The Morrit Badlands is located to the south of the Ghost Swamp, not far from the sea. In the past, it could have been reached by heading south from the town of Creek and along the coast. But now that the Ghost Fog Swamp has expanded, the road has disappeared beneath the mire.

Siegel and Moore had to head south, all the way through the Southern Lord's territory, and then turn east to make their way around the Morrit Wastelands. After leaving the Heim Lord's control, the road becomes dangerous. Siegel found abandoned corpses on the road, stripped naked, naked and pecked by crows. Some of the cottages were also empty, the houses burned to the ground, everything was removed, and only a few surviving watchdogs remained, whimpering in the black ashes.

Moore rode around and came back to report: "There was no one in the village, and I saw a large pit at the other end with many dozen bodies piled up in it, but neither buried nor cremated. The mill on the hillside was also demolished, but the grain inside was removed. ”

"The mill is an important source of finance for the lord, and the fact that it can't even be defended means that the place is completely out of control. Siegel looked at the attack through the eyes of a lord and asked Moore, "Who do you think would have done such a cruel thing?"

"Maybe it's a rout, maybe it's a bandit who sees the opportunity. The attendant thought for a moment, and then added: "It should be the wicked people passing by here, they only have the idea of leaving after grabbing it once, which is why they are so cruel." ”

Siegel then asked, "So whose territory is this?"

"The Ampat family, who joined the coalition and attacked the city of Myr, and it seems that they have suffered heavy losses. Moore replied: "There are very few traces of fighting in the village, and the number of corpses does not match the size of the town." Your Excellency, did you say the villagers had escaped?"

"I hope so. Siegel said, "I'll go and cremate the body, you wait for me a while." ”

Siegel looked at the village with his own eyes and saw a little more than More. There are very few horseshoe prints in the mud on the ground. Explain that the enemy is not dominated by cavalry. On both sides of the potholed road, you can see some pits from the pig's trotters, and some traces of dragging. It appears that the robbers harvested food from the village and fled north.

As Moore said, there aren't many traces of a fight here. The fence on the side of the road did not collapse, and no one took down the stones from the wall to attack. The axe for chopping wood is still stuck in the wooden pier. It's just that the axe handle has been burned to slag by fire.

If the robbers hadn't lit the thatched roof, they should have found more clues. The evildoers were clearly in despair, they were desperate and had no thought about the future at the time of the robbery. Siegel was not born into an aristocratic family, he started as a sailor, and naturally knew the way of life of the people at the bottom. In many cases, bandits and pirates will not rob the villagers of their belongings, at least leaving enough to make ends meet. They need to get information from the villagers on when there will be caravans and when there will be nobles. At the same time, they also need a place to hide and sell their stolen goods. Even in the year of hunger. They also give some food to the villagers, and are kinder than many lords.

Siegel saw the pit, and the corpses were lying lying in all directions. More overlooked one thing, the robbers killed the villagers, set the village on fire, and would leave as soon as possible, so who dug the pit? Sure enough, a hidden figure was found in a field not far away. They were hiding behind mounds of dirt and trees, looking cautiously in the direction of the village.

It's possible that this is a villager who is hiding. Siegel thought to himself that they had come back to bury their loved ones. However, this place is very close to the Ghost Mist Swamp, and simply burying a large number of corpses together is likely to cause necromantic energy to gather and produce undead. Many funeral ceremonies are designed to avoid this, but now there is not a single priest around.

The mage pulled a water bladder out of his pocket and threw some on the corpse. Then throw in a torch. This certainly couldn't set the corpse on fire, but he was able to disguise the spell he had cast - for those who watched from afar, he was using the burning caused by the oil. With a secret wave of his wand, flames rise, and the heat instantly obscures evidence of evil rampant.

Siegel no longer looked at the red fires and flying ashes. As for those who were hiding in the distance, he couldn't help much, only hoped that they would be able to go to the Heim territory, where at least there would be no bandits and bandits. He rode backwards and saw in the distance that Mohr was surrounded by a crowd of men with dung forks and long poles. The young squire was still on his horse, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but he had not yet drawn it.

"Get out of here, and don't play with your lives. More cried out: "Your present behavior is robbery, retreat immediately, or I will not be polite." ”

"Leave everything behind, and you can still have a way to live. No one cares if one or two people die now!" The man who spoke was about forty years old, with a sharpened spear in his trembling hands, not even a metal head. It would be impossible for such a weapon to penetrate Mohr's chain mail, let alone the dragon skin underneath.

Seeing this, Siegel stopped. He hid behind the house to see what Mohr would do.

None of the men had any experience with weapons, as evidenced by their gestures, pace, and chaotic scenes of blocking each other as they advanced. Moore had learned a lot in Mior, and knew that these people were nothing more than a rabble that could be broken up with a single charge. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the eyes of these people, there was some greed in them, some numbness, but most of all fear.

