Walking through the filthy and smelly corpse pit, Roye, who looked calm, stepped on the gurgling blood flowing on the ground.
The knights, who wore all kinds of armors and didn't have matching suits, saluted Royer immediately after seeing him.
"Sir, eleven of the thirteen messengers have been executed, and only two are willing to join us."
Royer nodded and ordered: "Tell Messer that there is no need to forward such a messenger to the rear next time. He can handle it by himself."
"Release the messenger sent by Zenil and ask him to tell Zenil that I will not unite with any party. In this game, we each rely on our own abilities."
Royer's toughness did not make the northern survivors who had experienced the disaster and deep pain feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, they were high-spirited to fight, and everyone's eyes flickered. A group of guards all claimed that it was.
The Empire had abandoned them, ignoring their calls for help during the war, and even deceived them!
"Find the source of the infection and give the information to the Falcon Legion. With complete preparations, the Seventh Falcon Legion will definitely provide you with assistance."
This was a joint promise from the frontline commanders and grand dukes of the Solon Empire. In order to give countless hungry and cold old people and children a chance to break through the long infection blockade and return to the embrace of the empire, a large number of warriors from the north gathered together.
After consultation with several team leaders, two hundred elites were selected from the willing warriors. Almost all of them had lost all their close relatives, and only a few left suicide notes for their close relatives far away in the safe zone.
They know what they have to face. If dying calmly can bring a glimmer of life to the people they protect... In this chaotic era, death is not worthless, right?
Unfortunately, they underestimated the inhumanity of the Solon nobles. Only four of the two hundred elites returned. Three of them had to be killed by the survivors in tears because of the impurity. And their description and attack method of the impurity of the crystal giant at close range , magic operation and other aspects of information, not all was given to Solon.
Royer, who led another team of survivors to arrive here, cautiously gave only part of the money and hoped that Solon would fulfill his promise as promised. However, when they arrived at the retreat location, they encountered a ruthless bombing from Solon's magicians. If not for Royer, In the explosion, they swung around and killed two fifth-level magicians. These poor people who had excessive expectations for Solon were no longer able to argue for themselves, let alone express their inner anger.
The survivors would ask why at first, but now, they are not going to listen to the perfunctory words given by the arrogant monarch or anyone in this ugly empire.
The vast northern cities have become no man's land. There is no spring plowing and food is scarce. If you want to survive, you can only plunder.
Maybe a magician's random high-level magic can wipe out all of them, a group of people as small as ants. In the process, the magician's heart won't even stir up a ripple, but so what?
Rather than starving to death, wouldn't it be more meaningful to charge towards this group of men who were always stepping on their necks and breaking their backs, and then die on the road?
"Use blood and sharp blades to get everything we need. The north is our land, and every step we take forward is to expand our territory!"
Royer's slogan is engraved in everyone's heart.
They have been humbled to this point and have nothing to lose. They want their blood to be splashed on the faces of these aloof masters. If their dirty hands can stain their exquisite robes, even if they cut off their own hands, they will do it to them. Front throw, they are willing too.
If Solon is hopeless, then a brand new country at least has a new future and a place that has not been taken away.
Royer looked with satisfaction at the warriors of all ethnic groups who worked hard to collect food, and even though they were extremely hungry, they still abide by the prohibitions not to eat secretly or to slip. When he saw the children running back from the snow with dry firewood in their arms, Royer would distribute the few candies. When he saw the children taking part in carrying the corpse, he looked sullen, but when he saw the children excusing the scolded captain, he could only shake his head helplessly.
Finally, he came to the creek that had just thawed out. Shalem dozed off leaning against the big tree that had just sprouted green branches.
Before she even got close, Xialem had already woken up. Her slightly squinted eyes opened little by little, and all her sleepiness disappeared the moment her eyes came into contact with Royer. Her light green hair, which complemented the warm spring, was flying in the wind.
"Shareem...I'm sorry."
"No, I'm not asleep."
Xialem's speaking speed was unusually fast, and she changed from her usual dazed state. Her eyes were piercing, staring at him, making Roye feel uneasy. His hand even held the handle of the knife unnaturally.
