Stepping over snow-covered fallen leaves and dried-out wood, like a wild animal that has grown here since birth, John Brown. Slein walked through the bare trees, breaking the wind and shuttling freely. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Actually, though, it's just that he's been to and from the forest countless times. It is no exaggeration to say that every trail here has left the footprints of this middle-aged man, and even if you close your eyes, you can find the way from them.

It is not a noble profession like a guardian of the forest, and men come here for only one purpose, and that is to hunt.

Hunting, the killing of mankind since time immemorial, the survival of other races at the cost of the death of other races, the most perfect expression of human selfishness - if it were the old monks in the church who were talking about salvation and judgment, they might have interpreted it this way, but for John, hunting was just a job.

Halfway through winter, it stands to reason that he should now sit peacefully by the fire at home, enjoying the hot ale of his home-brewing, and taking a pleasant nap on a bench covered with a blanket, rather than running outside to suffer in the cold winter of the Mordred Plateau.

However, the war that began in the late summer turned all this upside down.

As if it had happened overnight, as the first leaves turned yellow, the Wunderland Federation army crossed the border between the two countries, ostensibly to find the lost soldiers, but in reality even a three-year-old child understood that it was just an excuse for aggression.

With the decaying kingdom of Astor sitting on the rich Plains of Bedwell but not wanting to make progress, and the new Wendland Federation being less than two hundred years old, but growing stronger day by day, it is only natural for the two countries to break out into war.

In just three months, Brast, the core town of the Western Front, was lost, and the Misty Forest on the Eastern Front was also in danger.

The ancient kingdom of Astor was crumbling like a candle in the wind, crumbling in the stormy onslaught of Wendland.

John didn't understand politics or war, and he had only listened to the robed city folks talk about the current situation while he was eating and drinking in taverns with his peers, and although he didn't know what the situation was like with the nobles of Wendland, at least it wasn't worse than the nobles of Astelle that he was currently serving.

Having paid more than usual and this year's harvest was not rich, the Srein family was almost out of the pot before the end of the winter, so he had to take his crossbow and hunting knife and look for opportunities in the forest, hoping to catch a rabbit or two or a lone boar to solve his urgent needs.

However, having been walking in the forest for almost three hours, let alone a rabbit, John had not seen a single bird, and seeing that noon was approaching, he also found a spacious open space to light the bonfire and rest for a while.

The temperature was low, the wind was not light, and the frozen branches were difficult to burn, so it took John a while to light the accumulated dead branches with flint and look at the rising flames, he rubbed his hands and took out the food in the small bag.

Coarse bread and bacon jerky, though tasted average, were better than gnawing on bark and grass roots, so John picked up a handful of clean snow and put it to the flame to lick it. Lick the iron cups, toss the coarse bread and bacon jerky into the cups and cook, and it doesn't take long for the batter porridge with the salty aroma of bacon to be completed.

Eating the mushy bread with a spoon, the originally hard bacon jerky also became soft under the moisture of the snow water, and the semi-fluid food flowed down the throat into the stomach, warming the stomach that was empty due to the rush of the morning, John felt the temperature of the iron cup with both hands through the leather gloves, and his eyes couldn't help but look into the distance.

Towering above the mountain, the main peak of the Pamir Mountains, legend has it that an ice dragon lives in the mountains, manipulating storms and weaving lightning, and anyone who dares to break into the mountains will feel the wrath of the ice dragon and die under the ice and snow.

Even though the grey path leads directly to the Trestan Fortress, the villagers still tend to take a detour, after all, everyone grew up listening to the roar of the frozen dragon, and no one dares to look directly at the frosty breath.

But when he heard that an army seemed to have come out of the gray path this morning, heading straight north, John did not know what had happened to the Trestan Fortress, but his intuition told him that the rumors seemed to be about to come true.

"Anyway, no matter who is on the head, the taxes have to be paid, and it doesn't matter if the surname is Astre or the surname Wendland......"

Muttering to himself, John was about to wipe out the remaining food in the cup, but the movement in his ears made him tense his nerves instantly.

The hunter's ears are always sharp and alert, and they don't let go of any rings.

Lowering the cup at a speed that was almost thrown to the ground, John picked up the crossbow on one side, tugged on the bowstring, placed the short bolt on the string, and then, by the sound almost absorbed by the thick snow, he determined the position of his prey.

Pulling the trigger, the short arrow sliced through the cold and dry air with a sharp sound, and before the vibrating bowstring could stop, John heard the muffled sound of steel piercing into flesh.

