The Ancient Sanctuary of Glitter is located to the east of the Snowman's Territory.

The stretch of the Horsgaard Mountains makes Snowman a hub between the east and west of the sky, and makes it necessary to travel around the northern outskirts of the Horsgaard Mountains to get from Snowman on the west side of the mountain range to the ancient glittering sanctuary on the east side of the range.

If you don't think about climbing over those steep snow-capped mountains, there are three roads that connect to the sky. One is the road we are traveling; One is a waterway further north, with low traffic potential; There is also one on the southern side of the Horsgaard Mountains, but it is sandwiched between cliffs, the terrain is rugged and narrow, and the capacity is also limited. Therefore, the middle line controlled by the snow man has become the most important passage between the east and west of the sky.

Six days, that's the estimated round-trip time for Lydia, if you want to see the scenery and stop to play on the way.

I also have an errand on my shoulders, and although the governor does not specify the deadline for the task, it seems to me that the withering of the golden tree is not a trivial matter. I decided to ride down the road to the ancient Sanctuary of Glitter and not stop too much on the way, which is also Lydia's advice.

As a native of Xueman, Ledia is very familiar with the geography of Xueman's territory. She advised me not to stray too far from the main road because of the dangers lurking in the wilderness.

"What kind of danger?"

"Beasts, robbers, trolls, giants...... There are even vampires and werewolves. ”

"It sounds like the security conditions in Skyrim Province are very bad."

"I can't say no. Skyrim Province is sparsely populated, and it is difficult for the lords to take everything into their own hands, and some unpredictable things will inevitably appear in the wild. But rest assured, as long as we keep moving on the main road, nothing will happen, and I will swear to your safety. ”

Come to think of it, no matter how mediocre the lords are, they will not let their lifeline be trampled on at will, let alone a commercial center and transportation hub like Xueman. Lord Barguf took the traffic in his realm very seriously, and there were occasional patrols of soldiers on the road, there were watchtowers at intervals along the main road, and according to Lydia, he could come across two fortresses along the way, just like Helgen.

"Why would anyone be a robber? Skyrim Province is rich in resources and sparsely populated, and there are many ways to live in peace. ”

"That's true, but Skyrim Province has been under the influence of the Empire over the years, and a large number of Imperial people also came to Skyrim during the World War. Although Skyrim is rich in produce, the environment is harsh and there is not much land suitable for farming, which makes some people who cannot find a way out, and their descendants, become robbers, thieves, and smugglers. ”

"Since the roads are so well guarded, what do the robbers usually rely on to make a living?"

"They are called robbers because their roadblocks are the most impressive, and in fact they don't go out of their way against their lords unless they make a huge profit. I've come into contact with people who hunt, gather, mine, trade, take employment, and even have a legal status in the domain register. ”

"It sounds like the bandit gangs are more like a small society that is not recognized by the territory."

"But they don't pay their taxes, flout the law, and have little respect for outsiders. If you encounter them, it is better to avoid them. ”

"I heard you mention vampires and werewolves, what's that?"

"Probably some cannibal cult."

……

"If you are the true people of Skyrim! Go to Windhelm City and join the command of the Ulfric Stormcloak Lord! Fight for freedom and justice in Skyrim Province! ”

A down-and-out man in a blue storm cloak uniform was escorted by three Imperial legionnaires and walked toward us. As we passed them, the Stormcloak captives shouted slogans at us.

This scene is familiar. Keeping my speed constant, I asked Lydia on the other horse, "Will these Stormcloak captives be killed?" ”

"Probably not, in the sparsely populated sky, every human life is very precious. Captives of the Stormcloak are kept in prison unless they are willing to return to the Empire. ”

"Then I was ...... Why did the Imperial Legion want to kill all those Stormcloak captives in Helgen Fortress? ”

"At that time, General Tulius captured Ulfric Stormcloak and some of his high-ranking officers. General Tulius had planned to take them back to the Imperial capital for trial, but when he passed through the fortress of Helgen, he changed his mind and wanted to be executed immediately. Later, the dragon attacks Helgen, and Uffric's whereabouts are unknown—word from Stormhelm that Uffric has returned safely, but it is unknown if it's true or not. ”

"You seem to know very well about this, were you there at the time?"

"No, I got the news from my lord. Xueman has his own position, and even General Tulius needs to make his intentions clear. ”

"So what is your position? Empire or Storm Cloak? ”

"I owe my allegiance to you, Lord Baron."

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"Stop !!"

Three soldiers dressed in Imperial Legion uniforms blocked the road ahead, and the leader of them shouted from afar, signaling us to dismount.

"Check your ID? Isn't this a snowy realm, how can there be soldiers of the Imperial Legion guarding it? ”

"I don't know, maybe they're on a mission."

"Get off your horse and see what they have to say."

Ledia and I slowed down and dismounted when we were ten meters away from them. Lydia removed the sword and shield from her back and stepped forward to negotiate, while I stood on the side of the road and took out my binoculars to observe the scenery.

By this time we had made our way out of the snow-covered plains to the north of the Horsgaard Mountains. The highest peak in the continent of Tamriel, the Throat of the World, is located in the Horsgar Mountains, but my current location is in a narrow valley, and the stone wall on the south side of the road obstructs my view.

