To the north of the town of Kailin, there is a river.

The river originated in the east of the Lefu volcano and was supposed to flow from east to west, but the Pato Plateau blocked it in the west, causing the river to turn around in Kailin and flow towards the Ace Empire in the north.

The river flows from the Borderlands to Ace, witnessing the changes in the landscape along the way.

From the rugged hills at the beginning, to dense forests, to grasslands, the terrain is getting flatter and flatter.

The river flows unimpeded, without too many meanders and without large undulations, and just like that, it flows calmly north.

When the forest gradually disappears and is replaced by an endless savannah, it is a sign that it has flowed into the territory of Ace.

Now, on this calm river, there is a small boat, floating quietly.

There were three people on board in the boat. At the stern of the boat, an old woman holds a twelve-year-old child in her arms. She had not rested for a moment, just staring blankly at the young face in her arms asleep, and at the bow of the boat there was another young man curled up, and the slight snoring revealed his exhaustion. Indeed, after the disaster of the previous day, they need a little time to recover.

"Kyle..."

I don't know how long the journey had been, but the old woman gently called to the sleeping young man at the bow of the boat.

Hearing his name called, Kyle gradually wakes up.

He opened his heavy eyelids, and the stiff planks didn't give him a good night's sleep. The moment I woke up, the pain in my head and neck suddenly flooded into my brain. He frowned and sat up slowly.

"Where are we?"

"We should have entered Ace's territory..."Aunt Fili didn't sleep all night, always holding Locke in her arms, motionless.

"Aunt Fili, you—" Kyle rubbed his eyes and looked at the old woman at the stern of the boat, who seemed to have aged dozens of years overnight.

"I'm running out of time," Aunt Fili smiled reluctantly, the wrinkles on her face almost completely covering her expression, "I'm going to go ashore soon, and you'll have to take Locke with you." Remember our agreement. ”

Kyle knew that without the contractor, the soul in Aunt Fili's body would have no home, and she would drift away.

"I'll do my best to take care of Locke...", though he was very uncertain, Kyle agreed. He wanted Aunt Fili to leave with peace of mind.

"Good boy, I believe in you as much as Locke's parents!" said Aunt Fili with this compliment, for she knew how much it would take to bring a wild man back into the city.

Kyle looked north, and in the distance, a long east-west wall was under construction, and he knew that his destination had arrived.

"That's the Great Wall, right?" Aunt Fili squinted and looked into the distance, "The Great Wall built by you Ace people to divide the territory, right?"

"No," Kyle suddenly felt a hint of shame, "The Great Wall is not meant to divide territory. The leaders of the southern kingdom of Esnan have long foreseen that the borderlands will once again become the focus of contention among the four great powers, and the strife in the northern kingdom has not yet been resolved, so in order to avoid being attacked on the back, it is necessary to build such a great wall that can cut off the chaos of war..."

"This is indeed a good way..."Aunt Fili lowered her head and touched Locke's curls, "Anyway, the life and death of the savages have nothing to do with you..."

Kyle didn't have anything to say, he was just a sixteen-year-old midshipman, and he knew too little.

"I can only accompany you here, and the next road requires you to continue walking with Locke. Aunt Fili pressed her left hand on the edge of the boat, and the boat approached the left bank as if by magic.

Kyle jumped ashore first, re-stepping onto this familiar land, and he suddenly felt very steady and stable inside.

"Locke will wake up when he arrives in the city," Aunt Fili picked up Locke and told Kyle to carry him.

Seeing Locke lying on Kyle's back, Aunt Fili smiled with a hint of sadness.

"Aunt Fili, where are you going next?" Kyle was reluctant to leave like this, he wanted to talk to Aunt Fili again.

"I don't know, maybe it's Kailin..."Aunt Fili looked back, "I want to take a look at Kailin before making a decision." ”

"Will we ever see you again?"

"Maybe... There will be a chance. Aunt Philip touched Locke's head, "Take care of him, let's go." ”

"Goodbye, Aunt Fili—" Kyle said his final goodbye, carrying Locke on his back and turning north.

Aunt Fili kept looking at the figures of the two young people, and was reluctant to leave for a long time. Although Locke's entry into Ace was the best result, Aunt Fili's eyes were still full of tears, she was very reluctant to this child, and remembered the days when she taught Locke to swim, taught him how to cast nets to fish, and taught him to paddle...

However, now that Kailin has been destroyed, she doesn't know if she can see this lovely child...

Kyle carried Locke on his back and bowed his head as he walked forward, when he suddenly heard a wail in the distance behind him.

He looked back and saw white feathers floating by the river, but there were no birds flying in the sky.

It seems that Aunt Fili's soul is returning to her hometown.

Kyle kept walking, getting closer and closer to the Wall, and he could even see the bricks on the wall, the workers who were building bricks on the wall, and he could see ahead of him, a man on horseback approaching him.

"Who's coming?"

The man on horseback asked loudly as he kept a distance of about fifty meters from Kyle.

Kyle knew that this was Ace's sentinels, patrolling the border lightly every day, and they were all eliminated when they were promoted to knighthood, and for some reason, maybe strength, maybe faith, made them unworthy of the knighthood.

