The tranquil wind blows through the blue waters, rippling and sparkling in the bright sun.

Two dark shadows emerged from the dense forest, skillfully sliding down the path to the lake, taking out the bottle on his body, leaning down and pressing it under the clear water.

The bubbles then floated up, reflecting two young, even somewhat immature boy faces.

"I've always had a problem, Om."

The dark-skinned boy sighed, took out the bottle of water from the usual lake, placed it in front of him, and looked at it carefully, "The priest said that there is magic in this 'water purification bottle', and if he doesn't get enough water, he will find out, and we will be accused of cutting corners. ”

A smile of lack of interest revealed.

"Routinely fetching water at the end of each month, this bottle is all too familiar to me - magic? I've been deceived for nearly four years, and wow, it's no wonder I couldn't have chosen the team of 'Holy Warriors' and 'Purifiers', and if it weren't for Uncle Regham, I wouldn't even be able to hold this job of fetching water." ”

As he spoke, the swarthy boy's voice choked up a little, "Urm, I don't want to be an ordinary person. ”

The sudden speech made the boy who was quiet on the side stop the work of fetching water.

He lowered his head and looked at the reflected face, fair-skinned, calm, and unremarkable.

"That's your problem?"

Responding lightly, he continued to fetch water, using a "water purification bottle" to get water is very particular, first of all, the bottle is submerged with pure lake water, and then using a ritual-like method to get water.

In the time that the swarthy boy was chattering, the fair-skinned boy named Urm had done nearly half of the work.

The sun shone on the side of his face, a little harsh.

"Did you see it, knowing that Lord Radiance was about to arrive in the village, Godwin and their happy expressions. His family had a good personal relationship with the adults of the church, and after this glorious event, as the priest said, the seeds of light would fall, and some people would be able to leave the village and go to the glittering buildings. ”

"They're no longer ordinary people, they're going to wear spotless white robes and hold new silver coins that glow white... Before that, we were playmates together. ”

With that, he pointed to the end of the forest, in the direction of a distant town.

"My father taught me from a young age to be strong, tenacious, brave, not to be ordinary, and to fight against adversity like a knight."

"I see."

Then he gritted his teeth, puffed out his cheeks, and under the unwilling eyebrows, the corners of his eyes sparkled, "This bottle is our predicament, Om, I don't want to be deceived like this anymore - I want to witness the real magic, the wider world, and never huddle up in this little corner of this village!" ”

He couldn't help but stand up, clutching the bottle tightly in his hand, his joints white.

"Erm, are you listening to me?"

In the face of his own rhetoric, the boy named Earm calmly took the water, and near the end, carefully took out the cork in the white cloth bag he was carrying, carefully plugged it, and turned it left and right twice.

"Listen, what's wrong?"

Finally finishing the bottle of water, Earm breathed a sigh of relief and calmly continued, "Actually, that's not bad, besides, you've made a mistake. ”

"It doesn't matter whether the 'water purification bottle' has magic or not, the reward for completing this job will not increase or decrease because of this, and besides, Mr. Pastor also said this on purpose to urge you."

"Of course I do."

The corner of the swarthy boy's mouth twitched, and he responded.

Am then stood up, moved his stiff arms twice, stared at the surface of the lake, and whispered, "It's extremely difficult to join the 'Paladin' and the 'Purification Messenger'. It requires not only great talent and continuous hard work, but also a good background. ”

"The 'Purification Envoy' is one level higher than the 'Holy Warrior', but it needs bloodline, where does such a remote place come from? So there is only one path to go, think about it, the Taimo Mountains are so huge, so are the Jingsera Lake, so many villages, so many people, crowded on the narrow road that can fall at any time, how many can finally change their fate? ”

"To be honest, without the experience of 'Sawyer Paperwork' (the core education of the town), even if I were to ascend to the city, at most I would be a low-level samurai running around the streets, struggling to make a living every day, maybe it would be even harder than we are now."

"You should know that the people in the town are very mean, and aren't they merchants who have been trading a lot lately?"

