Chapter 88 Advice from the Darkrunner

"Sir, do you remember?" Hark asked with excitement on his face.
Veltok shook his head, then leaped forward, jumping out of the tightly thorned brambles and landing steadily on an open space several meters away.
A few dozen minutes of sleep in the Dream Arena extended the time fifteenfold, but no matter how hard Vertok racked his brain, he couldn't make the memory fragments clearer. He only felt familiar with the two sword-wielding maids and felt pity and anger for what they might have experienced.
Recalling memories by racking his brains is obviously not enough to retrieve the complete information. Veltok reorganizes the clues he has already obtained and comes up with some ideas to unravel the mystery of his own identity.

"Huck, Max, do you remember what Lina said when she sent me to Brown Town?" He patted the dirt on his leather armor and asked the two of them.
Huck replied eagerly, "Sir, I remember Barthom mentioning it. Lina claimed to be your sister, coming from Torrent City. Later, she joined the White Horn Adventurers alongside you. The White Horn is actually a nomadic village of the Humor clan. They were willing to take you in because Lina is a professional physician and alchemist."

“Two years ago, during the summer, the White Horn Adventurers set off from the town of Carwen in the Rapids City. While on a hunting expedition in the wilderness, they encountered a group of orc bone collectors. These orcs were clearly no match for the female Hemer tribe warriors. They lured a Shadow Stalker to attack the White Horn Adventurers and managed to escape in the chaos.”
Max added, "Veer, Lena, who claimed to be your sister, said that the Shadow Infiltrator was driven out of its lair by a giant lizard, the Dragonvein Monitor, and it was in a raging state. It chased the White Horn Adventure Team for a long time... she must have been lying. I mean, that Lena hid a lot of things from Bartholomew."
Virtok nodded and said, "Yes, Bartom told me that Lena wasn't telling the truth. Because unless the White Horn Adventurers destroyed the lair of the Shadow Infiltrators, it wouldn't chase them for a long time. In addition, the White Horn Adventurers can't handle the Shadow Infiltrators, their best choice is to go to the nearest Carwin Town and seek refuge with the Tower Cave Clan, rather than escaping all the way from Carwin Town in the north to Bron Town in the south."
"The Horn of White, the legendary female warrior, passed by the town of Borwn but did not visit the Steel Cave tribe's leader, Ganglei Yan. This is also abnormal," he paused and continued, "Mr. Bartom believes that the White Horn Adventure Team is fabricated by Lina, and she is not being chased by the Shadow Infiltrators but rather avoiding someone else."
"I believed Mr. Bartome's judgment at the time... There was no White Horn Adventurers' Guild, and I did not flee from the northern town of Kavin to the southern town of Brown. Lina deliberately spread the smoke, making the Adventurers' Home think I came from the northern city of Swiftflow."
Vértok took the saronite and khorium sword from Hakke's hand and casually drew a long line on the ground. "Assuming this is the Limpet River running north-south, Calvin Town must be north of the river, while Braun Town is south. We are basically moving north along the direction of the river and will inevitably enter the area where Calvin Town is located. According to Lina's account, she and the White Horn Adventurer's Guild encountered the Bone Collectors group and the Shadow Infiltrators in the north. And as we move northward, we have also encountered Shadow Infiltrators and a group of orcs, which are consistent with Lina's account."
"Lina did not lie, at least not all of what she said is false," he raised the sword in his hand and said, "I can be certain of this now because I recognize these two swords made of mythril and gold, and I am familiar with the emblems on their blades as well."
"Since I spent some time in the north and fought against the bone collectors of the northern orc tribe, it's not just a coincidence that I am back in my old place and have encountered the same orcs again," said Vertok, lightly flicking the blade of his sword and shaking his head.
A group of orcs will inevitably encounter Vertok as long as they continue operating in a specific region in the north. This kind of encounter is not a coincidence, but rather a necessity.
The reason is simple: if you are in the wilderness of a forest, all you can see is a uniform landscape of plants, trees, and rocks. You cannot see what is beyond the forest, but you cannot fail to imagine. Those who lack sufficient knowledge of the forest and rashly wander around like headless flies will not survive for long.
