Arnold lay on the grass, gasping for breath for a few moments before his breathing slowed down. The fresh and slightly cold air in the forest passed through his lungs, making him feel an unprecedented sense of comfort, he could clearly feel that his breathing was much easier, and his hands and feet were no longer as weak as before, and his body seemed to have completely gotten rid of the weakness of more than ten years, and the vitality of a young man finally appeared on this body.

However, one thing clearly told Arnold that his body was not becoming healthy, on the contrary, he was one step closer to death.

There was no sound of heartbeat.

Bere's hand snatched Arnold's heart, and it was impossible to make a deal with the Demon Lord without paying any price, even if it was the kindest Demon Lord like Belette in the lower realm. The heart is only an advance, Arnold only has twenty-four years, and once the deadline is over, everything he has will be taken away by Belier, and with him, he will become a self-forgetful warrior in the dark army.

Whether to use the remaining twenty-four years to enjoy himself, or to find a way to break the contract, or to avoid the debt, the answer is self-evident to Arnold.

"Serena ......," Arnold propped himself up with his hands on the grass, "I hope your method works, but I've gambled everything, including myself, you, and Isabella." ”

He turned his head and looked at the corpses of Judson and Payne, two knights who were famous for their bravery in the Cold Mountain, but now their bodies were exposed in this unknown forest, I have to say, this is also a sadness.

However, Arnold will not have any mercy, his end will inevitably be even more miserable than the two of them, and the soul of those who are involved with the demon lord will inevitably be devoured by Leviathan and bound to the lower realm forever.

"Here, there are people who know more or less about my whereabouts. Arnold stood up, in this forest, there are still many soldiers from Garcia and Davide, they may not know what happened to Judson and Payne, but these people at least know that Arnold is in this forest, and should be by Judson and Payne's side.

"I don't have much time left......"

——————————————

The next day, Harper and his team entered the forest to patrol the forest, and Payne did not hear from him all night, which made him extremely worried. When he returned to the battlefield and learned that his son had one of his hands cut off by Arnold, he could hardly believe his ears, and Payne, the proudest of the Davide family, was able to cut off the heads of thirty-one enemies with his own hands on the battlefield of the Holy Helm Leader, and actually lost a hand.

Harper didn't want to listen to the explanations of the guards, he didn't care whether the reason was Arnold's treachery or Payne's carelessness, he only knew that the son he was most proud of, and who had spent the most effort to cultivate, would have only one arm from now on, and he had nothing else in his heart but the grief he felt as a father.

However, when Harper learned that Payne was still pursuing Arnold for his duty despite the loss of an arm, Harper felt even more proud of his son, the son he had raised, the proudest man in the Davide family.

Despite some apprehension, Harper also understood that searching such a large forest at night was a very hard and dangerous task, and it was understandable that Payne could not deliver the message back immediately. Even if you take a step back, it is not easy to find Arnold and his party in such a large forest, and with Payne's character, if he can't complete this task, he will never be willing to ask his father for help, maybe he is still looking for traces of Arnold and his party in the forest.

Harper tried to comfort himself, saying in his heart that this was just an old father's concern.

However, Duke Tegerman did not have the same concern for his son as Harper, and after not getting any news for a night, the impatient Duke went straight back to Lionheart, leaving Lord John Fonner to assist Harper in searching for Arnold.

As he walked deep into the forest, Harper quietly turned his eyes sideways to look at Lord Funnar, whose face was thin and weather-beaten, and his eyes were as if they had been carved and polished by the vicissitudes of the world, and he seemed to be able to discern some details that others could easily overlook.

Like now, despite Harper's hidden gaze, Lord Fonner noticed.

"Is there anything wrong, Baron Davide?" he asked, turning his face to Harper.

"No, nothing. Harper immediately withdrew his gaze, "I'm just wondering if my son Payne will have such sharp eyes like Lord Fonner in the future." ”

"Sharp eyes?" Fonner laughed, the corners of his eyes slightly widened, "Then I'll take this as a compliment." However, if you want me to say, Ling Lang is already a good knight, and even if you don't compare him to me, the name Payne Davide is already quite famous in Cold Mountain. ”

Although he understood that the other party's words were mostly complimentary, Harper couldn't help but smile, what father doesn't like to hear others praise his hard-earned son?

"Thank you for looking up to him, and if you can, I hope you can teach Payne some lessons in the future, after all, he is still young, and it is inevitable that there will be some areas where he is inexperienced. I'm old, and besides, by the time Payne takes over the Davide family, I'm going to be dead and can't help him with any more advice. ”

"Forgive my rude," Fonner's expression changed suddenly, "If I'm not mistaken, you should have a son. ”

Harper was slightly stunned, and did not immediately understand the other party's intention of mentioning this, especially when he remembered that Duke Tagman also mentioned Doug's matter yesterday, Harper's heart always felt a little uneasy.

