Xu Shuo sat on a tree branch and watched the girl's horse go away until her figure finally disappeared at the end of the dense forest.
And under this tree, there were bandits waving weapons and watching eagerly.
Their bodies exuded a strong bloody evil spirit, their messy hair was wrapped in turbans, and the armor they wore was full of scratches. It looked like they had experienced a lot of battles.
These people were talking nonsense and laughing. Although the little girl ran away, there was still someone here.
But after the confrontation, they could only say harsh words and make some threatening actions on the surface, but they never took any actual actions.
Xu Shuo withdrew his gaze and looked down at the tree with a calm expression.
"The Duke of Silver must have asked you to come."
There was not much doubt in his words, but a determined tone.
After the words fell, the voices of the bandits who were still shouting nonsense arrogantly stopped, as if they were suddenly stuck in their throats, and they looked at each other in confusion.
Then, it seemed that the leader had a ferocious look on his face and planned to continue to speak harshly.
However, Xu Shuo interrupted him: "You are prohibited from doing anything. You don't have much of the cruelty of bandits. Although you are fierce, it only comes from the bravery of soldiers. As expected, you should often be stationed in the far north. The Silver Shield Legion at the foot of the mountain range has been fighting monsters all year round, and their aura is full of blood."
"..."
"..."
After he finished speaking, the scene became even quieter.
There is still a bit of embarrassment in it.
Although they had no intention of hiding their identity from the other party, they felt more confident when they said it themselves than when they were acting.
Now that they were suddenly exposed, these soldiers could not help but feel guilty when they thought of the evil words they had just released.
"Ahem..."
The leading officer cleared his throat and immediately put away his anger.
Then he said seriously: "Mr. Bishop, our Duke sent us to welcome you to the Silver City-State."
Xu Shuo smiled half-heartedly: "In this way? Duke Baiyin didn't tell me."
"Please don't embarrass us."
The other party looked directly at him without hesitation, the expression in his eyes was respectful but still serious. If Xu Shuo didn't agree, they might not mind using strong methods to invite him over.
The bandits who had been dormant in the west and did not participate in the pursuit also came out. Looking at the entire coniferous forest, it seemed that they were occupied by their people.
It looked like there were at least fifty or sixty people, and they were all extremely brave cavalry.
Xu Shuo: "..."
Sora was right, there were indeed many people.
Not really.
The Silver Duke did not express this arrangement to him. The other party did not know what considerations he had, but he actually chose to take the initiative to rob people.
Xu Shuo looked thoughtfully at the direction he came from.
A lot of time has passed.
Logically speaking, the Sun Knights should also see the coniferous forest. Others don't know, but Zuo Fang shouldn't be unaware of the changes here.
Unless the Knights of the Sun are tripped up too.
This is not surprising.
After all, the Silver Shield Legion is also traveling with the Sun Knights. If the two sides are not in a life-and-death relationship, it would not be surprising that they would be restrained.
Xu Shuo saw the bandit's purpose of isolating him from Sora, so in the confrontation just now, he directly asked Sora to leave.
Otherwise, the distance is only a dozen meters, how could he not be able to get closer.
Letting Sora go and letting her act alone was the result of Xu Shuo's careful consideration for three seconds.
Anyway, she has her own magic mark inside her body.
Don’t worry about not being able to find it.
As for worrying about being controlled by others?
No, it doesn't exist.
Xu Shuo looked at the sergeant below: "Okay, it's not difficult to leave with you, but you should exit this coniferous forest first. I need to take some precautions. Don't worry, I'm not trying to prevent you."
The leading officer was a little hesitant when he heard this.
In Duke Silver's order, the Bishop of Light was indeed a distinguished guest. Although he was a "forced" guest, he also told them to try not to have any other conflicts.
And the destination of the other party's action is indeed heading to the Silver City State.
Therefore, whether it is forced or not, it will not change the fact that Xu Shuo and Duke Baiyin will meet.
The only thing that's different.
Previously, the initiative was in Xu Shuo's hands.
The initiative after the forced petition lies with Duke Silver.
Therefore, remembering the identity of the other party and the Duke, the legion commander hesitated, but still did not refuse the request made by the other party after agreeing.
Everyone takes a step back.
But the officer commander also made a point: "Then I can stay by your side?"
Xu Shuo glanced at him meaningfully, then smiled and said: "Of course it's no problem. In fact, it's no problem if you all want to stay, but in that case the Duke of Silver may come to settle accounts with me."
The officer commander was stunned, but he did not ask what he meant by his words. He waved away the soldiers around him and asked them to wait at the front.
