Joe's life can be described as quite boring these days. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After a night of thrilling, they leave their original estate with Jura and make their way to the town of Alstor, which means silver mountain, and lurk in a dilapidated three-story building.

The enemy did not continue to attack. Maybe the other party really doesn't know this stronghold, or maybe the enemy has other things to do, and he doesn't have time to pester them all day. Once settled, they tried to get in touch with the Church's support department, and learned that most of the same friendly troops entering the Empire had been attacked of varying degrees within two days of reaching their intended stronghold—and that they were the lightest in terms of losses.

This level of casualties is somewhat beyond the Church's estimates. In the follow-up instructions conveyed, they were told to proceed with caution until the second batch of reinforcements arrived. At the same time, they learned that the Church's main forces fighting on the Eastern Front were also in a little trouble - the Empire did not engage them head-on, but the Fritzians had produced several large, sword-and-gun monsters that gave the 1st and 4th Legions a headache as they went north.

Joe didn't think there was anything wrong with that. War is a game between two sides, and everything cannot be smooth. What makes him a little dissatisfied is the task he is currently assigned.

In order not to attract the attention of the enemy as much as possible, they slowed down the pace of gathering intelligence. These days, Saran and Miria disguised as a merchant couple stay in the town under the pretext that they intend to buy ore, and in turn negotiate with the mayor and the various mine owners. Mahan and a few other able-bodied warriors dressed as northern residents who had chosen to avoid the war and chose to go south, became temporary miners.

As for him, along with Jura and the little girl named Elena, he was in charge of taking care of the living dead who had been captured...... Phew, he said, the crow knight who didn't know what was going on.

In order to avoid permanent damage, the knight's joints that had been removed by Elena had long since been replaced, and only ropes were used to restrict the opponent's movements. He soon discovered that this was unnecessary—the first day of his arrival, the other party would symbolically struggle a few times; From the next day, he suddenly collapsed, barely responding to external stimuli. If it weren't for the fact that the other party still had a heartbeat and breathing, and there was no corruption and stinking, Qiao really wanted to dig a pit everywhere and bury people.

- Only in this way the task of "guarding" the captive becomes even more boring.

The little girl named Elena didn't seem to think so. She stayed by the captive every day, carefully observing the other captive's physical condition, and constantly writing and drawing in a bound notebook. He leaned over and took a look, and there seemed to be all sorts of strange plant names, most of which he didn't recognize.

"What are you doing here?" Joe asked casually as he took a few steps away with his hands behind his back.

"Prescription." The girl replied happily, "Perhaps potions can cure his present condition, but alas...... I don't have most of the herbs I need at hand. ”

For some reason, Joe suddenly became a little interested in this little girl. He chuckled and patted his chest with confidence on his face, "Okay, tell me what herbs you lack, and I'll help you buy them back!" ”

"But didn't Captain Saran let you stay here?" Elena raised her eyebrows, "Say it's you......"

"Phew!" He hurriedly interrupted the girl, "Don't listen to his nonsense, I'm not impatient at all, and I can't cause any trouble!" Anyway, you can leave this matter to me! ”

He didn't admit that he was idle and panicked, and wanted to find an excuse to go out for a walk. Fortunately, the girl thanked him seriously, and made him feel a little better.

"Hah—I don't know when those two people will be back." He sat down in his chair, twisted his neck, and stretched hard.

Yura, who was not far away, held the book without saying a word, and after a long time, she didn't turn a few pages of the spread book. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that her mood was a little low—it seemed more difficult for her to accept that her former companions had become the way they were now than the collapse of the Order.

Jo didn't know how to comfort people, and several times tried to say something, but when he saw her face with a hint of sadness, he swallowed it back.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door—four times, then two, then three times.

He looked left and right, Jura had no intention of getting up, and Elena was so engrossed in writing and drawing in her notebook that she didn't seem to notice anyone visiting.

So he sighed and opened his mouth listlessly, "Who? There is no one here. ”

"It's okay, I'm not here to find someone." A calm female voice sounded outside the door, "I wonder, why do the stars only shine at night?" ”

Joe swallowed, cheering up a little. The other party said one of the secret words of the church, could it be that the reinforcements from the church country have arrived?

"The stars are always shining, but the sun is brighter during the day." He replied, "I ask you, where does the sun go at night?" ”

"Go to the other side of the world and bring light to those who also need it." The other party replied quickly.

"Ha, you're here!" He quickly stood up, pulled open the door and poked his head out—and then froze for a moment, for the four men standing outside the door didn't look like "reinforcements" in any way, "Why just a few of you...... And two little girls? Anyway, my name is Joe, and I have something to say! ”

"Thank you, I'm Yuphie, and she's Lynn." The girl walked into the room and briefly introduced herself, "Did Eskar inform you before?" ”

Joe scratched his scalp, barely remembering that there was such a thing. When they arrived, a little girl from the Elna came to deliver a message claiming that the two wizards might visit soon. He thought it must be two arrogant and older Elnars, but he didn't think that they looked several years younger than him.

Just as he was stunned, the girl who called herself Yuffie walked into the room and looked at one of the corners, "This one...... It's the Crow Knight you captured. Can I check on him? ”

He hurriedly turned around and saw the other man crouching across from Elena, observing the motionless knight with a serious expression.

"Huh?" Elena seemed to come to her senses, "Of course...... Wait, who are you? How did you find this place? ”

Joe rubbed his nose and leaned over curiously. From the girl's answer, he roughly understood what the other party had done during this time, and he also understood why they wanted to find him.

For Yuffie and Lynn, the trip to the imperial capital was quite rewarding.

The officials in that prison had a wealth of hidden information that, if in front of the stage, would be proof that Rogman III was blindly waging war. However, the time has not yet come, and their first task is to avoid the Empire's search and ensure the safety of those people.

Fortunately, Rogman III's promotion of Edda displeased most wizards who sought the truth—for wizards whose knowledge and power came from seeking, rather than simply entrusting their bodies and minds to a superior being. Moreover, a man who was too concerned with the mortal world even reminded them of the end of the last epoch - that was not a joyful history.

Those who are willing to help in the hunt are only beginner and mid-level wizards who are not very ambitious. Searching for dozens of people in a vast territory is already more difficult than hiding the same number of people - perception spells can only cover a radius of hundreds of meters, which is better than looking at them; The prophetic spells are basically derived from the divine magic network, and even if those wizards barely simulate, it is not enough to break the counterspells set by Yuffie and Lynn; And the information that Grace and Eskar have observed from thousands of meters of air makes any level or carpet check meaningless.

As a result, the disguised fugitives left the heart of the empire safely and hid in the neighboring countryside. Later, they brought two Imperial officials who were interested in providing information to visit this secret stronghold belonging to the Black Crows.

"So." Joe looked suspiciously at the two men behind Yuffie - they were dressed in plain linen blouses, their faces were slightly haggard, and they looked like down-and-out townspeople, "You are the officials of the Empire?" ”

"That's right, the Catholic." The black-haired man among them nodded, and the momentum on his body flashed, "Fran, the former treasurer of the imperial capital. I can answer your questions, but I don't accept rudeness. ”

Well, it looks a bit like that. Joe shrugged his shoulders and gestured to come in.

"Let me make a pot of tea, and we can have a good talk."