"Enemy."

I don't know who said that every man needs a strong mortal enemy on the road to growth, and he doesn't know if he grows up, and at this moment he can feel the awkward feeling of thorns in his back. Since the frustration of the sneak attack, Mias seemed to be a different person, his eyes were cold and resentful, and he was panicked when he saw people, and when he passed by in the corridor, the astrologer did not dare to turn his back on him, and always felt that the white-robed priest would take out a knife at any time and strike him hard from behind.

However, all the conflicts he had guessed had come to fruition, and the journey went surprisingly well, with the Midnight Star traveling along the Golden Road, stopping every 36 hours to replenish water, food, and magic crystals, and then continuing on its way. As Bactria grew farther and farther behind him, the landscape in front of him became more and more desolate, and after two days, the road began to deteriorate, and the Golden Road was over, and a simple and rammed path with loess replaced the wide road, and the car became bumpy, and the town chief sighed and took out a pile of soft mats, and put two or three under everyone's buttocks. After two more days of turbulence, when everyone was accustomed to regular vibrations, the temperature suddenly rose, so hot that people kept sweating, there was no wind outside, and the air seemed to freeze.

Jonah looked out the window at the half-dead coconut trees that flew by, clutching a smooth metal sphere in his hand, the cold metal heated by his body heat and feeling like a hard-boiled egg. This is a farewell gift given to him by Prince Harimaya before leaving, and it is said to be a long-distance contact driven by steam power, but its reliability is relatively low, and it can be successfully communicated about once in ten times in a state of character explosion. The astrologer was always expecting the metal egg to vibrate and bring news of his companion, but it had been silent since it got into the car.

"Look, there's a guy over there. Asai pointed out the window, "It seems like I haven't seen a figure in two days." ”

"Oh. Well, it's a woman. Jonah replied listlessly.

Blocked by the mountains from the scorching hot and dry endless sea of sand and the north winds blowing from the Great Gobi, a humid cyclone formed in the Golden City, bringing a pleasant tropical climate to the surroundings of Bactria. But further southeast, the north wind was blocked by the hills and entered an arid and windless no-man's land, where there was no climatic conditions for crops to grow, and there were few human settlements, until near the borders of the Vedic kingdoms, where easterly winds from the eastern continent brought precious moist air, where dozens of cities of pearl wealth were scattered along the borders, where the maverick Ecbatana awaited the arrival of the lord.

"Asai, it occurred to me that Ecbatana is not Tocharian territory at all, and if those pink-hat dwarves don't listen to me, wouldn't the title of this baron be funny?" the astrologer complained.

"Ah, Brother Jonah. The Oriental did a good job of comforting the 17-year-old, "You have a trump card, as long as you take out the elf in the bottle and secretly put a few space magic, those mechanical madmen will definitely think that you are the disciple of the original astrology master, and it is too late to kowtow to you." ”

"I'm his apprentice, though I'm not learning the same kind of starline......" Jonah said with some uncertainty.

"Deceive those innocent Floresians?...... I like it. The little girl who sat on Jonah's shoulder with his legs crossed said, "But your big oriental ass! The old lady is a noble magic elf, what do you mean by 'taking it out of a bottle'?"

The Dongfang smiled and said, "It's almost time for you to release the wind today, Miss Moonlight Elf, hurry up and drink today's sixth round!"

"I'm afraid of you!" the little boy flapped his wings and flew to the coffee table, "Cheers!"

Asai poured down a glass of sparkling wine, and the moonlight elf lay on a saucer, sucking up a drop of golden cactus. "It's refreshing!" both of them wiped their mouths at the same time, and let out a sympathetic laugh. "The old lady will go back to make up for sleep, and I will fight with you tomorrow, and I will not give up if I can't drink you!"

The elf turned into a ray of green light and flew back to Jonah's fawnskin bag, and the astrologer sighed and shook his head. It's how they pass the time for a few days, and there's really nothing to do but drink, eat, and play cards. He himself studied the Fire Attack Star Array behind closed doors, and tried to inlay a few untested attack arrays on his staff, and after the gems were increased to five, there was no room for more inlays on the top of Hila Feina. Jonah feels that what he needs most now is a master of enchanted weapons like Hefzbach who tailors a few enchanted robes, belts, and boots for him, and now the attack power is enough, and the defense is almost the same as **.

