"Strange ......."

In the middle of the jungle, the Marquis of Traoré kicked a big tree, looked at the empty clearing in front of him, and frowned.

"Where?"

He is an experienced fighter, both on the battlefield and in the field.

But now, he had been looking for a while, but he couldn't find the shadow of the monster anyway.

It's not right.

The source of information he had was reliable and could not have been a problem, but he had searched for so long, but he had never found any trace of the monster.

"Moved?"

Traoré muttered confusedly.

But when you think about it, it's not right!

The habits of the "rotten short-lived ghost" are not the active type, and even if he is transferred, based on his characteristics, he should at least leave some traces, right?

For example, corrupted ground and vegetation, etc.

But why, he just couldn't find it?

Shaking his head, he took another strong step, clearing a flat avenue and continuing on his way.

This time, though, he didn't go far before he stopped.

With his hands in his arms, the Marquis of Traoré looked down at the two women: "Didn't you find it either?" ”

"Nope." "We're not good at hunting in the wild, and we rely on instinct to judge directions, so we ......."

"Alright, alright." The Marquis of Traoré was very perfunctory towards the two girls who had no information to share, "Then let's go ahead and look for it....... That's right. ”

He looked around and didn't see Lynn's shadow: "What about another person?" ”

"We're separated, because it's probably more efficient to look for it that way." Corina said.

"Oh."

The Marquis of Traoré had no skills in chatting at all, and he simply nodded to the girl's explanation to indicate that he knew, and was not ready to continue.

But Corinne didn't want to miss this rare opportunity to get close to the Marquis.

Seeing that the marquis turned around and wanted to leave, she hurriedly shouted, "Uncle Carman......."

"I'm sorry miss." The Marquis interrupted without replying, "I don't like to talk too much when I am focused on one thing. ”

"Forehead ........"

"Besides, I know what you're here for."

Traoré stepped along, her voice calm.

"Your efforts and persistence are meaningless, because I will never agree to your proposal."

He wasn't an idiot, he knew why the Duke's daughter came to his estate, so he avoided it.

Talking to people is a troublesome thing, and Corinna's mouth can't change what he's sure to do.

He pursues what he desires, and no one can interfere with his thoughts unless he is killed right now.

"I advise you to go home, to where you are supposed to be."

Putting the last sentence aside, the marquis said no more to her, and walked away.

“.......”

Watching the Marquis's generous back fade away, Corina bit her lower lip and suddenly felt weak.

Who said that a soldier can't speak, lo and behold, when he shows his tenacity of will, it speaks for itself.

"What a ........ hate"

"Miss Corinna......." Alyssa looked at the girl's pale face and said comfortingly, "Don't panic, when the merchants first started to bargain, they all gritted their teeth and said that this is the reserve price and cannot be lowered again, but in the end, won't it still be lowered?" ”

"Don't be discouraged, as long as you're here, there's a chance you'll be able to achieve your goal."

Alyssa's words were full of relief, as if she felt pity for the girl's state at the moment, but in fact, she was just worried that if Corina really left, it would affect her young master's plans.

Unfortunately, Corina didn't know this, and she looked into Alyssa's affectionate eyes and took a deep breath.

"You're right." She pulled at a smile, "I'm not that easy to knock down!" ”

"It's not that simple to want me to back down in just a few words!"

She cheered herself up, but she also knew that the chances of achieving the mission goal were becoming more and more remote.

The Marquis was not a merchant, he was a warrior, a lord and a general who commanded many soldiers, and it was very difficult for such a person to change it after making a decision.

But no matter what, she had to try.

Taking a deep breath, Corinna shook aside the mess and asked Alyssa, "We haven't found it for so long, what about Mr. Hodthoss?" Does he have any information? ”

Alyssa shook her head: "No ........"

"Boom-"

Before the words fell, there was a sudden roar in the distance.

The two hurriedly looked in the direction from which the voice came.

It was the direction in which the Marquis left.

This time the sound was louder than the marquis's kicking of the tree, so it was obviously not him who was opening the way.

"He should have found it."

The two glanced at each other and hurried to follow.

It wasn't long before they saw the Marquis, who was frowning.

"Damn, I really ran away....... Strange, why didn't there leave a trace of leaving? ”

The Marquis's brow furrowed even deeper as he looked at the rotting swamp in front of him.

