Portals are established between magic guilds around the world in Middle-earth, but the teleportation between portals must be approved by both magic guilds at the same time, and guaranteed by a magic guide, in order to prevent the magic guild from becoming a transmission link for espionage. However, the amount of money spent on the portals of the Magic Guild is many times higher than that of a regular trip, which is also an important source of income for the Magic Guild.

I learned from Seya that the Great Desert of Gori is a perennial wind-swept and endless no-man's land, and it is one of the top ten places of death in Middle-earth, not to mention people, even wild beasts are rarely infested.

The portal teleports Higg and the others to a barbarian town called Dante, the closest magical guild to the Great Desert of Gori. It is said to be the closest, but it is still about 800 kilometers away from the entrance to the Great Desert of Gori, the Saladin Pass, from which you have to pass through the transition zone between the steppe and the wasteland. Although the magic guild in Dante Town is only a first-class magic tower, it is the only magic guild within many kilometers of the circle to the north, and its importance can be imagined.

It was a cold winter morning, and although the magicians had a strong ability to resist the cold, the biting wind still made them unbearable, especially the butterfly clouds in summer. After informing the Magic Guild, I quickly found an inn to stay. The winter from Dante is very bleak, but this does not mean that the population of this town is small, but because it is too cold for people to stay in their houses. On the contrary, the population here is larger than usual in winter, and many tents have been erected around the periphery of the town, nomads who spend the winter here from the northern steppe wilderness.

The Barbarians are a multi-racial group of barbarians, who are adept at domesticating the orcs, so that the orcs are massively used in production and warfare. This was a win-win situation, from which the barbarians gained a large amount of labor and soldiers, and the orc groups were thus protected and reproduced, forming the current barbarian civilization. Although the barbarian civilization is relatively backward, it has the advantage of rapid reproduction compared with the Terran countries, which is incomparable to the reproduction of the Terran race.

After arranging accommodation, Higg went to the mercenary camp outside the town alone, intending to hire some men to go. Although it was cold and airy inside, the mercenaries inside were gambling around several large tables. In such a winter, let alone business, the beasts are reluctant to go out.

"I need ten mercenaries, go to the Gori Desert, and leave in two days!" As soon as Higg entered the tent, he immediately spoke loudly.

The mercenaries were silent for a moment, looking at this crazy foreign young man, and for a moment they were immersed in the crowd of people at the table.

"Ten times the mercenary pay!" Higg shouted again.

The crowd fell silent again, and for a moment the noise resumed, but instead of returning to the table, they were discussing the deal. The people here lick blood on their heads, as long as they are employed, have an excellent reputation, so Higg doesn't have to worry about any accidents.

A sturdy mercenary came over and said to Higg: "I'm the mercenary leader here, Gnarda, and I've taken the task!" There are fifteen of us here, though. ”

"If there's no one who is afraid of death, bring it all!" Higg said, throwing the bag of gold to the regimental commander, "This is a deposit, you immediately collect the camels, horses, medicine, tents, and food here, and we will set off the morning after tomorrow!" ”

The mercenary commander flipped the gold bag in his hand: "If there are casualties, each person will receive ten times the pension." ”

"Deal!" Higg said without blinking an eye.

"Boys, get to work now, get ready now!"

……

Early in the morning of the third day, at the exit of Dante's small town in the direction of the Great Desert of Gori, Higg, Daniel, and Nicole rode horses, joined the mercenary group, and headed for the colder north, where Butterfly Caiyun sat on a camel with a specially made seat and covered with a tarpaulin.

Drought, cold, and windy are the only climatic characteristics here.

"Gannada, how much time does it take to reach Saladin's Pass in this weather, do you have any experience?" Higg and Ganada rode at the front of the line, Higg asked.

"It's the coldest part of winter, the days are much shorter, and it's headwind, and if it goes well, it will take about 20 days."

"Is that like that every winter here?" Higg asked.

"I've been a left mercenary here for ten years, and this is the coldest year." Gnarda said.

"And what will the Great Desert of Gori be like?"

