The mist was filled, and there was no wind at dawn. Led by the Starlight, the three Featon ships passed through the estuary of the Garland River and sailed into the course of the Garland River.

The sails of the ship were tightly folded, and the warriors tried to keep the sound of the oars breaking through the water, and the glow of the bow was obscured by a thick black linen, with only the sea monster flag hanging from the mast.

Through the mist, the sides of the river bank were hazy, and the Feyton warriors were free from their usual noise, and this rare silence came from their vigilance.

Tallegalil carefully observed the front of the river and whispered to Friedlier beside him, "Taru, it seems that no Phaeton has ever sailed a warship into the Garland. I've never heard anyone talk about the hydrology here. ”

Friedlier: "Don't worry, Tarregalil, keep the boat in the middle of the river. ”

It wasn't until the sun slowly rose and the mist cleared that the scene on both sides of the Garland River began to become clear. It is a land of lush greenery, with reeds and other plants growing along the riverside, and a mix of bushes and dense forests in the distance. Occasionally, a few crisp birdsongs can be heard from the nearby trees.

The ships of the Pheton made their way along the course of the Garland, and gradually the banks of the river began to appear with broken waterwheels, barren fields, and the remnants of several stone houses. A rushing tributary came in from a large mill, and Friedlier beckoned to Evenson, who immediately stepped over the two sailors' benches to him, and Friedlier instructed him: "Find a blank piece of parchment and write down every sign of the Garland." ”

It was not until noon that three warships, which had been sailing for several days, came to shore at the foot of a hill on the side of the Garland River. It was a river beach of gravel and pebbles, and Friedlier jumped off the Starlight, grabbed a handful of clear water, drank it down, and ordered the Featon warriors to disembark and pull the boat to a ground, and replenish the bucket with fresh water.

After leaving Captain Ioliel of the Spirit to lead the Feyton warriors to rest on the riverbank, Friedrieer beckoned Evenson and Captain Tyrell of the Force, and climbed up the hill.

Dressed in armor and armed with a double-edged battle axe, Tyrell was clumsy in his ascent of the mountain. Evenson also wore his leather armor, carried a round Featon shield, and carried a hand axe, which was also inconvenient for climbing.

On the mountain road, Tellier pushed through the bushes and finally complained in frustration after stepping over a boulder: "It's a terrible place, not even a sheep's tail can be seen, it's hot and humid." ”

Evenson: "Big Captain, not everyone everywhere likes sheep as much as the Azores. ”

"Hey! You're right, Freckles Evenson, I've heard that the Garlandians and Randy people like to raise cattle. Tyrell smacked his lips and said, "But there's not even a cow shit here, it's all damn weeds." ”

Evenson: "You're always in such a hurry, trust me, we'll see something." ”

"When I get home, I'm going to fill the Force with corned beef." Tellier said.

"I remember before you set sail, you said you were going to load a boatload of Athore women and bring them back to bear birth for you."

Tyrell: "Forget it, how much food they'll have to eat." I'm skinny now. ”

Evenson glanced at Tyrell's ass as he squirmed from climbing the mountain, then smiled and said, "You're skinny and sexy." ”

"Don't stare at me, Freckles." Tellil said without looking back, "I don't have much interest in men. ”

When you come to the top of the mountain, you can see that the Jialan River bends and extends into the rolling hills in the far east. The three of them looked around, and invariably stopped their attention on a small town not far from the south bank of the Jialan River.

Evenson took a closer look and said, "There was no sign of human activity, the town seemed to be empty." ”

"Ancestor, let me meet some enemies, let me fight." Tyrell grumbled.

Friedreer frowned slightly, stared at the town, and then looked further southwest.

Evenson: "Tharu, could it be that the Azor have ransacked it?" ”

Friedrear: "It's hard to judge. Evenson, inform Ioliel when you get back. Tell him to arrange the men who will defend the ship, and then gather everyone, and we will be armed and get to the town before dark. ”

Just before dusk, Friedlier arrived outside the town with more than two hundred Phedon warriors. After hiding in the shadows and observing for a while, Friedreel cautiously led the warriors into the town.

The town's buildings don't seem to have been damaged, with blackened stones and mossy north walls, and a stone pavement dented by horses and ruts, suggesting that this is a place that has been inhabited for a long time. It's just that there is no life at all, everything seems to be still.

With his spear in his hand, Eoliel carefully pushed open the hidden door of a house, and the room was empty, except for the crockpots that had been shattered. Tyrell broke into a barn, which was also empty.

As the large army moved deeper into the town, the warriors relaxed their vigilance and began to search the empty town.

Evenson followed Friedley to the town's central square. They saw that it was unlike the rest of the town, and that the open space around the pond in the square was a mess, with broken furniture and charred wood strewn about, stone slabs littered with the marks of campfires, and a large amount of human and horse excrement.

Evenson leaned down and gently pinched the horse's dung, then said, "It looks like there were troops stationed here, but they must have been gone for a while." ”

Friedlier walked across the square towards the town church, which was located at one end of the square.

Friedlier knew that the Templar was a place of worship built by both the Garans and the Landi, who believed in the Salvationist sect, and that the people of both countries would usually sacrifice their wealth to the Templar in the hope of forgiveness and redemption from the gods. He knew that this was the most important building in the town, and it should also be the most luxuriously decorated, and at the same time a treasure hidden.

But when Friedlier pushed open the half-hidden door of the church, he found that the walls of the temple in the town were empty, and even the wooden eight-pointed star symbol symbolizing salvation and hope on the main wall facing the temple gate had been smashed a few corners.

"I think the townspeople ran out before the Azor people got here. Azor's soldiers were supposed to carry the furniture and sundries that people had not taken with them to the square and use them as firewood for cooking. Seeing this, Evenson said to Friedley.

