The night was dark and foggy, and even the moonlight seemed dark in such an environment.

In the gloomy darkness of the night, a group of cavalry slowly approached the gates of Djerkhara, followed closely behind them by several infantry armed with spears and crossbows.

Gradually, the wind picked up. The weather in early summer is like this, it can change as much as it says. At the moment, this gust of wind is already a sign that a heavy rain is coming. The cool night breeze with a slight chill ruffled the hair on the heads of the young warriors, but it could not blow away the excitement and excitement in their eyes. The horses under their crotches snorted incessantly, looking even more excited than the knights on their backs.

There was darkness on the walls of Djerkhara, a city of mountain boulders and granite lying silently like a sleeping dragon under the night sky.

Just as the group had marched less than two hundred meters from the city gate, a whole row of torches suddenly lit up on the city wall. In the light of the fire, they faintly saw a sergeant of Rhodok with a goatee jerk his head out. I saw that he waved his hand slightly, and several Rhodok crossbowmen hiding behind the battlements beside him showed half of their bodies.

"Who are you, what are you doing in Djerkhara so late! Hurry up and get your name on! Stop, don't come any closer! If we dare to go any further, we will release the arrows! ”

Everyone who came knew that the guards on the walls were not joking. They could even clearly see that the strings of the crossbowmen in the city were now tightened, and the tips of the crossbows shimmered with cold iron in the light of the fire.

The horse neighed in a low voice, and with some displeasure it slotted its hooves into the ground. As soon as the knight who led the team waved his hand, the whole cavalry stopped at the city gate. There were fifteen of them on horseback, and the knight at the head carried a man in a cloak behind him, and he was completely unrecognizable. The rest of the people were dressed in a cloak that covered the coat of arms underneath. Their helmets hung on the horse's belly, but even so, the guards could not see them clearly in the darkness of the night.

The sergeant shouted something to the bottom of the wall, and the gate suddenly opened. Thirty or forty Rhodok spearmen rushed out in groups, and combined their spears in a row, forming a forest of steel that blocked the entire city gates. One of them, carrying a slender straight-edged saber, stepped forward vigilantly under the protection of several spearmen, pointed his knife at the knight at the leader, and said: "We are ordered by Lord Atlas that no one is allowed to enter or leave the city after curfew. Who the hell are you guys and why are you here at this time! ”

The knight laughed, but was not in a hurry to answer, but tore off the cloak that stood in front of him, revealing the heraldic armor hidden underneath.

After doing all this, he said a little jokingly: "Yo! It's only been a few days since I saw you, and you don't know me, don't you? I still treat you as friends, just because you treat me like this, why should I invite you to drink! ”

When the sergeant heard his tone so familiar, he thought that the voice was somewhat familiar, and he leaned over through the glimmer of the torches beside him to see that the person who came was really an acquaintance.

"I'll just say how the wind is blowing so comfortably tonight, it turns out that Lord Charles, you're back!"

After saying this, he turned back to the soldiers behind him and scolded with a smile: "I said that you idiots are still in a daze, hurry up and collect all the guys in your hands for me, Lord Charles is his own person, why are they still there one by one, don't you hurry back!" ”

"Haha, you finally recognize us, so can we go in now?"

The sergeant patted his arm a little embarrassed, and said to Charles with an apologetic face: "My lord, it's easy to say anything else, but this is really not good." Lord Atlas gave us a death order, unless it was ordered by him, no one was allowed to enter or leave the city after the curfew, and those who violated the order were to be killed on the spot! You're a nobleman, so we can let you in, but your soldiers can't. They had to spend the night under the gates, like the merchants. Although they are also soldiers of Lord Atlas, rules are rules after all, and we really don't dare to disobey the will of Lord Lord! You're right? ”

Hearing that the sergeant had said this, Charles was not at ease to say anything more. In fact, although he missed the comfortable environment in the city, he still couldn't do such a humiliating stupid thing if he wanted to leave his subordinates behind and go into the city alone to enjoy it.

So, after a few casual conversations with the sergeant guarding the gate, Charles led the group slowly to camp under the gate, ready to spend the night here.

After hearing the sergeant's words, the soldiers naturally persuaded Charles to go into the city to rest, but they were all politely rejected by Charles one by one. This also led to the fact that for a long time afterward, everyone looked at him with deep respect and emotion. And that's exactly what Charles wants to see.

After setting up the marching tent, Charles said softly to the mysterious man who was sitting behind his horse just now: "Miss, think about it carefully, if you still know anyone in Djerkhara, maybe you can meet acquaintances." “

The mysterious young lady hidden in her cloak shook her head and said in an almost inaudible voice: "No, our family has no relatives or friends in Djerkhala. “

Charles let out a long sigh, feeling that things were getting a little difficult. His mind suddenly remembered the dawn in the mountains, this thin girl opened her arms to protect the bandit behind her, so delicate and so majestic. And that bandit, to his surprise, he was desperate to protect this girl with his life, which is too unlike a bandit!

"My lord, I know that you are an errand boy and a nobleman, and you look down on us like this...... Such a pariah! But, Jessica, she's innocent, she's not a bandit, she was caught by me! She's just a commoner, but she's really like an angel! She was a poor child, and her family was gone. For her sake, if you want to kill me, let her go! She's innocent, please don't hurt her, please! “

In the end, Charles did not kill the bandit, and it was the inexplicable impulse that prompted him to make this decision. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing, but he couldn't allow a young girl to follow the bandits anymore, so he chose to take the girl with him. Then he saw that the fierce man with whom he had once had a relationship, after handing over the girl to him, knelt on the ground and cried so hoarsely, like an abandoned dog, so sad.

Thinking of this, Charles sighed unconsciously, and said lightly: "Alas, forget it, since he entrusted you to me, you can follow me for the time being." When you enter the city, I'll provide you with a place to stay and plenty of food, but you'll have to clean up my room for me in the same way, understand? “

The girl looked up at him, nodded slowly, and a good word popped out of her throat faintly.

Charles looked at her frightened fawn-like eyes, and his heart softened unconsciously, and he didn't dare to look at her anymore.

Jessica tilted her head and thought to herself: Tomorrow may be a good day.