Two or three days passed day and night. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At this time, the terrain began to change dramatically - the hills became low mountain clusters, crisscrossed by the front. Countless hills about two or three stories high seem to be huge lumps, and they cover the vast land. The road was winding, steep, and full of potholes.

Hurd sat in the caravan and felt like his bones were really falling apart. As the car jolted violently, the contents of his stomach churned up from time to time, as if Ma Shan was about to squirt out of his throat. It makes my mind dizzy and my neck weak, which is really uncomfortable.

He had to shout to slow down, making the car slower than the ox pulling the cart. Just like that, he was still clamoring to get out of the car and walk.

Of course, Mu Qingyang didn't believe that he would really use those two slightly thin legs to hurry, so he ignored his muttering, and sat in the front of the car leisurely, carefully observing the dense plants and occasional animals around him.

On both sides of the mountain, there are lush one-man tall shrubs, and in between, sparse trees stand.

As the caravan slowly moved forward, Mu Qingyang looked more and more attentively at the big trees, as if he didn't want to miss any of them. After a long time, the car suddenly stopped. He jumped out of the car and walked straight to a large tree in the bush. Leaving the inexplicable Hurd and Sofina behind.

The shrubs and trees grew on the steep slopes of the hill, and there were countless horizontal branches blocking them, which was extremely difficult to walk up and observe. But I saw Mu Qingyang's feet striding and climbing, like a well-balanced goat walking freely on the cliff, not only did not slow down, but quickly swept through the bushes as if he was trotting, and came to the bottom of the big tree. There was an invisible path across the steep and uneven mountain, through large and small protruding rocks and dense roots that blocked movement, allowing him to pass lightly.

"This is the so-called 'light work', right?" Hurd said to himself, "It's really interesting." ”

Sofina next to him secretly despised him. Because he saw it, Mu Qingyang's body showed a special shaking rhythm and some crouching movements in the process of crossing mountains and shrubs. From a martial arts point of view, it is to use the skillful coordination of the body and pace to move through gaps and weak blocking positions. A closer look reveals that his path is not straight but slightly curved. It was clear that he was deliberately trying to circumvent those difficult positions. But with the bushes obscuring his vision, how did he know where it was difficult to walk and where it was easy to walk?

Mu Qing raised his eyebrows and frowned as he looked around this strange big tree - because it was actually a giant fern!

He looked around, and all the shrubs were angiosperms, and all the trees that stood tall were ferns—the same plants from the Carboniferous and Permian eras, when the little ancestors of the dinosaurs were still scavenging for scraps!

As he walked towards the caravan down the mountain, he wondered: if ferns can be so drastically transformed, what about the others? Will more complex and diverse ecological relationships be formed?

Thinking a little further, will animals also have changes that violate the laws of the earth, but conform to the laws of this world?

After returning to the caravan with a heavy heart, and ordering the dwarf tree man to pull the cart and continue on his way, he asked Hurd, "Look at those trees on the mountain, have you seen them anywhere else?" ”

Hurd was stunned by his question: "Of course I've seen it, it's everywhere." If you go a few hundred miles further east, you can see patches of these trees. ”

Mu Qingyang and his entourage stopped at a fork in the road on a hillside and looked at a town in the distance.

It was a large open valley between the mountains, with a majestic boulder jutting out in the middle. The huge beige castle rises from the boulders, and the towers reach into the sky. It was like a tall and vigorous eagle standing proudly on the gray rock, looking proudly over the vast land around it.

The boulder and the castle are surrounded by dozens of large houses, each four stories high, with high beige walls that are sharp and angular, and look extremely neat. And at first glance, there is a red house, as if a group of red-roofed blocks have been compactly arranged into a large disc shape.

At the outermost end is a thick beige wall, like a long arm around these lovely "building blocks". It uses its walls, which are about 40 feet high, to protect the people inside. For a town of this level, it was enough to defend against ordinary giants who were two or three people tall.

The most impressive thing is the river that runs through the town, and it is evident that people have attached great importance to it, and have carved a special shape on the walls for it to pass through with boats. Now, like a strip of silver-blue silk, it reflects a beautiful sheen that stands out to the many boats that sail on it. These little things are coming in and out of specially designed openings in the city walls, bringing life to the entire town.

