When the sky was illuminated by morning light again, there were sounds of footsteps on the road in the distance. The first one to appear in the field of vision was the flag, the white-backed apple tree emblem flag of Linle Town. The ones walking in front were soldiers and knights in iron armor, and then were militias holding axes and hoes. The long team slowly moved forward on the winding road.

The arrival of the army disturbed the entire city. People got up earlier than ever, as if awakened by the pace of the march. They looked at the sky that had not completely brightened without saying a word, and people remained silent. The gates opened, and the officers of Jinshui City were responsible for greeting the lord's vassals' army and brought them to the designated garrison area: the troops in Linle Town were stationed on a hillside, and at this moment they were still covered with trees, but before dusk

tents will be built here. The supplies were pulled down the hillside and piled up. The militia silently picked up their axes and went up the mountain to cut trees. As the trees fell down, one campfire after another was ignited, smoke came into the sky, and pots of thick soup were also boiled. Southerners called this soup "rotten soup". Everything that could be eaten would be thrown in and cooked. The soup was thick and had a weird taste, but it was the simplest and most filling food.

When the rotten soup in Linle Town was cooked, the army of Langshi Town also arrived. The people of Linle Town have always been disagreeable with the people of Langshi Town and Aide Town. Since ancient times, pirates in Beihuwan will go to Linle Town when they go deep into the hinterland to plunder resources. This is a long-standing wish. Unlike the people of Linle Town, the sea people of Langshi Town are even more crazi, strong and taciturn. They are silent but powerful like reefs. This is also the reason why the people of Linle Town are unwilling to provoke them.

The army of Langshi Town was placed under the northwest city wall. They quickly built a camp. Because the open space under the city wall was level, the camp construction of Langshi Town was faster than that of Linle Town. At the same time, some residents of Langshi Town carried axes to the hills to cut wood. This was also the first bloody conflict broke out today. The militia in Linle Town and the seamen in Langshi Town had a dispute over trees. The seamen beat the militia in Linle Town, which eventually triggered an armed battle between the two sides. Two seamen were hacked to death. Fortunately, the officers of Jinshui City quickly came to mediate, otherwise it might have triggered another large-scale conflict.

Just as the smell of gunpowder was filled with the two camps, the army of Aide Town finally arrived. Aide Town was in an awkward position. Linle Town regarded them as the "pirates" like Langshi Town, while the seamen in Langshi Town felt that they were "sages on the sea" and disdained them. Aide Town was arranged under the walls on the northeast of the two camps, next to them was a newly established refugee camp. The residents of the valley were quite introverted, and they were even distrustful to everyone. The residents of Aide Town were more friendly, but too proud, not only after the Duke of Jin Falls married Mrs. Fro of Aide Town.

The two walls facing the northern valley were completely brightened from the sky, and the noisy and lively situation remained. The officers of various troops kept shouting, and the officers of Jinshui City also rode through the camps in yellow cloaks representing Jinshui City.

Unlike outside the city wall, the city became restless. The arrival of the army made the residents busy. The officers who collected food brought people to shout and convey orders on the streets. The residents went to the inner castle with bitter face to hand over food and supplies. There were long queues in front of the inner castle, and guards wearing iron armor, holding spears and shields to maintain order. The church square was also crowded with people. They were waiting to enter the church to pray to the gods and tell their uneasiness. Every time a group of people walked out of the church, another group of mermaids immediately entered.

The Canjin River is also full of ships. Most of them are rowed from the valley residents' villages along the upper reaches of the Canjin River, and are full of refugees. Although more refugees escape by foot, most of the people who can take the boat are richer among the valley residents.

It was not until noon that the camps of the army in the three towns began to take shape, but they were still messy, and a tent was set up, the white tents of Linle Town, the gray tents of Langshi Town and the light red tents of Aide Town.

The city gates were wide open, and the vendors' trucks and the military brought tribute to the Duke of Jinshui City were escorted into the town by guards. When the vendors heard about the war, they rushed over together like mercenaries. The mercenaries came to sell their own power, while the vendors came to sell their supplies. As long as the war broke out, there would never be too much supplies.

Especially on the ancient roads from the south, even though it is now winter, vendors and mercenaries are still in a constant stream.

...

Looking at the long queues ahead to enter the Golden Waterfall City, Aleya couldn't help but sigh. At this moment, she was sitting in the carriage. The goods pulled by their carriage were enough to make everyone look sideways, covered by white canvas, and then there were thin iron chains, just like a white hill placed on the carriage. Every step the horses would make a gasp in overwhelming breath. This was the thirteenth horse after being replaced. They had been changing horses all the way. "Although it's not that they don't care about the life or death of the horse," Etherland said, "but if they don't change horses, it will affect efficiency."

