under hope

In the silent night, the scarlet moon lingers in the dark night sky.

The stars seemed to have been swallowed up by the red moon, and an ominous red light enveloped the entire territory.

The one-eyed god descended from the moon, laughing and welcoming the wives brought to him by believers.

"ah! Victor!"

Fura La woke up from the nightmare, but what she saw when she opened her eyes was not the face of a familiar person.

"Miss Furala, what happened?"

The helmet of the personal guard knight with the family crest came into her eyes first, and the priest also stood aside extremely seriously.

"I had a dream that the moon... turned red."

Victor was not around, and she was a little disappointed, but due to the priest's serious eyes, she still told the content of the dream.

"That is a foreboding dream. You should go to the Moon Forest tomorrow night. The Moon God has recognized you."

The priest explained to her

"Really..."

Furala nodded, not looking very happy.

"Please continue to look at the statue, miss."

The priest bowed and said

"Um."

Fura La obediently knelt down on the altar and stared at the statue in front of her with pious eyes.

Today is the third day of the preparation stage. Tomorrow she will put on a red wedding dress and take a carriage to the Moon Forest.

Somehow, Victor did not serve as her bodyguard as usual today, but was replaced by his father as a castle guard.

Where did Victor go? What did his father say to Victor yesterday? Flora La was puzzled.

Although she felt disappointed by Victor's absence, the maid had said that women in the territory would dedicate their first kiss to the person they love most.

She had already dedicated the kiss, and she had...nothing to regret. Yeah.

That’s what Furala thought in her heart.

……

At the easternmost edge of the territory, Victor has arrived near the waterfall the count mentioned.

It was a valley that was not very deep.

The waterfall at the end is like a white horse, hanging down from the mountain, spreading a crystal clear water curtain, like the skirt of an elf dancing.

Victor tied his horse to a small tree and walked to find a way down to the valley.

He found this place only after asking around. The villagers in the nearby villages did not like the warlock very much. He also heard many rumors about the warlock along the way.

What about"the waterfall turns red at night", and"you can hear screams from the waterfall from time to time"...etc.

The villagers also told him that the warlock rarely went out, and when he did go out, he would wear a bloody robe.

The general evaluation of all the villagers is that this warlock is a mysterious, cruel and ruthless person.

Based on these comments, Victor couldn't help but doubt the count's words. Could such a person be the key to breaking the ritual?

Victor discovered a cecal path on the steep mountain wall, only wide enough to accommodate the sole of a foot.

At the end of the path is a relatively spacious platform with a small wooden cabin located on it.

"I wouldn't go out often on this road."

Victor returned to the horse, took off all the armor on his body, kept only his underwear, and carried a stabbing ax for climbing.

With the help of the stabbing axe, Victor walked on this road with great patience. Moving towards the end step by step.

Just as Victor was walking halfway, the biting cold wind of winter suddenly blew in the valley.

His hands and feet suddenly became extremely cold, and soon began to become red and swollen.

The cold wind made him Unable to feel the intuition of his limbs, he had to cling tightly to the stone wall in order not to fall.

After hitting him several times, the cold wind stopped, and his limbs gradually became warmer.

However, the already red and swollen fingers It was itching, and he was not as flexible as before.

Because of the strangeness of his limbs, Victor's walking speed was much slower, and his fingers often lost feeling.

But Victor thought it was not a big problem and could continue to move forward.

It seemed that there was only Four or five meters away, Victor climbed until the sun went down and was still far away from the hut.

——It must have been the warlock's fault.

Victor thought so

——But it also happens to prove that he knows some witchcraft, and maybe he can actually break the ritual.

Thinking of this, Victor moved harder towards the platform, even though he was exhausted.

As if impressed by his perseverance, the endless road disappeared and Victor got closer and closer to the cabin.

Finally, he stepped on the edge of the spacious platform, pulled back with the help of the stabbing axe, and fell down on the platform.

"finally……"

Victor lay on the ground and panted for a while, then pushed himself up again and slowly moved towards the cabin.

"Ouch——"

A giant wolf suddenly appeared in front of him, almost taller than his horse.

"If you can't stop me, for Furala..."

Victor used his last strength to hold on to the stabbing ax and slashed at the giant wolf.

