After five days on the White River, the Princess Merry finally sailed into the upper reaches of the White River. The river was much narrower and more turbulent than before, and if it weren't for Ness's wind magic, they might have waited for days to get the right direction, and now, the port of Stockingi was at the end of the horizon.

The Port of Stockingi is the only port in Doyle, so it is a must-visit if you enter Doyle by water. The site has a typical northern setting, with tall poplar and pine forests scattered around the harbour, and bare dirt on top of that. Compared to the southern countries, Doyle's land is much more barren and the climate is harsher. However, the Doyle survived in such difficult conditions and developed a trait of perseverance.

"Is it true that Doyle says that everyone is a warrior, even women?" asked Ness, curious.

"Yes, Doyle is located on the northern border of Wallis, facing the danger of the dark tide directly, and has been on guard against possible threats for centuries. Stan's proud expression was palpable.

"Sarah, too, I always thought Doyle was south of Sarah. Ness continued to ask as she surveyed the scenery on both sides.

"Sara used to belong to Doyle as well. At this, Stan's eyes darkened a little. "At the time of the death of Aidra XI, both princes considered themselves the rightful heirs and began to fight for the throne, but because of the oath made by the Doyles to defend the border since ancient times, we could not kill each other, so the last two princes led their followers to divide Doyle in two, the eldest prince, Aidra XII, who occupied the western and southeastern regions of the original Doyle, and the younger prince who owned the northeastern region and established a new state, Sarah. ”

"In this way, Sarah's national power is much weaker than Doyle's. "Fern has been to Doyle a few times, but he doesn't know much about this history.

"That's true, but for Doyle, the loss of Sara is still a huge loss. Stan's expression is grim.

After a few days of relatively easy sailing, Ness's mood has also improved a lot, and although she has been thinking about the evil mage and the mage tower, she can at least talk about something else with her companions. Hearing Stan's last words, Ness spoke her mind, "As far as I know, the current king of Doyle, Edra XVII, doesn't have a good relationship with King Sarah, and I even suspected that he had the opportunity to send troops to rescue Sara but didn't. ”

The other three were surprised that Ness could say this, and Rui raised an eyebrow and looked at her noncommittally.

"How do you know that?" Fern turned to Niss, his tone full of doubt.

Stan spoke almost simultaneously, "Impossible, even though Doyle and Sara have been divided into two countries, the Doyle people will not abandon their compatriots!"

Ness was told by the two of them, and she had no idea for a while, so she had to lower her head and play with the corners of her clothes, and her voice was as thin as a gossamer, "I just heard about it, and then I guessed it casually." ”

Fern and Stan don't say anything more, each thinking about their own thoughts.

The Princess Merry slowly sailed into the harbor, and the atmosphere here was completely different from that of the wet harbor. Each dock was guarded by two heavily armed soldiers, tall and strong, with a stern gaze sweeping over every crew member or passenger entering the harbor. The crew is focused on what they do and doesn't want to get into any trouble.

As soon as they landed on shore, a soldier came over and inquired, and there was no expression on the soldier's face, as if there was no expression. After ascertaining the origins of several people, the soldier retreated to his post and continued to watch the situation in the harbor with a serious observation.

"This is to prevent the demons from infiltrating Doyle, and I hope you don't get offended. Stan explained to the group.

Fern nodded, and turned back to beckon the captain to unload the horses and everyone's luggage. "Thank you so much for the help you and your crew gave us on this trip. As he spoke, he placed a small bag in the other person's hand.

The captain flipped the bag and looked at the mercenary suspiciously, "...... this?"

"Seventeen gold coins were inside, plus the one given to you at Wet Harbor, a total of twenty. Fern smiled slightly, "It's kind of a shock for you to mend the Princess Merry." ”

The captain bowed his head in shame or gratitude, his usual fierce expression was gone, and even the scar on his face no longer looked terrifying. "Thank you very much for your generosity, may the gods of navigation bless you, and if I am still here when you return, I will be more than happy to take you again. ”

"We'll be happy to ride your boat again, so goodbye, good luck. Fern politely said goodbye to the captain.

After saying goodbye to the captain, Stan leaned in to Fern and whispered, "How much gold did you give him?"

"Twenty. Fern replied, turning to Ness, who was also listening to them, "Ness, the extra ten gold coins will be deducted from my commission." ”

"How can I have the time to remember this?" replied casually as Ness packed her luggage.

Rui whispered in Ness's ear, "You see, Fern doesn't really care about money, does he?"

Ness nodded silently, "But it's too early to tell. ”

Rui smiled, and in her opinion, Ness was nothing more than a hard mouth.

