The fortress in the heart of Heartless Bay was not built by Heartless Witches. The rock-like reef-like fortress is said to have been built in a much more distant era, and is even said to have been standing here when the first settlers found Lost Heart. Successive rulers seem to have had a soft spot for the fortress as their home base. Over time, regardless of their ability to rule, capturing a fortress meant having dominion over the city. Correspondingly, no matter how strong the tsunami that washed over Heartless Bay, the fort will stand here as usual after the tsunami recedes, heralding the beginning of a new cycle.

After the witches took possession of the building, they used their skills to transform it into a real magical fortress, and it is said that if you don't get invited by the witches, the mere approach to it will be cursed with an incurable curse. Moreover, regardless of the effect of unknowable magical forces on visitors, there is also a guard in front of the gates of the Central Fortress that makes people dare not take risks. His name and surname are unknown, nor his origin, but that doesn't prevent them from giving him the nickname "Mountain Monster" in the tavern discussions.

The mountain monster was a pretty straightforward name, for the gatekeeper was indeed as burly as the bard's claim of a giant monster that dwelled in the mountains, and he was about two and a half meters tall, and the muscular lines of his body stood out even under the cover of armor. The mountain monster never spoke, some say it was because he had his tongue pulled out by a witch, others say that the monster was not human at all, because no human could have such cold and lifeless eyes. They could only judge the mountain monster by its eyes, a full-face helmet made of black iron enveloped his entire face, and only the six vents in the door and the openings in front of the eyes proved that it was not a statue.

The mountain monster's weapon is a spear, or something shaped like a spear, and the barrel of an ordinary person's forearm can cause fatal damage just by hitting a person. As for the black spear head, it can be regarded as the hammer head of a heavy hammer. Such a weapon doesn't look like it's used against humans, and even when it is used to attack war horses, it seems overkill. Perhaps only the legendary weapons used against dragons or sea monsters need to be forged like this.

Of course, bigger and heavier weapons aren't always better, and a bulky weapon not only won't bring the user victory, but can affect their performance, and the inertia to match the weight makes all the tricks a joke. So while people acknowledge the oppressive power of the mountain monster, not everyone finds him invincible. Every once in a while, some guy who doesn't know the height of the sky will try to challenge the gatekeeper to prove his strength or try to replace him. But the mountain monster still stood here, as if even the tsunami could not make him move a single step.

So is the mountain monster really a flesh puppet created by a witch? I'm afraid that's not entirely true, because at least for the mountain monster, he is standing here to serve the Lost Witch Order out of pure personal will. However, perhaps because of the proximity to the magical fortress, even the gatekeeper himself couldn't tell whether the willingness was due to a good reward or the result of being influenced by magic. But what's the difference between the two? The mountain monster shook its head, its armor crashing against each other with a low, stiff sound from its owner's activity.

The burly warrior bowed shallowly to the comer. The man approaching the fortress just waved his hand casually, and then was about to enter the gate beside the mountain monster, but the loyal gatekeeper did not let him go this time, and he took a slight step towards the door, although he still half-bowed his head, but the meaning of the obstruction was already obvious.

"Get out of the way. The visitor said unceremoniously, her carefully groomed eyebrows rising in anger. The mountain monster didn't get out of the way, but he reached out his free hand and pointed to what was dragging behind the visitor. It was a child, his rag coat had worn badly from the drag, revealing half of his festering body. The kid looked like he was dying, but he wasn't really dead yet, so he couldn't enter.

"I said, get out of the way. Her tone became even more impatient. Although the witches admit that the mountain monster is very competent as a gatekeeper, he sometimes seems to be overdone. Especially when dealing with young witches, they always feel that the gatekeeper is not giving them the respect they deserve.

"No, enter. It seemed that the gears that had not been running for many years had suddenly been turned again, and it took a great deal of effort for the mountain monster to say these two words, and then he quickly bowed his head respectfully, and in this way apologized for offending his master. Of course, his apology was not conveyed to the witch in front of him.

"Shhh With her left hand, she demonstratively teased the heads of the three snakes of the whip, all of which were notorious and poisonous in the nearby seas, and no brave sailor dared to continue to confront their owners under the threat of such weapons. However, the mountain monster was not a sailor, so he just maintained his previous position, staring blankly ahead, and let the poisonous snakes show off their might in front of him.

The witch raised an eyebrow, her anger had been raised to a rather terrible height, and the pleasure of picking up the sick chicken had been wiped out. So she raised her whip, intending to give the inflexible gatekeeper a taste of the consequences of disobeying her master. But the cold eyes hiding under the armor forced the raised snake whip to slowly let go again. She couldn't see fear or anger in those eyes, she couldn't see anything, and whipping a stone didn't make people feel good, it just made people feel stupid.

The sea serpent, wrapped around the witch's thigh again, let go of the rope around the child's neck, "Watch him, if he dies when I come back, you will die too!" Leaving the mountain monster and the child lying on the ground covering his wounds.

The sound of the clash of armor made the child ignore the pain of the wound, and he looked up to see a helmet made of black iron and the cold eyes behind it. The poor boy had never heard of a mountain monster before, and he had no way of knowing what was in front of him or what he would do to himself. He tried to run away, but his body stiffened with fear.

The gatekeeper stared at the child for a few moments, then slowly reached out and untied a small bag from his waist. A large hand wearing a metal glove holds the bag in the palm of his hand and sends it to the child. "Drink, water. ”