Normally, even if the "Rotten Short-lived Ghost" moves its nest, it will not move too fast, but not fast, which means that it will become entangled with the surrounding magic.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, there should be a regular path of corruption on the way out of the "rotten short-lived ghost".

But now, he found no trace of the "rotten short-lived ghost".

"Could it be that it wasn't that he ran away, but was preempted by others....... But there are no traces of battle around here....... Strange, so weird......."

The Marquis felt that his knowledge was a little insufficient, so he turned to look at the two of them: "Miss, do you know what is going on?" ”

Corina shook her head vigorously.

The analysis she made in a short period of time was not much different from that of the Marquis, and she was equally puzzled.

"That's right." Corinna winked at Alyssa, "Call Mr. Hodthoss back." ”

Alyssa nodded, then took out a philosopher's stone and injected a shallow wisp of magic into it.

It didn't take long for Lynn to arrive at the scene.

"Hey, boy." The Marquis of Traoré grabbed in front of Corina and asked, "Have you found anything?" ”

"Yes." Lynn's answer was not consistent with Corina.

He said solemnly: "I found that many large trees around have traces of destruction.......

"Uh......" the Marquis scratched his head, "that maybe, I did it." ”

"Nope." Lynn shook her head, "I can tell whether it is human or a monster." ”

"Those destroyed trees have directly fallen into a state of corruption, which is obviously the traces left by the "rotten short-lived ghost".

"Oh?"

The marquis became serious: "Where?" ”

Lynn pointed the way he came.

The Marquis acted at once, and the others followed him.

After a brief glance, the Marquis agreed with Lynn's idea. Immediately, everyone followed the traces left by the "rotten short-lived ghost" all the way, and found that this monster may have left the jungle.

"Tsk, it looks like there's nothing to gain today.......

Just as the marquis sighed from afar, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be wolf smoke rising in the distance.

"That direction, it's ........"

In an instant, the Marquis's face changed drastically.

With a whistle, he summoned his horse, and then left Corina and galloped away alone.

Corina was full of question marks: "This is ....... What happened? ”

Lynn didn't give a definite reply, only said, "Come along and have a look." ”

"Good!"

.......

"Boom-"

By the time the Marquis's horses stepped into the outpost, the soldiers had finished the battle and were picking up the pieces.

"Someone! Tell me what's going on!! ”

"Report!"

Immediately someone from the soldiers' camp came out of the ranks.

His waist was straight, and his face was serious: "Seventeen minutes ago, we were attacked by the second-order monster "Rotten Short-lived Ghost", and now we have killed it, and the soldiers have suffered a total of thirty-seven casualties, including 7 dead, 19 lightly injured, 11 seriously injured, and ......."

The reporter's face became a little cautious: "Little master, they are also injured." ”

The Marquis's face was gloomy.

However, the reason for his ugly face was not because his son was injured, but because of the soldiers.

If it was just such a small casualty, he wouldn't care at all.

The "Rotten Short-lived Ghost" is also a second-order demonic beast no matter how it is said, and only 7 soldiers were killed and 11 were seriously injured, which is already a relatively good battle damage ratio.

What worries him is the follow-up treatment.

"What about the wounded?"

"Gather together and settle in a separate .......tent," the reporter said hesitantly, "but the young master and they don't want to stay with everyone, so they have added another tent to them." ”

The Marquis nodded: "Take me over." ”

"Yes!"

The soldiers led him between two adjoining tents.

"The one on the left is for the soldiers, and the one on the right is ........"

Without waiting for the words to land, the Marquis walked without hesitation to the camp on the left.

"Whoa—"

The tent was opened, and the lifeless look on the faces of the soldiers inside instantly dissipated when they saw the marquis.

The seriously wounded man got up with difficulty and saluted the marquis.

"All back." The Marquis forced them down with violent words.

He looked around and said, "Stay well, and I will find someone to cure you." ”

"Your Excellency!"

"Thank you, sir!!"

The soldiers choked and fell to their knees.

Some of them didn't know the horror of the "Curse of Rot" before, but after being popularized by science, they also knew what kind of torture it was.

They are all ordinary people, and they are all afraid of death.

It's hard not to be moved by the promise of a leader they respect.

With a sigh of relief, the Marquis did not say much more, and turned to leave the tent.

It just so happened that the leader of the team here also came to the marquis.

"Your Excellency!"

