In the depths of the Wharton Prairie, more than 30 men, women and children dressed as mercenaries pulled plows around an ox and headed west along the course of the shallow river.

Just like most mercenary groups, they dragged their families and families, supported the old and the young, and there were only 17 people who really had weapons and equipment, and they were all the most common leather armor, bows and arrows, skin round shields, and wooden-handled spears, and only a few were equipped with sophisticated chain mail, leather armor, helmets, throwing spears, and long swords.

They are undoubtedly the core combat force of this small mercenary group, the others are only auxiliaries, and the old and young who have no combat ability belong to the hostages handed over by the mercenary group to their employers.

It is difficult for mercenary groups without family members to gain the trust of their employers, and they are often repeatedly checked by the sentry guards. Of course, the family structure is the general phenomenon of mercenary groups, and the flags registered in churches in various places are the most important expression of the identity of mercenary groups.

The shorthorn ox plow carried all the belongings of the small mercenary group, and at the front of the plow was a flag with a crude depiction of a lion on fire, so they called the fire lion mercenary group.

It's the end of February, the season of the earth, and spring is in full swing, and the endless green spreads to the end of the day. The shallow water with transparent water is like a pure and flawless jade belt, coiled between the grass and the sky. The small purple lilac flowers, dotted with stars, just look at one of them is unremarkable, and they join together to add a touching color to the spring prairie, and make the fresh and humid air with a rich fragrance.

The large prairie hare and steppe gophers were not at all afraid of the mercenary groups driving the oxen to the plow, only the goshawks hovering in the air. In addition to the half-grown children happily chasing the hare and gophers, even the black-haired guard dogs ignored the prey that was close at hand.

These things that don't know how to be afraid of people are so easy to catch, they're almost tired of eating.

Walking on the vibrant and incomparably wonderful prairie, the old man of the Fire Lion Mercenary Group was full of sorrow. There is clean water, a variety of wild plants, and easy prey, but it also means that there are no people around, no well-defended footholds, and monsters and beasts are infested.

The small Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment should not be here, the old people in the team are all experienced old mercenaries, and they can't understand why Deputy Commander Theodore didn't persuade Captain Octavier to choose to choose to choose from the front line of the Whitewater Fortress, detour through the Centaur Hills of Duoduo, and then go north to reach the Ghost Forest Exploration Point.

Although the route was a bit far, and the transit fee had to be paid to the lord's post along the way, the risk of the journey was small. Unlike going deep into the prairie, it is easy to get lost, not to mention, the terrain is still very open, there are no hiding points around, once you are targeted by the gnolls tribe, it is difficult to escape.

The old mercenaries only complained about Deputy Commander Theodore in private, and they definitely did not dare to give advice to Captain Octavier. Because she is not only the leader of the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment, but also a female ranger registered in the church, with the status of a knight nobleman.

In fact, the original leader of this mercenary group is Theodore, and the oldest mercenary has followed him for six years, it is said that Theodore was once the backbone of the Fire Lion Mercenary Group, because the old leader died unexpectedly and was ostracized by his companions, so in a fit of anger, he took his wife Ruth, sister Penny and brother-in-law Todd to follow the old leader's granddaughter Octavier, and set up another door, but still under the banner of the Fire Lion Mercenary Group.

Dissatisfied with being only a mercenary, Octavir used the savings of the mercenary group to register as a ranger in the church, and left for a few years, but she didn't make any noise. Two months ago, Theodore received a message from Octavier at a church in the Kingdom of Dodor. She was already a female probationary knight with a vindictive spirit, and was about to recruit followers to try her luck in the Ghost Forest, when she left a message asking the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment registered under her name to join her.

So, Theodore and his companions rushed to the meeting point designated by the message, where they met Octavier and three of her followers.

After not seeing her for a few years, Miss Octavier has become more beautiful, and if it weren't for her dark red hair, gray-green eyes, and vaguely familiar facial features, the old men of the mercenary group would not dare to recognize her.

In any case, Octavir is now a true knightly nobleman, and the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment certainly follows her.

However, this female ranger and leader of the mercenary group does not seem to be very reliable.

"Damn the Sheriff's Office, it's not enough to kick us out of the tavern, it's shameless to forcibly take my carriage and pull horses....... a bunch of dishonorable guys!" Oktawil grumbled as she walked at the front of the line.

It had been many days since she and the Red Lion Mercenary Group were kicked out of the Mercenary Tavern by the sheriff of Shuitao Town, and she didn't feel anything at the time, but now that there was no carriage, she drove a shorthorn ox to pull a climbing plow and slowly went on the road, which made her more and more unconvinced.

