It's almost evening.

In the Ampton mines in the Nogo mountains, two figures, one tall and one short, led their horses, stood on the flat ground in the middle of the mine, and looked at each other—

The entire mine was deserted and empty. On the snow-covered trees nearby, the claws of unknown birds grasp the branches, and the occasional crisp chirping makes the scene seem quieter.

Tongue rolled in his throat, and the dwarf Tob shook the empty sac in his hand in disappointment. Since the last drop of his belly, he had become much duller, and even the complaining nagging on his lips was as abnormal as ever.

"Chocó, there's nothing here but stones, and there's no dinner you're looking forward to."

A red knot loosened from his long gray beard, and he stretched out his stubby, air-dried radish-like fingers and re-fastened them, "Perhaps, you can try the delicious stone soup?" ”

The standard dwarven humor, but the wild mage Choko on the side was expressionless, he stared at his feet, after most of the day's sunlight, the melting snow made the ground muddy-

The ruts of the carriage and the marks of the horses' hooves have long since been blurred.

Choco spread out the map again, this time he finally didn't take the parchment roll upside down, and after a few glances, he was sure that it was the Ampton mine marked on the map.

The buildings, the scattered ore piles, and the black holes in the mountain walls, everything is unmistakable.

And the bandits have left.

When the two realized this heavy reality, they couldn't help but be a little depressed.

"We're late."

After being silent for a long time, Qiao Ke said lightly, his eyes looked at the magnificent sunset on the horizon, and he sighed a long sigh, as if he was regretting, and seemed to show the guilt in his heart.

"Don't overthink it, my old fellow."

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and all we need to think about now is how to get through this cold night. ”

As he spoke, he walked towards the row of gray stone houses—

Most of the contents of the house have been emptied, and only a few bulky furniture remain. Among these pieces of furniture is a wooden bed covered with dried straw.

"Chocó!"

The dwarf Tob raised a loud voice, and the voice was heard far away.

"Huh?"

When the wild mage Choco heard Mr. Dwarf shouting his name, he was slightly stunned and quickly followed.

"Tonight there is a place to sleep, let's go find some firewood and light the fireplace."

As Tob the dwarf walked into the house, he glanced at the bed, and then went to the fireplace on one side of the wall—it was dark, and when he stretched out his arm to investigate, he stumbled upon a few pieces of wood that had not yet burned out, close to his fingers, and still warm.

Of course, that little firewood wasn't enough for the night, and he looked at his black, ash-stained palm and quietly wiped it across the wall.

Choco also came into the room.

However, when he looked around, he suddenly took a few steps forward and squatted down.

A few sheets of manuscript paper filled with words and formulas.

He glanced at it, and saw that it was written about alchemy experiments.

"What did you find?"

The dwarf asked, looking up.

"Records of alchemical trials."

"Alchemy? Isn't that what you mages are passionate about? ”

Choco nodded, but great doubts had arisen in his mind about the style and manner of writing on the manuscript paper, which was very similar to the one he knew.

Bracada, an orthodox academic mage.

An academic mage has emerged from the bandits?

He thought it was too weird and bizarre.

Carefully scanning through the text line by line, he determined that this was an alchemical experiment of enchantment-strengthening, and that the main effect was to increase the sharpness and hardness of the weapon itself.

The sun is setting, and the night is coming.

With this question in mind, the wild mage Choko and the dwarven warrior Tob spent the night in the Ampton mines.

……

Gray Rabbit Village.

Gross, Scott, and Oliver were clearing the spoils of the battle, and not only the three of them, but Levine, Ron, and the young men who had just been logging in the fir forest had already come running over to do this pleasant work—

The corpses of the mercenaries were quickly frozen to the ground in the cold winter temperatures, and the blood stains congealed into dried blood scabs, but the bandits did not care about these things, and they were so happy that they stripped their weapons and armor from the corpses one by one with great efficiency.

Some of the mercenaries did not let go of their clothes that were still in good condition.

After that, these mercenaries were left with only slick corpses, and without waiting for the bandit leader Gross to order, under the leadership of Levine and Ron, they took the initiative to throw these corpses down the nearby valley -

Human bones are often found in the mountains of Nogo, but this time, it's just another batch.

After finishing the aftermath, the bandits returned to Gray Rabbit Village, and at this time, the village suddenly became lively-

People cheered to welcome the group of young men who returned with a full load, and Cameron stood in the crowd, and when he saw Gross in the distance, he couldn't help but want to salute.

Powerful force is the foundation of a foothold in troubled times-

As early as the "Fog Pine War", Cameron understood this truth. Compared to Michelle the Grizzly Bear, Wolf Leader Gross is clearly a more worthy bandit leader to follow.

He didn't know that Gross, the leader of the bandits, was already planning to change careers.

Gross's inner thoughts, even within the Wolf Bandits, were not known to a few people - Miss Mage walked up to him, staring at his angular face.

When Gross fights, he looks like two completely different people from usual, not because of their appearance, but because of their temperament.

At this time, the sword returned to the sheath could not see the slightest murderous aura, warm and heroic.

"Ladia, what's the matter?"

Gross asked.

The girl wore a white mage's robe spun with fiery red glittering threads, and because of the travel, her long golden hair was tied with strips of cloth in a thick ponytail, and her lake-blue eyes were wide open, and she was looking at his face—

Something is not right.

Gross reached out and touched his cheek, wondering if there was something - he hadn't paid attention to such insignificant details when he had fought the group of mercenaries before, but he had always tried to maintain a good image in front of the girl.

He rarely disobeyed the girl's heart.

She hated killing, so Gross never opened her mouth to join these battles against humans.