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"The town is cordoned off, and no one can enter it—especially the barbarians, not even the half-bloods. ”

The armor-clad Anktann soldier looked at Akan with a bad expression.

"Oh, Akan is just a little bigger, you can recognize him, he doesn't have any barbarian blood. Ed was smiling as he explained, shuddered suddenly for some reason, and then quickly regained his most flattering smile, "He's the adventurer I hired in Cam, and the guy with the blood of a savage can't get to that place, can he?"

Before the guard shook his head again, he had reached out in a friendly way and offered a gift that no one could resist.

The young guard looked at the gold coin stuffed in his palm, hesitated, and waved the door open.

"Don't get in trouble!" he warned sternly.

"Of course, we just want to get home as soon as possible. Ed's expression was sincere—he was telling the truth.

As soon as he set out on his way home, he immediately returned to his heart, and he missed Vala more and more every day, and Narya also talked more about Alan, about the spring that was about to fall in Ekwood Forest, and even began to worry about whether the chickens she had were still alive...... Instead of looking at the sky again and again.

But they haven't been able to shake off their tails yet. Bye and the mercenaries followed them as they had expected, and Norvie instructed Hal to go around in a circle to avoid the dangerous ones, judging by the figures that were getting closer to them, Beye's patience was running out, and it was better to be careful.

The Kuz estuary looked very similar to the nameless town under the Giant's Axe, though the buildings were a little neater, but mostly dilapidated, the destruction caused by the fighting was everywhere, the smashed windows were barely covered with paper, and the blood stains that had not yet had time to be washed off left dark marks on the walls. There are very few pedestrians on the narrow, muddy streets. Most will avoid them vigilantly, and a few will walk by indifferently, without looking at them.

The smell of rot permeates the town. In comparison, the barbarian camp was really clean and tidy.

A small group of patrolling soldiers walked past them. The leader of the group stopped and looked at them with a gloomy face.

"I'm sorry. Ed was the first to speak, "Where is the nearest hotel in town?"

Secrecy only made it more suspicious, and he had always understood that.

The leader hesitated and gave them directions.

"Are you adventurers?" he looked at them.

"Oh yes, we were going to go find that ice dragon......" Ed grimaced.

"Have you been driven back by the barbarians?" the man sneered, "you weren't the first to be driven back. ”

Ed shrugged helplessly. It's kind of an acknowledgement.

"Don't get into trouble!" the man warned again, leaving them.

"Don't get in trouble, don't get in trouble. Tess muttered quietly, "Why don't you engrave this on their armor?"

"We really don't want to get in trouble. Naria said.

"Oh, but who can refuse when trouble comes to the door?" said Tess winked at her.

The "Bayou Hotel", an inn with even the chain of the sign broken, is like a microcosm of the whole town, dim and dilapidated, with a suspicious smell, so that Ed starts sneezing as soon as he enters the door. The owner of the inn was a middle-aged man with a sallow face, and he looked at Ed with a blank face. When he finished sneezing, he lazily spoke: "How many rooms?"

Ed wiped his snot as he held out two fingers: "The room to be leaned against each other." ”

"There is only one. The boss said, still expressionless.

Ed glared at him—why ask him how many he wanted!

A squad of soldiers burst in, and two guarded the door. The rest ran up the stairs, and it didn't take long to drag a man, a tall man, but only the tall of an ordinary human, with greasy blond-brown hair, a half-long beard that covered half of his face, roaring and screaming all the way, struggling incessantly, and being taken away with a frightened and dazed face.

The whole process was so fast that Ed was a little dumbfounded. But the rest of the hotel seemed to be used to seeing it, and few of them were even interested in taking a look.

"Now there are two. The boss said. The muscles on his face didn't move, "Yes." Or don't?"

"Yes!" Tess smiled and made a decision on behalf of Ed, who had not yet reacted.

Ed had thought that Anktan's soldiers had only come here to drive away the troublesome barbarians and restore order to the town, but the man they took away was clearly not a barbarian, not even a half-blood.

It may not be as simple as Hal had heard before. But Ed didn't plan to inquire about any news, after all, it didn't seem to have anything to do with them, and their own troubles hadn't been solved yet, so there was really no need to cause other trouble. But Tay kicks him out unceremoniously, saying that she needs any useful news from the town - without telling Ed what exactly is "useful".

