As Levi said, when the snowstorm came, Calvin and a little man, Locarry, stopped in Yata City for nearly a day and a half, and then stepped on Zelandia's specialty——— eight-legged alchemy bicycle, all the way through the Three Pig Land, Red Pine Town, and through the golden fields, before finally seeing the majestic walls of his hometown ——— Drawing Water City.

It was a tall wall that stretched from the southern end of the city to the northern end of the Dead City, also known as the Troll Wall.

It was so named because it was used primarily to defend against troll invasions in its early days.

Beneath it is a cliff over a hundred feet high, and the walls rise over the cliff sections that attackers can climb, all the way along the edge of the city to the Troll Tower, or North Tower, and then back to the southern sea, which was instrumental in the founding of this coastal city in the Northlands.

And not many people really know the history of this great city, it has a history of more than 1,000 years, and at that time, the Northland was really a contemptuous name for it by southerners:

Savage Northlands!

At that time, most of the Northlands was covered with tall and vast ancient green forests, inhabited by dwarves and goblins, as well as elves. A small number of hominid tribes were scattered along the shores of Jianwan, making a living from hunting and fishing, and southern merchants came by boat in the spring and autumn, when they gathered to exchange their furs for jewels and metal tools, or a few available weapons.

As the forests are cut down year after year, moving farther and farther from the coast, some tribes have begun to spend most of the year here, cultivating the land cleared by the deforestation.

One of the chiefs, Nemo, instructed his people to take possession of the farms, the rickety wooden docks, the trading sheds, and the storage sheds, and to take over the future port of the city of Drawing Water, where he settled and built a long earthen embankment framed by wooden fences to protect these possessions, and the people of Nemo prospered against several raids by pirates and tribes.

Farther north, the Orcs spread to the surface world as the onset of winter, when the number of orc clans and tribes grew far beyond the limits of what their mountain fortresses could support, and their efforts to expand underground were met with fierce resistance from the fierce dwarves.

They rushed out of the mountains and marched south, and with their seemingly infinite numbers they trampled away all obstacles in their path.

Elven settlements from all over the country resisted, but in the end, the tide of orcs heading south still engulfed many of the northern natives, even the trolls ——— the "Immortals"!

The trolls were forced south into the northernmost part of Nemo's territory by the orcs, but the old Nemo died at this most dangerous moment, and the young lord Laron led the people of the water into the battle against the trolls.

This bloody war between humans and trolls lasted for nearly a decade, until a magical northern teenager, Agharon, turned the tide of the war and the "Immortals" were driven to the eternal wilderness.

Fearing another attack in the future, the Drawers built a small fortress on the slope of the deep-water peak above the farm, from which arrows could be used to defend against trolls.

Many people from remote tribes also sought refuge in this settlement that could keep away the trolls, and the wall was expanded several times with the construction of new farms, which was the prototype of the Troll Wall.

The lord of Ralon ruled the free city, maintaining its independence and making it richer day by day.

Agharon's skill and power grew until he became a great mage. He invented the Longevity Potion, which allowed him to live forever, keeping his youthful body intact for decades.

Eventually, in the winter of his 112th birthday, Aglaon had a heated argument with Laron, the lord of the Deepwater at the time, over whether to use the wealth and military power of the city to create an empire in the northlands with the city of water as its capital, which also laid the groundwork for the subsequent turmoil.

The power contradictions within the forces of Jishui City have undergone a series of changes under the flow of years, and finally formed its unique and even wonderful system of city lords and lords.

That is, the lord of the city must gather several lords to assist him in his rule, who usually hide under the appearance of commoners, but in fact have almost the same power as the lord of the city, and are not subject to the coercion of anyone, including each other.

These lords were elected from among the various people of the city, and their term of office lasted until their voluntary abdication, and this program greatly eased the political struggle of the time.

As such, they are also known to the populace as the masked lords of ——— Drawing Water City.