This coniferous forest is not big, but it is not small either.
It is about eight to nine thousand square meters in length and breadth, with low-lying mountains on one side and snow-covered plains on the other.
Previously, Xu Shuo and the two were too lazy to take a detour, so they chose to go directly through the coniferous forest, and they could avoid getting wet by walking in the coniferous forest.
At this moment, Xu Shuo jumped down from the tree.
In order to rush on the road, he had already changed out of the clerical robes of the Holy See and was wearing a simple white riding suit, with his long silver hair hanging uncovered on his back.
The Northland is desolate and uninhabited, so there is no need to hide it all the time.
The officer commander glanced at his hair and eyes, a look of surprise flashed across his face, and then he made a hasty bow to the Holy See.
A forced request is a forced request, and respect is a respectful request.
To each his own.
Xu Shuo didn't waste time. After scanning the surroundings, he raised his right hand.
Cold magical energy swirled in his hands, and traces of bright blue light visible to the naked eye flew from all directions. This was an energy reaction that only large-scale magic could have.
A huge magic circle formed in his hand, spreading mysterious and mysterious patterns, faintly exuding some kind of bright and sacred aura.
"What are you..."
The officer commander who saw this scene was a little surprised.
The active magic energy made him subconsciously tighten his nerves, and the palm hanging down by his side grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
This is an instinctive defense against crisis.
Xu Shuo didn't speak, his face remained calm, and his fair skin seemed to blend into the ice and snow.
The next moment, he casually threw the extremely rich magic circle out.
Buzz——
The wind and snow in the woods suddenly became fierce!
Like a cold wave coming, bone-chilling ice spread from the ground, climbing up the trees, sealing every inch of the earth and plants visible at an extremely fast speed.
The extremely tall branches swayed and then settled at the most vivid moment. The ice and snow covered with them seemed to contain light, and it was crystal clear and beautiful.
It's not like magic has frozen a forest.
Instead, a forest of crystals was created.
The evening sun penetrates through the branches and leaves, reflecting a sparkling ice and snow crystal, which is dazzling.
Xu Shuo nodded with satisfaction: "Okay."
If Sora returns to check the situation, he will probably understand how he escaped, so this precaution is just to prevent Sora's suspicion.
And the officer commander next to him.
He was already stiff, and his originally straight face looked even more serious.
When the ice spread, he had already felt the stinging pain under his feet, but the cold current stopped in time when it climbed to his ankles.
Of course he didn't think it was because of insufficient magic energy.
In fact, he didn't react to the change at all, because it all happened in an instant.
The wind and snow suddenly came, and the cold current spread.
The forest changed in the blink of an eye.
The officer commander seemed to realize something, and looked at the bright bishop next to him stiffly.
I have long heard that the Holy See of Light has extremely high magical attainments.
Unexpectedly, the true strength is so terrifying. If this power is placed on the battlefield, even if it cannot sweep the entire battlefield by itself, it is enough to turn the situation around.
No wonder the Bishop of Light asked him to clear out the others.
If his team were still here, even if the whole army would not be annihilated, it would definitely suffer a lot of damage.
After all, it's okay to just control the magic energy without hurting one person, but with dozens of people, even the great mage would probably have difficulty being subtle.
The officer commander couldn't help but be in awe!
…
But actually the truth is not like this.
Xu Shuo was simply too lazy to protect so many people.
Why bother? Rather than allocating energy in a redundant way, it would be better to just let them all stand up obediently.
After taking precautionary measures, Xu Shuo followed the officer commander out of the coniferous forest.
Because his horse had unfortunately been sacrificed, a soldier gave Xu Shuo his own mount, while the other soldier shared a horse with his colleagues to make do.
"The Duke has already hosted a banquet for you in the city, so we probably won't stop for rest on the rest of the journey. We will arrive at the Silver City State at nightfall. Please bear with me," the officer commander said seriously.
"No problem."
Xu Shuo didn't care.
No matter who had the initiative in this scene, it actually didn't matter to him, but this move also showed a little bit about the temperament of the Silver Duke opposite him.
I feel a bit like a captain, he likes to have everything in his own hands before he can rest assured.
As for following his instructions a few nights ago and setting up an ambush in the Far North Mountains to wait for the ice elf, it was probably just as a precaution.
Or maybe the other party, after understanding the background of the world, has also speculated on the entry of the elves into the world. From this, things are going smoothly.
In short, he is a very cautious person.
And when approaching the Silver City-State.
Xu Shuo saw another falcon wandering in the sky, and judging from his gray gradient vision, it should be the same one.
