The village of the Whitemane clan is built on a large clearing in the heart of an ash forest.

The trees on the Hanhai grassland are already scarce, and it is even more rare to be able to form a dense forest. Just because there is a wide and soothing river nearby, this can meet the large amount of water needed for the growth of so many trees in the woods.

The river's original name is named in the Elvish language 'Anakaluwa', which translates to 'the path of the sun', so the guide Jean also calls it the 'River of Light'.

In the early morning, when the sun rises over the distant horizon, the warm sunlight pours forward in the direction of the river's turbulence, dyeing the entire river a dazzling golden yellow, a beautiful view that is also the origin of the name River of Light.

This season coincides with the flowering of ash trees, and large fields of snow-white flowers bloom among the green leaves, adding a sense of clarity and elegance to this wild and alien village.

At this time, Barrett, the barbarian adventurer who successfully completed the escort mission, was wandering around the Centaur village with his guide Jean and the bodyguard Red Crab, while the little mage Krees and the merchant Ariel led the rescued Centaur girl Ivita to talk to the village chief and the priest.

Although the relationship between the Whitemane Clan and humans is not very good, Barrett and his party are not monitored or hindered in the village, and they can move around at will. I don't know if there is a reason to save people.

Along the way, I encountered a lot of curious or disgusted eyes, but there was no hatred involved.

The Centaur inhabitants here are dressed very simply, and even some of the female centaurs are directly naked (harmoniously) on their upper bodies, with only a collar made of feathers and leaves around their necks.

Although the feathers and leaves hanging from the neck ring can also play a certain role in concealment, both materials are lighter in weight, and they will involuntarily float when walking and running, which is a feast for the eyes of Barrett and others.

The bodyguard Red Crab once sighed, "Every time I come here, I feel like I've entered heaven! ”

However, in addition to the surprise and admiration when you first enter the village, this beautiful scenery full of eyes and colors like ash flowers, one pair after another, will also make people become a little accustomed to it. What's more, our barbarian adventurers have also seen some "world" people, and naturally they don't want to be like some guys who are still relatively young and are mages, acting twisted, nervous, and with some obscene eyes.

So at this rare time, the role of afterglow is highlighted.

This paradise ...... Oh no, the name of the village is exactly the same as the clan itself, also known as 'Whitemane'. With the nearby ash tree flowers in the background, it also looks worthy of its name. The size of the village is relatively modest, neither big nor small, not much larger than that of a medium-sized human town.

Most of the wilderness ethnic groups in the Hanhai Grasslands are of this size. Because it will be difficult for small villages to resist the threat of some evil creatures on the grassland, and large villages will cause a heavy burden on the nearby natural resources, the number of people in each gathering place is basically determined by the amount of nearby resources.

"With the nourishment of the River of Light, the population of the Whitemane Clan has stabilized at about a thousand. Guide Jean introduced to Barrett and the others, "Because the centaur race can fight regardless of gender, and can basically achieve all the soldiers, although the population is not large, it is also an armed force that cannot be ignored in the Hanhai grassland. ”

These words reminded Barrett of the golden-armored centaur warrior he had killed in Hell, and if there were a hundred or so of such centaur warriors charging across the Hanhai Meadows, perhaps even the dragon would tremble.

"Do they have heavy warriors?" asked the brute, "the kind of knights who wear full body armor." ”

"Yes, but in very small quantities. As far as I know, only the clan patriarch and a handful of centaur warriors known as 'Runners of the Wilderness' have metal armor to wear, and the rest of the warriors wear leather or wood armor. Jean said, "Metalwork is scarce here, and you can see that there are no blacksmiths in the village, so these centaurs can't make their own ironwork, and the farm tools, spear tips, and scimitars are basically exchanged for other races." ”

"With whom?, are we human?" Barrett asked.

"Yes, the main trade object is the Visnat of the steppe. The guide glanced at the tattoo on the brute's forehead, "Of course, there must be those merchants who run around for profit. ”

"When I used to come here with my boss, I sold them a lot of ironware. "Not only are there weapons such as swords and scimitars, but also hoes, sickles, shoes, and even fish hooks are very popular here." ”

In the square in the central area of the village, there is a large ring made of stones. Inside the ring stand three diamond-shaped stone tablets covered with vines and moss, and in the gaps between the moss and vines, you can faintly see some strange symbols carved on the stone tablets. Some of the symbols look like eyes, some like wings, some like claws, and so on.

The triangular stele guards an ash tree in the center, which looks very old and quite stout, and is extremely rare, although not as rare as the oak tree in Sweet Sugar Cane Village that could be used as a spacious tree house.

This ring of stone monuments and trees is the altar of the Whitemane Clan, and is considered the most important structure in the entire village. Because there were two centaur warriors with spears and bows and arrows standing around the altar, and they were also looking at Barrett and the others with wary eyes, they didn't choose to get too close.

A little Centaur girl like a foal seems to have developed a keen interest in bipedal creatures like Barrett and others. She ran over without recognizing her life, still holding a handful of red or green gooseberries in her hand.

The foal spoke a language Barrett didn't understand, and held up the gooseberry in his hand to the crowd.

"What did she say?" Barrett asked in a whisper to Jean.

"'To you,' or 'to you.'" Jean said, "I only know a little about Elven, but it's pretty simple. He picked up two gooseberries and replied with a 'thank you' in Elvish, "The Centaurs don't have a language of their own, they used to speak only Elvish, but now they have a lingua franca. ”

Barrett and Red Crab also picked up a few gooseberries from Little Pony's hand and repeated the syllable Jean uttered, "Do we need a salute in return?" asked the brute casually.

Jean paused for a moment, "I don't know about this, I've never been so friendly with them before." He looked at the red crab next to him, "Haven't you been here?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know anything. "When your eyes are full of these big, round ...... You know what I mean, there's no room for anything else in your mind at this point!"

That's just you, don't think the same thing I think of as you. Barrett thought for a moment, then pulled out a small sheathed dagger from the spatial ring and placed it in the hands of the little Centaur girl.

With a look of surprise on her face, Little Pony looked at the dagger, then looked up at Barrett with her dark eyes, and said something in Elven language.

Barrett couldn't understand the meaning of the words, but he could guess from the expressions on the other party's faces. "This is for me?" he mentally translated the sentence himself, then smiled and nodded.

The foal cheered happily and ran away. Three humans stood around the altar, eating sweet and sour gooseberries and admiring the towering ancient tree.

"The tall and straight ash trees are very important to the Whitemane Clan. Guide Jean continued to introduce to the other two, "The ash tree can not only hinder the enemy's prying eyes, provide cover and shelter, but also be an important source of weapons and materials such as bows and arrows, spears, etc. Without this nearby wood, the Whitemane Clan's combat effectiveness would have been greatly reduced......"

"Hinder the enemy's peeping?, that is, the peep of your kingdom's cavalry?" the bodyguard Red Crab threw a slightly reddish gooseberry into his mouth, "It's so sour, this one is not very ripe." ”

"I've done this before, and it's all because of military orders, and there's no way to refuse. Guide Jean admits calmly, "But for now, I'm only serving the gold. ”

......