Facing the captain, the soldier bent down and saluted, but then his eyes were lowered very respectfully, and he didn't even dare to look up directly - he handed over a slightly crumpled letter with both hands, and said respectfully: "Captain Sally, the letter from the 'Temple' just came. ”

A white robe appeared in his field of vision, and the letter in his hand was taken away, and then a slightly cold voice sounded in his ears: "May the light shine on you, hard work." ”

Although she has the ruthless title of "White Scythe" on the battlefield, in the eyes of the soldiers, she will always be a humble and low-key priest.

Sally's much-thinner cheeks are no longer the pampered look she had when she was in Evta, and the long white blonde hair that was once smooth has now been shortened by her dagger into crisp and short ear-length hair, which also makes Sally's originally soft face have a trace of heroism that she has never had.

Confident, strong, and always with a faint sadness between her eyebrows - all kinds of temperaments are mixed together, so that Sally has an indescribable charm... Like a flower struggling to grow and bloom among the rocks, her beauty has changed from flamboyant to restrained, quiet and unique.

"The Bishop thinks that the time has come for a decisive battle, and after the enemies in the Brill Forest have been cleared, starting tomorrow at noon, all the teams will continue to advance, reaching the other side of the forest in two weeks, and a decisive battle is expected to take place in the area at the edge of the forest, and the Knights Templar will come to our aid in due course..."

She briefly told the lieutenant the contents of the letter, and it was obvious that such news was very morale-encouraging, but when Sally said it again, she did not show much excitement.

"Today is the last day to rest, and tomorrow I am ready to go and adjust my condition."

Sally folded the letter lightly and put it elegantly in her field notebook - because the operation was a secret from the outside world, Sally, like all soldiers, had cut off all communication with the outside world from the day she entered the jungle. Because of the special nature of the operation, not even Bishop Rubens's letters could reach her, so the only thing she faced every day was a letter from the "temple" about the assignment.

Seeing Sally's worried expression, the adjutant couldn't help but be a little puzzled, thought about it, and asked out loud, "Captain, is there something wrong?" ”

The average team would not have any doubts about the orders assigned by their superiors, but everyone in this team knew that they had survived until now only because Sally had escaped death by relying on her keen sense of smell and not following orders on several occasions - Bishop Mograini, who was in charge of the battle in the "Temple", did not personally go to the front, so many times... He simply could not grasp exactly the details of the changes on the battlefield, and for soldiers, sometimes "following orders" became "self-defeating".

"There is nothing wrong with the idea of launching a general attack and ending the battle as much as possible, and according to the enemy's previous appearance, the 'Temple' has such a judgment and decision-making is correct."

Sally's voice was faint, she turned her head, squinted slightly, and continued, "But... The 'Pit Viper Cross' I know is not as weak as these guys. ”

The sentry and the lieutenant looked at each other - the captain was supposed to be the first time to participate in this kind of battle, and he was not even as experienced as some veterans, why did he say that?

Sally didn't explain much, but what she was thinking about at this time was the scene when she was in Hollier City Square, when "Snake Fang" Gallup showed his strong strength... Although she did not witness Francis's attack, Bishop Benjamin later told her that if it had not been for Roddy's decisive arrow, even Bishop Rubens would not have escaped.

Compared to Gallup's formidable combat power, the enemies of Brill Forest are simply a bunch of rookies - even those who are called "strong enemies" still don't have half of Gallup's strength in Sally's eyes.

This situation is too unusual, but the "Temple" is probably difficult to detect, because Bishop Mograini is always in remote control, and the frequent good news cannot tell the exact strength of the enemy, so everyone agrees... The strength of the enemy is nothing more than that, no matter how strong it is, it is not much stronger.

But Sally found it hard to believe that a sect that could compete with the "Rosicrucius" in the south of the kingdom could not even send a strong commander to the frontal battlefield.

"I think the enemy may not be as weak as it seems, but it's just my personal assumption, tomorrow the team will set off as planned, but the speed of our advance... Slow down a bit. ”

Sally sighed, the order of the general attack could not be disobeyed after all, no matter whether the enemy was strong or weak, this operation seemed to be going to be cut off after leaving the Brill Forest.

******

On April 29, after nearly half a year away, Roddy finally returned to Hollier, the capital city of Evta.

Since the battle of April 22, Roddy and the Duke of Angmar have exchanged eight letters, and all the plans for the rest of the day. From that day on, the layout had begun - the action had been acted, the gesture should have continued, and Roddy, who should have continued to "play dead", continued to keep a low profile, and after dressing up, led the mixed-breed mongrel into the city at will in the guise of a bard.

