24 We are happy, and we are not afraid of death

On February 2, 1807, two visitors who were apparently outsiders came to the place where Melo lived in the city of Wall, and because of the military administration of the city, the two were inspected several times when they entered the city - not only in Wall, but also in almost all the major cities of the country, and since Emperor Spreet called on all nations to fight against the "curse of the stars" at last year's peace ceremony, the whole world has mobilized to treat each day as if it were the day before the war.

In such a high-pressure environment, only the logistics of the army are left to flow back and forth between cities, and the ordinary traveler has long been gone—because all ordinary citizens, either in response to the call to join the army or join the city defense construction team, have no time to leave the place where they live.

The arrival of the two visitors makes people somewhat nostalgic for the bustling and fearless days at the city gates. The two of them followed the street to find the location of the palace, only to see that the gate was open, and there seemed to be no one inside. The two did not hesitate, directly entered the room, and looked at the furnishings in the room: the simple furniture and simple decoration made people completely unable to think that this was once the emperor's palace, everything was well organized, and there were no superfluous furnishings in the bedroom, which seemed warm and comfortable, full of the atmosphere of life, and could see the owner's diligence and love for life.

The visitor stumbled upon a letter on his desk, and although it was not good to peek at the letter, the two seemed to have roughly read the letter in order to determine if they had found the right place: basically thanking the recipient for saving Xia Fei from the misty jungle, and the payment was made by Ulf, the commander of the Imperial Army, and the recipient was Milo.

"That's right, it's here." The female visitor said, while another male visitor nodded in acknowledgement – and suddenly, a voice came from outside the door: "Who ?!" The tone was very alert.

The female visitor hurriedly responded: "Don't be nervous Milo, it's us-" Before the words fell, Milo and Erin had already put themselves in a posture and entered the room, and finally saw their faces clearly-

"Sister Nightsparrow! And Big Brother Snow Dog! Erin exclaimed in surprise, and pounced on the Night Sparrow.

"Oh oh, it's you! It's been a long time! Milo also breathed a sigh of relief, "But it scared me to death!" ”

The snow dog was very wronged, and gestured "the door is not locked".

The visit of a friend who has not seen each other for a long time makes Milo and Erin very excited, and hurriedly beckons the couple to sit down, Erin personally cooks a good meal, and finally can communicate their current situation at the dinner table.

"Last year, after the Viscount received a letter from Milo to report his safety, he wanted to come over in person to wish you the newlywed, but—" Night Sparrow shrugged his shoulders and continued, "but two days later, I received the Emperor's call to mobilize everyone to fight against the 'curse', so Windwalking Town will also need to transform as soon as possible, and we will be very busy after that...... After all, it is located at the only junction of the two continents, and it will definitely become a key place, so Spreet has funded quite a lot of materials, and the current Fengxing Town has become a huge military fortress, and it is still under construction...... However, since the beginning of the year, the Imperial Army has taken over most of the work, and the Viscount finally has time to take care of other matters, the first thing is for us to come and visit you. ”

Hearing that Windwalk has changed dramatically, both Milo and Erin have a sense of loss, but they are helpless - similar things are happening all over the world, after all, everyone has a corresponding consciousness and understands the innocence and helplessness behind these changes.

Nightfinch pointed to the letter on the desk and asked, "What about you?" I see the letter says you've gone to the Misty Jungle? Milo, how do you do that? ”

As a result, Milo and Erin slowly explained all their previous experiences—the dream in the Green Dragon Fortress, the meeting with the dragon Umi Stream on Halfway Island, the raid on Wall Harbor to quell the rebellion, and the search for Sevia's memories in the Sea Lion Castle. The Nightspinches could only understand a little, but they still understood in general why Milo was no longer afraid of the Misty Jungle, and why he was able to break the "curse of the stars".

As for the content of the letter, a month after Melo Erin's wedding, the two walked along the main road to the west and north in turn, and became famous in the city of Tum by hanging the undead; Visit the city of Ansesen to pay tribute to the Marquis of Risson, who knew Milo; Arriving at the old capital of Butler, he visited and visited Erin's family, as well as greeted the relatives of his comrades who died in Windrun before Milo......

In the end, Milo entered the misty jungle, and it took nearly half a month to finally find the "capsule" that Sevia planned to use to escape back to the universe......

"So you forgave him? And rescued him? Nightfinch asked, as Erin was in the kitchen and couldn't hear their conversation.

Milo nodded and said, "The Imperial Commander thinks he can do his part in the fight against the Curse of the Stars. His expression was calm, which made Nightfinch nod in admiration, and the Snow Dog gave him a thumbs up.

"What are you talking about?" Erin rubbed her hands and rejoined the conversation.

"The Viscount has asked us to bring you something......" Nightfinch said, and then opened his baggage and took out a small piece of pale yellow parchment, "Milo, I found it from the desk in your room in Windwalk, and I always think it's very unusual......"

"Oh-oh, this-" Milo hurriedly took the parchment and studied it carefully, "This is the magic letterhead that the wind chimes gave me...... But I don't need it anymore......"

We still remember that after Wind Chime assisted Milo in resolving the conflict between the Praetorian Guard and Windwalk, in order to prevent accidents, Wind Chime gave Milo a magic letterhead, which served as Wind Chime said, "If there is any request, just write it on it, and I will know". All four of them knew that the current Wind Chimes and her lover, Princess Lilith, were frozen under the black buildings of the desperate desert, and although it was not death, it was also regrettable......

