第九章 | 爱酷英语|iCoolEN

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CHAPTER NINE

REVELATIONS

第九章

天启

To fight the battle is easy.

battle: 战斗

上战场作战并非难事。

To wait for it to begin is terrifying.

terrifying: 令人恐惧的

但等待战斗却是种煎熬。

—Godfrey of Westmarch, Quotations

quotation: 语录

——Westmarch的Godfrey《语录》

Siggard stood on the eastern town wall, watching the horizon for any sign of the demonic force.

eastern: 东边的 town wall: 城墙 horizon: 地平线 sign: 迹象 demonic: 恶魔的 force:军队

Siggard站在东边的城墙上，盯着地平线寻找着恶魔军团的踪迹。

He fingered the leather-bound hilt of his sword nervously as he waited, his gut churning in impatience and fear.

finger: 敲击 leather-bound: 皮革包边的 hilt: 柄 sword: 剑 nervously: 神经质的 gut:胃 churning: 搅动 impatience: 不耐烦 fear: 恐惧

他等待时手指神经质的敲着皮制剑柄，胃部因他的恐惧与失去耐心而抽搐着。

Unbidden, his mind turned back to the horrifying carnage of Blackmarch. The archdemon stood clear in his mind, and he knew he would recognize it immediately when it came.

unbidden: 不自觉的 turn back: 翻回 horrifying: 令人震惊的 carnage: 大屠杀 archdemon: 大恶魔 recognize: 认出 immediately: 立即

不自觉的，他的思绪又回到了那场发生在Blackmarch的大屠杀。恶魔头目在他脑海中留下的印象十分清晰，他知道只要它来，他就能马上认出来。

Somehow, despite Guthbreoht’s soothing song echoing in his ears, the thought of fighting the archdemon brought a shrill terror.

somehow: 不知何故 despite: 尽管 soothing: 安慰的 echo: 回响 archdemon: 大恶魔 shrill: 强烈的 terror: 恐怖

不知为什么，尽管Guthbreoht柔和的歌声仍在他耳边回荡，但一想到要与恶魔头目战斗他还是有些心悸。

Still, he thought, there was vengeance, and his heart hardened.

vengeance: 复仇 harden: 变得坚强

不过他想起了复仇，他的心坚定了下来。

He heard soft footfalls behind him, and he turned to see Sarnakyle approaching. The wizard held one of his books, which he set down on the parapet.

footfall: 脚步声 turn to: 转向 approach: 靠近 wizard: 法师 set down: 放下 parapet:城垛

他听到身后传来轻微的脚步声。他转身看到Sarnakyle走了过来。法师将手中拿着的书放在了城垛上。

“I thought you were in the inn studying your magic,” Siggard said.

inn: 旅店 study: 研究 magic: 魔法

“我以为你在旅店钻研你的魔法呢。”Siggard说。

Sarnakyle shrugged. “I decided to get some fresh air. Besides, I couldn’t stand to wait in the inn any longer.”

shrug: 耸肩 decide: 决定 fresh: 新鲜的 air: 空气 besides: 此外 inn: 旅店

Sarnakyle耸了耸肩。“我想出来呼吸些新鲜空气。况且我在旅店里实在待不下去了。”

“You wouldn’t have missed anything,” Siggard pointed out. “Tilgar has messengers waiting to find us as soon as anything appears.”

point out: 指出 messenger: 传令兵 as soon as: 一…就 appear: 出现

“你不会错过什么的。”Siggard说，“Tilgar的传令兵随时待命，一有情况就会马上找到咱们。”

Sarnakyle smiled and looked to the west, where the sun hung low in the sky, casting a shadow over the town. “And I suppose you just came out here for a brief midday stroll?”

hung: 挂 cast: 投射 shadow: 影子 suppose: 以为 come out: 出来 brief: 短暂的 midday: 正午的 stroll: 散步