A small river runs side by side with the road on the other side. To the north of the road were a rolling mountain range, and there were a few dimly lit caves on the nearby slopes, and Lydia had told me that the caves of the barren mountains were often inhabited by unfriendly creatures.

I followed the river and suddenly realized something was not right. There were four men lying crookedly on the river bank in front of them, dressed only in close-fitting clothing.

They...... There appears to be blood stains on his body.

"Lydia! Watch out! ”

I've experienced something like this before, and it immediately occurred to me that the bodies might have been stripped of their clothes after they were killed. What clothes? Most likely, it was the Imperial uniform worn by the three soldiers in front.

My loud reminder alerted Lydia and the three soldiers. Hearing my cries, a man jumped out of the grass on the side of the road and rushed towards me, wearing the uniform of a storm cloak but holding the shield of the Imperial Legion. Seeing this, the three soldiers in the distance also attacked Lydia.

Lydia reacted very quickly, and when she realized that the situation was not right, she immediately took action, and with a single sword she took out an enemy who had not had time to raise her weapon, and then raised her shield to block, constantly moving her position in search of new opportunities.

I'm going to have to deal with a menacing bandit on my side.

Usually the plot of the bloody TV series will develop like this, Ledia saw me approached by the gangsters, shouted no, and then was injured by several other gangsters, and after the last two of us were both caught.

However, Lydia has a lot of combat experience and some knowledge of my abilities, so he doesn't show any signs of panic. She slowly approached me as she flanked the combined attack of the two of them.

A flame gathered in my right palm, ready to go. The robber with the sword saw the flames in my hand, raised the wooden shield with the diamond-shaped dragon emblem, curled up and approached me.

My constitution is not capable of casting a destructive spell with direct destructive power, and the fireballs projected now are only used as a deterrent to delay time. Although the other party slowed down by the blazing fireball in my hand, he still swung his sword at me when he approached a certain distance.

After a brief hesitation, maybe it was his eagerness, maybe he had sensed something was wrong—the fireball didn't make a heat wave or burst into flames, and it even kept holding it in my hand and not releasing it to him. The bandit regained his speed and quickly burst in front of me, a sword reaching out from behind the shield and stabbing me in the chest.

At the last moment, "Fus! ”

Huge thrust right in the middle of the shield. The hand holding the shield was unprepared and loosened its grip on the shield under the pain of the impact. The shield bounced off the outstretched sword and struck the robber in the jaw. He also raised his body because of the force of the dragon's roar, flew backwards three meters away, and fell to the ground in embarrassment.

Lydia seized the opportunity, holding a shield in her left hand to block her opponent's slash, and stabbing her sword out with her right hand to finish off a guy who was distracted by a roar. Before the other could recover from the concussion of the sword and shield attack, he was pursued by Ladia and lost his vital points.

Having solved her own troubles, Lydia quickly ran to my side and threw the blade in her hand. The sound of the sharp weapon whizzing through the air, piercing the robber's body and pinning him to the ground.

"Don't leave a living mouth and ask what's going on?"

"The robbers attacked the Imperial soldiers, disguised themselves and extorted tolls from passers-by." Lydia searched for the robbers' bodies and told me her suspicions.

Three Imperial Legion uniforms, one Stormcape uniform...... I see, it's three Imperial soldiers escorting a Stormcloak captive. Four robbers attacked the Imperial soldiers, and the captives resisted and killed the Imperial soldiers together with the robbers, who then killed the captives with their backhands.

"My lord, I didn't find any money on these bandits." Lydia handed me a shriveled cloth bag.

"This means that we are the first guests. Their luck wasn't so good. ”

"As soon as the extorted passers-by report the situation to the nearby guard tower, soldiers will soon arrive and bring them to justice."

"Huh? Didn't you just say that human life is precious in Skyrim? ”

"That's just for citizens with regular status, and it's not a pity for these people to die."

"Okay. It sounds like the atmosphere of the Xueman army is very good, and I thought that there would always be someone at so many checkpoints who would take a little money from the passing merchants. ”

"That's why they put on the uniforms of the Imperial Legion to cheat."

……

We reported the situation here to the soldiers stationed nearby and moved on.

I don't know if the robbers have been formally trained, but I can be sure that their bodies are really strong, and I am amazed by Lydia's ability to fight three. Come to think of it, the baron's guard given by the lord himself must have two brushes.

This actual battle also gave me a fuller understanding of the performance of the dragon's roar. The dragon's roar has three syllables, and if only the first syllable is pronounced, the force will be very weak, and the energy consumed will not be large. With each additional syllable, the power and cost will increase exponentially. When I pronounce all three syllables at once, it's a desperate situation.

Just now I only used the first syllable of the "Unloading Force" dragon roar, and the effect was acceptable, and the opponent fell to the ground by surprise, and was killed by Lydia's sword.

I wonder what kind of dragon roar he will learn in the future, breathing fire like a dragon, or yelling like Alduin to turn an entire stronghold into ruins?

It's a pity that the setting of this book is slightly biased towards low magic, so it shouldn't be so loud that it will turn back time and the world will collapse.