It was midnight when I arrived.

The small town is located at the foot of a large mountain. In the blue moonlight, when viewed from afar, surrounded by trees, there is a miserable white but delicate feeling.

It is a ring-shaped town, surrounded by several residential buildings and surrounded by three almost circular streets. Alleys are connected to each other.

In the center, there is a bluestone paved square, and in the middle of the square there is a stone platform that looks hundreds of years old, which seems to be used to announce events. There is also a well next to it.

The streets were deserted, and there wasn't even a single figure.

Alvin and his entourage crept into the town in the dark, tiptoeing for fear that the movement would be too loud and wake up the residents and cause trouble to others. The horses' hooves were even wrapped in cloth.

"Find a place to stay and see where there are hotels. There should be one in this town. ”

"I'll go out into town. ”

"Then I'll take a look at the edge. ”

......

"Found it, there's a hotel here. However, the boss seemed to be asleep, and I banged on the door and called him up. ”

"Good. ”

The group walked quietly through the silent town.

Matthew pulled the hotel's rusty doorbell and let out a muffled sound.

The innkeeper rubbed his eyes and opened the door, and then a crowd swarmed in.

......

When the sky is gray, the streets of the town finally come alive.

Hawkers began to set up their stalls.

The woman wore a round skirt and carried a basket of vegetables into the street.

The men who went out to work in the morning also began to carry tools on their backs, and the streets were even crowded with people at one point.

George rubbed his eyes, stood on the balcony with a cup of coffee and looked down, and exhaled tiredly: "I'm so tired." ”

"It's normal to be tired, aren't we on a mission?" Elwin's voice came from the room, "Aspar is Karp's most important trade route to the outside world. Every year after the heavy snowfall, it is the peak of Karp's foreign trade, and at the same time, it will also be the busiest period of time for Aspar. ”

"Why didn't they help me find out this when I asked Benson to prepare?" said George.

"Because these are not from sniffing, but common knowledge in the Duchy of Beshir. I grew up here. ”

At this moment, Alvin was sitting on the couch in George's room, and Matthew was sitting next to him.

After spreading out the map and looking at it carefully for a while, Alvin looked up and said, "We need to divide into three teams. One team stayed here to guard the base camp, and the other team went up the mountain to see if the snow melted on the mountain was passable. There was also a team that looked around the town to see if there was any useful news. ”

"Why three teams? I think two teams will do. Matthew said, "One team to investigate, one team to go up the mountain." The base camp does not need to be guarded. It's not ours anyway. ”

"And what if the two teams want to communicate with each other?" Alwyn asked rhetorically.

"Uh...... Well, three teams. Matthew nodded helplessly: "You're right. ”

George on the balcony looked back at Alwin and whispered, "I'll go up the mountain." ”

"Then I'll investigate, I'm the best at finding out the news or something. Matthew said, "You don't have to give me a team, it's easier to act alone." ”

"You're alone?" said George, a little surprised.

"Of course, I can pretend to be a local. As he spoke, Matthew changed his accent slightly, "Don't you think my accent is a bit like the innkeeper?"

Alvin gave a thumbs up: "Okay, then I'll guard the base camp." If you have any questions or need human support, please let me know. ”

As he spoke, Alvin hurriedly put away the map.

......

At this moment, they did not know that on a balcony across the street, a little girl who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old was staring in the direction of their room, consciously or unconsciously.

Curly brown hair, orange-yellow, looks very ordinary dress.

In fact, not only is the skirt ordinary, but her whole person looks very ordinary. Throw it in the pile and never get it back. It's those eyes...... There is a strange look.

......

Although this small team may seem a little unreliable, they still get things done cleanly.

For the whole day, Alvin stayed in the inn and chatted with the innkeeper and learned about the local customs. In the evening, George and Matthew brought back the results of their investigations.

