Arcane Journey

Chapter 271 Self-exploding Beholder Tyrant

Ranger Azara's manor is located in the north of Wisteria Valley. It is the largest and most luxurious building in the entire magical demiplane. It is three stories high and made of white stone bricks.

Looking from a distance, when the evening light shrouds the entire manor, it will also shine with a rose-colored luster.

Brian and Santilla were the last to arrive at the banquet hall.

The lobby is spacious and bright, with constellations painted on the ceiling and polished walls shimmering in the light of star-shaped chandeliers.

Bright wisteria garlands adorn every window, and tables are set with an assortment of sumptuous hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

From a distance, Brian saw Azala, disguised by a beholder, standing in the center of the hall. Just as the villagers introduced, this member of the Harper Alliance was a charismatic ranger.

The only fly in the ointment is that his handsome appearance is marred by a scar that runs from the top of his left frontal bone to his jaw.

Surrounding him are thirty or forty well-dressed villagers, and these constructed villagers seem to be having a great time.

They warmly greeted 'Azara' and sent blessings and greetings.

Five other villagers gathered on the stage to play instrumental music, a band that included a harpsichord player, a cellist, a violinist, a flute player and a violinist.

At the same time, Brian was keenly aware that the five waiters shuttled between the crowd and the tables and chairs were not constructed creatures, but turned into human forms by some means.

He guessed that these five servants were probably the beholder servants of the giant-eyed tyrant Reckney.

Within the marble walls of the manor, the rooms and corridors are spacious and uncluttered, and the decor is luxurious without being tacky.

In order not to attract the attention of everyone as much as possible, he sat with Santilla in a very inconspicuous corner of the hall, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to make a move.

"Bryan, if we fight later, what will these villagers do?" Santilla glanced at the crowd around her, lowered the brim of her hood, and asked in a low voice.

She is a drow elf, no matter where she is, she is a very eye-catching existence.

Despite his illusionary cover, Brian's cautious personality tries to keep her out of the public eye as much as possible.

"Don't worry about them." He said indifferently, "These are constructs made of wood, not real life."

In fact, this question was asked of the leader of the Harpers when he set out for the demiplanes.

The Lady of the Storm tells him that construct civilians don't bleed or feel pain like flesh-and-blood humanoids.

If a villager is killed, his true form is revealed, turning into a lifeless wooden mannequin.

After one night, the mannequin will disappear.

After about a week or so, a replacement villager will be created in the demiplane to take over the position and duties of the 'killed' villager.

Of course, if the mannequin is disintegrated or reduced to ashes, it will not be replaced and the population of the village will be permanently reduced by one.

Therefore, they don't have to worry about accidentally injuring these constructed villagers.

During the simple communication between the two, the melodious music suddenly stopped when Azara raised his hand, making the whole hall quiet.

Brian observed everything silently, looking for a suitable opportunity to make a move.

He saw Azara, who was disguised as a beholder, walk up to the high platform, cleared his throat, and began to speak to the dozens of constructed villagers who had already been seated.

"Everyone, thank you for coming to Reckney's banquet..."

Azara's words immediately caused all the constructed civilians sitting there to look at him with confused expressions.

Obviously, these villagers with simple procedures, at this time, it is difficult to understand the literal meaning of why 'Azara' calls himself Reckney.

Bryan noticed that the beholder pretending to be a ranger didn't care what the villagers thought of him, but continued to speak to the crowd as if he wanted to make a big speech.

Seeing this, Brian's eyes showed interest.

He was very curious whether the purpose of the beholder holding the banquet at this time was to satisfy his own vanity, or to play role-playing games.

After all, with the strength of the beholder, he doesn't think that the other party can't detect the true identities of these villagers. In this case, he still plays this kind of game in his own way, either because of his brain problems, or to satisfy some evil intentions of his own. fun.

In fact, such strange people are not absent. In Brian's impression, he has even seen people who married inflatable dolls in the real world.

"That's right, just as you've imagined." The beholder's loud voice echoed in the spacious hall, saying to everyone: "Leckney is not Azara, you must know that it was Leckney who created this world , created us, and Azara is just a despicable thief who tried to corrupt the world and destroy Reckney's creations."

