In April of the fifty-sixth year of the double star calendar, spring has arrived for more than a month, the rainy weather in early spring has passed, although there is occasional light rain, but the weather can be said to be refreshing and cool, there is no cold wind to scratch the cheeks, and the soft spring breeze makes people happy.

The Bagan Plain is a small piece of land protruding from the southeast of the Oran continent, separated by a narrow and rugged strait in the east, and the mountains stretch to the east. To the west is a long and narrow strait to reach a wider sea, to the west is a series of mountains with occasional plains and hills, and further west you can reach the shores of the Aritan Sea, with its large city-states, to the north is the dark sea, which is completely encased by land, and further north is the endless plains of the continent of Oran.

A small convoy walked on the Bagan plains. The convoy consisted of two wagons carrying men, three wagons carrying goods, food and drink, twenty attendants, twenty mercenaries, and twelve knights.

The convoy departed from Castle King, the capital of the Twin Eagle Empire, along the Oran Plain, adjacent to the Sea of Darkness, crossed the border, entered the territory of the Crescent Empire, headed north, and then west, to the Republic of Vis on the shores of the distant Sea of Arid. The convoy was not a long journey for trade, but for a marriage. The Mulenin family of the Twin Eagle Empire sent a young girl to marry the nobles of the Vis Republic. It was supposed to be a festive event, but the convoy left the castle quietly and quietly, with no family members to see it off, and no residents of the capital to come to see the excitement - the convoy set off in the early morning before the sun rose.

Patin Edgar, who rode at the front, was the leader of the convoy and the knights of the Church. Padin Edgar was tall and strong, with crisp short hair, and a burly body draped in silver-colored chain mail, but not in the golden blouse that represented the status of a knight in the Church, as was the case with every knight, only a linen undershirt under the chain mail. The strong knight's gaze was determined, always keeping his eyes on the front, and nothing seemed to shake his will. The carriage behind him was carrying the maiden of the Mulenin family and her two maids-in-waiting, and he had to be cautious.

Someone stepped forward and walked alongside him, "Knight Edgar." "The man was an old man with a white beard, named Olga Negro, dressed in a maroon robe and leather armor on his chest, arms, and thighs. Not a knight, just one of the squires, one of the few warriors in the squire. Although he is old, he is as burly as Patin, he is full of energy, his eyes are bright, and he can't see the slightest old age. "How far will we go before we go west. ”

Olga is from the Yilan continent and doesn't know much about the Oulan continent.

"We still have to walk through the Forest of the Dead before we head west. "After passing through the Forest of the Dead, follow the post road to the west to the Sea of Arid." Further north along the city-states of the coast, you will be able to reach the Republic of Vis safely. ”

Olga said, "Can't we go around the Forest of the Dead and take this route?" the old man looked a little worried, not happy to walk through the forest with an unknown name in front of him.

Patin shook his head, "If you go around it, you will have to travel a lot more unnecessarily, the mountain roads are rough, and you may attract a lot of bandits in the mountains. He obviously saw the old martial artist's uneasiness, and continued: "Olga, you are from the Yilan Continent, and it is not strange that you don't know the situation here. The Forest of the Dead sounds unlucky, but it was only given such a name in memory of the soldiers of the Double Eagle Empire who fought and died here. Although there are demonic beasts in the forest, they are all weak beasts, and they don't pose much threat to us. It's much easier to deal with than a cunning bandit. ”

Olga didn't say anything more to Pattin's confident words, only nodded slightly. It can be seen that he is not very satisfied with this statement, but the leader of the team, Patin, has said so, plus he is really not familiar with the Oran continent, so he will not say anything more. He changed the subject, "Forest of the Dead, this is the resting place of the soldiers of the Double Eagle Empire?"

Pattin's bright eyes darkened slightly, "Yes." During the civil strife a hundred years ago, many loyal warriors died here in order to defend the glory of the Twin Eagle Empire. ”

"But this is already the territory of the Crescent Empire. Olga said.

"yes. Hearing Olga's words, Patin squeezed out some words after a while, "It's no longer the territory of the Twin Eagle Empire." Those loyal souls remained in a land that did not belong to them. ”

"I'm sorry, Knight Edgar. Olga put her hands on her chest and bowed to Padin on horseback, "I have no intention of offending you and reminding you of these unpleasant things......"

"Don't mind, Olga. Patin squeezed out some smiles, "That was a long time ago, so long ago that you and I weren't even born." The warriors who had fought those battles were now back to dust. Patin was not upset by Olga's words. He was not a citizen of the Twin Eagle Empire, he was born on the peninsula further west, and he remembered what happened in this land, and he sighed with such emotion.

Since Patin was so generous, Olga couldn't say anything more.

At this moment, a knight of the Church on horseback rode up to him. This knight was sent out by Padin to reconnoitre, and now he has rushed back, and he must have made some discovery.

"Edgar Knight. The knight of the church reported to Patin, "There is a small village ahead, and there is nothing strange about it. Further on, you can already see the edge of the forest. "Because Padin is not affiliated with the Church, he is the leader, but the Church knights have no special title for him. The Knight of the Church hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I observed a little closer, and the villagers of that village should have the same faith as us, worshipping the God of Light as the only god. ”

Patin nodded, "Alright, you can get back to the group." ”

The knight saluted Padin and returned to the ranks.

Patin said to Olga, "The Forest of the Dead is not as ominous as you might think, and there are even villages on the edge of the forest, and there is not much danger. ”

Olga nodded, her brow furrowed no more. "That's good. He replied succinctly, then went back to the carriage behind, opened the curtain, and spoke to the people inside. Occasionally, a faint and staccato voice would reach Pattin's ears.

