巨神之枪 The Spear of Targon

作者：Anthony Reynolds

一个人影孤独地等待着这支武装旅团，迎面射来的阳光勾勒出他的剪影。他厚重的披风和头冠上的流苏在干热的沙漠之风中飘摇，手中紧握着的长枪矗立在身侧。

A lone figure awaited the armed convoy, standing silhouetted against the sun. His heavy cloak and the long plume atop his helm billowed in the hot, dry desert wind. A tall spear was held at his side.

旅团共有三十名壮年。其中大多数都是雇佣兵——饱经风霜与战火洗礼的精壮男女，身着皮革与锁扣的战袍，装备着十字弓、长戟和短剑。他们身边跟着满载负重的骡子，在沙尘中跋涉。突然他们停了下来，口中的脏话和荤段子戛然而止。因为他们看到了这名武士，一动不动地站在他们近前。

The convoy was thirty strong. Most of its number were hired mercenaries—rough, warlike men and women garbed in hauberks, leather, and chain, bearing crossbows, halberds, and blades. They walked the dusty path alongside heavily laden mules, though they came to a halt, crude insults and jokes dying on their lips, as they saw the warrior standing motionless before them.

远征队的黑首领长勒住胯下的黑马，眉头紧锁。虽然旅团里的其他人都来自遥远的异乡，但他本人却十分了解这里和当地的居民，因为他曾经也认为自己属于这里。他被这里的山民拉阔尔人抚养大，但很久以前就离开了他们。如今，这个消失多年的游子回来了，但引他归来的是财富的诱惑。他知道高山上的先知神庙中藏着无价的珍宝。

The dark-clad leader of the expedition frowned as he pulled his coal-black steed to a halt. While the others were from lands far away, he knew this place and its inhabitants, for he once counted himself one of them. While he had been raised among the mountain people of the Rakkor, he had long ago turned away from them. Now he returned, after many years of absence, drawn by the lure of the priceless wealth he knew awaited in the Seer’s temple above.

他了解这群故人，也尊敬他们的战斗力，但单单一名武士？即使是拉霍拉克也不可能在如此悬殊的较量中存活。

He knew and respected the fighting prowess of his former people, but a single warrior? Not even the Ra’Horak could survive such odds.

即便如此，这个人依然站在那块突兀的巨石上，寸步不让。

Even so, the figure atop the rocky outcrop made no move to stand aside.

“你们心中带着杀意，”那个武士的声音坚硬如铁。 “我代表巨峰。立刻回头，否则我很乐意送你们上路。自己选。”

“You come with murder in your hearts,” the warrior said, his voice as hard as iron. “I am of the Mountain. Turn back, or I will gladly destroy you. The choice is yours.”

雇佣兵中传来一阵戏谑的嘲笑。

The mercenaries smirked and scoffed.

“滚远点，疯子，”其中一名雇佣兵喊道，“小心我们把你脑袋插到棍子上当路标。”

“Piss off, madman,” one of them shouted, “lest we plant your head on a spike to mark our passing.”

“这位朋友，你离开家很远啊，”旅团首领开口说话，“我们只是想上山。没必要见血。”

“You are a long way from home, friend,” the leader of the convoy said. “We journey to the mountain ourselves. There need be no blood spilt here.”

拉阔尔的独狼纹丝未动。

The lone Rakkoran warrior was unmoved.

“我们只是来朝圣的，还有很长的路要走，”首领接着说。“再说，我们现在也回不去了。我们的船已经离岸了，看到了吗？”他指了指身后。

“We are simple pilgrims, and still have far to go,” said the leader. “And besides, there is no way back for us now. Our ships have sailed, see?” He gestured behind him.

旅团身后不到一里处，海面像龙鳞一般在夕阳下闪烁着。三艘帆船依稀可见，风帆满鼓，正在掉头向北，向远方的家返航。

Behind the convoy, less than a mile distant, the sea glittered like dragon scales in the dying light. A trio of galleys could be seen, sails unfurling as they turned north on the long journey home.

“我们并无恶意，我向你保证，”首领继续说，“我们只想寻求智慧。”

“We come with no ill intent, I assure you,” the leader continued. “We merely seek wisdom.”

“你信口开河，心如蛇蝎，”独行武士说。“你要的是先知的血，而且你将因此丧命。你出生在山上，现在你要死在山的影子下。”

“Your tongue is forked, serpent,” said the lone warrior. “You seek the blood of the Seer, and it will be your end. You were born on the mountain, and now you will die in its shadow.”

首领眉头更加深陷，他转向一边，轻蔑地耸了耸肩。

The leader’s frown deepened, and he turned away with a dismissive shrug.

“那可未必，”他说。“杀了他。”

“We shall see,” he said. “Kill him.”

说时迟那时快，十字弓纷纷平举，密集的箭矢呼啸而至。然而拉阔尔武士并没有倒下，箭矢击中了他厚重的圆盾，乒乒乓乓地被弹开了。然后他开始向前迈进。

In an instant, crossbows were hefted to shoulders and the air was filled with loosed bolts. The warrior of the Rakkor was not punched from his feet, however; the bolts clanged as they ricocheted from his heavy, circular shield. Then he began to advance.