A good hunter never misses.

It was a pleasant voice, and a smile escaped from John's lips, and he walked in the direction of the arrow with his crossbow in hand, and less than twenty yards away, he saw the prey he had shot.

It was a fat forest hare, quite rare in this season, with a little snowflake on its gray fur, the loose snow stained red with blood oozing from its wounds, its hind legs still trembling, but the short arrow that hit its abdomen had destroyed its spinal cord, and its red eyes stared at the approaching John, showing a look of fear.

Grabbing the hare's ears and lifting it up, John felt the weight of the weight, and his heart couldn't help but rejoice, and he even wanted to blow a long whistle to express his feelings.

However, thankfully he didn't, and if he had whistled, it would have drowned out the other noise, causing him to miss a second chance.

"Praise the Goddess."

Reciting an unbroken prayer, John pinned the rabbit's carcass to his waist as soon as he heard the movement, wound his left hand again, and then shot again at the source of the sound.

Whistling arrows, the beautiful sound of hitting the target.

-- That's how it should be.

Neither misses nor hits, what John hears is the crisp sound of a metal arrow bouncing off by some hard object.

Shield? It's the kingdom. Army? Or the Wendland guys? How could it be in such a place?

Thousands of thoughts suddenly drifted through his heart, and John immediately grasped the hunting knife at his waist with his left hand and paced forward carefully.

However, behind the stout trunk, what he saw was not any of the possibilities he had guessed.

Neither the kingdom of Aster. The army is not Wendland's advance force, and even armor and shields are not visible.

It was a brown-haired young man in a light blue robe, his pale blue eyes showed a little vigilance, and behind him was a girl in a gray robe, her long golden hair shining in the afternoon sun, her blue eyes were as quiet and deep as the clearest lake, and the long sword in her hand shimmered with silver light, which was a first-class weapon at a glance.

Although John has not seen much of the world, but the noble lord and the daughter have seen it from afar a few times, and the one in the family has also worked in the noble lord's house, so he immediately realized that the noble young master and the young lady of which family must be in front of him, even if he doesn't understand why the two of them look very down, but after all, it is not a person of his own level who can offend at will.

"Yes, I'm sorry, the little one is not intentionally offended......"

Immediately knelt down, even in this troubled era, John did not have the courage to fight against the nobles, on the one hand, on the other hand, the sons and daughters of those nobles, who have been trained since childhood, are naturally above the country horsemen like him, and they will suffer if they act rashly.

"It's okay, we weren't hurt anyway."

It was the young man who spoke, and his gentle tone did not have the slightest arrogance of those noble children, and he bent down slightly, and helped John up, I don't know if it was an illusion, John seemed to catch a glimpse of a silver light around the young man.

"Are you a nearby hunter?"

The young man's smile looked quite kind, like the hearty adventurers that John had met in the tavern.

"Yes, yes, my name is John. Srein lives in the village of Midland, not far away. ”

Pointing in the direction of his home, John looked at the two again.

The young man's hands are not rough, it seems that he is not a martial artist, but he seems to have some kind of mysterious power on his body, and although the girl is petite, it can be seen that the way of holding the sword is quite professional, and the movement of her feet has also been trained, why did these two nobles appear in this barren land, could it really be that they escaped from the Trestan Fortress?

John deduced from his many years of experience dealing with adventurers and mercenaries that this is not the same as in the past, and in times of war, any slight disturbance will cause a huge wave.

"Great, we're missing a place to stay right now."

The young man clapped his hands as if he was very happy.

"It's really an honor to be able to entertain two adults, but I'm afraid of ...... Uh, my house is pretty shabby and might disappoint the two of you......"

John was a little confused at this time, he thought that the two were just passing by, but he didn't expect to go to his own home, thinking of the recent complaint at home, John suddenly felt a chill climb up his spine.

"It's okay, we're not the kind of people who pick and choose."

The young man was still smiling, as if he didn't care if the Srein family's house was a straw hut.

"Then, then this way, please."

In this case, John had no choice but to let go, and he put away his crossbow and prepared to lead the way for the two.

"By the way, we haven't told you our name yet, I'm Shiloh, Hilo. Ian Gray ......"

Youth, Shiloh. Ian Grey took the initiative to speak, it was the first time John had seen such an approachable nobleman.

"As for this one, well, Alice. Ian Gray, is my sister. ”

Pointing to the petite blonde girl behind him, Shiloh continued.