The earth slowly shimmered with a silvery glow. Dawn casts flaming feathers of light over the walled city. The sun caressed the morning light, and the golden light shone on the battlements. The mist gradually retracted into the bosom of the protruding headland. The sound of the horn announced the end of the night watch.

The mercenary leader put his hands on the pergola and squinted his eyes to look down. He grunted in annoyance, turning his head to look at the paladin captain who was waiting for a changing of the guard, and Dalton nodded to him. "The hour has come, change of the guard," the mercenary leader shouted to his brother behind him.

Although he didn't want to admit it, the mercenary captain actually admired Dalton. Because those paladins and his mercenaries possess similar qualities, these are qualified warriors compared to the sissy steel fork battalion. They are no longer naïve.

In the past few days, including the obese mayor and the company commander and above officers of the steel fork battalion, they have come to lobby the mercenary group commander like a marquee, and they have desperately stated that the final fate of guarding the city must be certain death, and it is better to slip away.

But this veteran of the battle, after seeing the clothes of the monsters wandering around the soft maple city, has long been mentally prepared for the annihilation of the whole army, "Luck is the faster way to die on the battlefield; ”

Of course, he also made some other preparations. For example, let the historian who wrote the chronicle of the mercenary group pack up early and find three of the best fast horses in the city at the moment. As soon as the war reached the point where it could not be contained, the historian would gallop away with the chronicler. The mercenary leader will leave this seed behind to ensure that the mercenary group will regain its life at some point in the future.

Unlike this group of real warriors, some of the other armed men in the city are now starting to get upset. After last night's meeting at the North Wind Tavern, the one-eyed Wither tossed and turned, and he didn't get a good night's rest. When he woke up in the morning, he made up his mind, "As long as I have those opal emerald coins, I can plant flags wherever I go." ”

In the "Wither's Lair" - since the identity of the monster who beat the old Charlen was discovered and the head was different, Wither changed the name of the "Charlen House" to a new name - gathered a group of his most daring subordinates, he did not go to pick up the mayor who had negotiated the conditions with him yesterday, but directly took the younger brothers to start dressing up and preparing to escape from the city through the secret passage.

They wore scarves around the heads of the lords of the country and dressed up like a group of country women. Each of them carried a wooden pole on his shoulder, and the younger brothers hung it at the ends of the pole in clay pots for food and water, and Wither himself kept all the opal emerald coins. They looked like fat on their bodies, but they were actually stuffed with cotton wool to keep warm and weapons to defend themselves.

"Open the secret passage in the closet, and we'll head straight to Juniper Village," Wither said to his men.

Charron, the original first thief in Soft Maple City, dug many underground tunnels in his lair because of his evil crow nature. Originally used for smuggling goods, these tunnels are now the "Hope Trail" for the fugitives of Soft Maple, through which Wither has arranged for many dignitaries to escape from Soft Maple.

However, there was a tunnel hidden inside "Wither's Nest", which he never told anyone. "Never sell the best goods," Wither glanced at his men as he looked at the entrance to the closet in the Black Hole, "and this road leads straight to Juniper Village, where the rebels are entrenched. It's dangerous, but it's relatively safer. ”

With that, he lifted his pole, picked up the windproof lantern on the fireplace, and was the first to descend the steps of the dark passage.

The reason why he chose to take this dark path, Wither has his own plans. Although the territory entrenched by the rebels was not a good choice for them, it was a hundred times better than being directly exposed to the wilderness and being hunted by terrible monsters.

Anyway, the rebels have their own military forces, and Juniper Village is far from the protruding headland, so they shouldn't have encountered the monsters at the moment. As soon as he was able to make a detour through Juniper Village, Wither was able to lead his men through the forest, following a path frequented by smugglers for two days to another large city called "Emerald Wood".

It was a mountain city with a much stronger urban defense system than the Soft Maple City. The mayor of Emerald Wood City is different from the elected mayor of Soft Maple City, they are both hereditary rulers, so they also have a strong control over the city, and the defenders are much more reliable. Originally, a thief like Wither would never enter Emerald Wood City. But considering the current bad world, he felt that it was safer to go there to make a living, "Anyway, I have enough money in my hands, and I have a bunch of brothers, so it's not impossible to be a rich man." ”

There was such a thought, but he did not disclose it to any of his subordinates, because now was not the time. On his roundabout journey around Juniper Village and through the rebel-infested forests, he also needs his men to maintain a resolute attitude of courage and ruthlessness. After all, it's a long way to go, and the weapons they carry on them may come in handy.

Walking in the underground tunnels, Wither leads the way with a windproof lantern while planning how to get around Juniper Village. The men were close behind him, each of them keeping their mouths shut. Not a single person in the three hourglass marches made a sound until they pushed open a secret door in the forest.

There are places in the forests around Juniper Village that even locals don't want to visit because they are chosen by the villagers as burial grounds for the dead. Crawling out of a disguised grave and shaking off the wet debris of dirt, Wither began to survey his surroundings. He'd followed Charlen through the tunnel once before, so he had some impression of the place.

Like the Soft Maple City, this place was also affected by the Emperor's Demon Law, and the cold winter wax moon suddenly came several months in advance. However, it may be due to the distance, the temperature here is slightly warmer than that of Soft Maple City. There isn't a lot of snow either, there isn't much snow on the ground, and many broadleaf trees haven't even shed their leaves yet.

"There was a group of girls who walked out of the village. "There was a little brother who had just climbed a tree to look out, and noticed something, and immediately slipped down to report to Wither. Everyone touched the guy in their arms. The strings tightened. Wither followed the direction pointed out by the little brother and observed with all the only one eye he had left, and the thief smiled evilly.

"Be prepared and loosen your bones. Here's our chance. ”

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