In order to avoid the mage as much as possible, the group decided not to take the main road, but chose to walk through the plain away from the main road. Fortunately, the terrain in Dayton is gentle, and even small dirt slopes are rare, let alone mountain peaks, so apart from the dirt on your feet that has not yet dried, it is not much more difficult than a big walk.

They didn't encounter any more mages or demons along the way, so they relaxed, stopping and stopping along the way so that everyone could get enough rest, and they weren't in a hurry. Enoch and Miluria took turns leading the way, while Fern and Queai walked behind, chatting and discussing how to deal with Adeline.

On the evening of the second day of their departure from the woods, they were already very close to Durham, the capital of Dayton, and Fern and Enoch briefly discussed it, and decided to arrive at Durham that night to rest for the night, and they had not much food with them, and they needed to replenish a little. It was not as deserted as in Sarah, and villages or towns could be found every few dozen miles from Cumberland to Ogden, so there was no need to carry a large pile of food, which would lighten the load on the mounts and speed up the journey. Another important reason is that they had already drunk their wine yesterday, and the two of them are very uncomfortable now.

Enoch was at the front, and although it was much safer to be so close to Durham, the warriors still didn't dare to let their guard down. Fern was telling Queai some rumors about Dayton and Durham, and the mage listened with interest and admiration.

Without warning, the warrior stopped his advance, looked forward for a moment, and then immediately looked back at the scout, "There's someone ahead! Enoch gestured to a small patch of wood behind them.

Miruria nodded, urging her mount to detour forward from the left. Fern looked up and saw nothing but a little dust raised in the distance. "Is that the dust raised by the horses?" asked the mercenary.

"I'm afraid yes, it looks like there's a small team, and they're not taking the big road and coming this way, it's definitely not a coincidence. The warrior said with a serious expression. As if in response to his speculation, a scream came from above the trio's heads, and everyone looked up to see a peregrine falcon hovering in the sky.

"Looks like this guy has exposed our whereabouts. Quiai took out a short bow from the side of his mount, mounted it with a bow and arrow, and after a little aiming, shot it out. As if specially trained, the peregrine falcon was constantly changing direction in the air, and Quiai's bow and arrow passed through its original flight path, but it had turned to the other side and dodged the arrow.

"Damn, I didn't even shoot, it's not like an ordinary peregrine falcon. Quay muttered, and took out another bow and arrow, and put it on the short bow. But the peregrine falcon didn't give her another chance, screamed again, and flew quickly in the direction of Durham. "It turns out that it will also be afraid. The mage smirked.

"Let's go to the woods, we'll be much safer to hide without the peregrine falcons watching. Enoch urged Fern and Queai to lead the ride into the woods.

"We don't even know who the other party is, it's definitely not a mage, I don't think they can train a peregrine falcon so well. Queai caught up with Enoch, a little unhappy with his decision.

"Whoever it is, try to avoid trouble, the less people know about us, the better. Enoch didn't look back, answering the mage.

Quiai pouted and glanced at the mercenary, and Fern shrugged. "I agree with Enoch this time, those people aren't going to welcome us to Durham. ”

Queai snorted, turned his head, and urged the arrow to run to the front, ignoring the two men.

The three men found a relatively hidden place in the woods, tied their horses to the trunk of the tree, and began to wait anxiously for news from the scout.

"Miruria's going to be fine, she's just a girl. Quiai was a little worried about the Scout's situation.

"Don't worry, with her strength, no one in the south can cause her trouble. Enoch has faith in his companions.

Fern glanced at the warrior. "Don't take anyone lightly, the warriors of the South are not necessarily worse than you, they just lack actual combat experience. ”

Enoch spread his hands and pursed his lips. "How can a warrior who hasn't even seen a dark tide compare to a warrior from a border country?"

"Of course, it can be compared, when neither is facing a dark tide. Not to be outdone, Fern was rather dissatisfied with Enoch's attitude.

The warrior was about to argue again when the scout rushed into the woods. "It's a Dayton soldier, it doesn't look like a good comer, we better get out of here. ”

"Why run away, we didn't do anything, what can those soldiers do to us?" Quiai put away his short bow and looked at the scout with his hands folded.

Enoch had untied the reins of his mount from the tree. "It's not as simple as you think, let's go now, and head west. ”

At that moment, the screams of peregrine falcons were heard again in the sky, and it had spotted them, sending a signal to its master.

Cursing in his mouth, the scout drew his short bow, and was about to raise his aim when a series of animals trampled on the leaves, and several black shadows rushed into the woods with a speed that everyone expected.

"Attention! Pick up your weapon!" Fern shouted as he drew his sword and pulled Quiai behind him, blocking the mage.

Enoch drew his saber in his right hand, and drew his long dagger from the other side with his left hand and held it in his left hand. "Come on, whatever it is. ”

Miruria jumped off her horse, drew her dagger and leaned against the two of them, covering up the gap behind them.

More and more footsteps rang out around the crowd, the messy sound mixed with the wheezing of animals.

"It's a hound!" Fern had heard of Dayton's hounds as fierce as they could hunt a demon in sufficient numbers, and with proper training, they were almost fearless.

"Hound?" Enoch relaxed. "We could have rushed out. ”

"You won't think so when you see them, Dayton's hounds can hunt demons. Fern watched his surroundings warily, ready to fight.

The warrior was clearly not convinced, muttering something in his mouth, but lowered his posture anyway.

Several black shadows sprang out from behind the trees, surrounding the group in the middle, and everyone could see what they were. The Hound is a full two circles larger than the average Hound and can almost reach the waist of a warrior with its head raised, and its hair is very short, and its strong muscles are clearly visible. They watched vigilantly at the enemy in front of them, their forelimbs slightly bent downward, ready to pounce at any moment. The huge mouth was half-open and let out a low whining sound.

"Hell, is this really a dog?" Enoch never expected such a large hound to raise his dagger and prepare to throw it at one of them.

"Don't move!" Fern shouted to stop him just in time. "Don't move, or we'll be torn to shreds in an instant. As soon as he finished speaking, more hounds burst out of the woods, a dozen of them, and surrounded the crowd twice.

"If we don't move, they will tear us apart. Enoch slowly lowered his left hand, and one of the hounds in front of the warrior raised its forelimbs slightly, and it was almost about to leap when the warrior raised his hand.

"If they were going to do that, they wouldn't have waited until now, they just wanted to stop us from escaping until the Dayton soldiers arrived. Fern turned his head to look at Quiai. "Prepare the barrier in case those soldiers try to harm us. ”

The mage nodded, took the silk pouch from his belt, poured some magic dust into his hand, and sprinkled some around the four. She moved slowly, and she didn't dare to push too hard, for fear of angering the hounds. Finally, the mage recited a lengthy incantation, and Fern suddenly felt like he was surrounded by a layer of air, and the breeze that had been blowing across his face just now was blocked out of the air. The other two also sensed something strange and looked at each other.

Sure enough, as Fern had said, the hound didn't make any further movements, but just stared at them closely. After a brief stalemate, the sound of horses' hooves began to sound, and greater trouble came.