The villagers' discussions were buzzing like a swarm of bees.

The beholder still didn't care about the villagers pointing and talking about him as before, and still straightened his waist, saying to himself, "Praise the 'Big Mistress', thank the 'Big Mistress' for creating something like Thunder Kearney is such a perfect creation."

The beholder's voice became lower and lower, "The most perfect creation of the 'Great Mistress', Reckney has been hiding and waiting in the endless darkness for so long, and finally she can come back to life again."

Brian stared intently at the beholder pretending to be a ranger, with a hint of surprise in his expression.

He actually felt a trace of sadness in the tone of the other party's speech.

"Because in the cruel and distant past, the Felin Mokui came, and the city of Ortur in Rekni also fell."

"Oltul City?" Santilla looked at Brian with puzzled blue eyes, "I seem to have heard of this city somewhere, is it located in the Underdark?"

"That's right, this is a city once ruled by a beholder tyrant, located somewhere in the Underdark." Brian nodded slightly and explained to her, "More than 2000 years ago, in the calendar of Netheril, the year of courage , the three Felim elders overthrew the rule of the beholders in this city, and they have been occupying it ever since."

The reason why he knows so clearly is that the fundamental reason is that many great events have taken place in the "Year of Courage".

Beholder's City Falls is child's play compared to it, and has no chance of making headlines.

For example, Nether Elder Iolum, who has lived for thousands of years, chose to become a Lich in this year and built a residence in the Underdark.

It was also in this year that Sharon Spirit and Felin Mokui had their first documented conflict in the Ennook Desert, which laid the groundwork for Sharon Spirit to seal Felim Mokui.

Acindor, the Prophet of the Earth who once assisted the Netherese in translating Netherese scrolls, appeared in the territory of Netheril for the last time. Before arriving in the floating city of Karthus, he also warned the first generation of magic goddess Mith Riel is about to face her greatest challenge yet, one that will change the Netherese people's understanding of magic forever.

And the floating city Sacross, which was salvaged by the ghost princes from the Sea of ​​Falling Stars, also successfully ascended to the sky in a year of courage. As a result, the great arcanist Solend who lived here fell into the Sea of ​​Falling Stars five years before he was fresh. .

While chatting with Santilla, Brian focused his attention on the speaking beholder.

"Where the people of Reknee were torn to pieces, the magic of the Faerim Sorrel destroyed the city of Ortul, until their bloody carcasses clogged every street in the city of the Tyrant."

The beholder used a low and sad tone, showing off its past glory, "The city of Oltur once subjugated the purple worms and illithids, and became their guards that controlled their consciousness. The people of Reckney can easily melt Rocks, carved new passages and halls in the hard rock, and slaughtered the drow fighting squads at will. The army of the dark elves dared to appear, and they would be manipulated at will.

There is the hometown of Reckney.After being chased by the ruthless Felin Mokui and escaping the dark underdark, after countless suns and moons, the most perfect creation of the "Great Mistress", Reckney still finds it difficult to accept the fact that the city has fallen ...Leckney misses the city of Oltul, and misses his hometown..."

"This beholder is quite emotional." Santilla smiled and asked curiously, "Brian, do you know how they reproduce?"

"Of course I know." Brian looked at the drow girl with a smile in his eyes.

"In fact, the beholder's reproduction method is completed alone. They only need to reproduce the next generation through the purely spiritual realm."

While the beholder tyrant Reckney was tearfully telling the construction civilians how he missed his hometown and his people, Brian simply told the curious Santilla about how the beholder reproduced. .

In fact, when he first learned about the reproduction method of beholders, he still felt very novel.

Because beholders have a magical power called nightmares come true.

Usually when the beholder is dreaming, a mysterious magical force will make the environment around him change with his dream, making the scene in the beholder's dream come true.

In certain coincidental circumstances, when one beholder dreams of another, the dream distorts reality and shapes a real being.

Then a real, flesh-and-blood beholder can be evolved, and this is not a simple copy or clone.

Because the form of the new beholder will be determined by the dream of the dreaming beholder.

For example, the beholder thinks about what kind of girlfriend he wants to look like during the day. If he suddenly dreams of his ideal girlfriend when he sleeps at night, he can congratulate him for successfully getting the girlfriend he wants.