"I gotta go."
Roye's thoughts came to a standstill, a huge uneasiness came over him like a wave, and his hands began to tremble.
"Why...we resisted the Dip together. We just defeated them. Now is the time to bring hope to this land."
Royer stepped forward quickly, "You and I are both descendants of the Six Pillars. We should know that Solon should belong to us, and we have the responsibility to correct this wrong history!"
"Augus triggered an avalanche, causing six hundred people at the foot of the mountain to lose their newly rebuilt homes, and their efforts in spring plowing were in vain. The huge food storage in their cellars became military supplies, and everyone had to join your camp... … He’s really great and smart, isn’t he?”
Xialem said "Isn't it?" with a strong emphasis. She never seemed to have any other expression except confusion and bewilderment. Her pretty face was as cold as frost.
Royer hesitated to speak. After a while, he explained: "I reprimanded him and even whipped him as punishment for his unauthorized actions."
There was a look of naked loss and disappointment in Xialem's eyes. She said "ha" and laughed at herself, her sadness was palpable.
Like Roye, she also had words in her mouth and stared directly at Roye. She wanted to speak several times, but did not say anything. It was not until the sudden sleepiness made her vision darken that she tried to cheer up and twisted. He frowned and said, "You almost never lie to me, but this time, you lied to me."
"I did punish him." Royer emphasized hurriedly.
"If it were you before, you would kill him!"
Roye was startled.
"You have changed, Roye." Sharem stared into Roye's eyes, her eyes piercing into his heart little by little, "But you haven't realized it yet... But I can feel it, don't forget, all along, I'm following you."
Royer fell silent.
Xialem took out the hairpin and began to arrange her long hair that was messed up by the cold wind in early spring: "Do you still remember the scene when we first met?"
"My parents carried me out of the bedroom while I was sleeping, and squeezed my cheeks hard. When I opened my eyes, what I saw was a handsome, heroic, but somewhat mature-looking you. You were holding a knife at that time. I was curious. I wanted to touch it, but you raised it casually and dodged it."
Xialem smiled: "I thought I was disgusted and just wanted to cry, but you handed me the knife anxiously and let me play with it. Even if I messed up the carved patterns on it, I gritted my teeth and didn't make a sound. .”
"You didn't know that I might fall into a deep sleep at any time, so when you saw me falling straight down, you didn't know how to help me. You just yelled anxiously. It wasn't until the elders arrived that you relaxed."
"From that day on, every time I travel, I will give my hand to you and let you guide me."
"Sharem...I...we have known each other for ten years. We have killed monsters together since we were ten years old, and since we registered as adventurers at the age of twelve, we have traveled to many corners of this continent and experienced dangers that ordinary people can't imagine. …We are close and work well together…”
Xialem interrupted: "We have the same mind, right? But, recently, I can no longer see your heart clearly."
"When I put my hand in yours, I felt the blazing flames, the flickering electric light, and the roaring waves. The Roye who always accompanied me forward like the spring breeze disappeared."
"What are you talking about? I'm still me." Royer took another step forward, but this time, Sharem chose to step back.
"There is something else living in your heart. I can't describe it, but... I can feel it."
After looking at each other for a long time, Sharem threw an extra hairpin in her hand towards Roye.
"Originally, I thought that you would understand why I went forward with you, why I entrusted my future to you, and why I would take the risk to cross the Dilution to join you and fight side by side with you..."
"You like me and I like you, isn't that enough?" Royer asked, "I want to change this country. Without power, all this is nonsense!"
Hearing this, Xialem smiled and murmured: "You really didn't realize that you have changed..."
Without answering, she slowly turned her back and yawned.
"Goodbye Roye, I will look for my own journey, maybe... we will never meet again."
Watching Xialem's figure gradually disappearing on the snowy field, Roye's hand held the handle of the knife harder and harder. Suddenly, he suddenly drew the knife, and the sharp sword energy cut rows of trees in half, and the sky was filled with snow and fog. In the middle, Roye took a deep breath with a ferocious look on his face.
"Where have I changed? I just want to change... If you want to change, you need strength, means, and talents!"