"The snow on the mountain has already begun to melt, and I asked the hunters on the mountain that we will be able to enter the mountain in two days at most. It's best not to go in until then. The trails here are not easy to walk. Nothing else is out of the ordinary. During this period, there are few people who venture into or down the mountain, so it is difficult to ask anything. "This is the intel that George brought back.

"I got acquainted with a few local businessmen and, according to them, nothing out of the ordinary. Except for some recent communication issues. "This is the news that Matthew brought back.

"Isn't it called an anomaly to the communication?" Alvin asked.

Matthew shrugged: "Their argument is that the snow covers the mountains in winter, and there will be communication problems. Sometimes, it is true that it is not possible to receive a reply from the carrier pigeon for a long time. It's just that this time it's a little longer, and it's not an anomaly. I looked around and it seemed like everyone was having this problem. Generally speaking, this kind of problem is an isolated case, which is relatively accidental, and the probability of simultaneous occurrence is relatively small. But this time it happened at the same time......"

"So, it's true that there's an anomaly. Karp did have something to do, and all communications were cut off. Is that what it means?"

"Yes, there are anomalies, but they haven't noticed it yet. Miss Irene is very perceptive. Specifically, communication was blocked two months ago on the thirteenth. I didn't find a single reply later than that time. ”

The three of them looked at each other and fell silent.

After a while, Alvin said, "What do you think can be done to cut off communications? It's weird, isn't it? The only thing I can think of is the weather." If the weather is very bad, it is indeed possible to cut off the communication of the carrier pigeons. But apparently not. If Karp's weather was really that bad, Aspar couldn't have felt nothing. The weather looks pretty good here. But what could it be but the weather? There was a mutiny? I don't think it was even possible to mutiny. Even in normal times, Karp has a difficult time communicating with the outside world, and there should be more people who keep carrier pigeons than anywhere else. Not a single letter came out......"

Obviously, this is far beyond the understanding of the three of them.

"Maybe it's magic?" Simon, who had been acting as if it didn't exist, suddenly spoke.

"Magic?"

"Yes, magic, a very simple magic. Simon said: "I didn't master the abyssal magic that I came into contact with a long time ago, but I have seen it. The range is very large, it can cover more than a dozen square kilometers, and it is specially used to deal with Warcraft. ”

"Why is the magic of the Abyss used against the Demonic Beasts, isn't it supposed to be against the angels?" Alwyn was a little confused.

"Hey, it's not just the abyss that has Warcraft, there are Warcraft in the Heavens. Moreover, in the wars before the Quaternary, elves, dwarves, humans, titans, and dragons all used Warcraft. We also use it sometimes. Heaven also has magic specifically designed to deal with Warcraft, but not the kind I'm talking about. ”

"What kind of magic is that?" asked George, frowning.

"A magic that consumes very little mana and is not very powerful. Simon scratched his skull with his fingers and said, "It can reduce the instinct of the monster." In fact, to be precise, it is actually effective for all living beings, including humans. ”

"Lower your instincts?"

"Pigeons search for directions on instinct, don't they? I've learned about this ancient method of communication, and I know that's probably what it is. That kind of magic was originally used to dispel the instinctive fear of the monster in the face of an overly powerful opponent, but it turned out that it was useless. Because Warcraft still has an IQ, running away is not just instinct. So, it's used for other things. ”

"Simeon-sama. This method of communication is not ancient, and we still use it today. And it's a very important way to communicate. ”

"So humanity is a very backward race. The soul fire in Simon's eyes flickered, bent into two and a half moons, and made a discriminatory expression in the Lich's characteristic style: "When you learn to use space magic, you won't need carrier pigeons anymore." You can use space magic to deliver letters directly to each other, if you feel that you need to write a letter after using space magic. ”

All of a sudden, several people fell silent. The room was silent.

"Is there a way to know for sure if it's this magic?" Alvin asked in a whisper.