"Yes...... Originally, he was going to let him enter the convent this time and not come back, but thanks to the kindness of the Duke, Doug was allowed to return. So, I'm also thinking about how to arrange him in the future. ”

Harper stared at Funner carefully, as one of the two most trusted people of Duke Tagman, Fonter knew the Duke's mind better than anyone else, and it was precisely because of his resourcefulness and ability to understand his own mind that Duke Tagman let him stay to assist Harper in his search for Arnold. Therefore, when he Founner took the initiative to mention Doug's matter, Harper's heart couldn't help but become nervous, he didn't know whether Founer told him about it, whether he wanted to say something himself, or whether it was at the duke's behest.

"You don't have to be nervous, Baron Davide, I don't mean anything else. Seeing Harper's nervous appearance, Fonter couldn't help but laugh, as if he also realized that his expression was too misleading, "I just wanted to give you a piece of advice, as Doug, if you stay in Hankston, or in Gloomy Castle, it will be a trouble for the future inheritance of the territory." So, I would like to suggest that you might as well let Doug go to Baron Hottuburg as an attendant, so that not only will the Duke no longer be suspicious of Doug's status, but you can also take this opportunity to have more relations with Baron William, right?"

Listening to Funner's words, Harper immediately calculated in his heart, and I have to say that Funner's idea is indeed very good, and he is worthy of being the most resourceful person around Duke Tegman. However, what made Harper uneasy was why Fonter cared so much about the affairs of the Davide family, and he and the Davide family should not have had any friendship in the past.

Seeing that Harper didn't speak for a long time, Fang Na didn't understand what Harper was thinking, and he released this level of kindness, which naturally had a purpose.

"Can I ask you one more thing, Baron Davide?"

"Excuse me. Harper quickly raised his head and said to Vanna.

Funner suddenly stopped walking, approached Harper's face, and asked in a low voice, "Did you hesitate when the Duke gave you this task?"

Harper was shocked, this question was too sensitive, he didn't dare to bet on whether it was Fountain's kindness, and quickly replied: "I have no hesitation to serve the Duke!"

Listening to Harper's hurried and somewhat flustered tone, Fonner already had the answer in his mind. He smiled at Harper, then moved on, not saying anything more.

Harper, on the other hand, stopped where he was, looking at Funner's back, his mind churning, unsure of what Funner meant.

While Harper was hesitating, a knight suddenly ran over, and when he saw Harper standing in place, he hesitated for a moment, and did not dare to step forward immediately.

Harper took a slow beat to spot the knight, and looking at the other party's expression, Harper felt a little more irritated for no reason. "Just say anything, don't look at me with this annoying expression. ”

"Yes!" Harper reprimanded, and the Davide knight quickly replied, "We, we found the bodies of those who entered the forest with Payne. ”

Harper couldn't help but breathe and gasped. Funner, who had already walked to the front, stopped and looked back at Harper.

"Where? Take me there!"

The knight led Harper, Fonner, and the others to the place where they had found the body.

Fonnar stepped forward briskly and examined the body.

"This kind of scar......" Fonna's brow grew solemn as he touched the laceration on the corpse's neck, "like an artery had been cut by the claws of some bird of prey." ”

Harper nodded silently, people who live in the cold mountain territory can always distinguish the traces left by the beast.

"Still, it doesn't look like your average bird of prey. Fonna flipped over the corpse, looked at the charred marks on the grass beneath the corpse, pursed his lips, and said, "It's magic." ”

"You mean, there's a mage who has come in?" Harper tensed, mage, still a strange and dangerous word to most humans, and while the warriors of the Cold Mountain Territory have torn apart countless mages on the battlefield, they have always been afraid of those who can wield powers they can't comprehend.

"It looks like so. Fonner frowned and nodded solemnly, "Every time I see the court mage of Lionheart, that sinister guy gives me a dark, ominous feeling, just like the feeling I get here. I think that's what the mages call magic. ”

Harper's heart suddenly twitched, he knew that Payne was very strong, and he also knew that on the battlefield of the Holy Helm Leader, Payne had killed more than one mage, but Harper was still very worried when he thought that his son had now lost an arm.

Immediately after that, more news came, after the soldiers found the first body, more bodies were found one after another, most of them were the soldiers that Payne brought into the forest, and there were also Judson's people, as more and more corpses were found, Fonner and Harper couldn't help but wonder in their hearts: Is it so that the soldiers who entered this forest are all dead?

And Harper's mood is also becoming more and more nervous, for fear of seeing his son's body.

Eventually, they found the makeshift camp where Judson and his party had stayed.

Funner kicked the campfire, which contained a ruined water bladder.

He looked around, and so far, most of the bodies found had scratches from the raptors, and only a few had died from sword wounds. However, all the corpses in the camp were succumbed to sword wounds, and apparently there was a fierce battle between the two sides, and after that, Judson's men began to flee in all directions, and Payne and they began to pursue, and they were in the forest, where they encountered the slaughter of birds of prey and mages.

Looking at the corpses of Davide's soldiers everywhere, Harper couldn't control his emotions a little.

"Find me, find me, no matter what, if you want to find Payne for me, you must find him!"

Tears slowly rolled down from the corners of his wrinkled eyes.