The autumn rain in the plains of Ecasta is bitter.
The people of Avenella and Sivalier call November Shadenis - the goddess of tears and sorrow. It aptly describes the season. The busy women cursed and took the clothes that had not yet dried on the hemp rope back into the house, while the shop owners also sighed at the lack of customers because of the damn weather.
Mercenaries and adventurers who advocated carpe diem filled the compartments of taverns and entertainment venues on the first floor of major hotels. The coins they earned hard-earned from completing commissions flowed in amidst laughter and shouts. He stole other people's money bags - the smiling scene of the store owner looked unique in the pouring rain.
Big raindrops fell densely, crackling on the leaves that had turned into dark green, muddy muddy water splashed, and a horse team of about ten people ran wildly through the path of the dense forest.
The dark brown waterproof cloak coated with tung oil was pattering by the raindrops. Henry protected Mira in his arms, and every vigorous and powerful step of the horse under his crotch was conveyed to them through the muscles.
The downpour is a good thing for their group. The bad weather has greatly reduced the patrol strength of the Sivaliers, and the rain has reduced visibility. When accumulated on the ground, it can wash away the horse hoof prints and smell-even Even the other party carrying hounds could not catch up with his group in such weather.
"Tick-tock" Mira raised her little face. The horse was always shaking up and down when running, but she didn't feel the slightest bit of panic when she was riding a horse for the first time in Henry's arms. The girl looked at the sage, and the rainwater slipped from the brim of his hat and dripped on the side of his face, then slid down to his chin and finally fell on the tip of her little nose when she raised her head.
"Woo--" The white-haired Luoan girl closed her eyes and shook off some rainwater on her face. Henry noticed all this. He glanced down, but then he focused on controlling the war horse.
The reduced visibility brought more than just benefits. The slippery road surface in the pouring rain and the forest floor were messy and rugged. Even Henry did not dare to drive the horse to run at full speed. After all, they had already learned a lesson inside the castle before. .
But even at the current running speed, one needs to be very cautious, which is why Henry takes the lead. He first chooses the best route at the moment, while others follow him.
The team formed a simple single column and moved quickly towards the north. The heavy rain was still pouring down, and the cloaks rustled due to the high speed. The lower parts of the leather boots and trousers were already soaked. They had been running for a while in the cooling air. The breath of the war horse turned into white mist.
"Hissing -" Henry raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist, which meant stopping. Several people behind him pulled the reins in time.
"What's going on?" Bernie came to his side. Half of the team leader's face was blocked by his cloak. He could only shout loudly because the rain was too loud.
"Open space, standing water," Henry shouted, and Bernie noticed the scene in front of him.
The forest clearing that appeared due to being cut down or for some other reason is filled with turbid water. Judging from the way they flow slowly, it seems that a nearby creek has swelled due to rain and overflowed here— -Bernie frowned, he knew what Henry was worried about.
The soil lacking vegetation will become as difficult to walk on as a swamp after flooding. Whether horses or humans step on it, they will sink deeply into the soil. In addition, there was no cover in the open area. Bernie visually measured the distance here. It was quite vast, at least more than thirty meters. Once they enter, the chance of being discovered by the Sivaliers will greatly increase, and once discovered, they can only sit back and wait for death.
"Is there any other way?" Bernie asked, and Henry shook his head: "This is the most suitable. If you go east, the terrain will be steeper and the vegetation will be denser and more difficult to walk. If you go west, you will be closer to the forest. The edge increases the chance of detection”
"Then it seems that this risk has to be taken!" Bernie turned around and waved to the team members behind him. Two archers were arranged to the side of the team, one on the left and one on the right. If they were discovered by the Shivaliers, Jerry Ke and Ivan were the only ones capable of fighting back. But that's not all. The well-trained mercenaries also raised their bucklers to the left and right to protect their bodies, and then the entire team advanced downwards and rushed into the turbid forest swamp.
"Hissing..." The war horses seemed irritable because of the obstructive feeling of the extremely sticky clay. The team that was moving at high speed before now became extremely slow, and as if things were not bad enough, the gloomy sky A flash of lightning flashed.
"Boom -" Thunder came three seconds later, and Henry frowned. Traveling in the forest on a rainy day was already full of all kinds of dangers, and now another one was added. The dense formation and rain everywhere meant that as long as a bolt of lightning fell near them, a group of people would suffer, but he quickly put it behind him because something sparkled in the distance. stand up--
"Enemy - attack!" Bjorn in the front shouted loudly, and a dark arrow shot directly at him. The northerner raised his buckler to block it, and Ivan behind him immediately opened his bow and shot in return. , but the arrow just missed in the pouring rain.
