The wind travels between the trees, rolling up the fallen leaves and carrying away the temperature. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

After more than ten days of winter, the temperature in the southern part of the empire finally began to drop.

The vapour environment of the Baao Forest, which is a marshy plain, and a slight cold wind, although not as unforgettable as the Northland, this coolness cannot be dispelled even if the cloak on your body is wrapped tightly.

The bright West Fink hung in the night sky, and the light it emitted on a clear night could not compete with the sun, but it was enough to illuminate the road.

The group was on their way overnight.

Although we have repeatedly mentioned the vastness of the forest, and even Orno's encounter with them was only accidental, everyone is still a little uncertain in the face of the unknown existence of the witch.

Of course, it is best not to meet them, but it is not the practice of wise people to do nothing but pray to God. Both mercenaries and merchants instinctively seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, so after a short period of trade-off, they made some adjustments to their plans, speeding up the process day and night, in order to leave the Bao Forest and re-enter the borders of civilization as soon as possible.

Despite cultural commonalities with the southern nations and peace in recent years, the garrisons on the southern border of the empire were still much larger than elsewhere. The small town of Scotty, the destination of the group, has a garrison of more than 200 people, although the legend of the witch is true, most of the numbers will not be of practical use, but at least it is much better than a dozen people.

If you can go there, you will feel more comfortable to have the protection of the army and the church.

They are reluctant to think about how to deal with witches, and the results of the elves who are good at magic don't seem to be optimistic about her, and this kind of information is not well known to everyone. On the one hand, it is not a good thing to touch on Orno's heartbreak, and on the other hand, if you really understand the detailed balance of power, you will only seriously demoralize your own side when you are isolated in the forest without any other solution.

People need hope to live, and even if everyone knows that this hope is just a false fluke, it is better than stabbing everything and then giving up.

Orno had already decided to go with the crowd, so the details of what had happened could be told to the local garrison after arriving in the small town of Scotti. Depending on the severity of the situation, knightly nobles and local church leaders would make a decision to call for help and contact the upper echelons of the empire. These things are not up to them as mercenaries and merchants, and even Margaret, who is from a noble background, is just a noble lady who has not yet reached adulthood, and is still in the isolated forest at the moment.

As Uncle Mario had said in his previous argument with Ferruccio, the status of a nobleman in this wilderness is not worth mentioning.

So on the whole, even if you try to understand the situation in depth, you are just asking for trouble.

Knowing too much when you are not capable is harmful and useless, and the Lamanite saying "fools are blessed with fools" probably includes this meaning.

All in all, with the bright moonlight as the main light, they also find time to start their journey after dark.

The wind is a little chilly tonight.

To facilitate movement, the cloaks that Henry and Mira wore were of the shorter kind. This is another characteristic that can distinguish mercenaries from knights from appearance, high-level mercenaries who only show their breastplate when wearing a cloak may not be much different from nobles in the eyes of the layman, but those who are familiar with this way can always distinguish the two from the items and equipment they carry.

A mercenary is more of a generalist than a knight who specializes in the battlefield.

There are far more factors to consider than knights, so the small detail of the cloak and cloak alone can be quite different.

Most of the cloaks worn by aristocratic knights who rode on horseback all year round wore long cloaks, and some exaggerated princes and nobles could even drape them all the way to the hips of their horses. However, mercenaries who need to walk from time to time are not, and their cloaks that are level with their height can only step forward, and if they retreat, they will step on their cloak and fall to the ground in embarrassment. For mercenaries who are mostly in the battlefield environment and want to be flexible in street fighting, the optimal length of the cloak is to reach near the calf, so that if there is no time to untie the cloak and need to fight, it can play freely without being hindered by it.

But the short cloak was a little unsightly in the cold winter, and Margaret and the others sitting in the carriage could wrap themselves tightly and only show their faces and palms, while Henry and Mira on horseback only felt a little unconscious from the cold wind below their knees.

Not to mention Ferruccio and Filippo, who didn't even have a cloak.

The old butler and the aristocratic youth clearly underestimated the horror of the wilderness, and they came out to bring Margaret home with only a small amount of provisions. Not only are there not enough daily necessities for travel, but even weapons and equipment are seriously lacking.

At this time, he was a little cold, but because of the nobleman's face problems, he was still embarrassed to borrow a cloak from Mario and his group, which made Mira feel angry and funny.

The phrase "a man lives with a face" is clearly revealed in the imperial aristocracy, although they are already familiar with Mario, there is no longer too sharp class conflict, and some deep-rooted value gaps cannot be changed.

Luckily, they were still in the south, and the clammy and cold of the night was uncomfortable, but not enough to cause substantial damage.

The sound of horses' hooves, the wheels turning, and the winter night breeze blowing from afar constitute a serenade for travelers.

The team was in a tight formation, with the best-equipped Henry and Mira leading the way, followed by Filippo and Ferruccio on fine horses. After them, several carriages were guarded by mercenaries, and everyone cheered up, paying attention to the slightest disturbance around them.

Torches are kept within easy reach of the moonlight or when a brighter view is needed, but the main thing to do is to rely on the bright moon.

Torches made of pine resin, pine cones and wooden sticks in the wild can only burn for more than 10 minutes at most. Longer-lit long-lasting torches require a thick, greasy-rich hardwood rope soaked in pine resin, dried, and repeated several times to achieve a burning time of tens of minutes. But even then it can only be considered a consumable.

It is common sense to save materials in case of accidents and to make use of the things that exist in the local environment as much as possible. And after a short period of adaptation, even Margaret and three other aristocrats from the city, Parnila, were used to traveling overnight in the moonlight.

