The two of them took turns falling asleep, and although they hadn't gone deep into the mountains at this time, they still needed to be careful.

......

Soft sunlight shone down on Cross's face through the dense foliage.

It's dawn.

"Good morning, Lord Cross. ”

Cross rubbed his eyes, stretched, and replied, "Nothing abnormal, right?" ”

"No, the time when the most likely anomaly is when you are on guard. After speaking, Gawain handed over a cowhide jug, "Would you like to drink some water?" ”

"You've really prepared, Gawain. ”

"Compared to Your Excellency, I'm still far behind. ”

After eating and drinking, the two continued on their way, this time, they were much faster than last night, and they both understood that they could only reach their destination as soon as possible if they tried to travel as quickly as possible during the day.

"Your Excellency, how long do you think it will take us to reach Copperhill?"

"If there were no accidents and the route was correct, at our rate, it would have taken at least 30 days. ”

"30 days !!"

"Far more than you expected, huh?" Cross replied with a smile.

"Your Excellency, this is not the time to laugh. The dry food I brought was only enough for the two of us for 10 days at most......"

"I know. ”

"You know and laugh, don't you want to think of a way? I don't want to starve to death in the Twilight Mountains. ”

Gawain knew that Cross had always been calm and calm, but no matter how calm he was, he also needed food, and without food, how could he have the strength to walk out of the Dusk Mountains.

But Cross still smiled, "You've been in the comfort of the Earl's Court for too long, Gawain. ”

Seeing that Gawain didn't understand what he meant, Cross continued, "You know what? I hated my father at first, he kicked me out of my house and sent me to the cruel Imperial Military Academy when I was so young.

But then, I was grateful to him. At the military academy, I learned a lot. For example, the ability to survive in the wild. This is something you can never learn from Earls' Court. ”

Gawain was stunned by this, not that it was beyond his cognition, on the contrary, it was common sense that even children understand.

A young eagle that is forever sheltered cannot spread its wings and fly. And Gawain, who has always lived in the Earl's Court, naturally cannot face the challenges of nature alone.

It took a while for Gawain to speak, "I finally know why you're the way you are, Cross Crane. ”

Cross shook his finger, "You don't know, Gawain Sissel. In short, you don't have to worry about food shortness anymore. ”

Gawain smiled, what he would rather see was the familiar Cross than the growth of many Crosses. Shaking his fingers and speaking casually, this is the familiar Cross. The two finally regained a little of their childhood feeling after a serious night.

Hurrying, searching for food, lighting a fire, taking turns sleeping......

In this way, the two have spent 9 days in the Dusk Mountains.

During these 9 days, Cross did not gain any useful information, but he did extract some information about Gawain from Gawain's mouth.

Gawain Sissel, the most mysterious person in the Earl's Court, has been enjoying the treatment of the earl's son since he came to the Earl's Court at the age of 3, but his parents have never appeared.

There was once a servant who said behind his back that Gawain was the illegitimate son of the old earl, and that the servant was later convicted of spreading rumors and put to death in public, and since then, no one has dared to speak of Gawain.

And just the day before yesterday, Gawain told Cross a secret: Gawain was born in the capital of the empire, and he was most likely the illegitimate son of the emperor.

Cross had meant it as a joke, but when he recalled some things from his childhood, he had to be somewhat convinced of the secret that Gawain had said.

Moreover, Gawain was made a court swordsman without any merit and strength, and was given a fief, which in turn seemed to confirm Gawain's mysterious and noble identity.

However, Cross will not show respect for Gawain because of this, in his opinion, Gawain's secret is not only not of much use, but will also lead to disaster. At least, in recent years, it has been like that.

I don't know if the two of them were lucky, or if the Dusk Mountain Range was not as terrifying as the legend said, in the past 9 days, they didn't encounter any so-called devilish things, not even a large beast.

The optimistic Gawain had begun to fantasize about what would happen if he successfully crossed the Twilight Mountains to reach Brasstown. He said that when he arrived in Brasstown, he would find a bard to compile the legend of his journey through the Twilight Mountains into a poem that would be recounted in every tavern of the Empire.

However, Cross sensed that the crisis was approaching.

The weather is getting colder.

Based on the temperature changes in the last nine days, Cross speculates that if they continue to move forward for another two or three days, they will face icy temperatures.

The change in temperature in the mountains is indeed beyond the scope of Cross's cognition. It's September when the grain harvest is abundant, and the altitude of the southeastern part of the Dusk Mountains is relatively low, so the temperature would never have been so low if it weren't for other factors.

And the root cause of this result must be the Dusk Mountains themselves. Cross couldn't help but sigh that this area that humans had not really set foot in contained too many secrets.

Cross retracted his emotion, at the moment, the problem of temperature is the most tricky. He was well aware that if he did not solve this problem as soon as possible, he could not move forward as originally planned.

And to alleviate the problem of temperature, there is now a relatively easy way, which is to hunt wild beasts and cover the fur of wild beasts on leather armor.

It's just that Cross hasn't learned to peel skins, and it's not so easy to find beasts in this mountain range. However, for the rest of the trip, the search for the beast is obviously necessary.

Thinking of this, Klosson had an idea. Instead of wandering aimlessly in the vast mountains and forests to search for prey, it is better to lure the prey out with bait.

Cross told Gawain about the cause and effect of the plan, and the latter fully cooperated.

The two made a simple trap in a clearing, and then placed the roasted jerky and dry bread on top of the trap. Afterwards, the two hid behind a tree trunk not far away, waiting for the prey to take the bait.

"Cross, is this okay? Animals don't eat cooked food. ”

"Using raw food as bait will only attract disgusting scavengers. Be patient, Gawain. ”

After a period of waiting, Cross, who remained focused, caught movement in the grass ahead. He gestured to Gawain, signaling him to remain quiet.

The prey has come.