Patin thought that the old warrior was probably soothing the restless girl. It has been half a month since she left the King's Castle, and if this trip is not serious, then for this girl, there will be no chance to return home in the future. She would remain in the more affluent Republic of Vis, where she would become the wife of a nobleman and have children until her death.

If nothing surprises.

At this moment another knight of the Church came to Pattin's side. This is a young man named Leo Pastine. He wears no helmet, has blonde hair, and looks handsome. His eyes were full of youthful energy, as well as the pride of being a knight of the Church and the steadfastness of his faith, which made him look like a lions that had just grown up, full of passion and strength.

"Knight Edgar, I've heard there's a village ahead of me, and it's our poor believers. Leozema came to Pattin's side and said to Pattin.

"Knight Pastine, your compassion and kindness are commendable. "But they are already the people of the Crescent Empire, and any reckless actions of yours may anger the Crescent Empire and bring unnecessary trouble to you, your family, and your country." So don't get emotional, okay?"

"Of course, I know what the mission of this trip is, and I will not make any mistakes. Leo said. Pattin's exhortation calmed the young man's enthusiasm a little. "Let the Lord bless these poor people who are ruled by paganism. Leo drew a cross on his chest. "The robbers also heard the information that my brother had brought back, saying that it was a renegade village and needed to be purified. Leo's face was full of disgust when he said this. The robbers he was talking about were none other than the twenty-two mercenaries. These warriors who came for money and the knights of the church never dealt with each other. Although both sides believe in the God of Light, the sect was divided into two hundreds of years ago, with the Illuminati in the far west and north, and the Holy Spirit Cult in the easternmost part of the continent. The churches on both sides have been at odds for a long time, and believers on both sides have regarded each other as enemies, and hatred has taken root and spread for hundreds of years.

Padin frowned, "Take good control of those barbarians from the north, and don't let them make trouble." Go warn Gris and take care of his men before entering the Forest of the Dead. ”

Leo clenched his fist and tapped it on his chest, "I won't let those heretics hurt the followers of the Holy Spirit Cult, otherwise, I don't mind letting them bleed on this land." ”

"If there is any dissatisfaction in Gris, report it to me immediately. Patin continued, "I will not condone or tolerate those who do not cooperate. ”

Leo nodded, relieved by Pattin's words, and his eyes became hot when he looked at Pattin. Padin was not a believer in the Holy Spirit, but his chivalrous demeanor and unquestionable strength made the young man look up to him. Leo looked at Patin and fantasized more than once that he would one day reach the heights of this mighty knight.

Patin could of course feel the hot gaze, but he turned his head away as if he hadn't seen it.

Leo turned his horse's head and returned to the rear of the queue, rushing towards the mercenaries who were on foot in groups of threes and twos, and then there was some small argument.

Leo didn't look back to Pattin. Patin knew that these unpleasant mercenaries would probably settle down for a while and not make trouble in the village ahead.

Patin didn't like these savage, very bandit mercenaries, they would only plunder and brutalize everything in the name of faith, but they never repented of their crimes to the god of light, thinking that all these were the privileges granted to them by the god of light. But no matter how much Patin disliked these unruly mercenaries, he had to spend time with them for the purpose of his trip. He was not the only one who endured, but the knights of the church, and the attendants who accompanied him, were patient with these rude and rude fellows.

At this time, Olga returned to Pattin's side, "I heard movement in the rear, and your knights and mercenaries had an argument. Did something happen?" asked Olga.

"No need to worry, just the little things. "Just let those mercenaries settle down and don't mess things up." ”

Olga turned his head and looked at the carriage where the noble girl was sitting, his eyes full of worry, "Before leaving the imperial capital, I had always opposed the hiring of such a mercenary to serve as a guard for Miss Romeona. They behaved rudely, and when they were in the imperial capital, they did not have a good reputation, and the inhabitants were full of complaints about these mercenaries. ”

"I hate these savage northerners too. "They don't have any faith at all, they only care about money...... But we had to take them with us. It's a long way to go, and we don't know what kind of difficulties await us before we can see the Sea of Arid. Bandits, monsters, underground dwellers, and even wild elves...... are all likely to attack us. Therefore, we can only endure these well-trained mercenaries for the time being, at least their combat effectiveness can be guaranteed. And they were given a small bag of heavy gold coins, which at least kept them from apostatism. ”

"I hope so. Listening to Pattin's words, Olga could only nod slightly. He still didn't trust the mercenaries, but he trusted the noble and powerful knight in front of him.

"How is Miss Romena, is there anything wrong with it?" asked Pattin.

Olga shook her head and sighed, "How good can it be to be driven to that distant and strange country before she is an adult, and to endure the bumps along the way?" ”

When she arrives in the Republic of Vist, she will no longer remember her days in her hometown. "The city-state on the water, though not as solemn as the castle of kings, is rich and prosperous, and is a romantic place for a girl to stay for a long time." ”

"Whatever the distant water republic may be, there is no doubt that it is better than the King's Castle. Olga said. It was probably these words that touched his heart, and made his expression look a little sad, "As long as Miss Romeona no longer needs to be angry in that ruined place, it is a good thing to go wherever she goes." ”

Padin was silent and did not answer. The dilapidated place that Olga is talking about is naturally the King's Fort of the Twin Eagle Empire. Patin's words had a scruple for residents like Olga, but Olga was not a native resident of the Double Eagle Empire in the pure sense of the word, and when he talked about the King's Castle, he was not polite at all.

And Olga was not wrong, the so-called solemn King's Castle is now nothing more than a dead city in the twilight. The so-called Twin Eagle Empire is now nothing more than a sunset country surrounded by the Crescent Empire, with only a lonely city left in the King's Castle.

The banner of the double eagle hung alone on the mottled walls of the castle, and the sun still shone on the banner, but the two-headed eagle, drooping and old, was a dying caged bird.