Act IV: Darkness spreads

Sophie's plan goes like this.

If his memory was correct, the captain of the guard at this time in Buchi was probably the famous veteran, Madden, a veteran of the November War like Brando's grandfather.

Sophie knows him because this NPC teaches the Traveler the 'Detective' skill in the game.

But the veteran's real fame was due to a huge mistake he made as the head of the local garrison in Buchi during the First War of the Black Roses, misjudging the intentions of the Mardara army.

He thought that the other party was just encroaching on the border as always, so he transferred the villagers of Buchi at the beginning. He would have had a chance to fight back and repel the vanguard of the army of the undead, and then calmly retreat.

Unfortunately, this opportunity was missed by him.

He was supposed to be a hero of the kingdom, but he ended up taking a different bleak path. For such a person, Sophie is both sighing and curious.

sighed at the latter's situation in the second half of his life, but curious about how the other party discovered Madara's army of the undead in advance? This is the only variable in the entire Golan-Elson region.

"Is it because of yourself?" An impossible thought popped into Sophie's head.

But he then threw the ridiculous idea out of his head.

Now he wants to change history, and he has to find a way to remind the other side. Fire, which symbolizes warning and invasion in military regulations, Sophie can only expect the other party to be sober enough -

There was a thump outside the door, and every minute and second passed as if immersed in a tense atmosphere.

"Brando, they're coming in!" Roman gripped the masonry hammer in both hands, and she stared at the kitchen door with a frowning brow, as if she were afraid that it would accidentally be knocked open.

Sophie didn't have time to think about it, and the skeleton soldiers were dead as soon as they swarmed in. But when he heard the shout of the merchant lady, he couldn't help but look back at the door:

The kitchen door rattled and stabbed and drawn, and Mardara's sword was as bright as the fangs of a wild beast. Something outside slammed against the door, there was a loud bang, and a layer of dust fell from the roof.

There was a creaking moan on the wooden door, and the crack widened a lot—

"Calm down, calm down, just think it's still a game. Sophie, think about the missions you've been through, this time is nothing ......"

He tried to inhale and calm his mind as he wrapped the oil-soaked cloth around a bunch of straw and firewood, which he tied tightly with a leather band. He is very familiar with this, and homemade torches are a basic skill in the game, although they are not even basic skills.

This is a relatively rich condition. He also knew how to make a torch that only burned for five minutes, and he remembered trying it once in the underground tunnels of Nokan and Hain using dried lichens and shrubs.

But he didn't have much time left, and soon the door slammed again, and the door frame creaked and cracked, and the lime splattered, and then fell again.

"Brando——! Roman felt her heart jump out of her throat, and she blinked her bright eyes.

"I'm here, don't worry, I'm holding on for a while." Sophie himself was sweating profusely, and he sawed the flint several times with iron bars, and the sparks jumped wildly, but he couldn't light the torch—

After all, there are still some differences between reality and games.

The skeletal soldier's tremendous force first made the latch unbearable, and with a click it broke open, and the wooden door tilted, but still no hole opened.

A bare bony hand reached in from the outside, intending to break the latch from the inside.

The merchant girl was startled, and she immediately raised her hammer and slammed it into the bone, but the thud of the hammer on the bone only opened a crack in it—the skeleton soldier of Madalla didn't feel any pain, it just paused for a moment, and then continued to pull the latch.

When Roman saw this scene, he was stunned for a moment, and even forgot the hammer in his hand.

"Brando, Brando, what to do......" she immediately asked a little nervously.

At this time, the fire finally lit up.

And the latch fell to the top at the same time, with a clang.

The door opened, and the skeletal soldier with a sword outside pushed open the door and stepped in, it turned its head, and two beating red flames in the black hole hole socket locked on the two pale young men at once.

What was the young man doing?

Before it could react, a black object in the undead's gray vision had grown larger and larger, and a firewood knife was immediately inserted into its head with a snap.

“…… This is your last move, remember to keep your hands steady and your center of gravity low when throwing your sword, don't hesitate, and try to be in a straight line between you and your target......"

“…… If your enemy is a skeleton, your best goal is to choose where your shoulder blades connect to your arms, the base of your thighs, or your spine. Unless you're sure to hit the skull, its skull isn't its greatest weakness......"

"Hell ——!"

Sophie looked at the skeleton soldier who leaned back, and couldn't help but curse in her heart - the 'throwing' technique in military swordsmanship is a profound skill, but it is not a problem for him as a veteran warrior - it was only as soon as the wood knife was thrown over, Sophie suddenly remembered that she was no longer that veteran.

In the game, with his strength, the knife was thrown over, and it was feared that the skeleton would have to be split in two pieces directly along the skull, but now, as Brando had learned in militia training, the other party was only slightly hindered at best - the hatchet inserted in the door of the head did no harm to the overall structure of a skeleton.