Sarnakyle笑了笑，向西望去。太阳斜挂在空中，城墙留下了长长的影子。“我以为你不过是正午出来散会儿步的。”

Siggard grimaced. “Something like that.”

grimace: 扮鬼脸

Siggard做了个鬼脸：“差不多吧。”

“The warning is only a few hours old,” Sarnakyle said. “To be honest, I think this demon will appear sometime in the morning. It does have a large army to march here, you know.”

warning: 警报 to be honest: 老实说 demon: 恶魔 appear: 出现 army: 军队 march:行军

“警报发出才几个小时而已，”Sarnakyle说，“老实讲，我觉得恶魔会在早上出现。有一支大部队将行军至此，这你是知道的。”

“Doesn’t make the waiting any easier.”

waiting: 等待

“可这样也不会使等待有稍许的轻松啊。”

Sarnakyle nodded. “I know what you mean.”

nod: 点头

Sarnakyle点点头。“我明白你的意思。”

The wizard leaned on the rough stone wall, looking out to the darkening horizon.

wizard: 法师 lean: 倚靠 rough: 粗糙的 stone wall: 石墙 darken: 变暗 horizon: 地平线

法师斜靠住粗糙的石墙，望着渐黑的地平线。

“If Tilgar is smart, and I believe he is, his catapults will strike the demons as they come close to the town, forcing them to camp far away.”

smart: 聪明的 catapult: 投石机 strike: 攻击 demon: 恶魔 force: 迫使 camp: 扎营

“如果Tilgar足够聪明，我也相信他是个聪明人，他将命令让投石机在恶魔接近城镇的时候攻击，迫使它们在远处扎营。”

“What good would that do?”

“那样做有什么好处？”

“It would give us some space,” Sarnakyle explained.

space: 空地 explain: 解释

“能给我们留出些空地，”Sarnakyle解释道。

“The farther away they have to camp, the less likely it will be that they can completely surround us. And we can use any advantage we can get.”

farther: 更远的 camp: 扎营 completely: 完全地 surround: 包围 advantage: 优势

“它们扎营越远，就越不容易完全包围我们。我们就可以利用现有优势。”

“We have your magic,” Siggard pointed out.

magic: 魔法 point out: 指出

“我们拥有你的法力。”Siggard指出。

“Yes, well,” Sarnakyle muttered. “We do indeed.”

mutter: 低声说 indeed: 的确

“是的，”Sarnakyle的声音低了下去，“的确是这样。”

“Here they come!” the lookout called. A horn blast sounded, and commanders barked orders to their soldiers.

lookout: 哨兵 horn: 号角 blast: 吼鸣 commander: 指挥官 bark: 大声喊出 order: 命令 soldier: 士兵

“它们来了！”哨兵高喊着。号角声突然响起，指挥官们高声向士兵们发出指令。

He looked out over the parapet, squinting as he peered towards the horizon. Tiny shapes began to appear in the distance, bearing strange banners.

look out: 朝外看 parapet: 城垛 squint: 眯眼看 peer: 隐约出现 horizon: 地平线 tiny:微小的 shape: 身形 appear: 出现 distance: 远方 bear: 带有 strange: 奇怪的 banner: 旗帜

他站在胸墙边，眯起眼睛盯着地平线。前方出现了微小的身影，还有古怪的战旗。

Siggard drew his sword, felt the blade’s song infuse him with strength. He tried to make out the device on the banners, but they were too far away.

draw: 拔出 infuse: 注入 strength: 力量 make out: 看清楚 device: 图案 banner: 旗帜

Siggard拔出宝剑，感到剑锋的歌声为他注入了力量。他尽力想看清旗帜上的标志，但它们实在太远了。

He looked at Sarnakyle, who was leaning forward as well, lost in concentration. Beside them were several soldiers, weapons at the ready.

lean: 倚靠 concentration: 专心 beside: 在…旁边 several: 几个 soldier: 士兵 weapon:武器

他看看Sarnakyle，法师仍斜靠住墙，出神的望着远方。旁边是几名士兵，他们的武器已经准备就绪。

The wall was filling with men-at-arms.

fill: 挤满 men-at-arms: 全副武装的士兵

城墙上满是全副武装的士兵。

“Archers!” one of the commanders called. “Wait for my signal!”

archer: 弓箭手 commander: 指挥官 signal: 信号

“弓箭手！”一名指挥官喊道，“等我的信号!”