"It's the devil's place, it's hell, there's no grass, and the wind is raging." "As my employer, I don't have much to say, but I still want to tell you that there is a life and death there, and although we can come here with you for gold, we will not go deep into the middle of the desert with you. ”

"I'm going into the Gori Desert by myself, a few of my friends are waiting outside, you just take care of it, but you can't tell them now, I'm telling you to make you feel at ease." Higg said.

The journey to the north was much more difficult than expected, and it was planned to be fifty kilometers a day, but in these weather conditions, even the animals covered in animal skins were sluggish, and they had to be dragged along the two shores.

When camping at night, the mercenaries all shared a large tent, and the Hig lived in the same one, and the extra tents were simply built with a windbreak wall to keep the animals alive.

Finally went well, more than twenty days later, it was not far from the Saladin Pass, but people were also tossed enough.

Near Saladin's Pass, Higg and his party were struggling to make their way. Suddenly, there was dust in the distance, and a large number of people appeared in view, and quickly approached Higg's group.

Sigg's men and his men were flustered at first, but under the command of Ganada, the mercenaries quickly formed a defensive formation. Sigg looked at the approaching men and horses from afar, about a hundred on horse, each armed with a scimitar and carrying a longbow on his back.

"It's nomadic cavalry, about a hundred people, friend or foe unknown!" Ganada said to Higg.

"Be on guard!" Higg ordered.

Although most of the nomadic tribes are located in the territory of the barbarian country, they have always maintained neutrality, and seem to have reached some kind of agreement with the barbarian nobles, rarely participate in political and military activities, and have long lived in the steppe and desert areas in the north of the barbarian country, and rarely cross the border. So in Higg's opinion, they were not very hostile.

Where have Daniel and Nicole ever seen this kind of stance? The two of them forced themselves to composure, but their eyes and complexions betrayed their confusion. Yun Cai Butterfly has nothing to do with herself, and generally hides in her own special equipment tent to watch the excitement.

More than a dozen mercenaries plus a few of them, if in peacetime, Higg is not without a chance of winning, but now it is a grassland desert area, the opponent has a complete home advantage, and his own side has gone through a long-distance attack, and the people are sleepy and tired, and it is estimated that they can't withstand a charge.

After analyzing the situation, Higg looked at Ganada calmly and said, "The people who ordered you, don't take the initiative to provoke trouble!" After saying that, he rode forward and met the rushing men and horses.

The nomadic cavalry did not seem to have any intention of charging, and after approaching a distance of about three hundred meters, they sent three men to march towards Higg's team.

Higg looked at the visitor for a while, but before he could speak, one of them asked loudly, "Who are you, and why did you break into our territory?" ”

Higg didn't want to be troubled, and replied loudly: "We are members of the Magic Guild, we are going to explore the Gori Desert, and we have a friend to make it convenient, we are just passing by, and we have no intention of staying in your territory." ”

"The Magic Guild? Are you magicians? The other questioned loudly.

Higg said, "Sort of! Please make it easier! ”

"It's winter, it's the most dangerous time in the desert, you don't know it, do you? Why go on an expedition to the Gori Desert at this time? What are your plans? At first the man asked loudly.

Although Higg didn't want to cause trouble, he didn't want to be too low-voiced, and said unhurriedly: "The Magic Guild has never had to explain to outsiders, please forgive me for having nothing to say!" ”

"You are looking for death......," shouted the other, and was about to raise his knife and step forward, but the leader of the leader, who had not spoken, waved his hand and signaled to retreat.

Seeing the tension, Higg was thinking about how to deal with it, but heard the leader say, "Are you sure it's a magician?" We have no intention of clashing with the Magic Guild, but we are only acting on orders, and we must only be allowed to pass through Saladin Pass, with the consent of our leader, so please don't embarrass us. ”

Seeing that what the other party said was neither arrogant nor humble, Xige's heart relaxed slightly, and asked, "Then there is Lao Dai, please tell your leader!" ”

But the leader said, "No, you must go and explain the situation to the leader yourself!" ”

Higg said, "How can I trust you, in case I fall into the net? ”

The two people next to him were immediately furious, and they were about to rush over, but they were stopped by the leader again.