"I'm not wrong... I didn't hurt those people, I just let them gather under my command. They had no way to go, and I chose a more correct path... Their eyes have never been sharp, at least with the knowledge I have With perspective, they can avoid more misfortunes.”
…
…
Through the Theocracy's messenger network, Lu Yu learned first-hand news about Solon's civil war.
During the fierce battle between Dewek and Zenil's legion, Black Owl, as Sera had guessed, after experiencing the initial "inertia", chose to sit back and watch and no longer interfere in this "family matter".
However, what Lu Yu did not expect was that Dewek did not betray his relatives as much as he imagined. On the contrary, after the civil war began, he stabilized his good son and made great progress for a time. If Zenil had not made timely adjustments, he might have been lost one after another. The city-state it belongs to.
Serra commented that "the foundation of the four major countries is still there. Although Dewek is a bad guy, vested interest groups still have some ability to tell the truth."
Tanya, on the other hand, stood still as always. After taming a group of black owls, she took care of the spring plowing affairs with peace of mind. She even went to the fields to work with the farmers again. It was said that her planting skills were very good, and even the old farmers were full of praise. .
At the same time, she also gave away a large number of lands of fleeing nobles to ordinary people, and even released a large number of people from slavery in sparsely populated marginal city-states, making them legal citizens of the Green Shade Territory.
In the past, when discussing Tanya, Lu Yu and Sera would circle around Lulu, but now there is no need to avoid it. When Lulu heard this message, she just smiled, and then praised: "Even if she is acting, she always I like to do the whole thing, but I don’t know how long I can keep doing it.”
As the northern border became a no-man's land, the Theocracy's messengers were unable to obtain any useful information. The only thing they knew was that Zenil's messenger was released, while Solon's messenger never returned until the day before yesterday. Only then did someone throw the head of the slain messenger into the mansion of a grand duke in a frontline war zone.
When Lu Yu heard this, he kept tapping the handrail with his fingers, his expression solemn.
"It doesn't seem like something Roye would do... It's understandable to kill a messenger seeking information during the war. This kind of behavior to stimulate Solon seems a bit reckless." Sera frowned, not understanding why Roye would be so extreme. move, "Against Zeniel, it's a civil war, but against Royer... I hope the black owl is still watching."
What happened to this gentle young man in the north... Why does he seem to have developed a violent temper?
"Aren't you going to warn him?" Sierra asked curiously.
Lu Yu sighed: "I gave him advice. If he really wants to do something, he should stay dormant first. Don't let yourself become the thorn in the eyes of all forces. Prioritize the win over the school and get their parts." Support...or alternatively, follow the mass line, do better than Tanya, and use the misery in the north to play the emotional card, gain buffer time, and wait and see the direction of the war."
Lu Yu covered his forehead: "I will not and do not want to intervene in the civil war. These suggestions are already the best strategies I can give out of my status as friends. I even explained to him in detail how to develop the mass line... But he felt that This is too slow."
Lu Yu recalled everything that happened after the two met, and looked melancholy at the gradually filling spring outside the window. Those new greens that were full of vitality and were repairing the damage caused by the dispersion looked so tenacious and stubborn.
"People will change... I don't know what he witnessed in the north, and I don't know why his words are always full of eagerness, as if he thinks that changing these outdated things can be done overnight... As a person My friend, I have done everything I can do...what else can I do?”
Lu Yu, Lulu and Sera looked at each other and said, "He thinks that my Dawn Territory was just built for a peaceful place, and the suggestions provided are not reference-based."
Lu Yu smiled bitterly: "I can't do anything. The Dawn Territory is one of the few pure lands we have. All plans and prospects start from here. If you close your mouth and remain silent, you can make everyone forget this place... Then let's do it. .”
At the moment when the magic wave arrives, those silent people who are not being watched and cannot speak out have hope to make their own voices again. Even if these voices are insignificant, those hoarse shouts will eventually make a ripple.
The magic tide is the dawn that belongs to the silent ones, this is what Lu Yu firmly believes.
But maybe, not everyone thinks so.
Everyone has chosen the path they will take in the next era, and taken steps unswervingly.