Siggard looked back at the boiling horizon. The demonic army literally filled the landscape, overwhelming the hills and fields outside the town.

look back: 回望 boiling: 沸腾的 horizon: 地平线 demonic: 恶魔的 army: 军队 literally:差不多 fill: 充满 landscape: 风景 overwhelming: 势不可挡的 hills: 丘陵 field: 田野

Siggard回望渐渐沸腾起来的地平线。到处都是恶魔军团，它们涌上了城外的丘陵与田野。

Finally one of the banners became visible, a horrifying depiction of a flayed corpse against a black moon, mounted under a human skull.

banner: 旗帜 visible: 可见的 horrifying: 令人震惊的 depiction: 描述 flay: 剥皮 corpse:尸体 against: 倚靠 mount: 安放 skull: 头骨

最终他终于看清了那面旗帜，旗上绘着一具倚住黑暗之月的无皮死尸，旗杆顶上挂着一个头盖骨。

Siggard’s gorge rose, and he fought back a dizzying nausea.

gorge: 咽下 rise: 涌起 fight back: 抑制住 dizzy: 发晕的 nausea: 作呕

Siggard猛吞一口，抑制住自己想呕吐的感觉。

“No,” Sarnakyle cursed. “Anybody but him!”

curse: 诅咒

“噢不，”Sarnakyle诅咒道，“为什么会是他！”

“What is it?” Siggard asked. “Who do we fight?”

“那是什么？”Siggard问，“我们的敌人是谁？”

“Assur,” Sarnakyle hissed. “The favored baron of the Lord of Terror.”

hiss: 发嘘声 favored: 受到喜爱的 baron: 男爵 Lord of Terror: 恐惧之王

“亚述尔，”Sarnakyle倒吸了一口气，“恐惧之王的宠臣。”

Siggard jumped as a catapult loosed a ranging shot, the load flying overhead only to fall short of the approaching horde.

catapult: 投石机 loose: 发射 range: 排 load: 弹药 overhead: 在空中 fall: 落下 approach: 靠近 horde: 群

一架投石机开了火，Siggard吓了一跳，石弹向着怪物群飞了没多远便落在了地上。

Still onward they came, creatures of all sizes, and in their center, surrounded by shadowy things that could only come from a horrible nightmare, stood the giant archdemon.

onward: 向前的 creature: 生物 surround: 围绕 shadowy: 阴影 horrible: 可怕的 nightmare: 噩梦 giant: 巨大的 archdemon: 大恶魔

各种怪物还在行进着，它们中央是只可能从可怕噩梦中出来的阴影般的东西，环绕在那个巨大的恶魔头目周围。

“That can’t be three thousand,” Siggard muttered. “Maybe five, or six, but not three.”

mutter: 咕哝

“一定不止三千，”Siggard咕哝着，“也许有五千或者六千，但决不是三千。”

“He’s brought help.”

“他带了援兵。”

Another rock was loosed, the boulder falling into the demonic ranks, and a barrage followed.

loose: 发射 boulder: 大圆石 fall into: 落入 demonic: 恶魔的 ranks: 队伍 barrage: 齐射

又一发石弹射了出去，巨大的石块落入恶魔的阵列中，接着便是一阵弹雨。

Several monsters fell, but the horde continued to advance, relentless as a force of nature.

several: 几个 monster: 怪物 fall: 倒下 horde: 群 advance: 前进 relentless: 坚韧的 force: 力量

几个怪物倒下了，但队列还在前进，如自然之力般不可抗拒。

Each gap in the line the catapults made was immediately filled as more demons entered the crush.