"I said we had no intention of clashing with the people of the Magical Guild, and neither did the Lord. Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, I don't think you have much choice but to turn around and go back. The leader continued.

Higg really doesn't have the right to choose, his own side is at a disadvantage, and he is still deep in the opponent's territory, not to mention the big loss in the conflict, it is difficult to even have a chance to escape, there is no need to conflict. It seems that the only way to pass through the Saladin Pass is to go deep into the dangerous terrain. So he said: "I'm just for the sake of safety, and I ask my friends not to be surprised!" Lead the way to your chief. ”

Higg beckoned everyone, and under the leadership of the leader and more than twenty nomadic cavalry, he marched towards the territory of the nomads. From noon until evening, the camp of the chief of the nomads was reached. When the nomads saw Higg's group, they only looked at them curiously, but without too much hostility, and were still busy with their own business.

After the briefing, the leader met with Higg, Daniel, and Nicole in his tent.

The leader was tall, bearded, in his thirties, looking heroic and rugged, and when he saw the three of them, he laughed and said, "I heard that you are magicians? I just have something you can help with. ”

Higg was stunned, he and this person were not familiar enough to help each other as soon as they opened their mouths, so they didn't say yes or no, and introduced unhurriedly: "My name is Higg, this is Daniel and Nicole, both from the Magic Guild, and I also ask the leader to make it convenient for us to pass through the mountain pass." ”

"There's no rush to this! My name is Zartai, and you have been sent by Heaven to bless my people, and of course I will do what you wish? The leader still laughed.

Higg was puzzled, and his face was full of confusion: "What do you mean, Lord Chief?" ”

Zartai put away his laughter and said with a straight face: "Our Harandor tribe is now facing a plague, which breaks out every winter, and has lasted for several years, hundreds of people are infected every year, and dozens of people die, and my father, the original tribal leader, has not escaped this plague. ”

Higg, Daniel, and Nicole's faces changed drastically, and Danielle said to Zartai anxiously, "If there's a plague, you want to bring the outside here?" ”

"Didn't you say you were magicians? Of course you have a way to deal with the plague, don't you? Zartai said.

Nicole didn't let Daniel scream, and asked softly, "Didn't the Lord Leader ask a magician or a priest to heal your people?" ”

Zartai looked embarrassed, hesitated for a while, and said: "It's not a secret, I once invited a few magicians to deal with it, but not only did it not improve, but several magicians also died of the plague unexpectedly. The Wizarding Guild has also quarreled with us over this, holding us responsible for the mage's death, and we don't think the mage died because he didn't cure the plague. Since then, no more magicians have been willing to come to our Harandor tribe. Therefore, you have sent the good gospel of God to my tribe for the past two years, thank God! Zartai became religious.

"You know so much that we can cure the plague?" Higg asked as he put aside his doubts.

Zartai's face turned pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "You will never understand the despair of a tribe that has been plagued by a plague for ten years, they are not only cursed by the devil, entangled by the disease, but also ostracized by other tribes, jointly restricting our range of activities, we can only be stationed in this devilish hellish Saladin Pass to survive, we see no hope, our population is decreasing, the living space outside is constantly compressed, even in winter, We also had to suffer in this icy storm. The plague only took away dozens of names every year, but the devil's hellish living space took the lives of many more elderly people and children. ”

Higg listened uncomfortably, Daniel's eyes widened, and Nicole left a few tears.

"As the leader of the tribe, I am helpless every day in the face of this people who have been abandoned by God. You can't feel this kind of mood and such a scene, and you can't experience it. "So I believe that in my most desperate time, when my people are most hopeless, you are coming, our Savior, save my people." ”

Nicole burst into tears, and Daniel was also moved, and said, "We brought a lot of medicinal herbs, I don't know if it has any effect, so I'll go and call the mercenaries to pull them over." ”

Zaire said, "Don't be in a hurry at this moment, but I will gather the priests and the leaders in a while, and give you the wind tonight, so that you can understand the situation first." ”

Higg looked at the leader and nodded, now is not the time to say yes, since several magicians have died to treat the plague, he still needs to be cautious.