The village was instantly busy, and dozens of hands quickly cleaned up all traces, faster than the vultures and crows on the grassland. Clothes, armor and weapons could not be kept, but they could be sold to nomads in the steppe. The shield has the symbol of the black sun, so it can only be melted and made into an iron pot, and it can also be exchanged for a lot of money. The corpse is to be stripped naked, and then the face is chopped up, and a deep valley is thrown into it, so that no one can find it. Although the horses are valuable, they cannot be left behind, so they can only be killed and eaten for meat. So after a while, when the cook brought the horse meat stewed peas, Jeff was not surprised at all.

"The peas are boiled, but your skills are still not good enough, and you can make a good meal bad every time. Jeff said this, but he dug a big spoonful into his plate and put it on top of the brown bread. "Forget it, it's hot, it's much better than in the mountains. He took a few more large sips of the shoddy cider, which had a sour taste, and Janet gave it up. However, Jeff was unimpressed, and he said to Siegel, "Go ahead and talk about Jazz. We approached His Royal Highness the Prince and warned him of a possible attack. The prince valued it very much, so he kept Sir by his side so that he could show his abilities and be loyal to the royal family. Sir is serious and does his best every day to keep the prince safe. Fortunately, this did not allow the trolls to succeed. ”

"Jazz isn't hurt, is he?" asked Siegel.

"No, he's fine. However, he later said that thanks to the trolls' main targets being the prince and the Dawn guards around him, he was able to escape with his life. The prince's swordsmanship was superb, which was really beyond everyone's expectations, and although he was injured, he still persevered until rescue arrived. Unfortunately, he didn't catch the trolls leader in the end, and he turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared under the siege of the Dawn Knights. ”

"That's the power of spells. Why didn't the prince have the help of the spellcaster?" Siegel wondered.

"I don't know, there were originally some mages, but they all left before that day, and it seems that they went to carry out the prince's orders. All in all, it's unfortunate. Jeff stuffed some more food into his mouth, and then said, "After that, we went all the way north and joined Count Todd near Waterdeep, and the prince's injuries were almost healed. Sir Bill thought that the matter could be settled and that he would have a chance to make it to the top of Mora, but Earl Todd wanted Sir Bill to become his vassal. Although he was only a freelancer vassal, he promised that Sir would get a piece of territory, which was in the area of East Lake in the Starry Country. Sir gladly accepted, swore allegiance, and took me with him to the North. ”

"I've received a letter from Sir before, and that's probably the time it was, right? He said he couldn't go to the top of Mora to join us. ”

"Yes, I sent the letter to the messenger, and I'm glad you received it. Jeff said, "Sir has always been worried about you, especially you, and he keeps talking about it. However, His Royal Highness the Prince and Earl Todd have asked us to keep our mission secret and not to communicate with the outside world, so we will not be able to write to you after that. Now you are still in the mountains, and I have been sent out to buy food, but I can take you up. The details can only be told to you by Jazz. ”

"It's so poor here, you rely on them to trade with the steppe people and collect grain?What is the Viscount of the Black Blood Castle doing, isn't he a knight?"

"It's a knight, but it's a pity that he doesn't know how to operate, and he can't win the hearts of the people, not to mention that he is not a knight of the Star Country. The Braavor-Slint family has always been loyal to the Saus dynasty, and there has been a border friction between the Saus dynasty and the starry nation. Although the Black Blood Castle would not blatantly fall into the ground—and he wouldn't dare cause such a big trouble for his master—it would still cause some stumbling blocks. For example, take all the men away, put away all the grain and store it in the castle, send out cavalry to cut off the trade routes, and so on. ”

"It's awkward. I don't know what the prince is going to do in this place. Siegel asked.

"Don't ask me, I don't know. Jeff said as he ate, "Even if I knew, I couldn't say, an oath is an oath after all." But I'll take you up the hill to find Sizz, I can guarantee that, young master. ”

"Little master, I'm not a little master. Siegel shook his head, his frown full of confusion: "I don't know who my parents are, why do you say that?"

"Sir Bill has his own fiefdom, but he has no wife, let alone children, and you are his apprentice, so you are the little master. Jeff Gold Coin crooked his mouth and smiled, "I'm just kidding you, don't think about it." You two hurry up and eat more, for us civilians, there are no good conditions on the mountain. And in my experience, we have to go fast in case the weather gets worse. ”

They quickly packed their bags, let the horses carry the grain, and set out on the mountain road without a moment's delay. But the bad weather arrived sooner than expected, dark clouds covered the sky, and a cold drizzle was blown by the wind and whipped in Siegel's face. He tugged at the reins and held the sack on his horse's back with the other hand, which contained bacon, hard cheese and dried sweet potatoes. Siegel uses canvas to protect the food and minimize the effects of rain.