gap: 缺口 catapult: 投石机 immediately: 立即 fill: 填充 demon: 恶魔

每个由于投石机攻击而造成的队列缺口马上就被更多的恶魔填补上了。

“We have to warn Tilgar,” Sarnakyle said, turning from the wall. “We have to evacuate the town.”

warn: 警告 evacuate: 撤出

“我们必须去警告Tilgar，”Sarnakyle转身离开墙边，说着，“我们必须从城市撤离。”

“What is wrong?” Siggard demanded. “What is so special about this ‘Assur’?”

demand: 询问 special: 特别的

“怎么了？”Siggard问，“‘亚述尔’有什么特别？”

Sarnakyle turned, and Siggard recoiled. The wizard’s face was ashen, his eyes wild with fear.

recoil: 后退 wizard: 法师 ashen: 苍白的 wild: 紊乱的 fear: 恐惧

Sarnakyle转回来，Siggard吃了一惊。法师脸色苍白，眼睛因恐惧而睁得很大。

“There is no way we can possibly slay this archdemon,” Sarnakyle said with absolute certainty, picking up his book from the parapet. “The battle is already lost.”

possibly: 可能地 slay: 杀死 archdemon: 大恶魔 absolute: 绝对的 certainty: 确定 pick up: 拿起 parapet: 城垛 battle: 战斗

“我们不可能杀死它。”Sarnakyle的语气极其肯定，他拿起放在墙垛上的书，“这场战斗我们已经输了。”

They passed towards the castle, pushing past entire bands of soldiers heading to the eastern walls.

castle: 城堡 push past: 从身边挤过去 entire: 整个的 band: 队 soldier: 士兵 heading to: 朝向…走 eastern: 东部的

他们向城堡走去，途中经过一整队向东墙进发的士兵。

No matter where they walked, they could hear the thudding of the catapults lofting rocks.

thudding: 重击声 catapult: 投石机 loft: 抛掷 rock: 巨石

不论走到哪儿，他们都能听到投石机的抛掷石头时发出巨响。

Finally they arrived, winding their way through several groups of guardsmen.

winding: 绕 several: 几个 guardsmen: 卫兵

绕过几队守卫，他们终于到达了。

Siggard tried asking many of them where Earl Tilgar could be found, but none seemed to know, telling him to ask somebody else.

earl: 伯爵 seem: 似乎

Siggard问了几个人Tilgar伯爵在哪儿，但他们谁也不知道，只是告诉他去问问别人。

Siggard growled in frustration, but there was little he could do; the confusion was too great.

growl: 咆哮 frustration: 挫折 confusion: 混乱

Siggard生气的吼着，但他什么也做不了；现在局面一片混乱。

Eventually, they came across Hunfrith directing some soldiers to the castle walls. Sarnakyle tapped the steward on the shoulder, and the man turned abruptly.

eventually: 最终 come across: 碰到 direct: 指挥 soldier: 士兵 castle: 城堡 tap: 轻拍 steward: 管家 shoulder: 肩膀 abruptly: 突然地

最终，他们碰到了Hunfrith，他正在指派几名士兵到城堡围墙那里去。Sarnakyle轻轻的在管家的肩上拍了一下，管家猛的转过身来。

“This had better be important,” Hunfrith snapped. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a siege.”

snap: 恶狠狠地说 in case: 假使 notice: 注意 siege: 围攻

“这样做很重要，”Hunfrith生气的说，“难道你没注意到我们已经被围攻了吗？”

“We have to speak with Earl Tilgar immediately,” Sarnakyle demanded. “This is a matter of life and death.”

earl: 伯爵 immediately: 立即 demand: 要求 matter of: 事关… life and death: 生死攸关的

“我们必须马上见Tilgar伯爵，”Sarnakyle要求道，“这事关乎我们的存亡。”

