Chapter 13

chapter thirteen Except, it isn't Thrull. The vines only look like Thrull for a quick, dream-like moment. Then the face vanishes as the vines split further, and I'm face-to-face with the most horrific monster I've ever encountered. One that I thought I would not see again... Never. Ever. In a million years. I mean, of course I didn't think I'd see this monster again—I already slayed this monster....

第十三章除了，这不是瑟鲁。 这些藤蔓看起来像Thrull只是在短暂的梦幻时刻。 然后随着藤蔓进一步分裂，这张脸消失了，我面对着我所遇到过的最可怕的怪物。 一个我以为再也见不到的人…… 从来没有。永远。一百万年以后。 我的意思是，我当然没有想过我会再见到这个怪物——我已经杀死了这个怪物....

No way. It's Blarg. I see the hole in his skull. I put that hole there. I can still feel the way the bone cracked as I slammed the Slicer into the evil beast. No doubt about it, this is Blarg—lifeless, skinless; he's returned as a skeletal soldier. Suddenly, his massive jaw opens—and he howls. Cries of terror, pain, and anger all rolled into one anguished wail. The howl stops. And a voice comes from Blarg's horrible bleached-bone mouth. Not just a voice: words. It's Thrull.

不可能。Blarg。我看到他头骨上的洞了。 我在这里挖了个洞。我还能感觉到我把切片机砸向那只邪恶的野兽时骨头裂开的样子。 毫无疑问，这就是吹牛——没有生气，没有皮肤；他以骷髅战士的身份回来了。 突然，他巨大的下巴张开了——他嚎叫着。 恐惧、痛苦和愤怒的叫声汇成一声痛苦的哀号。 嚎叫停止了。一个声音从布莱那张惨白的嘴巴里传出来。 不仅仅是声音，还有文字。Thrull。

Thrull's voice. Thrull's words. "Stop while you can, Jack," the voice says, "and I may let you and your friends live." I swallow. This is more than just Blarg and this is more than just another skeleton soldier. This is a servant of .e...c., one who now speaks for Thrull—speaks as Thrull. I take a slow step back—fully taking in this abomination.

Thrull的声音。Thrull的话。 “趁你还能停下来，杰克，”那个声音说，“我也许会让你和你的朋友们活下来。” 我吞下。这不仅仅是布兰德一个人这也不仅仅是另一个骷髅兵。 这是……的仆人。他现在代表瑟鲁说话——以瑟鲁的身份说话。 我慢慢地后退了一步，完全接受了这令人厌恶的东西。

"Go back to Wakefield, Jack..." the voice warns again. "Play your little games. Live your little life. Do that, and I will not destroy you." "You know I won't," I say. "I'd rather die trying to stop you than do nothing...." "Even death would be a merciful end," the voice goes on. "Continue with your journey, and I will do to each of you what I did to Bardle. Only much slower." I don't think Thrull is bluffing. I've seen quite a few things from .e...c.'s dimension by now. They are almost all unimaginably horrible. But at the same time, why is Thrull trying to convince me to quit? We must have him worried, at least a little bit—if not, he'd want us to press on. He'd want us to come for him—so he could deal with us easily. But instead, he's trying to scare me off. "What is it, Thrull? Mad about how things ended last time?" This new, pale, bleached-bone Blarg carcass —Blargus—roars, and one huge hand swings

“回韦克菲尔德去，杰克……” 那个声音再次发出警告。“玩你的小游戏。 过你的小日子。这样行，我就不灭你。” “你知道我不会的，”我说。 “我宁愿为阻止你而死，也不愿什么都不做....” “即使死亡也是一种仁慈的结局，”那个声音继续说道。 “你们继续赶路吧，我要像对待巴德尔那样对待你们。 只是慢多了。”我不认为Thrull在虚张声势。 我从……看到了不少东西。到现在为止，它的尺寸是。 它们几乎都是难以想象的可怕。 但同时，Thrull为什么要劝我辞职呢？ 我们必须让他担心，至少有一点——如果没有，他会希望我们继续前进。 他会希望我们去找他——这样他就可以轻松对付我们了。 但相反，他想把我吓跑。 “怎么了，瑟鲁？”为上次的结局生气吗？”这具崭新的、苍白的、白骨的布拉格尸体——布拉格斯——咆哮着，一只大手挥动着

toward me— I raise the Slicer to block his next attack, but a vine knocks the blade from my hand. In a flash, vines are slithering around me. I reach for the Slicer, but my Cosmic Hand instead finds a vine. And then: I'm not there anymore. I'm no longer standing outside the motel. Instead, I'm whooshing through a tunnel of earth and light and energy. And somehow, I

朝我——我举起切片机来挡他的下一个攻击，但是一根藤蔓把我手中的刀打掉了。 一瞬间，藤蔓在我周围蠕动。 我伸手去拿切片机，但我的宇宙之手却找到了一棵藤蔓。 然后，我就不在那里了。 我不再站在汽车旅馆外面了。 相反，我正在一个由地球、光和能量组成的隧道中飞速穿行。 不知怎么的，我

know I'm traveling through the vines—or, at least, along their path. My brain and body feel disconnected, like that horrible moment when the King Wretch showed me visions of a possible future. Except, here, what I'm seeing is real. And it's happening now. I see the path that Thrull's army has forged to get here. I see the destruction Thrull's army has left in its wake. Towns, cities—anything Thrull can reach—are being pulled toward the Tower. They are resources to be used in its continued construction. The world rushes past like I'm in a low-flying jet, too fast to see everything clearly. It's hazy around the edges, and there's so much I can't quite make out. And then I see, in front of me, an imposing structure. It rises up into a dark sky, pulsing with vines. And I know. It's the TOWER.

知道我是在藤蔓丛中穿行，或者至少是沿着藤蔓的路径前行。 我的大脑和身体感觉脱节了，就像那个可怜虫王向我展示可能的未来的可怕时刻一样。 除了这里，我看到的是真实的。 现在它正在发生。我看到了瑟鲁尔的军队为到达这里而开辟的道路。 我看到了斯拉尔的军队留下的破坏。 城镇、城市——任何Thrull能到达的地方——都被拉向伦敦塔。 它们是在其继续建设中使用的资源。 世界匆匆而过，就像我在一架低空飞行的喷气式飞机上，速度太快，看不清一切。 四周模糊不清，有太多东西我看不清。 然后我看到，在我面前，一座雄伟的建筑。 它上升到黑暗的天空，与藤蔓搏动。 我知道。是伦敦塔。