The surface of Lake Santa Cana is like a mirror, reflecting the warm winter sun. On the edge of the North Lake in front of the conifers, two farmers are fishing with a rod, enjoying a good time on the farm.

"I said Kroll, these lake sturgeons are really good, how long have we been sitting here, these annoying guys will be slippery, and they will eat up all the earthworms I have found." A farmer quickly raised his hand to collect the rod and looked at the thin iron hook that was empty with an angry expression.

"Youngor, I said you were feeding the fish. Be patient! Patience will only take the bait. The farmer, named Kroll, stared intently at the shaking buoy and put a finger to his lips, "Shhhh If you can't be quiet, learn to learn from those stupid wood elves who are traders! ”

"Oops, the earthworms are really gone. Damn sturgeon! Farmer Youngor shrugged helplessly, grabbed a small stone beside him and threw it into the lake, only to see the stone jump three times on the surface of the lake, and then reluctantly fell to the bottom of the lake.

"Ahh Youngor! You bastard! I told you to keep your voice out! I can tell that a big sturgeon must have been hooked just now, but now, I was scared away by you bastard! Kroll turned his face to glare at Youngor who was littering the stones.

"Fish! Big fish! Youngor suddenly pointed to the balsa buoy that Kroll had submerged in the water, but somehow, he couldn't get the word lever out of his mouth, obviously caused by being too excited, and the balsa buoy was dragged into the water so fast that it was almost difficult for his eyes to see.

"What!?" The force of pulling and struggling was transmitted to Kroll's right hand palm at the same time, and the muscles of Kroll's right arm tightened, and the sudden pulling force almost pulled Kroll to the ground, and the bent fishing rod suddenly became like a longbow with a full string, "What are you doing!" O Akana! It's definitely a big fish! We're about to have a bumper harvest, but I can't hold on anymore! ”

Even if Kroll's hands held the rod, it seemed that he was about to be dragged down, Youngor flew forward, hugged Kroll's waist, and pulled the fishing rod that was almost broken, "What a big one, you shouldn't have caught a alligator!" ”

"Only Arcana knows! Cooperate with my pull! One or two" Youngor leaned forward suddenly, and before he could follow Kroll's trumpet and shout a third time, he tripped over the small stone under his feet, and crashed face to the ground in the mud of the lake. Kroll was also shocked, losing the power to pull, he stumbled forward, and fell into the water of Santa Kana Lake with a rod, setting off a muffled sound, and the fishing rod that was released was dragged by the giant fish in the water that had not yet been pulled up for a long time, and finally floated to the surface of the lake, slowly drifting into the distance.

"Kroll!" Youngor, who slowly got up from the mud on the shore of the lake, wiped his face, his eyes searched for the lake that was still slightly rippling, and his mood began to be anxious, he didn't see Youngor's figure, and he didn't know how deep the water of Santa Kana Lake was, "Kroll!" It's me who is bad! I tripped over a fucking stone! Where are you? ”

Youngor's anxious cries echoed across the empty lake, and all he could answer was the whalehead ibis flying from the weeds around the lake. The mournful clatter of the whale-headed ibis was directed at Youngor's current state of mind—fear and apprehension.

A splash rose on the surface of the lake not far away, and then a wet head appeared, and then two hands stretched out from the water grabbed a fish with a crazy tail, "I'm not dead, Youngor!" You stupid guy, just look at that big fish to take the bait! ”

"Kroll, you're scaring me to death. Get ashore! Youngor's mood finally calmed down, he once again hunched down and picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it in the direction of Kroll, he thought Kroll would give him a playful response, but Kroll turned his head in the direction of the breeze and looked to the left of the shadow of Santa Kana Mountain directly opposite the lake level, "Listen, it seems that there is some strange sound coming from the east side of Santa Kana Mountain?" ”

"Only your voice! Please come up quickly, I don't want you to drown, or your village chief will beat me to death." Kroll! Youngor touched his own chest, "Still, don't pretend to be mysterious to me. You won't be able to scare me this time. ”

"You've listened to me! I'm not kidding! Lo and behold, the little black dot on the water on the eastern edge of Santa Cana! Kroll frowned, and hurriedly asked Youngor on the shore of the lake, "Have you ever seen a big boat in our village or somewhere else has a big boat?" ”

"Of course we don't have it in our village, you are the son of the village chief, you know these things better than I do! Do you still need to ask? Other than that, I can't think of any other place where a ship would come here. Unless it's a ship built by His Royal Highness the Duke. Youngor looked in the direction of the lake that Kroll had mentioned, and indeed some vague ships appeared at the foot of Mount Santa Kana, and it seemed that the bow of the ship was coming towards them, and there was a puff of smoke rising from the top of Mount Santa Kana, and he muttered in his heart, "This is - beacon smoke!" Could it be that there is a war going on in Gald behind Santa Kana Mountain? Civil strife? ”

"Impossible! The direction is wrong, not to mention that the Earl River, where His Royal Highness the Duke lives outside the city, is only a shoal. Can it be suitable for a ship of this size? Ah, look! The beacon fire on the watch tower on the top of Santa Kana Mountain has also been raised, which must not be a good thing! Moreover, Gald cannot be reached by water, and the southeast branch of Lake Santa Cana is surrounded by steep cliffs on both sides! Where did the dockyard come from? These ships are by no means 'good thing' ships. Gotta go and inform my father. Kroll quickly threw away the two fish he had caught, and one of them plunged into the lake again, and quickly dived towards the shore.