The group was eating breakfast in the hotel and discussing the next trip.

"If I could drink such a great drink every day, I would be willing to compete with a demon. Fern took a sip of the ale, the refreshing taste that made him shake his head in admiration, "Only wine made from Doyle's annual wheat can taste so good." ”

"I hope you can still think that way when facing demons. Rui sneered and said lightly.

Fern raised an embarrassed eyebrow and asked about Ness. "Ness, does the wand indicate where the destination is in Doyle?"

"Nope. Niss subconsciously glanced at her wand, "All I know is that I'm in Doyle, and there's no clue at all." ”

Stan just shoves a piece of beef sauce into his mouth. "What are you looking for?"

"Yes, this is my trial, and I have to finish it. Ness set her wand aside and began to eat the bread and fruit on her plate. Her movements are very graceful and polite, as if what is in front of her is not food, but a work of art.

Fern watched Ness's movements, and from the time he met Ness in Deville, he felt that the girl didn't behave like a normal person. "Now it seems that there is more to it than just trials, based on the experience of the previous times, we must be looking for something related to the dark tide. Fern replied, taking another gulp.

"That's going to be easy......" Stan wiped his mouth and hands with a cloth. "Nothing related to the dark tide is allowed in Doyle, with one exception. He looked around at the other three, making sure they were all listening. "Have you heard of the source of magic?"

Ray and Ness answered in the affirmative almost at the same time, and Fern shook his head. Stan continued, "Yes, mages must know about it, and it's normal that you haven't heard of Fern, but there's one thing you don't know. ”

"Just say anything, I didn't expect you to sell it too!" said Fern, impatiently.

"It's not that I sell it, it's that too few people know about it. Stann paused, took a sip of his wine, and continued, "The source of magic obviously creates magic, but at the same time something unforeseen is also created, the most famous of which is the god of darkness, which we often call the Lord of Darkness. ”

"The Dark Lord?" Nessy almost jumped in surprise, "You mean the source of magic created the Dark ......Lord?"

"That's right, they're all creations of the source of magic. Rui said what Ness didn't finish.

"Oh, I think you already knew. Stan looked at Rui admiringly, "Have you ever been there?"

"No, no. Rui replied calmly, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, hiding his face behind the teacup.

Knowingly, Fern asked, "You mean it's magic that creates the Dark Tide?"

"It's not entirely true, so to speak, that magic and the Darktide are more like twins, born of each other, who were created by the source of magic for some reason in ancient times. Rui said lightly, as if he had known these things for a long time.

"Then why do so few people know, at most people only know that the minions of the ghoul are created by the Lord of the Darkness with magic, but even the Lord of the Darkness is also the creator of the source of magic, but very few people know. Ness asked Rui in confusion.

Rui took a sip and looked into Ness's eyes, "Because the Mage Tower doesn't want people to know, so that the prestige and authority of magic can be maintained." The corners of Rui's mouth twitched imperceptibly, "Imagine if people knew that magic and Darktide were actually the same thing, would magic continue to circulate in Wallis? ”

Ness's mood at this time was surprisingly calm, probably because the previous blow had made her accustomed to it. "Anyway, if we have the opportunity to go to the source of magic, we will know the truth, right?"

"Perhaps. Ray didn't answer Ness's question meaningfully.

Fern listened anxiously. "Stan, you didn't just bring up the source of magic for the two of them to talk about it for so long, did you?"

"Of course not, like I said, Doyle doesn't allow anything to do with the Dark Tide other than the source of magic, and you said your destination must be related to the Dark Tide, then there's only one possibility. Stan said slowly, the knight's code of conduct meant that he didn't speak as quickly as Fern did.

Ness's eyes lit up, "In that case, do you know the exact location of the source of magic?"

"Of course, in order to seal the source of magic so that it no longer creates something uncontrollable, Doyle built a tower on top of the source of magic as early as the founding of the country, guarded by an archmage, and moved the capital here to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Stan's proud expression leaps across his face.

"Well, it looks like our destination has been decided, and it really went smoothly beyond my expectations. Fern let out a soft breath and filled his glasses again.

"Well, I'm going to have to see what the truth is. Ness clenched her fists as if she had just made a decision.

Rui looked at her calmly, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, but he disappeared without a trace immediately.

Ness's eyes looked at Stan steadfastly, "What is the place we are going to, the capital of Doyle?"

Stan sat up straight, as if to tell an epic, "Wolfsburg, the pride of Doyle, the capital that never falls, Wolfsburg!"