Something in the boy's voice shook Angelus to his senses, and he sat up and saw a very sick wolf walking around a few feet away from the boy's blanket. Its hair is half gone, and its skin is shrunk on its bony ribs, making it look like a monster. It looked as hungry as the boys, its bare teeth glistening in the morning light.

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Okles clumsily crawled out of the travel blanket as quickly as he could, charging towards the wolf, yelling. He walks close to let it know he's serious, but if it wants to run, he'll also stop and let it run. It took a few steps back, then raised its mane and snarled at him. He shouted at it again, but it didn't move.

He jerked forward, but the ball was dodged. The wolf crouched down and prepared to attack, and Anchors raised his arm to be bitten by the wolf. The wolf took the bait, jumped up and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. But Andrx is faster, and he's ready. At the last second, he pulled his arm out of its jaw and grabbed its throat with his other hand. As soon as he felt himself grasping it, he grabbed it by the neck with both hands, keeping it out of reach so as not to be caught by its claws. Picking himself up, he quickly changed his hand, spun the wolf's body, and twisted its neck like a chef killing a bird. He threw the body over the bushes so he didn't have to look at it.

In Andlox's opinion, the boys' frightened expressions turned into a kind of hero worship, so he grinned and pretended to be a little thing, just to impress them further. "What's that expression?" All I did was kill a wolf," he said.

"How did you do that?" The white one asked.

"Apparently, I grabbed it and twisted its neck. Didn't you watch? Andlox said, very happy with his jokes.

The two boys stared at him in confusion for a moment, and then the black man said, "No, we mean, um......"

"I see what you mean. Wolves are not so dangerous when they are alone. The only really dangerous part of them is the teeth. I was three times heavier than him, stronger, with two fists and two legs. I'm smarter, too. A wolf is no threat to a fighter like me. Ten wolves," he explained.

They didn't respond, looking as if they were hesitating to trust him. There is no doubt that all the people they know are cowards who hide from the wolves instead of fighting. Androx walked towards the center of the intersection for a while, looking in all directions for more wolves, but saw nothing. At that time, it was lonely. A sick wolf abandoned by the herd.

He quickly noticed that it was still cold and hurried back to his travel blanket, hoping that the warmth had not yet dissipated. It doesn't. "Nothing else, kids. Go back to sleep," he said. Then he sat down and closed his eyes, hoping to wait for the adrenaline to subside before resting for an hour or so.

But after a while, he felt a hand on his chest again. "What's going on this time?" He asked.

"I'll have to get some water, Master Androx." Kit said meekly. "I knew you wanted to go back to sleep, but you said let me tell you."

"I have to do the same." The black one said.

Andrew sighed and sat up. "What did I say?" I think so, isn't it? I thought I'd have to take you," he recalled. "Gods, it's been cold this morning. It's too cold in the north. Are you warm?"

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"Good." Anchors said, crawling out of the travel blanket for the second time and standing up. He hadn't noticed it when he had just been distracted by a wolf, but his whole body was stiff and sore enough to make him flinch. It's so cute. He thought, he was beaten too badly by the shield yesterday. These kits are best appreciated. It's their fault.

"Come, climb out sideways so the blanket doesn't fall behind you. That way you won't be hot when you come back. He said as he helped the children take off their bedding. He pulled the black one to his feet, and was surprised to find that it was so light. He was so weak and unstable that his feet and he couldn't really walk, so Andlocles took the boy by his side and lifted him up. When Androx pulled him up, the white one wasn't so wobbly, but he still held Ondrops' hand tightly, just in case. The white one lost its balance several times and almost fell, and the black one was more or less carried by someone, but it succeeded.

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Okles led them to the edge of the clearing, and the three of them stood side by side drinking like old friends who had been drunk all night helping each other. Neither pup produced much water, which could mean that their bodies were absorbing water rather than repelling it. It didn't take long for their skinny bodies to start shaking as well, and instead of getting up from them, they hurried back to bed, and as soon as they got back, they were huddled tightly together.

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Okles made the fire louder again, ate a biscuit, and added some new wine and honey to the goats. As the morning came, in between feeding and watering the baby goats, he hung out the robbers' clothes and leathers, sharpened his sword and Pansy's knife, and spent half an hour doing stretching exercises and strength exercises. Although he carefully stared at every shadow to see if there were any more wolves, it seemed that the danger had passed.

By late in the morning, the scorching sun had burned the morning cold and the mist in the sky in a most pleasant way. Finally, when the little penguins push the blanket away and soak up the warm sunlight like lizards crawling on rocks, A

d

Okles walked over and took a moment to compare them. They look calm and content, and he can see signs that their bodies are responding to his care. Their stomachs are all starting to get rounded, but that's because a hungry person's stomach is like a big heavy cart, and it takes a while for them to move again. They will swell up like a cake but will flatten out after a few days. The negro's feet began to swell too; His body didn't know where to put the water. This is normal. He didn't see any new open sores or rashes, which was fine. Sometimes, the skin of a hungry person begins to peel off, but the kit looks healthy enough.

He spent the afternoon rummaging through bags full of grain, flour, and beans, looking for the merchant's silver. Although all the sacks were rummaged through twice, he still did not find them.

