“...... In addition to swearing allegiance to the Supreme King, guaranteeing the supply of supplies and troops in times of war, and paying the necessary taxes, the lord enjoyed an incomparably large and independent military power within his domain, and without blatantly violating the laws of the empire, the lord could make his own tax laws and enjoy the power of life and death for everyone in the territory except for the Supreme King and members of the Supreme Royal Family...... After Buffranch IX, lords were allowed to recruit private armies in their domains without restrictions, and even at some times, such as the Pritz family at the end of the Mafret dynasty, their private armies were much larger and more equipped than the royal army. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

- The Sixth House of the Human Era: Pretz, by Defili Hashitair

That night, the news that the convoy was leaving the trade route and entering the desert caused quite a stir in the procession, and even the Baroness herself came to inquire about Haredic. After all, it is not the right choice for anyone to leave the safe and comfortable trade routes and enter a desert full of wind and sand and full of dangers.

Haredik faced the Baroness's question, spread his hands and said, "I know this is a difficult decision, but we have to do it, because it will take us twice as long to continue along the trade route, and he told me to ......" Hareddick then pointed to Hanlon and continued: "You have to arrive at the Wool before the next Bilunar Festival, it is too late. And even if we continue along the trade route, when we reach the Baijie Pass, we will not be able to pass through the ruined and blocked by boulders, and we will eventually enter the desert, and there will be no oasis along the way for the team to recuperate. ”

The Baroness sighed helplessly and said, "I see, then do as you wish, Mr. Guide." ”

Hareddic nodded and said to the crowd, "It's going to be the road, you have to be prepared accordingly, Hanlon, you have to let those knights connect their horses and wagons with ropes, otherwise you will get lost in a sandstorm, it will not be a joke." And take off your armor, which is as hot as a frying board, and wrap your skin in the clothes I asked you to prepare. In addition, the windows of the carriage should be covered with windbreaks, and everyone should have their own sufficient water bags, in case they get dehydrated in the desert, it is very saved. ”

After hearing Haredik's words, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads again and again, and Hanlon stood up and said loudly, "I heard what our guide said! With that, he began to direct the knights and the servants who had not been assigned the task of preparing dinner, and began to get busy with what Hareddick had said.

Haredik, who was all right, took out a map and calculated the route he would take tomorrow, and suddenly he noticed that there seemed to be a gaze behind him, so he turned his head to find that Xiuqi was staring at him, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiuqi walked slowly to Hareddick's side, put his hand in his chest and said, "It's nothing, I just think you guys are unexpectedly reliable, exactly like the elves I've seen before." ”

Haredik replied lightly: "Since I have received your money, I will naturally do what I have to do well, which is not surprising." ”

"Hey, if your mouth weren't that nasty, you'd be a pretty good guy. Ignoring Haredith's gray face, which was reflected in the campfire, he turned and began to work with the other knights for tomorrow's journey.

Hareddik shook his head, as if to kick the inexplicable conversation out of his head, and then picked up the map and ruler again and began his work. But before he could lay out the map, a pretty little head popped out of his shoulder. Beata, who had slept on Haredik's numb lap during the day, put her chin on Haredik's right shoulder and asked with interest, "We're going to the desert tomorrow, aren't we?"

Hareditike glanced at Beatta's excited little face, and replied nonchalantly, "Hmm." ”

"Yay!" Beata cheered happily.

Haredith looked at Beata with some sneer and said, "Are you happy?"

"Hmm!" Beata said, nodding her little head quickly.

"Why?"

"Because I've never been to the desert!" Beata continued, in an excited tone, "When I was still at home, I always wanted to go to the desert after hearing my mother say that we were going to the West. But when we went from home to Azonica, we walked everywhere on rocks, and when we were in Azonica, my mother wouldn't let us go out, and then we finally got out of Azonica, but we kept walking on this chalk road. I never had a chance to see what the real Great Desert was like. ”

Looking at Beatta's glittering golden eyes, Hareddick couldn't help but smile bitterly, but before he could speak, Beata asked again: "Mr. Nemo, can a sandstorm in the desert really blow people away? Also, what animals are in the desert? Isn't it scary? Also, I've heard that once it rains in the desert, it will be so big, but I haven't seen any rain, if it does rain, will it really be very big......

Faced with Beatta's continuous questions, Hareddick couldn't help but hold on to his temples with a little headache, thinking to himself: whether it is a human or an elf, a little ghost of this age is really troublesome and troublesome. So after a turn of thought, he came up with a good way to deal with her.

Haredith put the map aside, turned around and said to Beata with a smile, "Do you really like the desert that much?"

"Uh-huh!-hmm!" Beata nodded quickly.

Hareddik tilted his head and continued to smile pleasantly at her, "Then let's play a little game, shall we? When this game is over you will know everything you want to know." ”

"Yes, yes. Beata clapped her little hands and said happily.

At this time, Haredith raised his palm and whispered slowly to Beatta's face in a rather ethereal voice, "See my palm?"

"See. ”

"What do you see?"

"See you......" Before Beata could finish speaking, Hareddick suddenly snapped his fingers in front of Beata with his outstretched palm. Strange to say, the crisp friction between Haredik's fingers had just sounded, and Beatta, who had just jumped around like a little monkey with excitement, suddenly fell forward with a sinking of her eyelids and a limp.

Hareddick hugged the fallen Beata, looked at her with her eyes closed, let out a sweet snoring sound in her nose, and couldn't help but laugh smugly and said, "Hmph, stinky little ghost......"

Hareddick's trick was originally a hypnotic technique used by the rangers to appease the injured animals in the forest, so that the animals that were on alert because of the pain fell into a deep sleep and were treated by the rangers, but the ranger who taught Hareddyk this hypnotism did not expect that this drow elf actually used this trick on people, and it was surprisingly effective.

Haredith carried the asleep Beata into a makeshift sleeping bag made of blankets, then sat back down next to the fire, picked up a map and ruler, and began to calculate the future route.