Of the human kingdoms and city-states established during the Dark Ages, none of them were as easy as the Kingdom of Holy Araso.

Rumor has it that their founding emperor, Tho I, knew in advance about the fall of the Magic Empire before the cities in the sky had already disappeared one after another, and began to make various preparations.

While people were still working and living as usual, Too I had already begun to contact helpers, hoard food, and make large quantities of armor and weapons.

In the first years of the Magic Empire's downfall, the continent was in a state of confusion and confusion, but the Holy Arathor had risen to prominence under the leadership of the purple and gold crown who claimed to be a descendant of the ancient kingdom of Alatho.

While humans and aliens alike are desperately struggling to establish a place in the flames of war, the Kingdom of Holy Arathor has been unscrupulously expanding its territory and occupying large swaths of territory.

Historians often say that if it weren't for the "Abyssal Fire" war, the Holy Arathor Kingdom would most likely rule the entire continent, and the Dark Ages would not have lasted for more than two hundred years, and would probably have ended directly in the first fifty years.

The "Abyssal Fire" was a battle that still haunts the people of the Holy Arathso Kingdom to this day. In that battle that changed the course of history, their invincible Northern Expeditionary Army was joined by the 'Visnat' people and elves living in the Hanhai grassland, and took advantage of the special environment on the autumn grassland to burn down more than 100,000 well-equipped soldiers.

This led to the complete halt of their unrivaled expansion, giving other forces a chance to sober up and develop in the confusion.

So in this kingdom, there are many people who hate the elves. They believed that without the help of the elves, the Visnath wildlings, with a total population of less than 10,000, would never be their opponents.

Of course, according to the preserved route map of the kingdom's march, after the Northern Expeditionary Army successfully controlled the Hanhai Grassland, it was ready to directly attack the elven holy land 'Lotsilin' adjacent to the grassland, so that those creatures with long ears would become vassals of the kingdom.

It is also said that attacking the elves was the main purpose of the army at that time, not the Visnaths who were deeply influenced by the elves and believed in the way of nature.

(Note: The Visnat, a branch of the barbarians, migrated to the vast Hanhai steppes in the early days of the Magic Empire, had a good relationship with the elves, and also lived a relatively conservative life.) ）

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Holy Kingdom of Araso, City of San Nino.

It is a newly founded city during the time of the Magic Empire. Since it was founded and has never been subjected to war, the city retains a very clear imperial style.

The whole city is planned like a plate of square cranberry crackers arranged in an oven, with straight and wide streets, horizontal and vertical streets, and neat and similar house designs.

Most of the city's inhabitants don't like things that are too out of the ordinary, they don't like the unexpected, even if it's a surprise.

104 Anderson Middle Street is a bistro with a history of nearly 1,000 years. The tavern is called 'No Water', and the owner, Benjamin, took over the management of the tavern ten years ago from his father, Benjamin Sr., who got it from Benjamin Sr., who has become ashes. And old Benjamin doesn't need to say much, if I keep writing like this, I don't need to think of a plot.

At noon that day, the proprietor, Benjamin, came to the tavern to prepare for the opening.

He opened the tavern door and removed the baffles from the windows, leaving the doors and windows all open to let the cool air in.

"Damn it, Benjamin, close the door, Hiccup, are you going to freeze me to death?" a murky grumble rang out from inside the tavern, "And this glare of the sun, hiccup, I hate the sun, why not the night? Why not the cloudy day?"

"I'm sorry, Michael, it's time for you to go home. The tavern keeper said as he continued his work. He moved the recruitment board outside, then tidied up the counter and took inventory.

"This is my home!" a drunken man cried out from the corner, "I'm your wife!"

"Harriet never drinks. Benjamin said casually, "Can you do that?"

"No drinking, hmph, you might as well let me die!" the man tried to get up from his chair, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, "I need some cold beer to sober up, Benjamin, one, no, two!" He raised three fingers, "Do you know what is best in winter? It's the price of cold beer!

"Ice cubes don't need to consume magic stones in winter, but not in summer. The tavernkeeper poured a rye beer for the man in the corner, "The box with the circle makes ice cubes very quickly, but it consumes magic stones just as quickly. ”

"I told you a long time ago that you should build a cellar buried deep in the ground, fill it with all kinds of wines, and lock me up inside. The man took the beer, took a few sips, and sighed comfortably.

