Ace quickly raised the small wooden shield he carried with him, moving slowly from side to side at the front of the group, and the anvil raised his axe to his chest, albeit with some reluctance. He crouched down slightly, making a gesture that he could pounce at any moment, and guarded the rear of the group. Catherine and Ferry looked around warily, back to back.

Except for the way that was cut out, the interstitial sections of this forest were intertwined with trees, and it was impossible to see how far it was. The monotonous and irregular sound of the rain is dripping, like a drum beat without an end, beating faster and faster.

There was a sudden movement in front of the left, and Catherine almost threw the condensed fireball in her hand. However, the familiar figure of Green Wind jumped out.

"Someone was following us. Green Wind said as he looked to the left. Following his gaze, several large trees soon obscured his view. Catherine knew that Green Wind must have felt something, and the elves' unique sense of touch was sensitive and accurate.

"Let's go, if you want to do it, you won't wait until now. Ace put down his shield and said, "The trees are too dense for them to do without the support of bows and arrows. ”

Green Wind nodded, agreeing as an archer. Catherine trusts the judgment of two people, and they are experts in this regard. The team continued to move forward, but the frequency of Green Wind exploration increased significantly, and the more they entered the mountain, the more terrifying the unknown danger became.

The rain in the mountains was bitterly cold, hitting the cloak and then penetrating into the clothes, and the whole body seemed to be immersed in ice water. Ferry was the weakest physique, shivering incessantly. He didn't drink, and he even asked the anvil for a sip of soju, coughing and pouring it down, as a way to forcibly ward off the cold.

To Catherine, the cold really seemed to be dispelled by the soju. But Ferry also staggered a little, could it be that the young Leather Priest was drunk like this?

"The shochu is really spicy, and even the ale I drank at the Rose Tavern last time was too bitter. "How can anyone like to drink these things?" said Feeco, "You know, the nobles of the kingdom are now in vogue to drink sweet fruit wine." ”

"How do you know if you don't drink?" Anvil felt very sorry for the soju that Ferry had drunk, and the topic of wine was now particularly appealing to him.

"Well, of course, I know. Ferry stepped over a rotten log and nearly slipped to the ground, "It's a hard place to walk through, how can a druid stay in a place like this, you say?" except, of course, some people jumping around in the trees. ”

Green Wind happened to jump down from the side, and when he heard this, he flew to the other side. A large mass of leaves was pulled apart, and the rain that had accumulated inside was poured down without a head and poured on Ferry who passed below. Ferry sneezed, trembling all over, scooped up the horn pot from the anvil and poured another sip of soju.

"You didn't mean spicy, why do you still drink it?" the anvil voice instantly raised an octave.

"Go back and ask you to drink fruit wine, and I promise you won't let go of it when the time comes. Ferry grinned and comforted Anvil.

"The wine that the nobles drink must be very expensive. Catherine had always been suspicious of Ferry Fellie's origins, and would have made a point, consciously or unconsciously.

"You lied to me, you're a poor pastor, and the head of the regiment says it's expensive. The anvil seemed to be stimulated and tugged at Ferry by the sleeve.

"Good material, good material. Don't drag, don't drag. Ferry scrambled to avoid it, staggered off his balance, and stepped into a nearby puddle. This caused a lot of trouble for the team.

A few palm-sized billfish jumped out of the puddle and bit Feeley. More billfish emerge from the mud at the edge of the puddle, and these guys have powerful tails that can be ejected two or three meters away. Ace in front heard the movement and quickly turned around to save him, and more than a dozen fatmouth fish shot at him like bows and arrows.

Ace hurriedly fended with his sword, and the strange creature that had been knocked away fell to the ground, and immediately bounced up and flew towards Catherine and the anvil. The two of them stepped back, one slipped and fell to the ground, and it seemed that they couldn't hide.

