Since fleeing Dorne, Stan and Nerfi have been galloping towards Gaiman, fearing that they will be overtaken by Dorne's soldiers, and that it will have already been captured by the time they reach Gaiman. They rarely rest, only stopping when the horses need to rest, and during these times they also eat something to fill their stomachs quickly. Stan also finds a safe place to sleep in the second half of the night, and then sets out again four hours later, just before dawn begins.

The closer he gets to the border between Dorne and Gaiman, the more cautious Stan becomes, as even in Dorne, where the dark tide has not yet touched the area, the towns and villages in this area have long been deserted. The two passed through several dead villages along the way, and the eerie atmosphere made people shudder.

Finally, in the evening of the third day, the two crossed the border line at Gaiman and continued along the road leading to Gaiman's capital. Traces of the raging tide can already be seen here, and the mud that has been trampled can be seen everywhere, and it is clear that the dark tide is not marching in formation, but in a large chaotic formation.

That night, the two arrived at the first village in Gaiman, unknown to the name of the village and unable to find anything to use as a clue. The entire village had been burned, charred corpses were everywhere on the ground, the black wreckage had turned cold, and wolves roaming in the distance were watching the place.

Nerfi covers her nose to keep out the unpleasant smell. "It's so miserable, why didn't they run away?"

"Maybe it's too late, they're just civilians, they've never seen a dark tide, they've never even seen a war, and when they see such a large group of monsters appear on their doorstep, they can't move at all. Stan sighed.

Nerfi looked uneasily into the distance. "The dark tide is still ahead, maybe it's not far away. ”

Stan doesn't stop the horses. "It's not as close as you think, the fire here has long since been extinguished, and there is no more smoke coming out, indicating that the dark tide passed here at least half a day ago, maybe a day ago or more. ”

"Can we get to the capital before they do?" Nerfi drove Stan after him, making it even more stressful to stay in a ruined village at night.

"We had to give it a try anyway, even if it was at the risk of a dark tide halfway through. Stan looks in the direction of the capital. "Damn, we've wasted too much time in Dorne!"

Instead of responding, Nerfi rubbed her eyes on horseback, she was exhausted. She has fled from Dorne with Stan for the past few days, not getting a chance to rest well along the way. She's just a mage, and she's a girl, and she's not at all able to match Stan's physical strength.

Stan notices this, and he looks at Nellfi with concern. "I'm sorry Nerfi, I'm so bent on getting to Gaiman as quickly as possible that I'm ignoring your condition, let's find a place to rest for a while. ”

Nellfi blinked vigorously, she was tired, but she understood Stan's anxiety. "I'm fine, Stan, I can still hold on. ”

Stan smiled as he looked at Nerfi's struggling appearance. "You see you can't sit still, and I'm afraid you'll fall off your horse if you don't rest. The knight looked around and pointed ahead. "Let's go there and take a break. ”

"I'm really fine, Stan. Nerfi tried to hold on, but yawned unconsciously.

"Don't hold on, if we are in a state where we are now, there is only a dead end. Stan leads the horse out of the village. "I remember Fern once said something that made a lot of sense, that a temporary retreat is a better way forward. ”

"Did he say that?" Nerfi hurriedly followed. "I don't know if he found the Great Sage? the rumored fifth Great Sage. ”

"He'll find it, I believe him. Stan said confidently.

Nerfi was a little unimpressed. "It's a lifetime for him to have a friend like you. ”

Stan doesn't hear what Nerfi meant, and instead leads her towards the woods.

As soon as you enter the woods, you feel like you have entered another world, where it is quiet and serene, completely isolated from the ruins of the outside world. Stan finds an open space and sits down, pulling out the food. "It seems that the dark tide has no interest in the woods, and has not even set foot in it. ”

Nerfi took out a piece of wool and spread it on the floor, then sat down with his legs curled. "That's nature, the woods only slow down their march, and they seem to be in a hurry to move north. ”

"Hmm......" Stan mused. "I did see quite a few charred corpses in that village just now, and it stands to reason that Dark Tide should resurrect these corpses to replenish their forces. ”

"I guess it takes time to do that, and they don't want to waste any time. Nerfi took a piece of cheese from the food and ate it slowly.

Stan collects a lot of dead branches in his pocket, and he easily starts a fire and hangs the teapot on the fire. "The trees here have never experienced this kind of low temperature, and they easily wither and wither. ”

"The whole south of Wallis is experiencing an unusual climate, and the people here are just as uncomfortable. Nellfi finished her cheese and watched quietly as the dancing flames scorched the teapot.

