After a week's trek through the mud, the cavalry finally reached the capital of Dragoninus, the city of towers that was said to have been guarded by Dragonvein Warlocks for generations. Perched on the raised spine of a mountain range, this massive fort is surrounded on three sides by rocks, with only due east being a relatively flat field. The cloudy sky made it difficult for Riga to tell the number of spires, but the towering swords of the towers made the Quaid feel a sense of fear in their hearts.

"O Hirag, this must be a spire built by the gods out of the spine of a giant! The barbarians praised the majestic structures loudly, even though the rapid march had made them as embarrassed as groundhogs. The mud was like specks on the fur of a snow leopard, covered with damp and crumpled leather cloaks, and rain tricked down from the hoods and gaps in their clothes, and the cavalry staggered closer to the castle until the wet fur of the fine silk horses shimmering in the gloomy weather was spotted by a group of rangers.

"Name the nobles you are loyal to! Several black shadows half-hunched over their horses howled. "Don't try to move, or the bolts will go through your throats. ”

"We are loyal only to His Excellency. Sir Martin shook slightly, trying his best to straighten his waist, "I am Sir Martin of the Saxton family, an officer of the Janissaries of the Duchy. And next to me were a group of mercenaries, warriors recruited from the north by special order of the Grand Duke. ”

"The Yankees?!" a few mocking mutters immediately erupted from the Rangers' side, and the Earl's Guards cavalry immediately became angry.

"Don't you tongue-slick Southern hillbillies know to respect the aristocracy?"

"I think those Abigail sweet grass stung their heads. ”

The inhabitants of the south of Longinus have a sweet tooth, but the sugar cane transported across the sea from Moriath is too expensive. So a chef found a special kind of sweet grass in the experiment, Abigail, which means 'tears of the she-dragon' in the Longinus language. The plant, which grows up to five or six inches tall, has large leaves and a bright green color, but as the name suggests. Abigail can make a nice, sweet sauce, but it doesn't eliminate the obvious side effects. The grass contains a toxin that makes the tongue numb and swollen, and while not lethal, it causes the southerners to speak with a slurred accent.

"You hairy pigs who only arch their noses! The smell of pig on your body can be five miles away. The Rangers, of course, could not tolerate insults to their homeland, so they emerged from the hidden woods and fought the guards with their fists. They had seen the composition of the group, about two hundred tall mercenaries and two dozen northerners.

"All right, soldiers. In the name of the dragon god, we should vent our excess energy on the Harrisons. You must know that most of the southern territory has fallen. Sir Martin quickened his swallow of the milk wine in his pouch and stopped him as he gasped for the fishy-sweet hot air from his chest. He was a noble officer after all, so both sides stopped.

"How's the war going? I'm sure the reinforcements coming to Pomberra will fill up the North Sea and make the only sun in the sky lose its dazzling light. Kicking his mount with the spikes on the back of his riding boots, Jazz couldn't help but ask questions as he trotted up. But he noticed that the fierce Rangers had wiped their eyes. "We've lost the whole South, my lord. Only the Fort of Hade still stands on the edge of the Grand Duke, and now the Harrison Rangers are able to raid the Grand Duke's villages at will. Yesterday news came from the southeast that a squad of scouts had appeared in a place that was only two days away from Pompeira. ”

The sudden news made Jazz purse his lips, as if the milk wine he had just drunk was as cold as ice. "This is really bad news, but trust us, trust Your Excellency. An army of warlocks can burn all enemies to ashes!"

The army was carried to Pombera by the Rangers in silence, the Dragoninus were frustrated by the defeat in the war, but the Quaids were sheer fatigue and did not want to speak.

The hundred-foot-tall spire magnified in front of the eyes, and the Quaid were eventually taken to a military camp as they looked up. The houses and grounds were dilapidated and dirty, but the quartermaster could only argue with Sir Martin. "I'm sorry, Lord Sir. There are already too many soldiers in the city, and now I can only find this abandoned camp for you, unless someone is willing to make an exchange with you. But believe me, there are still a large number of soldiers outside who can only pitch tents in the mud for the night. ”

"Damn it, I'll get those hillbilly militiamen out of the clean barracks!" said Sir angrily waving his arms in front of the officers, as if this was the only way to prove how angry he was. But the quartermaster, who also wore the badge of nobility, didn't care, he had seen too many such nobles. So after commanding his men to unload a few bags of supplies here, the thin little nobleman left with his head held high like a rooster.

The war had affected Pompeira's daily life, as evidenced by the torn bag. There are no promised spirits and roast lamb shanks, only aged oats that are soaked and about to sprout because of the rainy season. "Damn, do you think we're pigs?" grabbed a handful of swollen oats, and Riga gripped them so hard that they cracked slightly.

"Hi Warriors. Don't worry about your ale and food, swear by the eyes and teeth of the platinum dragon god, and I'll buy it for you with my own steel coins. Of course, Captain Martin knew what damage a group of rebellious Quaids could cause, so he hurriedly pulled out his money bag and handed it to the centurion. The small brown pouch, sewn with several layers of sturdy linen, was heavily swollen, and the sound of metal crashing from it made everyone guess the amount of the wealth. The warriors then proceeded to take over the beds and wash off the dust, believing that only clean water would drive away the aura of death that belonged to the gods on them, and that the pools of water would be quickly dried by torches.

The centurion eventually went out with a few of the guards to buy food and drink, and there was still something to join in the Quaids, but Sir decisively refused. He didn't want these barbarians to cause trouble on the first day they arrived, this was not Karasheng without the protection of the strong, and the dragon vein warlocks gathered here because of the war would kill all the troublemakers, with fire, thunder, acid, and even the darkness from the abyss.

"I'm going to meet Your Excellency the Grand Duke, Rigga. By the name of all true gods, please do not quarrel with anyone. In the end, the knight repeatedly admonished the hunter, after all, this powerful warrior convinced his countrymen. "This is the city of towers, the temple of glory of the warlocks. I don't want you to be punished for offending powerful spellcasters or nobles. Of course you won't be hanged, but you may have a portion of your mercenary money deducted. "Death is just a different way of life for the Quaids, so Sir cleverly threatened them with steel coins.

The leader of the Quaid mercenary army soon left the camp with his men, leaving behind less than a dozen guards and more than two hundred barbarians. Rega and his companions were a little dissatisfied, but now fatigue was their worst enemy. All the meat left over from hunting on the road is taken out, vigorously washed off from the smell of mold, and then cut into small pieces and put in a hanging pot. Several other guards were also walking around adding inferior spices and fine salt to each pot. Most of the spices used to smoke and regulate smells were traded across the sea from Moria, but those precious items were not available to a few small soldiers, they used only plant residue mixed with a small amount of spice - after all, the barrels containing treasures more expensive than steel were often scented.

The broth soon churned under the flames, raising the moisture to make the taste of the cabin even more enticing. Several barbarians also added cleaned oat grains to the pot at this time, and it was very pleasant for these warriors to be full, and the taste of the meat and oats was not taken into account.

The newcomers were apparently unaware of the preciousness of food in Pompeira now, so the smell of meat soon attracted them unwelcome guests.

ps: Thank you for the monthly ticket for inviting the moon into the building. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe (this site), reward, your support is my biggest motivation. )