"Ace's midshipman, attacked in Kailin!" Kyle shouted to the sentry.

Hearing Kyle's words, the Sentinel immediately rode over, and Kyle clearly saw that the sentry's forehead had a cross mark particularly prominent, as if he had redrawn it himself.

"Which team of knights are you?" the sentry seemed a little unconvinced.

"In the meadows north of the Love Volcano, a midshipman of the Valango Legion. ”

Hearing Valanger, the sentry's eyes widened and he was very surprised,

"Survivors of the Northern Meadows?"

"Yes, I'm Captain Kyle Flender, and my squad has been attacked by the Alpine Tribe. ”

The Sentinel immediately dismounts and walks over to help Kyle carry the child behind him to the horse.

"Valanger's commander, Ryan Starr, received a gold medal this morning, brought back by a horse, and it was..."

"I was tied to my horse, we couldn't get out at the time, and that was the only way we could call for reinforcements. ”

"It's incredible," replied the sentry in surprise, "I thought it was our knight in gold armor who had been attacked!"

"Where's the Gold Medal?" Kyle asked rhetorically, "Are you sure the Commander got it?"

"The whole Vallange knows it, and there must be no mistake. The sentry replied in the affirmative, "Commander Ryan immediately sent the flying horses to Tamberi to ask for instructions from the general. ”

"Alas," Kyle sighed, "at this rate, the war would have been over long ago by the time the rescue was actually dispatched." ”

"No, Valanger is already preparing to go to the army. ”

"What?!" Kyle suddenly became nervous, "When? when are they going to go?"

"They have received instructions from the general to prepare their troops, and they should have left the city by now, and will be near the Great Wall immediately. ”

Kelton panicked, if they just bumped into Locke, it would be trouble.

"That's... What's your name?" Kyle asked the sentry next to him, forcing himself to compose.

"My name is Aggie, Aggie Felsi. The sentry placed his right fist on his left chest and solemnly said his name.

"Aggie, I need you to do me a favor, listen..."Kyle patted Aggie on the shoulder and looked at him, "I want you to take this kid, bypass the rescue force, go back to Valanger, and hand him over to a blacksmith named Carey Flender!"

"Kyrie Friend... The owner of the largest blacksmith shop in Valanger?"

"That's right, it's him, bring this kid to him, and say it's Kyle asking him for a favor, okay?" Kyle's tone was pleading, but also urgent.

"But," Aggie wondered, "who is this kid? is it the wounded midshipman?"

"No..."Kyle can't let Aggie know the truth, but he can't lie either, because Locke doesn't have Ace's sigil on him, "He's a very important person, and he helped me escape the siege..."

"He's a wildling, right?" Aggie suddenly became alarmed, "You want to take a wildling into the city?"

Kyle doesn't know how to explain it, time is running out, and they continue to stay here, most likely encountering Valanger's rescue force.

"Trust me, he's such a big guy!" Kyle began to speak incoherently, "I can't leave him, I have to take him back to Valanger!"

"Kyle, Captain of the Cadet Knights..."Aggie shook Kyle's hand away, "I won't let you take a wildling into the city!"

"One silver coin, is it enough?"

Suddenly, a young voice came from the horse, and it turned out to be Locke awake.

The twelve-year-old took a silver coin from his clothes and shook it in front of him, as if he had already grasped the magic of money.

Sure enough, Aggie's eyes lit up when he saw the silver coin, which was his reward for a whole year as a sentry.

"Locke, you're awake," Kyle walked over to Locke and touched his head, "We're in Ace's territory." ”

"I know," Locke was still lying on his horse, weak, "I hear it..."

"Did you hear that?"

Kyle doesn't know what this means, but he doesn't have the heart to care about these inconsequential matters, and he has to deal with the urgency first.

"Aggie, how's it going?" Kyle took Locke's silver coin and placed it in Aggie's hand, "Take him to Carey Friend's house, and the coin will be yours!"

"I..." Aji was very entangled in his heart, and after taking the money, he could buy himself a coveted sword, after all, sentries don't have swords, "I..."

"Two silver coins, is that enough?" said Locke, and the boy took another silver coin from his clothes, "but I will pay you a second one when you get to your destination." ”

This time, Aggie was completely tempted, he quickly got on the horse, helped Locke, and pulled the reins,

"If I find out, I'll say it's the squad leader of the probationary knight, Kyle told me to do it!"

"I believe in you. Kyle finally breathed a sigh of relief and let go of a big stone in his heart, "You're going to be able to bring this kid back with you." ”

"Hurry up, Aggie," said Locke, lying on his horse, with a feeble breath, "Valanger's army is almost at the Wall. ”

Kyle looked at Locke, who was expressionless, and felt that the child seemed to have completely changed since he woke up.

Aggie rode his horse to the northeast. He planned to bypass the oncoming rescue force directly north of the Great Wall.

Kyle watched them leave, and ran alone towards the Great Wall gate in front of him.

He understood what a risky and crazy thing he was doing.

Next, there are even crazier things that await him.