"I'm leaving this horse here. Evan called the owner of the house and said to him, "Give it enough feed and let it rest well." I'll come back and take it and give you a gold coin, understand?"

The villager hurriedly waved his hand, lest he take over the job: "My lord, I don't know how to raise horses, I can...... ...... will raise to death"

"Then find someone to help, your village still can't support a horse?" Evan heard Siegel say that there might be beasts in the village, and was going to continue to carry the diamond on the road, but Siegel very firmly refused to delay the team's journey. Evan scratched his head, it was true that it was not always a horse rider, so the diamond had to be kept here safely.

"More than ten miles north of the village, there are more than 70 wolf corpses, you can find someone to deal with them. While you are peeling the skin or eating the meat, think about who killed all these beasts. If my horse doesn't stay here properly when I come back, I won't listen to any excuses and reasons, do you understand?"

"Ming...... I see. ”

Then, as if greeting an old friend, he patted the owner of the farmhouse on the shoulder and went to Diamond to explain something. Yao En helped his glasses and walked over.

"We don't want to get into trouble in this place, but if trouble finds us, it's something we're happy to do. He kept smiling, and his tone was very gentle: "There are a lot of beasts around your village, you should make a bounty to hire adventurers or report to the lord to clean up, otherwise it doesn't make sense, isn't it?"

"Yes, you're right. The owner of the farmhouse bent down and replied.

Six men and nine horses left the village, inhabited by bestials. Continue on this journey. They burrowed out of the hilly terrain. Walk through a forest dominated by tall maple trees. After passing through two villages that made maple sugar for a living, two days later came to the heart of the southern lord, the Xiling City of Viscount Uther.

It is a castle with a history of almost 200 years, which has been built by six generations of Uther, and you can clearly see the layering of buildings from different eras. It sits on a solid stone island in the middle of the river, and four long stone bridges connect the castle to the banks of the river on both sides, each with many holes, large and small, under each stone bridge. Due to the turbulent current, there are many whirlpools. The ferry is very dangerous here, and the castle can only be approached by a long bridge.

Only one horse-drawn carriage can pass on each stone bridge, with a maximum of one pedestrian dodging sideways. The narrow road made it impossible for the attackers to deploy their forces, which made Xiling City very safe. Dre Uther III inherited a large number of siege crossbows from his grandfather and father, and had already set up a ruler according to the position of the bridge, ready for precise attacks. Therefore, no army of the southern lords wanted to attack here, and the previous attempts all failed without exception.

Due to the weak defensive pressure, combined with the wealth brought to them by the toll tax, the Uther family had enough strength to equip a cavalry force. Unfortunately, this force has suffered a major blow in Heim territory, and is still recovering. Temporarily used for patrol and reconnaissance purposes. Since Heim controlled the north-south and east-west trade routes, it was difficult to hide the desire to buy horses in large quantities. The Uthers tried to find a solution. One way to do this is to build a good relationship with the Kingdom of Stars and hire a school mage as an advisor.

From here, Siegel and his party are to cross the bridge and continue their journey south. But when they arrived, they found that things were not as simple as they thought.

Barricades were placed on the bridge, and a sturdy log was erected on a forked tripod to block the way. At the same time, six soldiers with halberds and crossbows stood in front of and behind the barricades. They wore leather coats with the insignia of the Uther family - that is, four halberds on blue circles - and iron helmets painted blue on their heads. One of them, holding the flag of the Uther family, lazily leaned against the railing of the bridge.

Waiting caravans lined up in long columns and were being inspected. The merchants who had not been inspected complained, and the merchants who were being inspected whispered: it was the tax collector of Xiling City and his three retinues who were in charge of this work. They wore warm sheepskin coats, rabbit fur hats with pheasant tail feathers to cover their ears, and a pair of fine fluff gloves were holding charcoal pencils and writing and drawing in notebooks. The merchant's eyes were glued to the notebook, lest it should contain too large numbers.

"What the hell?" Evan rode forward slowly, passing over the side of the caravan, "Why don't you let you go here?"

"Are you knights?" asked the soldier at the barricade.

"Of course not, the knights are a big gap from us. Evan replied with a grin.

"You don't look like merchants, so you can't pass. The soldier took a round beetroot from his bosom, put it to his mouth, and nibbled hard. "Unless you have a pass. ”

"What pass, why is Lord Dre Uther blocking the way?"

"A knight's tournament is being held in the castle, and in order to prevent impostors and untouchables from disturbing the order, only knights and merchants and peasants who transport goods are allowed to enter. Of course, even as a merchant, you have to deliver things that are needed for the game, such as food and drink. ”

"It's stupid. Evan returned to the team and said to the others, "Holding a knight tournament should be seen by more people to show fairness and strength, what's the point of closing it?"

Siegel turned to Yao and asked, "Is there any other place besides here where you can cross the river?"

"You should be able to find a ferry in two days upstream or downstream, but whether you can cross the river depends on the current at that time. It will take the same amount of time to get back on the right path after crossing the river. The dwarf took off his glasses and wiped them, and glanced at Anomen.