"It's a bit of a 'town'." Mu Qingyang thought to himself that the ancient city of Jiali in the crypt was too depressing, and calling it "town" every day was really embarrassing. At this time, seeing this open place, a clean city, and a prosperous scene, I suddenly felt in a good mood, and the physical and mental exhaustion and nervousness of fleeing for days were swept away. There is a feeling of transparency between heaven and earth.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: it would be a beautiful thing to live on the mountains outside this town, on the side of the long river. On weekdays, you can go up the mountain to collect herbs and refine the required pills; In your spare time, you can go down the mountain to the city to explore the world. It's a life of leisure—like when you're on earth.

He was thinking about it when he heard Hurd next to him ask with a little dissatisfaction, "Why did you let the wildebeest go?" If we don't have it to pull the cart, how can we move forward? ”

Mu Qingyang stood with his hands in his hands and continued to look at the town from afar: "If anyone sees it, they will know that there are strangers among us. If this man is well-informed, he will know that we are the spies of the ancient city of Gali. In this way, the whereabouts are exposed. So can't use it here. When someone passes by, we'll buy a few regular horses. Let the horse drive through the town, and when it reaches the uninhabited path, it is then pulled by a short wildebeest. It's a lot safer that way. ”

After speaking, he took off his knee-length robe and put it back on. Special symbols to cover the outside of clothing to prevent people from being recognized.

Waiting was a very difficult thing, and Hurd waited until he was anxious and restless, and finally saw a caravan emerge from the narrow mountain road in the distance.

It was a caravan of about 100 people, but it was divided into two parts. Some of them wore uniform sleeveless knee-length kaftans with the same symbols painted on their chests and backs. They are wearing thick leather armor, and some of them are inlaid with copper protrusions to enhance the armor effect. They were armed with a sturdy and sharp spear, a simple two-handed broadsword, a long dagger with a fine dagger, or a heavy crossbow arrow. And the people who hugged each other thought it was a small army with neat and standardized equipment. Behind them was a different kind of dressed group, which looked like men and porters, dressed in uniform blue-gray coarse cloth clothes, without armor or shields. Only a few were equipped with ordinary one-handed swords. They drove the wagons and carried their baggage to form a large procession, and several of them carried flags with some kind of animal motif painted on them. It seems that this posture is a slightly more powerful caravan, far from being comparable to those "homeless" caravans.

When they got closer, they found that everyone in the "army" team walking in front looked a little listless. There were even about 20 people, swaying very unruly, making the whole formation look a little messy.

But the leader of the caravan, who was at the front of the procession, said nothing.

The leader looked to be in his forties, with a sturdy and slightly chubby build. The neatly groomed short beard on his face made him look particularly energetic. He wears a brightly colored tri-color coat and rides on a group of tall horses, which makes it clear at a glance that he has the highest status. It's just that his expression is a little solemn, and he is discussing something with another middle-aged man on a horse next to him wearing a golden mage robe.

The man wore a golden mage robe in the shape of a trench coat, embodying a standard and lean body. Inside the mage's robe was a coarse cloth shirt and two leather bags of spellcasting materials wrapped around the waist. Each belt has a row of small leather pouches - these are used to separate the cast materials, preventing the materials from mixing together to contaminate or interfere with each other, reducing the success rate or effectiveness of the spell.

Counting carefully, there were about twenty large and small pockets on his body, and he looked like a heavily armed weirdo. Suffice it to say that he was just an ordinary mid-level mage, as only such a mage would dress like this in full armor. Most of the high-level mages will "cast spells without materials", and ordinary materials can be omitted. Therefore, there is no need for many pockets, and the clothes you wear are relatively simple and beautiful.

They also saw Mu Qingyang and the three of them from a distance.

As soon as the mage-like man saw them, he was immediately stunned. After looking at them carefully for a long time, he suddenly whispered to the leader.

"He wouldn't recognize us, would he?" Sofina asked, a wary half-drawn sword, she had always been uneasy about mages.

Hurd sneered: "I see, instead of recognizing us, I saw the contents of the car." If he guessed correctly, he's recommending these things to the chief. ”

Mu Qingyang hurriedly explained: "If they really come to buy something, you must not take out the items related to Jiali City!" Otherwise we will be exposed. ”

The two nodded yes, and in a few moments, the caravan had already walked in front of them.

"Friend!" The caravan owner was very professional and smiled with a friendly face: "Are you going to Wasteland City to sell things?" ”

"Nope." Mu Qingyang said first: "We are bringing some things for our friends in Black Rock City. ”

"Oh?" The caravan owner said with a happy face: "We are also going to Black Rock City this time." ”

At noon, Mu Qingyang and his party had already bought two horses from the caravan to pull the cart, and set off with the caravan to the wasteland city in front. They had been invited by the leader to join the caravan that was also going to Blackstone for the time being.