They generally only exist in four or six positions at a time.

In this way, the city of Becky went through the Berjon period, the Schlani period, after which it was their daughter——— "The Masked Lady" Lesteen who succeeded as rulers.

She is married to Zelfa Arushan of Neverwinter, and she is also the mother of the famous Kelburn Blackrod Arushan.

Kyle is one of the current lords of Drawing Water City, and he is also the only one who disdains to hide his identity.

As a voter of the Goddess of Magic, and the husband of Leila Silverhand Orosan, the second of the Seven Sisters of the Northlands, he was well aware of the many secrets of the long period since the death of Agharon, and naturally knew that this kind of hidden and mutual restraint would consume too many of the city's resources, including manpower.

Faced with the threat of the tyrannical Church of Banne, the Santarim Order, and the rise of the Dragon Cult in recent years, Kelburn, who believed in the creed that "a secret is no longer a secret if it is told to others", resolutely chose to strengthen his absolute superiority over other lords and lords in the city at the cost of revealing his liege.

To this end, he also followed the example of Karthas in the Nethriel era, and founded the School of Magic in the City of Drawing Water, accepting many apprentices in an eclectic manner, and training many well-known mages to help him manage all aspects of the city.

As for why Calvin knew so well about this, because he graduated from... Oh... I guess I graduated from this Drawing Water City Magic Academy...

And his mentor is the mage apprentice trained by Kelseben, who is nothing more than a mediocre mage who is not very well-known.

In a way, Calvin is also a disciple of Kelburn...

Whenever he thought of this, Calvin couldn't help but smile wryly, presumably the fact that he resolutely dropped out of school and went to the dark region back then may have become one of the jokes of the Magic Academy of Drawing Water City.

When they entered the city through the north gate of Jishui City, it was relatively smooth, and his reluctant to change the academy robe played a big role.

So in the eyes of the city guards, Calvin became a middle-aged widow who returned to Jishui City alone with his elf daughter to earn a living.

As for why it is considered a father-daughter relationship and not a trafficker who abducts elves?

Have you ever seen an abducted elf grow on the back of a trafficker like an octopus?

They did take a second look at the strange-shaped 'bicycle' under Calvin's seat, but it was only a matter of looking at it twice, after all, there are not a few mage creations in Drawing Water City now, and this is just a little more unique.

The entrance tax Calvin gave Zeellandia a bronze wolf head.

The gatekeeper put it in his hand and turned it upside down, although the weight was a little lighter than the copper coins issued by their water city, but for the sake of the copper coins being beautiful enough and Calvin's being a mage, they also turned a blind eye and let Calvin and the others into the city.

As soon as Calvin entered the city, he took Locarrie along Dragon Avenue straight to the waterfront on the northwest coast of the Castle District, where his home was located.

Looking down from his height at the moment, the city looked like a slab high in the north and low in the south, sloping slightly to the west along the terrain and flattening along the Dragon Avenue.

The peak of the mountain is the highest point of the city, its coastal side is a barrier for the city to resist the harsh storm weather and wind along the coast, the peak is more than 700 feet above sea level, there is a castle built for air traffic on the mountain, guarded by the city guard, located on the inland side of the mountain. From here, you can see the "Throwers", who command the city's maritime defenses, and several squadrons of griffon knights flying through the sky.

Unlike the wild species that Levi captured, this is a griffon that has been domesticated for hundreds of years in the city of Jishui, and each one is worth a lot.

In Calvin's eyes, everything in Drawing Water hadn't changed much from when he left twenty-three years ago, and as the crown of the Northland, it should be considered the largest and most prosperous city in the Northland.

Historically, the population of the city has rarely fallen below 120,000, and the population fluctuates with the seasons for various reasons, and a considerable part of the floating population moves along the itinerary of the trade behavior.

During the peak trade season, the number of people in the city is usually five times as large as usual, or as many as 600,000!

