The flatbed cart drove the griffin and the dead horse into the Icepeak Fortress, followed by Feige and the others.

Crossing a ravine formed by mountains and rivers from the suspension bridge, and then passing through the heavy iron gate, everyone came to the outer courtyard. There is a small walled square, with rain shelters for stables and wagons on one side and targets for practicing archery and sword swinging on the other. From here, continue to walk towards the extended inner wall, bend the second iron gate below, and you will enter the inner court, thus reaching the core area of the fortress.

A middle-aged man with short hair and a frowning glare, and a teenager with blonde hair and a neutral face were in the small square of the outer courtyard, they were training in combat with a blunt sword wrapped in cloth. This weapon is not fatal, but it is enough to leave many bruises on the teenager's body. The middle-aged man didn't seem to have the slightest mercy, and cursed as he swung his weapon faster and faster.

The boy was losing and retreating, but kept gritting his teeth and doing his best to block the attack. Soon, his heel stumbled on a stone and he fell to the ground in one fell swoop.

The training did not stop there, and the power of the blunt sword increased. Soon, it didn't feel like a training session, it turned into a beating. The blonde boy never "surrendered", and the middle-aged man did not shout to stop. Feige couldn't bear it, but he didn't know if he should intervene. He noticed that Tron and Ramsden had unbearable expressions on their faces, but they did not intervene.

"Unloading the truck. Giles commanded, and Tron and Ramsden hurried to work. The bald swordsman's gaze lingered on the young man in the training ground for a moment, frowning slightly, as if he was a little dissatisfied. He coughed, and after seeing that the speed of the blunt sword had slowed down significantly, he didn't interfere further. Giles rubbed his bald head, then pointed at Feige and said, "You guys, follow me." ”

Feige and Eddie leave Ma here. The chubby Ramsden took the reins and led the two horses to the stable. Giles turned, calmly and quickly walked down the slope towards the inner court, and the two men hurried behind him.

Except for the vestibule, the entire fortress was quiet, like an empty house in the wilderness. The boxy main castle and the towers beside it were neither light nor sound. A pair of hollow windows, an open door, a row of dark shooting holes, silent as a skeleton.

Inside the main castle is a large hall, piled with chests, sacks, and barrels. A few long wooden tables were randomly arranged in the room, crooked and a little messy, and the grease left behind by the burning candles was piled up on them. Humanoid sword targets were crooked along the walls and on the floor, and whetstones, basins of water, and a pile of rusty weapons occupied a corner of the hall.

Passing through the hall and into the spiral staircase of the tower, three floors up, Giles stopped in front of a wooden door. He knocked on the door three times, then pushed it open, picked up a ball of paper on the table in the doorway, and threw it at the old man who had his back to the door.

The ball of paper smashed on the top of the old man's silver-white sparse head, and then jumped all the way down the ginger linen robe to the ground. The old man turned his head, picked up the paper ball from the ground, and said with a smile in his mouth that was missing seven or eight teeth, "Are you back?"

"Move-in. Giles took the paper ball that the old man had thrown back, and left it still on the table at the door. He then said to the old man, "There's meat at night," and pushed Feige and Eddie into the room, led them to the door, and left.

"I won't say that you are welcome to the Ice Peak Fortress. It's a remote penal colony, and there's nothing to welcome you. "The old man's beard was white, and his wrinkled skin was full of the ruthless marks of time. "I'm Kiprin Snowy Owl, and I'm here to die because I'm older. My ears can't hear, I can only guess what you're saying by the shape of your mouth. Don't talk to two people together, I can't see it. ”

It dawned on Feige why Giles threw him in a ball of paper. Throwing a fluttering ball of paper over is less frightening than a sudden pat on the shoulder. But since Old Man Kiplin couldn't hear anything, why did Giles knock on the door so much before?

"Why don't you two speak? Don't make me stare all the time, it's too tiring. Move yourself a stool and sit closer, don't be nervous, I'm the priest of Truth Thunder, not a venomous rattlesnake. ”

Eddie hurriedly went to the side to move the chair, and it was natural for him to help the young master move one. However, Fei Qi is no longer the young master of the past, and he does not have the consciousness of "everything is served". Eddie put down the extra chair and hurriedly sat down behind Feige.

"My name is Fitch Hall, and my father is Kanter Hall, the Templar and Royal Earl of the Duchy of Aria. I ......" Feige pinched his nose, since it was not his own crime, he really couldn't say anything like chemical castration of the Duke's heir.

"So, you're really going to join the Ice Peak Fortress and spend the rest of your life in this last place of glory?" Kiplin put away his smile and sat upright, his eyes wide open like a snowy owl, his gaze piercing Feige's face and digging deep into his thoughts, "Do you believe that indulgences can save you?"