It's just that the mountain road is difficult to walk, and the town that seems not far away is still more than ten miles away after walking for half a day. The outline of the city was clearly visible, but some of the warriors began to shout that they were hungry, and they all threw down their weapons and sat still. The leader of the caravan had to give the order to halt the advance and wait until the fire had been lit and the meal had been made. According to his idea, he should rush to rest under the city wall at night, so as to avoid the attacks of the surrounding bandits.

But what seemed like a good idea quickly caused a stir.

Dozens of bonfires and cooking smoke rose, and the caravan men ate in dozens of groups. Mu Qingyang and the three of them independently raised a bonfire to cook, of course, this time it was Sofina who took action.

"Those dozens of fighters are a little weird." Mu Qingyang looked around and said to the two of them, "Look, a group of them gathered together to cook, as if they were an independent small group. When they were on the road, they didn't listen to the boss very much. ”

Hurd was staring at the thick "fragrant mist" coming out of the pot, wishing that the delicious broth would be cooked in the next second. After hearing this, he said casually: "Then eighty percent are some mercenaries." There is still some combat effectiveness, or I don't dare to pick my nose at the boss. ”

"That's not so loose. Listening to their words, they are very disrespectful to the boss" Mu Qingyang was puzzled: "If I had the boss, I would have fired them a long time ago, and I would have lost this boss's good temper." ”

Hurd chuckled and said, "Maybe the boss didn't respect those mercenary fighters in the first place." This kind of caravan is not big or small, which is the bottleneck period of development. I heard that they are the most prone to delinquency and salaries. Look at the mage again. ”

He pointed to the middle-aged mage who was eating the same pot of rice with the boss, and said a little sourly: "He has a very close relationship with the boss, and I guess those warriors may have been treated unfairly, so they have slackened their work." ”

"Oh." Mu Qingyang nodded.

The broth made with Mu Qingyang's unique condiments was fragrant, and it spread far away to the entire caravan. Almost all of them looked this way and exchanged heads. The boss even sent someone over and invited them to move over for dinner.

This is a great opportunity to draw in relations with the caravan, and it is also an opportunity to use them to disguise their identity. Mu Qingyang and the three of them did not shirk it, and immediately transferred to the past. And the caravan owner also unceremoniously immediately "attacked" their broth.

Only Hurd seemed a little uncomfortable, always keeping a certain distance from the third-order mage. But Mu Qingyang had a good conversation with the boss.

"I wonder which god's mage you are?" The boss asked cautiously, it was a kind of not too good to ask others about their beliefs, but there was still a long way to go to Blackstone City, and it was necessary to ask these three people who carried a lot of magic tools. I'm sure the other party will understand.

Mu Qingyang pretended to eat, and thought quickly in his heart: It seems that the mage told him that there are magic fluctuations on my body. So I mistakenly thought I was a mage. Then admit that you are wrong.

So, seemingly casually, he introduced himself: "I am a free mage. This time I went to Blackstone City to meet an old friend and help him bring some things by the way. ”

On the contrary, Sofina has some opinions about his disrespect for the goddess, but it is inconvenient to express it. I had to stare at him quietly behind my back, and I was stuffy and adjusted the broth.

The middle-aged mage, on the other hand, was very interested in the beautiful Sofina, and went to her vigorously, trying hard to talk. It can be seen that if the conditions allow, he will definitely rub some oil on Sofina immediately. However, Sofina didn't give him face, just "um, um" in response, a look of indifference that rejected people thousands of miles away. It made the mage helpless and anxious, and he looked uneasy.

By the time the sun had completely sunk after dinner, the caravan owner ordered the caravan to continue the journey in the bright moonlight.

"It's too late!" The dozens of soldiers who had gathered together to eat began to coax: "Today's walk is full of mountain roads, it's too tiring. We need to rest! ”

"Rest for the night and leave tomorrow!" They loudly put forward "opinions".

"That's right! Right! That's for the best. They are also the ones who echo the "opinion".

Some even began to remove their leather armor and weapons, as if they were going to lie down and rest after a full meal. The rest of the men looked at the caravan boss to see how he could give orders. For a moment, the team split into two parts of the dynamic confrontation. (To be continued.) )