These seasons regularly occur in the "full spring", and the winter leaves with reason, waiting for the next year's resurgence, the resumption of land traffic, the thaw of the seaports, and the harvest of autumn in the south.

At this time, it was almost winter, and the Dragon Avenue was naturally not as crowded as it was in the peak season, so Calvin directly switched the bicycle from the eight-legged off-road mode to the two-wheeled mode like a transformer, and slid down the slope all the way to the bay villa area.

It is worth mentioning that this suggestion was made by Levi himself, because he really couldn't stand the terrible noise of 10,000 bicycles on Zeellandia Square!

There are even some worries that as these spider-legged bikes become more and more, will one day lead to a resonance phenomenon that will lead to the collapse of the whole of Zeelandia...

As he got closer to the waterfront, Calvin felt more and more nervous about 'homesickness'.

Calvin's 'villa' was close to the coast, because his father, George Sr., was in the wine business, and was considered a 'wealthy' middle class among the common people, and the waterfront was an area where they had a little money but were not aristocrats.

Calvin's bicycle stopped in front of the two-story building at No. 73 Second Avenue in the Marina District, looking at the small building that did not look rich but warm enough in the morning light, Calvin patted Luo Carrie's head and told her to wait in place, he took a deep breath, walked to the courtyard gate, hesitated for a while, or pursed his lips and rang the magic doorbell.

Ding dong.

He had wanted to use the keys to open the door himself, but the keys had been lost in a corner when he had been hijacked by Drow twenty-three years earlier.

Calvin stared at the door of the small building almost with bated breath, and like this, about a 'long' half a minute passed.

Squeak~

Completely different from Calvin's imagination, as the door was pushed open, a strange figure was revealed.

It was a brightly dressed blonde girl, she looked at Calvin with a face full of 'disbelief', and also showed a puzzled look, opened her mouth and asked:

"Excuse me... Who are you looking for?"

Calvin's heart also sank to the bottom, and he forced himself to ask in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, shouldn't this be George's house?"

He still clings to the last remaining luck, afraid that his memories will be confused because he has been away for too long.

But to his disappointment, the girl frowned and said to Calvin, "I'm sorry, this is Wilson's house, and I've lived here since I was a child." ”

Poof.

Calvin only felt a faint pain in the corners of his forehead on both sides, and just as he was about to ask, another father who seemed to be the girl came out, and he seemed to hear the conversation between the two, and thought for a while:

"Young man, this was indeed George's house more than ten years ago, because it was indeed the name on it when I signed the real estate transfer agreement with the Xialan Chamber of Commerce. ”

"Excuse me, do you know where the original owner is now?"

Calvin instantly became excited, and directly crossed the iron fence and came to the middle-aged man with a dance technique, scaring the father and daughter.

"Magician!"

The blonde girl exclaimed excitedly after being frightened, and Twilight, who looked at Calvin, became completely different, and even brushed the ends of her ears while her father was not paying attention.

The middle-aged man lowered his head and recalled, with some regret: "The owner didn't seem to be present that day, because this is an asset mortgaged to the Xialan Chamber of Commerce." ”

Immediately, he looked at Calvin with some pity: "This must be your original residence, I'm really sorry, looking at your appearance, it seems that you haven't been back for a long time." ”

"yes... It's been twenty-three years. Calvin whispered in a bit of dismay.

The middle-aged man showed a sudden expression, "Then it's no wonder, then you may have to be mentally prepared, because... The reason why I was able to buy this property at a low price is that more than ten years ago, when the city was surrounded by orcs and even breached, the trade in the city was also devastated, many merchants went bankrupt, and even many nobles were killed by cruel orcs at that time. ”

Calvin couldn't help but stumble when he heard this, his face turned pale, "How... That's going to happen. ”

Looking at Calvin's desperate look, the middle-aged man also showed unbearable expression, "But you don't have to be too desperate, our waterfront area is located in the innermost layer, if old George was at home, this place would be the safest." Perhaps, he just had some financial situation that caused him to have to pay the mortgaged property to the Xialan Chamber of Commerce, do you have any other acquaintances in Jishui City? It's best to inquire again. ”

"By the way, Mentor!

