Early the next morning, the Knights of the North Island extinguished the fire, packed up their camp, and resumed their journey to the Silver Ring.

After more than six hours of travel, the outline of a city gradually appeared in front of everyone.

Cumberland looked into the distance in a daze, his face gloomy, and he didn't know what he remembered.

The group followed the path and walked two more kilometers to an abandoned mill.

Cumberland pushed open the door to the mill's warehouse.

Several strong men dressed as farmers stood up from the haystacks, and after seeing the appearance of the visitors, they bowed slightly.

Having stopped the North Islanders from going to war, the old knight walked among the waiters and asked their leader, "Everything is ready?"

The latter nodded sheepishly.

Brunhilde took a quick look at Cumberland and the farmer, raised his spear and pointed at the latter, and asked in a loud voice, "Who are you?!"

The interrogator's mouth opened, and the light revealed that his tongue had been uprooted, leaving only a faint mass of flesh to be seen.

"They are not enemies. Cumberland slowly pressed down Brunhilde's spear, and later added, "But it's not an ally." ”

Ignoring the knives and axes of the North Islanders, the peasants pulled out wooden crates from the straw piles, skillfully opened them with crowbars, and pulled out sets of old, musty-smelling leather armor.

Brunhilde crouched down, carefully looked at the leather armor, pointed to the deer head coat of arms on his chest and asked Cumberland, "Why is there the armor of the Northern Connaught Kingdom here?"

Cumberland smiled and said, "Do you really think that just a few of us rushed into the city?"

Brunhilde threw the leather armor back into the wooden box, and did not refute the other man's words.

Cumberland continued: "You wait here and rest for a while, and I'm going into the city tonight to meet someone. ”

Brünnhilde took a step closer to the old knight, his eyes aggressive: "Why do we want to stay here? and for how long?! Why do I feel that this is becoming more and more like a trap? And you are draining my patience!"

Cumberland looked at the Valkyrie with a bitter face: "People say that the people of the North Island are impatient, and this seems to be true at all. Brunhilde, if you don't worry about me, an old fellow, you can come with me and let your men stay here and wait for the signal. ”

Seeing that she nodded in agreement, the old knight shook his head and sighed, "Don't forget to tell them that if they don't come back within three days, they don't have to wait any longer." ”

——————————————

Late that night, Cumberland and Brunhilde, who had changed into the armor of the Northern Army, followed the guide to the gates of the Silver Ring City with their respective attendants.

Approaching the city, Valkyrie looked at the tall, sturdy walls in the night, and let out a low exclamation.

Cumberland followed the other's gaze and said something strange: "The wall is perhaps the most paradoxical invention in human history, it resists the attacks of wild beasts and foreign enemies on the outside, but also imprisons the courage and soul of men internally. ”

Cumberland looked at the uncertain expressions of the people around him, but smiled and said: "In history, those kingdoms with high walls and deep pools will all perish without exception, and those forces that give up their stubbornness and have no fixed place will slowly rise into empires. ”

"Guard!"

Brünnhilde whispered warning as he reached for the spear behind his back.

Cumberland shook his hand at her, motioning for her to be at ease.

The guide walked to the guard at the city gate, handed over a small bag of coins, and revealed another badge.

Soon, the gate officer ordered a side door to be opened, giving the visitors permission to pass.

"The silver ring has long since turned black. ”

With that, Cumberland entered the city with his horse's belly between his legs.

There is no longer the prosperity of the past in the Silver Ring, and the bright lights after the night have been replaced by a dead silence, and along the way, the buildings are dilapidated and debris is scattered.

Brünnhilde rode his horse, carefully avoiding a rotting corpse in the stinking ditch, and said with a frown: "The tragic situation of the legendary Heim Underworld is nothing more than that. ”

The group continued onwards and slowly approached the Basilica of St. Cove.

The huge Holy Cross in the center of the church square has been torn down and replaced by a rectangular stone platform. On top of that, the grooves used to bind hands and feet, the blackened blood stains around the stone platform, and the symbols of the ancient gods made of wood, without more details, everyone can already imagine what the northerners did when they entered here.

"What's that?" Brunhilde asked, causing Cumberland to turn his head.

A shriveled corpse, apparently embalmed, with his hands propped up on the ground and his knees on the ground. Five huge iron nails held its hands, feet, and head firmly to the ground, and the direction above the corpse's head was the wooden statue of the old god.

Cumberland sighed: "Bishop Fabian, when the barbarians entered the city, he chose to live and die with the cathedral. He defended the faith with his life, and may Heavenly Father bless his soul. ”

Skirting the shattered church and walking through the corpse forest pierced by erected wooden stakes, Cumberland finally stopped at the entrance of the cemetery, five hundred meters away from the church.

He rolled over and dismounted, unarmed his weapon and handed it over to his attendants, and walked slowly down the muddy steps under his feet, holding his torch.

Seeing this, Brunhilde thought for a moment and followed his footsteps.

The huge cemetery now looks overcrowded, with so many tombstones that the land is completely insufficient. Some tombstones are stacked together like firewood, and some even have dozens of names written on palm-sized stone faces.

Walking past the outer graves, the further Cumberland went, the darker the environment became.

In the innermost part of the cemetery, there is a small space of no more than ten square meters, and the land here is covered with small flowers and lush ivy.

An old man with a white beard, with his back to the old knight, knelt in front of the tombstone, folded his hands and prayed quietly.

Cumberland looked at the tombstone, which was devoid of any writing, not even the patterns and insignia carved.

"Are you coming?" the kneeling old man opened his eyes and turned his head.

Cumberland looked at his friend in front of him, who seemed to be ten years old, leaned down, placed a bouquet of flowers in his arms in front of the tombstone, and asked softly, "When did it happen?"

"After the queen's departure, Guy VI anesthetized himself with alcohol and revelry. At the beginning of this year, he suddenly collapsed at a banquet and was sent back to the palace in a coma for a whole day. The first thing he did when he woke up was to ask the attendants to carry him to the queen's gallery, where he died. ”

Cumberland sighed inaudibly, looked at the tombstone and asked, "Why are you buried here with the King of the Silver Ring?"

"For the current Kingdom of the Silver Ring, a living king is more valuable than a dead king. All those who know have been disposed of. ”

Cumberland nodded, paused for a moment, and said to his old friend in front of him, "Emerson, although we have already communicated in the letter, I still have to ask again, are you sure?"

Hearing this, the old man touched the tombstone with his hand, and the sound he made seemed to be invaded by the wind and sand in the desert for ten thousand years: "I have already thought about it, everything has a rise and an end, so let such a kingdom ...... Collapse......"

ps: follow )