"Hmm." The Marquis replied and asked, "Apart from them, how many others have been cursed in the face of the Rotten Short-lived Ghost?" ”

The leader of the team hesitated for a moment and whispered, "What I found now....... There are forty-three. ”

"Is there anyone among the medical staff who can solve the curse?"

"No ......."

Most of the medical personnel in the army are good at treating the sick and wounded, but they really don't know much about curses.

Because of the curse, it was originally a relatively niche existence, and creatures other than monsters would not be used.

Because of this, healers who can remove curses are a very scarce resource, and most of them are hired by the Adventurer Guild, after all, adventurers who run around every day can always be contaminated with something strange, and they can only use their strengths there, earn more gold, and come to the army, which is a professional mismatch.

The Marquis took a deep breath and said in a cold voice: "Go and find me, all the people in the vicinity who can heal the curse!" ”

"Yes!!"

The leader of the team saluted and turned to leave.

The Marquis looked at his back, his eyes cloudy.

Although he said that he would find someone to treat the soldiers, in fact, he also knew that it was just a reassuring word.

He couldn't find so many people.

Setland is not a very bustling place and resources are very limited.

Neither medical care nor education is top-notch.

If it was in Ningarom City, he would have been able to turn what he said into reality, but in Setland, he couldn't.

Or rather, the time of being cursed to complete death does not allow him to do it.

Taking a deep breath, the Marquis summoned a soldier.

"Go, find more tents, and separate all the cursed ones, and take care of their nearest food....... Well, send them some more money....... That's all, let's go to logistics. ”

The soldier respectfully agreed, turned and walked away to the logistics.

After that, the Marquis also left the place.

After he left, the soldiers finally relaxed and began to talk.

"My lord, what a good man."

"Indeed, it is the luck of my life to be able to follow Master Traoré!"

"Yes, if it were the beast I worked for before, and encountered such a troublesome "curse", I guess I would not hesitate to gather all those cursed people and burn them - I can even imagine what he would say."

"'Treatment? Cure a fart! How much are you scum worth? Will I be able to earn back the money I paid for a doctor? ’”

"That's right, those aristocrats are actually the same, where are they like us, and they have made a lot of tents for everyone to live alone, improve the environment, and even have good food and money to focus on....... Why am I not cursed? ”

"As soon as you say that, I suddenly realize that they may not have to train for the next few days, but also have good food and money....... Some envy them for what's going on. ”

"Goddess, please give us another beast! This time, I must have been hurt badly!! ”

“........”

The Marquis of Traoré, who had already left, was obviously unaware of the soldiers' conversations, and even if he did, he would probably only laugh.

Unfortunately, it's not a smile with any nice meaning.

After leaving the camp, he went to the command center where the barracks were located.

"Come on, give me a list of all the infected people....... and their tents, and they marked me who lived in whichever house. ”

"Yes!"

“........”

In the dark corner, Number Two silently watched the people in the command center go up and down and began to get busy, shaking his head slightly.

After a moment of observation, he left the command center and went to the camp where the little young master and the others were.

It's lively here.

Although they were wounded, under the protection of the soldiers, their injuries were only minor injuries splashed by the aftermath of the battle, and they were harmless.

At this moment, the young master Traoré was happily chatting with his companions, and he was not worried about his condition.

They knew they would be fine.

"That's right." In addition to the excitement, someone remembered something and laughed, "You say, did Garnasi stay with the horse for a long time and became a horse himself, so he was able to run so fast just now?" ”

Everyone recalled the speed at which Garnessee had fled for his life just now, and laughed: "Very likely! ”

"That guy, if he doesn't do anything all day, he knows that he is nested in horse manure and always suffers from horses' hooves, probably because of this reaction, hahaha!"

"Anyway....... After Ganassi ran away, where did he go, and why didn't he see him yet? ”

"This bastard runs so fast, he doesn't look back, he doesn't pull us along, and we're all but nesting in this shitty place now....... Tsk, he can't have already returned to the manor! What a damn bastard!! ”

"Everyone, you must beat him up when you go back........ Abandon us and go back to the manor to eat and drink spicy food, is he embarrassed! ”

"That's it, I'll settle accounts with him when I go back!!"

"Okay, don't worry about him, let's talk about other ......."

“.......”

Number Two exited the tent and looked into the shadows in the other corner.

"Tsk, are you so annoying?"

"Whew-"

The shadow trembled violently, but soon calmed down again with the light gesture of the second hand.