屠魔人 The Slayer

波比不想招惹这只荆棘狼，但现在这只狼却正要向她扑过来。它的嘴角依然挂着暗红色的血迹，距离它上次猎杀没过多久，不过这位约德尔人可不想成为它口中的猎物。她很快就要追赶上著名的屠魔人了，她必须活下去，找到这位屠魔人并判断他的资格。

Poppy had nothing against the briar wolf, aside from the fact that it was about to maul her. Its muzzle was stained crimson from a previous kill, and the yordle wouldn’t chance being its next. She was hot on the trail of a renowned monster slayer, and she didn’t intend to die before she found the man and judged his worth.

“赶紧退后，你没有胜算。”波比一边对巨狼说话，一边威慑性地将圣锤高高举起。

“You should step back. You won’t survive this,” Poppy told the wolf, holding her hammer aloft as a deterrent.

但是这只荆棘狼并没有丝毫退缩。它受到某种奇怪的绝望驱使，径直向她走来，波比无法准确辨别。这时她看到它嘴角淌着警示性的白沫。这只野兽的行径并非出于饥饿或者领地意识。它正处于痛苦之中，希望得到解脱。巨狼向她猛扑过来，似乎已经下定决心，下一秒钟要么杀人，要么被杀。

But the briar wolf was not discouraged. It padded toward her, propelled by some strange desperation that Poppy couldn’t identify. Then she saw the telltale foam at the corners of its mouth. This animal was not driven by hunger or territorial instincts. It was in pain, and it wanted release. The wolf leapt at her, as if it had made up its mind that its next act would be to kill or be killed.

波比挥动了圣锤，动用全身力气扳动它沉重的分量。她这一击瞬间击碎了那只野兽的头骨，结束了它的折磨。这次屠戮没有让波比感到愉悦，但她想，无论于狼于己，这都应该是最好的结果。

Poppy swung the hammer, using every ounce of her strength to move the weapon’s considerable weight. The blow she delivered collapsed the animal’s skull in an instant, ending its torment. Poppy took no pleasure in the kill, but she supposed it was the best possible outcome, for her and the wolf.

这名约德尔人环顾这片绿地，但并没有感知到屠魔人的气息。她已经在这片郊野游荡了许久，追寻着屠魔人的传闻，希望这位神秘的猎手就是传说中的绝世英雄，是她这么多年来追寻的人。但直到目前为止，她找到的只有恶狼、双足飞龙和土匪强盗，而大多数情况下，她不得不出于自卫杀死这些充满恶意的敌人。

The yordle looked around at the empty meadow, but sensed no trace of the monster slayer she’d come to find. She had roamed the countryside, following rumors of his activities, hoping this mysterious hunter might be the fabled hero she had sought for so many years. But thus far, all she’d found were wolves and wyverns and highwaymen, most of whom she’d been forced to kill in self-defense.

她已经在德玛西亚边陲的小村之间旅行数周。她用自己最快的速度小步前行，但屠魔人却似乎永远都领先她一步，留给她的只有人们口中的传说和功绩。约德尔人很少能够感知到时间的流逝，但即使是波比，也开始觉得这追寻有点漫长。

She had spent weeks traveling from hamlet to hamlet in the far-flung corners of Demacia. She walked as fast as her tiny gait would allow, but the monster slayer always seemed to be one step ahead of her, leaving naught but tales of heroic exploits in his wake. For a yordle, time is a curious thing whose passing is seldom felt, but even for Poppy, the search was beginning to grow long.

有一天，她开始怀疑自己，怀疑自己的使命，但这时她看到了路边告示栏上钉着一张告示：

One day, just when she was beginning to doubt herself and her mission, she spied a notice nailed to a roadside post:

“欢迎参加屠魔人庆典”

“All are invited to attend the Festival of the Slayer!”

这是为了向那位屠魔人致敬而召开的庆典，波比要找的正是那位屠魔人。如果说有任何机会能够打探到这位英雄的下落，一定会在那里。他本人甚至可能会在那里现身，真是那样的话，她就可以亲自衡量这位英雄，判断他是否有资格接过奥伦传下来的圣锤。达成使命的期望让她的步履突然变得轻快，她斗志昂扬地向着庆典的方向前进。

It was a celebration to honor the very monster hunter Poppy had been seeking. If there was any hope of locating this elusive hero, she would certainly find it there. He might even make an appearance, and then she could size him up in person to determine if he was worthy to carry the hammer Orlon had bequeathed her. The prospect put a spring in her step, and she marched with renewed purpose toward the celebration.

波比到达目的村庄以后开始变得忐忑，条幅和彩带昭示着当天的庆祝活动。理想的情况下，她应该提早赶到，在庆典的开幕式上站在人群后面，低调行事。不过现在，主场地已经挤满了观众，摩肩擦踵，水泄不通。波比在村民的腿间穿行，大多数人都陶醉在热烈的气氛中，完全没有注意到她。

Poppy was anxious when she arrived at the village, its banners and streamers gaudily proclaiming the day’s festivities. Ideally, she would have arrived early at such a public event and claimed a spot in the rear of the crowd, so as not to draw attention. But the main market was already packed with spectators, and Poppy found it hard to maneuver through the press of bodies. She squeezed through the legs of the townsfolk, most of whom were too inebriated to notice her.

