"The poor get poorer, have you ever heard of this saying? The snow struck Henry in the face, and the next second he said this, he twisted around and slashed open the skull of a ghoul with a sharp horizontal angle.

The pitch-black bodily fluids were frozen in ice and snow almost instantaneously as they overflowed, and the dwarf monster with teeth and claws fell to the ground, no longer moving.

"Well, it's — idiom vocabulary — right. With his back to him, Konstantin unloaded half of a ghoul from his left shoulder, followed by a kick that lifted it and hit it in the jaw with a strong and powerful kick that sent the monster, which weighed no more than twenty-five kilograms, flying backwards and falling into the snow.

But despite the jaw kicking, half of its body missing, and fluid bubbling from the wound, it was still able to move with ease. The small ghoul, who had fallen into the snow deep in his calves, quickly rolled over and turned towards the swordsmen on the other side.

"Tsk. Konstantin smacked his tongue, then took a few steps back in Henry's direction.

Barely over a meter tall and small, these ghouls are more difficult to deal with than their average size. The calf-deep snow and the wind made it difficult for the human warriors, who were already slow to move and stiff limbs in the snow, to judge the position of their opponents, and even if they did, they often made mistakes and could not hit.

"Shhh

"Shrink the circle, insert the shield!" shouted Mikhail, who commanded the left flank, and a scarred shield was fastened with a leather strip to his wounded right hand, which was holding a sword in his left hand.

"Click, click!" under the command of the knight lieutenant, the shields overlapped. These small monsters don't sound as deadly as head, throat, or heart, but even minor cuts can cause blood loss, and wounds are extremely difficult to heal in this freezing environment, and if they survive, they may lose a leg - not to mention that their attacks are accompanied by various toxins from the undead.

God knows how these things can move freely in an environment where their blood is going to freeze.

It stands to reason that they should be as extinct in the ice and snow as reptiles, and they will be frozen into hard ice cubes by the severe cold.

But they are still able to move, and they are even more agile than they were when they were alive.

"Be careful!" The cold and exhaustion and lack of supplies and lack of rest made it even worse, and despite the fact that they were all good knights and Mikhail gave the right time, there were still people who were half a beat slower.

The weary knight was able to stop the blow, but the other dwarf monster took advantage of the fact that he bent down and swung his sword and stepped on the shield with his other hand tilted and headed straight for his face.

The bronze dagger, still glistening in the snow and ice, headed straight for his throat.

Fortunately, they didn't fight alone.

"Smack-huh-"

"Capture-" The tip of the triangle at the bottom of the team covering each other in an inverted triangle is Minna and Mira's troops, the timely support of the longbowmen of Avenella has increased the tolerance rate of the knights, the eyes are like falcons, the fast reaction of the falcon and the strong archers are quite reliable, and the ghouls who were shot by several arrows fell directly to the ground.

Even if there is wind and snow to obstruct them, they can still easily hit a hostile target of this size with a flat fire within twenty meters.

"Enemy ahead! Mikhail roared loudly in Lamanite, swaying in the distance, this time with the relatively slow moving human corpses.

"Longbowmen!" and then Minna raised her sword and shouted in the Avenella dialect, "Forty-five degree angle throw, three preparations." ”

"Release!" The rain of thirty arrows was not dense, but the attacks of the well-trained longbowmen were constant.

The new enemy fell with a full body of arrow feathers, and the last small ghoul on this side was killed by the mending knife, but before Mikhail and the others could catch their breath, another group of swaying human undead appeared on the left.

"Shit!" exhaustion eroded his body, and even the steady knight lieutenant couldn't help but curse in Soladin's native language.

"I'll leave it to us. Mira and Minna glanced at each other and rushed forward with Morrow and several other mercenaries who were in the formation, she shouted to Mikhail, and the knight lieutenant raised his sword to signal that he knew and went to the other side.

Cloaked in a warm cloak, the Roan girl trudged through the deep snow with a sword in both hands, and she and the mercenaries targeted the downed walking corpses.

", it's still alive. "Obviously they have been baptized with nearly 100 arrow feathers, but except for a few who have been shot through the head, these walking corpses are still struggling in the snow to get back up.

"I can't still move, I don't call this alive. Moreau stepped on the chest of the walking corpse, letting the other man flutter his hands, and he held the blade of the sword in his hand and plunged it into the socket of the eye.

"Dust to dust to dust. Moreau concludes with a short prayer and gestures. The dead were not the inhabitants of their close proximity, but villagers dressed in the clothes of ordinary Lamani civilians, presumably victims of some village along the way that they did not know about.

"How big is the scope of this matter-" "Retreat!" Before the middle-aged mercenary could finish his words, he was interrupted by the Luoan girl, who snorted and gasped as they trudged through the snow and pulled back into the range that Minna's longbowmen could cover.

The cold light flashed, and Kramer struck again.

With a "bang-" sound, the sage split a ghoul, and then took a step back, controlling the distance.

