Four guards stood guard at the western exit, and Fern reined in his horses, allowing the clouds to pass them slowly. Three of the guards were chatting, not paying any attention to them, and the last one stepped forward to look at them.

"Do you want to go out of the city at such a late hour, although there is a patrol in Shavanna at night, but I advise you to leave again tomorrow morning, for the night has not been peaceful lately. "The guards don't seem to have any ill intentions.

Fern nodded at him. "Thank you for your kindness, but our friend is in some trouble at Threndra, and we need to get there as soon as possible, or he may be killed. ”

The guard walked around the dark clouds and, after confirming that there was nothing suspicious, stepped aside. "Alright, let's go, be careful not to leave the avenue, only on the avenue there is patrol protection. ”

"We will take it to heart and thank you again. Fern nodded in thanks again, then pulled the reins and let the clouds slowly walk out of town at their normal pace.

Not long after leaving, a shout suddenly came from behind, "Stop them, I order you to stop them in the name of the Mage Tower!"

The guard looked behind him suspiciously, and saw a figure running towards him quickly, shouting incessantly. The four guards looked at each other, and then one of them quickly walked over to Fern and Queai, who were twenty yards away from the exit. "You guys wait a minute, we need to check it again. ”

"What to do, Fern?" asked Quiai, clutching the mercenary's clothes, nervously.

"Hold me tight!" Fern just said, and then kicked his legs the hind legs of his mount, and the clouds immediately flew forward like arrows off the string, leaving the guard and Lott far behind.

The shouts of the guards behind them were immediately inaudible, the dark clouds were bought by Fern for a lot of money, fast speed, good stamina, and at this time it played to its advantage, even if the guards immediately began to pursue, they could not catch up with them at all, not to mention that they must not even have found their horses at this time.

Fern led the clouds away from the avenue and ran in the direction Quiai had indicated, the mage huggling the mercenary's waist behind him, his face pressed against his back, feeling the pounding of his heartbeat.

It didn't take long for the clouds to reach the edge of a grove of trees, which were so dark in the night that it was difficult to see their surroundings. Based on his own memories, Quiai quickly found his mount, and the mage performed his flying skills, and with some reluctance, jumped from the back of the dark cloud to the back of another horse. "If I had known that your horse was so good at running, I wouldn't have had to go to such great lengths to hide it here first, and we could ride it together to Canrito. ”

"If both of them are riding dark clouds, I'm afraid they won't be able to get rid of the pursuers of the Mage Tower, so it's better to have one horse each. Fern turned his horse's head and motioned to continue his march toward Cumberland.

"Dark clouds? is that its name? I like the name. Quiai tugged at the reins so that he could keep up with the mercenaries.

"Yes, does your mount have a name?" Fern picked up his pace, but still slower than before, for the rest of the journey to Canrito would be a long journey for them, and their stamina would soon be exhausted if the horses were not used properly.

"Arrow, that's its name. Quiai patted his mount on the neck. It was a slender Tempe, not as long as the northern horses, but better suited for running than most southern horses.

"It's perfect for you. Fern said with a smile, and kept accelerating.

Queai smiled and thanked him, following closely to the mercenary's left, and the two horses began to gallop at a constant pace. Overhead, there was a brilliant starry sky, as if to suck the two of them into it, and there was silence all around, and the whole land was only the snort of the two mounts and the sound of horses' hooves. Quiai enjoyed the moment so much that she completely forgot that she was still on the run, and from time to time she looked at the mercenary's side face, imagining what the next journey would be like, and thought about it, and lowered her head with a red face.

Good moments are always short-lived, and just when Quiai thought he would be able to leave Shawana so smoothly, the sound of horses' hooves sounded in the distance behind him, and the mage looked nervously behind him, only to see a few black dots approaching them, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Faster than I thought. Fern said with a frown. "Pick up the speed and trust that our horses should be faster than theirs. ”

The two of them urged their mounts to speed up, and although the distance between them and the pursuers behind them gradually increased, they could not completely get rid of them for a while. After running for a long time, both of their mounts were exhausted, and the pursuers in the rear slowed down. Just as Fern was trying to slow down his mounts and regain some stamina, a patrol greeted them in front of them.