Beside Siegel, Janet pulled her hood and wrapped her cloak tighter. If it weren't for Jeff by her side, she would have liked to become a smaller child so that the rain would have been less severe. She grabbed Siegel's robe with one hand and walked slowly along the rocky mountain path through the slippery dirt. A gust of wind blew and could make her stagger. At this point, Siegel would reach out and grab her wrist to help her balance.

"You're going to have to eat more, Janet, you've got too little flesh. Siegel joked in her ear, the only heat she could feel after the climb that tickled all over her body.

Jeff Gold Coin walks ahead, leading another horse with two bags strapped to its back, one for turnips and one for onions. The road is even more difficult to walk when it rains, and the water flows down the ramp, making them feel as if they are walking in a stream with a towering cliff on one side and an abyss on the other. The road conditions have become treacherous, and if given the choice, Jeff certainly likes to sit in a large house with a solid roof, leaning against a warm and bright fire, and sipping mulled wine while sniffing the aroma of dinner. After eating and drinking, take off your shoes, warm the soles of your feet with a fire, and then have a glass of fragrant ale, that is a good life.

'Not like now,' said Jeff to himself, 'I'm not a knight, so why should I suffer this.' His own soaked woolen clothes were sticking to his body, the rain was dripping down his neckline, and his panties and boots were wet. He had been beaten by the Knight of Pimple and his retinue not long ago, and nearly robbed him of his gold and life, but Siegel miraculously appeared to save him. Sir Bill was a good man, but it was too uncomfortable to live. If this mission ends well, I will apply to go to the domain of the Lord of the East Lake, and reopen my blacksmith shop, never to leave my furnace again. I've had enough of this damn cold rain!'

They had been walking all day on the road before they saw a black castle on the cliff ahead. From a distance, the castle looks like a claw sticking out of a mountain, and the three protruding watchtowers are the tips of the claws. From there it was possible to look down on the valley below, and it was impossible for the army to slip through this place as long as a few soldiers took turns on duty.

But three people and two horses are still fine. Sticking to the rock wall, they soon turned into a steeper path, a path for hunters and herb pickers, leading them to the mountain basin. Jeff said, "The outpost's camp is in the basin, which is no longer the domain of the Black Blood Castle, so Viscount Clant's men won't harass us anymore when we get there." But I'm sure none of their people will come out in this weather. ”

As Jeff expected, there were no knights disguised as robbers, only a few wild lynxes taking advantage of the darkness to sneak up. Siegel quickly killed two of them, and the others fled. "This bobcat is very common here, acts like a thief, and becomes a robber when it encounters resistance. Usually the villagers down the hill carry the sacks for me, and they are responsible for driving the animals. But it seems that the sword is more effective. ”

Siegel had been listening to Jeff's story of the mountains all the way, and now he was finally witnessing it for himself. In the middle of the mountains, there are many orcs, who are somewhere between barbarism and civilization. Humans dislike them, orcs despise them, so it is difficult for them to find a home on both sides. These children, born for a variety of reasons – most of them associated with war and hatred – have been discriminated against and bullied and taken refuge in the walled mountains, where they reign. They divide their territory like wild beasts, hunt their prey, and compete for water. They love fire, but they are afraid of the sword, so as soon as Siegel showed his weapon, the men scattered. Siegel thought of the goblins who had fled in the night as he watched them scatter and flee for their lives. The same back, the same horror. For the first time, Siegel had an idea: maybe it's not bloodline that determines everything, but civilization.

Along the way, they passed through nine deserted villages, all of which belonged to the orcs, and they had long since fled far away. There was nothing in the village, and everything that was eaten and drunk was on the orcs, and they were taken into the cave where they were hiding. Still, they encountered a few half-orcs who couldn't escape, and they had wounds in their legs, so they could only cower and lie on the side of the road, stretching out their hands to beg. When Siegel saw that they were pitiful, he gave them some hard cheese and bread. A few orcs graciously moved out of the way and let the team move on.

"The orcs on this side of the mountain are just pitiful, they are too weak, and neither we nor the orcs want them. Jeff said, "The orcs on the other side of the mountain are just hateful." They will join the orc army and become pirates or bandits. ”