For Ian, it was a strange woodland. At least he didn't remember being there during their training.

The terrain in the glazed forest is mostly gentle, and there are few such long, steep slopes. Ian stood at the top of the slope and looked down, as if he was at least a hundred steps away from the bottom of the slope. At this time, the sky was not yet light, and the glazed forest was even darker. I can only vaguely see the glazed trees lining the slope, and the shadows in the distance are not real. A thick layer of dark brown dead leaves covers the surface of the slope. The ground at the bottom of the slope is relatively flat, but it should also be covered by fallen leaves, so it is difficult to see if there are traps or snakes.

Ian saw a lot of strips of cloth tied to the trunks of the trees on the slope and asked, "You tied the strips of cloth over there?"

"That's for you," Sid laughed, "and where there's a strip of cloth that's the border, run along the route I've set for you, and get back here before dawn." ”

"Start now?"

"Start now. Sid added, "Finish early, start the weapons training course early." ”

Ian answered, took off his heavy coat and threw it on the ground, and with the strength under his feet, he rushed down the slope. Fallen leaves rose at his feet, and the exposed dirt traced a straight line behind him. Running in the woodland, he has long been accustomed to this period of training, and even on snowy ground, he can easily balance his body. The boy sprinted straight to the bottom of the slope, and how fast he dived was a sign of how confident he was.

Suddenly, there was a strange reflection on the ground not far in front of him, which refracted from the gaps in the cascading fallen leaves. Ian made a mistake in his footsteps, and instead of exerting force on his legs, he put his right foot in front and left foot behind, shifted his weight backwards, pushed the arch of his right foot forward, and used a gliding posture to slow himself down. Then he kicked sideways in front of the reflective position and went around. There was a gust of air in his body, and he lifted the place where the fallen leaves were covering—sure enough, a trap, a metal nail trap.

Before the Ian people landed, they had already cursed secretly in their hearts. If you accidentally get caught by this thing, let alone weapon training, you will have to take care of your leg injury for half a month. Just thinking about it, as soon as I landed, I felt a tightness in my ankles, only to hear a snort, and suddenly the world was spinning. When he came back to his senses, he found that he had stepped on the noose trap and was hung upside down from a tree. A piece of hemp rope was firmly fastened to his ankle, and the other end was tied to the trunk of a tree.

Sid on the top of the slope laughed and shouted, "Deduct points!

Ian was hung upside down, looking up, squinting at the ground beneath his head, and there seemed to be no sign of a chain trap. So he drew the dagger from his waist, exerted his strength in his waist and abdomen, curled up, and with a few smacks, he cut the rope attached to his ankle. After landing, he looked around cautiously, but there was nothing unusual except for the tree tied with strips of cloth.

The boy hesitated and walked a few steps, then looked up at the sky that was about to light up, and shook his head.

"He's timed," Ian thought, "not only for his physical fitness, but also for his five senses in a dimly lit environment." I could only concentrate on running down. ”

Having made up his mind, Ian took a deep breath. The clear, cold air from the woodland rushed into his lungs, and although he inhaled deeply, there was a faint stinging pain in his lungs, but it also made him regain his energy and raise his concentration to the highest state. Getting rid of distracting thoughts, the world in the eyes and ears becomes clear. Suddenly, the boy kicked under his feet, and the man flew out lightly again.

Sid stood on the top of the slope, smiling with satisfaction as he listened to the crackling sound of footsteps on the dead leaves. Then he opened his rucksack and checked the contents as he counted to himself: "Splints, tourniquets, coagulants, tranquilizers...... Hey, didn't I bring the toxin neutralizer?" he rummaged through quickly, then cried briskly, "Ah, here. Hopefully it won't be used. ”

Ian was running on the flat ground at the bottom of the slope, and suddenly he felt that he had tripped under his feet, something very light, and it disappeared in an instant. He didn't have the heart to see what it was, because as soon as he felt a touch on his foot, he knew that something had been touched. Sure enough, there was a whirring wind in his left ear, and it was not an arrow, but something bigger. As soon as he turned his head, he saw a thick log hanging from a rope and striking him like a battering pile on a siege vehicle.

Ian leaped forward, but there was another sound like a broken string under his feet. There was another whirring movement in the darkness not far away, and another log came with a strong wind. The light is dim, and by the time the eyes see clearly, they are already very close to themselves. The boy was so frightened that he threw himself down, and the log passed overhead. As soon as he got up, he heard a muffled sound behind him, and then he was hit in the back of the heart, and he fell to the ground.

