With mixed feelings, Tails left the ominous "Ghost Prince" tower.

The chaos and noise of the Bladefang camp came back to my ears abruptly.

"I guess the sudden blockade caught a lot of people off guard, plus the GIs ......" the old hammer exhaled, "The whole camp is a little more chaotic than usual, and of course, it's not very peaceful in normal times." ”

Tails weaved behind the old hammer and the fast rope, squeezing through three men arguing with each other in different accents, sending off a blacksmith who was spitting on him to sell him rusty fighting swords, politely avoiding a woman in glamour who tried to ruffle her thighs at him, and cleverly bypassing a group of thugs who were secretly watching in the corner and leaning over drunkenly when they saw a new person approaching.

But when he saw a timid beggar stretching out his hand to him, and while sighing, he wanted to pull out a few copper coins from the Northland, but he was held down by the old hammer.

"No, if you show your compassion now, you'll have seven or eight people staring at you when you turn around—Camp Bladefang isn't as good as it used to be," Old Hammer tucked Tails' money bag back into his bag, looking around warily as he patted his weapon:

"Ever since the Blood Vials shrank massively a few years ago, and even let the Blade Tooth Camp go unchecked, the people on the road have been disrespectful and have no boundaries until they strip you naked and sell you - and you don't know who is responsible. ”

Fast Rope's face turned pale, as if he remembered something, and muttered a few words in a low voice.

The old hammer's words made Tails slightly stunned.

"The Blood Vials?"

The old hammer nodded.

"When I was still in the army, it was this group of bastards who called themselves the Blood Bottle Gang who controlled the underground world here, and their power was once very large, they colluded with the local nobles, and called the military high-level brothers, and the people who lived in the Blade Tooth Camp, whether it was smuggling goods or black market transactions, street guards or skin and meat business, one-third of them were covered, and even many people who left the army had nowhere to stay, they would go to the Blood Bottle Gang to mix food and clothing. ”

"But two or three years ago, when we returned to the Blade Tooth camp, the power of the Blood Vial Gang was much less than before, at least it was much more restricted," the old hammer snorted lightly, "I heard that they were taught a lesson by an opponent who was more ruthless than them in the interior, and they suffered heavy losses, and even their prestige here was affected. ”

Tails was thoughtful.

Accents from all over the continent, even unfamiliar languages from afar, businesses and transactions come and go, and currencies of many countries are used intermingling, so that Tails once again refreshes the established impression of this 'desert front'.

The trio walked through the dusty streets, and after passing a number of fortresses, a strange building appeared in front of them:

From a distance, it resembles a large bowl that is upside down, but it covers a vast area comparable to the Sunset Temple in Eternal Star City, like some giant building a huge sandstone block in the desert.

The semi-circular building doesn't seem to have much connection to the outside world, and the mottled and rough curved walls are tiny holes that you have to squint to see, exposed to sunlight and sand.

As far as Tails could see, the wide façade had only one narrow arch, guarded by a team of heavily armed soldiers, and the archway was dark and hazy, invisible, faintly gloomy and ominous.

Tails had doubts in his mind.

Is this a bunker, or at least a military structure?

Or is it simply the commander's residence? Then maybe you'll see it here......

"Oh, do we have to go this way?" said Fastrope's dejected voice, and he covered his head from looking at the building.

"Don't complain," the old hammer didn't reply, "it's the fastest way." ”

"What do you mean?"

Tails pointed to the Colosseum-like semicircular bunker suspiciously: "That's ......"

The fast rope let out a strange sigh.

"The Prison of Bones. ”

"The last place in this world you want to be. ”

Looking at the group of guarded soldiers, Tails froze: "The prison of bones?"

The old hammer nodded: "The entire Western Wilderness and even the kingdom's felony penal colony. ”

Tails realized.

He knows this place.

At the beginning of the founding of the Star Country, the strange wasteland under the feet of Exeter, the Great Desert in the middle, and the small countries in the south was a veritable nightmare land, as the newly conquered Star Country, most of its territory was deserted, the border was dangerous, it was attacked by wind and sand all the year round, and the terrain was not suitable for habitation, in addition to being sealed for merit - many historians believe that the Falkenhause family was sealed in the Western Wilderness as a disguised punishment, in fact, it reflected their bad relationship with Tormund I- Only those who were exiled for their sins reluctantly took root, year after year, day after day, and became the Western Wilderness Territory of today.

During this period, what added color to the arduous journey and fame of the Western Wilderness was the cruel prison of bones.

