When war is torn, no one knows what will happen in the next moment, so it's the right thing to do. However, Ian's explanation to Sid was obviously given too early. No one expected that the Empire's defense force in Rubber Shield City would hold out for a whole month, and it was the hottest solar month.

This can't blame Sid for his miscalculation, after all, no one could have guessed that the bunker under the walls of Oak Shield City could hoard such a large garrison and resources. In the end, it was not so much the Federation's success in the siege as the Imperial Army's final choice to abandon Oakshield City. There are rumors in the market that it is because of the continuous civil strife in the capital of the empire, Black Eagle City, and the dense concentration of demonic beasts in the wilderness, which makes the imperial center unable to spare a hand to support Oak Shield City, so it simply abandoned the city and strategically retreated to the fortress Golden Thorn City on the north side.

Golden Thorn City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is an important military town. After a month of upside-down siege warfare, the Union army has now retreated and is no longer marching for the time being. Not only are the soldiers tired, but the inhabitants of Oakshield are also physically and mentally exhausted. As a result of the indiscriminate attacks of the trebuchets, many houses on the side of the west gate were damaged, and many people were killed and wounded. At night, when the Union army began to attack the city, there was another night of shouts and the sound of siege engines hitting the city gates, and no one could sleep peacefully at this time.

Probably except for one person - Harvey, the manager of the Golden Tail Chamber of Commerce's safe house. After the outbreak of war, he lived in a safe house every day. According to him, it was much safer than his home. His family is now only an empty house, and his valuable things and his wife and children have been transferred to the old mansion in the east of the city, so he doesn't have to worry about it.

"In extraordinary times," he said, lying comfortably on the single bed in the corner, moving his fat body, "very coping." A long hiccup followed.

A few days before the war broke out, Ian watched Harvey snore like thunder and sleep as soundly as a baby. Ian could only listen to the occasional whistling outside, and the cracking of a boulder that followed as it hit the road or an unfortunate building. In the direction of the city wall, there were faint shouts of killing, cries and rumbling muffled sounds. I can't close my eyes for a moment.

Fortunately, people's adaptability is very strong after all, and they slowly begin to get used to it. It's just that they still rarely go out, staying in a safe house almost from morning to night.

A month later, the Battle of Oak Shield was finally temporarily over, and Union forces took over the bunker and dignitaries. When the army entered the city, Ian and they also went to see it. Even the subhuman race, who are good at night fighting, are all tired. The cavalrymen sat as upright as they could, to make a firm impression in the eyes of the few do-gooders in Oakshield City.

The tragedy of this battle is not difficult for Ian to imagine. Not long after he left the city alone, he saw many soldiers digging a huge pit in the wilderness on the east side of the city to fill the soldiers who had died on both sides. The huge round pit resembles a sinking colosseum, and the corpses of the soldiers killed in battle are stacked outward from the center of the round pit, neatly spread out.

Ian watched for a moment before getting up and continuing on his way. He's going to join Alphen in the swamp dragon city, if Alphen is still alive. The reason why he chose Swamp Dragon City is because of his identity. The only city in the empire that was full of chaos and sin could make him not have to worry about the Imperial military department's search.

Since Rubber Shield City has been locked down for nearly a month, when the city gate is opened, there are countless people to leave, and many people to enter, and the city gate is extremely crowded. After going out for a while, after some forks in the road, there are fewer talents on the road. Ian plans to try his luck at a horse farm five stars away.

All of the carriages and horses in Oakshield were requisitioned when the Federation troops first arrived. The owner of the carriage and horse dealer hung up a notice at the door: no horses to rent.

Ian had no choice but to turn around and go back to the safe house to find a way for Harvey - after all, Swamp Dragon City was nearly a thousand stars away from the border, and he couldn't walk on two legs. It's just that in this "extraordinary period", Harvey's options are also very limited, and the only more reliable proposal is to go to the Brad Racecourse five stars away.

"Anyone?" Ian shouted from outside the fence of the racecourse, but no one responded.

He pushed the "wooden door" woven from the cork railing, which had no chain locks. With a slight push, the wooden door opened, and Ian stepped inside.

"Is anyone there?" he shouted again as he came to the stable, this time raising his voice a little.

But all he could do was the sound of a horse's nose. Ian followed the sound and walked into the stable with the gate open.

Several sturdy woodland horses were grazing in their pens, and the brown-red stallion closest to the gate shook his head and snorted again.

"You're the owner of the stable," Ian quipped as he approached it, "and can you lend me a horse?"

"No!" a voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling Ian, "stay away from my horse, you horse thief!"

As Ian turned, he saw a plain-looking, muscular man stare at him with a hay fork in his hand.

"Mr. Brad?" Ian remembered the name of the horse farm.

"Don't be close," the owner of the horse farm was still vigilant, "my name is written on the door of my horse farm, and everyone knows what my name is!"

