
The magician’s eyes shone: “Several hundred years ago, this creature was a treasure that every magician yearned for. As long as it was captured, killed, and the horn on its forehead ripped out and carried on one’s neck, it will grant its wearer immunity to the majority of mind magic! Its horn is the material for making a first class magic defense item.”
As if the terror illusion goblin could understand the magician words of killing it, the fat body of the creature immediately trembled and started struggling more and more violently like its life depended on it. The tiny bean-like eyes grew wide with fear.
At this moment behind them, the majority of the Rowling family guards had all gathered around, the others occupied with waking up their unconscious comrades and Sir Spann.
Du Wei looked at the little creatures in his hand and spoke in a grim voice: “Immunity to the majority of mind magic? So it’s actually such a precious creature…… How is it used? Can the horn be pulled out right after it’s killed?”
The magician was practically drooling: “Yes! That’s right! And not just its horn, even its fur, they’re both precious magic materials, it’s also a precious ingredient for pharmacy! With it I can make……”
Before Solskjaer could finish speaking, there was a sudden whistling sound from the distant mountain, immediately followed by a fireball bursting in midair. That was the signal from one of the other search parties, apparently something has happened.
As everyone was still stunned, a sudden flickering light could be seen from afar in the woods, precisely from where the other search party’s flare had originated!
That light flew through the air and immediately shot down directly in front of everyone! On the ground it transformed into a jade green flame, and from within the flame a person stepped out!
“Careful! This could be the high level spell ‘green flame teleportation’!” Solskjaer was nervous.
The person who stepped forth from the green flame was dressed in an official magician’s robe of the gold color with a tall pointed hat, the chest hanging a golden three leafed mugwort badge!
Du Wei who was already familiar with general knowledge about magicians recognized it with one look: this badge was the emblem of a ‘grand mage!
Magicians on the continent were split into ten levels: Below the fourth level were low level magicians, the fourth rank to the eighth were generally called mid-level magicians, but the eighth level and above were people addressed as ‘grand mages’.
And this three leafed mugwort badge clearly stated that this magician’s status was a part of the upper echelon, a person of at least the eighth rank!
The somewhat short and thin stature was completely covered in the golden robe, appearing incomparably luxurious in the setting sun, and the magicians face was completely hidden by the pointed hat, and even the high collar was turned up so that not even a hint of skin could be seen.
Even though the face couldn’t be seen, Du Wei clearly sensed that the other side’s gaze was fixed on the little terror illusion goblin in his hand!
A high level magician suddenly appearing here left both Du Wei and Solskjaer stunned. Thinking of what Solskjaer had just said about the value of the little terror illusion goblin, Du Wei naturally thought of what the other side coveted……
“Who is it?!” Du Wei calmly shouted.
Sir Robert reacted very quickly and waved his hand, and numerous Rowling clan guardsmen formed up to protect Du Wei.
So much had already happened today! A formidable high level magician suddenly showing up left Sir Robert somewhat nervous…… Whether it was an enemy or a friend, only heaven knew!
“I am a knight of the Rowling clan, distinguished magician. Please tell us your purpose in coming!” Robert spoke up while covering Du Wei behind him.
He first made clear their side’s identity before asking the other side, this was the most adequate plan. He also hoped that the Rowling clan’s name might hold some weight and force the other person to think of the consequences.
Before the magician spoke, this person first raised their wide sleeves to pull off the pointed hat, exposing their face.
Everyone was immediately stupefied!!
“I, I, I’m s-s-s-sorry……” The magician’s voice was tender and pleasant to hear, even a bit nervous and timid…… Most importantly, the magician actually stammered ferociously!
“I-I-I’ve come to l-l-l-l-look for it…..” Raising a slender finger to point at the terror illusion goblin in Du Wei’s hand.
This magician didn’t just have a pretty voice, her appearance was pretty as well. After pulling off the hat, this high level magician with the golden three leafed mugwort badge was actually a girl with a shy expression! Her smooth and round cheeks were bright scarlet, as if blushing with shame from all the stares. Her nose and mouth were both small and exquisite, and her eyes were large and clear. Only, the expression in those eyes was that of pleading.
“I-I-I’m s-sorry…… I-i-it’s m-my teacher’s p-p-p-pet, I-I-I’ve come to b-b-bring it b-back.” It seems that the more nervous she was, the fiercer her stuttering became. What’s more, she looks like she’s about to cry: “C-c-can you r-return it? I-i-i…… If I don’t b-bring it back, t-teacher will p-p-punish me.”
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