Swift gusts of wind blew from the east of the Pilatus Mountains, whistling at great speed, blowing every speck of dust through the valley and through the tents stationed there, and for a time the sound of the flapping of oilcloth was incessant. People hid behind tents or leaned against rocks to protect themselves from being blown away by the wind. At this wind speed, even if the two are only a few steps apart, as long as they don't speak loudly enough, they still can't hear anything clearly.

Fern walked around the outside and asked almost all the tents, but no one had seen the girl he had asked, the very beautiful girl with long brown hair. The wind was getting stronger outside, and the clouds were rapidly drifting in the east, and it was about to rain, and Fern thought to himself, and reluctantly slipped into a huge tent.

There were already several people sitting in the tent, in addition to Rick's family, there were two mercenaries sitting in the center of the tent, both of them were wearing hard leather armor that covered their bodies, and there were iron pieces on their chests to protect their hearts, and they both had short swords hanging from their waists, and two long swords of great value on the shelves on the side.

Seeing Fern coming in, Rick hurriedly asked with concern, "How is Fern, is there any good news?"

Fern shook his head and sat down, picked up the hot water from the simple table, and drank it. Rick's youngest daughter walked up to Fern, kindly took his hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Fern, you will definitely find her, I would also like to meet this sister, she must be very beautiful, otherwise why would you be looking for her everywhere like this?"

The girl's words obviously made Fern feel better, and he touched the little girl's head. "You're right, Liz, she's very beautiful, maybe the most beautiful girl in the world, I'll find her. ”

"She probably didn't stay here long, but continued south, and there are so many people here that no one will remember the person who was only a friend of one face. Said one of the mercenaries, with curly brownish-red hair and long, slender eyes that showed a sharp gaze.

"That's true for most people, but Quiai is someone you see once and won't forget. Fern looked at the mercenary. "Thank you for your help, Seren, and if you hadn't agreed to let us settle in your tent, we might not have survived even one night. ”

Seren waved his hand. "It's nothing, here we need to gather as many companions as possible to continue eastward, no one can say what kind of danger there will be in that unknown land, one more person is one more strength. ”

The other mercenary nodded in agreement, he also had brownish-red hair, but his hair was straight and hung down behind his ears. "Besides, you avenged Jaxson and the others, and wiped out all those evil bandits, and we should thank you too. ”

Speaking of Jacquesson, Fern sighed helplessly. "Sometimes people are more terrible than the tide. ”

Seren tilted his head noncommittally. "We haven't been in the dark and we don't know how terrible they really are, but based on the rumors alone, we're so scared that we don't even have the courage to stay in Wallis. ”

"It's not your fault, you don't want to be in the dark, that feeling...... You don't want to experience it. Fern put down the teacup in his hand and stared at the empty cup.

Seren raised an eyebrow on one side. "Listen to your tone, have you ever encountered a dark tide?"

Fern looked up and looked at Seren calmly. "Yes, in Sarah, Doyle, Altoona, Dayton, and Serendra, I've fought the Dark Tide, and I won't forget any of them. ”

The eyes of everyone present changed when they looked at Fern, as if they were looking at a hero, and Seren was silent for a moment before he said, "You can kill the entire bandit group without much effort, there must be something extraordinary, maybe what you said is true." ”

"So I'm going to stay in Wallis, I'm needed here, and I'm grateful for your willingness to accept the Rick family, they need mercenary protection. Fern nodded slightly in thanks.

"You can rest assured that we have a total of more than a dozen mercenaries, which is enough to protect several times the number of people, even if there are bandits, they will not be our opponents. Seren glanced at the other mercenary beside him. "Moreover, Arshino and I used to be the captains of Alesia's guards, and most of our mercenary groups were former soldiers, which were not comparable to ordinary mercenary groups. ”

"You can see it. Fern smiled. "You are well-equipped and well-trained. ”

Rick shook his hand with relief, and it seemed that the journey he had been fearing for days was finally coming to an end. "I really don't know how to thank you, Ferne, we wouldn't be here without you. ”

Fern's friendly smile hung on his calm face. "You saved me first, Rick, you gave me water to drink, and if you want to thank you, thank you for your kindness. ”

The wind was stronger at night, and the clouds drifted away from east to west at great speed, occasionally revealing the moon hidden behind, and the whole valley was sometimes glowing with silver and sometimes dark. The heavy rain fell shortly after nightfall, washed over the valley and then gradually stopped, leaving the air fresh in the dark night.

Fern tossed and turned in the tent, distraught by the sound of the wind howling outside the tent, the uncertain road ahead was always confusing, and the whereabouts of Quiai were a stone on his mind. Finally, with a sigh, he emerged from the warm bed, lifted the corner of his cloak, and walked out.

