The cold wind blowing from Blackridge Hill swept over the soldiers marching along the foot of the mountain, and Stan followed behind Altoona's army, ahead of him was a line of Altoona's soldiers with no end in sight, and behind him was a long line of longer Ogden and Dayton soldiers. The whole procession stretched for miles, and Stan had never seen so many soldiers marching together, several times more than he had seen Doyle soldiers in Sarah, and he silently estimated how long it would take to run from the front of the line to the rear, and after trying to calculate it several times, he finally gave up. The knight smiled self-deprecatingly and shook his head helplessly.

Niss, who was on the sidelines, noticed his movements. "What's wrong Stan, did you think of something?"

"Oh...... Yes. Stan looks at Ness, smiling knowingly. "I'm trying to figure out how long the line will be, but I don't have a clue, and if Fern is here, he'll have a solution. ”

"Forne, maybe, I wonder how he's doing, will he go to Magnus Fortress to join us?" Ness's entire face was wrapped in a hood and scarf, revealing only two sky-blue eyes.

"I don't know, Ness, I'd love to answer you he would, but you know that as a knight, I can't lie to you, so, I'm sorry, Ness. Stan lowered his head, not daring to look Ness in the eye again.

"Are you talking about Fern? I think he's going to be fine. Ethan, who was at the forefront of Ogden's army, overheard the conversation between the two.

"Your Royal Highness. Stan respectfully saluted Prince Ogden. "Have you seen Fern?"

"Yes, I've seen him, and in Grand Rapids, we've seen each other like old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time. Ethan wore a hood, but he didn't cover his face, and his calm face seemed to be completely free of distractions. "I've heard from Elon Han that Adeline has sent him to destroy the Black Dragon Egg, and I know it must be an extremely dangerous mission, but I'm sure he'll be fine. ”

"Why?" Ness asked eagerly, her eyes looking straight at Ethan.

Stan looked at Ness in surprise, he didn't expect the girl to dare to speak to the prince of Ogden in such a tone, but Rui didn't show any surprise, and Nerfi didn't care about riding in front of her, without even looking back.

Ethan didn't care, and smiled faintly on his calm face. "Because he is a descendant of Oberon, I am confident that he will be able to get through this. ”

"It doesn't seem to be the difference between this and not saying it. Nerfi whispered to herself in front of her.

Cold sweat oozes from Stan's forehead, but luckily Ethan doesn't hear it, and the knight quickly diverts the subject. "I didn't expect there to be such a safe route to Magnus Fortress, I thought we were going to have to cross the Twilight Forest, I can't imagine stepping into it again. ”

"It's a safe route, but it's much farther than going straight through the forest, so we'll go north to the base of Mount Blackridge, and then head east along the foothills, using Mount Blackridge as a reference, and we won't encounter any monsters in the forest even if we don't take the path. Ethan spoke eloquently and seemed to know all about it.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Prince, for your explanation, this is indeed the case. Stan nodded to the prince in thanks.

Ethan waved his hand. "Just call me Ethan, and if I could, I'd like to remove Prince Ogden right away. ”

"Your Highness, be careful with your words. Wendsol, who had been riding behind Ethan's side, suddenly interjected.

"Got it, I'm just talking about it. Ethan shrugged helplessly and looked ahead with an expressionless face.

Stan and his companions are also affected by the awkward atmosphere, and no one speaks, just slowly moving forward with the large group.

The march had been going on for five days, and all the way there was the sound of horses snorting and armor clashing, and the soldiers did not want to say much under the severe cold, and most of them buried their faces in their hoods. The knee-deep snow made the Altoona soldiers suffer a lot, and every half hour, the soldiers who opened the way would change their batches so that their frozen legs could recover. The soldiers who walked behind stepped in the footsteps of their colleagues in front of them, and it was finally a lot easier. But the soldiers further behind still had difficulty walking, and the mud that they had repeatedly trampled on was soaked with snow, and the mud splashed all over the soldiers' armor.

Every night, the soldiers of the three kingdoms would set up camp in a long row like the marching procession, with no stretch in sight. The torches lit up across the horizon like the Milky Way, reflecting the aurora borealis in the sky.

