The man was not very tall, and the hood of his cloak covered his forehead. He looked to be about thirty years old, and his yellow mustache made his appearance a little funny. However, his expression was very stern.

He held a black wooden staff studded with silver-blue gemstones, just like his silver-blue bright pupils. The wolves gathered obediently around him, and with a wave of his hand, the wolves retreated backwards, crouching honestly behind him.

"Who are you?" the wooden staff waved down, the tip pointing at Ivan who was lying in the snowdrift. However, at this time, Ivan felt that the tense nerves in his body suddenly relaxed, and cold sweat seemed to come out suddenly, quickly soaking his clothes. He didn't answer, because the clear pain in his ankle gave him no strength to speak.

The man's face softened slightly, and he turned sideways and carefully slid down the steep slope to Ivan's side. "Hey, are you alright! Did those wolves hurt you?" he crouched down and looked Ivan back and forth, "Your leg hurts?"

Ivan nodded wearily and turned his face slightly, avoiding the man's gaze.

"Water Spirit, guided by my hand, use your gentle power to heal the wounded. ”

Suddenly, he heard the man chanting a short incantation in a singing voice, and the pain of his injured ankle seemed to be wrapped in warm water, and the pain lessened little by little. He looked up in a daze, staring at the earnest side face of the man, who had already put the wooden staff aside, and his raised right hand was shrouded in a faint blue-white aura.

After about half a minute, the man lowered his hand and picked up the stick.

"Who are you, and how did you come to this place?"

"Bud, what are you doing?" "There was a rush of footsteps accompanied by a nervous shout, and another man in a gray and white cloak appeared above the ramp, "Hey, who is that kid?"

Ivan bowed his head silently.

Didn't he memorize the lies he had made up hundreds of times? But when he really needed to say it, Ivan felt that he couldn't say anything. He remained curled up in a ball, just silent.

"Alas......"

The man named Bud sighed and looked back at his companion, "Probably a lost kid from a nearby city." What now? We can't just go into the city...... Ah, don't be afraid, we're not bad guys, the wolf is gone, don't be afraid. ”

Bard comforted Ivan in a childlike tone, but the more he did this, the more Ivan didn't know what to say. The other stood right next to the slope, apparently not letting his guard down, staring at Ivan with his stubby wooden staff in both hands.

"Hey, can you talk?" Bard frowned, "Where's your home? Are you in Greentown?"

Ivan hurriedly shook his head. He knew he had to say something, if he didn't want these two men to be suspicious of two wizards. So, he squirmed his lips and spoke timidly.

"I, I'm lost. ”

Bard let out a sigh of relief and smiled wryly.

"I know you're lost, anyone who comes here will get lost, no way, it's not safe here lately. He reached out and lifted Ivan up from the snowdrift, "You're not an explorer, are you?"

Bard looked surprised, and he noticed a black knife not far away, and the kid had a travel kettle with him.

"Well, no. Ivan said, glancing quickly at the wizard who was still on guard, "I, I'm separated from the caravan...... I ......"

Bud nodded in realization.

"Oh, I see. It doesn't matter, there used to be merchants passing through the mountains. But how could your caravan let such a young child ...... Forget it, let's not talk about it. Can you stand up?"

Ivan hesitated and shifted his feet. My ankle still hurts, but it's much better than just now. ...,

"Uh, I guess I can......"

Ivan climbed up against the trunk and leaned against the stout pine tree. A thought flashed through my mind.

"Hmm. He frowned, deliberately pained, and Bud hurriedly reached out to help him.

"Don't move!"

Another wizard shouted. He looked stronger and taller than Bud, and he was more fierce than Bud, "What did you caravan for, where did it come from, where are you going?"

"I ......"

The wizard's voice kept rising, and a series of questions made Ivan panic, and the rapid heartbeat could even be heard by Bud next to him, right? Unexpectedly, Bud immediately made a face at his companion, "Bill, don't be cruel to children, okay?"

"Do you know how our people died in the forest? It's an extraordinary time! It's an extraordinary time, you know?" the wizard named Bill retorted unceremoniously, his stubby wooden staff held firmly in his hand, "I'm sorry, young man, if you don't answer, don't blame me for being rude." ”

"Bill!" Bard stepped forward to stand between Ivan and Bill. He gestured as if to signal Bill to put the staff down first, and then he turned his head with a heavy expression.

"I don't know if you've heard about what's going on on the other side of the mountain, we're in some trouble, so we're afraid of outsiders. ”

"Mountain...... Over the mountain?" Ivan struggled to make his voice look dazed. He was going to play the role of a merchant from the Kingdom of Phaelland, and it was normal not to hear about what was happening in the Anglo region.

"yes. Bud breathed a sigh of relief, "You're ...... now Otherwise, let's go to our town first, you won't be able to get there now."

"No!" Before Bard could finish speaking, Bill immediately assumed the posture of a great enemy, "You can't bring outsiders to town!"

"Why not? It's not like we haven't had outsiders in our town. Bard retorted angrily. Bill glared at the wolf-like eyes, "But not now!"

Ivan felt a little stiff in this scene. The two wizards argued over whether to take him to town or not, and for a while they could not come to a conclusion. Although he knew that the man named Bill was right, he had to gain the trust of the two wizards. He slowly leaned against the pine tree, as if he could no longer support his body, and sat down in the snowdrift.

Plop. The voice was not loud, but the two wizards immediately stopped arguing and looked at him together.

"I, I can't walk. He hung his head sneeringly, in fact, because he felt that his cheeks were a little hot, and he was afraid that the wizards would see something wrong, "Can you ...... Help me?"

Neither Bard nor Bill spoke, and Bill lowered his staff, his brow furrowed.

"I'm from Greentown. Ivan said, taking out the wallet containing the gold in a stiff motion, "We, we want to go to the kingdom of Aura, but I ......"

I'm really not good at lying, but I'm so nervous that I can't do it just by saying a few words, and my face must be flushed with guilt. It really can't go on like this, Ivan's heart is pounding, and he is almost out of breath.

"It's okay, we're not from the Kingdom of Ora. Bud whispered, "We're not going to hand you over to the soldiers." He glanced at the gold from the opening of his wallet, and sighed as if he had encountered something that made him angry and powerless, "I just...... I just think your caravan is so inhuman. Okay, Bill, you see he's just a kid being used by smuggling caravans!"

Ivan's unnatural reaction seems to have been misunderstood, but it seems to be a good thing, well, as long as he can reach Takamo safely, the misunderstanding will be misunderstood. Ivan buried his head lower, as if he was afraid.

"If we leave him alone, what will we do at night? The beasts of the forest are not the only ones we have domesticated, for when our men are killed, we abandon those innocent lives, and the gods of nature will one day abandon us. Bard spoke like a talkative pastor. He was not a priest, he was a wizard who was an enemy of the Church of Light, but at this moment, Ivan suddenly couldn't tell the difference between a priest and a wizard.

After waiting for a while, it seemed as if time had been stretched for a long, long time.

Finally, Bill let out a sigh of relief.

"I can't tell you, let's go. He reluctantly slid down the steep slope and helped Bud lift Ivan up, "Listen, kid, our town is different from other places, don't run around, or no one will save you." ”

Ivan nodded hurriedly, and his hanging heart finally fell. But soon he became nervous again. The wizards promised to take him to "the town", but he didn't know how to get to Takamo......