Friedlier didn't speak, and after searching the sanctuary, he sat down on the stairs under the broken eight-pointed star, looking a little lost.

He looked thoughtfully out of the temple door.

A moment later, a stocky figure suddenly ran through the door, and he immediately caught Friedlier's somewhat distracted gaze.

It's Tarregalil.

"Hey! Tharu! I've finally found you, come and see what Tyrell has found. He gasped as he entered the sanctuary and said to Friedrear.

In the courtyard in front of an old stone house, many Phacton warriors had gathered, and Friedlier, who had arrived here with Tallegalil, saw that the warriors were eating excitedly in the courtyard.

Seeing Friedreel and Evenson coming, Tyrell squeezed out of a few fighters and excitedly said, "Hey, look what I'm saying, I'm going to fill the Power with jerky." ”

"Jerky? I think you seemed to be talking about filling it with corned beef. Evenson said, taking a piece of air-dried meat from Tyrell.

"Tyrell, where did you find the jerky?" Friedlier asked.

"Oh! Taru, right in the cellar of this room, my stomach led me here, and I opened the door to that cellar, and it was full of jerky. And, of course, some pastries. Tyrell said as he ate.

Friedlear walked to the mouth of the cellar, where he saw two Pheton warriors carrying a bag of jerky from the cellar. He reached out and carried the jerky through the mouth of the cellar, then took a strip of jerky from it and put it in his mouth.

"It's mutton." Friedlier said to Evenson with some consternation.

Tylil interjected, "Yes, it's mutton, Taru, I like mutton." The flavor of this jerky is very authentic. ”

"It's lamb jerky." As soon as Evenson said this, he felt that Friedley's expression was not quite right, and he asked with some hesitation, "Taru, you mean to say...?" ”

"Yes, it's the Jerky of the Azores." Friedlier said, looking at Evenson.

Tyrell: "Hey! Taru, I was about to say this, this jerky is very authentic, and it tastes the same as what I used to eat in Asol. That's right, it's the Azores. ”

"Enjoy it if you like it, Tyrell." After prevaricating with Tyrell, Friedreel turned to Evenson and said seriously, "It seems that those soldiers left their supplies here. ”

"I think so, Taru, it's from Athore." Evenson looked into the cellar and said, "So much jerky, I don't know how much the rations of the Athore soldiers."

"A lot for sure." Friedlier said.

Evenson asked, confused, "Why did the Athollians leave the supplies behind?" Did they flee in a hurry? ”

Friedreer smiled contemptuously, "How could it be. Think about it, what do we usually do when we leave supplies on the ship? ”

"Of course it is..." Halfway through his words, Evenson realized, "Taru, do you mean that Garland has lost its resistance?" Did the Azor people also start plundering? ”

Friedlier nodded and said, "The Yasol army that stayed here, judging from the traces of bonfires and the number of horse droppings in the square, should be a not small force with cavalry, but it is definitely not the main combat army. I think the reason why they decided to leave with supplies was because there was a very tempting thing that attracted them to leave quickly, not a military order. ”

"Tharu, why do you say that?"

"If it is a military order, even if there is a military order, it will definitely not make the soldiers leave their rations and advance." "I think they behaved like we did on the Gold Coast when we searched for a rich gathering point." ”

"Taru, you mean to say..."

"Jialan must have been annihilated, and they rushed to the hinterland of Jialan desperately and joined in the plundering of Jialan."

Evenson nodded, "Taru, where do you think they're going?" ”

"Emerald City."

"Emerald City!" Evenson looked at Friedrear in astonishment, then looked into the distance and exclaimed, "Oh my God, Garland's capital, the Emerald City." It must have been full of treasures and riches. Indeed, if it had fallen, no one would have been able to refrain from getting there quickly in order to get a piece of the pie. ”

"Hey! Freckles, where did you just say there are treasures? Still fallen? Tyrell leaned over from the side, and seeing that Evenson didn't speak, he turned to Friedreel and asked, "Taru, are we going to where Freckles was talking about?" ”

Friedreer pondered for a moment, "No. ”

"What? Where there are treasures, don't even go?! Tyrell glared, not intending to offend Friedrell's authority, and turned to Evenson.

"It's the Emerald City, big captain, but it's definitely full of Athore warriors right now." Evenson said to Tyrell.

"My God, did the Athorians go to the Emerald City? It was a place that even the "One-Eyed King" Tofly Sr. had never been. It must be great there. Tyrell sighed.

Evenson said disdainfully, "There are so many places that old Tofly hasn't been." ”

"Hey! Taru, we should go there! "In the face of hordes of enemies and endless treasures, I will fight a great battle," Tellier said. Thinking of the treasures of the Emerald City, I am even willing to fight to the death, and then return to Valhalla, full of glory, to the side of the ancestors. ”

Evenson looked at him and said, "Big man, sometimes I think it would be nice if our king could be as hot-blooded as you. Then we Featons will be stronger than we are now. ”

"Don't say that, the king is very good, I like him." Tellier glanced at Friedreel and said, "Is it the king who won't allow Taru to take us to those great places?" ”

Evenson: "Oh! Of course not, I'm just trying to say that we are always too scattered and understaffed. It's a bit overwhelming to face these big goals. ”

"Hey, Freckles, we Phactonians can always be one against ten. Also, let me tell you, if there are fewer people, each person will receive more treasure. Tyrell said.

Evenson was about to argue with Tyrell again, but heard Friedlier say, "Jerky doesn't last long in a place like Garland, and I think they'll be back here soon, at least before the jerky goes bad." We don't have to go anywhere, the Athorians will return here with the treasures of the Emerald City. Get ready for battle. ”