That night, he cut a cloak for himself out of red cloth and managed to sew the edges before dark. He used the buckle on his old cloak because the Silver Lion Medal from his military service was too sad to put down. Someone might recognize him, call him an ally, even in the land of the barbarians. After all, no one can say.

For the cubs, the day was uneventful. They eat, they sleep, they make water several times, and they keep themselves. Somehow, it made him feel lonely, as if he should entertain them. His mentor Diokles, of course, would; This man's love for his children is unique in the world. This was fortunate for the lost, grieving boy many years ago.

When these memories resurfaced in his mind, a wave of anger, resentment, and remorse welled up in his mind; Diocles taught him not to be consumed by loss and anger, but these emotions never left him completely. Diocles was the father that Andokles needed, prepared him for the army, and gave him his first spear. This is exactly the kind of person Anchors needs in his life. All his friends were like that, and they all took a part of him with them when they died.

These kits also need people, people like Andlos. But even though these pups are pretty enough, or will become pretty after a few weeks of stable food, he doesn't want them to like him. The best thing for them to do was to find someone to take them in, someone other than him. A wanderer who doesn't need to keep his oath. For the same reason, he didn't want to like them either. Despite this, the three of them passed the time quietly, still looking a little lonely.

So that night, as they sat around the fire, he sang his song in the army, although he had no harp and drum accompaniment. He has a military voice, not a choir, but he sings well. He began with the Battle of Seikopolis, in which he had fought in his youth; The melody is lively and pleasant, and the children seem to enjoy it. Then he sang two love songs that Dera had taught him; They have a strange tone, but they are easy to remember.

Then he was quiet for a moment, thinking about what to sing next. Both boys turned their heads to him and looked at him expectantly, apparently hoping he hadn't finished speaking. The first time he noticed, he found their emotions surprisingly easy to understand. Maybe that's the case with all children.

But all he could think of was the last song, an old song he had sung many, many times. In fact, it did not have a name, the army simply called it a hymn.

To be alive is to shine; Don't suffer. Life is short, and time comes at a price. Dance to your heart's content, sing to your heart's content, drink to your heart's content, and eat to your heart's content, because death will come one day.

When he finished speaking, he felt a little sad; He sang that song on the graves of those irreplaceable friends. He remembered what they had been talking about about the aroma of the harvest and the abundance of wine, as well as taking turns visiting each other's farms. One by one, they were killed. The first was Diokles, only a few years later; Then there were Euphemios and Athanasius, who were closer to him than brothers. More than once he held him during the operation and watched him scream in pain. Nikon bought him his first night with a woman. A Thai who taught him medicine. They all died, and most were cut down while standing next to Androcleus, who protected him with shields like the best soldiers.

For a while, Androxes stared at the fire, thinking about the days and people who were gone forever. Nor did the little goats say anything to disturb him; Somehow, there was something about them that seemed sad. Perhaps they themselves are thinking about the burden of memory. He almost asked their story, but decided not to. He didn't want to sit by the fire and remember them one day when they disappeared from his life. He didn't even want to know their names.

When the singing time was over, he fed the children another meal to make sure they were all settled for the night. He then climbed into the blanket he had slept on the night before, as he woke up with no fleas on his body. This time, though, he kept his sword and Pansie's knife handy, just in case.

* * *

The night was similar to the last time, he felt something deep underground that was angry and disturbed his dreams. Several times throughout the night, he woke up when he heard something moving in the bushes, but each time he saw nothing, so he added to the fire and went back to sleep.

The children had been sleeping, and the next morning, he got up before them and had breakfast ready when they woke up. He added a little flour to the wine to make it more nutritious and not to make it difficult to swallow, and if they noticed, they wouldn't complain. When he took them to fetch water, he found that the white leg was more stable, and the black leg seemed to have some strength, which he did not have yesterday.

The daytime is getting warmer than yesterday, and the sun seems to be brighter. A flock of songbirds flew around and chirped, bringing music to the air. The breeze blows through the hills, swaying the golden leaves of the pale bark that look like ocean waves. In fact, it's good enough that Anchors can understand why anyone would want to live here, despite the darker skies and worse food. No wine and olives unless imported. However, the breeze was lovely after all, and the view was as pleasant as one could hope for.

Although Della never talked much about the scenery, she came from somewhere in the north, somewhere off the map, and her people called it "the land of meadows." The only details she told him were that they had a lot of sheep and that the land was cold and stony. If he can never catch up with her and her bodyguards, then Androx's only plan is to wander around until he finds such a place and wants her there.

If she's alive at all. If the bandits kill her bodyguards, it's over. He frowned, imagining countless times that some bandit had bought him a farm and some slaves and was living a good life in the country.

"Master Andlox, are you angry?" The boy in white asked shyly.

"Huh? No, I'm fine. Do I look angry?"

"You look really angry, you do it all the time. Is it because of us?"

Both boys looked nervous, as if they felt they were in trouble. Andlocks had to giggle. They looked like they had been caught stealing a basket of figs, not yet sure if they would be punished.

"No, not because of you. I'm just someone who looks angry, even if I'm not angry. Don't worry," he said. He didn't need to tell them that they were at least somehow really at fault, because he was sitting here, not traveling. The little penguins were all relaxed and gave him a shy smile, which he had to admit was a bit cute.