The night is always inexplicably frightening, because it is always full of unknowns and mysteries, and people are always full of fear of the unknown - they are completely ignorant of it, and they don't know what will come out of it.

In such a starry night, the majestic Boundary Mountain looks even smaller and insignificant than the day, as straight as the mountain with the razor-sharp blade of a tomahawk, and the gray mountain rock blends with the night, reflecting the countless stars.

And the Castle of Severcro has become a little light in this dark land, a small light, but it is a place where Zuihou can give people a sense of security. Flaming torches don't go out until the wee hours of the morning, and flying flags announce the owner of this northern gate.

But now, the fortress, which had once been as glorious as the stars, was a little dimmer than before--the departure of the El Knights had taken with him most of the army, and Lord Jim had to shrink his forces and defend the inner walls with all his might, and the new towers and lower walls on the periphery were temporarily abandoned. When viewed from above, the light of the Severcro seems to shrink several times at once, becoming more compact.

But in any case, this light means that Savincro has not been lost, the towns and farms in the north are still stable, and the orcs who have ravaged most of the empire have not yet invaded here.

The soldiers and knights of the fortress of Severcro who guarded it were well aware that this peace was only temporary, and that the orcs would not spare the northern lands and the humans who lived there, for they loved to fight and plunder. When there is nothing to plunder for them, they will turn their attention to another place.

The work of guarding the castle was arduous and arduous, and sometimes it was necessary to patrol areas already occupied by orcs, looking for fleeing refugees and the movements of orc tribes. Many of the refugees who escaped had joined the Savencro Guards, who had lived in greater prosperity than the Northerners, and were even more impressed by the Orc Reign of Terror.

These people call themselves "Atonementers" - and they have done so many things that have dehumanized and dehumanized them in order to escape the control of the orcs, and they have kept them secret. But this does not mean that they are inhumane, so whether it is atonement or revenge, they all have a deep hatred for the orcs.

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"It was a cold night, it was dark and cold, and my hands were frozen. ”

Old Jack grumbled, tightened the leather gloves in his hands, and moved them a few times. Then he paced to the torches of the city wall and leaned against it to keep warm.

Seeing him coming, the soldiers guarding on the side made some room for him and walked to both sides to continue guarding without the slightest complaint.

Old Jack was a knight and had a lot of seniority. But these are not the most important things, this old knight had participated in the last defense of Savincro, killing four orcs with his own hands, and even the deceased old Best had praised him for his bravery and loyalty.

Most of the soldiers standing guard were natives of Severcro, so they were all too clear about the exploits of Old Jack and several other heroes, and they admired and respected these heroes who defended the castle from the bottom of their hearts.

While the fire was burning, Old Jack turned his gaze to the edge of the city wall in the distance, which was now full of darkness, and the defensive posts that should have been abandoned due to manpower problems were temporarily abandoned, leaving only a lonely wall and tower, and a moat that was not very wide.

But before he could turn his head back, he saw several vague lights and shadows flashing past the opposite wall. Old Jack thought he was dazzled, so he quickly rubbed his eyes. When he looked up again, there were indeed a few lights and shadows swaying back and forth on the opposite side, not that he was dazzled.

"What's going on?!" Old Jack grabbed a guard beside him a little strangely, pointed to the light and shadow swaying back and forth on the opposite side, and asked, "Didn't Lord Best say that the city wall over there should not be patrolled for the time being? Why are there still people over there? And there is more than one!"

"You say it's them. The young guard looked up and smiled, "They are all those 'atonements' who escaped from the south. Our people couldn't move them at all, so they had to let it go. ”

"Do you need me to call them back? The guard whispered, "It's true that these people don't listen to orders, but they are good people." ”

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if they want to. Old Jack shrugged: "Anyway, if the city wall over there is abandoned, it will be a pity indeed." ”

Old Jack has also heard of these "atonementers" from the south, most of whom are relatively indifferent and reluctant to associate with others, but they are all very good guys, and they are the most serious group of people in training and patrolling, without the slightest slackness.

