The cold wind whistled from south to north, and the sailed Nature sailed fast on the Vemur River.

Due to the perennial higher average temperature in the Elven Forest, the monsoon winds blow from the relatively low-temperature fertile plains to the Elven Forest every winter, and on the Vemur River, a southerly wind that is rare in winter.

Sophia stood at the bow of the boat, looking relaxed and expectant, sometimes looking at the silver glittering river in the distance, sometimes closing her eyes and feeling the cool breeze blowing on her body, happy as a bird flying out of a cage.

Until a familiar voice drew her attention back:

"I'm in a good mood, Viscount."

It's Demacia.

Seeing that nasty handsome face, the half-elf girl's expression immediately faded.

However, just as she was about to turn on the sarcastic mode, Demacia hurriedly waved her hand:

"Don't...... Don't scold, I'm here to deliver something to you. ”

After saying that, he took out a scroll from his arms and handed it to the other party.

"What is this?"

Sophia frowned.

Perhaps because she was in a good mood, she rarely did not refuse the other party.

"A powerful transfiguration technique that can help you change your appearance and turn into a normal human."

Demacia said.

"Change your appearance?"

Sophia was stunned.

"That's right, in a while, we will arrive at our destination, the appearance of the half-elf is too conspicuous, so it's better to disguise ourselves, not only you, we all have to change, this escort, we are going to disguise ourselves as human mercenaries."

Demacia explained.

Hearing his words, Sophia frowned slightly.

She glanced at her own appearance in the river, which was obviously different from that of ordinary humans, hesitated for a moment, and finally took it.

"That's right."

And it was at this time that Demacia spoke again.

"What else?"

Sophia asked a little unkindly.

"Nothing else, I just want to say more, Riverbend may be a little different from what you think, so don't expect too much."

Demacia scratched her head and said.

Listening to his endless sentence, Sophia's brows furrowed slightly.

She was about to say something, but Demacia turned away, not knowing if she was afraid that she would stay too long and be ridiculed by the maiden.

"God babble."

The girl snorted coldly and said.

After Demacia's interruption, her mood for viewing the scenery also dissipated a lot.

Looking at the clear blue sky, the girl put away the scroll and went to the cabin to rest......

The ship continued to sail, and half a day passed quickly and imperceptibly.

And when it was almost noon, a port town that was not very large finally appeared in view.

"Riverbend is coming! Get ready for disguise and get off the boat right away! ”

On the Nature, the voices of the elves rang out.

Sophia was also attracted by the sound of the elves, and her eyes lit up, and she quickly got out of the cabin and looked towards the shore.

However, when she saw the town on the shore clearly, her look of anticipation and excitement quickly turned into astonishment.

It was a port town less than half the size of Grey Harbor, located in a U-shaped bay, with low, dilapidated buildings on the shore that hadn't been repaired for an unknown amount of time.

There are some caravan cargo ships parked on the wharf of the port, which are loading goods, and the shore is full of people, but it is slightly popular.

However, with the exception of some merchants who disembarked from the merchant ships were more decently dressed, most of them were dirty, torn, and skinny, and even some of the ragged children who were begging around the merchants, as thin as saplings.

This scene of ruin and poverty contrasted sharply with the prosperous and prosperous scene of Gray Harbor, so that the girl lost her mind slightly for a while.

"This ...... Is Riverbend Town? ”

She muttered in disbelief.

"That's right, that's our destination, Rivertown."

Demacia, who didn't know when it came out again, said.

Sophia was not sarcastic at Demacia's sudden interjection, she seemed to have been stunned by what she saw.

I saw her eyes widen and look at the dilapidated port in front of her, shook her head and said:

"No...... Impossible, the documents in the castle record that the town of Riverbend is a pearl on the Vermur River, an important port town in the western territory, how can it be like this? ”

"Miss Sophia, don't compare Grey Harbor with here, the city of elves is not comparable, and don't compare it with Zeloland, both sides of the Zeorland Riverside are rich areas."

Demacia shook his head.

He took out the scroll and disguised himself as a human mercenary, and said:

"What you see now is the real human civilian port."

"Let's go, I'm ready to dock and disembark."

……

The Nature slowly sailed into the harbor, and Sophia, disguised as a human mercenary, followed the other disguised elves onto the docks.

Their arrival immediately attracted the attention of the harbor residents, all of whom looked at them with curiosity and wariness.