"It's spectacular!" Stan said as he climbed a small snow-covered dirt slope and marveled at the landscape.

Nerfi leaps lightly and flies to Stan's side. "How many people will survive the battle?"

The mage's words sent Stan's heart sinking, and the knight thought of the heavy casualties of Doyle's army. "Adeline said this battle was going to be even worse than the one we had experienced, and I hope she's wrong. ”

"The foresight of the great sage is seldom wrong. Nerfi said flatly. "We can't change what is destined to happen. ”

Stan takes a deep breath and looks at the mage. "Although I always thought that we could not be swayed by fate, now it seems that the only thing we can do is to protect the people around us. ”

Nellfi's pale green eyes met Stan's, and the silence lasted for several seconds before the girl finally spoke, "Thank you." ”

Stan wants to say something, but Nerfi has already flown off the slope. The knight shrugged his shoulders to himself, continuing to soak up the magnificent scenery in front of him.

In the afternoon of the sixth day, after crossing a prominent foothill, Stan finally saw in the distance that at the end of the horizon, a majestic fortress was revealed, the span of which was so great that it was wider than some of the kingdom's towns. On either side of the fortress are two towering peaks, which stand majestically like two guards. Even at this distance, Stan can feel the grandeur of the entire fortress. The soldiers around him, like him, were all impressed by the sight in the distance, and the exclamations came one after another.

The Altoona soldiers at the front had already entered the fortress, and Stan and the others would have to march for a long time before they could get there. The destination within reach made everyone forget the fatigue of the day's march, and the speed of the team suddenly increased, and the soldiers picked up their spirits and accelerated towards the fortress.

Finally, Stan and his companions stood in front of the twenty-yard gate, and the soldiers around them poured into the fortress. "We arrived, one of the two strongest fortresses of Wallis, the fortress of Magnus. Stan said excitedly.

"Let's get inside, Stan, I can't wait to see what it's like. Ness was also very excited, urging Vernon to go in.

"You better be prepared, there must be so many people pouring in, it must be very crowded inside. Nellfi gave Ness a cold look.

"This time, I agree with what Nerfi said. Ruiya poured cold water on Ness.

"Ness, don't listen to them, come, follow me. Stan smiles comforting Ness.

Ness snorted at the two mages and followed Stan.

The four of them passed through the gate and entered the interior of the fortress, only to find that they had just entered the westernmost part of the entire fortress, and looked to the right, and the towering walls stretched out as if there was no end. Every two hundred yards or so, there would be an entrance as tall as the gate they had just passed. In order to spread the ranks out and not block the entrance, the Altuna soldiers who had arrived earlier continued some distance forward, entering the fortress through the entrance further east. The soldiers who had found the place assigned to their army had already set up their tents, and the Magnus Fortress had been garrisoned by less than 2,000 men for a long time, so all the stone houses and the wooden houses that had been temporarily erected not long ago were not enough for the soldiers, so most of the soldiers had to sleep in tents. Fortunately, the soldiers had been prepared, and the large and thick tents, coupled with the tall walls on the north side to protect them from the cold wind, were enough to withstand the cold of the north.

It was as if the fortress had exploded, and all the soldiers who had just arrived were busy, and the noise filled their ears with the constant passing of the four.

"It was really crowded and noisy. Ness looked at everything around her excitedly and unexpectedly.

Stan smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "There are many more soldiers still marching here outside the fortress, and by the time everyone is here, I'm afraid you'll have no place to put your feet. ”

Ness raised her eyebrows, worriedly looking at the clearing in front of her that was gradually filling.

"Alright, Stan, don't scare her. Ray poked the knight and rode up to Ness. "Let's go, let's go find Adeline, she said she'll arrange a place for us. ”

"What? why didn't I know there was anything else?" Stan looked at Rui in surprise, the knight trying to say something, but he couldn't help himself.

Nerfi couldn't help but laugh as she looked at Stan's embarrassment. "Come along, Stan, I think Adeline will make an exception for you to stay too. ”

"I ...... I just want to protect you, you know, we've been working together since Wolfsburg, and if you're not in my sights, I won't be able to focus on the Dark Tide. Stan was still explaining that the three mages had already ridden away. "Hell, wait for me!" shouted the knight, chasing after him.