Under the old man's gaze, Fei Qi felt uncomfortable, as if Jiao Yang had concentrated the heat of the whole summer on his head, and soon sweat rained down. "Is this magic?" he realized that his voice was hoarse when he spoke.

However, the elderly use their eyesight to "hear sounds", and it doesn't matter if they are dumb or not.

"This is indeed magic. Under the power of God, you can only tell the truth. The old man said slowly, "Tell me, are you really determined to say goodbye to the past and start a new life in the Ice Peak Fortress?"

"Of course it is!" Feige nodded vigorously, and the pressure of the magic disappeared.

"Come, drink this glass of water, and you'll feel much better. The old man poured a glass of water from his kettle and smiled at him as he drank it: "It's okay, this magic doesn't hurt." I'll test you, can you understand why I want to test you with divine magic?"

"This is a penal colony, but only those who really want to say goodbye to the past can get refuge. Use magic to distinguish it, and you can avoid the black sheep from mixing in. ”

The old man nodded, and then asked, "Do you feel about coming all the way here?"

"It's too short a time to think about it. Feige rolled his eyes, "If anything, it's that the castle seems to be in need of repairs." ”

"Yes, many places are broken, but if you want to repair them, you can't afford to fix them, so you can only suffer day by day. The old man propped himself up from his chair with his cane, then held out a hand for Feige to hold him.

"I'll take you to the platform and tell you what needs to be done, and then you can stay. ”

The cylindrical tower has a total of five floors, with Kiprin living on the third floor and the platform on the fourth. "I'm very old, I'm not aggressive, I just want to go downstairs, I don't like to climb up anymore. If it weren't for the fear that the rats below would bite me to death one day, I would have wanted to move down there. ”

"How old are you?"

Since Feige was walking beside the old man, he obviously didn't hear or see the words. "I recently had the idea of installing a slide on this spiral staircase, so that at least it would make my descent a little more fun. Alas, it's a pity that none of those muddy boys are obedient. ”

"The bald head who brought you here is called Giles, nicknamed White Bear. He's a monster hunter, and he's running around all day for everyone's livelihood, and he's only coming back to rest for a few days when he's injured, so you have to respect him. There are a total of three monster hunters in Icepeak Fortress, and Giles is there right now. ”

The old man chattered, slowly climbing the stairs, and said with a wheezing: "There is an instructor in the fortress, Kele Avalanche. A short-haired, very strong person will spit when he speaks, and you have to be considerate. In the next three months before the start of winter, you will have to undergo basic training with him, and only after passing can you become a full member of the place and get a new surname. ”

The two of them came to the platform, from which they could overlook the entire fortress and over the city walls to enjoy the surrounding scenery. In the west, there are endless mountains, steep cliffs and deep canyons, forming an insurmountable obstacle for ordinary people.

Descending the gentle slopes to the east and south are low hills. If the terrain on the west side is stormy sea, then the southeast side is the ripples caused by the breeze blowing across the lake. Feige narrowed his eyes and could vaguely see Collingwood Town in the hills, like a willow leaf, floating alone above the ripples.

"The view was great, especially at sunrise. The old man grabbed Feiqi's hand and continued: "There are still three cadets left in the fortress, Tron has basically finished his studies, but there is still a big gap between Ramsden and Wu Mama. They're teenagers, and you're an adult. I don't care what mistakes you make outside, I just ask that you don't repeat the mistakes you made in the fortress, especially not to hurt your own people. ”

Feige turned his face to the old man so he could see the shape of his mouth: "I'll just behave well." ”

"You look emaciated, and it's obviously not appropriate for you to hunt monsters for a commission. Fortunately, you are an aristocrat and can read. Then you just have to behave well, and I can teach you some spells. Whether you can learn it or not, and how much you can learn, depends on your qualifications and hard work, but it will not be useless. ”

"Is it magic?"

The old man nodded.

Feige was in trouble. He has a demonic element in his soul, which has been verified by "Returning from Hell" and "Collecting Griffin Souls". The divine art comes from the God of Truth Thunder, who is the enemy of the devil. This didn't even need to be tested, just a simple calculation would give the answer: it was impossible for him to learn divine arts.

"I ......," Feige pondered his words, and then said, "I may not have anything to do with the arts, and I won't get anything out of my efforts." ”

"Alas, the majesty of God is like the sea, but there are always stones in the sea that cannot be penetrated. The old man shook his head, and after a pause, said, "But don't worry, there are always some spells that don't require divine power, you should try them." ”