The convoy slowly moved forward in the howling wind and snow, the snow was not heavy, but the fast cold wind mixed with snowflakes kept hitting everyone's cloaks, making the cold penetrate deeper into the bone marrow. The carriage at the head of the convoy was pulled by four northern horses, the axles of which were stuck in the snow, and even the four horses were still difficult to pull up, and the horses slowly marched slowly through knee-deep snow towards Wolfsburg.

Ness and Ray rode at the back of the convoy, and on their third day into the Borderlands, they encountered the convoy that had set out from Deluth to deliver supplies to Wolfsburg. They were on the verge of collapse, exhausted from the previous days of sleeping in the wilderness, and Ness, who had never kept vigil before, had to take turns keeping vigil with Rui, and on the night of the first vigil, Ness almost cried until dawn. Not only that, but the eyes and ears of the Mage Tower were all over Roanoke and Tempe, and the two of them were under tremendous mental pressure all the time, and they did not dare to step into any village or town, not even closer. When they ran out of food and water, they had to find their own water and fruit to satisfy their hunger, and although Ray still had some experience of surviving in the wild, it was still too much worse than Fern, and the two girls themselves did not know how they managed to make it to the border between Tempe and the Borderlands.

The Borderlands was undoubtedly the greatest barrier in front of them, where no one could find food and water to feed their hunger. Although the two had picked as much fruit as they could before entering the Borderlands, and had filled the water bladders, the arid and cold desert was draining their reserves much faster than they had imagined. When they had eaten the fruit and had only enough water to drink until the evening, the moor in front of them was still endless, the only difference was that the snow from the cold air that expanded southward covered the yellow moor with a layer of white.

In their dilemma, the leader of the convoy spotted them, a thick-bearded Dluth, and there were about a dozen men in the convoy, men and women, mostly guarding the convoy, and women were their wives. The leader's wife, Carly, was a capable middle-aged woman who persuaded her husband to let the two mages join their team, and their lives were saved.

"You don't want to eat and drink for nothing, you have to help protect the convoy, it's not been a peaceful year, you two better not cause any trouble to the convoy, we don't want to have two more burdens. Although the team leader agreed to bring them on, his tone was still not very friendly.

Niss timidly hid behind Rui, who responded to the leader with neither humility nor arrogance, "You don't need to worry about our safety, all we need is food and water to satisfy our stomachs, we will protect ourselves, and we will protect you." ”

The team leader looked at the young girl in front of him in surprise, completely unable to understand where her confidence came from, and had no interest in understanding. "Well, so be it, by the way, my name is Reinhard, and this is my wife, Carly. ”

Carly looked at the two girls in a friendly manner. "Our daughter is as old as this red-haired lady, what is your name, beautiful girl. ”

"Ness. The girl leaned out from behind Rui and looked curiously at the couple sitting in the van.

"What a good name, our daughter's name is Jenny, and it's a good name, isn't it?"

Carly's smile makes Ness suddenly want to have a mother like her, the girl's mother left her when she gave birth to her, and she has never enjoyed maternal love. "Yes, kind lady, there is no doubt that it is a good name. Ness walked to Ray's side and stopped hiding behind.

After that, the two followed the team all the way here, and Ness's lively and cute personality made everyone in the team like her, and some couples even wanted to take her home to get engaged to their son, but Ness kept shaking her head in fright and refused. "I'm already engaged. That was the only reason Ness could think of, and she didn't forget to raise the Mage Ring on her left hand to prove it to everyone. I'm already engaged, who is the other person? Who else could it be but you, Fern? Do you hear me, Fern?

After five days of walking in the snow, Wolfsburg appeared before them like a morning star shining in the sky, and Reinhard and Carly embraced. "Here we are, old man, you should keep your promise. ”

"Of course, of course. Reinhard kissed his wife.

Ness looked at them with sweetness and happiness in her eyes.

"Thinking about Fern?" Ray's voice crept into Niss's ears as the girl blushed and lowered her head.

Wolfsburg and their months ago were little changed, the guards at the gate still scrutinizing every traveler who passed, each taking off their hood and waiting behind the line entering the city. The two mages said goodbye to the convoy after entering the city, and everyone reluctantly said goodbye to the two girls, especially Ness, who even left them her address in Delus.