"If the wind chimes don't freeze themselves, they will definitely be a powerful support against the 'curse'." Nightfinch said thoughtfully, her eyes drooping.

"Thank you for bringing it to me," Milo carefully folded the magic letterhead, tucking it into the notepad she carried with her, "I'll put it away...... For the wind chimes. ”

After the snow dog saw the notepad on the cover of the stag that Milo was close to, he glanced at his wife - Night Sparrow hurriedly took Erin's hand: "Sister, I also brought you good things, let's go over there and don't let these two stinky men see it." ”

"Huh? What is it? Erin was pulled away so suddenly, curious and surprised.

Seeing the two ladies leave the room, Snow Dog pulls out a yellowed piece of paper from his bosom and gives it to Milo, who knows at a glance that it is Heidi's "last letter" to him. This letter once represented Milo's last nostalgia for Heidi, and it was also this letter that brought the relationship between Milo and Erin to the brink of rupture for a while, and now this letter is presented to him......

"Thank you." Milo thanked him deeply, but didn't reach for the letter.

Snow Dog lowered his head and lifted the letter in his hand again, as if to say, "This is the last chance" - but Milo didn't take it, but looked up at the ceiling in distraction.

After a long time, the snow dog finally took back the letter, carefully folded it and put it in his arms, and smiled with satisfaction. "I'll take care of it for you." He gestured with his hand, "And cherish her." ”

Milo saw the gesture of the snow dog and nodded, there was no confusion or confusion, and he laughed heartily.

At this time, Night Sparrow also pulled Erin back, and Irene's face was flushed, and she didn't know what Night Sparrow had brought her.

"Guaranteed...... Secrecy! When Milo asked, Erin replied in a slur manner, her face burning like a red tomato.

It must be clarified: when Milo was in a trance, two faces came to mind - Heidi Trister and Herm Bain, the two people he once loved and jealous, and he would no longer disturb his relationship with Erin.

……

The Nightsparrow couple are about to leave here and return to Windrun after two days, and before leaving, the two couples hug each other goodbye, inevitably with tears and words of care, as well as the greetings that Merlot and Erin entrusted to them to Windrun and Viscount Lee.

This is the last time Milo and Erin see Night Sparrow and Snow Dog.

In the days that followed, Milo and Erin lived on a budget, trying to experience different things and sensations every day, both of them seeing each other as more important than themselves, and both of them knew what the future would bring, and both of them knew it.

The time of happiness passed in a hurry, and in the blink of an eye, it came to May 20th. On this day, Ulf came to visit the Milo couple, and he said only two things: Koran and Parrett were expected to arrive in two days; Not surprisingly, on the morning of May 25th, Milo, Irene, Koran, and Parrett will be escorted by the Imperial Army to the Misty Jungle, and board the "capsule" when the "Curse of the Stars" officially begins on July 8, carrying the hopes of hundreds of millions of people to break the catastrophe that should not have befallen them.

That night, both of them had insomnia.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"How many times have we said this?"

"Definitely not the last ......"

The two sat side by side on the rooftop, looking at the twinkling stars.

"Stars kill people."

"Yes, they kill people, so we can kill the stars too."

"What will the world be like when the stars die?"

"Just like now, full of life and full of unknowns."

Hand in hand, heart to heart, the lights of the city beat in the night.

"We're not afraid of death, are we?"

"Yes, we are not afraid of death."

"I heard that people who live in happiness are afraid of death."

"We are the happiest people right now...... But we are not afraid of death, because our sacrifice will bring happiness to more people. ”

……

As Ulf had said, Klan and Parrett arrived the next day, and the four of them began to make the final preparations before departure.

Milo took his saber-toothed tiger skin coat and chose a handy iron sword as a weapon, and naturally carried the notepad on the cover of the buck that never left him. Erin also brought her saber-toothed tiger skin suit and found a short sword to stick at her waist, as for the musket, it could not be used in the oxygen-rich environment of the Watcher space station, which Milo knew from Sevia's memory, so she had to give up her favorite weapon. Parrett wore light armor and held a hammer with a shortened handle to wield it in the cramped space station. Kelan still didn't bring any weapons, or rather, he didn't take them out.

When it was finally time to leave, Milo and Erin bid farewell to their home, joined up with Koran and Parrett, and left Wall City under the escort of the Imperial Army. Due to other work, Ulf did not come to see him off.

Along the way, Milo and the others saw the new Imperial army, armed to the teeth, marching towards an unknown destination, as well as the huge fortresses that had risen from the ground in just a few months, and the city walls that had been repeatedly reinforced like cages...... The smell of war pervades the entire world - this time, they are fighting for the survival and continuation of the planetary civilization.

There were no civilians on the way, and they were probably placed in a shelter. Milo roughly guessed the idea of Ulf and other army commanders to fight against the "curse of the stars" - that is, "drag". The army uses huge urban defenses or conspicuous fortifications to lure enemies to attack, buy time, and save the people who are hiding in various places - eventually dragging Milo and the others to destroy the Watcher. However, in this war of completely asymmetrical strength, the implementation of such a strategy is bound to require huge sacrifices for the army.

In order to break the curse, everyone blocked their lives.

The trip went smoothly, and Milo and the others arrived at the edge of the misty jungle on time. At dawn on July 6, Milo, Irene, Koran, and Parrett entered the Misty Jungle and escorted their Imperial Army in a procession to salute the four.

At the same time, the Emperor of Split gave a final order to the entire Imperial Army in his castle in the imperial capital of Ann Leicester:

"—Guys, please come back alive."