“He’s in the war room,” Hunfrith said. “You’ll have to find your own way there. I’m too busy to guide you.”

war room: 作战室 have to: 必须 guide: 带路

“他在作战室。”Hunfrith说，“你们必须自己去，我没时间带你们走。”

Sarnakyle nodded. “I remember the way.” Spinning on his heel, the wizard strode into the castle, Siggard struggling to keep up.

nod: 点头 spinning: 旋转的 heel: 脚跟 wizard: 法师 stride: 大步走 castle: 城堡 struggle: 尽力 keep up: 跟上

Sarnakyle点点头。“我还记得路。”他做了一个军人标准的转身，大步走进城堡。Siggard紧紧跟住他。

With almost unnatural deftness, Sarnakyle picked a path through the crowds of soldiers and guardsmen, calling for space to move.

unnatural: 异常的 deftness: 灵巧 path: 路线 crowd: 群 soldier: 士兵 guardsmen: 卫兵 space: 空间

Sarnakyle以异乎寻常的灵活在士兵与守卫之间穿梭着，不断请人稍让一下。

The gatehouse opened into a courtyard bustling with activity. Several soldiers were repairing a catapult, and archers were rushing to the walls.

gatehouse: 门房 courtyard: 庭院 bustling: 忙乱的 activity: 活动 soldier: 士兵 repairing: 修理 catapult: 投石机 archer: 弓箭手 rush: 冲

他们经过门房进入嘈杂的庭院。几名士兵正忙着修理投石机，弓箭手们则匆匆忙忙的向城墙赶去。

Sarnakyle ignored it all, and Siggard found himself running to catch up to the wizard after taking a quick glance around.

ignore: 忽视 catch up: 赶上 wizard: 法师 glance: 一瞥

Sarnakyle没有在意，Siggard扫视了一周之后发现自己得加快脚步才能追赶上法师。

Without ceremony they entered the keep, Sarnakyle winding his way through the maze of corridors, Siggard close behind him.

ceremony: 礼节 enter: 进入 keep: 城堡主楼 winding: 绕 maze: 迷宫 corridor: 走廊 close behind: 紧随其后

没有经过任何礼节他们进入了城堡主楼，Sarnakyle在迷宫般的走廊中穿行，Siggard紧随其后。

Finally, they reached the war room to find Earl Tilgar pouring over maps with his three commanders and one other figure.

war room: 作战室 earl: 伯爵 pour over: 浇灌 commander: 指挥官 figure: 人物

最终他们到达了作战室，看到Tilgar伯爵和他的三名指挥官以及另一个人正在专心的研究着地图。

“Our scouts have managed to destroy their catapults,” one soldier said, pointing at a map. “So we have at least one advantage.”

scout: 侦查员 manage: 设法完成 destroy: 摧毁 catapult: 投石机 at least: 至少 advantage: 优势

“我们的侦察兵已经设法破坏了它们的投石机，”一名士兵指着地图说，“至少我们现在有一个优势。”

Siggard’s eyes widened as he recognized the tall, gray-cloaked man with sandy-blond hair who rose from the table to greet him.

widen: 扩大 recognize: 认出 cloak: 斗篷 sandy-blond: 金发的 rise: 起身 greet: 招呼

那个披着灰色外袍的黄发高个男人起身向Siggard打招呼。Siggard认出了他，吃惊的睁大了眼睛。

“Greetings, Siggard,” he said. “I am pleased that you found your way out of the forest.”

pleased: 高兴的 forest: 森林

“你好，Siggard。”他说，“我很高兴你走出了森林。”

“Tyrael,” Siggard breathed, remembering the man who had shared his fire. “I had thought you a ghost.”

breathe: 吸气 share: 分享 ghost: 鬼魂

“泰瑞尔，”Siggard想起两人曾在同一个火堆取暖，他吸了一口气，“我原以为你是鬼魂。”

Tyrael smiled. “I am happy to say that I am no restless spirit.”