"Miss Roman, be careful!" Seeing that the other party was about to stand upright again, he immediately pulled the merchant lady who was in a daze in front of him behind his back.

"Brando......" Miss Merchant, frightened.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Sophie said so, but she didn't know the bottom in her heart, especially when she saw a dense crowd of skeleton soldiers behind her.

With the situation so critical, he couldn't care so much, and when he looked around, there was really nothing to use. But the skeleton is already about to be erected, what should I do? Just give up?

Sophie shook his head, he swore that he had never been raised for a moment when he had put life and death out of the way like he is now - of course, those experiences in the game did not count - he only felt a blank in his heart, only one fight, no success or no success!

He rushed forward, gritted his teeth, grabbed the other man's sword-holding arm, and then almost subconsciously jerked the skeleton backwards.

People tend to subconsciously exert all their strength in tense moments, and the skeleton is powerless to resist when it is out of balance, and it clucks backwards, and the skeleton soldiers behind it retreat again and again.

The influx of Madara's undead into the room stalled for a moment, but it was enough.

The young man couldn't help but feel at a loss in his heart, he almost couldn't believe that he had succeeded, this is the reality, is he really that good-for-nothing game nerd?

He subconsciously threw the torch in his other hand at the dry straw, leather products, firewood and other fire-starters that had been piled up in the corner of the wall.

The flames rose all at once—

"Let's run, Brando!" Miss Merchant ran up from behind and grabbed his hand.

She felt that she had never been so nervous since she was a child, and she remembered that the first time she met the young man next door was more than a year ago, and she only felt that the other party was a little shy and easy to talk.

But today, that ordinary young man shows extraordinary calmness and bravery, so the temperament he shows at the moment of crisis is the 'reliable man' that his aunt mutters?

What a strange feeling-

The girl couldn't help but have some inexplicable thoughts in her heart, and she couldn't help but pound when she noticed that she grabbed the other person's wrist.

"Brando?"

The smoke had spread, and the kitchen was filled with the choking smell of smoke.

Sophie came to her senses. Martha was on top, and he actually burned down his grandfather's old mansion with a fire, and Brando must have been walking around this time without eating - although he was Brando now.

His mind was in turmoil, but in the chaos Brando's memories prevailed.

Behind the smoke, however, a dry, muffled voice soon followed: "Hurry up, dead soldiers." Put out the fire, get that bug out, we've only got a minute-"

The voice reminds young people that they are still in danger and must find a way to escape. However, Sophie knew that the lower undead, powered by soul fire, instinctively feared flames, and that the corpse witch might have some difficulty in getting his skeleton subordinates to overcome this in a short period of time, so it was his turn.

It's just that the flame is a double-edged sword, and he has to hurry.

"Miss Roman, follow me." Sophie tore a roll of sausages from the ceiling and groped her way towards the back door with Miss Merchant. It's not that he's greedy, as the basic food reserves before fleeing have almost formed a subconscious instinct for players in Amber Sword.

The fire was already getting bigger and bigger, and the surroundings were caught in a sea of fire, smoke filled the air, and the temperature was rising extremely fast. But Sophie soon touched the small door she remembered for delivering the food—she pushed it and locked it.

Sophie coughed, and the merchant lady behind her was already coughing very badly. He calmed down and groped down, and immediately found the metal latch, which he wanted to open, but hesitated.

He remembered something else.

……

"Freya!"

Perhaps for the inhabitants of the Elsen-Golan Mountains, the stars in April are not much different from the night sky in May. It is only from the end of May that the temperature gradually rises, and from the gentle slopes of the Usong Mountains look down to a sea of red and white flowers since early summer, the most peaceful countryside in the whole of Eruin in times of peace, but it has been ravaged by war for centuries.

The girl looked up, and on a summer night, the sky was as clear as crystal—from west to east, a bright band of light ran through the entire night sky, passing through the constellations of myths and legends, large and small.

She was standing at the entrance of the village and looking up at the side of the mountain, Freya was a little worried, the loud noise before was particularly disturbing, didn't it say that there was a movement of undead in the vicinity recently, didn't it......

Hearing the shout, she turned her head and was surprised to see a childish-looking young man running out of the entrance of the village, running to her in a panic, bending down and panting for breath.

"What's wrong, little Phoenix, what's wrong?" The girl's voice was soft and clear.

"Did you hear that voice?"

"Well, that's why I've come out to take a look," her gaze drifted back in the direction of the hillside, "I'm so worried about Roman, and her aunt has gone to a nearby town...... I heard that it was not safe recently, so I asked her to come to my house for two days, but she didn't agree. ”

The boy looked up at her, and couldn't help but widen his eyes—

The girl's long light brown hair was neatly tied into a long ponytail at the back of her head, and she wore a close-fitting gray and white leather armor with a thick cotton shirt underneath, and an armband on her left shoulder, on which an abstract pine leaf was painted in black paint.

