Vincent the Mage yawns, drawing the attention of a group of Drow near him. At this tense

moment, when even the well-informed Matron Batana's nerves were strained, the human

mage was slouching and yawning?

It's not that Vincent wants to do this on purpose, but he's really tired of this kind of

underground life these days. Since his injury, the Master has been living underground, never

touching the green grass, never touching the soft loess, and never seeing the blue sky again.

Other people are fine and may be able to return to the surface world in their dreams, but

Vincent has long given up the right to dream in order to see and sleep the ability to think.

But he was, after all, a dweller from the surface world, and the Underdark was not his home.

Vincent would have adapted to the Gnome city of Spider's Den, or even the Grey Dwarf city

of Bribando. But the city of Prudence alone oppressed him. Dark elves, unlike other

subterranean races, are greatly weakened by bright lights, and may even lose their ability to

see for a time. As a result, all Drow cities could see no light at all. The truth was that Vincent

had to use his penetrating eye all the time to see what was going on around him -- and that

made him tired. He now misses the warm sunshine and the warm, flower-scented air.

Shelley patted Vincent on the shoulder but said nothing. It was quiet progress now. If there

was a sneeze to come out, it had to be stifled and silent. The drow's eyes twinkled and looked

into the master's eyes, and she nodded her head to encourage him in this way.

Batana, who already had little affection for the counselor Mage, delayed even more. Without

Shelley's strong recommendation, the memory of her daughter's amazing eye for talent, and

the desire to prevent other dark Elf families from using the wizard's knowledge and power to

expand their influence, Vincent would never have gone from humble traveler to family

counselor. The Dark Fairy Mistress was always very wary of a person from the surface.

Especially now that it seems, Ze Lifa seems to be obsessed with the man, and the two can often be seen together during this

action. I wonder if this human sorcerer is using some kind of seduction spell on his own

daughter, but if so, then he must learn the wrath of the Drow!

An entire army of dark elves is now just below the city of Prudence, advancing through a

passageway they had secretly dug, and having to endure the smell of dust and decay that

had long since been left unopened. Soft footsteps echoed through the closed passageway,

and everyone was ready for battle. Above them, in the city of Dark Elves, it was a different

story.

The whole city was quiet and silent, even the market place, which was usually noisy, was empty

and silent. In the street, you can hear the "whine" of the underground cave wind blowing out

of time, like a ghost in the ear.

The great shining stone of the Blackcrystal Tower is still at work, giving out soft light to help

the people of the dark world tell the time. But today, the whole city seems to have disappeared.

No one looks up. The light of the Black Crystal Tower shone alone in the empty city, casting

a long faint shadow behind the buildings.

Stonelegs put his head out of the inn, looked up and down the street in front of his shop,

then quickly pulled his head back and shut the door. It was a depressing atmosphere he had

never seen before. There was no one outside, but the whole city was under the great pressure

of the coming storm, unable to escape, unable to break away, unable to breathe. All that was

missing was a fuse.

Batana led the team back to the First family compound through secret passageways. She

unraveled the layers of magical protection, opened the closed doors, and the First Mother

was back on her own turf. But, contrary to expectations, the place was exactly as she had left

it. The whole castle was quiet.

The ranks of the Dark elves quickly dispersed, forming small groups of a few men to quickly

patrol the maze. The core members of the family make their first rush to the Meeting Room,

the most central building of the compound, where prayers and communication with the

spider goddess are held.

The door is closed, but the statue of the spider, carved from precious stones and precious

metals, is still charming. The mother put her hand against the door, closed her eyes and felt

it for a moment. Then she gently pushed it open.

The heavy doors opened slowly, revealing the whole room. The fireflies on either side lit up a

pale blue flame, which did not hurt Drow's eyes, but allowed them to see the colors around

them. The queen mother's throne stood quiet but lonely on the steps, cushions made of

animal skins slouched in one corner of the throne, and family emblems carved in gold on the

tall backs, waiting for the return of the king.

The mother came into the room a little puzzled. She walked slowly, but with each step there

was a great noise. Knock, knock, knock. The echo sounded like a drum of war in this empty

place. All the dark elf priests were on full alert, their hands ready with deadly spells, watching

for possible ambush corners. All Drow men know the rule of "first strike, first strike."