This experience is very useful, not to mention others, the noble lady is very useful.

What she was looking forward to was an adventure, and now she got more than she could have imagined at first.

Naive love fantasy is not a fault, as long as it does not stay in lip service all the time. The reason Margaret annoys Mila is that she shares a quality with her, even though our white-haired maiden herself has never noticed this virtue. Both of them are the types who like to work quietly to overcome difficulties and have excellent learning ability.

The kind of delicate and pretentious aristocratic ladies that often exist in the field of literature, although there are also in reality, but the proportion is not high.

Margaret was intelligent, and although she often behaved naively and habitually, she was a man who could endure the disposition to learn and think. This quality has nothing to do with origin, and it is not annoying purely personally.

Ignorance and weakness can be changed, and as long as you don't rest on your laurels and become complacent, it's just a matter of time.

She now looked like a little adventurer.

The wheels continued to turn, and there was no church bell to tell the time, and judging by the moonlight, it was still possible to guess the approximate time.

It was nearly eleven o'clock in the evening, and continuing on the road would make tomorrow unrested, so Uncle Mario, who was in the second carriage, raised his hand and shook it, signaling the team to slow down.

Even next to the ancient trail, where the group would camp for this size would require a brief scouting. In today's situation, they are more focused on the element of flat terrain than comfort, in order to evacuate quickly in the event of a threat.

Even the aristocratic novelist of Padrosi, who has never had an adventure, would not describe in his book the plot of finding the perfect camp every time, and even more so in reality.

There are gains and losses, and paying attention to the fluency that can get out in time has become an element that needs to be reduced.

Luckily, in the wetlands of the Ba'o Forest, they don't have to worry about water and provisions, and although some of the potholes have a sour smell when boiled due to decaying plants, they try to replenish all the containers as much as possible every time they encounter a large enough puddle.

Sounds like a light outing, nothing but a little tired. But don't take it lightly, this is the middle of nowhere. Margaret learned this after she was nearly dragged into the water and drowned by a lurking predator when she got too close to a large puddle on a solo trip to replenish fresh water.

Luckily, the aquatic dragon lizard wasn't oversized, and after seeing the other people rushing to hear it, it quickly let go of its mouth and slipped away and dived into the depths of the puddle. Under the protection of the armor, Margaret was only a little frightened and shocked, and after that, it was strictly stipulated in the team that if she wanted to leave the team to resupply supplies, at least two people should be in a company, so that they could take care of each other in any situation.

Wilderness is merciless, and once careless, it will give you an impressive lesson.

Nature has shown its power before, and the encounter with predators has once again made it clear that this is a place that must not be underestimated.

- And this was before I learned of the witch's threat.

Carelessness is bad, but too much nervousness can also lead to things that are instinctively handled for the worse. Therefore, after finding the camp this night, Uncle Mario decided to take a long-awaited luxury and make a more sumptuous supper with some of the ingredients he had collected in the past few days.

The flames licked the bottom of the pot, causing the temperature to gradually rise, and the fragrance was overflowing, and everyone was opening their index fingers. The extra two servings made the pot almost overflow, and the silence only knew that the bald man named Barrow did not mention it, and Orno, whose appetite was not proportional to his petite body, looked at the cauldron before the water boiled.

There are many things that need to be explained clearly, and there are many things that need to be asked, but these can be done when they are in a safe area, and there is no need to race against time now.

Vigilance is still in our arms.

Both of Barrow's axes were confiscated, and he seemed to have some mental problems, and Henry and Horno understood why, but they both tacitly chose to remain silent.

This involves a high level of knowledge related to magic, which cannot be explained by a layman like Mario, and what he says will only lead to disputes within the team.

It's not that we don't trust the businessman, it's just that human nature is like that.

The reaction of the rest of the team when they met the two Hornos a few days ago has already proved that in such a situation, it is better not to mention some things.

In this way, some things are hidden with each mind, and if they are exposed later, it will only make things worse. But even if he is a sage, Henry does not have many options to do in this situation.

His family's words were not as good as the long-term education and some deep-seated prejudices of the Empire, coupled with the obscurity of some advanced knowledge, and there was no guarantee that his words would actually change the situation, it would be better to keep his mouth shut. The lesser of two evils, this troublesome situation will probably not be uncommon in the days to come.

When people are young, it is easy to imagine things too one-dimensionally and carve the brand of rigidity. A friend is a friend, an enemy is an enemy, black is black and white is white, and the position will not change.

But the truth is that even acquaintances have some problems that it is best not to touch, and many times the change of position is only a moment, and many things need to be careful to maintain the situation from completely collapsing.

"In the adult world, trust is often only once. ”

A sage is a sage not only because he knows when to strike, but also because he knows when to hold back.

Time passed little by little, and after a warm and delicious supper, they arranged a vigil and camped in the middle of the circle of the carriage siege.

After a tiring day, everyone who had long been accustomed to this kind of life slept very deeply, and a few hours were enough to regain their energy. And in the early morning, when the winter sun has not yet fully shone on the earth, they get up again and prepare for a new day.

Repeat and repeat, and a few days later, the team was approaching the second half of the Bao Forest.

According to Ornor, the elven village where she came from was also located in this area. Although it is a long distance to reach it from the forest, it is also the most dangerous part of the entire journey.

The already cautious team became even more silent as they entered the area, and everyone could feel the solemnity in the air, but it was clearly not just psychological factors at work.

The cold wind was howling, and Mira, who was on horseback, looked around vigilantly.

The dense temperate vegetation is verdant and yellow, but there is nothing but the sound of the wind sweeping the leaves.

"There isn't any ......," the girl whispered to herself.

"None, animals. ”