If Lord Siegel returns, he can easily wipe out these people with his magic. Even if you don't use spells, the lord's martial arts are very good, and these rusty robbers can last a few seconds? Moore thought for a moment and said to these people, "If you want to live, go northwest." Heim Collar is safe there!"

"We don't want to be safe, we want food, and your life!" the man with the spear gritted his teeth, gave himself strength, closed his eyes and stabbed at him. Moore held the reins in one hand to control the horse to prevent it from moving in panic, and with the other he drew his sword and cut off the pole in an instant. The middle-aged man only felt that his hands were empty, and when he opened his eyes, he found that the bright sword was stopped in front of the bridge of his nose.

"Get out!" Moore shouted, "or die!"

Seeing that the numerical advantage could not frighten this lone knight, everyone scattered like birds and beasts, and hurried out of the countryside. Moore was on guard, wouldn't it be dangerous if a cold arrow came at this time. He waited for a while. The surroundings were quiet again, as if nothing had happened before.

Siegel rode over, and he was pleased with Moore's disposition. "Let's go," he said, "and the road leads to Ampa's castle, where we will rest." ”

They walked for most of the day, and finally approached the castle just before sunset. The last rays of the setting sun left the castle. Now only a large shadow was left over it, and it looked lifeless from afar. The Thorn Pigeon Banner of the Ampat family swayed weakly, with only a few windows shining brightly. There were no patrols on the walls, only the light from the burning brazier in the turret.

The gates of the castle were closed, and there were no guards at the gates, so it was impossible to call them open. Outside the walls are the attached villages, all located on the south bank of the bend, some distance from the castle to the north. More pointed out an inn to Siegel, with a plastered walls covered with vines. The roof was covered with a thin layer of stone slabs. The inn has stables, and the firewood is neatly stacked in a corner of the courtyard, and everything is very clean.

There was a bright light in the windows, and there was smoke from the chimneys, and everything seemed fine when I thought it was safe from the robbers.

On the iron pillar is a flimsy sign that reads "Rose Field Inn". The two men did not come out until they had tied their horses. He pushed open the door and walked in.

A young girl, about eleven or twelve, with hair hanging down to her waist, stared at the two of them with wide eyes. She also carried two plates of boiled beans and bread in her hands. Her eyes saw the weapon on the visitor's waist and the armor on his body, so she forced her composure and said, "We are closed here, and we will not entertain guests." ”

Siegel looked and found no one else, and could understand the little girl's reaction. So he said, "If that's the case, are there any other inns around?"

The little girl thought for a moment. Wouldn't it be more dangerous if they tricked them into leaving, and when they found out, they might come back to settle accounts with her? Besides, her father had always taught her to be honest, so the little girl said, "There are no other inns around." You can go and spend the night. ”

"We're not bad guys, we're going to pay. Siegel took out a gold coin and showed it to the little girl: "You have a ready-made stable, a bed, and a stove, and we will only stay for one night." ”

"Is that golden?" the little girl swallowed, "You only eat and rest, and you don't do bad things?"

Siegel nodded, and so did Moore.

"I only make boiled beans, sliced bread and cheese, but I still have some ale at home. ”

Siegel unsheathed his sword, then sat down, "Bring some ale first, if we have the ingredients, we will cook it ourselves." ”

"Yes, sir. The girl put down her plate and ran to the cellar to find wine.

The two plates of beans are not the same size, and one plate is much more and the bread is larger. There's definitely one more person here, or another one soon.

Footsteps came from the cellar, and a man with a haggard, pockmarked face stepped out of the cellar, holding a butcher's knife for cutting meat. He still had bruises on his face, a wound on his arm that was not holding a knife, and the scar was still clear. He protected the girl behind him: "I know you will come to the door sooner or later!"

"You must have mistaken us and the others. More said, "We want something to eat, and then we'll leave." ”

Siegel added, "If that doesn't work, give us back the gold coins, and we'll look elsewhere for something to eat." ”

"Which family are you, crows, spears, or bobcats?"

"Gold coins, we use the gold coins of the squid family, you should be able to tell that we don't have badges, we are not knights and nobles, just mercenaries. Siegel pointed at him and said, "But we're better at using steel, whether it's a sword or a dagger." Now we only want beans and bread, not blood. ”

The pockmarked man stared at Siegel, his chest heaving violently. Siegel looked at him, and his sincere gaze finally made him let go of the machete in his hand.

"Well, I'm very sorry for the two guests, the situation is not good right now. ”

Siegel grinned, "You're just across the street from the castle, and you still need to be suspicious?"

"If the Ampa family is still there, then of course we can rest assured. The pockmarked man said, "Now there are only robbers living in it." (To be continued......)