I don't know when it began, especially for those who committed the most heinous crimes or had many controversies, when the ordinary convictions were no longer applicable, they would often be exiled to the Western Wilderness, exiled to the Blade Tooth Camp, imprisoned in the notorious White Bone Prison, and atoned for their crimes in a new way, which not only saved the inquisitors and the local prisons, but also sent free hard labor to the difficult Western Wilderness and even the Blade Tooth Camp, and relieved the heavy pressure of the western front.

"Do you see the part of the ground, those little windows? that's the 'white prison' of the White Prison of Bones," the old hammer glanced sideways at the ominous building, avoiding the scrutiny of the guards, "The people who are imprisoned inside are those who have been convicted locally, and who have committed lesser crimes—at least they can see the sun, and they only need to do hard labor to atone." ”

It was rare that the fast rope didn't interject, he just looked at the depressing shape of the White Bone Prison with disgust.

"But the White Prison is only a small part of the White Bone Prison, and more of it is the 'Black Prison' built underground—countless deep caverns that have never seen the light of day, specially prepared for felons exiled from all over the kingdom, and the heavier the crime, the deeper they are imprisoned, and the number of prisoners is fewer and more dangerous. ”

"Once in the Black Cell, there is no other way to leave than to become a death squad that does not survive in ten, desperately charging on the battlefield or acting as a bait. ”

Tails stared intently at the foundations outside the Prison of Bones, imagining what lay down there.

The old hammer sighed slightly: "Of course, the death squad is not said to have it, and the quota is also very tight - after the end of the desert war, there are not many places where the death squad is needed, and if this opportunity is lost, the remaining people in the black prison can only wait to die of old age one after another, leaving white bones for the unlucky latecomers to trample on." ”

"That's how the Prison of Bones got its name. ”

"Let's go," Fastrope frowned unnaturally and slightly crampedly, "This place makes me nervous." ”

The old hammer patted him on the shoulder: "When the fast rope first arrived, he was once put in a white prison, and I guess he was deeply impressed." ”

Tails looked at the fastrope in amazement.

But the fast rope just pursed his lips and didn't answer.

Tails wisely stopped asking, and he withdrew his gaze from the mysterious depths of the Bone Prison.

They left the confines of the Prison of Bones and crossed the corner of a square fortress.

"So, where are we going?"

The old hammer shrugged: "My family." ”

Tails couldn't help but be stunned.

"Your family? I thought you said your hometown was in ruins?"

The old hammer chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, I'm not talking about my house, I'm talking about ...... Anyway, you'll know when you get there. ”

Fast Rope blinked slyly, making the confused Tails even more confused.

But his doubts didn't last long.

After crossing a dusty street again, they squeezed through the crowd and came to a bustling three-story oval bunker with a front door wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to enter.

"This is it," Fastrope patted Tails on the shoulder, "my house." ”

Tails looked up curiously, and saw a large wooden sign hanging in front of the bunker's door, carved with an expressive wine glass pattern, spilling wine outward, swaying slightly with the wind in the desert.

The moment he saw the sign, the prince's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

I saw two big words engraved in the center of the wine glass:

【My Family】

Under the signboard is carved a line of small letters:

[Humans will die, orcs will fall, the queen will die, and we will never close the door - starting in the year 386 of the end calendar, Queen Eliga's last wine cup]

Tails laughed and cried, and followed the old hammer through the door.

A dozen or so wooden round tables were haphazardly arranged, with the sand and dust peculiar to the desert, and all kinds of customers and tavern girls came and went, staggered and frolicked, from toasts to dice play, to quarrels and angry shouts, almost all of which came to the face at the same time.

Ignoring Tails' astonished gaze, the old hammer expertly picked up two men who were almost drunk under the table, shoved a copper coin into the chest of one of the hostesses who stood in the way, and decisively withdrew his hand in her aggrieved eyes, and went straight to the bar.

"I've always wanted to do this," Quickrope whispered to Tails, glancing at the hot hostess, "but Luisa they all said I didn't have enough strength to pull my hand back." ”

Maybe they have a point.

Tails looked at the fast rope that followed him, and said silently in his heart.

"Seaman," Old Hammer said as he sat down at the bar and said to a middle-aged gray-haired man beside him who was drinking himself, "we're back." ”

The middle-aged man turned his head, revealing a face of vicissitudes.

"Someone is saying that a caravan has entered the camp in the face of a blockade," Seaman glanced faintly at Fastrope and Tails, who were also seated:

"I'm worried it's you. ”

The old hammer shrugged: "Obviously, your fears have come true. ”

"How much?"

Seaman said softly, "I mean...... How much is the attrition?"

Tails noticed that he was quite old.

This topic shook the old hammer and the fast rope in unison.

"How do you ......"