It turned out that the log hit the previous one, and it was immediately pushed back. Fortunately, the speed of rebound is not fast, otherwise it is possible to be paralyzed from this blow on the back. Ian got up from the ground in a daze, looking at the dead leaves all over the ground, and had no way of telling where the traps were. So he was ruthless and ran at full speed, but this time he learned to be obedient and used broken steps and small steps. Get up on touch, using almost only the toes and forefeet to exert force. This trick can at least allow him to avoid the rope trap, otherwise so many collisions with wood and dark crossbows will become live targets once they are hoisted.

The sound of logs whizzing and crashing in the mountains and forests was mixed with the occasional sound of bowstrings and arrows.

As the day dawned, Sid fell asleep under a tree under the thick coat that Ian had left behind. He was awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps, the sound of footsteps on dead leaves. He jumped to his feet, squinting at the source of the sound. Ian stood not far away, ragged, gasping for breath and glaring at him viciously.

Sid laughed, lifted his rucksack, and walked over.

"Did you get caught in the nail clip?"

"Nope. ”

"What about the bones, were they broken by a log?" Sid pulled out a pair of splints from his rucksack.

"Nope. ”

"I saw you hit the lasso. Sid couldn't help but smile, "These ...... It's just a bruise, nothing else?"

"I was hit in the back of the heart, but luckily, my spine didn't break. Ian said coldly, "Everything else is a contusion that doesn't require treatment." ”

He saw Sid's rucksack containing all sorts of strange pill bottles and medical bandages.

"It's a pity, it took a lot of work to get the witch to prepare these things for me!" Sid sighed with a fake sigh.

"Got you down. ”

"Look at your fierce look," Sid smiled and patted him on the shoulder, putting his coat on him, "Let's go, go back and change your clothes." So saying, he walked on.

"Do you know that those traps of yours, no, your exam, almost killed me?" Ian glared at him, "maybe one more mistake would have killed me in that forest." ”

Sid shrugged, "How can it be that serious? The deadliest of all the traps are the crossbow arrows." I think you should be able to avoid it. ”

"What if you don't avoid it?" Ian said angrily, "You're going to let me die there?"

"How is that possible, I have medicine with me!" Sid shook the rucksack in his hand.

"I'll be dead by the time you do!" Ian shouted. He was genuinely angry, Ian hadn't thought Sid's test would be so deadly, he was joking with his life.

Sid stopped in front of him, turned slowly, and looked at Ian.

He thought for a moment, then walked closer, stared at Ian's face, and asked, "How long are you going to stay here?"

Ian was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You're not going to live here for the rest of your life, are you?" Sid was still staring at him, "If you don't, you're going to have to leave the woods sooner or later." So where to go, do you want to go back to Breeze Village?Elise says that the lord has sent more patrols near your workshop, do you think it's to protect your empty workshop from monsters, or is it to protect Granny Sumu?"

Ian pursed his lips and didn't speak.

"Ian, get out of here, there's only danger waiting for you outside. Maybe you can sneak back to Breeze Village while it's dark, maybe after a while the lord slackens and retreats from patrolling, but if you want to go back and live there again, you need to be prepared to wake up one morning and the outside of the workshop is full of the lord's soldiers. Or maybe it's some big guy who the cat man mentioned who is looking for you. Sid straightened up and stepped back, "If I had trained you for so long, you wouldn't have been able to avoid that crossbow arrow, and you'd die sooner or later if you went out." ”

Seeing that Ian stopped talking, Sid sighed and whispered, "I'm glad you passed the test almost unscathed, which shows that you are very talented and your training is effective, but—" he dragged out his tone, "It seems that in addition to your body, your head needs to be exercised as well." ”

Sid, who was talking to Ian at this time, was not the arrogant soldier at all, but more like the intelligence spy who was opposed by the federal policy. Ian sometimes couldn't tell which one was the real Sid, or both.

Maybe Sid himself couldn't tell the difference. Because I have been immersed in these two roles for too long, they have become part of my own nature.

"You're not in a good head," Ian said angrily, but no longer angry, "I know what you mean, and I haven't forgotten my destiny, which will lead me to my destiny." ”

Sid doesn't quite understand the slum kids' attachment to fate, and he believes in Sithwade, the vengeful god of the twelve main gods.

But he understood what the boy meant: "May Sithwad guide you." ”

Ian tightened the button on his coat and asked, "Start teaching me swordsmanship today?"

"Start today and teach you swordsmanship. Sid repeated.

A tall and sturdy sergeant, walking through the woodland with resolute and steady steps. The short, thin boy beside him had bright eyes, like two small stars in a dim and desolate woodland. He walked lightly, and his gestures seemed neat and restrained. The two walked side by side to a huge ancient tree deep in the glazed forest.

Back in the witch's hollow, Ian changed out of his torn and scratched clothes and put on the spare clothes that Elise had prepared for him. The moment I put it on, the familiar fragrance of dragon's tooth orchid came to my nose again.