The black peaks stretched in the distance, stretching across the horizon and stretching infinitely on either side, as if there were no boundaries. There is still a day's journey from Blackridge Mountain, but the towering peaks have almost covered the sky in front of you, and you can only see a black oppression in the distance.

Fern looked in awe at the mountain peaks in the distance, his left hand on his chest, his lips open and closed.

"Are you praying? I thought you didn't believe in anything. Enoch glanced curiously at the mercenary and walked over to him.

"It's just to give yourself some confidence, this mountain is so majestic that people want to fall to their knees unconsciously when they see it. Fern said with a smile, lowering his left hand.

"It's not just majestic, it's weird. Nigel spoke suddenly, startling the others. "It was supposed to start from the Endless Sea and continue until the Frozen Plains, but I don't know why there was an extra gap in the middle, and this gap couldn't be explained by any way. ”

"I thought you were dumb. Enoch was clearly frightened.

Nigel seemed to be so caught up in the question he was asking that he didn't care about the fighter's words. "I've always suspected that this gap was not something that could be done by the forces of nature, perhaps it was created by the dark lord. ”

Fern looked at Nigel's attentive expression and decided not to bother him anymore. It's been five days since they left Valdosta and headed north, and in those five days Nigel has barely spoken, except for Fern who simply says thank you when he brings him tea, and the rest of the time the mage seems to be completely immersed in his own consciousness, and only the physical body still exists in this world. Fern wondered if he had not been pulled back on the road several times, he would have walked on the ice of the Zane.

The vaguely discernible path disappeared after the third day, and the group ended up resting for the night in a roadside fishing ground, which was deserted during the season, and no one tried to cut through the thick ice to catch fish. The road disappeared at the end of the fishing grounds, and further north the people had to forge new paths on their own, and no one had ever been here, except perhaps a few hunters. The four men remained there after passing by the fishing grounds, and the five Altuna soldiers who had escorted them here remained at the fishing grounds for the time being, and agreed to wait for them here for twenty days. There was no road to go, only snow covered with gravel, so the horses could not help at all, and on the contrary, they could fall and get hurt.

Fern didn't know how they were going to find the dragon's lair once they got to Blackridge, but Adeline said that Nigel would show them the way they got there, which made the mercenaries feel familiar, and he was once again unhappy with the way the mages were doing things, so why not make it clear in the first place?

However, grumbling to grumbling, they still set out on the journey, and now Blackridge Mountain is in front of them, but there is no clue at all, Fern can't help but be a little worried, so he decides to disturb the mage. "Do you feel anything now, where do we go next?"

Nigel gave the mercenary a strange look. "You won't be at the foot of the mountain until tomorrow, and it's not too late to ask me then. ”

Fern was pushed back, disgruntled, muttering curses in his mouth, and Enoch patted him on the shoulder. "At least he's talking today, and I'm worried he won't be able to tell us. ”

"Again, if he doesn't say anything tomorrow, I'll throw him into the mountains, and we'll find it ourselves. Fern shook his head helplessly. "Enoch, your temper seems to be a lot better than before, what made you change?"

The warrior subconsciously glanced at Miruria, who was walking to the side, and scratched the back of her head. "I just felt like I was too impulsive and needed to change it. ”

Fern smiled evilly and shook his finger, didn't say anything more, and continued to walk north on gravel.

The closer they got to Blackridge, the more Fern felt small, and by the afternoon of the sixth day, they could already see the foot of the mountain in the distance. Looking up from the base of the mountain, almost all the peaks are covered in snow, and only some of the extremely steep cliffs can be seen with some black rock faces.

"This place should be called White Ridge Mountain, and you can hardly see the black rocks. Fern sat resting on a large rock, the hot breath from his mouth condensing into a mist in front of him.