It's also possible that after a beholder has had a vampire encounter or been severely injured in combat, he will have nightmares about blood, which can then create a beholder called a 'death-kissed beholder'.

This is a variant of the beholder with an insane thirst for blood.

A beholder is poisoned, sick, or has a fever dream, and a beholder beholder will be born. Although the observation ability and size of this beholder have been weakened, and even their IQ and personality are different from ordinary beholders, they still have a good understanding of The power of magic is very sensitive, so it is willing to become the familiar of spellcasters.

Although Brian has never seen this kind of beholder, he still suspects that the observer beholder Victor is similar to this kind of mutant beholder.

"Then if the beholder dreamed that he was dead at night, what would happen?" Santilla, who listened with gusto, raised her own question again.

"It will become a dead-eyed tyrant who masters the energy of the undead." Brian replied, "Many beholders who are getting older will be more and more worried about the moment of their own death. After the perspective is developed, he will fantasize about his appearance after death, and once this dream is finalized, all his flesh and blood will fall off and become a dead-eyed tyrant."

"No one can stop Reckney's determination to regain his hometown!"

The speech of the beholder tyrant Reckney gradually became passionate, and his loyal listeners were already in a state of panic because of the knowledge they had received in unfamiliar fields. They stared at him dully, showing that At a loss.

"As the most perfect creation of the 'Big Mistress', Reckney is older than ordinary beholders, but for the race of Reckney, years of patient waiting and careful calculation will one day wear away... …but for Rickney, that day has come!"

Unknowingly, Reckney's speech turned into a self-destruct mode, and he saw a ferocious smile on his handsome face pierced by scars:

"Leckney wants to completely control Azara and dominate his body forever, because he is not only a member of the Harpist Alliance, but also the son of the chosen one of the Goddess of Magic. Using him, Lakeney can conveniently extract wealth as he pleases in the valley Let these gurgling gold coins become the power for Reckney to develop the demiplane and counterattack the city of Oltul..."

"Bryan, when is this beholder going to talk about?" Santilla lay on the table, looking at the food on it boredly, and said gloomily, "When are we going to do it?"

"No rush." ​​Brian patiently listened to the beholder's self-destruction, considered the feasibility of his plan, thought carefully, and finally gave up his plan to subdue him.

Because this kind of brain disease, the beholder suffering from severe psychosis stayed by his side, undoubtedly planting a time bomb.

"Then let's ignore him and fill our stomachs first." Santilla picked up the wine on the table and filled their glasses.

It was only then that Brian noticed that all the food at the banquet was cut into small pieces and served on a clean white plate, and the plates placed on the side were filled with various condiments, which could be dipped according to one's own taste.

Seeing this, he had to admit that although this beholder tyrant looked crazy, he was still very good at preparing the food for the banquet.

These foods are not only edible, but also look very delicious, for example: Salted Chicken Snake Egg Mosquito Bat Fort, Vegetable Barbecue and Pulled Frog Legs are all delicacies he has tasted before.

"Reckney is the most perfect creation of the 'Great Mistress'. The main eye of Reckney holds the anti-magic field ability that is immune to all magic. No Felin Mokui can release any magic in front of Reckney... "

While listening to the beholder's self-explosion, Brian savored the food with relish.

The glasses of the two touched slightly, and the drow girl's eyes were filled with a sweet smile.

Just when they were eating happily, the entire banquet hall suddenly became strangely quiet, and even the air seemed to match the atmosphere and freeze together.

Brian slowly put down his wine glass, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed that everyone's eyes were fixed on the two of them.

"Outlanders, who are you? Who invited you here? What are you doing here?" Beholder Tyrant Reckney asked loudly with a slightly maniacal voice.

"It's time to do it." Brian ignored it, picked up the napkin and wiped his hands calmly, and said to Santilla that the legendary staff had appeared in the palm of his hand.

Santilla couldn't wait to jump up from the chair, overturned the table in front of her, shook her head and put down her hood, her thick white hair fell loose.

I saw the elf winter moon bow in her hand pointing at the beholder tyrant, with a playful smile on the corner of her mouth, "Can't you see that? Big eyes, we are here to make trouble."

(End of this chapter)