In fact, residents of the forest have fixed activity tracks. Sheep have their own paths, deer have their own paths, and they don't run around randomly. Moreover, the walking paths of various animals mostly overlap. This is determined by the distribution trends of water sources and food, just like invisible barriers that restrict the activity patterns of various creatures. If anyone dares to ignore the existence of these barriers, they will undoubtedly pay the price with their lives.
When travelers enter a unfamiliar forest for the first time, they instinctively walk on paths carved out by forest animals, unknowingly. This can help them find water and food, but they are also bound to encounter fierce wild beasts.
The will of the forest quietly influences every intruder, and all encounters are inevitable. Those who resist the will of the forest will only thirst and starve. When the lives of the rebellious ones come to an end, their perspectives and understandings cease to intersect with the fate of other things.
The physique of half-elf adventurers, savage raiders, and orc bone collectors is similar, as are their living conditions and objectives. The probability of their encounter in the wilderness will become 100% as the duration and range of their activities progress.
This is the convergence of fate lines caused by the space-time shift, and there is no such thing as coincidence.
Wertok seems to have a natural understanding of some of the rules of fate lines, but he cannot express them clearly. Even if he can explain it clearly, Max and Hack will probably be confused.
They were both puzzled for a while and couldn't figure out how it was not a mere coincidence for Vertok to encounter the Bone Collector.
Of course, they wouldn't bother arguing with Vertok over such a trivial matter.
Huck continued the topic and asked, "Sir, are the two sword-wielding maids really your servants?"
Tian's deep blue pupils slightly contracted, and Vertok's gaze became profound. He sighed and said, "I suppose they could be considered my servants..." He didn't want to delve further into this question, seeming afraid that there were even worse things waiting for him. After a brief pause, he changed the subject and said, "Lena said that I come from the town of Carwin. That should be true, but why did she leave behind this message?"
Max's heart skipped a beat, and the interface said, "She... I suppose you will wake up and want to go back to Carven Town to search for clues? Vell, oh no, Lord Veltock, do you really want to go to Carven Town?"
Max addressed Vertok with a respectful title, causing Hack to burst into laughter and patting him on the shoulder, saying, "Haha, you finally know how to address someone properly. You used to call him by his name all the time, and I wanted to punch you."
The hidden hunter sneered, "Lord Vortok, if you don't mind that I am a useless cripple, I would also like to be your servant."
A servant is a privileged attendant. Only the noble descendants of high-ranking families have the qualifications to recruit their own servants. Max acknowledges Vortok's noble background and requests permission to pledge his loyalty, thus confirming the master-servant relationship between them. Essentially, he is still Vortok's follower, and there is actually not much change compared to before, just a difference in form.
Max suddenly made a sincere request of loyalty, perhaps with his own intentions. Vortok was indifferent and nodded, saying, "As you all know, out of respect for Aunt Sarah and Boss Bartom, I will not refuse those from the Adventurer's House who wish to follow me."
Hearing Valtok's words, Max's slightly uneasy mood finally became at ease. He took a deep breath and earnestly advised, "Sir, I strongly suggest you not to hurry to Carwen Town."
"With your current ability, you have no way to siege our Bone Collectors gang. So why did they take away these two Thallium Ingot Swords? And even kill your sword-wielding maid?" Max raised two questions, analyzing calmly: "Whether they attacked your sword-wielding maid or picked up the maid's sword, it means you have fallen into trouble. We still do not know why you have fallen into trouble or why you have lost your memory. If someone plotted to murder you, their strength would be extremely terrifying... If we go to the town of Cavin to search for clues, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?"
Vortok pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "Hmm, now I remember. The bone collectors that besieged us must have found the sword of the sword-bearing maiden. Otherwise, their group size could not have remained intact... Oh, I understand now. They are the result of two orc groups merging. The first group attacked the sword-bearing maiden and Lina, suffering heavy losses, and was then consumed by the second group. The sword belonging to the sword-bearing maiden fell into their hands."
Max's interface said, "Sir, actually it's not difficult to investigate your identity. Lina, the White Horn Adventure Group is a clue; Carwin Town is a clue; including the emblem on these two swords is also a clue… We can also investigate the forces colluding with the Bone Collectors Orcs. Your background must be prestigious and inseparable from the highland nobility. All of these clues can be investigated… The difficult part is that our investigation must remain secretive and must not alert your enemies who want to harm you."