"There was a pause, but the conversation continued, so the word was referring to—" "Boom-" A small ghoul jumped up and rushed towards the sage's waist, and Henry grabbed it by the neck and threw it into the air. And Konstantin, who turned around, sped up with a turn, and the big sword directly slashed it in half in mid-air, and at the same time did not forget to respond in his mouth: "Are you sure that this is--mention this-is a good time!"

"Hoo-hoo-if you haven't noticed. He gasped for several breaths before adding, "We're a little busy right now!"

"Of course. The sage shrugged: "If you don't mention it now, there will be no time later." ”

He said this, and Konstantin's expression became serious at the statement.

In short, the term refers to those at the bottom of society. They have done everything they can to survive, and their attempts to improve their living environment and create a future will create more new pressures and make life even more difficult. ”

"What did you hint about?" Henry didn't look at it, grabbed the head of a ghoul, and then pressed it all into the snow, then flipped his wrist and smashed its skull with Kramer's weight ball.

"Shhh

"No, not at all. Konstantin's reply was distinctly ironic.

"So, under what circumstances do you choose—" Henry to the left, and Konstantin to the right. The two men, who were staggered by pairs, and who were huge and who had also chosen the great sword as their weapon, split the two human undead like reflections in a mirror.

Henry continued, "Capture a group of goblins' lair and drive them out." ”

"Even though you know that this will likely turn them into undead, or ghouls. ”

"Well, maybe I'll try to improve it next time. Try to convince them to lay down their arms and distribute their woefully insufficient supplies to us strange humans. But before that—" Konstantin gasped and glanced back at Henry, "can you teach me goblin language?"

"You see, that's what I'm talking about. The sage shrugged his shoulders again, and then easily swung his greatsword to split another ghoul goblin in two: "The poor get poorer, you try to improve the situation of your group, you have no choice but to plunder them to survive." ”

"But this decision brought with it a new enemy, small, nimble, and originally very vulnerable, but now it is. He raised his sword in his hand, and the speed was like lightning and thunder, and even the snowflakes flying in the air were cut off in an instant: "It has become so difficult to kill." ”

The severed head of the ghoul fell to the ground, the severance of the neck still gushing out a pitch-black liquid, and they quickly froze in the snow and ice.

"Not for you. Konstantin whispered as he gasped, his fingers beginning to freeze, and the great sword that had been lost from Henry's hand began to feel heavy and difficult to wield.

The approaching blizzard expands again and again in the process of escaping, and with it, the temperature plummets. In the midst of the temperature, where even blood felt like it was about to freeze, many in the team had frostbite.

In the face of successive enemies and a severe lack of food, both meat and firewood were frozen so hard that even an axe could hardly split, to find a cave to protect himself in the midst of the raging snowstorm and to build a bonfire to fill the interior with hot smoke that Konstantin had to take, whether it already had an owner or not.

"The weak can only step on the corpse of the weaker!" he shouted, and then with enough force, this time landing on his left shoulder, but splitting the ghoul in two.

“...... Interesting philosophy of life. Henry glanced at Konstantin, then at Mira, whose creed was the exact opposite of Konstantin's, who was cleaning up the pieces with the mercenaries to mend the undead.

"Ahhh

Without stopping for a moment, the screams rang out from the left flank again, judging from the downward attack of the knights' blurred backs, it was obvious that after leaving the cover range of the archers, they were attacked by goblin ghouls mixed with the human walking corpses.

"Defend yourself and move closer to me. Henry raised his broadsword to signal his direction, but the howling wind made it difficult for him to convey his voice, but fortunately, Minna and Mira, who were able to judge, quickly moved forward to support Mikhail and his knights.

Dozens of warriors quickly dealt with the new threat, and they retreated towards the entrance of the cave, the warm light of the cave behind them made it tempting to turn back, but there were also wounded and weak companions there, and if these guys were allowed to rush in, all their efforts would be in vain.

"Uhh

Ghoul-like goblins have become extremely difficult to kill, and these low-profile subhumans already have the advantage of being agile, but because their physical strength is only comparable to that of humans, trained mercenaries and soldiers can easily kill them.

But after turning into necromancy, even these little things have become difficult opponents.

If the knights still have a full set of armor and sufficient stamina, even the ghoul goblins are not to be feared.

No matter how difficult they are, they only have short, outdated weapons and teeth and nails. None of this could be compared to a set of steel full-body armor, and the knights could have rushed up to the ground and slaughtered them in the face of the attack.

But in the midst of successive battles and cold winds that exacerbated physical exertion, Konstantin had already given up all their armor in order to survive. Even the remaining weapons and equipment at hand were in tatters, and if it weren't for the pillar of smoke rising from the bonfire that had been lit all day to keep warm in the cave, Henry had just arrived here, fearing that they would have become cold dead corpses in the cold wind.

Or worse.

"The wounded stand back, we don't have a shortage of them now, go back to the cave and rest, and Horno will force out the toxin for you. Naturally, Konstantin noticed these details, and although he may seem to us Mira, he may be a cold-blooded and ruthless commander, but this kind of abandonment is only a necessary cruelty for the leading class, and no commander with a brain will allow his subordinates to force a battle and lead to attrition while preserving their strength.