"Don't get me wrong, sir," Ian said, taking his hand off the hilt of his sword, signaling that he had no ill intentions, "I'm from Oakshield City, I'm here to rent horses, and I have to go on a long run, I can't walk there." ”

Brad looked at him for a moment, seemed to let his guard down, and walked over to the horses in the pens with the hay fork.

"Not now, young sir. He didn't seem to pay attention to Ian anymore, adding fodder to the stranger in front of him was the right thing to do, "These horses have already been booked, the employer will arrive today, maybe in a while, maybe it will already arrive." As he spoke, he glanced at the fenced entrance outside the door, but there was no one.

"Aren't there any horses?" asked Ian disappointed. If he couldn't find a horse here, he had to try his luck on foot to the next town.

"You're a mercenary?" Brad noticed the Blackstone insignia around Ian's neck, "and maybe another one." ”

As soon as the sadness on Ian's face cleared, Brad said, "Don't be too happy. Your horse was stolen this morning—damn horse thief, phew! I curse him! You're a mercenary, aren't you? It wasn't long before the horse was stolen, and how about if you could get it back and halve the rent?"

"No problem. Ian hurriedly agreed, and now there was no other way.

"Very well! I chased it out for a while, and the thieves got out of the fence gate—damn bastard, swaggering! The hoof prints should still be there, and it should have fled north down the road when I checked it in the morning. Brad grumbled, "It shouldn't have run far yet, get it back for me, and teach that horse-stealing bastard a hard lesson by the way!"

"What does the horse look like?" asked Ian.

"Oh shit, I'm going mad. Brad scratched at his messy hair, "The horse is called White Star because it has a white birthmark on its forehead that looks like a cross star, which is easily recognizable. Alright, you've asked enough, let's get to work!"

Brad abruptly kicked Ian out, and the young mercenary had to follow the clues provided by Brad and start checking the whereabouts of the hoof prints from the fence gate.

As the horse farm owner said, the hoof prints were directed to the west, and then turned to the north at the fork in the road. To the north is a path through the forest, and beyond that is a plain that Ian can't catch up with on his legs. If you let it run up the plains, you will never get it back.

Hoping that there would not be enough fallen leaves in the forest to obscure the hoof prints at this time, Ian prayed to himself, following the intermittent hoof prints, and began to walk towards the path deep into the forest.

He kept his head down most of the way, lest he miss the hoof prints, and didn't notice that an old man in shabby clothes was waiting for him in front of him. The old man, motionless with dead branches, sat on a sawn stump, as if he had become one with the forest. When he was more than ten steps away from Ian, he suddenly moved and slowly stood up. Ian then noticed him, a spirit, who almost pulled out the long sword at his waist.

He didn't have a corpse carp cloak now, and he didn't dare to maintain Zack's form all the time when he walked alone in the wilderness. And the long sword at his waist was not the weapon that was confiscated by Dayns and processed from corpse carp bones, but an ordinary standard long sword. When the old man saw that his hand was pressed on the hilt of the sword at his waist, he hurriedly said, "Sir, I have no ill will. ”

Seeing that it was an old man, Ian asked vigilantly, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for you, Ian. The old man smiled kindly.

With a "bang", the long sword was unsheathed, and the blade of the sword was already on the old man's neck.

"The only enemy who will be waiting for me here," Ian sneered, "Who are you?"

Ian asked the question, but he didn't expect the other party to answer. In his heart, he just wanted to know if this person was a dark mercenary or a falcon.

The old man didn't panic at all, and he didn't move, but said lightly: "Don't worry, I'm neither a falcon nor a dark mercenary. ”

Ian was stunned, could this old man be able to read minds?

Seeing that he did not speak, the old man continued: "Ian, I am the one who was employed by the anonymous commissioner, and I am his agent. I came to you this time because I had something to convey. ”

This sounded familiar, and Ian thought to himself, wasn't there a messenger who claimed to be a messenger from the Lord on the way to investigate last time?

"Can't you think of a new trick?" Ian laughed, "It's a trick that has worked." After speaking, he pressed the long sword in his hand against the old man's neck, and the blade of the sword almost stuck to the skin outside the carotid artery.

"No, no, no, what I'm saying is true. The old man seemed to hear something from Ian's words, and hastened to explain, "I am indeed his agent. He's been issuing commissions through me to test your strength......"

Ian noticed the mystery in his words and interrupted him and asked, "Is it all from him that I have been commissioned?" I don't think he has the ability to let the Mercenary Guild issue a named commission without the mercenaries. ”

"No, that's not what it meant. The old man continued, "We just persuaded a few of the receptionists who had issued the commission to make a simple 'recommendation' when Sid picked up the commission...... The guild is strictly managed, but they don't interfere with the relationship between the mercenaries and the principal, and the recommendations are very hidden, so the risk they take is almost zero. In fact, I did so much just to recommend you some suitable commissions and test your strength, not to hurt you. My employer noticed you early on and did everything to make sure I met you. ”

Seeing Ian's hesitant face, he hurriedly promised: "If you still don't believe it, I can tell you all about the commissions you have received and how I let you take these commissions!"

"You say. Ian's sword still hadn't been put down.