Anchors walked fast, but carefully, trying to step on the footprints of the people he was following to keep the snow from getting their feet dirty. It's not particularly easy to use. They didn't follow paths or paths that he couldn't see, and there weren't enough of them to walk a decent path. With every step he took, he kicked up a small ball of snow.

A slender moon hung low on the western horizon, lying quietly in the clear, icy air. The trees appear blurry and indistinct against the white, but at least the traces they leave behind are impossible to miss. Androx wondered if snow could really produce a small amount of light, or if it just seemed that way.

The chill of the night could no longer hit him, presumably because his stomach was stuffed with slowly burning anger and burnt bread. He struggled to walk in the snow, and the heat generated sucked out the sweat from his forehead and his clothes, making them look particularly heavy. He briefly considered jogging, but he didn't dare to find himself out of breath in an ambush. Not to mention, his squeaky, aching joints simply couldn't stand such abuse, just after he was dragged onto a horse.

Only the toes are cold, but they are painfully cold. Even though he had a good pair of leather shoes, only halfway to his calf, the oil had worn out and his feet were wet and sticky. At least he could feel them. As long as he can feel his toes and can move them, they won't freeze and break. This allowed him to stop worrying about his son.

God bless them if they want to run away. Wolf sca

Said that one of them hit Pepper, so he may have tried, but didn't run far to hide. When Pepper tried to hide, no one could find him, not even Aguna who could find him with her priestess tricks. No, the children need to be caught now, because Androx is coming, and if they escape, they will most likely freeze to death and no one will find the body.

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Okles tried to focus on his cold toes, trying to inject warmth into his toes, instead of dwelling on all the terrible things that could go wrong, but with little success. Exactly, he wasn't too worried about Aguna and Gabi; He trusts Arguna to handle things. He was still worried about her; She's a woman after all. But if there was any woman who could bear to be caught by a slave owner, it was Agna. The gorgons will undoubtedly have them cook for her, clean the camp, and she will sit by and give orders, and they will give her a horse to send her back. Otherwise she would have left a pile of corpses and would never explain to him how she did it. As far as he knew, she was capable of such a thing; Whenever he really her off, she ominously declares that not all of her tricks are harmless, and that if he continues to do so, he will know everything.

He didn't know if the children were still awake. If they were, maybe the flowers would sing. The slaves might see his worth and leave him largely unharmed, and when Androx gets close enough, he'll be able to hear it. Or will they suffocate the boys? He could have been smothered tightly.

Now that he thought about it, the snow seemed to cover everything on its own. In the silence of the night, the sound of his footsteps and the click of his weapons sounded very loud, but it was just absolutely not anything else. Snow engulfs everything. Nothing could be seen, only snow, a faint trail, the black shape of the plant, and no sound at all.

What if they plugged Flower's mouth with a chain and broke a few of his teeth? Or cut its tail and ears short to make it look like a fighting dog joke? Or give him a brand, or a strange tattoo? In a civilized society, this child cannot be hidden. Civilized people and boys are often naked. Maybe they can think of it as a scar from the battle with the barbarians. Andrew frowned, trying not to think about it. It's best to concentrate on rushing along the trail. The last thing he wanted to do was lose his courage.

Based on his footprints in the snow, he knew he was following four people and two horses. The boys may be lying on one of the horses like luggage, because he can't see any small footprints. But this is to be expected; If the slave traders wanted to move quickly, they couldn't let the children's stubby legs go ahead, especially the tired ones who hadn't eaten.

If the gods were watching, they should at least stop the bread from burning.

The trail seems to go all the way to the west, only going off course when going around trees or dense bushes. These slave traders may have a specific destination in mind, or they may go around in circles to meet other people. A camp or something, or a stupid hilltop wooden fortress they're proud of.

Just as the woods were driving into a small clearing, he almost stepped on a black spot in the snow, right in the middle of the tracks. He barely noticed this, and although he was contemplating, something in the shape caught his attention. He wondered if it was blood, and when he knelt down to examine it closely, he realized that it was: a piece of blood almost the size of a pumpkin, just lying on the snow.

He suddenly felt a rush of panic, and he had to swallow hard to keep his composure. His hands were shaking, but not from the cold. He blamed himself over and over again, telling himself that this was not the behavior of a seasoned veteran, but that didn't help much.