And when the residents saw their obvious mercenary outfits, many of them changed their faces slightly, and they left in a hurry, and after a while...... The port is a lot more deserted.

Only the unloading caravan watched them with wary eyes, and many of the caravan guards clenched their weapons and made defensive gestures.

Seeing this scene, Sophia was slightly stunned.

"Why are they all avoiding us, is there something wrong with our disguise?"

She asked, confused.

Seeing the port town in front of her, which was not many times worse than what she expected, the girl was about to ask one of the residents why this place was so dilapidated, but she didn't expect everyone to avoid them like a plague......

"This is normal, we are now disguised as mercenaries, and mercenaries are synonymous with chaos in the human world, for safety, no one wants to approach ordinary people, of course, this is also our purpose, disguised as mercenaries, it will be a lot less trouble."

One of the elves accompanying him explained.

When Sophia heard this, her expression was even more shocked:

"Why? Could it be that mercenaries still dare to be presumptuous in the city? Aren't you afraid that the city guards will put them in jail?! ”

The talking elf spread his hands:

"Then I don't know, I've been to the Maple Leaf Collar once, I only know that civilians are very afraid of mercenaries, and I don't know about the rest, but Demacia has seen a lot, he should know more specific situations."

Listening to the elf's words, Sophia fell silent.

Instead of dwelling on the subject, she followed the disembarking elves and rode on dragon-scale horses disguised as ordinary horses towards the town.

As she entered the town, a more detailed look of Riverbend Town was gradually revealed to the girl.

Low buildings, dirty streets, poor residents......

This scene of poverty and backwardness has greatly impacted the girl's worldview.

The passers-by looked numb and lifeless, looking at them with fear, that fear...... It made Sophia's heart inexplicably sour.

And along the way, the girl was even more keenly aware that she did not see even a single city guard soldier along the way.

Riding a dragon-scale horse, the group slowly advanced under the awe-inspiring gaze of the residents.

Suddenly, a commotion and shouting attracted Sophia's attention.

It was in front of a dilapidated tavern, and several humans dressed as mercenaries were punching and kicking an old woman in rags.

There was a fruit basket overturned on the ground, and many of the wild fruits scattered on the ground had been trampled by the mercenaries, and the mercenaries let out an arrogant laugh.

Seeing this picture, a trace of anger flashed on Sophia's face.

She clenched the necklace on her chest, and was about to chant something, when a more swift figure burst out of the group.

It was a female elf disguised as a mercenary, Sophia remembered that the other party seemed to be called Jasmine under the moon, she snorted coldly, and kicked several mercenaries out in three or two.

"Get out."

Jasmine under the moon said coldly.

Several mercenaries got up from the ground and were about to get angry, but when they felt the powerful aura on the other party's body, they instantly turned into panic, and then they didn't even pick up the equipment that fell on the ground, and even ran away with their belts.

Seeing this, Sophia let go of the necklace in her hand, she turned over and dismounted, came to the old woman, helped her up, and picked up the berries that had fallen on the ground one by one.

Looking at Sophia, who suddenly greeted her, the old woman's eyes clearly flashed with fear, but after the girl began to help her, her fear gradually dissipated.

"Thank you...... Thank you...... Adult ......"

She wiped her tears and thanked Sophia.

Looking at the cowering old woman, a hint of anger flashed in Sophia's eyes.

She chanted a spell and, under the astonished gaze of the other players, cast a healing spell on the old woman.

"Hell, it's a mage? I didn't even see it...... Is there any cover-up? ”

Seeing this scene, Demacia, who was in the distance, muttered as he took back the healing potion in his hand.

"Thank you...... Thank you...... Master Mage...... Thank you ......."

After being treated, the old woman's voice choked.

Sophia sighed, and while she helped the old woman pat the dust off her body, she said:

"No thanks, do you still feel uncomfortable?"

"Much better...... I'm much better...... Thank you...... Thank you so much......"

The old woman hugged the fruit basket and said gratefully.

Sophia glanced at the berries in the basket that were already a mess, and couldn't help asking:

"Are there no guards in Riverbend? How could these mercenaries be allowed to be so arrogant? ”

The old woman sighed and shook her head:

"My lord, the guards of Riverbend Town have fled with the noble lords, and the Maple Leaf Leader has rebelled, and they are afraid that it will affect here, so they have fled a few days ago."

"Escaped?!"

Sophia was slightly stunned, and then looked angry:

"What a disgrace to a group of nobles!"

