Looking at the vast white world in front of him, Alexander couldn't help but think of the famous saying "All roads lead to Rome".

Now he thinks it's a joke.

Don't say that the imaginary thoroughfares don't exist at all, and even the roads that were barely able to walk have long disappeared at this time.

Everywhere was snow-white, everywhere was the same, and even the few hills in the distance that should have been targeted, were blurred by the complete whiteness.

The sky was still gray, and even the sun was hiding behind the clouds, so that there was no longer even the only reference for discerning direction.

Moreover, Alexander was very skeptical that he would be able to see the stars at night, and if he still couldn't determine the direction, then it would be easy to get lost in this situation.

Many people who have never traveled far will always wonder why they often hear that people get lost in the wilderness, and whenever they hear about it, they tend to say in a mocking tone, "That's because I wasn't there at the time." ”

But when they are really in the wilderness, they will understand how ignorant and arrogant they have been.

There are no roads, no signs, no directions, and if you were surrounded by a completely white world like now, you wouldn't even be able to see the horizon.

At such times, everything around is hostile, especially for an army, except for the enemy on the battlefield, maybe everything around you will become an enemy.

For example, not long after the team left the city of Rome, two cavalry horses were injured because they fell into a snow nest, and they couldn't help struggling and neighing when they saw that they broke their tibia, and the cavalry had no choice but to cut their veins with daggers, otherwise they would sooner or later be food for the wolves.

As a result, the team had to slow down, and it was not long before they left the city of Rome.

Alexander stroked the mane of his mount, a very strong stallion, and the Holliss horses given to him by James Columbus were more robust, tall, and endurable than the Persson horses, which were particularly beloved by the French knights.

Alexander remembered James' slightly contrived reluctance when he gave him the horse, as if it was not the mount that was given away but his family.

However, what James didn't expect was that Alexander, after riding the horse for a circle, offered him to buy a batch of horses from him.

"I like this horse very much, and if you can give my cavalry such good horses, I won't make you feel bad," Alexander said to James at the time, "and the diary about your brother, I want to see it as soon as possible, and I can pay you a separate sum of money." ”

James was a little surprised, he didn't expect to accidentally try his luck at the beginning, and actually met an unexpected big customer, looking at those cavalry, he guessed that this previously inconspicuous Neapolitan lord seemed to be more willing to spend money for his soldiers than other nobles, which made James feel that he had really picked up a treasure.

But though he was happy, James did not get dizzy at the heat of his head, and he cautiously reminded Alexander that he could not equip all his soldiers with such horses, even Hollis.

"That's the price to buy a small farm," James looked at the horse that once belonged to him with dark red skin and mane, almost like a peerless beauty, he reached out lovingly and stroked the smooth and shiny back of the horse, and even sighed a little regretfully at the end, "This Holliss horse is the best I have, and I dared to negotiate with you because of such a horse." ”

"But now you've given it to me for nothing," Alexander thought James looked a little funny, and insisted on giving it away despite being reluctant, "so are you planning again?" ”

"Actually, as you said, I would like you to buy my horses to equip your soldiers, but I advise you to be cautious in this regard, after all, the cavalry's horses are too damaging and will empty your pockets," James reminded Alexander with rare kindness, and he did not forget to explain, "Of course I would like to make more money, but if I can be your only supplier, I will have to think about you." ”

When James said this, Alexander understood what he meant, and it was clear that James had taken a fancy to his money-spurse, which seemed to be getting more and more bulging, and as a businessman who was not stupid, he was ready to train himself to be his long-term customer.

Alexander's thoughts were interrupted by a neighing of a horse, and he looked up into the distance, where it was still the same boundless white, but if you looked closely, it seemed that there was a tall tree 'hanging' in the air where it was not clear how far away.

Actually, it was because the hills were covered with snow, so it was difficult to see the undulating terrain.

"Caro, go over there and have a look." Alexander commanded.

It's obviously not a good idea to run on a bare hillside in this kind of weather, but if you can't find the road and get lost, a high ground may be able to help you get out of the situation.

It took a while for Carlo to return, and his face was not pretty, and when he came to Alexander's side, he lowered his voice and said, "My lord, it seems that we are not the only ones here. ”

Alexander was slightly stunned, then immediately understood what Carlo meant, and also lowered his voice and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"I noticed some strange black spots on the edge of the woods in the distance, but when I looked closely, they were gone, and then after a while they reappeared, and although these people seemed to be walking side by side with us, I saw that they had been following us." Carlo looked at Alexander, "My lord, do you want me to stay and have a look." ”

Alexander pondered for a moment and nodded, Carlo is a hunter, and ambushing and hiding his tracks are both his job and his means of preserving his life, so Alexander is not worried that he will be discovered by the other party.

Although it was said that this time it was to explore the passage, but Alexander did not take it lightly, so he brought with him not only 100 Bohemian cavalry, but also all the Agri and mercenaries, although the total team of 400 people was not very large, but Alexander believed that unless he encountered a real army, if there was any accident, it would be enough to deal with it.

But as soon as he left Rome, he found someone following him, which made Alexander a little worried about the rest of his journey.

Although it was not expected to be completely safe and sound, if it was deliberately targeted from the beginning, it meant that the future of the trip was uncertain.

Who is ready to deal with themselves? Alexander's mind quickly flashed the names of several people.

If it's just to keep an eye on him, but if it's to deal with him, it's not something that a few people can do.