In fact, the main reason is that there is no money, the Fire Lion Mercenary Group bought this shorthorn cow and purchased some supplies, Octavier became the leader of the poor egg, and he couldn't even get the transit fee, so he could only chop some wood to make a climbing plow, and take a bunch of men to go into the uninhabited wilderness.

When has Miss Octavier ever been so aggrieved, she used to be so careless about money, but the first time she purchased supplies, she was brutally slaughtered by a black-hearted merchant.

Of course, the leader and ranger of the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment will never admit that he has lost the last bit of savings of the mercenary group, and all the mistakes are due to the security office in Shuitao Town.

"The people in the Shuitao Town Security Station are shameless bastards, disgusting crumbs that are more disgusting than greenskin!"

Penny, the youngest follower of the Octavir Ranger, nodded in agreement, teaching her master how to curse like a mercenary.

"Huh, go on, go on...... Penny, help me scold those bastards. Captain Vile's eyes lit up, encouraging his followers to speak foul language.

Encouraged by this, Penny spat out all sorts of slang, foul language, and witticisms out of her little mouth, squirting the sheriff, the tavernkeeper, the black-hearted merchant, and even the bartender man all over the town of Water, without repeating a word.

Grand Master Vile smiled and applauded, and her happy appearance provoked the usually calm Theodore and his wife to join the squirting people.

The members at the back of the group heard the silver bell-like laughter of the regiment leader and thought that she had thought of something to be happy about.

Learning to scold people can also be so happy, this is the leader of the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment and the female ranger Octavier.

She stopped abruptly, and Todd, the spearhead of the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment, ran back with one of his men. Theodore's deputy commander gestured to the back, and the mercenaries immediately grabbed the shorthorn ox, called back the frolicking child, took out their bows and crossbows, and stood guard in place.

Todd ran to him, his expression solemn, and whispered to Octavier, "Commander, I found a fallen man in front, it seems to be a young female ranger. ”

"Fallen, will there be a fallback in this kind of place, or is it a female ranger?" Grand Master Vile was surprised and excited, and as he hurried forward, he did not forget to order: "Let everyone stay here, stay vigilant, and let's go and see." ”

Two kilometers ahead, a young girl dressed as a mercenary was covered in long blades of grass, hidden in such a way that it could easily be overlooked by humans or ordinary beasts, unless she was a ferocious creature with keen sense, or a top scout like Todd could see her from a distance.

The young girl had short brownish-red hair, beautiful features, healthy wheat-colored skin, well-maintained but worn old leather armor and cowhide boots, a long sheathed sword on her left side, a small crossbow on her right side, and a stiff bow and two quivers on the edge of the cloak still pressed underneath. A cowhide travel bag landed next to the girl's head, bulging with a lot of things.

At first glance, this short-haired girl looks like an ordinary mercenary, but in the depths of the grassland, where there are no people, monsters and beasts, it is unusual for a lone girl mercenary to appear, not to mention that she is still lying unconscious in the grass.

Beauty is the most direct external characteristic that distinguishes knights and nobles from commoners. However, there are also many commoners with outstanding appearances, who have been trained as attendants and maids of large families since childhood, and their manners and temperament will be very close to that of real nobles, and it is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish them from their appearance.

Todd, the scout of the Fire Lion Mercenary Regiment, is a carefully cultivated arcane warrior from the Faceless of the Kite Keep, who not only ignites the fire of the mind and has the strength of a beginner knight, but he also has many useful skills. Distinguishing between the transcendent bloodline and the ordinary is of course a must for the Faceless Arcane warriors.

The disguise of the short-haired girl was full of flaws in Todd's eyes, and just looking at her facial features and the near-perfect proportions of her figure, Todd concluded that this was a knightly lady of noble blood.

As for her wheat-colored skin, the Faceless had dozens of ways to change a knight's noblewoman's smooth complexion to that of an ordinary person.

The fire lion mercenaries at the scene were all born in the Faceless of the Kite Castle, and Theodore's wife, Ruth, was a top healer and pharmacist, she stepped forward to check the girl's condition, and said calmly: "The breathing and heartbeat are steady, there are no signs of poisoning or injury, the reason for the sleep is unknown, but the eyes keep turning, either in a nightmare or ...... I'm dreaming. ”

"The skin is delicate, firm, smooth, and disproportionate, apparently with a pot.......ion that changes the complexion," Ruth put down the girl's wrist, looked down and sniffed lightly, furrowed her groomed willow brow, and added, "It's strange...... I didn't smell the pungent smell of the insect repellent, but I couldn't see a single ant beside her, and she had been asleep for at least half a day without being attacked by coyotes or vultures. ”

"I felt the aura of danger, right around her. ”

Theodore, the deputy head of the regiment, said solemnly, "It seems that some kind of ferocious beast deliberately left a mark to protect its cubs. ”

Theodore is a fierce warrior who ignites the fire of the heart, with a strength comparable to that of a beginner-level silver knight, and the dangerous aura that he can perceive is definitely not from ordinary fierce beasts or monsters, but is very likely to be a powerful existence above the gold level.

