Chapter 97: Autumnfall

Beside the warm fire,

Aladdin was preparing a snack for the night. It was some sort of sliced meat sprinkled with herbs to roast. The halfling NPCs were carefree characters, and they would risk at least half of the wealth they acquired during adventures to make themselves more comfortable. They also didn’t like to adventure for too long, and they would often choose to retire after earning a good sum. Vivian couldn’t manage to eat anymore. Meanwhile, Gloria had a rare hiccup and then quickly retreated into the carriage with a reddish complexion.

Soran’s appetite was very good. The higher the Constitution the person had, the stronger the digestive ability. As such, his appetite had doubled compared to before.

For example, he now carried dried meat with him so he could eat and avoid cooking when he was in a battle. It would be much better after breaking through the fourth rank, though. By then, his endurance would be greatly strengthened; even if he didn’t eat for seven or eight days straight, he would still be okay.

Soran also knew a thing or two about barbecuing. While the two sat by the fire and ate meat, Soran unexpectedly unlocked the basic cooking skill. Maybe it’s because there’s a gourmet beside him.

Surprisingly there were 20 points in that skill.

There were many kinds of basic skills. Besides those that directly affected someone’s combat ability, other skills included forging, cooking, tailoring, and so on. The impact of these skills wasn’t big. Consequently, few people specialized in them. Weapon forging and armor forging were also quite limited. In order to build a rare grade equipment, one must also incorporate alchemy skills. One of the best examples was the Wizard’s robes. Many high-grade robes needed special materials, like the tough spider silk from the Underdark, which normal tailors couldn’t work with.

As for the Wizards, you can’t expect them to be proficient in sewing when they have so many harder things to learn.

Therefore, the number of high-grade rare items had always been very scarce.

Aladdin leaned against the carriage to smoke his pipe and handed Soran a small bag of tobacco. He smiled and said, “Taste the Derodotus family’s tobacco. It’s the best tobacco in northern Haels.”

Soran didn’t refuse the offer. He reached over and took a bit. He didn’t drink, but he used tobacco to ease his pain and sometimes to distract his mind from his injuries. Halfling tobaccos were impressively difficult to obtain even if you had money. It’s a favorite among Wizards. After it was lit, it brought a faint fragrance that could freshen up a person’s mind. The effect was similar to the incense that Gloria had lit, and the only difference was that smoking tobacco was a male Wizard’s hobby.

The night was getting late.

The halfling laid out a blanket, rolled it up, and went to sleep. It was hard to tell if he was really asleep. After all, it’s hard for a rogue to fall asleep easily.

A rogue had the most important role in a squad: they had to be alert at all times.

If they were ambushed the rogues would be the first ones questioned. As such, for a long time the rogues liked to walk alone because their task was too difficult. When faced with dangerous terrain, they would walk in front of the squad. They were meant to deal with all the traps. At night, while the Wizards meditated and the warriors slept soundly, the rogues always had to be vigilant and could only take a break when it was safe. Compared to the warriors, it was better if the squad had a high-rank Ranger to do the lookouts from time to time. The warriors were practically useless when tasked to keep watch in safe areas, and they were even worse when an enemy became invisible.

Still, It was even better to be alone. There would be no one to take care of and be responsible for.

Faint howls from wolves were heard in the distance.

Soran rested on the carriage. Vivian pulled at the corner of his coat with her little hands and then Soran smiled and patted her head, letting her know that it was okay. Although the halfling was very friendly, he would not take his own safety lightly, even if there was a magic boundary. He still thought that he had to stay alert just to be sure, otherwise, he wouldn’t sleep well. The air got colder and colder. It seemed that winter might come earlier since it seemed much colder than the previous years.

Aladdin was sleeping soundly. It is what he most likely wanted from joining Soran and the others. Not a ride, but a good night’s sleep.

He probably didn’t dare to sleep this soundly when he was alone in the wild.

Soran sat upright with a blanket covering his body. He occasionally stood up and walked carefully to listen to the distant sounds. It was the wolves who had spotted the campfire, but they knew not to bother the campers. If wolves weren’t hungry they mainly hunted other beasts for food. Attacking travelers would only kill them faster, and it will be very difficult for them to reproduce.

The next morning, Soran was covered with a layer of white frost.

It was extremely cold.

Soran, who had an extraordinary 20 points in Constitution, didn’t seem to care very much, but when Vivian woke up and saw the frost on his eyebrows there was a sad expression on her small face. She brushed the frost off of his body with her small hands. She even opened her mouth to blow away the frost. Then, she held his palm and rubbed it hard: “Brother? Is it cold?”

Soran kissed her on the forehead and smiled, “It’s not cold. This chill is nothing.”

The weather had definitely changed.

When Gloria got up in the morning and exhaled, there was a white mist visible. Gloria frowned and whispered, “This winter came over a month earlier than before.”

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Soran nodded slightly but said nothing.