"Why did you lose the fish! It's not like these ships are carrying cannibals. If they come, most of them are bandits or food grabbers. Ah, you've lost the deliciousness of this meal! Youngor fell down on the side of the lake with a deep face and a shallow foot, and at the right time stretched out his hand and pulled Kroll up from the lake, and the two of them immediately spread their feet and ran in the direction of the lakeside village.

"Big news! Big news! There is an inexplicable fleet heading towards the northern shore of Santa Kana Lake! The two of them skillfully climbed into the fence of the lakeside village, and with a hint of uneasy excitement spread what they saw throughout the lakeside village, "Oh, and the beacon fire has risen on the top of Santa Kana Mountain!" ”

The farmers in the lakeside village quietly watched the two people shouting as they ran, and most of the villagers just snorted at them, then carried their stools back to the house and continued to do what they had to do.

Even though few people expressed interest in what they saw, they were still happy, and Kroll crashed into the village chief's house like a strong ox, "Father, there is a boat in Santa Kana Lake!" ”

"What a day to idle! What kind of wind and waves are you and that guy Youngor doing? Isn't it a boat? Oh, the flotilla. Hurry up and fart! The village chief of the lakeside village slowly walked out of the back room, stood still in front of Kroll, raised his crutches and struck Kroll on the head, "If I am afraid that the village will not be in chaos, I will use my crutches to teach you a good lesson." ”

"It's true, these ships make up a fleet! It must not be a small fishing boat or a cargo ship! And they came from the eastern tributary of Lake Santa Cana. Am I not going to catch the fish in my hand, and I came to my father just to eat a cane? If so, I'd throw myself into the lake. Kroll looked at his village chief father with some grievances, and then suppressed the uneasy excitement in his heart, Kroll knew in his heart that without others to prove it, no matter how true he said, he would be denied by his father, who was getting older in front of him, and he couldn't help shaking Youngor beside him with his elbow.

"That's right, I guess there's a civil strife on Gaelde's side, otherwise what Santa Kana Mountain is doing with the beacon fire, and I don't know if the beacon fire is related to the fleet, anyway, I saw it, and I can prove that every word your son Kroll said is true." Youngor picked at his head, a look of embarrassment on his muddy face, not for the village chief in front of him, but for his partner Kroll.

"Okay, I'll call a few villagers to go with me to have a look, you two lead the way, if there is even the slightest lie, I really want to teach you a good lesson today, you idle fellow. You two are not prepared to let the whole village be peaceful, and I heard the screams of you two guys from afar, which made me sound annoyed! The village chief glared at his son Kroll, and told Youngor to find some farmers to go with him and Kroll to the north shore of Lake Santa Cana to inspect them.

In recent years, the old village chief of the lakeside village has become more and more inflexible on his legs and feet, so he walks very slowly, and his physical strength is getting worse and worse, so he will from time to time beckon his son Kroll and farmer Youngor to go a little slower, and then stop for a long time before following the road again, the lakeside village is only a dozen miles away from the fishing place of Kroll and Youngor, but their group feels that they have walked for a long time.

The ridges disappeared behind everyone, and the sparse conifers began to dense, and everyone knew that behind the taiga was the calm shore of Lake Santa Kana, but at this time, the sound of the churning lake was clearly transmitted through the coniferous forest that blocked the view, and there were all kinds of strange whispers in it.

"Listen, it's the sound of paddling! It's still dense! Everyone took a deep breath and tightened their grip on the pitchforks, apparently these strange whispers alerted the farmers.

"It seems like there are really a lot of them. Chief. The farmers kept their voices as low as they could, but they couldn't help but start talking.

"It's no stranger to be able to make such a big noise in the sun. Let's go and have a look at the lake. The village chief knocked on his crutches, and Kroll and Youngor couldn't help but look at each other, as if they were a little disillusioned by the village chief's affirmation.

Passing through the taiga, the lake surface that should have been calm has changed to the previous situation, only to see Kroll and Youngor, who led the way in front, their faces changed greatly, and they threw themselves into the dense weeds with exaggerated movements, and the rest of the people were also taken aback, dragging the village chief and burrowing into the grass cage.

Kroll and Youngor, who were constantly fighting between their upper and lower teeth, finally raised their hands tremblingly, pointed to the water on the north shore of Santa Kana Lake, and stammered out the scene that everyone could see, "Ship black flotilla." O my goddess! ”