In the Pope's weak-sighted eyes, the white ice and snow earth and the pale sky are actually one. From a distance, they seem to be an endless white space.
Kind of like snow blindness.
So just a little bit of dark color will stand out.
At this moment, under the light gray sunset, the black-gray falcon is still conspicuous.
What's more, it has been flying with the team.
When Xu Shuo looked up, he also asked directly: "Is that your Lord Duke's pet?"
The officer commander who followed him was a little surprised, and then responded honestly: "That's Ah Yue. It grew up with the Duke. It is the blood-contracted monster of the Duke."
Xu Shuo's eyes moved: "Warcraft?"
"Well, Ah Yue is a special monster."
After saying this, the officer commander withdrew his gaze and remained silent, which seemed to be the end of his words.
Xu Shuo didn't ask any more questions, just thoughtful.
…
The setting sun gradually disappeared in the horizon.
At night.
Almost immediately, when everyone saw the outline of Silver City, the sky had already turned completely dark.
When approaching the city-state, the dozens of people behind them dispersed and had no intention of entering the city with them. Only the officer commander still followed Xu Shuo.
The two of them did not enter through the main city gate.
It's quite sneaky.
"Sorry, the security in the city has been tight recently. The slightest disturbance may lead to investigation by interested people. I can only trouble you."
The officer commander led Xu Shuo in through the side door and expressed his apology as he walked away.
Xu Shuo looked around and just nodded when he heard this.
The Silver City-State is also different from other inland city-states. Not only is the city wall extremely thick, but the buildings here are mostly in a majestic and majestic style, and the houses are generally very high, with the highest being more than ten stories high.
In other city-states, the tallest houses are only five or six stories high, and most of them are luxurious castles.
But the buildings here seem to be all single-story, and the buildings stand in the shape of columns.
It actually has a bit of a later modern architectural style.
"It snows all year round in the Far North. If the house is not built higher, it is estimated that the house and the people will be submerged in the snow when they wake up."
Seeing him looking at the buildings, the chief officer took the initiative to explain.
Xu Shuo nodded.
The snow here is indeed very thick, but there is not much accumulated snow on the streets. It is estimated that it will be cleaned at a fixed time every day.
When Xu Shuo walked from the tower to the Silver Castle, a thick layer of snow had fallen on his body, and the white snowflakes almost blended into his silver hair.
The environment is harsh and we have to deal with the invasion of monsters.
It’s really difficult for people in the far north.
It’s no wonder that the Silver Duke’s family has become unbearable. Staying here for hundreds of years and not being able to leave means that their descendants will have to suffer such suffering for generations to come.
Although it is duty-bound to protect the empire, day after day for hundreds of years, even the warm blood has been frozen by the cold of the extreme north.
What's more, the royal family of San Varo are not yet human beings.
If more aid is given to the Far North, it is unlikely that the Duke of Silver will be dissatisfied and rebel.
…
After Xu Shuo entered the Silver Castle, he still did not see the Duke of Silver. Instead, he was led to the guest room by the maid to change and wash himself, leaving behind the wind and snow all over his body.
at the same time.
A few kilometers away from the Silver City-State.
The Sun Knights, who were one step behind, worked hard and finally arrived before nightfall, and they were still full of anger.
The accompanying Silver Shield Legion followed behind, keeping silent all the way, with no intention of taking the opportunity to ridicule.
I've been stopped once before.
Of course it's not good to continue to add fuel to the fire.
However, as the city gate was approaching, the officers leading the Silver Shield Legion hesitated to speak. They were trying to formulate words to persuade them to hide their traces.
Zuo Fang took the initiative to stop the Sun Knight behind him.
"Disperse into the city. You can find a hotel to stay at. Do not go to the church. I will personally go to the Duke's castle to confirm the safety of His Majesty the Pope." Zuo Fang said with a serious face.
"yes!"
The Order of the Sun prohibits everything.
Although everyone was holding back anger and worry, they did not express any objection to the chief knight's order and immediately dispersed.
The Silver Shield Legion was relieved when they saw this.
The monks of the Holy See are indeed easy to talk to and have elegant personalities. Otherwise, if this was the tough folk custom in the north, even if there was no fight in the end, they would probably be scolded all the way.
After all, the person who was invited away by unfair means seemed to be His Majesty the Pope of the Holy See of Light - this was information that was accidentally revealed during the confrontation between the two sides.
It can be seen that the Knights of the Sun are against the Pope of Light.
Just like the Silver Shields against their Silver Duke.
Therefore, the Silver Shield Legion did not dare to say anything along the way, for fear of getting into trouble.
Who would have thought that the Pope had actually visited the Far North in person?
…