Ethran is such a person. Although she has gentle moments in unexpected places, she is in a cold state of "iron-blooded boss". However, she herself does not know about it and has always implemented her (self-conceived) "intellectuality" and her way of action.

Not many people could tolerate her. Aleya shook her head and looked at Alev, who acted as a groom. He was forced to put on a cloak, but his strong body could not be hidden in any case. He was a man like a tower, determined and loyal. Aleya didn't know when he began to follow Aleya, but until she noticed that Aleya had "been used to such a subordinate."

"So slow!" Etherland complained, sitting in the carriage with an impatient look on her face. "The efficiency of the guards in the Golden Falls is really inefficient. If they were in the company, they might have received more than twenty letters of dismissal!"

Alev and Aleya remained silent on this topic, and they all knew Ethran's sensitivity to this topic. However, Ethran had complained more than twenty times. Although she had never repeated every complaint, she couldn't stand it in the end and wanted to go up and "teach a lesson" the guards, but fortunately she was stopped by Ethran and Aleya.

"Didn't this guy Anthony send anyone to greet me?" Etherland frowned at the gate, "It seems that he hasn't done anything at all!"

"This is not necessarily true, sister," Aleya pointed to another road in the distance, "Look at that."

Athran looked towards the direction Aleya pointed to, where the valley residents followed the road to Golden Falls. However, the refugees who were slowly walking stood on both sides, and the people on the hillside stopped and moved toward the road. Is there anything to come? Athran noticed that the thing was spreading silence to the place where it passed.

At the front were silent players. They were tired of leading the horse and lowering their heads. The team was surrounded by a depressing atmosphere. Then the thing appeared behind the team, six horses that were sent forward, but the horse looked very strange. Every step he took seemed to have exhausted his strength. Pale breath spurted out from the horse's mouth and nose. The chaotic sound of the six horses' hooves and the heavy sound of the wheels complemented each other, like an unsettling bass tune. The horse-drawn thing appeared in people's sight, and everyone who saw it exclaimed and fell into silence.

At first it was an iron cage, an exaggeratedly large iron cage, filled with things, as if it were a rock, and dozens of spears and swords passed through the gaps in the iron cage and nailed them to the "rock". But when the carriage slowly approached, Ethran found that the "rock" seemed to move, no, it was not a rock.

"Troll."

"It's a troll."

"These mercenaries... actually caught the monster."

The whispers began to spread among the surrounding crowds, and even the guards and merchants at the front of the team entering the city gate stopped. Everyone saw the iron cage with a strange atmosphere, with the iron spears and swords inserted in messy manners, and everyone was unable to control their breathing because of that thing. Whether it was the players present, the soldiers on the hillside and under the city walls were the same.

"It's a good job, this kid." Etherland suddenly laughed.

Suddenly Atherland stood up, "Hey! Drake!" She stood in the carriage and waved at the convoy escorting the monsters, "Hey! Here!" Her voice attracted many people's attention, and then a man riding behind the monster's iron cage raised his head. The man was stunned, but immediately drove the horse to rush over.

"You, you, why are you here?!" The man stared at Etherland with wide eyes, saying that he would become unsuccessful.

"Ha? Didn't you ask me to invite me?" Etherland frowned, "What's going on with that thing compared to this?"

"Then, that's..." The man suddenly became vague.

"Oh, you still haven't grown up," Etherland said dissatisfiedly, unconsciously putting on the look of "iron-blooded boss". "Forget it, come to me with a report after you have settled that thing later."

"Yes, yes," the man lowered his head in embarrassment, but immediately realized something, "No! I'm not your subordinate now!"

"Forget it, I've heard enough of your defense, go ahead." Etherland waved his hand, "Get things done for me."

"Hey, hey! You!" The man seemed to want to say something, but in the end he swallowed the words with a calm face, "Forget it, I'll come to find you later, so you can go to the corner hotel in Northwest City to stay." After saying that, the man nodded slightly to the three of them and drove the horse back to his own team.

"This guy is that Drake," said Aleya, stroking her chin with one hand, "I didn't expect it."

"Right? It looks like an ordinary fool, right?" Etherland nodded and said.

"No, I mean, that Drake will actually turn into 'this look' in front of his sister." Aleya said with a blink of a blue calm eyes.

"After all, I am a former subordinate." Etherland said helplessly, "Subordinates are afraid of their bosses, just like mice are afraid of cats. They have been engraved into their genes."

"Hey? So sister, do you admit that your leadership method is to use 'fear'? Besides, this kind of thing cannot be engraved with genes, right?"

