"I thought we were pressed for time."

"It's a fact."

"Then why are you going with the caravan?"

"Because there is a commission, and I am responsible for the food."

"Are you serious?"

"Why not?" Dineen replied calmly.

Albert crossed his arms and looked at him without saying a word, then twisted his head to the side, signaling that he was not going to care about it anymore.

Then Dinein turned to the other interlocutor, "What about your answer, Mr. Lund?" ”

The slightly chubby and amiable grain merchant nodded hurriedly: "Of course, of course, the two of you are welcome to join." Truth be told, young people who are willing to run so far away from home are hard to find right now......"

Lex Lund is from Stratholme. Before the harvest arrived, he was keenly aware that this year's harvest in northern Lordaeron would be much worse than the previous year. The accidents that usually occur in turn happened this time very coincidentally. But the reason is not Lex Lund's concern. After calculating the difference and the profits, he happily led the caravan to the south to buy grain, intending to make a fortune before the officials opened the granaries to stabilize the market price—his caravan was not large, and the profit would not be much, but at least it would be enough for the family to eat and drink for a while.

He didn't have any problems with the grain, but he had a hard time with the people. Viscount Tayster, who had just cleared the cultists, appealed to the kingdom's top brass in the name of poor supervision, hoping that the king would transfer the castle and the surrounding large tract of land to the management of Nanhai Town. While waiting for a reply, he began recruiting militia to sweep away the remnants of the Cultist. The local young adults in Nanhai Town have basically been emptied.

The ravages of orcs are another reason for not wanting to leave home. By word of mouth, the impression of orcs has become that of man-eating demons. If something mishaps, there would be no bones left - and Lex Lund was shocked when he heard the rumors. If it weren't for the time crunch, he probably wouldn't be willing to leave at this time. But the double lure of money and returning home forced him to make a bold plan and pray for the blessing of the Holy Light in his heart.

And it was at this time that Korver found him.

After spending more than half a month in Nanhai Town, Lex Lund had already had a full understanding of the lord's son. Although Korver has been inexplicably much more honest in the past two days, no one knows when he will turn back to his flying appearance and go for trouble with some unlucky ghost. So the merchant politely entertained the other party, and agreed to Korvor's request.

Compared to the greater trouble that may be encountered after refusal, it is already an unexpectedly simple request to carry two people on the road together, and as for those two commissions, it is not a big deal, after all, he is still facing the embarrassing situation of manpower shortage, and it seems better to have someone than no one. Because of this mental preparation, Lex Lund did not show any surprise or dissatisfaction when he saw Albert's bandaged hands. After all, he didn't really hire the other party to protect the caravan, so it would be nice to be able to help.

But Dineen gave him a brief explanation, saying that it was a skin wound that would not affect the battle. And that's exactly what happened. If Albert is willing to be treated with holy light, he will be healed within a minute. But the Paladin had no intention of doing so. Even when Dineh insisted on bandaging him for fear of infection, he looked indifferent.

Albert even gave up his daily prayers, during which time he simply sat in silence. And Dinen was completely helpless about his depression. Although he was worried that this strong guilt would destroy the other party's faith, if he really opened his mouth to persuade him, Dinin was sure that it would only have the opposite effect.

So he could only hope that Stratholme's Cultist of the Curse would arouse a little interest from his partner. Of course, his own share should also be counted. The blood of the innocent would not depress Dinen's will, but would only make his anger more intense, and his desire to fulfill his responsibilities became more and more urgent. As long as he has achieved his goal, he will settle his own mistakes.

Even though rumors of orcs were everywhere, the caravan did not encounter any surprises during the first few days on the road. This put the worried Lex Lund at ease a little. But trouble came to his door as quickly as he could reassure.

The caravan was delayed on the road that day to repair the overwhelmed wagon. They had expected to arrive at Talenmir before sunset to rest, but had to hurry up in the darkening twilight. Lex Lund urged everyone to quicken their pace, glancing around uneasily. The dim shadows of the woods seemed to lurk unspeakable evil minions, and the honest merchant was terrified.

As they navigated a hill much faster than usual, the active vigilance allowed the merchant to spot the uninvited guest in front of him faster than anyone else. Without even thinking about it, he screamed, "Orcs! ”

As presumptuous as this was a reckless move, the silhouettes that appeared at the top of the hillside did belong to the orcs. Upon recognizing this, the caravan was thrown into chaos. Some people took up arms and planned to fight to the death, while others prayed with pale faces. For a moment there was a mixture of screaming and yelling, cursing and pleading, and the horse pulling the cart was also infected with panic and neighed.

"Silence!"

Dineen's first reaction at the sight of the orc was to stop Albert's hand reaching for the warhammer, and the two men looked at each other for a brief and silent moment, before Albert put his hand down.

That's the compromise. So Dinein withdrew his hand as well. He turned his head and scolded, calming the panicked men and horses, and then walked forward through the silent and terrified crowd under the gaze of all and walked towards the orcs.

Such an encounter was obviously an accident for the orcs. They did not choose to attack decisively, but stopped on the hillside, observing without advancing or retreating. There was a slight commotion as Dineen walked towards them, and more than half of the orcs reached for their weapons, and then when they found him alone, everyone except the leader quickly let go of their hands.