"Of course, you just have to go to Karp and you'll know right away. Simon giggled, "Actually, this can be very simple. I've seen your map, it's only twenty kilometers from Karp. Although they are all mountain roads and have a lot of snow, the snow obviously has no problem for the flying lich. I don't even need space magic, I can go back and forth in an hour. ”

"Uh...... If that's the case, what else do you want us to do?" Matthew muttered quietly.

After thinking about it, Alvin finally said, "Then please Mr. Simon, help us determine if Karp is using this kind of magic." ”

......

In the middle of the night, Simon took off the knight's armor he was wearing to reveal his original outfit, and then quietly flew in the direction of Karp through the night.

Alwin, Matthew, and George stood on the balcony silently watching, waiting.

At the same time, in the direction where the little girl was standing during the day, several voices in the room were whispering.

"The lich is gone, do you want to do it? Maybe we should take advantage of it. The lich was not easy to deal with, but the knights looked like they could easily be cleaned up. There's no magic in them. "It's the voice of a little girl.

"But what's the use of you killing them, killing them will only usher in the wrath of the lich. The fifth detachment of the Silver Moon Knights was just an insignificant bunch of humans, even though they had the magical armor of Serpent City in their hands. It was a hoarse, as if there was no trace of strength.

"So my target should be the Lich, with all due respect, I can't have won him. His magic was so powerful that I could feel it clearly. I could scarcely have imagined that any of the means at my disposal could hurt him. ”

"No, no, no, no one has asked you to target the Lich. Your target should be those three knights. ”

"But you just won't let me do it. ”

"I just won't let you make a move now, they're your opponents. I brought you here so that you could know them first. Three months of snow will allow you to master the whole territory of Karp, but it will certainly be followed by the army of Duke Beshir to regain lost territory. In fact, these can be said to be the vanguard. ”

"I still don't understand what you mean. ”

"I mean, the war hasn't really started yet, and we'll talk about it when they get to Karp. There, you can play to your heart's content. I'll help you deal with the Lich. You'll have a chance to play these three knights fair-handedly. Or maybe it's not fair, it's up to you. ”

"I still don't understand what you mean. If you're allowed for a not-so-fair duel, then why don't you let me sneak up on them here?" the little girl's tone seemed a little unhappy.

The hoarse voice continued, "Hmm...... Let's put it this way. The sense of ritual is more important to us than the result. It's as if they sent this fifth detachment here to train them, and we're training you. You need to prove your worth by following our arrangement and gaining an advantage in the situation we have set. In this way, you can get more support from the abyss. You know what I mean?"

The moonlight fell silently on that balcony, and the surroundings were silent.

A figure slowly walked into the moonlight, it was the little girl in the daytime.

The little girl lay on the fence of the balcony and thought for a while, and then said disdainfully: "It's really troublesome, I already control the whole territory of Karp, and you still don't believe me?"

"Kid, this is not a great achievement for the abyss. It can only be regarded as a small shining point, so small that if you don't pay attention, you will ignore it. In fact, Karp itself is not important to us. ”

Behind the girl, a crimson face slowly emerged.

The bald head has two huge horns, and the huge fangs protrude from the jaw, almost reaching the position of the eyes.

It was a three-meter-tall and muscular Inferno. There are also pieces of armor on the chest that look like dragon scales.

Gasping softly, the giant Inferno whispered in the girl's ear, "What you need to do is prove that you are more important than Karp. The abyss is different from heaven in that we value man over meaningless territory. We don't care about conquering Karp and dividing the Duchy of Beshir. It's about how many good messengers we can get in the process of conquering Karp and splitting the Duchy of Beshir. These magic envoys will play a vital role in our grand strategy. You need to prove yourself. ”

"Okay, I see. The girl pouted, "Then can I go back now?" If you don't let me sneak attack, it doesn't seem to make sense to stay here. ”

"That's it. The Inferno replied softly.

Turning around, the girl stood on tiptoe. Suddenly, the body soared into the air and flew into the sky.

Behind him, the figure of the Purgatory Demon slowly drifted away until it disappeared without a trace.