The giant wolf looked up to the sky and roared, opened its bloody mouth and rushed towards Victor..

However, like smoke, the ax blade passed through the body of the giant wolf, and the beast disappeared with Victor's offensive.

An old man with a white beard stood in front of Victor and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh...what are you working so hard for? come in. The old man shook his head, walked into the cabin on crutches, and left the door open for Victor.

Victor limped into the house, closed the door smoothly, and sat on the chair at the old man's signal.

Different from the simplicity outside, there are various exotic plants planted inside the house, and a bird with brilliant feathers is kept. The old man is leaning in front of the table, mixing something with a bottle. While stirring the liquid in the bottle, he talks to Wei Kedo said:

"You are the first to pass the final level. Many people lost to the illusion in the end."

Hearing the old man's words, Victor replied:

"I wanted to give it a try, for...the most important person to me."

The old man glanced at Victor's sword, and then asked:

"You are from the earl of the castle, right? You came to me to stop the sacrifice of the moon god, right?"

These words made Victor alert. The Earl should have only told him about this matter. Why?…

"Huh, don't be suspicious. Where do you think the earl heard the news?"

Seeing Victor's hand unconsciously touching the hilt of the sword, the old man sneered and handed the prepared potion to Victor.

"Drink it and it will heal your hands."

The old man explained again.

Victor took the potion, looked around, and found that it was some red liquid.

"is blood?"

Victor asked.

The old man didn't reply, but turned around to do other things.

Keeping his hands red and swollen was not a solution, so Victor drank the potion in one gulp with hesitation.

In an instant, a wave of heat filled his body. , as if there was a flame burning him.

Flora's painful moans seemed to be heard in his ears, and the scarlet moon appeared in front of his eyes.

"Furala is in danger!"

The strange feeling lasted only a few seconds. After returning to normal, Victor stood up and left.

"return! That's not about the present, it's about the future."

The old man stopped Victor, holding in his hand the result of being busy with other things - a long flaming sword.

"future?"

Victor was stunned.

"The former noble lord also sent people to look for me, but they all ended in illusions."

"Seeing as you are the first to come here, I will tell you how to stop it."

The old man sat down in front of the table and carefully wiped the sword with a rag.

"What is it? Please also tell me."

Victor came to the old man anxiously, completely unaware that his limbs had returned to their original state.

"You hide on the carriage transporting the sacrifices and use this sword to kill the Moon God."

As he said that, the old man raised the sword in his hand.

"Can God be killed?"

Victor was extremely shocked by the old man's methods.

"You can use this sword, but you can't see the moon god, only the sacrifice."

The old man went on to say

"If I can't see the enemy, I may not be able to kill him with one accurate shot."

Victor replied seriously.

"Yes, so you have to wait until the priest groans before you come out"

"You must first take away the sacrifice, and then kiss the sacrifice's eyes, and then you can see the true face of the Moon God."

Hearing this, Victor fully understood the various steps to be taken, and he added excitedly:

"If you can see Him, you can kill Him!"

The old man nodded and handed the cleaned long sword to Victor with both hands.

"Go ahead and protect the most important person to you, young knight."

Victor solemnly took the sword and bowed deeply to the old man.

"Thanks for your help, I'll say goodbye."

After bowing, Victor turned around and left ably. The narrow path now became a normal passable road.

……

"He is such a capable young man, the witchcraft has been broken, and I can finally go out easily."

Not long after Victor left, the old man couldn't wait to carry the basket on his back and happily headed to the village through the spacious road.

A long time ago, the old man was a famous wizard, but he was gradually forgotten due to the passage of time.

This book He wanted to live a peaceful life, but he didn't know that he was publicized by that guy, causing people to visit his home every day.

In anger, the old man set up a semi-closed witchcraft, but this also affected the old man's travel.

The cold wind made The old man suffered from frostbite on his hands and feet, which made him very distressed. Every time he encountered frostbite, he would make a hoarse scream.

In order to resist the cold wind and treat frostbite, the old man invented red potion.

Since then, he has greatly reduced the number of trips. , every time I go out, I wear a robe filled with red potion, and sometimes I cast spells on waterfalls just to keep warm.

"Just waiting for the good news about the knight."

The old man thought this while humming an ancient cheerful song.