restless: 不安宁的 spirit: 灵魂

泰瑞尔笑了。“至少不是无法安息的灵魂。”

Tilgar looked over at Siggard in surprise. “You know the Archangel Tyrael?”

look over: 细看 surprise: 惊奇 archangel: 大天使

Tilgar吃惊的看着Siggard：“你认识大天使泰瑞尔？”

Siggard raised an eyebrow. “Archangel? You didn’t tell me you were an angel.”

raise: 提起 eyebrow: 眉毛 archangel: 大天使

Siggard挑了挑眉，“大天使？你可没告诉我你是个天使。”

“You didn’t ask.”

“你并没有问。”

“Lord Tyrael, it is good to see you again,” Sarnakyle said, bowing. “Unfortunately, I have grim news. The archdemon we fight is Assur.”

bow: 鞠躬 unfortunately: 不幸地 grim: 可怕的 news: 消息 archdemon: 大恶魔

“泰瑞尔大人，很高兴再次见到您。”Sarnakyle边鞠躬边说道，“很不幸，我有个坏消息。我们要抵抗的恶魔头目是亚述尔。”

Tyrael nodded. “I know. It will be a difficult fight.”

nod: 点头 difficult fight: 硬仗

泰瑞尔点点头。“我知道。这是场硬仗。”

“Did everybody know Tyrael was an archangel but me?” Siggard wondered out loud, but nobody answered him.

archangel: 大天使 wonder: 想知道 loud: 大声的 nobody: 没有人

“除了我，其他人都知道泰瑞尔是大天使吗？”Siggard大声问着，但没有人回答他。

“If you are here, Tyrael, does that mean that the Lords of Heaven will intervene?” Sarnakyle asked. “I fear that is our only hope.”

Heaven: 天堂 intervene: 介入 fear: 恐怕 hope: 希望

“您在这，泰瑞尔，这是否意味着来自天堂的守护者们将介入呢？”Sarnakyle问，“这恐怕是我们唯一的希望了。”

Tyrael shook his head sadly.

shake: 摇动 sadly: 悲伤地

泰瑞尔悲伤的摇摇头。

“It is very difficult for the most powerful of us to appear on the mortal plane. Even I cannot manifest myself for more than a night at a time. I can offer advice, but nothing else.”

powerful: 强大的 appear: 出现 mortal: 凡间的 plane: 位面 manifest: 使显现 offer:提供 advice: 建议

“我们中最有力量的要想在人间现身实在是太难了。我每次现身的时间甚至都超不过一夜。我只能提出建议，别无他法。”

“Then we are already lost,” Sarnakyle said, turning to Tilgar. “We must evacuate the town, your lordship.”

turn to: 转向 evacuate: 撤出 your lordship: 大人

“那我们已经输了。”Sarnakyle转向Tilgar说，“伯爵大人，我们必须弃城。”

Tilgar shook his head. “I do not understand. What is so special about this ‘Assur’?

shake: 摇动 understand: 理解 special: 特别的

Tilgar摇摇头。“我不明白，‘亚述尔’有什么特别之处？

From what I can see, even with his current numbers, we still have equal forces and the town walls to protect us.”

current: 当前的 number: 数量 equal: 相等的 force: 武力 town wall: 城墙 protect: 保护

根据我所看到的一切，即使算上他现在的那些奴仆，我们仍有城墙和能与之匹敌的军力保护我们。”

“He is enchanted by a glyph that can only be cast once every millennium,” Sarnakyle said. “He cannot be slain by any hands alive, be they mortal or angelic. No weapon we have could touch him.”

enchanted: 被施魔法的 glyph: 符号 cast: 铸造 millennium: 一千年 slay: 杀死 alive:活着的 mortal: 凡人的 angelic: 天使的 weapon: 武器

“他被上千年才能使用一次的图腾法术所强化，”Sarnakyle说，“不论是人类还是天使，任何生者都无法杀死他。我们的武器没有一种能碰到他。”