When night fell, there was no light in the barren field, and the mayor of the town had made himself unconscious, lying beside him and snoring, and this time there was no boy sleeping on the Midnight Star, which choked the big man enough. One of them, who couldn't tell whether it was Zarinkuber or Zarinkut, stood guard by the door, the other second lieutenant had fallen asleep, and Jonah was immersed in the calculation of the star array on paper, and before he knew it, it was twelve o'clock in the night. Ah Sai stood up and walked to the middle of the room, posing as he drew his sword in a sideways step, and as soon as his fingers grasped the hilt of the "gluttonous" sword, a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Okay." This gluttonous guy is finally willing to admit my strength. ”

He drew the blade out of his sword by half an inch, cut his fingers to feed the soul of the weapon with blood, and then inserted the dagger and sat down. "Don't you have to try your sword today?" Jonah, who had long been accustomed to the actions of the Orientals every midnight, couldn't help but ask at this time.

"No, from today until the middle of the recession, I am the rightful owner of it. Asai smiled happily and patted the scabbard lightly, as if stroking the child's head, "I really hope that Tuva Tugan will provoke again, and the gluttony must want to taste the hot blood." ”

"No, I still choose to live a peaceful life. Thinking of the terrifying Burning Man, Jonah hurriedly waved his hand.

The next day, just after lunch, the valet came in and reported that "there is still half a day's journey to Punjab". The astrologer wondered, "Punjab...... I know the Punjabi beast spirits, the little stuffed animals that can record images......"

"Yes, that's right. "Punjab was originally the border city of the Buddha country of Veda, which was robbed by the Tocharians hundreds of years ago, and is now the political and economic center of the southwestern border of Tocharo. ”

"Punjab is home to the command post of the Southeast Theater of Operations of the Royal Fireblade Cavalry Regiment, Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel. One of the two (who couldn't tell who was wrong) explained respectfully. After listening to the Oriental translation, Jonah relaxed his body and sighed: "It's finally here, the bones are going to be torn apart, and the legs are swollen twice." ”

"That's the little thing, the point is that the waistline has increased mileage. Asai stroked his lower abdomen wistfully.

The astrologer looked left and right, leaned into his partner's ear and whispered, "Asai Asai, where are all the guardians of the ghost's left hand hidden along the way?Who lives in the fourth living room? You guy often sneaks out in the middle of the night, don't think I don't know." ”

The Oriental snorted awkwardly, "Uh, that, I just slipped into the kitchen to find something to eat...... The Guardian you're talking about is on the Midnight Star, maybe even right in front of your eyes. As for the fourth living room, I haven't been inside, but judging by the sound of breathing, there seems to be no one inside. ”

"My eyes ......" Jonah looked suspiciously at the two loyal ensigns, and Zalingkuber and Zalinkut stood upright, waiting for the lieutenant colonel's reprimand. “...... Forget it, don't think about it. His head started hurting again.

In the evening, the steam carriage drove over a bridge, and under the bridge there was a wide river, which, amazingly, was crimson in color, as if it were not flowing water, but fresh blood. "The Ecbatana, your river, Lord Baron. A river that flows from the territory of the Floresians, and up the river, is your fiefdom. Asai squeezed his eyes.

"Oh!" exclaimed Jonah, "is it lava that is red inside...... No, no, it must be some kind of red mineral, such as hematite powder, that melts into the river water. ”

The Oriental gave a thumbs up to signal that his guess was correct.

The carriage drove into a small city, with a permanent population of less than 4,000 people in Punjab, and the walls built during the war were very strong. Entering the city gates, the minarets of several Buddhist temples came into view, and a second lieutenant officer explained: "For historical reasons, half of the inhabitants here are still Buddhists, and after King Brahma established the Vedic state, this is probably the only remaining Buddhist temple in the whole continent, inhabited by many Vedic monks and garans." The command post is ahead. ”

The car stopped on the street for a while, and the two high-ranking officers of the Guards said goodbye and left the carriage, the headquarters of the Guards was said to be nearby. The carriage then stopped in a clean and tidy compound, the guards at the gate of the courtyard raised their swords and spears to salute the carriage, and many men wearing Tocharian red military uniforms and red cloth wrapped their heads ran out of the small two-story building, and quickly formed two columns in front of the car door. "Boom......" Midnight Star spewed out thick steam, the hatch opened and turned into a pedal, Mayor Du was the first to step out of the door, opened the golden scroll and read the decree of appointment of Emperor Esabink.

Jonah, Arsay, Zarinkuber, Zarinkut, Mias, and the four officers got out of the car and were greeted by a salute of gun-raised. The astrologer deliberately glanced back, and no one else in the carriage came down, could it be that the mysterious fourth living room was really empty?

As soon as this thought appeared, dozens of soldiers and officers in front of them suddenly fell to their knees and saluted reverently, and those who did not kneel respectfully dodged to the side. "Oh...... Very powerful practitioner. Asai suddenly realized and scratched his chin.

An old monk in a withered gray robe slowly stepped out of the carriage and walked slowly to the gate of the courtyard as if he had not seen anyone present. One of the two spear-wielding guards knelt on the ground, the other looked away, and everyone did not speak, watching the old monk's back slowly disappear into the street.