With the current size of Alexander's troops, the number of people who intended to attack him must have come from quite large.

Giovanni?

Constantine?

Or is it Caesar?

Alexander pondered quickly.

If there is someone in the Borgia family who wants his life, then the Rovere family may not have it either.

Although it was with his help that Caesar obtained the power of the Council of Order, he also offended Giovanni because of this, and because of his fame and power gradually revealed in Rome, Joanna became somewhat dependent, which inevitably made Caesar feel that he was a stumbling block.

This time Caesar asked him to leave Rome not necessarily to keep him away from Joanna.

As for Konstantin, although he and the Rovere family eventually signed an agreement that would be beneficial to both parties, as a family with a long tradition, it is not necessary to see this as the result of a threat to them and as some kind of humiliation.

Barentia della Rovere might have seen the long-term benefits of the entente, but what about Constantine, or their uncle La Four, what would he think?

Alexander was not blindly optimistic, he knew that if that happened it could end badly, so he had to be cautious.

What made Alexander more concerned was that the people Carlo was talking about were not directly following them, but seemed to be moving side by side with them.

If they are tailgating, then these people may not know the reality of their trip, but if they are following side by side from a distance, it means that the other party has a complete understanding of their whereabouts and goals.

This made Alexander worry that something might be waiting for him on the road ahead.

"Let everyone be on alert," Alexander instructed the leader of the Bohemian cavalry and the leaders of the mercenaries, who had heard of the news he had summoned, "we may have company." ”

The team moved on, and Carlo found a large snow nest, and instead of jumping into it, he quickly hollowed it out from the side that seemed to rise slightly upwards and no one would pass by, and then carefully curled up and hid in the snow nest, and then carefully covered himself with the scattered snow around him, so that no one would notice the inconspicuous snow nest except for the messy marks left by the procession.

Alexander's team soon walked away with only a wobbling black dot, and Carlo was careful to remain motionless, his ears attached to the hard ground beneath him, and he immediately held his breath and listened carefully as the slightest vibration from the ground reached his ears.

It was not long before a distant sound came from the horse's hooves, and as the sound of the nearer and nearer hooves approached, suddenly with a neigh, the men above seemed to stop.

Then Carlo heard a slightly heavy thud on the ground, and he guessed that someone had jumped off his horse.

"The Neapolitans seem to have stopped here," said the dismounted man, walking up and down in the snow, his feet creaking on the snow, and his voice was full of doubts, "have they spotted us?" ”

"Probably not, you know, we don't just follow them," said another, "maybe they're lost, and no one can fully find their way at this point." ”

"I hope they don't find us, you know that you don't want us to mess things up," the man snorted before, "but we know where they're going, and if I'm not mistaken, as long as they don't get lost and lose time, they'll soon be on Lake Bracciano, that's a good opportunity for us." ”

The sound of horses' hooves sounded again, and they quickly approached.

Carlo remained motionless, he felt the coldness of the snow in his eyes as the horse's hooves stepped not far in front of him, and only after holding his breath and watching the dark shadow that swept by near his head disappear for a long time, he took a deep breath and stood up from the snow.

The figures of the men had become very small, and Carlo watched them run not after Alexander but down another path into the wilderness on the side, which made him sure that they were right, and that they knew the course of their group.

Carlo quickly chased in the direction of the team, for fear of being found out that he was not riding, so he could only ask to speed up and catch up.

Spotting a suspicious stalker, Alexander ordered the team to slow down, and he anxiously waited for Caro's reply while asking the Bohemians to send scouts to the front.

If these men really knew his destination, as he had guessed, because they suspected that there might be an ambush ahead, then he would have to adjust the course of his march, and if necessary, he would have to not only take a long detour, but perhaps even change the direction of his march altogether.

In fact, there are not many people who want to know about his mission this time, at least many people in the Council of Order know the purpose of his departure from Rome this time, if it is not for the fact that the road is blocked and the Romans panic, maybe more people will know what he is going to do.

Thinking about it, Alexander was not sure who was going to deal with him.

It was getting dark, and the winter night was early, and the already dark sky soon hung a layer of black from the distance, which helped Alexander to orient himself, and then he found that he seemed to be going a little off.

Sanroni is a very high mountain area northeast of Rome, a branch of the Apennines, and to reach Sanroni is through a large lake called Bracciano.

But there was something wrong with Alexander's course, and when he saw the frozen river in front of him, which was so cold that he could see a little reflection in the night, Alexander was already sure that his party was indeed going in the wrong direction, and that this should be a river at the outlet of the lower lake of Braccano, and that the river would go south until it joined the Tiber.

Carlo had not yet returned, and looking at the rapidly darkening sky, Alexander ordered to camp by the river.

On Alexander's orders, the Agri, who had traveled a long way, stopped and lay down in the snow without getting tired, and though they were all out of breath, they immediately searched the vicinity to find everything suitable for camping, cracked branches, stones to pry, or simply cut down the few bare trees in the vicinity.

A makeshift camp was erected, but when Alexander looked at it, he gave the order again to let them continue to strengthen the camp, ignoring the pleading eyes of the soldiers who were already exhausted.

At this time, the wilderness was completely shrouded in darkness, and looking at the dark ground in the distance, even if there was snow in the distance, Alexander's heart throbbed slightly.

He had a feeling that maybe something might happen in the evening.