"I've been in this business for twenty years, Hammer, and I was a soldier for ten years before that," Seaman let out a sigh and turned the glass in his hand, "I know what the look looks like to someone who has lost a comrade. ”

There was a magic force that seemed to keep the tavern out of the corner from the noise.

Both the old hammer and the fast rope were silent for a long time.

Under their influence, Tails remembered the experience in the desert, and remembered the ending of the great swords who had been together for a short time, and his heart was blocked for a while.

The gray-haired Seaman didn't continue, he sighed heavily and turned to the bar: "Tampa, give this man a drink!"

A fierce man with a knife mark on his neck walked out from behind the bar, he grabbed three wine bottles casually, blinked a glass of wine with a technique that Tails couldn't see, and pushed it over, during which he automatically ignored the slightly expectant eyes of the fast rope, and glanced at Tails coldly.

Seaman pushed the glass to the old hammer: "How much." ”

The old hammer poured a sip of wine, shook his head in a hiss, and slammed his glass on the table, exhaling unwillingly.

Fast Rope answered sullenly on the side: "Six." ”

Seaman sneered, "Who else survived?"

The old hammer's expression was gloomy.

"Louisa, McGee, and Dean. ”

Seaman didn't speak, his eyes glued to the glass.

"By the way, this is Waiya......" As if to liven up the atmosphere, Fast Rope coughed:

"The guy we rescued on the road and honestly helped us a lot, he ...... Wya, this is Seaman, one of the people left behind in our team. ”

Tails, who was looking at this magical tavern, took a deep breath and tried to squeeze out a smile.

But Seaman clearly had no intention of greeting him.

"Lose one, replenish one, die in battle, come new one, it's always ......like this" The mercenary's leftover looked at the wine glass that was about to bottom out, and muttered: "The fate of mercenaries, isn't it." ”

The old hammer shook his head, not in a high mood: "No, Seaman, Wya, he is not ......"

But Seaman didn't let him continue.

"Come on, boy, it's time for an intra-team meeting," the left-behind man waved his hand, put away a fleeting sadness, and grabbed the old hammer, "Tell me all the details, and wait for Dean to come back...... I think Dante's greatsword is going to take a big turn in the near future. ”

They left the bar.

Fast rope's eyes moved: "I ...... too"

"You stay here, fast rope," the old hammer pointed back, "take care of Waiya, he's here for the first time." ”

"But......" Fast Rope spread his hands aggrieved, and Tails, who was embarrassed, smiled in return.

Watching the old hammer and Seaman walk up the stone stairs, the fast rope arched his shoulders, withdrew his half-stretched hand, sat back in his seat in disappointment, and whispered, "Okay......"

Tails couldn't think of anything to comfort the newcomer, who was not yet accepted by the core of the team, so he could only sit uncomfortably in place, silently thinking about his next step.

"Six?"

A hoarse voice came from the noisy tavern, and Tails and Quickrope looked up to see the fierce-looking tavern keeper wiping his glass, and he didn't know when he came to them.

He had a dark complexion, and at first glance he looked like a native baked by the scorching sun and sand.

"You know, after the lockdown was imposed, the number of troops that came in was unimaginable...... That's when I thought, maybe someone is going to learn a lesson......"

Fastrope cocked his mouth: "Don't, Tampa." ”

"Not now. ”

Tails frowned slightly, vaguely impressed by the name.

The tavernkeeper named Tampa snorted, but didn't shut up, "You have ten experienced and heavily armed professional killers, and a rookie who at least seems to be able to make up the numbers......"

Ignoring the sound of the fast rope protesting, Tampa wiped his glass faster and faster: "The people who can survive the desert are smart, as long as Tomding is willing to pay some tolls, the sand pirates and exiles will not eat you at such a high price......"

Fastrope exhaled in pain and fell to the bar as if resigned to his fate.

"We met the grey mongrel, Tampa. ”

"Lots and lots of gray mongrels. ”

Tampa's hand wiping his glass stopped.

Seconds later, just as Tails thought he was going to say something, Tampa suddenly bent down, and when he got up again, there was an extra glass of wine in front of the fast rope.

"Drink, the best Northland ryeol, from the north," Tampa said, holding a bottle of wine and filling the glass to the fast rope with a blank face.

"Trust me, it's the only way. ”

"It worked. ”

Kuairope looked at the wine in front of him in surprise.

But just a second later, a little depressed, he grabbed his glass and took a sip.

Just as Tails was trying to find an excuse to slip away, the tavernkeeper suddenly snorted at him.

"So, fast rope...... Who's this new handsome girl? Your girlfriend?"

Boom!

Fastrope put down his glass and coughed violently.

(End of chapter)