Ed had to put on his most innocuous and flattering smile and go out for a while, and came back with a giggle on his face - the people here seemed to be quite untalkative, and they drank as much as the barbarians, and it was not easy to dig up some news from them.

He was constantly distracted and sleepy, and under Tess's questioning, it was not easy to spit out all the information that he didn't know was useful.

The mouth of the Kuz River is no longer a real estuary, and the diversion of the river has left the once thriving town in tatters, and although it is located in Anktan, there is no one to govern it, only a fictitious mayor who has never been seen. A man named Borena Cruz and his men control the town, and they do not refuse to allow barbarians and half-breeds to enter, and will even help them survive here, but they must be at their disposal to serve as guides for all sorts of adventurers or bored people who just want to go to the ice fields. They don't care about their purpose, they don't care about their identity, and they promise to bring out the people they brought into the ice field safely. While most of the adventurers with a true purpose do not return, it is true that the people who are brought out by the guides they arrange are rarely killed or injured, or go missing.

Business has always been good, and the town has even been quite prosperous due to the many adventurers and travelers coming and going. Even if the undead appeared on the ice field and more and more barbarians poured into the mouth of the Kuz River, the situation was still under Borenna's control at first, and although there were some minor riots in the town, it was not enough for everyone to be in danger.

But Borena is dead - and the killer has not been found. His body was thrown on the side of the stone bridge in the town that once crossed the Deer Shadow River, but now it was useless, and he was still wearing the familiar and precious snow ape fur cloak, but his body looked like he had been slammed with a heavy object countless times, and even his skull was shattered.

Such a brutal and cruel method made people immediately turn their suspicious eyes on the barbarians. The barbarians and newcomers who were already under Borena blamed each other, and when no one could control the situation, a bloody battle finally broke out, and many innocent passers-by were involved. After that, the situation spiraled out of control, and the whole town was in chaos, with barbarians, half-breeds, and humans fighting in various places, for various reasons. A few days later, heavily armed Anktann soldiers appeared in the border town where they had never been before, and began to capture and drive away all the barbarians and mulattoes.

The townspeople were relieved at first, thinking that at least a peaceful life could be restored. But it didn't take long for Anktan's soldiers to arrest humans, most of them Boren's men, and some of them had nothing to do with Borena at all. The doubtful eventually discovered their similarities - they all looked a bit like Borena, or Borena's men.

But no matter what the charges were apprehended, those people never showed up again.

“...... But isn't Borena dead?" asked Naria.

Ed nodded vigorously: "Dead, dead, they say that the bones in his body are broken, it's really miserable, isn't it?"

He rested his chin on the table and sniffed, his eyes a little red.

"I don't think he's dead...... Or just the people who sent those soldiers thought he wasn't dead. "But who the hell is this Borena? doesn't sound like just a guy in a border town who controls a barbarian guide to make money." ”

"I don't care who he is, I don't care if he's dead or alive...... Well, maybe a little bit curious. Tess spoke, a smile on her face that was becoming more and more familiar to Naria, always with a hint of malice.

"Do you have an idea?" Naria blurted out on her behalf.

Tess nodded smugly, "I have an idea." ”

Her idea was simple, as long as the soldiers of Anktann thought that Baie and his mercenaries were related to Borena, someone would naturally go to these troublesome troubles and let them take care of themselves.

"That way we'll have enough time to slip away so that Rosa and the elf can't be found. Tess said.

Norway shook his head and rejected the plan: "No, it's too dangerous. ”

"Danger? Are you worried about Rosa and your sword dancers? Oh, they can't be caught by those Anktan, they're going to run away, or they're forced to hide for a while, all we need is that time. ”

"But the thing is, Tess, the sword dancer doesn't run away, doesn't hide. And I don't think his companions will accompany him to fight to the end, or drag him away at the risk of injury. Norway sighed, "He'll be alone in front of the enemy, either killed, killed, or wounded and captured...... Either way, I don't want to see it. ”

“...... You elves are such troublesome fellows!" Tess grumbled unhappily and didn't hold on.

"There will be another way. Norway smiled and kissed her forehead, "Now, get some rest." ”.

(To be continued)