Everyone's eyes looked at the team's chief scout, and Todd quickly raised his hand and said, "I guarantee that there are no powerful monsters nearby, in fact, I led people to carefully search the traces in the vicinity, and no footprints were found." I think there are two possibilities: either that a few days ago someone had hidden the victim in the grass, and that his weight was lighter, and the traces left by the grass had been annihilated by the growth of blades, or that the victim had flown over......"

"It must be man-made, not monsters or orcs. The Assassin Penny showed the victim's belongings and said, "I am well armed and equipped, but I can't find any family crest to identify." Her bag contained dry food, raw sugar, healing medicine, flint, and ropes of cow tendon, and the items were neatly stacked, untouched, as if someone had prepared them for her, and these things were enough for her to survive here...... If you don't encounter the orc tribe. ”

"How so...... It seems to be exile, she has been exiled to the depths of the prairie, if she does not meet us, she will have to find a way to survive after she wakes up, and find a way out of the prairie. ”

"You can get out by walking all the way along the shallow river in the prairie. Ruth said with a smile.

"It's actually hard. Scout Todd took over the topic, shook his head and said: "The Wharton River has many curved tributaries in the prairie, if I hadn't memorized the topography map of the main channel of the Wharton River in advance, and only followed the widest channel with experience, it is very likely that everyone will be brought into a large wetland, and it will be very difficult to find a shallow river through the swampy wetland, and even the wetland is the end of the tributary, and there is no outlet channel at all." ”

"This noble victim is alone in the prairie looking for a way out, and if he is lucky, he can get out in a month, and if he is unlucky, he is afraid that he will be trapped for two or three years. ”

Penny said in a crisp voice, "In my opinion, she will most likely die on the road if she runs alone." ”

Due to the water source, the lone refugees can only walk along the river in the unfamiliar prairie to find a way out, perhaps encountering grassland herders, or breaking into the lair of a monster colony. Unless he has the strength of a silver knight, discerns the direction and walks in a straight line, he can leave the prairie in two days and one night.

This fallen girl was abandoned in the depths of the prairie, and she didn't look like a silver-level female knight.

Ruth thought for a moment and concluded, "This kid was exiled to the prairie for some reason. Her exiles are extraordinary, in a way we don't know about, leaving a dangerous aura to prevent instinctive monsters and beasts from harming her while she's asleep. This person didn't want to kill her, and he didn't want her to show up in public, but most likely, he deliberately arranged for us to rescue her. ”

Theodore looked around vigilantly, shook his head in confusion, and said, "Miss temporarily changed her route and chose to go directly from the prairie to the Ghost Forest to explore the point. Who can grasp our whereabouts in advance and hide the perception of the young lady? Could it be that there are spies in the mercenary group? However, those guys have been with us for several years, and everyone's details have been clearly understood, and the people with problems have long been eliminated, so there should be no traitors. ”

Grand Master Octavier was in a state of mishap, ignoring his followers' concerns.

Reluctant to kill her, but unwilling to let her appear in public, carefully arranged a way back for her, and exiled her to the depths of the savannah...... There's a story here...... The more Octavir thought about it, the more amused she became, and she was secretly excited, and she almost danced. She stepped forward and opened the girl's eyelids, and the expression on her face suddenly changed, showing contemplation and prudence.

Bright Eyes?!Descendants of Nakhtigarh, noble golden blood?

As long as she contacts the Kite Castle, Grand Master Vile will soon be able to find out the true identity of this victim, so as to deduce the ins and outs of the matter, but she has already chosen her own path again, unless the August family is in danger of extinction, she will not regain her past identity and strength. As a ranger living at the bottom, the victim she encountered was just a victim, and her noble golden blood had no light with her.

However, Vile is sure that even if she is now a little ranger with little reputation, there are few people in this world who can arrange her chance encounter, except for Sylvia, only the power of fate.

"According to the rules of mercenaries, what should I do if I encounter a fallen person?" asked Grand Master Vile as he stood up, turning his head to his followers.

"The church asks the mercenary to help the victim who meets by chance, and to bring her to any church where she can be praised by the priest who is stationed, which has many benefits for the mercenary group. But...... Miss, this is the wild. Theodore replied, and also gave a reminder, he obviously did not want his master to get into trouble, and euphemistically said that the noble girl should be left alone.

The female ranger flicked her dark red ponytail, smiled narrowly, and ordered, "Feed her a bottle of face-changing potion, and then take her on the road." ”