"Whew-whew-" Heavy breathing came and went, and in the wind and snow, bursts of white mist connected along the defensive line.

"I, that right?" said Henry, who was not alone in his eyes with sharp eyes, and Mira said as she stared blankly into the distance.

"They retreated. "They've retreated!"

"The wind and snow are getting smaller, we survived! survived!" was not only the mercenaries excited, but also many Imperial knights. They vented their emotions by shouting loudly, and even though everyone knew that it was not a real victory, or even a victory, they still cheered and celebrated, because if they didn't do so, many would break down in stress.

"Survived, survived, hahahahaha-" Moreau clutched his hair and cried and laughed like a madman, he and the other mercenaries were wearing tattered warm clothes, not to mention the precious armor, and even the original armor had to be given up due to physical reasons.

"You guys are really, just in time...... "The middle-aged mercenary gasped to Henry and Mira, while Minna walked over and began to communicate with Konstantin and Mikhail to arrange for the various supplies they had struck.

The wind and snow stopped, and the sky gradually became clearer.

Some of the sentinels left on guard, and the rest of the people entered the smoky former goblin lair, which had many traces of rough development. Many of them sat down on the ground with a big grin, and their mood was somewhat lighter after they had taken the new supplies.

The sound of conversation and the flames of the fire made people seize the time to rest and experience this hard-won respite.

Horno stayed by the fire to heal the wounded knight, and the undead toxin was essentially a form of magic, so a powerful enough mage could repel it with his own magic, but the process was quite mana draining and "as painful as burning skin" for the subject.

Fine sweat oozed from the elf's forehead, and the big man with a dull face sat beside her, although he was strong, his weak sense of presence was sluggish and taciturn, so that even if the situation was critical, Konstantin did not include him in the combat force.

"Whew-" When Henry walked over, Orno had just expelled the toxin for the last knight, and the knight who was biting the wood and had a pale face relaxed and lay on the ground, while Orno raised his sweaty little face and greeted the sage.

"You're a little late, but it's better than not coming—" she said, and Henry said "um", and the next second the action was more than everyone expected.

"Teacher?!" "Sir?!"

With a texture like mountains and waves, Kramer's blade had an eerie beauty in the firelight, and Henry held the sword in one hand, the tip of which pointed straight at Orno's forehead.

"Jinke, Palaone (what does that mean). Her expression was very serious, and she asked word by word in Elvish.

"Vala Coolier. ”

"Stranger. Constantine whispered suddenly, and Mira looked back at him, a little confused by the series of events, but then it became clear that the knight was referring to Horno's address to Henry.

"No, it's more than that. The man, who was as tall as Henry and had a very similar temperament, whispered quietly.

"Vala refers to humans in Elven language, but Coolier doesn't just mean it from somewhere else. ”

"Yavon Cullir (not of this place), Vesta Cullier (of this world). Henry shrugged his shoulders and replied in the same elven language.

"Outside of people, beyond the existence of reason, lonely wandering in the world, confused strangers, not knowing where to go, not knowing where to be. ”

"Stranger. ”

"You elves are really poetic in choosing names, and a word can have complex meanings, which is indeed something that only a long-lived race can do. ”

He still hadn't lowered his sword, and Barrow suddenly stood up, and everyone looked at him, and Horno's expression began to loosen, and a drop of sweat slipped across her face, and at the moment when her pointed chin fell to the ground, Henry spoke, word by word.

"Vantali. ”

The words that came out between the sage's lips were as bland as ever.

"——!" But Orno's whole face turned white in an instant, and she subconsciously stepped back, while Barrow stepped forward and instinctively protected her, this tall and muscular man was full of muscles, but it was indeed his bulging veins that attracted everyone's attention.

Black liquid.

"What the hell—" Several of the knights grabbed their swords.

"Look. In the midst of the tension, attention was once again drawn to the sage who spoke, for he no longer spoke in Elvish, but in Lamanite, which everyone could understand.

"In the Elvish language, the syllable 'Brahman' is often added to describe solemn things, which is like the human word for 'holy'. ”

"It's just that 'Sanskrit' is a neutral word in Elven language, except for its positive solemnity and nobility, and in its negative context, it means. Henry raised a finger.

"Extremely serious. ”

"So the word Vantali means—"

"Those who have violated extreme taboos. Horno spoke coldly, interrupting Henry.

"I admit it. Before she changed her Lamanite, she seemed very fluent: "I should have expected it, no matter how careful I was, I would not be able to fool you." ”

"But are you sure it's a good idea to tear my face with me? Her eyes began to glow blue, a sign of the magic being mobilized in her body, and everyone became nervous, Minna and Avenella's longbowmen aside, the others had seen Orno's magical power.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just. ”

"I just want to talk about it. ”

"When—" Henry hung down Kramer, the tip of his sword plunging into the soft, sandstone floor.