The priest led the horse and walked over, letting his emblem sparkle in the sun. "I wonder if the humble servant of Mother Earth and her friends will be able to cross the river from here, and we will pray for the blessing of the game and leave at once, without disturbance. ”

The soldier, who originally wanted to refuse forcefully, wavered when he saw the holy emblem, took off his tin hat and scratched his hair, and then said, "I don't count what I said." Just check the knight's certificate or pass. If you are in such a situation, you should go to our Captain of Ten. ”

"Where is he?"

The soldier drew an arc with his fingers. "Should be fishing under the bridge. Stop by and bask in the sun. ”

After giving the salute, he came under the bridge, and the group met the ten-captain by the river. He had one more dagger than the average soldier, and it was hanging crookedly from his belt. The Ten-Captain was staring intently at the fish drifting in the river, his expression more attentive than that of the child's mother. His tin hat was set aside, and in it were three fat fish that had been caught before, wagging their tails from time to time.

Evan opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly gagged by Ammon. The latter whispered: "It will be hated to disturb the anglers, do you still want to cross the river?"

Evan sniffed. Nodding.

Yao winked at Naria, and the mage gently slipped off her horse and grabbed a pinch of powder from her spellcasting kit. Doesn't she have a wand yet? Siegel felt a little strange. But it's a good time to take a look at her spell skills.

The mantra is recited in a decent manner, one is a somewhat useless trill, I am afraid that the tutor who follows has an elven dialect, but it does not affect the effect of magic. Naria used the spell of seducing humans to make the Centurion feel good about everyone and willing to help. However, spells are never that simple, and they need to be coordinated by other means.

At Naria's motion, everyone led the horses farther away. Leaving the impulsive Amon and the steady Yao En guarded - Evan found the river bored and left himself alone - and the three men waited quietly. It wasn't until the Centurion had a new harvest that he congratulated him.

"Good skill!" said Naria, "I didn't expect anyone on the Fast River to catch big fish with a fishing rod." ”

The compliment apparently had a good effect, and the ten-master happily replied: "That's nature, it's my secret." Even if I don't become a soldier, I can live a happy life with a net profit of two silver coins a day!"

"But there's a small question, how do you cook these fatty fish here?" Narya asked, tilting her head, "I didn't see a proper pot nearby, and roasting it over a fire seems to ruin this delicious dish." ”

"Of course, of course!" said the ten-captain, wagging his finger and licking his lips, "and all but two of these fish are reserved for the good lads, and the others are to be taken home." Oh, my woman is very good at cooking these fish, and she doesn't waste them at all, she doesn't waste them at all—that's why I married her. You should try the fish soup she made!"

"We are honored to be a guest at your home, but we do not have passes, nor are we knights or merchants, and we cannot pass through the stone bridge. ”

"What's so hard about that? I'll just let them go. The Ten-Captain stood up and assured Naria.

"Thank you. Naria smiled sweetly.

But Siegel stopped the Captain Ten and said to him, "It's not the best option to let us go directly, if someone denounces you for this, your life will be a mess, and you will probably be locked up in a dungeon, and you will never be able to fish again." ”

The ten's eyebrows trembled, his eyes glanced around for a moment, and then nodded: "You're right, this may indeed cause trouble. You are such a kind person, my good friend. But you can't go over and you can't eat the fish soup that my woman makes, what can you do?"

"Maybe you'll be kind enough to show me what the pass looks like, maybe I can remember where I put it. Siegel stared into the Ten's eyes before blinking a moment.

The Ten-Captain blinked at the same time, then came to his senses and took out a piece of paper from his bosom. "You see, it's like this, it's mine, and it has the security mark engraved by Master Ruger Advisor. It's inconspicuous, isn't it, you can find it if you look for your pockets. ”

Looking at the honest smile of the ten-legged commander, Siegel said to him, "There are six of us, and these four fish may not be enough to eat." So, they're fishing with you, and you're just in time to show off your skills again. ”

"That's a great idea!" said the Ten, rubbing his hands together and excitedly, "I have a spare fishing rod here, who wants to learn it?"

Anomen volunteered to stay with the Captain of Ten to fish in the river. Siegel took the pass to a sheltered place and took a closer look at the sun. The paper is a mixture of parchment wrapped in straw pulp paper, and written in ink mixed with magic powder, leaving dark marks and mimeographs, which is very delicately made.

"It's already successful, he's willing to take us there, why are you stopping it?" Narya asked with a frown, lowering her voice, "You almost ruined the effect of my spell and brought him to his senses from his charm! ”

"Controlling him is likely to be detrimental to him, it's not the intention of magic, and there are other ways to do it. Shaking the pass in his hand, Siegel said to Naria, "I have forged many documents that the tax collectors at the harbor will not be able to see, let alone the soldiers. Even if it was the creation of some advisor mage, it was all trouble. Wouldn't it be better to start here?"

"I don't think so. Naria clasped her arms, still a little angry: "You have delayed a lot of time like this, and it will cause many variables. ”

"No, I think you probably didn't think about it, young mage. Siegel took out the paper and tools from his backpack and prepared to imitate them, and said to Naria, "This ten-captain is only in charge of the bridge on this side, and even if he lets us into the castle, can you guarantee that the guards on the other side will let us go? ”

Narya was stunned for a moment, and was startled. (To be continued.) )