It was early in the morning, the coldest time of the day, but because it was located in Alesia, one of the southernmost kingdoms of Wallis, even if the climate was abnormal, the valley was not cold, at most it was a little cold.

Fern walked a few dozen steps up the hillside, stopping behind a boulder, where there was a mercenary on the night watch, in addition to him, Fern also found two other mercenaries on the night watch on either side of the dozens of paces away, and he believed that there must be mercenaries he had not found.

The mercenary was not tall, but very strong, his brown hair was almost black in the night, and his whole person looked like a hard stump. He saw Fern coming, and though he was silent, his hand moved inconspicuously to his waist, where a short sword hung from it. "You're the mercenary who arrived here at dusk?"

"That's right, it's me. Fern relaxed against the boulder, pulled out two mint leaves from the inner pocket of his clothes, and handed one to the mercenary. "My name is Fern, and I happened to meet the Ricks on the road and they gave me water, so I escorted them here. ”

The mercenary nodded, took the mint leaf, and waited for Fern to put another slice in his mouth before putting the one in his mouth. "My name is Rolf, and I used to be an ordinary soldier in Alesia, and after I was discharged from the army, I followed Seren around to earn a little money. ”

Fern looked into the distance, and the tent was placed just right. "You must have made a lot of money, everything here seems to be very professional, and very few mercenary groups can do it so well, even the best Deville mercenaries in Wallis can do it. ”

"Deville mercenary, I'd love to see it. The corners of Rolf's mouth curled slightly. "But there may never be another chance, we are going to cross the Pilatus Mountains, and we may never come back. ”

"The refugees are still arriving here, aren't you waiting?" Fern asked.

Rolf shook his head. "Don't wait, we will never be able to wait, no matter how many people there are, we can't protect it, and the later people will also bring other mercenaries, as long as we cross this big gap, we will still have a chance to encounter it in the Eastern Continent." ”

"Why do you have the idea of going to the Eastern Continent? Compared to other escape routes, this is definitely an unpopular route, and it is full of unknown dangers, and there is no previous experience to follow. Fern spat out the mint leaf that had been bitten in his mouth, and now he was a little more energetic.

"There was a man, who was said to have come out of the Black Swamp, with a couple of strong warriors and some women, who said that Wallis was going to be finished, and that there would be no place for the whole Wallis to hide, and that he would only survive by going to the Eastern Continent. Rolf shrugged, apparently noncommittal to the claim.

A look of surprise appeared on Fern's face. "What's that guy's name?"

Rolf tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, "It's like Aaron, people call him that, but I think it's a fake name." ”

Fern nodded. "Do you know where he is now?"

"I don't know. "But it is said that he has already arrived in the Eastern Continent with a group of men, and it would be great if we could meet them when we get there, and I don't want to venture out in a place where I don't know anything about it." ”

Fern looked up at the eastern sky, which was still pitch black, and it was still some time before dawn, and the howling evening breeze blew across his face, preventing him from opening his eyes. "I'm leaving, good luck to you, Rolf, and all of you, tell Seren to thank him for his food and water. ”

Rolf's mouth opened in surprise. "Aren't you going with us to the Eastern Continent? To be honest, I don't think it's wise to stay in Wallis. ”

"I know, Rolf. Fern turned so that he was no longer facing the wind. "But I have unfinished business and I have to go and get it done. ”

"Okay. Rolf nodded as if he didn't understand. "May the God of Warriors be with you, and may we see you again in the Eastern Continent. ”

Fern nodded to Rolf and turned to leave, when suddenly he remembered something and turned back again. "By the way, I have a question before I leave. ”

"You say. Rolf clasped his hands to his chest.

Fern frowned and pondered for a few seconds. "Since you were once a soldier in Alesia, you should know that you have a princess who left the palace before she came of age and never saw her again. ”

Rolf looked at Fern quizzically. "You're right, Alesia is a princess who was sent to the mage tower in Chavana by the king before she became an adult, it is said that she has extraordinary talent, the great sage of the mage tower personally came to Alesia to persuade the king, although the king is very reluctant, but the other party is the great sage after all, so the ending is what you said. What are you asking for?"

"Oh, I've dealt with some of the mages in the Mage Tower, and they've mentioned the princess. The mystery that had been hidden in Ferne's mind for a long time was finally solved, but he still wanted a more definite answer. "What's the princess's name?"

Rolf stared at Fern in bewilderment, but answered him anyway. "Nysteele, the youngest daughter of King Alesia, Princess Nysteele Tubulaire. ”