Almost at the same time, the green wind from the trees drifted to the ground, and the knife flashed everywhere, splitting down the two attacking billfish. Ferry then fled back to the crowd with a crawl. The billfish seemed to have found themselves driving away the intruders and jumped into the puddles and burrowed back into the mud. However, the three of Fee's body were easily difficult to shake off, and the mouth, which was longer than the middle finger, bit Ferry on the shoulder and arm forcefully. The sharp teeth dug into the flesh, and it seemed impossible to solve it with brute force.

Ace swung his long sword to show off his superb swordsmanship, and it was a sword that was close to Fee's arm. A billfish, along with most of its head, fell to the ground. Most of the fish body that landed on the ground beat vigorously, showing the strong vitality of this creature. But it bit into the big mouth on its arm, and it showed no signs of letting go. Several people were surprised and felt a little helpless.

"That's a tricky question. Ace stabbed most of the jumping fish with his sword and held it up in front of him. The whole body of the billfish is slippery, except for the large mouth that will open, the whole body is muddy, and there are no eyes, like a big small mallet.

Ferry gave himself a healing spell to relieve some of the pain, and he said with a bitter face, "Do you just let them grow on me? ”

Anvil hesitated for a few seconds, but finally stepped forward and poured Ferry two more sips of wine, and said in a deep voice, "Spirits are manly medicine, and help fight pain. Ferry immediately flushed and sat down on the ground.

"It doesn't seem to hurt too much. He muttered, "I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy." ”

Ace couldn't help but laugh, and even the sentry Green Wind smiled. Catherine curled her mouth and shook her head, and a small flame condensed from her fingertips, slowly roasting it under the billfish. After a while, the desperately writhing fatmouth fish "snapped" to the ground, and several ups and downs jumped into the puddle.

Having solved Fee's "crisis", the team moved on. Green Wind said that the feeling of being followed was getting stronger, which made Catherine's heart extremely heavy. However, there was not too bad news, and it didn't seem that the person who was following them was a druid. One enemy is more or less easy to deal with than a group of enemies.

Of course, Catherine won't let her guard down on the druids either. Those naturalistic lunatics must be hiding somewhere and quietly monitoring the mercenary group. Who knows when they will come out and bite someone?

"Is there any way we can get that guy?" Catherine asked Midori Wind during the break, and in addition to the sentry As, Ferry and Anvil also turned their heads to look.

"It's not possible. Green Wind closed his eyes, as if he was feeling something with his heart.

"The other party doesn't know how to hide his aura in the jungle, but he knows how to distance himself from the team. "I can't tell how he locked on to us, but I can't find his whereabouts." ”

Catherine was a little annoyed, at times like this, she couldn't always find a way to relieve the mercenary group. Maybe she wasn't fit to be a leader, Catherine kept thinking in her head, if only Asken had taken over the burden. Although she was looking forward to it, Catherine knew very well that no matter how many times she discussed, Ace would forcefully refuse.

What a stubborn man.

When night falls, the rain stops abruptly, and the stars can occasionally be seen through the dense foliage. Green Wind climbed to the top of the tree and relied on the stars to confirm the direction.

"I propose to travel overnight, because it is not convenient to camp in the dense forest, and second, because the campfire in the camp will be an easy target. Ascha looked around, waiting for everyone to sit down and offer his thoughts.

"No problem. The anvil was the first to make a statement, and patted his chest. Catherine looked at the green wind, and the elf just nodded.

"Are you really okay? Ferry said as he lifted his injured arm and asked Green Wind to help him rebandage it.

Catherine knew that Ferry was tactfully expressing that she was hurt, and then smiled and said, "We've been walking all day, and we're tired." It is better to eat some dry food, take a short rest and continue on your way. ”

The head of the regiment spoke, and the partners agreed. After eating some dry food, they decided to take a two-hour break. The task of standing guard will be completed by Catherine, As, and Green Wind in turn, so that the injured Anvil and Ferry can sleep well.