He reached out and picked up a slice of bread that had been bitten a few bites from the table next to him, fumbled for two leftover leaves for decoration and a chicken breast that had fallen on the ground, rolled the "food" together, and ate it slowly.

"Shut you up inside, then there's nothing left. Benjamin cleaned up the garbage on the table and floor, snatched the "food" from the man's hand and threw it into the trash can next to him.

"Hey, that's my breakfast!" the man grumbled, holding up his hand, "is that how you treat your old guests for more than a decade?"

"Irma should have prepared your lunch ...... , breakfast, if you don't go back, she should be in a hurry again. Benjamin looked at the man and sighed, "Yes, it's been more than ten years, and Irma has grown up, can't you still be relieved by Udora's death, it was just an accident." ”

The man's groggy expression disappeared in an instant. He lowered his head and stared at the beer glass in his hand, "Accident? Maybe." But after all these years, I still meet her in my sleep. Did you know that in dreams, Eudora always looks miserable and helpless. She seemed to be telling me something, like asking for help, but I didn't know what to do to help her, even in a dream. I don't want to go back to that house, it makes me feel like I'm worthless!"

"Then cheer up, be a good father! Benjamin persuaded.

"Irma can live well without me. The man said sadly, "Perhaps, I should go and accompany Eudora, she is lonely." ”

"Well, before you go, shouldn't you settle the money you owe for the drink? Benjamin looked at the ceiling, "You know, my tavern is a small business, and I never mix it with wine, and most importantly, there are customers like you, so the tavern is a bit sluggish, and I don't want it to collapse in my hands." ”

"Damn it, Benjamin, are you just thinking about the money when your friends are sad?" the man grumbled loudly again, and then whispered at the end, "Thank you." ”

"Go back. The tavernkeeper shook his head and continued to clean up the trash.

"Okay, okay. You're just as nagging as Elma. The man got up and swayed twice, then staggered out of the tavern.

He stood outside the tavern door, looked up at the clear sky, muttered something, then glanced left and right a few more times, then turned and walked to the right.

"It's the other way around. Benjamin, the tavernkeeper, shouted without looking back.

"I know! I know......" The man turned back one hundred and eighty degrees, and staggered towards the left side of the tavern.

Not long after the man named Michael left, another guest was welcomed into the tavern. The guest was a tall and muscular man with a tattoo on his forehead and a suit of purple-black leather armor that was quite well-made.

Visrote? No, it should be Nord, Benjamin judged, "Hello, adventurer, what would you like to drink?" he said to the guest with a smile.

"I can see from the board standing outside that you seem to be hiring here?" the customer walked to the counter, "Is it full? I want to apply." ”

This request was really beyond Benjamin's expectations, and he looked the unexpected candidate up and down suspiciously, "It's not full yet." "Actually, I didn't recruit any of them," I can tell, though, that you're an elite adventurer with beast skills, and that the salary I can give you may not even be as good as the pay for an ordinary minor task you complete. ”

"It's okay, it's easy to talk about wages. Don't you provide accommodation, which is important for outsiders like me. The candidate said.

It turned out that he was a little short of money and had no place to live, and Benjamin suddenly felt in his heart. He runs a tavern, so he naturally knows the personality of the adventurer very well. When you have money, you spend a lot of money everywhere, and when you don't have money, you just find a place to nest.

"Accommodation is indeed provided, you can stay in this tavern with vacant rooms on the second floor. But I only need a few servants here to clean and serve wine, and can you do all this menial chores?" asked Benjamin, "and you will hold not a shield and a sword, but a plate and a broom." ”

"I'm good at both. Don't worry, I've been a waiter for quite some time before, and my temper is better than you might think. "And when you hire me, you won't have to worry about drunkards and adventurers, or thieves who steal at night." ”

It seems to be not bad, Benjamin is a little excited, although this guy's appearance is a little scary, but he is very decent in terms of conversation. And there was no need to worry about security, he looked at the other party's big man, "What's your name?" asked Benjamin.

"Barrett. The candidate said, "Barrett Mungo." ”

......