She also had a short sword around her waist, a medieval Western European short sword, and a flame emblem on the iron plate on the sword gauntlet.

If Sophie is here, she can recognize the other person's dress at a glance - Buchi's militia. The Golan black pine is the most common tree species in the Elsen-Golan Mountains and the emblem of the local forces in Buchi.

However, the garrison was well-armed and equipped with battle robes, which only the local militia wore in off-white leather armor sewn from the fur of gray-maned oxen.

In Eruin, every young person at the local level is trained regularly in the militia, usually from the age of 14 between October and March and ending at the age of 19. Trained youths and even adults can serve as militia at any time in peacetime, and become the most important source of reserve in wartime, so militia training has become one of the most important military initiatives in Eruin since the decree was issued in the year of thunder.

"That kid doesn't live there either, I heard he was a militiaman in Pragues." The boy asked, puzzled.

"Well, people in the city are not trustworthy," the girl flicked her long ponytail back, and couldn't help frowning: "It's because that guy is there that I'm not at ease!" ”

"You're prejudiced, Sister Freya."

"What do you know...... Forget it," the girl said without looking back: "Okay, let's talk about something, boys don't talk like a girl, you know!" ”

Little Phoenix shrunk his neck: "Did you know, Captain Madden has ordered the garrison to assemble!" ”

Freya's big bright eyes flashed with a hint of surprise: "Captain Madden? How do you know? ”

"Bresson's guy told me," replied little Phoenix with a wink, "and when I came out, he had already mounted his horse and reported to the garrison." ”

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know." The boy shook his head.

The girl turned her head and glanced with some concern in the direction of the hillside, and in the darkness she could faintly see only the outline of the manor.

"Wake everyone up, and we'll go too."

"Freya, Aunt Ciel will kill us at this late hour!" The boy's eyes widened and he asked in disbelief, "Let's wait for tomorrow's news, right?" ”

"What a coward!" The girl couldn't help but glare at the other party, but she also knew that little Phoenix was telling the truth, and remembered her aunt's deterrent power - don't look at her as the captain of the militia in Buch, but she didn't dare to make a mistake casually.

"You're not the same...... the young man just muttered, but saw the other party turn around and give himself a silent gesture with a stern expression.

"Freya?"

"Shhhhhh

"What's that sound?"

The whining sound has gone from far to near, overhead, at a very fast speed.

The girl's face changed, she raised her head and was about to dodge it, but it was too late, when a black shadow slammed down from mid-air and burrowed into her shoulder, causing her to fall backwards with a scream.

"Big Sister Head ——!"

"Run, little Phoenix, run!" The pony-tailed girl cried out in pain.

Arrows rained down.

……

Sophie stopped.

"What's the matter, Brando...... Ahem? The future girl businessman probably felt something unusual and couldn't help but ask.

Sophie didn't answer, he remembered something.

When Madara launched the raid in the game, it was impossible to bypass the player, the player does not work at sunrise and sunset like the NPCs, and it can even be said that quite a few of them are veritable nocturnal creatures.

He remembered that when he first started his operation in Madara, he had encountered interference from players elsewhere - players like him, but most of Madara's actions were successful.

Why?

Yes, he finally remembered a time when the ancient country of Eruin was dying, and its neighbors were ushering in such an era, an era of turmoil.

Gather the stars......

Sophie couldn't help but sigh. The Madara of this era is not only the emergence of legendary generals who will become famous and powerful on the continent, but also thanks to the military transformation of seven years ago (368, the Black Rose Reform), which has created a solid foundation for it, and it has cultivated a steady stream of excellent apprentices to support the country's war power from the bottom.

And this strength will eventually be shown in such a war.

In the First War of the Black Roses, the strong execution and judgment of the Madara army was enough to make everyone look sideways, but unfortunately, the world was not really vigilant until the fall of Eruin.

Exactly.

That kingdom in the midst of darkness is rising and soon in full swing.

"Those guys, they're not ordinary."

As a long-time rival, Sophie is particularly impressed by Madara's outstanding mid-to-lower rank non-commissioned officers, and the shrewdness of the other party is only clear to those who have fought with it for a long time-

Sophie's hand rested on the cold latch, and her heart froze a little, the moment he closed the door, the other party should have attacked Buchi in advance - they would not give him time to call the police to the village, even if it was only a possibility.

And behind this gate, there may also be Madara's skeleton soldiers.

What to do?

……

(PS. 5000 words in this chapter, be kind!) Make a wish.,If you can get on the home page tomorrow, you will add a more chapter on the basis of the double change!!)