After waking up, Aladdin first moved about. Then, he began to find some firewood to cook porridge. He had all kinds of ingredients ready. When the food was ready the group quickly ate it and continued their journey. Maybe it was because the merchants had cleared the way ahead, for the group did not encounter any monsters along the way. The journey lasted for two days, and then on the fifth day of their journey, they finally reached the territory of Autumnfall.

This was the half-elves territory.

Half-elves were very common here. They had slightly pointed ears, a more slender stature than human beings, and handsome and elegant features. However, most of the half-elves had been mixed: the proportion of human ancestry was large, while the proportion of elf descents were reduced. The village was similar to human villages, but there were many more towers and sentinels. Other than that, the area produced more longbow archers than an elven tribe. That’s because humans had more strength compared to elves: elven archers would often tire out after shooting a few rounds.

However, even though humans had enough strength, they did not have enough skill. Thus, compared to crossbow users and ordinary archers, humans needed a longer time to become a longbow archer.

Half-elves, on the other hand, had the advantages of both sides, that is, they had strength while also inheriting the innate talent that elves had for bows.

Almost every village here had longbow archers, and some towns also had teams of longbow guards. Among all the mixed races, the half-elves were doing the best. Other mixed folks, such as the half-orcs, were now either slaves or vagrants. It’s very exclusive here. The half-elves would often exclude creatures that weren’t half-elves. They would often watch outsiders with vigilant eyes because they were once rejected by the human and elven societies.

The so-called racial harmony was just a slogan preached by idealists.

Soran and others didn’t stop. They continued toward the city of Autumnfall. Finally, on the sixth day of their journey, they reached the city of Autumnfall.

“Alright, I’ll be heading to the Iron dwarves.”

The little halfling jumped out of the carriage. He waved to Vivian, who was almost as tall as him, and then left as he pleased. “Goodbye lovely little girl. Goodbye, your Honourable Witch, and finally goodbye, fellow travelers.”

“Come visit Hael when you’re free. I’ll treat you guys to some roast sturgeon.”

The separation was a normal thing.

Even adventures who had been together for a long time would eventually have to part ways.

Vivian’s face had a slight hint of disappointment, but she soon recovered. She smiled and arranged the gifts she had received. Her little face was full of joy again. She liked the halfling very much because he gave her a sense of companionship. This is because, when compared with other children, she was still too smart and mature. Thus, an adult halfling who had a child’s stature but a mature mind made her feel like she had found a good friend.

The city of Autumnfall had a very elven style.

Most of them believed in elven gods, and only a small number devoted themselves to other beliefs. Half-elves also had their own gods, but their gods were comparatively weak. They could not provide any protection because they were only weak gods. The city of Autumnfall was full of Phoenix trees. When autumn came, leaves fell in succession. It was a very romantic scene. They worshiped the legendary immortal bird thus they also liked the Phoenix trees.

The immortal bird also had other names.

The monks called them Phoenix, the priests called them sunbirds, and the Wizards named them the ashes of arcane magic.

These birds soared in the skies in the arcane kingdom period.

After that period, it was almost impossible to see these majestic creatures; they were rarer than gods and more powerful than dragons. They say that the God of fire, with powerful divine powers on the Elemental Plane, handed them olive branches, making these beautiful and deadly creatures leave the world. Legend has it that when they flew, the sky would have a trail of a blaze of fire, and when they landed on the ground, everything around them would turn into ashes. Their flame would only extinguish at the moment of death, and this divine flame could cause hundreds of points of divine flame damage every second.

That was why they were beautiful but unapproachable.

There were two landmarks in Autunmfall. One was the immortal bird sculpture in the central square which is 30 meters high and 20 meters wide. The other was a 300-meter-high dome tower which housed the council of Autumnfall and also the caster’s Council within the half-elves. These, however, were not the most noticeable things. The more eye-catching structure was the iron pillar on the dome tower. It emitted a silver-white light. A light so bright it would cause dizziness if observed for too long.

It was the brilliance of mithril. The iron pillar that seemed like a lightning rod was actually the legendary Crystal Cannon.

From a humans imagination, the Crystal Cannon was just a very heavy cannon mounted on the wall just like the cannon used by dwarfs in stories. Because they had uncreative minds, they couldn’t understand what the Crystal Cannon looked like. People only understood it as something that a Wizard could charge and used spells to trigger it to fire. The Cannon would emit a loud noise and would be able to shoot down a dragon.

Yes.

That’s the feeling, the feeling of power.

But in fact, this wasn’t correct. The cannon wasn’t mounted on the wall, that would only make it decorative, and it didn’t have a parabolic line of attack. Rather the Cannon had a straight line attack. It was built in the period of the Arcane Empire and was used in conjunction with the floating cities. It was especially terrifying when it was set up at a high point and used its maximum attack range of 1,000 kilometers.

That’s right.

The full name of the cannon was called the Super Arcane Crystal Pulse Cannon.

(To be continued…)