Stan sighed. "Not only the climate, but also the Dark Tide, no one would have thought that they would be attacked by the Dark Tide in such a southern place. ”

The teapot is steaming, and Stan makes black tea for the two of them, drinking hot tea and eating unpalatable food, which finally relieves some of the fatigue of the two of them. Nerfi quickly solved her stomach problem, she picked up a few branches from the ground and pinched them in her hand, slowly walked to the edge of the clearing, and then stuck the branch in the dirt every few steps until only one branch remained in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Stan asked, eating wheat bread.

Nerfi walks over to Stan and hands the branch forward. "I've wrapped magical threads around these branches, and when any one of them is touched, the others will react. ”

Stan takes the branch and flips it over and over in curiosity. "This effect is very similar to enchantment magic. ”

Nerfi smiled. "The purpose is the same, but it's much simpler than enchantment magic, which requires a lot more skill and requires a lot more mental power, and I'm not good at enchantment magic. ”

"Quiai is said to be an expert in enchantment magic, but she is not good at light magic. Stan holds the branch in his hand. "This way, you don't have to keep vigil at night, and you can rest better. ”

Nerfi sat back in his seat. "I don't have to keep a vigil, but maintaining a night of magic thread still drains some of my mental energy, so I'll try to avoid it if it's in a safe area, but it's too close to the dark tide. ”

Stan nodded. "Thanks, Nerfi!"

Nerfi smiled, fell asleep, and wrapped herself tightly in her cloak. The girl's quiet and feminine face was even more touching in the light of the fire, and Stan didn't realize that his heart moved, and he quickly looked away.

The late night breeze carries a hint of chill through the woods, the fire has been extinguished, and Stan is asleep, still clutching the branch that Nerfi gave him.

In the darkness, several dark shadows slowly approached the clearing, the blades glowing faintly cold under the reflection of the moonlight, and they were very careful not to make a sound. The two asleep were still lying motionless on the ground, and the black shadow stepped into the clearing, but they did not notice the branches on the ground at all.

One of the shadows was already standing on top of Stan's head, stabbing down with a sword in both hands. In an instant, Stan suddenly reached out and grabbed his feet and jerked forward, and the shadow fell backwards on his feet, his sword discarded in panic. Before he could hit the ground, Stan's sword was already in front of his neck, a cold touch brushing his neck, and then a burning sensation gushed out from the wound.

The other Shadows did not panic at this sudden change, but raised their swords and immediately prepared to fight back against Stan. At that moment, a bright light bursts through Stan's head, illuminating almost half of the woods, and preventing the others in front of Stan from opening their eyes.

Stan sees the sneak attackers clearly, they are just normal humans. There was no time to hesitate, the knight was ruthless, and in just a few clicks, he easily took down all the sneak attackers who couldn't open their eyes at all and could only swing their swords indiscriminately.

The glare quickly dimmed, and finally turned into a small ball of light, floating above the clearing. Stan examines the dead one by one, shaking his head helplessly. "It's all human, and it has nothing to do with the Dark Tide, just ordinary bandits. ”

Nerfi looked at the corpses strewn across the ground in disgust. "Not only do people here have to endure the pain of being ravaged by the dark tide, but even if they survive, they risk being killed by their own people. ”

"Indeed, these people are skilled in their tactics, and they should be repeat offenders. "Stan searches the body, but finds nothing useful other than a few pieces of cheese. "We're kind of correcting them for Cumberland. ”

"Throw the cheese!" Nerfi looked at the loot in Stan's hand. "I don't want to eat these thugs!"

"Okay. Stan shrugged his shoulders and threw the cheese far away. "I don't feel sleepy now, let's tidy up and get on the road. ”

Nerfi nodded silently and began to organize her clothes. "Stan, why do humans kill each other?"

"Because of desire. Stan slung his bags onto his mount and tightened the strap. "For the sake of desire, one can kill one's own fellow human beings, even those close to them. ”

"Aren't humans more terrifying than the Dark Tide?" Nerfi handed Stan his bag.

Stan flicks Nerfi's bag over the horse's back, hanging evenly on the sides of the horse's belly, and he holds this position for a long time. "No, Nerfi, no......" However, other than that, Stan doesn't know what to say to explain to Nerfi.

Nerfi asked no more questions, and the two led their horses and walked slowly out of the woods, in the direction of the dark tide.