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Batana sat down again on the throne and twisted her body as if to test if it was the one she

knew. With a slightly puzzled expression that was as much a question as a soliloquy, she said

softly: "That's it? Is that all?"

No one answered her.

But no one could answer her.

Vincent has an eye for insight. On the way, he keeps scanning the house. If he is involved in

a war between the dark elves, there are only two possibilities: to wipe out his opponents, or

to be wiped out by them -- and he does not dare to relax at this moment. But he was also

puzzled by the fact that the castle seemed to have no sign of having been raided, no

destruction or looting, no blood or bodies, no movement except that of the trow on patrol.

The castle was just as they had left it, with only some of the family's gatekeeping monsters

and nothing but silence for the rest.

Batana frowned and sat in silence on her throne, thinking. Her Dark Elf detachment returned

to report that the castle had indeed not been invaded.

"Then," said the Master after a pause, "half of the warriors are on patrol at once, and the other

half receive further healing and rest. Zeena, you are in charge of this. Take care of the defenses

and make sure nothing goes wrong!"

"Sinafi, you go to the Temple of the Spider Goddess at once and look at the situation. You

know how to put pressure on the other houses. By the way, Presta and Zeena, you two go to

your spies and report the latest information and situation immediately!"

"The other priests, begin checking every defense of the house, and do not let anything slip.

The great goddess is watching you, so prove your worth!"

"As for you, Counselor Mage, what do you want?" Batana finished her task for the dark Elves

and cocked her head to look at Vincent.

The Wizard wanted to know more about Phelps Littlefinger than anything else, and as for the

war among the Dark Elves, he tried to stay out of it. "Dear Mistress, I would like to see the city,

if I can. Perhaps my presence will draw out the creature who is hiding behind the scenes; Or

avoid the damage that the conspirators may be doing to the family at this particular time."

Batana thought about it. There was nothing in the house that a mage had to do. Keeping him

was tantamount to retaining a strong fighting force, but letting him out was obviously more

good -- a decoy, a decoy to draw attention away from others. When the mage first arrived

at Prudence, there had already been a struggle over his ownership. And now it is time for the

advisor to play that role again. Moreover, now that the master was around, my mother was

afraid to trust him completely.

"Yes! Batana agreed to the mage's request.

So Vincent left the First family home. His heart urged him to return to the inn as quickly as

possible; But his mind told him that he must now try his best to remain in his usual state,

without appearing impatient or showing his anxiety.

In the streets of the city of Prudence, only the dark robed figure of the mage moved, and he

was like the only ghost in the dead city, drifting through the silent city and back to the Tavern.

As the mage opened the door, there was an earth-shattering explosion at the very south end

of the city, and a flash of fire rose to the sky, illuminating the enormous cavern. The black

crystal tower shone like a firefly before it. The sudden loud noise was like a heavy hammer,

forcing the air out of the way, knocking in everyone's heart at once, and even making Vincent's

body shake.

The master looked up at the flames soaring into the sky. It was not burning from the ground,

but more like falling from the sky. A pair of fire palms suddenly pressed down, holding down

the buildings on the ground, destroying everything with high temperature and huge pressure.

Vincent estimated the location of the flame. It should be the residence of the Fifth Family.

As if set ablaze by the flame, the whole city of Prudence, after a brief pause, began to boil

again. Vincent even had the feeling that the city was waking from a deep sleep, that every cell

was at work, and that the strained bowstring was about to begin to exert itself. Although the

streets were still empty, the Master believed that the eyes used to peeping in the dark were

beginning to look around for a purpose.

The fuse has been lit, and now it's time to see how things play out.

The Wizard closed the door of the inn, just as he had closed it when he first entered. He

turned his head and saw Stonelegs lying behind the bar looking alert. "You're back. How's it

going out there?"

"Maybe the Fifth Family has been attacked." The mage hurried upstairs: "You might as well

hide a little longer. Are Hardy and they back yet?"

"Yes, they have been back for a while."

When the mage estimated that Stonelegs had lost sight of him, he spread his legs and ran

quickly back into the room.

They opened the door. Hardy and Mark were leaning over the window, their faces glowing

red as they watched the fire. They had just seen the Wizard coming back, so they turned and

closed the window.

"Well? Have you seen Littlefinger?" Vincent asked quickly.

'Yes. But it's complicated... ' "Hardy said.