The old man by the fire couldn't stand everyone's coaxing, cleared his throat, and said.

Ah, let me tell you a story. This story is not something I have experienced, just a story imprinted on a piece of gravel in the boundless desert. Alright, please find a place to sit, we're going to get started.

How big is the world? Will the sea at the edge of the continent lead to the edge of the world? We don't know, the people of this world only know that the world in their eyes has borders, and the Dragon's Back Mountains in the north separate the boundless ice fields from the rich land. It is said that there are no living creatures on the ice field, only dry bones and spirits staggering in the ice and snow. This is the border between civilization and barbarism, the towering Dragon's Back Mountains, like a high wall, forcibly dividing the two worlds. All the energy and energy is in the south of the mountains, and in the north, there is only snow.

But is this true? The Frost Guardians who guard the Dragonspine Mountains have been carrying terrifying legends about the North since ancient times, including wild men, dragons, magicians, and the like. What is hidden under the white curtain of snow, but there is a piece of iron that has been passed down as a dogma in the successive rotations of the Frost Guardians, and it is said that every new recruit of the Frost Guardians must remember this ancient precept more than anything else. As for the content of this ancient precept, it probably goes like this......

When a man in a gray robe comes from the wind and snow of the north, do not refuse any of his requests, absolutely not.

The Frost Guardians have always had doubts about this ancient motto, but generations of commanders have insisted that the soldiers remember this ancient motto, and no matter how the generations on the southern side of the mountain range change, time on Dragon's Back Mountain seems to be a frozen crystal, forever stuck at a certain point in history.

The Top of Dragon's Back is the name of a tavern, and of course, it wasn't built on top of the Dragon's Back Mountains, but it is said that its owner, the deceased former Frost Guard veteran, actually climbed there. It wasn't long before he broke his legs in an accident and had to leave his post as the Frost Guard and open this tavern at the bottom of the mountain. Because of the old man's legendary experience, and because he used to be a frost guard, both the residents of the town below the mountain and the frost guards who rest in shifts are willing to order a large glass of ale and chat and brag here. Suffice it to say, if you ask the town where you can see the Frost Guard, the townspeople will definitely let you come to the top of the dragon's back.

And now, the owner of this tavern has now become the granddaughter of the old soldier, and people who often come are accustomed to call her the hostess, although she is only in her twenties, but she is already very capable, and the big and small affairs in the tavern are handled in an orderly manner. Coupled with her red hair and beautiful face, the proprietress has become the dream girl of almost all school-age youths in the town, but because of the influence left by her grandfather, those frost guards have watched her grow up since she was a child, and treat her like an uncle or uncle, and those with bad intentions, even if they want to pretend to be drunk and take advantage of the boss's wife, are all thrown out of the tavern one by one by these soldiers on vacation. However, according to rumors, the proprietress is actually very powerful, perhaps because she has been mixed with these Frost Guards since she was a child, and some people claim to have witnessed the proprietress knocking over two drunk Frost Guards with her bare hands.

Mornings are always the quietest time for business at the top of Dragon's Back, and the usual taverns are closed at this time, but given that it is also one of the few restaurants in town, sometimes some early farmers will come back around noon for a bite to eat. So the hostess will start cleaning up the tables and chairs in the morning and check the inventory again. Generally speaking, no one comes at this time, and even the girls who come here to work only come to work as early as the afternoon. But today, an unexpected guest disrupts the hostess's plans.

"Hello, a glass of hot milk, and something to eat. A man in a black robe said standing in front of the counter. His voice was low, small, and somewhat hoarse. And his face is buried deep in the shadow of the hood, so that people can't see it.

"Okay, please find a place to sit down first, and I'll send the stuff over. The hostess replied. Although she was curious about the stranger, there were some things that she couldn't show as a tavern owner.

The man nodded, and sat down at a table against the wall. While the proprietress was cooking food, she couldn't help but look at this strange person with the rest of her eyes. I saw that after the black-robed man sat on the chair, he lowered his head and stopped making more movements, so that people couldn't tell whether he was contemplative, in a daze, or just resting. It's quiet, and the black-robed man feels like a plant. Although his black robe was torn, and there were many stains and snow marks, he did not look flustered or tired at all, and his gestures were graceful and calm. This is a temperament that the proprietress who has never left the Dragon's Back Mountains has never seen.