"Instead of discussing this kind of thing, you might as well buy some oranges for me. When I stood up, I saw the oranges pulling on the carriage in front of me. After talking for so long, I became thirsty."

"Yes, yes, yes~" Aleya shrugged and jumped out of the carriage.

"What a worry-free child." Etherland sighed and said, looking at Aleya's back.

"You should be as good as her." Alev, who had been silent, suddenly spoke out.

"Oh? I'm very brave to speak, Alev!" Ethran suddenly laughed and made Alev tremble involuntarily.

"No, please forgive my mistake."

"'Men should be responsible for their words and deeds', have you forgotten what you once said?"

"No, I haven't said that."

"Are you saying I remembered wrong?"

"Probably, right."

"Remember it clearly!"

"I'm so sorry, I remembered it wrong, I did say that."

"Then you have to bear the consequences of your words and deeds!"

“…”

"Hmm? Sister, are you quarreling?" Aleya, who had returned from buying oranges, asked in confusion.

"No, it's preaching." Ethran denied, "I'm right, Alev?"

"Yes, as Lord Ethran said." Alev sat up straight and said seriously.

"You really spoil her." Aleya sighed and shook her head.

"What nonsense?" Atheran said with a frown, "Get the oranges over!"

“Yes, yes, yes~”

...

Joel sat on the chair, and Simoken helped him take off the dirty bandage, put on the ointment again, and then wrapped it in a new bandage.

"It really recovered very quickly, Mr. Contin." Ximoken said while applying the ointment, but she also noticed that Joel had many new wounds on his body this time. There were a few ugly wounds on his skin, which had been twisted by the burns. The edge of the wound was a light red, which looked a little numb. However, Ximoken carefully wiped off the blood stains from Joel's body with a damp cloth.

"Mr. Kangting, you don't know that these ointments have been made with great effort in recent days. The portion is probably too large to last several months!" Feiyu, who was sitting beside him, said with a smile.

"Because, because the burn ointment I learned from the monastery can be stored for a long time, I made more..." Ximoken explained with a slightly red face.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Joel suddenly asked. In fact, Joel noticed last night that there were many scars on Simoken's fingers.

When Joel asked about this, Ximoken's hand suddenly paused. Joel turned around, and at this moment, a new bandage was wrapped around his face. He saw Ximoken bit his lip but did not answer him.

"That's a wound," Feiyu said, "She has been learning bows and arrows from me recently."

"Bow and arrow?" Joel frowned, "Why..."

"Because I want to help Mr. Kangting," Simoken interrupted Joel, "I don't want to... pull Mr. Kangting's back."

Joel was silent, and Feiyu also fell silent. The room suddenly became quiet, and only the sound of Ximoken applying ointment carefully.

After a long silence, Joel finally spoke, "I...I plan to take Hemi away from Golden Falls."

"Eh?" Ximoken was stunned.

"What?" Feiyu also showed a look of surprise, "Are you right away?"

"Well, right away." Joel nodded slightly, "After meeting Anthony," he said, looking at Feiyu, "You said Anthony will return to Golden Falls today?"

"It seems like this, the plan is today." Feiyu nodded, but he asked in confusion, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You are going to hold a map mission soon, and the reward is very generous!"

"It's because of this that we have to leave." Joel sighed and said. Even though his body became a mercenary, Joel still couldn't follow the danger like a mercenary, not to mention that Hemi... and Simoken were beside him.

"Mr. Contin." Just as Joel was thinking about these things, Ximoken, behind him, took a deep breath as if he had made up some determination, "Can... take me away?"

Joel was stunned.

Seeing that Joel did not answer immediately, Simoken thought he was hesitating, so he became anxious: "I, although I can't fight, I can't help you face the enemy, and may even drag you down... But I can do other things for you, I can help you wash your clothes, and..."

"What stupid things are you saying?" Joel's words stunned her. She suddenly didn't know what to do.

But Joel's next words made her even more at a loss.

"Of course I will take you with you," Joel said calmly, "It's really hard for me to take care of Hemi alone, so I hope you can be with me." She has no place to go, and if I leave her here, I will find it difficult to forgive myself, right? When Joel thought of this in his heart, he could only sigh. After all, he caused her to this point. If he didn't take responsibility for this, he would not be able to become Hemi's role model in the future.

But after hearing Joel's words, Ximoken was stunned.

"Mr. Kang Ting..." Tears slid down her cheeks, "It's really... thank you so much..."

"Hey, why did you suddenly cry?" Feiyu next to him suddenly became nervous. Although Joel's heart was similar to his, he was at least much calmer.

"Yes, I'm sorry! I'm useless..." Qianmoken quickly wiped away his tears, "I'm just... so happy."
To be continued...