“他要真来这的话俺非得请他喝两盅，”她头顶传来一个声音说。“他杀了那个怪兽，救了俺的羊。”

“I’d buy ’im a pint if ’e were here,” slurred one voice above her. “Saved my goats by killing that monster.”

波比心潮澎湃，每次听到屠魔人的故事他都会激动。

Poppy’s heart raced, as it always did when she heard tales of the hunter.

如果他真的是盖世英雄呢? 她心里想。

What if he turns out to be the one? she thought.

不过在内心更深处，波比问的是另一个问题。等她将圣锤交付出去以后，她何去何从?她会找到全新的目标吗?没有目标的约德尔人是非常可怜的。她停止了胡思乱想，回到了手头的任务上。

But deep inside, Poppy asked a different question. What would she do once she was rid of the weapon? Would she find an entirely new purpose? A yordle without one was a pathetic sight indeed. She stopped her mind from wandering and brought it back to the task at hand.

这位小战士终于挤到了主场地的后面，她找到了一根灯柱，很容易爬，而且还不在人们眼前。于是她爬了上去，刚好足够高，可以看到整个人群。

The tiny warrior finally managed to weave her way to the back of the market. She found a tall lamppost both easy to climb and behind the eyes of the crowd. She then shimmied up the post, just high enough to see over the throng.

波比来的时间刚刚好，在主场地的另一端，一位演讲者和一群德玛西亚官员站在讲台上，他身后一副典礼幕布覆盖着一个庞然大物。

Poppy was just in time. On the far side of the market, a speaker stood with several Demacian officials on a dais, and behind him, something tall was draped in a ceremonial veil.

虽然波比具备约德尔人的灵敏感官，但她依然很难听清那个人说的话。他在讲述 屠魔人的事，讲述他如何拯救了无数农场和村庄，解决了双足飞龙、染病的恶狼、还有劫匪强盗。他说，虽然这位尊贵的战士选择隐姓埋名，但他们依然应该表彰他的事迹。有人几周前在厄文戴尔镇附近看到过屠魔人，这是第一次有人亲眼看到他的外貌。言毕，演讲者揭开了帷幕，亮出了一尊石像。

Even with her keen yordle senses, Poppy could barely hear the man’s words. He was talking about the monster hunter, and how he had saved numerous farms and villages from wyverns, rabid wolves, and bandits. He said that although this revered warrior had chosen to remain anonymous, it shouldn’t stop them from celebrating his deeds. The slayer had been spotted several weeks ago near the town of Uwendale, leaving the first eyewitness accounts of his appearance. With that, the speaker pulled off the veil to reveal a stone statue.

波比第一次看到了这位屠魔人的外貌，激动得一阵眩晕。他是一位典型的德玛西亚战士 – 身高两米，身着厚重的板甲，肌肉突出。他的脚下躺着一只恶狼的尸体，显然是被他所杀。

Poppy grew faint with excitement as she saw the hunter’s likeness for the first time. He was the paragon of a Demacian warrior—seven feet tall, armored in heavy plate mail, and rippling with sharply defined muscles. Beneath him lay the corpse of a wolf he had presumably slain.

这个形象开始根植于波比的脑海，这时候她突然听见几米外一个孩子的声音。

Just as the image had begun to settle in Poppy’s mind, she heard the sound of a child’s voice a few yards away.

“爸，快看。是屠魔人!和雕像一样!”一个小女孩兴高采烈地喊叫。

“Look, Da. It’s the slayer! The one from the statue!” declared the wide-eyed girl.

波比向她所指的方向看去。然后又猛然回头，以为屠魔人就站在她身后。不过她没有看到任何人。

Poppy saw the girl was pointing in her direction. She whirled around to see if the slayer was standing behind her. But no one was there.

“不，孩子，”小女孩的父亲说。“那不是屠魔人。身高还不到一半呢。”

“No, lass,” said the girl’s father. “That one’s no monster slayer. Too small by half.”

小女孩和他的父亲很快失去了兴趣，走向村子另一头，参加其他助兴活动去了。

The girl and her father quickly lost interest and strolled through the village to partake in the various amusements.

雕像前面的人群渐渐散去，波比走到跟前仔细端详。现在她可以好好看看这位屠魔人的模样了。他的头发很长，两侧拴着两个结。他身经百战的双手凹凸不平，手中握着一把巨型战锤，看上去很像奥伦交给她的那把圣锤。波比不知道王国内还能有谁比这个英雄更加绝世。

As the crowd in front of the statue dispersed, Poppy moved in for a closer inspection. Now she could see the fine details of the hunter’s marble depiction. His hair was long, fair, and bound in two separate side knots. His hands were gnarled from a hundred battles, and in them, he held a massive battle hammer not unlike the one Orlon had given her. If there was a truer hero in the kingdom, Poppy had never seen him.

“一定就是他了，”波比说。“希望还不算太晚。”

“He has to be the one,” Poppy said. “Hope I’m not too late.”

她转身离开了庆典，迈着细小而急骤的步伐，向厄文戴尔镇的方向前进。

She turned and left the festival as fast as her legs could carry her, taking the swiftest route to Uwendale.