Reinhard waited to the side, and after the rest of the convoy continued to move forward, he said to the two girls, "I'm sorry, I'm not a person who can't be saved, but the day I met you in the Borderlands, I recognized you two, on the bulletin board in Duluth, with your portraits, we are just civilians struggling to make a living, we don't want to get into any trouble, I hope you can understand, and forgive me for my selfishness, fortunately Carly persuaded me, otherwise I think I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life, I ask for your forgiveness again." ”

Rui and Ness looked at each other in surprise. "No, Reinhard, you saved us, no matter what you thought before, but you chose to help us in the end, we thank you for your help, the light will shine on you. ”

Reinhard nodded at them and turned away in the direction of the convoy.

The two of them made their way to the castle gates, and during the journey they had heard the caravan talk about the rumors that Byron's Doyle army had defeated the Dark Tide in Sarah and obtained a large amount of holy water, which led them to believe that either Fern or Stan must be here, or at least one of them must be here.

There were more guards at the gate of the castle than before, and six knights in silver-white armor stood straight on either side of the gate, ignoring the two girls in front of them.

"Please, just pass a word to us, and say we're friends with Fern or Stan. "Ray and Ness have tried several times, but the knights have ignored them.

Finally, the knight closest to them pushed up the metal baffle in front of the door and glanced at the two of them. "If every commoner comes and asks us to send a message to the king, what else will the king do with state affairs?"

"But we really have to see our friends, and we're ...... now It's dangerous. Ness came close to saying that the Mage Tower was wanted by them.

The knight lowered the baffle and turned into a statue again. Rui sighed helplessly, and Ness almost cried. "I think we'd better find a hotel to stay in, I don't feel good standing in such an empty place. Days of hiding had made Rui's vigilance higher than ever, and she felt like she would be discovered by a mage in any open place.

Ness pouted and nodded, and just as the two turned to leave, a man's voice sounded behind them. "Wait, who did you just say you were looking for?"

Rui immediately turned around as if he had seen a savior. "Fern! or Stan, we don't know which of them is here, but one of them must be here, or you won't be able to find the holy water!"

The man raised an eyebrow and pushed the door open from the inside. "Dear lady, can you tell me your names?" said the knight, giving Rui a sneaky glance.

"I'm Rui, this is Ness, we're their companions, please let us know, we're in danger right now, and we need to see them urgently. Rui was also anxious, and his calm demeanor on weekdays did not know where to go.

"Rey, Ness......" the man mused. "Please wait here for a moment, and I'll make sure. Before leaving, the knight did not forget to look at Rui again.

"As soon as possible, as I said, we are in a dangerous situation. Rui looked at the back of the departing knight and said loudly.

The knight raised his hand backwards. "Here, you can rest assured that no one can do anything to you. ”

The two girls walked restlessly in front of the gate, not stopping for a moment, fearing that in such a conspicuous place, the people of the Mage Tower had already spotted them, and might rush forward and arrest them at any moment. Seeing that they were about to join their companions, and that the arduous journey that had lasted so long was coming to an end, they could finally get through it without fear every day, and they didn't want to lose their efforts at the last moment.

"Why haven't you come yet, we're really dangerous!" It's only been ten minutes, and Rui can't wait.

The knight who had spoken before answered her. "You can rest assured, Brewster said that he would convey it to you, and he will do it, and here, you can rest assured that even the dark tide will not do anything to you. ”

"You don't know, this danger is different from the dark tide, and you can't ......" Rui was almost about to put on the knight's mask, just then, the sound of armor clashing came from far and near through the gate.

"What's their name, Brewster, are you sure you heard me right?" a familiar voice came into Ray and Ness's ears, and their hearts almost jumped out of their chests.

"Rui, and Ness, I can't mishear both names. The knight replied loudly.

The door was quickly pushed open again, and a tall figure stood in the doorway. "Rey, Nice, it's really you, Seven, it's the best gift you've ever given me. ”

"Stan! It's really you! Great, we're finally safe......" Ness couldn't hold back anymore and rushed forward to throw herself into the knight's arms, tears welling up in her eyes, and the grievances that had been building up for so long finally broke out unreservedly.

Stan gently pats the girl on the back. "It's me, Ness, whatever you're afraid for, now that you're safe, I'm not going to let you get hurt. ”

Ness nods her head and hugs Stan tightly and refuses to let go, tears wetting Stan's breastplate.

Rui exhaled a long breath, as if all the pressure had been expelled from her body, she had reached a critical point, on the verge of collapse, and now, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "After seeing you for so long, you seem to have matured a lot, is it time to call you Stan-sama. ”

"I'm still me, Stan, the only difference is that I'm a real knight now. Stan reached out his left hand and put his arm around Ray's shoulder, and placed his right hand gently on Ness's back, and Ray held out his hands, and the three of them hugged each other tightly.