“How could you possibly know this?” Tilgar demanded. “How can you be certain?”

possibly: 究竟 demand: 询问 certain: 确定的

“你怎么知道的？”Tilgar问，“你为什么如此确信？”

“I am one of the Lords of the Vizjerei,” Sarnakyle explained. “For decades I studied the summoning of spirits and demons, and came to lead many of my clan in the council.

lord: 领主 explain: 解释 decade: 十年 study: 研究 summon: 召唤 spirit: 灵魂 demon: 恶魔 lead: 领导 clan: 部族 council: 议会

“我是一名Vizjerei的领主，”Sarnakyle解释道，“我研究了数十年招魂与恶魔，并成为了议会中领导我们宗族的重要人物。

The demons do not give information easily, and often it is enveloped in lies, but recently we have learned the names of most of the barons of Hell.

demon: 恶魔 information: 信息 envelop: 覆盖 lies: 谎言 recently: 最近 learn: 获悉 baron: 男爵 Hell: 地狱

恶魔不会轻易透露信息，而且真相往往隐藏在谎言中，但最近我们还是知道了大多数地狱男爵的名字。

Their lords, the lesser and Prime Evils, we know only by title. Of all of the barons, Assur is the most feared.

lord: 主人 Prime Evils: 庇尔斯级恶魔 title: 头衔 baron: 男爵 fear: 可怕的

他们的主人，数量更少的庇尔斯级恶魔，我们就仅仅只知道它们的名号了。在所有男爵中，亚述尔是最可怕的。

We know little about him, save that he is the favored of the Lord of Terror, and that he is enchanted with the Glyph of Invincibility.”

favored: 受到喜爱的 Lord of Terror: 恐惧之王 enchanted: 被施魔法的 glyph: 符号 invincibility: 无敌

守护图腾所增强。” 我们对他知之甚少，只知道他是恐惧之王的宠臣，并且他被施以无敌的魔法。

“You can summon demons, correct?” Wulfgar asked. “Then can you summon monsters of your own to fight them?”

summon: 召唤 demon: 恶魔 correct: 正确的 monster: 怪物

“你可以召唤恶魔，是吗？”Wulfgar问，“那你可以召唤自己的怪物与它们战斗？”

Sarnakyle shook his head. “My magic is not what it once was. When Bartuc, the Warlord of Blood, attacked the city of Viz-jun, we Vizjerei led the smaller clans into battle,

shake: 摇动 magic: 魔法 Warlord of Blood: 血战之王 clan: 部族 lead: 带领 clan: 部族

Sarnakyle摇摇头。“我现在已经不再使用以前那些魔法了。当血战之王巴特克进攻Viz－jun时，Vizjerei法师带领另一个小一些的部族加入了战斗，

believing that the demons we could summon, combined with the elemental magic of the lesser clans, would easily destroy the army of Bartuc.

demon: 恶魔 summon: 召唤 combine: 使联合 elemental: 元素的 magic: 魔法 clan:部族 destroy: 摧毁

我们相信有召唤来的恶魔再配上小部族的元素魔法，我们便能轻易击败巴特克的大军。”

“For centuries, we had summoned the creatures with ease, thinking that we could control them. At the siege, we discovered that for all these centuries we had been misled.

century: 世纪 summon: 召唤 creature: 生物 ease: 容易 control: 控制 siege: 围攻 discover: 发现 misled: 误入歧途

“几个世纪来，我们都能轻松的召唤生物，并认为我们能够控制它们。在那次围攻中，我们发现过去那么多年我们全都被蒙蔽了。

The demons we summoned turned on us, savaging our own lines. When we attempted to banish them, we could not.

summon: 召唤 turn on: 攻击 savage: 凶猛攻击 attempt: 试图 banish: 驱逐

我们召唤的恶魔转而攻击我们，撕开了我们自己的阵列。当我们试图取消召唤时，却失败了。

If it had not been for the lesser clans, the city would have fallen on the first day.