Voltok frowned and asked, "Max, do you have any good ideas?"
Max shook his head and said, "I haven't come up with a specific plan yet, but I know that the leader needs a group of trusted subordinates. My suggestion is that we can't go to Torrent City or Kelvin Town, at least not now. We should first find nearby alliance settlements, and then figure out a way to return to Fallen Leaf City to gather manpower from the Adventurers' Home. They are mainly mixed-bloods from Brown Town, raised by the Adventurers' Home, and you can trust them. But we can't say for sure if their hearts have changed after being away for so long, so we need to act quickly."
Wertok deemed the thoughts of the Shadow Hunter reasonable, but suddenly, Hark exclaimed, "Oh no! Lisson and the others have escaped!"
"I know, they're afraid I'll kill them to keep them quiet... It's really absurd. Let them run if they want," Wertok shrugged indifferently.
"No, Lysin knows what you look like now, and they know your eyes change color, and you can capture the wind in your hands... They sell the secrets of adults to others, and it can cause trouble," said Huck eagerly.
Max fell silent for a moment, his expression dark and gloomy as he said, "They still recognize me and Hack... Technically, we should indeed silence them. But when they left, they spared my life, hoping that we would give them a chance to live. Sigh, let's ask the boss for a decision..."
"You fool! Lysen betrayed our secret. We're all going to die, and the young men at the Adventurer's Home will be implicated, even Lord Wervetok!" Hake angrily shouted at Max, "Which direction did Lysen and the others run? I'll go after them!"
Vaaltok waved his hand and said, "No, they didn't harm me, I don't want to kill them to silence them."
Hak nodded and immediately put on a smile, "My lord, you are truly benevolent."
He definitely didn't mean to mock, his tone and posture are both very sincere. Max was so angry that he wanted to punch Hark in the face. At the same time, he also reflected in his heart whether he should learn from Hark in order to be a proper servant of the Highland nobility?
Vyortok looked at the facial features of Hark and Max and said, "Appearance can be changed, and voice can also be altered... as long as I have the materials, I can help you change your appearance." His clear and pleasant voice suddenly became deep and magnetic, with a slightly hoarse tone, completely transforming into another person's voice.
Huck and Max looked surprised, as they knew that Dr. Cole had taught Vortok some vocal training techniques, but they hadn't seen Vortok practicing. Suddenly, he had mastered them.
Voltok spent some time in the Dream Arena and learned the skill of voice modulation. He can imitate the voices of elderly people, children, and women, and even mimic the sounds of animals with remarkable accuracy. However, due to the limitations of vocal range, some modulations cannot be presented perfectly. Otherwise, he would be able to imitate the language of the orcish people.
Huck also wanted to praise Vortok a bit more, but Katie, lying on the ground, began to twist her body, her muffled mouth making "oh, oh" sounds.
"Didn't you feed them and give them water?" Vortok patted Katie's cheek, casually untied the ropes on her body, wanting her to relax a bit.
No one expected it, but Katie jumped up and hastily untied her pants, and even relieved herself in front of them.
Max and Huck turned their heads awkwardly, ignoring the fact that Katie and Annie had turned into idiots. After all, they were half-elf females with their own status as professional scholars.
The two old guys instinctively avoided Katie's embarrassment. Vortok, however, curiously observed Katie's behavior until she pulled up her pants again, looking pitifully curled up. Vortok nodded and said, "Well, knowing that you have to take off your pants to relieve yourself, they still retain the habits of civilized wisdom. There is still hope for them!"
“.…..”
Max is speechless.
Hack is clueless.
"Give them something to eat and drink. Hack, find a place for them to wash up... they're too dirty." Virtok casually untied Annie's rope and instructed Hack.
Max coughed and gently reminded, "Sir, it might be more appropriate for you to handle this personally."
"Why?"
Vertok and Hack asked in unison.
Max suddenly felt that he should be more straightforward with Vértok about some moral issues.
"Sir, Annie and Katie are both young and beautiful women with promising careers. Are you treating them as your private pets, or simply healing them and returning their freedom? Håk and I are not suitable for getting involved in matters involving privacy, as it would make them feel embarrassed."