No, that's not the level of "seriousness" anymore, it's just playing with life! Crazy training like ascetics, and they all love the Ranger class very much--Old Jack can't imagine that a group of guys who have escaped from the orc tribe with great difficulty would still want to go back so much? Even those experienced Rangers are normal to never return.

As he thought, Old Jack gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist. After going through the Battle of Severcro, there was nothing more trustworthy to this old brother than him.

"Let's eat! Let's get something to eat. ”

A slightly immature voice came from the staircase of the city wall, and the young man holding the big wooden barrel trotted briskly, panting and putting the wooden barrel on the ground: "Black bread, and hot soup, eat it while it's hot!"

"Oh thank you so much, little one!" said old Jack, smiling, and took out a roasted burnt bread from the barrel, rubbing the boy's messy hair, "We're all freezing to death!"

"Hey, it's all freshly baked. The young man beckoned as he spoke: "Come and eat, everyone still has a post in the second half of the night, drink some soup to warm up!"

"Huh?" said old Jack, as he ate, as he surveyed the boy: a rough linen coat, a dirty face, and a pair of boots that were noticeably much larger—perhaps his father's, or perhaps even his grandfather's, looked no different from a normal teenager.

"Where did you get this sword?" Old Jack squatted down curiously, looking at the weapon that the young man was hanging from his waist - a dark black scabbard was tied in the middle of the black belt, but the hilt of the sword was very delicate, the kind of shape and stripes that obviously matched the slight arc of the human hand, and it was by no means an ordinary iron sword: "This style is not found in the blacksmith shop of Severcro Castle. ”

"You're right, it's a Roman sword!" said the young man, seemingly delighted, "it's the sword of Master Theodore Julian!"

"But the sword is broken. As he spoke, the boy pulled it out of its sheath and showed Old Jack the mark of the broken middle, "It is said that it was broken by an orc's bone. ”

"Indeed, those bastards have pretty hard bones. Old Jack nodded with deep feeling: "But even so, this sword will be stolen in your hand?"

"Of course not!" the boy vetoed, "it was given to me by the Caesar." He told me that if one day the orcs came again, as soon as I went to him with this sword, he would bring the Roman army and fight alongside the Severcones!"

"You have a good sword with great feats. Old Jack touched the boy's head and said very casually: "When you want to learn to use it one day, come to me directly." ”

"Hmm. The boy nodded: "I will!"

"Lord Jack!" a guard ran from his post in a panic, still holding a torch in his hand: "The fire on the other side has suddenly disappeared!"

"Gone, maybe it's just that they're going to come over for something to eat?" said that, Old Jack followed the guards behind the parapet and looked at the opposite wall. It was pitch black and there was nothing.

"It's damn darkness, you can't see anything. Old Jack cursed, and kept glancing into the distance. Perhaps it was the darkness that obscured his eyes, and Old Jack felt that his ears were more sensitive than before, and many things that he could not hear during the day were now clear.

What was that sound? It was familiar, like the roar of a bison, but not so much. Old Jack followed the saliva, his eyes widened and looked into the distance, and a kind of unpleasant premonition came from the bottom of his heart, and his body trembled involuntarily, trembling slightly.

"I remember, I remember, I remember............" As if crazy, Old Jack muttered over and over again: "Yes, yes, yes............"

"Sir?" the boy patted Old Jack on the back from behind, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's them! That's them!" Old Jack cried out hoarsely, and with a wave of his hand he threw the boy behind him to the ground, and hurried over to pull him up, shaking the boy's shoulders incessantly: "Hurry up! Ring the castle bell, it's too late!"

"Uh, understood!" the boy nodded when he saw Old Jack's nervous look, and ran down the stairs.

"Everyone--" Old Jack drew his sword and commanded loudly, "Get ready, the enemy has attacked the wall ahead!!"

"Roar ――――――――――――――――!!!!!!!"

(First of all, I would like to thank the purple flower girl shoes for the reward!And then there is the question about the super low sense of existence of the protagonist~,The main thing is that the book itself likes the feeling of being fully rolled out.,So I'm really sorry~)