The forest is dark, with no obvious path, and Stan and Ness can only lead their mounts through the trees. They didn't know where to find the mages, but they believed that if they were delivered to their door, the mages would show up.

Ness is nervous, and the gloomy atmosphere scares her even more, and the girl prefers to follow Stan rather than walk in front of her. The lingering fog in front of her always reminded Ness that something terrible was hiding ahead, ready to burst out and attack her at any moment.

"Stan, I'm scared. Ness finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped where she was.

"Don't be afraid, Ness, if you think those mages are still ahead, there must be no danger. Stan said this, uneasy, unable to understand why the mages would venture into the forest, when they could have swapped hostages.

Niss continued to urge the horse forward, and the girl lowered her head and observed the surrounding situation with the corner of her eye, not even daring to come out. Suddenly, there was a strange sound in front of them, like the sound of a blower in a blacksmith's shop, or like the whistling of the wind quickly through the cave, and Ness wanted to hold the reins immediately, but only then did she remember that her hands were tied behind her back. "Stan! What's that?"

The knight rode in front of Ness, looking warily ahead, the fog was still thick and nothing happened. "Maybe it's an animal from the forest. ”

"What animal makes such a sound, even the breathing of a large beast is not so terrifying. Still uneasy, Ness hides behind Stan.

"You'd better be prepared to cast some self-preservation spells, the ones that you can cast without your hands, be careful. Stan swept the fan in front of him again, making sure there was no situation, and then moved on, the knight no longer following Ness, but riding alongside her.

The two of them rode slowly for half an hour in a depressing atmosphere, and with no mages in sight, Stan couldn't help but get anxious. "Could it be that we took a different route than them and missed?"

"No, if they have the heart to exchange hostages with you, then someone will be watching you from the moment you first enter the forest, and if you go wrong, they will have a way to correct your course. Ness said with confidence.

"How can I correct it? they can affect the direction I'm going from not showing up?" Stan asked, puzzled, his glasses still looking around alertly.

"They'll take advantage of the environment, like making a little noise, or causing some trouble on your way and forcing you to change course. Ness said, frightened again. "But I can't imagine how they made a sound like that. ”

"I'm relieved when you say that, they must have made the noise just now. Stan convinces himself, and his mood is much lighter.

"Stan, I said, it doesn't sound like they can get it. Ness looked around worriedly, but in the fog, visibility was only a pitiful ten yards or so.

"Don't scare yourself, we have more important things to worry about. Stan pushes his mount on.

As soon as Stan finished speaking, the sound was heard again in front of the two of them on the right, this time more rapidly and more pronouncedly.

"Again, Stan!" Ness nervously recited the spell, waiting for danger to arise and cast her spell immediately.

But the two of them nervously waited for several minutes, and still nothing happened. "Hell, are those mages scaring us?" Stan flicked his sword in the air in exasperation. "Let's go, we won't find those mages anymore, I'm afraid our spirits are going to break. With that, the knight urged the mount to move on.

Ness pouted and glanced around at the fog around her, and the bad feeling grew stronger.

The two of them walked for about half an hour, and during this time, they heard a similar noise again, but this time it seemed to be a little farther away from them, and Ness was still very scared, and Stan was already a little numb, and the knight didn't even stop, but continued to let the horses walk through the difficult woods.

Finally, a little fire appeared not far ahead, and the two of them were as excited as a ship lost in the sea finally seeing the lighthouse, and hurriedly rode over. I saw that in a slightly larger clearing, a small fire was burning, and there were four mages standing next to the fire, and Nerfi was tied up by them, and the girl was sitting by the fire and staring blankly at the continuous string of flames.

"It's finally here, I thought you wouldn't dare to come?" Seeing Stan and Ness appear, the mages raised their eyebrows, Stan came with Ness completely unexpectedly, and even Nerfi unexpectedly half-opened his mouth. "What do you mean by that?" asked the mage in the lead, puzzled.

"Exchanging Ness for Nerfi for you, that's what it means. Stan looked at the four mages with a serious expression and replied as planned. "Your target is Ness, let that girl go. ”

"We're not so stupid as to believe your rhetoric. The mage who took the lead glanced disdainfully at Stan's sword around Niss's neck. "Where's Rui?"