clan: 部族 fallen: 沦陷

如果不是那个小部族，也许城市第一天就会陷落。

We had ten times the numbers of Bartuc’s army, and a third of us died in the siege, most lost not because of the forces of the Warlord, but because of our own summonings.

number: 数量 siege: 围攻 summon: 召唤 force: 军队 Warlord: 战神

我们人数本来是巴特克的军队的十倍，但三分之一的人都死在了那次围攻中。而且大多数人都不是被战神杀死，而是死于我们自己召唤的生物之手。”

“After the siege, we of the Vizjerei were shattered. Most of the clan lords, such as I, began to wander, trying to rediscover what was real.

siege: 围攻 shatter: 使震惊 clan: 部族 lord: 领主 wander: 彷徨 rediscover: 重新认识

“那次围攻之后，Vizjerei的法师都震惊了，大多数头领，比如像我，都在重新探寻什么才是真相。

I have spent the last two years relearning the elemental magic that saved us, but I am not nearly as powerful as I once thought myself. We cannot fight Assur with demons.”

relearning: 再学习 elemental: 元素的 magic: 魔法 powerful: 强大 demon: 恶魔

过去的两年我重新学习了那挽救我们的元素魔法，但我已经不像我以前自认的那样强了。我们不能依靠恶魔去与亚述尔作战。”

Tyrael nodded. “Lord Sarnakyle is correct. You must rely on your own resources in this fight.

nod: 点头 lord: 领主 correct: 正确的 rely: 依赖 resource: 对策

泰瑞尔点点头。“Sarnakyle领主说得对。这场战斗必须依靠你们自己。

If at all possible, however, you must not let Assur take the town. This could be the most important battle ever fought in the mortal realm.”

battle: 战斗 mortal: 凡间的 realm: 领域

如果有可能，一定不能让亚述尔夺取城市。这可能是在人间发生的最重要的战役了。”

“I don’t understand,” Siggard said.

understand: 理解

“我不理解。”Siggard说。

“Heaven and Hell have warred for millennia, but only recently have the forces of darkness taken an interest in the mortal realm.

Heaven: 天堂 Hell: 地狱 war: 交战 millennia: 数千年 recently: 最近 force: 势力 mortal: 凡间的 realm: 领域

“天堂与地狱之间的战争持续了上千年，但最近黑暗势力对人间产生了兴趣。

The realm used to be protected from the higher and lower planes, but the Prime Evils have used the Vizjerei to weaken that protection.

realm: 领域 protected: 受保护的 plane: 位面 Prime Evils: 庇尔斯级恶魔 weaken: 削弱 protection: 保护

人间本受上界与下界的保护，但庇尔斯级恶魔利用了Vizjerei以减弱这种保护。

If they can establish a foothold and keep it, then they will have a place that the forces of light cannot besiege, from which they can assault the very gates of Heaven.

establish: 建立 foothold: 据点 besiege: 包围 assault: 攻击

如果它们能找到立足之地并站稳脚跟的话，那么它们就占领了一片光明势力不可达到之地，据此它们可以向天堂之门发起进攻。

That is why they sent Assur; with him, they are certain they will be victorious.”

sent: 派遣 certain: 必然的 victorious: 得胜的

这就是它们为什么派亚述尔；有了他，它们相信自己必将取得胜利。”

“How can we fight him?” Sarnakyle said.

“我们怎么与他作战？”Sarnakyle问。

“You can try to kill him,” Tyrael said. “Perhaps there is one among you who might succeed. But there is little chance of victory along that path.

might: 可能 succeed: 成功 chance: 机会 path: 途径

“你们可以试着去杀他。”泰瑞尔说，“你们之中也许有人会取得成功的。但这样做取胜的几率太小了。

Instead, you should destroy his army. If you can drive it back, we will win this battle.”

instead: 代替 destroy: 摧毁 army: 军队 drive: 迫使