Section 4 Caravan

Delos really isn't a big place. The so-called search in the city began in the morning and ended completely before lunch. Of course, nothing came of it.

However, after getting the news, Perrin didn't look surprised. He just suggested that food should be more controlled. The two Dark Witches can hide outside the city, but food must be purchased in the city.

However, although Delos is small, it is impossible for thirty soldiers to truly blockade it. And during this time, the number of people coming and going in this small town has increased significantly.

That's because a large caravan is coming to Delos.

For the remote city of Delos, this is a rare event. All along, Delos' business contacts with the outside world have been carried out through small and scattered merchants. It's the swindlers who drive a wagon, fill it with all sorts of miscellaneous items, and then deceive the dead with all kinds of sundries.

A truly large caravanserais—which means abundance of goods, cheap prices, and a lot of knowledge from all over the world—has always been an attraction to the people. Many farmers from the countryside farms, herdsmen and hunters in the desert rushed to the city at this moment. They either found a place to live with relatives in the city, or simply found a place outside the city to pitch a tent. Anyway, there is open space in this kind of remote town.

Ashruphat walked casually through a grove of tents of all sorts, full of people coming from all directions. In this case, it is necessary to find two girls who are deliberately hidden...... Well, if not incredible, it's at least difficult. Of course, not to mention that he didn't intend to seriously look for it at all.

If those holy knights knew his true identity, they would probably draw their swords without hesitation. Therefore, in his position, it is naturally impossible for him to do his best to help the church. Perfunctory is already the best attitude. Anyway, in a few days, he would have to escort the caravan out of here according to the predetermined plan.

This point, the venerable mayor of Delos, has repeatedly emphasized, is imperative, and it cannot be shaken. Any religious obligation must give way to money.

Ashruphat walked around the tent, and turned around as if he had already searched it. It was at this moment that he saw a figure appear in front of him. It was a girl, dressed in the cloak of the long swords of the desert herdsmen, with a hood that covered her face, but long braids hung from the hood, and her slightly blue silver hair stood out in the sun. The girl was standing there, obviously waiting for him.

He suddenly felt some headaches.

......

Ethrufat, captain of the garrison in Delos, ethnicity, unknown, place of birth, unknown, appearance between twenty and thirty years old, possession of a magical sword that can be summoned at any time, physical strength, speed, and reflexes greatly exceed that of ordinary soldiers, possession of the ability to perform strange magic, and its magic does not belong to the category of the eight winds of magic...... It is inferred that it has no obvious malice, but the use of force to suppress it is beyond its current capabilities...... In summary, the only way to get their assistance is to negotiate with them......

......

Eshurufat tried to pretend not to see and walked past the girl. But a hand tugged at his sleeve.

"Captain Ashrufat," he heard the girl say. "I have something I want you to help with. ”

"Help? Oh, no, thank you, I'm not available. Ashrufat tried not to look at each other. He kept walking, but the girl was so tight that he couldn't get away.

"Well, what are you looking for me for?" Ashrufar finally gave up, and when trouble came to him, it was often in vain to turn a blind eye to avoid it. "The knights of the Church of the True God are hunting you down, and I am at their disposal for the time being. Now give me a reason not to take you to the Holy Knight right away. ”

"Because I know that a warrior like you would not harm a weak girl who is helpless. ”

"A dark witch cannot be called powerless. I think you're actually pretty good at fighting......"

"That's my sister, not me. I'm Hoshimi ......"

"Well, at least you two sisters are pretty good at fighting in general. I believe you can protect yourselves without ......"

He couldn't go any longer, because the girl looked up at him, her eyes full of tears.

The girl named Hoshimi was still very young, fifteen years old was just the age of adulthood, and the immaturity revealed in this girl's face made her look younger than she really was. A touch of haggard condensed at the corners of her eyebrows, which did not make her look more mature, but it made her look more pitiful. Through the cloak, he could see that the corners of Hoshimi's clothes had worn out, and her face was slightly dirty. In this life of fugitives, there is no leisure to pay attention to personal appearance.

"My sister and I don't want to do anything bad...... We just want to be able to...... Go back to your hometown...... But now, if we can't leave, we're all going to die here......"

She knelt down, bowed her head to him, and pleaded softly.

"So, I hope Captain, you can take the opportunity to protect the caravan and take us out of here...... It's a very capricious request, but there's really nothing we can do. ”

"What good can it give me? I'm a mercenary, so I can't work for nothing. Ashrufat sighed.