Calvin's words also alerted Calvin, who hurried out of the fence with red eyes, and hurried towards the castle district on the side of the waterside with a concerned Locarrie on his face.

The Academy of Magic in Drawing Water City is located there.

But when he arrived at the academy and was stopped by the guards at the door, he got an answer from the other party that made him completely desperate.

His mentor, Kevin Rodriguez, had died heroically in the eighteen-year battle against the Orcs...

A series of blows made him have no courage to find his fiancée Vina again, and he couldn't cope with more accidents in a short time...

After another quarter of an hour, he and Lo Carrie finally drove to the northernmost dead city.

Despite its name, it is actually a walled cemetery with guards patrolling it regularly.

Contrary to its gloomy name, it is a beautiful garden, open to the public, and residents of the city often use it as a picnic and meeting place.

It's just that it's still early in the morning, so there aren't many people inside, and after informing him of his intentions, the guard solemnly led Calvin to his mentor's cemetery.

Looking at the familiar name and portrait on the tombstone, Calvin was like an ordinary person who had lost his faith in life in an instant, sitting in front of the tomb with his hands on the tombstone, resting his forehead against the tombstone, closing his eyes and sighing, for a while, he didn't know where to go.

"Uncle, don't be sad, no matter what, you still have Lo Carrie. ”

The elf on the side looked at Calvin, whose face was full of dejection, and crystal vapor also appeared in his eyes.

"Thanks, thank you, Locarrie, I think, be quiet for a while. ”

Calvin took Logarie into his arms, and leaned against the teacher's tombstone, falling silent, as if asleep.

And Locarrie seemed to be dependent on Calvin, and kept rubbing her little head against Calvin's stubble face.

I don't know how long it took, but the surrounding area seemed to gradually become lively, and from time to time there were prayers of remembrance.

Calvin vaguely remembered that today... It seems to be the annual All Souls' Day Memorial Day.

And at this moment, a chaotic footstep came in his direction, it should be several people, but suddenly froze as if by magic.

"O Mystra, the goddess of magic! Was that Calvin? He... He actually came back alive from the Shadows?"

This is...

Calvin, who was confused, only felt that this voice was somewhat familiar, it seemed to be a female classmate of the Academy of Magic, what was her name.

I guess I'm embarrassed about my current appearance, haha.

"Vina, Vina, what's wrong with you?"

It was still the same voice, but the name she shouted made Calvin snap his eyes open and look in the direction of the voice.

Then he saw two women and a man, he directly ignored the unnamed female classmate on the left and the middle-aged man with vigilant eyes on the side, and then saw the woman in the middle wearing a magic robe and wearing the [Archmage] Nebula badge on her chest.

Isn't it just my own dream... That figure?

"Vina! I'm back..."

Calvin jerked to his feet and placed Locarrie on the ground, wanting to get closer, but a little afraid that none of this was true.

But Vina's expression was completely different from what he had imagined, and the female mage, who was still bright and moving after twenty-three years, smiled at him.

There is no hug and kiss that is reunited after a long absence like in the drama, and there is no collapse and departure.

Instead, he walked closer generously, squatted down in front of Lo Carrie, touched the elf's smooth hair, and then looked up at Calvin who was in a trance and asked:

"Is this your daughter? so cute, what's her name?"

"Uh..."

Calvin's face froze.

Willa... It seems that something was misunderstood.

But Luo Jiali also shouted with enthusiasm on her face:

"Hello beautiful auntie, my name is Lo Carrie. ”

Vina's hand paused.

A sea breeze blows.

Messy Calvin, seemed to feel a while... Chilling murderous!