"Is that confirmed?" asked Morris softly, as if deliberately not wanting the three outlanders to hear. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The white-robed young man replied softly, and at the same time turned his head to look at the stranger who was staring to the left. Alan immediately glanced over and continued to chew on the hard bread in his mouth, his face as usual.

"Got it, go and get ready," continued Morris, "a little later, and when they're settled, we'll go." ”

After Sauron withdrew, the room was filled with the smell of pea soup and salted fish pieces, and the three of them, who were tired of eating wild game, kept devouring the rare bread, although it tasted not only hard, but also did not have the smell of wheat, but fortunately it was swallowed with the help of pea soup.

"Your Excellency Maurice, you can lend us three horses tomorrow..... Oh no, two horses?" asked Alan vaguely as he munched on his bread.

"Tomorrow?" Morris picked up a piece of dried salted fish and threw it into his mouth, chewing it thoughtfully twice. "I'm afraid not, just now my nephew said that the Assyrians in the east are trying to cross the border, and all the soldiers in the garrison have to go. As you can see, I don't have enough horses here, and if I lend you two more, even one of them will .....," he shrugged awkwardly, and said no more.

"The Assyrian border?" Alan raised an eyebrow, "How far is it from here?"

"Four days," said Morris, pointing to the sand table on the long table, "if it doesn't rain heavily, we will set out tonight, and we will arrive in the evening of the fourth day." ”

"Then you have to go at least a week. Alan sighed, "Can you take us with you?" Assyria is not far from Nipur, and when you get there, you go and negotiate with the Assyrians, and we can go back to Nipur ourselves." ”

"I'm afraid not," Morris took a sip of wine and helped swallow the dried salted fish in his mouth, "we'll have to run fast, I don't know what we'll encounter along the way, and although the three of you don't seem to need my assigned soldiers to take care of them, the border guards really don't have enough horses, and if the two of them ride together, it will greatly slow down the march." ”

"Lord Maurice, are you going to let us help you guard the garrison?" Sersi picked up another piece of bread and said in a somewhat displeased tone, "Aren't you afraid that when you return triumphantly, you will find that all the tents and supplies here are gone, and only the big tree remains?"

"Then, you'll find them in a town that's half a day's drive from here. Alan laughed.

"There's nothing to steal here," said Morris, nonchalantly, "besides, Sauron will stay here, and the three don't look like stealers." He took another sip of wine, "Of course, if the three of you have to take something, my nephew can't stop it, and you should be compensated for the bandits you encountered in Nikko!"

"You're so generous!" Alan swallowed the last bit of bread in his mouth, picked up his glass and rinsed his mouth.

"Or, you can wait here for me to come back. "It's not that complicated," said Morris, "and when the time comes, if you wish, I'll bring back a few bottles of good wine, and snacks from Sunlight or Assyria, and we'll have a good meal, and then escort you out of the country, with two good horses." ”

"Sounds good, but we've lost enough on this deal!" Alan folded his hands and leaned back in his chair, "Thank you for your hospitality, we'll be on our way tomorrow morning, but I hope you'll give us some bread, preferably another pot and half a bag of green peas." ”

"It's nature. Morris called out to his nephew, who trotted over in a few moments. "Prepare some dry rations for three distant friends tomorrow for ten days," he commanded, "and are their tents ready?"

"Ready. The young man said, "The dry food will be prepared for the three friends early tomorrow morning." He bowed to the three of them, "Don't worry, gentlemen. ”

"Where's the men and the horses?" asked Morris.

"It's going to take some time, those people are getting used to being lazy. The young man straightened up and pouted.

"As soon as possible, I'm going to go before the moon rises!" Morris accentuated.

Sersi poured the last drop of soup from the bowl on his tongue, licked his lips, and burped in satisfaction. "Three," the young man walked up to him at some point, "the tent is ready, I think you haven't had a good night's sleep for a long time, come with me to rest, my uncle still has a lot to take care of." ”

Alan stood up first, and after thanking Maurice, he walked out of the tent with the youth.

At this time, the sky had just darkened, and except for the crows croaking on the towering tree, there was a deathly silence all around, and if it had not just come down from the table of the captain of the guard, it would not have been considered the station of an army in the slightest.

"Aaron," said Aaron, after entering the tent where the three were resting, "why can't your army see the soldiers, nor the cooks who accompany them, and don't they need to make some preparations before leaving?"

"That's the value of my existence, Your Excellency. Sauron was dressed in a loose white robe, with a silver chain around his neck, and his ears were brown with round black eyes.

"What does it have to do with you. Alan sat down on the thatched bed and tested the sturdiness of the bed.

"Because I'm the only cook, and healer, blacksmith, groom, and all the other jobs you can think of. Sauron shrugged, "Uncle usually calls me an officer, because this ghost army is full of prisoners, and don't expect them to do anything other than killing, so I have to do everything." ”

"I sympathize with what happened to you. Sersi said as she lay down on the other bed.

"Rest well, three," Sauron smiled helplessly, "I have to get ready, there's still a lot of work to do." Like your leftover plates, the restless stallions in the stables, the bastards' guns, swords, and armor, all of them have to be oiled, and ....." The young man's voice faded out of the tent.

Alan looked around at the cramped tent. There were only three hardboard beds with some thatch on them, and a candle lamp overhead, swaying from side to side with the pervasive wind.

"Sercy-sama," said Steven, "you've had a lot of soup that night, and now you should want to pee, right?"

"No, I would rather sleep. Sersi pulled the thin futon onto his body and covered his bare head.

"Ai ....."

"Go yourself!" Alan also lay down on the bed, and pulled the quilt impatiently. Then he heard the curtain being lifted, and fell asleep in a daze.

When I woke up again, I was greeted by Steven's terrified face. "Damn, what are you doing?!" he asked angrily.

"Big big ..... My lord..... They are out of ..... Departure. The red-haired wizard said with a shudder, the corners of his eyes twitching.

"What does it have to do with you?" Alan rolled over and covered his head with the quilt, distraught by the sound of horses' hooves outside the tent.

"Cocoa..... But adults can ..... That..... Those .....," Steven swallowed, "those ..... Those..... Hey, that's ..... Except..... Except for ....."

"Straighten out your damn tongue!" Alan jerked over, glaring at the red-haired imp.

"Elimination..... Except for the Maurice Knight, the others ....." Steven swallowed again, reaching out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, "No..... No one, the soldiers on horseback, no, no..... It's not a human ......"

At the same time, the curtain was suddenly lifted. Allen's gaze passed under Steven's armpits, and by the dim light, he saw a pair of bloody hands.