The wheels of the carriage weighed over the wet earth, and the convoy of the Golden Skylark Troupe finally reached the gates of Lone Rock City.

Looking at the restless and frightened eyes of the passers-by passing through the city gates, Barbara frowned and said to Randall, "I thought we would be given a grand welcome, but it seems that art is not welcome here. ”

"It's not about art. Randall looked at the tip of the spear polished by the guards at the gate, stroked his chin and said, "Something is wrong." ”

With questions in mind, the troupe's convoy slowly drove into the city, built on a rocky mountain.

Lone Rock City, in the Taylor period thousands of years ago, was also known as Wangxia City. It is a city built on high mountains and a natural barrier between the northern and southern worlds, with no smooth roads, only rough slopes and winding paths. Even so, the city's inhabitants have lived here for generations and have long been accustomed to the days on the ridge, and few have any intention of leaving the city.

Sending the Golden Skylark Troupe to the upper plaza of Lone Rock City, the Knight Captain Horn rode to the head of the Troupe and said to him, "Half of the mission given to me by the Knights has been completed, and I have sent you here safely. However, since this is the territory of another country, I have no way to lead troops to protect you, so in the coming days, most of the army will stay in the barracks at the foot of the mountain, and a small number of elites will remain to protect you. When you're going to leave for your return, just send someone to tell me. ”

After a few more words of conversation with the head of the troupe, Horn came to Randall, first took out a silver badge the size of a coin and the shape of an umbrella from his bosom, then put it in the latter's hand, and whispered: "Before leaving, Lord Cumberland has specially entrusted me to fully cooperate with you in completing the task, if anything happens, take this badge with you, you know where to find me." ”

Randall nodded, tucked the badge into his arms, and was about to speak, when a rapid sound of horses' hooves caught his and Howson's attention.

A dozen or so cavalrymen roared out of the gates of the inner city and rushed to the gates of the outer city, riding mountain ponies unique to Lone Rock City, with paint cylinders on their chests and horns pinned to their waists.

Randall and Horn exchanged glances, with the former whispering, "There's really something wrong with ......"

After saying goodbye to Captain Horn, the members of the Golden Lark Troupe find an inn in Lone Rock and rest for the night. The next morning, everyone began to set up the stage and set up the scenery in the city square, as usual, and prepared for tonight's performance.

Randall, on the other hand, took a few of his companions, disguised as members of the troupe, and walked through the streets, handing out flyers for the troupe's performances while learning about the religious situation in Lone Rock.

To his surprise, the inhabitants of the city talked about more about the war.

"I've heard from others that the army of the Southern Empire is coming. ”

An honest cobbler took the leaflet handed by Randall and said to him cautiously, "I heard that there are thousands of intruders. ”

The cobbler's wife, a fat woman with a small mouth and small eyes, knocked her husband on the head with a large wooden ladle in her hand, and said angrily: "Every year it is said that the southerners are coming!

The cobbler touched the top of his head, swallowed his rebuttal, and shrank his head in a sloppy manner.

The fat woman picked up the flyer, her eyes lit up, and she pointed to the beautiful woman on the paper and said, "This is the legendary actor in Twilight City, Miss Barbara?!"

Randall nodded: "Today is the first performance of the Golden Skylark Troupe in Lone Rock City, as long as you go early enough, we will also arrange a good seat for the first hundred audiences, and free half of the tickets......"

The fat woman took the leaflet and looked at it over and over, and said with joy: "My sister has been to the city of Twilight, and when she came back, she showed me everything there, and one of them is the Golden Skylark Troupe...... It's good now......"

Randall looked at the fat woman in front of him, then at the cobbler beside her, lifted the brim of his hat, bowed, and began to walk towards the next house.

At seven o'clock in the evening, a fire and oil lamps were lit in the small square of Lone Rock City, and hundreds of citizens rushed to the venue early to sit in the audience seat made of wooden steps under the arrangement of the staff.

Barbara, who was busy adjusting her makeup in front of a palm-sized mirror, glanced at Randall at the door, and pretended to be casual and said: "You should really look in the mirror, your current expression is not like a bodyguard, but like a debtor." ”

Randall looked sideways at Barbara in the dressing room and whispered, "I went around town this afternoon and got some bad news. ”

"Southerner invasion?" Barbara took a small stick of mountain birch wood and dipped it in a little glitter on her eyebrows, "I've heard about that for a long time, Lone Rock City rumors of southern invasions every year, but in fact, every time it turns out to be rumors in the end. ”

Randall sighed, "I hope this time it's me who has a lot of heart." ”

Barbara, dressed in full costume, listened to the voices on the stage, carefully put the mirror in her hand into the box, locked it and walked to Randall with a smile: "I saw that among the guests tonight, there are many nobles in the city. In case you didn't know, even the young queen of the palace who loved to be lively came here in disguise. Through tonight's performance, as long as we can successfully break into the upper social circles, our mission can be completed quickly......"

Randall hugged Barbara and kissed her lightly on the forehead, "I hope so." ”

Barbara smiled and pushed Randall away, "Don't mess with my makeup." ”

The performances in the square were in full swing, and the applause and laughter of the audience drifted into the distance with the mountain breeze.

On the mountain wall of Lone Rock City, two figures stood still, with different expressions.

Lying on a crumbling old tree on the cliff, the werewolf Aldenan put his two paws under the back of his head, looked at the starry sky above his head, and crossed Erlang's legs and said, "Have you seen enough?"

A dull voice came from under the tree: "Shut up. ”

Aldenan said in a helpless tone, "I feel sorry for you. Of course, it is precisely because of your pathos that I have also become a foil to the tragedy. ”

Dressed in a wide linen cloak, the orc Carol hid on the platform of the cliff, quietly looking at the sea of joy below, without saying a word.

"It has been said that to love someone is to fulfill everything about her. Aldenan grinned and grinned, "If you want me to say, this kind of remark is completely the self-consolation of the loser." If you like something, how can you know how the other person feels if you don't have it?"

Carol remained expressionless, and once again said, "Shut up." ”

Rising from the branch, the werewolf's lithe body rolled over and fell to the ground silently.

He walked up to Carroll's side, then looked at the troupe performance at the foot of the mountain, and finally said, "Originally, when we were at the border, we could catch two people and go back to the business." However, since you saw this convoy, we have been following them for more than half a month!"

Aldnan leaned closer to Carroll and whispered, "It's time to make a decision, either you take her away!"

Carol pushed away the werewolf beside him and whispered, "I told it!

"Coward!"

Aldenan jumped back onto the treetops and said in a disdainful tone, "Even with power, your mind is still stuck in the environment of the weak, like ......"

The werewolf abruptly interrupted his speech, stood up sharply in the treetops, and whispered as he looked out of the city, "Hey, hey!"

Carol shook her body irritably, and said to the top of her head, "Let me be alone!"

Aldenan rolled over and jumped off the branch, leaping up to the orc, grabbing the other man's jaw and forcing him to look up into the darkness outside the city.

"Open your eyes and see! What's that?!"

Listening to Aldenan's roar, Carol, who was originally annoyed, couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock as he looked at the scene in his sight.

In the mountains south of Lone Rock City, a "fire snake" composed of torches is rapidly attacking the city gate at the foot of the mountain.