The Duke of Angmar's banquet was now the focus of all the nobles in the realm, and even the commoners knew that the city was going to have a noble feast in two days - because there were also shows such as "jousting tournaments" and "operas" for the commoners to see, so walking through the streets, Roddy could always hear people discussing these things.

There are always tall carriages on the slightly wider roads, and there are quite a few nobles who have come to Holier these days, apparently for the banquet that is about to begin. And Roddy glanced at the aristocratic district with a solemn mansion from a distance, but did not choose to go to Angmar, but pulled up his hood and walked towards the "Cambay district".

It was not yet the time for Roddy to show up, and it was often easy to attract the attention of the watchers by rushing to the Duke's Palace, so Roddy directly chose to wait in the most inconspicuous slum for a while, and by the way, to find out some news to see if there was any need to make further corrections to the next plan.

Passing by the Abbey, Roddy could see some familiar and unfamiliar faces, but the figure who had gone to the "Temple" for further studies was no longer there - the scene was vivid, and the towering church reminded Roddy of his time with Sally: escorting her back to Houllier for the first time, blocking the Assassins in front of the Abbey, dealing with Francis after the attack on the Square, uncovering the undead mole at a luncheon with Rubens, etc...

Sally's happy or sad or sad look had long been imprinted in Roddy's mind.

Looking at these familiar buildings now, Roddy has a feeling of "things are not people" - he feels as if he is finally no longer "too rational" to look at things, because this feeling is something he has never felt when he played games before.

Everyone is changing, everyone is going to be something they never thought of, or even hated, and the continuous battles and countless choices have made Roddy feel strange and unbelievable about the ideas that pop up with him once in a while.

However, when he saw the "Pig's Head Bar" and the still looking boss Hook behind the bar, he couldn't help but smile... In contrast, people who have been in the same place all their lives are basically difficult to change.

"Raphael? Ho-ho, man, it's really rare, did you come back from a walk around the northern part of the kingdom? ”

The moment he walked into the bar, Roddy was recognized by Hook - not because he was so handsome, of course, but because when Roddy was telling stories here, the bar's turnover had tripled or quadrupled compared to before.

"It's not easy to walk this circle, but I still came back safely, and I miss the taste of ale here, so I came here when I entered the city."

Roddy sat down in front of the bar with ease, took out a few copper coins and handed them over, chatting casually about the recent topic of Holier City, and without saying a few words, he unexpectedly talked about the topic of "banquet"-

"Duke Angmar is also in danger, these noble lords don't have any good intentions, I heard that there are still people who come with guards, you say that if you don't have a weak heart, what guards will you bring to Holier City?"

Luo Di took a sip of ale wine, laughing and listening to him talk about it, quite like listening to the driver talk about current affairs in the imperial capital.

"I've heard from the mercenaries that Wellington and Knight Titus have been out there on the bandits... Bah! What kind of bandits? Who doesn't know that this group of bandits is the means by which those noble lords stumble? If Captain Roddy is here, where is their turn to go wild here? ”

"Ahem... Captain Di? ”

Roddy choked on the ale and repeated it with some surprise.

"You don't know Captain Roddy? Yes, you were still traveling north when he became famous..."Hook immediately began to gush on and on about "Captain Roddy vs. the Infidels" and "Bloody Undead Ranger" - obviously, these are the things that Roddy was made public about in the first place.

"Who is Magdana? I heard that it was the most powerful subordinate of the undead monarch, but he was still defeated by Captain Roddy's arrows! I heard that the two of them shot twenty arrows at that time to determine the winner, that battle..."

"He's much stronger than Wellington Titus, and with him, where do those nobles dare to say half a word of? The 'oracle' that the Pope himself gave them was enough to drink a jug! ”

Roddy didn't know what expression to use to face Hook, so he had to drink with his head down... This was the first time he had heard the civilians of this city evaluate him, and he felt very strange in his heart: some wanted to laugh, some were silent, and more than that, he remembered what Carter had said to him.

Soldiers are eager to be recognized, and Roddy didn't understand this psychology before, but when he experienced it himself, he fully understood what such a desire meant.

However, this mood was also fleeting, because Hook soon said with a look of regret: "Hey, it's a pity that such a young man who can become a pillar of support died young in the end!" ”

"Poof—"

Roddy, who had just taken the next sip of ale, sprayed directly on the table...