"In the cellar of the inn, I tied her up while she was still sleeping. Stan tried his best to lie, which was not an easy task for him.

"Can you tie her up?" the other mage stared at the knight, questioning his explanation.

"Is it difficult? I just need to gag her before she wakes up, and then I can subdue her with just one hand. Stan said, deliberately raising his other hand, the knight's thick arm almost as thick as two of the mages.

"Rolf, I think he has a point, you look at his body, if the four of us don't know magic, he can take us all down by himself. A hooded mage leaned into the lead mage's ear and muttered softly.

"Shut up, I'll judge for myself. The mage named Rolf rebuked him, and then looked at the knight sternly. "Why are you willing to trade Ness for Nerfi? Isn't Ness more important?"

"That's for you, not for me. Stan didn't look at Rolf, but at Nerfi sitting on the ground, and the girl looked at him suspiciously, and their eyes met, perhaps frustrated and worried about her capture, and the girl's eyes looked pitiful and pitiful. "I fell in love with her. ”

Nerfi's eyes widened suddenly, his eyes full of surprise, and contrary to her, the knight's eyes were full of tenderness. "When I first met her, I stubbornly thought she would be a problem, but slowly, I found that my eyes were always looking for the slender figure in the crowd, and every time I saw her, my heart throbbed. ”

Ness obviously didn't expect Stan to speak so realistically, and was almost touched by him, but she didn't forget to add fuel to the fire. "Stan, I really misunderstood you, I thought we had gone through so many dangers together, and we had long been partners in life and death, but I didn't expect you to betray me for a woman!"

Stan glanced sadly at Ness. "I'm sorry, Ness, but I can't live without Nerfi. The knight looked tenderly at the girl sitting on the ground again. "Whenever we slept together against a stone under the night sky, the scent of your body and the sound of your gentle breath would cling to my heart, and I had always tried to restrain my feelings for you, for I knew that in your heart I was nothing at all, and that I should not be sentimental, but until the night I returned to the Ferrell Fortress, your smile of looking back completely conquered me, and I will never forget that smile, which was the most beautiful view I have ever seen, purer than the snow of Doyle, and brighter than the glorious starry sky of the north. At that moment, I was even more sure that I was in love with you, Nerfi. ”

"Hell, I can't take it anymore, let's change the hostages and drive them back. "The hooded mage can't stand Stan's meaty words.

The knight didn't pay any attention to him, and continued to speak. "Nerfi, I know that I am just an ordinary knight, and I am not worthy of you, and if it weren't for Morris's instructions, you might not have let me be by your side to protect you, but please believe that I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect you, even if it is only in exchange for your disdain. ”

Nerfi stares at Stan in a daze, her lips trembling, but she can't say a word. Ness was also moved, and tears were already filling her eyes.

"Okay, okay, we believe. Rolf waved his hand impatiently. "You let Ness come over first, and then we let Nalfi go. ”

"Put both sides together. Stan looked at Rolf solemnly and said word by word, the hand holding the sword increasing its strength, and the blade of the sword pressed tightly against Niss's shoulder. "I know there are other people around here, and I'm not going to take that risk. ”

Rolf looked at the knight in surprise. "What else? We're four of us. ”

"Don't play dumb, mage, we've heard your companions sound several times as we got in. Stan looks at Rolf dismissively, clearly dismissive of his level of lying.

"What's the sound? is it like the sound of a blower pumping air?" a mage behind Rolf suddenly stepped forward, his face frightened.

"yes, that's it, you heard that?" it wasn't until Stan realized the problem. "No, isn't that from your people? Why are you so surprised?"

The mage was about to open his mouth to speak, when suddenly several strange noises rang out around them at once, each as strong as trying to drain the air around them. "That's it...... That's it. The mage shuddered.

Stan realizes the seriousness of the problem, and the sword is off Ness's shoulder, ready for battle. "Prepare to cast a spell, and I'll protect you and Nerfi. The knight said softly. Ness's brow furrowed, her lips slightly open and closed, paying attention to all the sounds around her.

Everyone forgot about the exchange of hostages for a while, put on a posture, and looked around vigilantly. The thick fog remained, and the restless agitation gradually approached them.