In addition to the large bloodstain, there were other smaller bloodstains scattered around, almost as if they had been thrown out. He cautiously paced around, but found no footprints small enough to belong to his children. Where does the blood come from? Maybe dinner, maybe a bird? There are no feathers. Maybe one of the horses? It seems to be confined to this area, and the footprints indicate that the pedestrian stopped here for a while.

Then he saw a piece of meat and knelt down to look at it carefully. It was a man's severed finger. A

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Okles picked it up, and sure enough, it was bitten off. He was almost relieved about it, but not completely. He was proud of his child's bravery, no matter who did it, but the punishment would be severe.

He cautiously circled the area, looking for something he might have missed, and soon he spotted a different trace than the other places - an adult bear left the area and came back again. He walked alone, so he might just be peeing on a tree; He probably wasn't there to dispose of the body. Possible.

Androx gritted his teeth and left the main path along the path. After walking a few dozen yards, he felt a slight sobbing and whimpering sound.

He ran wildly, following the footprints in search of sounds. The path skirts the bushes and passes through a clump of small, jagged trees into a wide clearing with a wide, tall pine tree at the end. Soon he found the source: under a very large tree hung something black, which did not have the white color of flowers.

"Chili! He shouted, rushing towards the tree, his heart filled with panic. Then he stopped: it wasn't Pepper, it was the demon kid, who was hung by a rope tied to his ankles. His panic immediately descended between disappointment and disgust.

The kid wasn't even swinging; He hung with a limp and his legs at odd angles to his hips. It looks dislocated. The thing was still wearing a red suit he had made, but it hung out from its armpits, covering his face. They hung him up and waited for him to die.

"Hello? Is it someone? The demon asked in a trembling, terrified voice. It tried to reach out and grope its surroundings, but its arms didn't have the strength to lift the cloak high enough to reveal its face. "Who's Canyon?"

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Okles had a conflicted heart and hoped he didn't shout Peppe

name to let it know that he is nearby. Can he turn around and leave? He realized that it would be a perfect opportunity. He could kill it, make it suffer, and then claim that the slave trader did it. No one will ever know better, and his family would be safer without it. It's tempting.

He put down his harpoon and spear, drew his sword, and walked towards the demon child. It heard his footsteps and asked again, almost with a terrible urgency: "Who is that?"

When A

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When Okles didn't answer, it began to wave its arms frantically, as if it couldn't see, trying to figure out what was approaching. It tried to pull the coat high enough to see clearly, but with each movement, the rope grabbed its ankles and let out a whimper of pain.

When A

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By the time Okles ran under the tree, the demon child had fallen into extreme fear, sometimes trying to protect himself, sometimes reaching out to feel something approaching, his sobs turning into desperate cries, almost screaming.

For a moment, Andlos looked at the little devil, watching it panic and suffer. Then he sighed; He couldn't stand it now. Starting a family ruined him. A

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Okles reached under his dangling coat, grabbed the demon's little hand, and said, "Shhh It's me. A

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okles。 I'm going to take you back to Deanna. The boy trembled and shook Anjex's hand back with both hands. His hands froze.

“A

dokwes ?” Seff asked. As a result of being hung there, his breathing became rapid and rapid.

"Yes, A

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okles。 The big guy who made you that tunic for you. Are you hurt? He asked.

"My legs are numb," the boy said. A

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Okles could almost feel the pain emanating from the child's tense and stiff body.

"Yes......" Anders began, trying to figure out what to say. Did it explode?"

"Yes. It hurts terribly. He replied, followed by gritted teeth and sobbing.

It is useless to delay the time to let the child down. He was reluctant to cut the rope, but his fingers were cold, and he was in a hurry. Now he remembered that this slave trader must have been in a very, very bad mood to waste so much time on revenge. That must be his favorite finger.

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"I've been to this before," Okles said. I know how much it hurts. Try to stay still now, because I'm going to cut you down. Your leg will hurt even more for a while, but I have to. ”

"Nope! No, stop! The child suddenly shouted in horror. His fingers poked into Andrx's forearm with incredible force.

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OKLES paused. This was not the reaction he was expecting. "What, do you want me to hang you here until you die?" How can I get you down without cutting the rope? He asked, trying to make himself sound less angry.

"Oh, do you hope?"

"Yes, I'm going to cut the rope. Are you ready?"