"But we don't have any money...... By the way, only this one. Hoshimi pulled out a blue ornament from his body. "This is the ...... our mother left us"

"Bad!" Carrie's figure appeared in front of her, her face clearly expressing disdain. "Deprived of the last piece of property from a weeping girl. Master, you're terrible at doing this!"

"I don't want this thing. Ashrufat didn't even take a closer look at the ornament and pushed it back. "I want something else. ”

"But we've ......"

"After I take you away, both of you sisters will spend the night with me!" replied Ashrufat, unhurriedly. "Two people spent one night with me. If you say yes, I agree to help you. ”

"Ah," Hoshimi's eyes widened, and after hesitating for a few seconds, she bit her lip. "Okay, that's it. We'll come to you when the caravan is ready to leave, Captain. ”

"Well, I'll come up with an excuse to take you all with me. ”

The girl disappeared into the jungle of the tent, and Ashrufat looked down and sighed again.

"Master, you are like this, coercing a girl...... It's a despicable act......"

"Despicable or not, I know it myself!" Ashruphat yelled back at Carrie in the realm of thought. He turned around and strode out of the place, heading for the council hall in Delos. The Holy Knights—there were five of them, but Aerufat believed there must be many more who had not been seen in public—were waiting for him.

"Nothing. My men and I have done our best. Ashrufat, who had just been wandering around, shrugged his shoulders and made a helpless expression.

"It's true that searching for two people is difficult right now. Perrin didn't have any impatient expression. "It's too complicated. We can only continue to wait. This chaotic situation will not end until the caravan has left. When the time comes, the search will definitely be able to do more with less. The dark magic of the two witches made it easy for them to hide in the crowd. ”

"Speaking of dark arts, to be honest, I want to know, is it really that dangerous? I mean......"

"Captain, I know you have a certain level of understanding of magic. As a mercenary, it's always good to have more knowledge. I totally understand your thoughts and your doubts. But in fact, black magic is much more dangerous than we think. Our ordinary magic, the 'Eight Winds of Magic', is essentially the energy flowing in this worldly realm. Manipulating these energies using magic is, in a sense, the same as manipulating a cannon to fire cannonballs and manipulating a trebuchet to throw stones. Although it also requires some professional skills, it is very powerful to use, but it is an external force, and the operator himself is still a human being. But the dark magic energy ...... It is a kind of magical energy that is deposited after being mixed with the eight winds of magic. Those who use black magic must gather black magic energy in their own body in order to use it. That's where it all comes from. Dark wizards, even if their intentions are good, the nature of this magic eventually leads them to a path of no return to darkness, and the magic of dark magic will inevitably distort their minds in the end. ”

"Captain Ashrufat, I'm sure you've heard of such a thing as a dimensional stone. When the dark magic energy accumulates to a certain level, it will condense into this stone. Anyone who touches the Dimension Stone without protection will lead to madness. This has been proven by numerous examples. And vampires, you must have heard about them. The vampire is the end of the fall of the dark wizards, becoming a blood-feeding, completely dehumanized monster. So please trust the judgment of the Church of the True God that what you are doing is sacred, unquestionable, and do not carry unnecessary psychological burdens. ”

"Uh-huh, I see. When he heard the word vampire, Ashrufat's face couldn't help but change. He tried his best to cover it up, but he didn't escape Perran's eagle-like eyes.

"Then I'll take my leave, and I'll wait until the caravan leaves. ”

Watching him leave, Perrin looked at several of his companions beside him.

"Do you feel it?" the holy knight whispered. "We, Captain Ashrufat, seem to have some secrets hidden from us. We need to strengthen our observation of him. ”

When Ashrufat returned to his residence, he carried a fat chicken he had just bought.

He went into the kitchen, slaughtered the chickens very neatly, and filled a large bowl with their blood. Ashrufat picked up the bowl and felt the urge to vomit just by smelling the chicken's blood up close.

"Master, what are you doing?" asked Carrie, puzzled in her mind.

"Carrie, am I going to be a vampire? Is it possible...... Got it wrong or something?"

"Well, that's a possibility. According to my calculations, the probability is one in four million. But I've already told you, even if you become a vampire, you don't really need blood. It was just a psychological abnormality caused by a physiological change, and it was ......"

"Great...... "Ashrufat muttered to himself, completely oblivious to what Carrie was talking about.

When the chicken starts to simmer in the pot, there is a cacophony and cheers outside. This is an uncommon sound in this small town, and it makes people immediately understand what is happening in the Fa. The caravan, which had been rumored for a long time, had finally arrived.