"Hell, how did they end up here, it's a mile away from the Great Road. Fern cursed anxiously, his mind flashing through various ways to deal with it.

"Maybe they have some way of communicating with each other, and they have planned to surround us for a long time. Quiai pulled out his wand, ready for the worst-case scenario.

"Do you have any magic that can temporarily incapacitate them?" Fern simply stopped the clouds and thought about what to do with the patrol.

"I can try, but it's a bit risky. Quiai nodded, and jumped off the back of the arrow. "After all, they are soldiers of the Mage Tower, and they have a bit of a ability to deal with magic, and I am afraid that they will not be able to hold them back with ordinary magic. ”

"It's too dangerous for you to do this, or let me fight them off, I'm still sure of it. Fern said he was about to dismount, but Queai stopped him.

"You stay on your horse, and when I give you instructions, you lead my horse through their right quickly, and I will catch up with you by flying skills. Quiai said softly, and walked forward.

"Be careful, Quiai. Fern whispered behind him.

The patrol soon caught up with Quiai, and the flag bearer in the lead pushed up the shield in front of his helmet that covered his eyes. "We have been instructed by the Mage Tower to bring you back, and if you cooperate, I can guarantee that you will not be harmed. ”

Queai shrugged. "Do you know why the Mage Tower is arresting us back?" said the mage as he looked around the five cavalry.

The flag bearer was unnaturally moved by the mage's gaze. "This is not in our consideration, and it is our duty to bring you back in accordance with the wishes of the Mage Tower. ”

"What else would you say besides that?" Quiai's charming smile appeared on his face, and even the patrols of the Mage Tower were attracted to the mage's smile, and they turned their necks uneasily in the mage's steps.

Another cavalryman pushed the flag bearer. "I said Elk, we can't afford to delay here, we'd better not get into trouble, Etiyesh is not easy to deal with. ”

The flag bearer immediately came to his senses and raised his voice. "It's useless to talk too much, I order you to tie up your hands and throw your weapons to the ground at once, right now, hurry!"

By this time, Quiai had already walked around them, returning to where he had been standing. "What if we don't?" the mage smiled at the flag bearer.

"If you don't do it...... Then I'm going to use force!" Elk looked away from the mage's face in a panic and looked at the mercenary to the side.

Quiai ignored them, but began to focus on whispering something in his mouth, and the atmosphere froze for a while.

At this moment, the sound of the horse's hooves of the pursuers behind them was heard again, and they chased after them again. When the patrolmen saw that reinforcements were coming, they became emboldened. "I repeat, lay down our arms immediately, or we will have to act. As he spoke, Elk drew his sword, and the other four horsemen drew their swords as well.

Queai looked up, a smile flashing across his lips. "Oh, what are you going to try?" said the mage, turning his head and shouting at the mercenary. "Now, Fern!

Almost at the same moment, Fern leaned over and slapped the arrow on the buttocks, and the arrow immediately flew out like a bow and arrow, and then the mercenary slapped his mount vigorously and quickly passed the patrol after the arrow.

"Stop, you ......" Elk tried to chase after him, but found that his mount seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall, and although he could not see anything, the horse could only wander in a narrow circle, unable to catch up with Fern, who was rapidly leaving.

The other four did the same, pushing each other in the circle, pushing their mounts hard, but still unable to get them even a step out of the circle.

Quiai used his flying skills to catch up with Fern and landed accurately on the arrow's back.

"Thank you, Quiai. Fern shouted from behind the arrow.

The mage turned his head and smiled at the mercenary. "I won't let you regret bringing mine. ”

"Of course not. Fern laughed too.

The two men urged their mounts to run quickly in the direction of Cumberland, shaking off the pursuers behind them once more. A deep blue shimmer of light shone on the horizon, casting a long shadow in front of them, and the border between Cumberland and Shevana drew closer and closer.