She looked at the mess around her, and couldn't help asking:

"What about the church? When the lord fled, didn't the church come forward? ”

"Teach...... Church? ”

The old woman was stunned.

Then, shaking his head:

"The church has also been evacuated, and it has been evacuated with the nobles......"

Sophia was stunned.

Looking at the girl's stunned expression, the old woman said:

"Your Excellency, you're also a mercenary, aren't you? Are you going to the call-up for Duke Rosen? ”

Sophia hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Then I advise you not to go, the nobles and lords are all masters who eat people and don't spit out bones, don't look at the bounty they give is so high, and it is still a question of whether you will have your life in the end...... You're a good man, don't fall for them, I wouldn't have said that if it were those outlaws, but you...... It's good guys. ”

The old woman shook her head.

Sophia fell silent.

She sighed slowly and said:

"I see."

After speaking, she looked at the old woman's shivering appearance in the cold wind, glanced at the already rotten berries in the basket, thought for a while, took out a gold pound from her bosom, and stuffed it into the old woman's arms:

"It's a little money, you can buy some clothes and food."

"Golden ...... Gold Pounds! ”

The old woman's eyes widened, and a hint of greed flashed in her gaze.

It's just that she quickly shook her head and said with a wry smile:

"Thank you, sir, for your kindness, it's just ...... It's up to you to take this gold pound. ”

"It's just a little bit of my heart."

Sophia insisted.

The old woman sighed and said:

"My lord, such a large sum of money, even if you give it to me, I am an old woman, I am afraid that I will not be able to keep it......"

Hearing her words, Sophia was slightly stunned.

Following the old woman's gaze, the girl looked around, and when she saw the homeless men who had gathered around at some unknown time, and were looking at the gold pounds in their hands with greedy eyes, her heart finally dawned.

"I see......"

The girl's expression fell lonely.

With a sour heart, she took off the tattered coat she was wearing and disguised as a mercenary given by the elves and draped it over the old woman's body, and took out some delicious pastries that had been specially put away in Grey Harbor from the storage ring, and handed them to the other party:

"Eat something, I'll leave when you're done."

"Thank you...... Thank you...... Your Excellency, you are a good man, and the Lord of Eternals will bless you. ”

The old woman said gratefully.

After saying that, she devoured it, and she didn't know how long it had been since she had eaten properly.

Bless me......

Looking at the crumbling streets around her, and the closed doors of the church beyond, Sophia suddenly felt a great sense of irony for some reason......

Bidding farewell to the old woman, the girl's heart was much heavier.

At this moment, she no longer has the excitement she had when she set off at the beginning.

The group continued to move forward, gradually reaching the hinterland of the town, and also entering the traditional rich area.

This is a place where the aristocracy lived, and it is a palatial place, which is in stark contrast to the previous area, allowing Sophia to find a little familiarity.

But this did not make the girl happy, on the contrary, her mood seemed to be getting heavier and heavier.

Along the way, Sophia's words became less and less, and her gaze became more and more gloomy.

Even the players who wanted to talk to her were a lot quieter.

The town of Riverbend is not large, and after passing through the aristocratic district that has been deserted, Sophia and her party soon came to the other side of the town.

As they marched, the surrounding houses became dilapidated again, creating a striking contrast with the affluent area.

The town on the other side is guarded by walls, and there is a moat outside the walls.

Of course, there are no guards anymore.

Riding a dragonscale horse, Sophia and the elves finally left the town and entered the heart of the Western Realm.

However, not long after walking out of the city gate, Sophia saw a sneaky pedestrian passing by the side of the road.

It was a man who looked to be thirty or forty years old, and he was carrying something in his arms, and he looked numb, and went to the ditch by the side of the road, and dropped what he was holding.

It's just that when he saw Sophia and the others, his face changed slightly, and he hurriedly fled in a panic.

"What did he leave behind?"

Seeing this scene, Sophia frowned slightly.

"I'd suggest you'd better not go and see it."

Demacia, who was traveling with him, suddenly spoke.

For some reason, his voice was unusually heavy.

Of course, the half-elf girl naturally wouldn't follow his advice.

She snorted, clamped her horse's belly, and rode towards the side of the road.

As she approached the ditch, Sophia began to smell a disgusting stench.

It seemed to smell like something after it had rotted.

And when she came to the edge of the ravine and saw the situation in the ravine, her gaze suddenly froze......

In the ravines.

It's piles of dead babies.