As expected, if from the forest through the cross. As the nearest road, it is more than an hour away.

However, because the forest is humid, it can be foggy in the morning. If you go through the forest, at least after the fog has cleared.

If you take a detour, the journey more than triples. Considering that the other side will be transporting a large amount of supplies, it will be slower to act.

No matter which way you go, it's going to be a long time. From the time I set off to the time I arrived at the ambush site, I was able to rest for about two hours.

I don't know how long it has been, but I was suddenly awakened by a slight vibration from the ground.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Tifa walking towards me.

"Sister Anna, you're awake!"

"Hmm!"

Actually, I didn't sleep at all. It's just out of a state of false sleep, and I've been thinking about things all this time.

Everything went so smoothly that even the encounter with the monster was perfect. Although it was enough to stimulate the heartbeat to the limit, but then I thought about it, Tifa didn't even have a single scrape.

This doesn't make sense.

I seemed to ignore something, but I couldn't remember it for a while. Just as the ox convoy approached, the problem that had bothered me was once again thrown to the back of my mind.

"Tifa, you go here. "It was customary to draw a simple map on the trunk of a tree and point to where the road was. "Remember, your job is to monitor. Never touch the enemy, and run as soon as you notice the situation. ”

When I say this, if the other party takes the main road, I firmly believe that the traps on the main road are enough for them to drink a pot.

"I see!"

After speaking, Tifa cautiously slid back to the ground.

And I used my special skills to return to the first marking point in the blink of an eye.

So, there is the opening scene.

When I was standing on a tree in the middle of the forest and using a telescope to confirm the situation. The reflection of the telescope happened to be seen by the old mercenary Dawson, which indicated that Dawson's mission had also begun.

In fact, Dawson has only one mission, and that is to protect the several mages hiding in the convoy.

All the others were decoys for the operation, just to be able to kill with one hit. As one of the few people in the mission, Dawson knew who the target of the ambush was.

When he heard that name, it really made him embarrassed for a long time. The identity of the other party is too complicated, and every background is not something that he can afford to provoke. However, for the sake of his son's freedom, he chose silence.

Yes, the boy who has been following him for almost ten years is actually his biological son.

Dawson back then was also a bohemian amorous species. After a certain drunkenness, a simple country girl conceived his child.

"I'll definitely come back to see you." It became a belief that the girl never gave up until she died.

But for a mercenary who lives all over the world, it's just a joke.

Years later, when Dawson returned to his hometown on a mission, he learned that he had a son. When he found the village apologetically, he was greeted only by a cold tombstone and a son who was full of hatred for his father with a slave status.

Dawson, who didn't dare to recognize his son, could only silently guard him.

Removing his son and becoming a slave may have been his greatest wish in his life, but it was not something he could do as a mercenary. But someone can do it, provided that he completes the mission.

On one side is the freedom of the son, and on the other side is his own life.

Dawson chose the former.

In fact, this conspiracy began when Anna returned to Hemalton, including attacks on Yani, Celica and others.

It's all about capturing Anna alive.

The whole incident was so thorough that even Leod, who was in charge of the Hunters' Guild, hid it.

In order to achieve his goal, as the eldest son of the family of Constans, Villar spared no expense to hire and buy a large number of shadow mages from Newland.

(Flower arrangement: Shadow mage, i.e. a mage who has not been registered with the Mage Guild.) Most of them were people who were kept in captivity by the nobility and voluntarily became shadow laws for various reasons, and of course there were also those who were expelled from the Mage Guild for violating the guild rules.

Because these people have been examined, they don't have the opportunity to learn more advanced levels of magic. Therefore, in order to improve their own strength, they will do everything they can.

Also, the statement that there are no mages in the empire is not entirely correct, it's just that there are no registered mages. ）