"Isn't it my leg?"

"What? No. ”

"I've fought you, we're going to cut off my legs," Sev explained, his voice full of emotion. He grabbed Angelus' forearm a little looser.

Androx didn't know if he should laugh or embrace the demon sympathetically. He did nothing, and then said, "O gods, child, why should I do that?" I try not to move when I cut the rope, otherwise it will be worse. Don't move. ”

"Will it starve to death?" The boy asked, even though he already had the answer. A

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Okles put his arm around the boy's waist and began sawing the rope, just above the knot. He was careful not to shake it too much, because that would hurt a lot. Soon the rope was cut and the boy was free.

As Anchors grabbed him, he heard the sound of bones sliding back into place on their own. He had always hoped for that. The demon screamed in pain, and Androcles held him to his chest, put the sword back in its sheath, and readjusted the bearskin to cover the child.

Sev gritted his teeth and cried, hugging Ann tightly

d

okles。 His body trembled slightly, and Anchors held him with one arm and poked his hip with the other. He was satisfied that everything was in place, and he gently massaged the joints to help with the pain.

After a while, Sev calmed down, regained his composure, and looked up at Anchors in horror. On closer inspection, the boy's eyes were exactly the same as those of his sons, except that they were silver instead of gold. "I told you you you didn't like me." The demon said reluctantly, nervously, half-grinningly, trying to dry his face with a bearskin.

"Why do you think that?" Andlocks asked, though the answer was obvious.

"Because I fought, you want me to die." The child replied.

"If that's true, why should I save you?" Androx replied. Then, he helped the boy wipe the tears from his cheeks and forehead to warm him up. He walked over to his jumper, hung it on his back, then picked up his spear and walked briskly down the path.

The demon boy was the youngest child Androcles had ever held, even counting Gabi he found in that pit. He was so light as if he didn't exist. A

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Okles' bearskin may be heavier than that of a boy. He held Sev to his chest and continued along the path, while the demon just snuggled up to him and clung to him. It didn't take long for this little thing to warm up and start providing some heat.

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After about half a mile of walking, the demon volunteered, "They wanted to kill me because I bit off the man's finger." He hit Flow Flow when he was coughing, and then he wanted to do it again, so I bit him. That's why he hung me up. ”

The slaves beat Flower? An ancient, deep anger boiled under his skin, and he had to concentrate on controlling his murderous intent. The kid was Andlox's. No one has survived the mistreatment of him. When he knew he had controlled himself, he said to Seif: "You are brave. Well done. "It feels like praising a scorpion for biting an enemy instead of a friend.

"Did Dinah tell you to pick me up?" The devil asked.

"Deanna didn't let me do anything. I was about to save my children when I found you on the way. ”

"Oh," the demon said calmly. The boy thought for a moment and asked calmly, "So you didn't save me because you liked me?"

"What? What are you talking about? Andlos asked angrily. No one answered, and he said, "Son, why do you care if I like you or not?" So what does it matter?"

The little devil remained silent, and after another twenty steps, Anchors began to feel guilty, which was annoying. What happened to the mighty Androcle? Is he going to listen to the advice of a child now? Is it the offspring of demons? What his friends will think when they see it! Nikon would laugh and give him a rude nickname. Euphemios will make some terrible jokes about cat bugs. Thai...... The Thai will give him a nasty, knowing, fatherly smile.

But Sev bit off the finger of a slave trader, which should have earned him some credit. A

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"You're brave, so I think I like you too," Okles said.

When the words came out of his mouth, it didn't feel like he was lying. It has a taste of honesty. The slave trader beat Flower, and Sev bit off the slave trader's finger. What's not to like?

Maybe the devil has tribes, just as people have tribes? Andlocles's Philinians have a lot in common with the local savage slave traders, just as the little boy has a lot in common with the demons of war he is familiar with. After all, the demon wasn't the one who tore Ophimius with his teeth and laughed, and Androcles was screaming and crying, unable to break the order to save his beloved friend more than his own skin. The demon left it on his fingers.

"I'm happy," Sev said. "No one likes my new job." The boy seemed satisfied with this, and then fell silent.

Due to the imbalance in his weight, Andlox's back began to hurt, so he put the little boy on his shoulders like Deanna did and put a bearskin over him. Sev held the top of Anchorx's head with both hands and soon fell asleep.