In fact, Ace and Green Wind are also quite tired, and the work of opening and exploring the path consumes a lot of their physical strength. Catherine volunteered to stand on the first shift, and she automatically extended the sentry time. As the head of the regiment, she is obliged to give her members as much rest as possible.

The night chill was a bit strong, and there was always a light breeze in the dense forest. The campfire was blown and danced repeatedly, and Catherine added a few branches to the fire and made a "squeak" sound. Huang Yingying's flames were a little stronger, and a few wisps of white smoke came out. Although the broken branches were dried by Catherine in the warm wind, the heavy rain for several days drenched the sky and the earth. The barely lit bonfire never stopped making smoke.

There was a slightly pungent smell in the air, and some creatures with a keen sense of smell took advantage of the night, and the flickering light of the fire temporarily stopped them in their tracks, but the night was going to get longer.

Catherine continued to add wood to the campfire, hoping to drive away the cold. Her other hand habitually touched her waist to make sure that the letter sealed with the wood pipe was still there. It is said that when the wooden box left by the mysterious client was opened that day, everyone was stunned by the notarial certificate of the civil notary office inside.

Civil notarial deeds are a rare thing, exaggerated high notary fees, and few people dare to invite this god unless they are rich and noble. People in Wangcheng said that the backstage of the notary office is the political affairs bureau, and the backstage of the political affairs bureau is the minister of politics and law. And the Minister of Political Science and Law, Marcus, came up with this clever idea of using the resources at hand because of a whim of His Majesty the King, which demanded that all departments open up their financial resources and settle 20 percent of their own financial expenditures in order to replenish the national treasury.

In Ferry words, poor Marcus had expected the notary to be a chicken that would only lay golden eggs. However, the Minister of Finance wanted a piece of the pie, and the National Finance Administration put a foot in it; the Minister of War also wanted a piece of the pie, so the Secret Bureau came to assist in the notarization; it is said that the Security Department sent people to carry out security work; the Royal City Planning Office under the Department of Urban Defense requisitioned the land; His Majesty was very pleased and asked the palace construction team to build the working house; and finally the Minister of Foreign Affairs kindly asked the Protocol Department to train the reception staff.

After coming and going, the cake did not get bigger, but more and more people ate it. In order to let everyone have something to eat, don't look at the notary office marked with the word "civil", ordinary civilians don't say that going to notarization is to consult and consult, and it is indispensable to pay a consulting fee of three or five gold coins. Now it is open to trade at a loss, and it has become a big laughing stock in Wang Cheng.

However, one of the benefits of civil notarization is security, because so many important departments are involved, and it is difficult to think about it. Take that civil notarial deed, for example, which states how to receive the commission for the task. Therefore, as long as within 25 days, with the token and notarial deed, you can receive seven bags of gold coins at the civil notary office. As for what the token is, only the notary knows it. All the mercenary group has to do is to send the letter of entrustment to the Brown Moon Altar and get the receipt - that is, the token.

As she thought about it now, Catherine felt more and more that her decision had been too hasty. Since the client spares no expense, please go out of the civil notary office, which shows the difficulty of the task. It's no wonder that when Ferry saw the big seal of the National Financial Administration Office on the notarial certificate, his eyes lit up, and he shouted "The bonuses have been deposited in the treasury, just waiting for us to get them". Twenty-five days was not a lot of time, and everyone set off the next day as soon as their minds were hot.

Catherine thought about it and shook her head, if there was a regret medicine to buy, she might as well really buy a bottle. Catherine reached out and pulled out a small leather bag, and now that she was in danger, wasn't it the secret letter of the tree contained in it that caused the trouble?

Catherine opened her skin and took out the secret letter to take a closer look. Under the firelight, the small round magic array engraved on the wood pipe was particularly conspicuous. The smooth lines and tightly packed characters are like works of art in the eyes of the female mage.

Catherine suddenly thought: How many people in this world can draw such a circular magic circle by hand?