"That's because the weather is unusual, and at this time of year, the snow has melted a little bit on the mountain, and in the summer, it's black halfway up the mountain. Enoch was drinking hot, and the warrior was worried that he wouldn't have enough wine for the three men, but Nigel didn't drink at all.

"I see. Fern nodded silently, chewing on the herb that Miluria had given them, the scout said that this herb could relieve some altitude sickness, but Fern didn't think they would climb the mountain very fast, so they didn't need it at all, but when the mercenary saw Enoch's eyes that could kill him, he had to chew it obediently in his mouth.

"Alright, since we're about to get to Blackridge Mountain, you can talk about your next plans. Enoch touched the bottle, then looked at Nigel.

The mage nodded thoughtfully, lifted his cloak, revealing the two wands hanging from his waist, and then expertly removed the one on the right. "This was given to me by Adeline when she left, saying that she could detect the aura emanating from the dragons, but she needed to be close enough to be able to detect them. ”

"Then you try it now and see if there's any reaction?" Fern looked at him with his hands folded, tilting his head.

"Now, isn't it too early, you see, we're ...... away."

"Stop talking nonsense, try it!" Enoch yelled, scaring the mage's words back.

Nigel glanced cautiously at the warrior, took two steps to the side, found a fairly smooth clearing, and thrust his wand into the frozen very stiff earth, then closed his eyes and began to recite the incantation.

The other three watched in bewilderment as the mage behaved strangely, and Enoch handed the mercenary a bottle of ale, which had been roasted, and held another bottle in his hand. "What is he doing here?"

"I guess he'll not stop until the wand goes down, and I wish the wand didn't go the way we came. Fern unscrewed the bottle, sniffed the aroma of the wine, and raised his eyebrows in enjoyment.

"Is this going to work? I feel like I'm relying on luck. Miluria took a cup of hot black tea and sipped slowly.

"Since it was given to him by Adeline, it should be of some use, it's hard for us to understand the mages. Fern took several sips of ale and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

As soon as the mercenary finished speaking, Nigel stopped chanting and opened his eyes. The mage shook his head and walked over to the wand, pulling it out of the dirt. "No, it's not close enough for the wand to detect the dragon's breath. ”

"Is this over?so soon?" Enoch blinked in disbelief. "I mean, Nigel, you're not kidding us. ”

"Fooling you, I could have read comfortably in the tower of Wolfsburg, but Adeline forcibly pulled me here, accompanied you to hike up Blackridge Mountain in this icy and snowy place, and worse, helped you destroy the dragon eggs in the middle of a group of demons and black dragons, you say I am still in such a good mood to play with you?" Nigel rolled his eyes and walked past the warrior in a huff, and sat down on the big rock where the mercenary had just been sitting.

The three of them opened their mouths in surprise, it was the first time they had seen Nigel say so many words at once, and it finally sounded more like normal people's words. "It turns out that this guy was not satisfied with Adeline's arrangement a few days ago, so he hasn't spoken. Fern chuckled.

"He dares to be dissatisfied with the arrangement of the great sage?" said Miruria, looking at the mercenary in surprise.

"The Great Sage is also a human being, and since Nigel is her apprentice, then she must be very familiar with her, and she will not be like us, thinking that Adeline is very mysterious and high. Fern said with a smile, walking towards the mage.

"It seems that I was too him, and he was only forced to come with us out of desperation. Enoch shrugged his shoulders and began to gulp down. Miruria smiled and patted the warrior's arm.

I don't know what Fern said to the mage, but Nigel nodded one last time, picked up the hot black tea from the ground next to the fire, and drank it slowly.

As the sky grew darker, the shadows of Blackridge Mountain and the sky gradually merged, and the three of them found an abandoned hunter's hut in the leeward of a small hill, although the house was dilapidated and leaking with wind everywhere, but in this place where even a grove could not be found, this was the best shelter. Fern lay down wrapped in his cloak, worried about the next few days, not for his own safety, but for if something did happen to him, he would never see Ness and Queai again.