Then he said something that made the swarthy boy stunned: "Also, Godwin, they were not chosen, this time they are just able to follow the Holy Officials into the city to see the world, and they will come back to be our partners soon." ”

"Oh, yes."

Urm carefully put the "water purification bottle" filled with water into a white cloth bag, casually took the bottle from the hand of the swarthy boy with a depressed expression, and leaned down again to start the work of collecting water, "Recently, there has been a glorious inspection, and I can eat soft white bread after taking water back. ”

The swarthy boy frowned, stared at the fair-skinned boy in front of him, who was only a year older than him, and muttered, "Urm, are you really willing to be ordinary? ”

"Does the pastor say you are the most likely person to succeed him, or are you willing to be a pastor? I can't understand—"

"Lattimore!"

Urm's face changed slightly, the bottle in his hand trembled, and he immediately turned his head, interrupted the swarthy boy's speech in a deep voice, and called him by his first name, "You are offending the priest in this way. ”

"I'm sorry."

The swarthy boy named Lattimore took a deep breath and whispered an apology.

"My idea is actually quite simple."

After taking the water, Urm stood up, stuffed the bottle and put it in the white cloth bag, and looked up at Lattimore with his head down, "Repay Uncle Mallory for raising me, and take good care of you little bastard for Aunt Sammy, as for the palace nobles, rich knights, transcendent wizards, and legendary monsters, they have nothing to do with me." ”

Gently patting Lattimore on the shoulder, Om comforted him, "Do you remember the story of the legendary Leo Knight pursuing big dreams, even a person like him needs to eat well to do things." ”

Saying this, seeing the slight light in Lattimore's eyes, Urm breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems that you understand, then let's go back." ”

"You're right, Om, maybe the knight is a better fit for me."

"I understand that every great hero grows up little by little."

Clenching his fists, Lattamor nodded heavily.

···

Night soon fell, and the curtain fell on the dusk, and the quiet filled the jungle near the lake.

The nearby village is lit up with a dim fire, partly to celebrate the adults who have arrived from the town, and partly to add warmth to this slightly colder season.

The village is close to the lake and is surrounded by towering mountains, and is often exposed to the cold at night.

And in this dark cold wind, more than a dozen people in cold armor stepped on the hard mud ground, and the strong shadows covered the moonlight on the lake, and soon passed through the grass on the side, standing on the gentle slope, looking at the scenery not far away, without making a sound.

Hidden in his helmet, a pair of silver-gray eyes opened, signaling his companion behind him to stop.

More and more silver-gray eyes opened, and their pupils reflected the view of the village.

At the same time, the red lines on their shoulders burned slightly, emitting light, but they quickly disappeared.

This is a special magic that confirms that every companion is with them and that no one is around, born out of the breath-holding and connection techniques of the Sakaram Church.

"Confirm that you have crossed the Taymor Mountains, the border forest, and arrived at Jingse Lake."

A whisper came, "Then this is the territory of the Sawyer Alliance, pay attention to the location of the nearest church, and find out the terrain here." ”

There was silence for a moment, "Before the Radiant Patrol begins, we are not prepared to clash with anyone in the Sawyer Alliance, including civilians, cultists, believers, and soldiers and knights. ”

"Specific arrangements."

After a pause, his silver-gray eyes narrowed, "You will only know when the 'Dark Serpent' arrives in the border area of the 'Sawyer Alliance'. ”

"My lord, the terrain near the lake has been explored, and as the Bishop had predicted, there is no sign of any other invasion."

"Footprints were found, but the village soldiers patrolled to the front of the forest, and they should have belonged to the villagers."

"The Sawyer Alliance has a ritual to prepare the 'water bottle' before the Radiant Patrol, which is the child who is responsible for fetching water. We cleaned up the traces of our incoming, then dispersed into the jungle and waited until the next day. ”

Sleeping in the open was already a common occurrence for them, and the leader issued an order, and suddenly his eyes froze and he frowned.

"What are you doing?"