In a short time, the proprietress brought the food and milk to the man in a tray made of oak.

"Thank you. The man said, and began to eat, without taking off his hood from beginning to end.

"It's strange, did he speak so thinly just now?" said the proprietress as she returned to the counter with the tray in her arms, frowning and whispering to herself.

The black-robed man ate quickly, but did not make a sound, and the proprietress guessed that he must have been well-educated, perhaps from some merchant or scholar's family. As for the nobility, our poor town has not had a serious nobleman in years. Soon, the man finished the food in front of him, and he silently walked to the counter.

"Ah, a total of three Urals. The proprietress looked up sharply and said after being startled when she saw the person in front of the counter.

The man took out a silver coin from the inside of his robe and placed it on the counter. The wide robe obscured his hands, and the proprietress missed the last detail that could speculate on his identity.

"No need to look for it. With that, the black-robed man left the tavern on his own.

"Forehead............" The proprietress stared at the silver coin on the counter for a long time, she knew what it was, but as far as she knew, the value of this silver coin was far more than three Urals, and she really couldn't believe that anyone would pay for a light meal in a tavern with one such currency. However, after a brief moment of surprise, she hastened to put the silver coin away, and looked nervously from side to side in case anyone saw it, she had already made up her mind to return it to him the next time she saw him. However, a lot of times, when you make up your mind about what to do next time, next time, it often doesn't give you a chance, does it?

The proprietress put away the cutlery on the table and walked to the door of the tavern to check the time, but when she reached the door, she saw only dark clouds in the sky.

"A blizzard is coming. The proprietress looked at the sky and muttered.

..................

Baian is a Frost Guard. The Frost Guardians are legions that are not affiliated with any nation or religion, they are the remnants and watchmen of history. Legend has it that once in a very ancient era, there was a king in the north, the king led his ice army to the south, turning all the places he passed into frozen ground, and the defeated people retreated to the Longji Mountains, and repelled the king's attacks again and again with the help of this natural danger. Then, it's a tug-of-war offense and defense. It is not known how long the attack and defense lasted, perhaps years, decades, or hundreds of thousands of years. Anyway, one day, the dark clouds on the Dragon's Back Mountains suddenly dispersed, and the wind and snow subsided, and no one ever saw the king and his army again. But those who dared to explore the north never returned. The frozen ground in the north has never thawed, but the weather is much better than before. The people gave up recovering the lost land and concentrated on the land in the south, leaving only those who once lived north of the mountain range and were reluctant to go south. They don't want to leave their homeland, they believe that one day the frozen soil of their homeland will thaw, the curse of the king will dissipate, and they can return to their homeland. They are watching, while watching their hometown, but also watching out for the king to make a comeback. Over time, the Frost Guardians became their names. Dragonspine Mountain became their territory. Now all species in the South, whether humans, elves, dwarves or giants, call them northerners.

As a northerner, Byan was proud to be part of the Frost Guard, and in fact, over the years, the work of the Frost Guard was far less dangerous and arduous than it used to be, with generations of guards digging fortifications that stretched almost the entire length of the Dragon's Back Mountains. The guards only need to maintain these posts on a regular basis and then keep watch in shifts. The northerners watched the northern part of the mountain range with their stubbornness and perseverance, and even though the years passed, they still waited, waiting for their ancestors' homeland to thaw, waiting to return to their homeland.

"......Huh" exhaled a white cold breath, Bai'an looked at the cloudy sky, those who are familiar with the north know that this is a sign of a blizzard coming, although the king of ice and snow has disappeared without a trace, but the cold curse he left behind has made everyone never forget his existence. Even here, if the children do not sleep at night, their parents will move out of the king to scare the children.

I looked at the candles in the watchtower next to me, and it was very close to the change of shifts. Let's go to the top of the dragon's spine for dinner, well, order a whole piece of roast deer steak with a large glass of ale, and the deer steak should be poured with honey and smeared with the tavern's special barbecue sauce.

"Hiss" swallowed a mouthful of saliva unconsciously, and Byan stopped his delusions. And at this time, he seemed to see something, in the north. At first, he thought he was mistaken, but soon, when the light of the fire rose into the sky, Byan was sure that he was not mistaken, what was it? What was it that hit a fireball into the sky? He hurriedly took out the binoculars issued by the army, looked at the source of the fireball, and then he saw a figure. One, a figure in a gray robe.