The land of the plains of the Central Empire - Ishioka Castle.

Ishioka Castle is one of the oldest cities in the Central Empire, and is an important trading place for the northern and western continents.

If you stand on the attic and look out of the window, you can overlook the panoramic view of this canal city.

In the downtown area, the spire of the castle and the bell tower of the government hall are particularly eye-catching.

From a distance, there are six main streets that look like deep valley plank roads, with a high flow of people, and cars and horses are not allowed to pass during the winter, so it is also called 'walking streets' for a few months every year.

The last snowstorm of late winter is about to pass, the ban on trade has been lifted, and the endless stream of caravans will soon arrive, lively and prosperous, and will return to this ancient city!

But...... In the last few days of this snowy and frozen plain, no one left the city and no one entered the city, and I really don't know what the point of being on duty in such weather is.

Complaining is complaining, and the captain of the city guard, Dao Jin, gave him ten dares, and did not dare to go to the city hall to make this extremely irresponsible suggestion.

He kicked the door open, yawned with his hand, and threw up the belt with the crossed sword hanging from his other and slung it casually over his shoulder.

While greeting acquaintances on the side of the road, he walked unhurriedly in the direction of the south gate with sparse steps.

The morning fog is gradually dissipating, the city is wrapped in a soft and transparent gauze scarf, and the air is filled with the smell of fried fritters.

The streets and alleys are mostly paved with bluestone slabs, and the snow on them has been swept away, so the streets are clean. Let Dao Jin feel steady and look comfortable.

The sky has not cleared yet, and the cold will continue for a few more days. I saw that the snowflakes in front of me were as naughty as butterflies, falling under the eaves for a while, on the branches of trees, and on the faces of pedestrians from time to time.

There was a snowflake in Dojin's eyes, dancing in mid-air in various postures, either flying, or hovering, falling straight and fast. Spread on the ground. It adds a touch of whiteness to the whole city.

And then...... He stomped on it very simply, squashing the clean street, which was abruptly white.

"All stand, are you all here?"

Walk to the intersection on the corner. Seeing a dozen or so listless city guards. Dorkin put away the lazy expression on his face. The thick crumb hairs swayed freely, struggling to reveal an unnatural ferocity.

In Daojin's outlook on life, you want to be respected by your subordinates. You have to make them feel the pressure all the time, even if he's just a small captain of the city guard.

"Boss, Bass takes leave! The reason is that I twisted my foot yesterday! ”

A loud voice came into Dao Jin's eardrums, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart, "Damn, the cousin of his wife's eldest aunt, the commander of the city defense army, has taken a fucking leave today." ”

Scolding and scolding, the commander of the city defense army is a dignified marquis, and anyone who has something to do with this family is not easy to mess with, so Dao Jin smiled very dryly, and his flexible eyes showed that it didn't matter, "If you twist your foot, you should have a good rest, well, tell Bass, and come back to duty when the snow on the ground has melted clean." ”

"Boss, Peyton is on leave! The reasons are...... His dad froze to death last night! ”

Peyton? That poor man's son?

The feeling of suffocation that had nowhere to vent finally made Daojin find an outlet, and the two bulging eyes began to flicker with fire-like power, which made the look shocked. The curses that followed made more than a dozen city guards feel the pressure.

"Bastard, if Lao Tzu is dead, can his son not be on duty? The duties of the city guards are not as important as a dead old bone? Listen to me, you bastards, and I'll give Peyton 100 cane punishments right away! If you want to have this treatment, you can also take a leave of absence tomorrow. ”

More than a dozen city guards couldn't help but secretly smack their tongues when they heard this, and the 100 beating stick punishments recorded by the city guard captain Dao Jin were not serious, and they could be fatal if they were not serious.

According to the military decree of Ishioka Castle, the hapless Peyton will go to the military punishment to receive this recorded punishment, and the people who came back say that the people in the military punishment department are particularly greedy, and if there are 10 silver coins, 100 cane punishment is the same as playing. But if there is no money, all these 100 will be implemented, that is, if you don't die, you will be crippled.

"Poor Peyton, hapless Peyton!"

The corners of the mouths and hearts of more than a dozen city guards were silently muttering this sentence without exception. At the same time, looking at the back of Dao Jin, the captain of the city guard in front, everyone's eyes were filled with fear and helplessness.

Such a phenomenon did not arouse the anger of more than a dozen city guards. It seems like a matter of course.

Because this is true not only in Ishioka City, but also in the entire Central Empire.

The aristocracy was at the top of the social structure, the wealthy merchants were in the middle, and the lowest were mostly poor people like Payton.

…………

Stand in front of two delicately carved doors, black iron hinged hubs, bronze deer's head decorations, and glittering door knockers.

The snow and ice had frozen Aaron's clothes, and his frostbitten feet were unconscious.

Seeing that the door that had been waiting for a long time was finally opened, in Aaron's increasingly blurred vision, a team of fully armed soldiers walked out of it.

"Wow! What is this? ”

The first guard to open the gates was apparently startled by the 'unidentified object' in front of him.

"Nonsense, it's natural to be able to stand. Dogs don't stand up, and they pestle a crutch ............."

The playful guards swept up and down at the figures in the snow, unable to see each other's faces clearly, because the hoarfrost and snowflakes that had condensed on their faces were hidden.

But the frozen arm suddenly moved, and only a 'bang' was heard, and the snow powder fluttered, which was clearly a sharp spear that was clearly shaking.

This made the eyes of the city guards timid, like frightened little voles, screaming at the top of their throats, "Enemy attack! There is an enemy attack! ”

The screams of the city guards were quickly stopped by Dao Jin's two very crisp slaps. "Shut up, bastard! See clearly and shout again, falsely reporting an enemy attack is to be hanged! ”

Daojin's chest was slightly erected, and his hands swung quickly and evenly and elastically, and he heard two clanging sounds. It can be seen that his control of his movements has reached an extremely skillful realm.

Turning around, the figure that fell in Daojin's perspective bowed his waist, and with a spear in his hand, he staggered twice.

Covered by frost and wind and snow, Dao Jin couldn't see the other party's face, but Jean felt that the other party was like a weathered old man.

"Wow! My goddess of life is above, look at his knees! ”

With the exclamation of the other guards, Dao Jin's gaze quickly moved downward, and the moment his pupils contracted, he couldn't help but gasp, the frostbitten knee joint of this person was swollen like a hammer. Looking at the other party's feet, Daojin felt that the nerves in the soles of his boots were itching and sore.

"This person, how long the hell has he been walking on the snowy field!?" (To be continued......)