Dineen didn't mean to draw his sword to greet him. He walked straight to a distance of about five meters before stopping, expressionless, without saying a word, just standing straight in place, staring at every orc who dared to look at him, until they couldn't help but turn their heads or lower their eyes. There was silence in front of him and behind him, and no one dared to make any sound.

The silent confrontation lasted short, and the orcs chose to retreat. One by one, they retreated to the back of the hill and disappeared. Dinein, on the other hand, just watched quietly, and only after the figure of the last orc had completely disappeared did he turn around and walk back into the convoy.

"Let's go." He said calmly.

His voice dispelled the suffocating silence, and the crowd that had been staring at him in a daze came back to their senses. Lex Lund shouted at everyone to keep everyone busy, and the people began to busied themselves with the chariot, while they thought they were stealthily staring at Dinein, their eyes full of awe. The latter passed them by without hesitation, and returned to Albert's side.

"It was an accident." He told his partner, deliberately in a firm tone, "They didn't expect to meet us." ”

He allowed the caravan to be chaotic for a while, and the orcs did not take the opportunity to attack. It was clear that they did not mean to ambush here. So Dineen didn't show much hostility, just drove them away. But if the team was provoked by his warning and did do it, Dineen wouldn't mind moving his muscles.

But there was no conflict in the end, which is a good sign.

Albert was silent, as if he hadn't heard at all. Dineen didn't expect him to answer, and his partner was surprised that he was willing to give in and leave the matter to him instead of rushing to the battle in the first place. As for the future, those will have to be taken slowly.

After that day, Lex Lund's anxiety and worries eased a lot, and his attitude towards them became more respectful. Dineen took the opportunity to chat with him, and he had a little understanding of the situation on the surface of Stratholme. But there's more, the dark part of the city that a small and honest merchant can't clearly know.

The orcs were the only accident that the caravan encountered. They continued north along the main road to Talenmere, where they rested. Dineen took the opportunity to inquire about Brand Parker and wanted to know if he had completed his mission to deliver the letter.

Lucina tells him that Brand had written to him that he had rushed to the royal city, but had not yet had a chance to meet the king. This statement made Dineen a little strange. He remembered that Albert had also given Brand a letter to his mentor, and that with a respected paladin as his guide, it should not be difficult to meet the king.

But now Dinen didn't want to mention anything to his partner about the Holy Light, so he had to guess for himself. Perhaps Albert's mentor happened to be out of the royal city, and Brand needed to wait for him to return; Or maybe Brand had completed his mission and was on his way home, but he didn't have time to send the news back. Fortunately, he didn't pin his hopes on this in the first place, as long as he knew that Brand and Shindu were still safe.

***

From Talenmere, the caravan set off into the Alterac Mountains, turning from Steinbrad to Andohar and then continuing west.

Leaving the Hillsbrad Hills seemed to be a symbol, and the mood of the two people was invariably better. Dinein's eyes were much less gloomy, and Albert smiled at the children in the village where the caravan had temporarily stayed.

Dineen was pleased to see that he was willing to tell stories to the children or play with them, which was obviously good for Albert's mood. It's just that whenever he sees his partner come back with flowers on his head, he always has to exert all his willpower to ensure that his face is as usual. And when the children turn their attention to "the best friend of the blonde brother", no amount of strong willpower can stop him from running away.

"Dinein." Albert's expression was subtle, as if she wanted to laugh, "She's just going to put a flower on you, not to kill you." ”

"I'd rather she kill me!" Dinein, who had fled into the distance, wailed.

"Don't be so rude, it's a thank you for your help."

"You're welcome! Just let me be a volunteer worker! Dinen shouted from afar. He would rather save a hundred more cats from the tree than approach the flower.

“…… Never mind. Albert sighed and crouched down, smiling at the disappointed little girl, "Don't worry, he's just being shy." ”

"Really?"

"Yes." Albert affirmed, "I promise he's happy now, too." ”

The little girl tilted her head to look at Dineen over there. The latter tried to back away vigilantly when he noticed her gaze, but stopped at Albert's glare, and then smiled with difficulty.

- I should have said he had a toothache in advance. Albert reflected.

But the little girl didn't care about that. After seeing Dining's smile, she also showed a big smile and shouted crisply: "Thank you, big brother!" ”

Dineen was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Well, he's got your thanks." Albert smiled, "Now let's take Penny home." ”

"Hmm!" The little girl nodded vigorously, and the cat in her arms also meekly meowed, "Goodbye, big brother!" Thank you! ”

Albert smiled as she ran away. It wasn't until the little figure disappeared around the corner that he turned his head to look at his partner, who had a look of apprehension.

"Dinein," he whispered, "that's what I'm going to protect. ”

- not the reign of the kingdom, not the glory of individuals, but the happiness and tranquility of these innocents.

Dinein, who was shaking off the bark shavings from his body, raised his head and glanced at him, his eyes clear and honest.

"Me too, mate." He calmly replied, "Me too." ”