Roque had a home, and at the same time he was a ship captain - at least that's what he thought himself. To the west of this sea of darkness he had a sturdy "home."

Many years ago, having fled south in a northern city, he and his few men found a good place by the sea, a small bay with a deep draft that could be accessed by up to two galleys. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, this place is extremely hidden, and if the ships passing by on the sea are not too close, they will not find a settlement here. Here, it is only necessary to strengthen the fortifications in one direction, and the effort spent on the other three sides is spent in one place, then it will be impregnable and difficult to attack. Even with an army of several hundred people, he is confident that he can hold it off for a while, and if he can't stop it, he can also take refuge at sea.

After settling down in this place, Roque never really left the place. Although you can only see the endless sea and the forest in the place where the birds don't, and there are terrifying unclean things in the depths of the forest, in the depths of the sea, you can hear of huge sea monster activity, and the slightest movement will turn the river and the sea.

He is not a great character, just a martial artist with some brute strength, the strength of the black iron class, coupled with a thick body and a fierce scar face, he can deal with people who are weaker than himself, and if he uses some gentle means, it is not difficult to win over some of his subordinates. But that's about it. He knew that between the forest and the sea, he was only an insignificant person, and no one would hear him except those who were weaker than himself, and even if he did, he probably didn't bother to pay attention to it.

Therefore, he is a person who likes to speak up in front of people who are weaker than himself, and if anyone dares not to listen carefully, he will split him in half with his beloved big axe. It doesn't matter if that person is his subordinate, or the person who was snatched back when he went out to "do business".

He hasn't been out to sea lately, and now is the fishing moratorium, so it's not a good time to go out to sea to hunt. If you catch it too often, you will soon run out of fish. And, because it was so remote, he had to sail north or south for a while every time he went out to sea to find a place to fish. Although it took a lot of time, it also avoided some troublesome guys chasing after me. Whether it is the Northern Kingdoms or the Crescent Empire, there will be no mercy to people like him.

Because what he catches is not real fish.

At this time of day, he fished somewhere in the cove to kill time, yawning from time to time, and looked rather bored. When he was about to be overwhelmed by boredom, something came that he wouldn't normally hear.

His men reported that someone had brought goods and was going to do business.

"Anyone else in this place would come to the door for business?" Roque said to his men, spitting to the side. In this hellish place, there is a lot of seawater, but fresh water is scarce, and only a simple well dug in the nearby forest can get clean water. In the case of bad wine that seeped into the water, he was a man who often went to sea and kept his reserves very careful, which also kept the people of his place from dying of thirst due to lack of water.

Although this place is safe, but the environment is so harsh, so Roque is very surprised, there are people who come to the door to do business? This is not the southern part of the Forest of the Dead, although it is not as dangerous as the north, but if you want to come here, it is not something that ordinary people can do, and the slightly smarter merchants will not use this vicinity as an alternative route to the north, they will choose to go north by sea, or go directly west in the northern part of the Dark Sea, to the empire in the west.

Now, the merchants who have come to the neighborhood to do business, Roque doesn't think this seaside has become such a friendly place.

As Roque pondered, his men continued, "They said they were here to do business, but there were only a few men and a few horses. There was no carriage carrying goods, and it didn't look like it was carrying anything of value. It seems that the subordinate has already assessed the visitor from beginning to end to see if he really has money and something of value on him—and it is up to Roque to decide what action needs to be taken after the observation.

"Who are they?" Roque asked.

"Two grown men, one of whom is an old man. There are also two young ones who don't look like they're suitable for going out at all. Speaking of this, Roque's men paused before continuing, "The old man said that he was doing 'fresh business,' and that he was in a hurry to get rid of it, and he happened to see our place, so he came to inquire about it. ”

Roque's brow moved. Fresh business, this is not a word that ordinary people can understand. Is the other party doing the same thing?

"Get the kids ready and take the guests to the usual place where the dog is walked. Roque said to his subordinates. His men didn't say anything, and just retreated.

Roque set the fishing rod aside and turned to leave. Although he was surprised that there was business coming to his door at this time, if the visitor was a guest or a guest who came to discuss business, then he still had to make a welcoming gesture. If it's really about business, then he's naturally very welcoming. If not...... His big axe hadn't been stained with blood for a long time, and it was about to rust.

The place where Roque walks the dog is a space enclosed by wooden stakes, with two entrances and exits in front and back, close to the land-facing fortifications, if viewed from the air, is an arc and an oval attached together. On the perimeter of the wooden pile wall, there is a simple platform for sentry, which can be seen clearly from the outside and from the inside. This is a very careful design, with two doors, there can be a lot less unexpected accidents.

As it is now, these uninvited guests stood at this so-called dog walk, not given a chance to pass through the second door. Even if they suddenly attack this place from within, a second tightly closed door will await them, along with arrows from above.

Standing here is none other than Lulunaka and the others.

After being let in, each of them had a different look. Lulunaka looked around with interest, seemingly unconcerned about her situation. Olga and Patin looked composed, oblivious to the very direct, revealing gaze of vigilance and suspicion from above. Only Julius was very nervous, holding the cross-sword wrapped in cloth in both hands, staring at the front, his hands trembling slightly. If Olga and Patin were too nervous to pay attention to the gaze from above, Julius was too nervous to look up. His nervousness came not only from the pressure of his gaze, but also from what Lulunaka had said to him earlier.

Roque didn't keep these guests waiting too long. He appeared on the platform above the second door, and standing here, he could look down on Olga and the others, which made him feel very good. His axe was set aside, just where his hands could reach, and he could pick up his own and swing it whenever he wanted.

Roque's men were on top, and Lulunaka and the others were below. Here, there is a striking contrast between the host and the guest.

Lulunaka looked up at Roque, and when the two looked at him, Lulunaka smiled at him. This made Roque feel obedient in his heart. When the women saw him, there was not one who did not cry out like a madman, or pleaded with a dead face. If he looked back a little, he realized that it seemed like he hadn't seen a woman smile so bright in a long time—if there was a smiling face from a woman, it was just a flattering smile.

A strange little girl. Roque judged in his heart.

"Gentlemen...... And the young lady, I heard you have a business that you want to do with us. Roque spoke in a loud voice downward, "While I'm welcome to do business with good intentions, you don't look like you're carrying goods anyway. ”

For Roque, the composition of the group below is equally strange. A Crescent Moon Empire from the Yilan Continent, a Westerner, and two little children who may not have grown hair yet. Is it these people who are going to do business with him, or is it a fresh business? Roque felt that he might have been fooled, and his mood was very quick to show his face.

Julius glanced up and lowered his head again. The fat and fierce guy above, his face and eyes were terrible, which made him feel very bad and even more nervous.

"I told your men that what you want to do is fresh business. Olga responded to Roque with the same volume.

"I don't think you look like you're carrying goods. Roque said.

"No, we have the goods. Olga pointed to Lulunaka, "This is the cargo." ”