The rest of the group glanced over and saw a man looking at the night with a stiff figure like a standing stone statue.

Silence fell instantly.

Immediately, the leader swept over, drew his sharp blade and instantly split it at the waist, and the pitch-black light flashed twice, and the stiff man fell straight down, turning into a wooden man who had been cut in two.

"When did you get in?"

Holding back his anger, the leader let out a low cry and stomped on the wooden man's head, "Tell me the name of the missing person, attach the crime of defection, and report it to the Bishop immediately." ”

After drawing up the list, the names of the missing persons were quickly found.

Afterwards, two people took out the emerald green gem from their bosoms, which seemed to be the precious Philosopher's Stone.

"Calm down, calm down."

A short guy walked out of the queue, his voice a little hoarse, like that of an old man.

"It's probably the Sawyer Alliance, and since he chose to escape at such a time, he must have thought that we would use the hedron to transmit a signal - if we were intercepted by the nearby cathedral because of this, not only would the mission fail, but we would also face the risk of being hunted down."

After a moment's hesitation, the hoarse voice continued, "He can only sneak into the village and report the information to the cathedral and the holy officials inside. ”

"Isn't that the same? The summons will be known, and the wait will be known, do you want me to kill you like this and then return? ”

Picking up the short man, the silver gray eyes of the leader were cold, suffocating.

"Ahem, it's different."

He coughed twice in a pretentious manner, and the latter said unhurriedly, "We just need to catch the man before he reports to the cathedral." ”

"Jingse Lake and the surrounding villages are all border areas of the Sawyer Alliance, and they have received very little attention, even if there is a church, there are only two secondary saint officers in it at most, and it is very likely that there is no spar to communicate with, not to mention how weak the surrounding soldiers and knights and other defensive forces are. We just had to act quickly and wait on the road from the village to the church. ”

"Taking a step back, even if the person who escaped is deliberately hiding, he can only hide in the village or in the forest, and in the meantime, we just have to search carefully."

The short man spoke confidently, and then the leader coldly let go of his hand.

"It's not that simple, there are many nobles from the towns who came here to visit the glorious inspection, and at least half of them have come here at this time. Besides, the Bishop has ordered that there should be no conflict until the Serpent arrives—"

"There was no conflict, my lord."

The short man interrupted with some eagerness: "These ordinary villagers can't detect us at all, and on this basis, we can easily catch the defectors without revealing ourselves." ”

"And the defection is so sudden, your lordship, you handle it carefully, and the bishop will definitely not blame."

Hearing this, the leader's gaze became even colder.

"If you are a mercenary, you dare to tell me such nonsense, and act against the will of the Bishop, do you believe that I will kill you right now?"

The undisguised killing intent silenced such a short man, and the leader no longer looked at him, and lightly issued an order, "You use the Philosopher's Stone and contact the Bishop." ”

The person next to him did as if he were a machine.

The emerald green stone lay silently in the palm of the red glove, and waves of invisible fluctuations swirled around.

After a long time, the leader opened his eyes, and a hint of surprise flashed in his silver-gray eyes.

"Your Excellency Bishop has an order to eliminate the defector and prevent him from passing on the information."

"Until the 'Dark Serpent' arrives, it is possible to shoot at the nearest church as far as it is allowed."

"Dealing with the nobility of this place, as well as the possible means of communication of the church, the bishop has his own way to deal with it, and we have to complete the task during this time."

Then, he looked at the surprised short man on the side with a slightly interested look, "You have a good idea, tell me about your more detailed plans." ”

"That's nature."

The short man nodded like a chicken pecking rice, "Since there are children in this village who fetch water, there must be priests." ”

"In addition, the message has not been intercepted just now, which proves that the church in this area is very backward, so the priest is an important means of communication between these ordinary villages and the church, obviously, we have to start with the priest and find the defectors hiding in this area."

"I know the details of the ceremony of the 'Sawyer Alliance', they will come back tomorrow to get water, and I will be in charge of negotiating."

The short man almost patted his chest and made a promise.