他看上去似乎并不着急。阳光依然勾勒着他的剪影，每一步都坚决如铁。他慢慢放低长枪，矛头直指他的敌人。十字弓又一轮急速齐射，又一次被他的盾牌挡开。

He appeared to be in no hurry. He strode forward with grim resolve, still silhouetted against the sun, the tip of his spear lowering toward his enemies. Another flurry of crossbow bolts. Again they were turned aside by his shield.

佣兵团叫嚷着，站在最前面的女兵一马当先扑向他，手中的锯刃弯刀挥向他的咽喉。只一眨眼的功夫，武士的长枪就深深捅进了她的胸膛。随后，武士的长枪划出一道血色长弧，划破第一个人的咽喉，击碎了第二个人的头颅。两个人几乎以同样的速度殒命。

The first of the snarling mercenaries launched herself toward him, a jagged-bladed scimitar arcing in for his throat. She died in the blink of an eye, the warrior’s spear buried in her chest. The next two died almost as quickly, a crimson line slashed across one man’s throat, and another falling with a broken skull.

“给我拿下！”远征队的首领一边大吼，一边从腰带上掏出一把精美的特制手枪。

“Take him!” roared the expedition’s leader, drawing an exquisite, bespoke pistol from his waistband.

乌云遮日，雇佣兵们终于看清了武士的身姿。他的铠甲上绘有天界的图景，午夜般深蓝的披风上似乎有星辰在闪烁。这星光同样存于他的双眼，透过头盔的缝隙，从阴影中射出无情的凝视。片刻间，似乎他的铠甲和枪尖都发出神圣的光芒和力量。一种突如其来的绝望感灌满了强盗首领的身心，因为他小的时候听说过这种力量，但早就嗤之以鼻地认为那只是神话和传奇。

A cloud passed in front of the sun, allowing the warrior to be seen more clearly. His armor was wrought with celestial imagery,and it seemed as if stars gleamed in the shimmery fabric of his midnight-blue cloak. That starlight also glittered in his unrelenting gaze, shadowed within the visor slits of his helm. For a moment, it seemed like his armor and speartip gleamed with what could only be described as divine power, and sudden dread filled the leader of the raiders, for he had heard of this power in his childhood, but had long since dismissed it as myth and legend.

独行战士一招一式行云流水，干净利落而且招招致命。他的速度飞快，超过任何凡人的极限。丧命的雇佣兵越来越多，他们的鲜血染红了干燥的沙漠。没人能够击中这名夺命的武士。他从容不迫地行走于战场之中，势不可挡地向骑行的队长逼近。雇佣兵接二连三地送命，没多久，剩余的人全都在这股不可阻挡的力量面前落荒而逃。

The lone warrior moved like liquid, every movement smooth, efficient, and deadly. He was impossibly fast—faster than any man should be. More mercenaries died, their blood staining the dry desert ground. None could land a blow upon the deadly fighter. He moved effortlessly through the battle, closing inexorably on the horseman. One by one, the mercenaries were slain. In moments, those still standing turned and fled in the face of this unstoppable foe.

头领举枪开火。难以置信的是，武士在最后一刻躲闪开来，子弹仅仅是擦过了他的头盔侧缘。队长咒骂着给手枪上膛，准备开第二枪……

The leader of the mercenaries leveled his pistol at the lone warrior and fired. Impossibly, he swayed aside at the last moment, and the shot merely scraped across the side of his helm. The leader swore and cocked his pistol for another shot… but he was too slow.

盾牌正中前胸，将他从马鞍上击落。他重重地摔在地上，身体立刻被武士踩在脚下，动弹不得。

The warrior’s shield took him square in the chest, and he was hurled from the saddle. He fell heavily and grimaced as the warrior’s foot came down on his torso, pinning him to the ground.

强盗首领抬起头，惊异地发现他认得这个强敌的面孔。一个名字浮现在他记忆中，当时他还生活在拉阔尔人中间。

Staring up, the leader of the raiders realized with a shock that he knew the face of his opponent. A name surfaced in his memory, from a time when he had still lived among the Rakkor.

“阿特瑞斯，”他说，“是你吗？”

“Atreus,” he said. “Is it you?”

作为回答，拉阔尔武士的长枪刺了下去，穿透了那个首领的胸膛。

In answer, the Rakkoran’s spear drove down, punching through the leader’s chest.

“阿特瑞斯已经不在了，”武士说，“我是潘森，永远都是。”

“Atreus is gone,” said the warrior. “I am the Pantheon, now and forever.”

那个人死前颤抖着吐出一串血沫。待到他最后僵死不动，潘森抽出了武器，转身离开。夕阳已落下，暮色黯淡，无数星辰点亮了夜空。

Blood bubbled from the dying man’s lips, and he shuddered. When finally he was still, Pantheon pulled his weapon clear and turned away. Twilight had given way to dusk, and countless stars lit the night sky.

一枚拖着火焰尾迹的彗星正在运行，指向东方数百里的山脉。

A comet of burning fire streaked down toward the distant mountains, a hundred miles east.

潘森目光紧锁。“这么说，是时候了，” 他对着黑暗说道，然后启程返回远方的巨神峰。

Pantheon’s eyes narrowed. “It is time, then,” he said to the darkness, and began the long journey back to Mount Targon.