"Damn it!" Tier cursed loudly. He slung his shield across his body and grabbed the reins with one hand, looking around. The group stopped. The arrow came from the dark forest ahead, and they were not sure where it was. Are there more ambushes?
"Boom -" The lightning was closer than before, and the purple electric light illuminated everyone's faces. Bernie gritted his teeth and looked at Henry, and the sage nodded knowingly.
"Abandon your shields, leave everything else behind except what is necessary, all draw your weapons!" Bernie shouted loudly, and the mercenaries obeyed the order and threw their spare clothes and some personal items into the flowing sewage. Then he pulled out the shining weapon.
"Qiang——" Henry held his big sword with one hand and hung it by his side, then lowered his head and said to Mira: "Hold me tight."
Luo An followed her words obediently, and Bernie raised his sword: "Charge!!" He shouted loudly and then kicked the horse's stomach with his boot, and the horse neighed when the spurs stimulated it. He pulled out his clay-covered hooves from the muddy water and began to accelerate.
"Hiss-huh-huh" The advantage of the strong and powerful war horses was clearly revealed at this moment. Even in the soft muddy water, they still picked up speed. The mercenaries, who gripped their weapons and ran wildly, quickly covered the 30-meter distance. When the mud-covered hooves of the war horses stepped on the drier land, several black arrows that were the same as before were immediately fired. Invasion comes.
"咻- snatch-"
"Ah! - Ahem -" Tier, who was relatively unresponsive due to injuries, was pierced by two arrows. Blood kept oozing from his throat, and they were quickly washed away in the heavy rain. Lose.
"Pa-ta-" Tier fell to the ground. "Damn it!" Bernie cursed loudly, but no one could stop. The harder ground allowed the horses to successfully speed up and run. Ivan and Jericho tried to fight back, but the enemy archers just hid behind them. Behind the tree, both of their arrows missed.
The team, which had lost one person, once again ran all the way north at the risk of death. Fortunately, the number of people just now was not much greater than them. With the advantage of horses, Henry and his party quickly distanced themselves and got rid of them.
Bernie's face looked quite gloomy, but now was not the time to mourn, they still had things to do.
Henry still led the team forward silently. His excellent ability and judgment in identifying directions allowed the group to always find the most suitable and shortest route. But God didn't seem to want to help them anymore. The rain gradually became lighter, and the footprints of the horses on the ground could no longer be easily washed away.
Henry slowed down.
They had been traveling all day. The autumn rain that started falling at about ten o'clock in the morning allowed the group to move forward at full speed without any scruples. This bought some time, but it was obviously not that simple to bypass the Sivalier patrols scattered throughout the outer reaches of the forest.
It was necessary to notify the kingdom before the Sivaliers gathered their troops to attack Ashenil in an all-out manner. Once discovered, it would take precious time to escape or fight. Henry turned around and ordered a full five The hour-long rain had gradually stopped, and the heavy downpour turned into drizzle. After a while, only the water accumulated on the leaves was still falling slowly.
The team has become a slow march. Although the Sivaliers may not come out to search immediately after the heavy rain stops, they are already close to the place where their heavy troops are deployed. Now choosing to run in a conspicuous way again is like a moth flying into the flames. .
"Wait until evening." Bernie noticed Henry's gaze and said. The sage nodded in agreement, and then the horse started looking for a shelter nearby to wait for the sunset.
Humid weather can make you physically ill, which is certainly not what they want at this critical moment. But fortunately, this forest is filled with excellent evergreen trees like the Aika black pine. Its needle-shaped, fluffy and dense leaves can effectively block moisture. Many branches with leaves were cut from the nearby black pine. After shaking off the water attached to them, the group found a more secluded place and stopped.
This is a bush land, which is surrounded by a hill and blocks the line of sight in one direction, so everyone only needs to be careful not to be discovered by the enemies facing the forest side.
Bjorn silently chopped down several bushes with an axe, then picked up a thick branch and drew a ditch on the ground.
Some of the accumulated water was moved away by everyone and flowed down the aqueduct to a lower place. Henry, Mingna and Bernie placed the black pine branches they had collected previously on the ground layer by layer. Ivan and Jericho After climbing up the hill and keeping an eye on the surroundings, the mercenaries took out some remaining dry firewood from the waterproof leather bags on their horses.
The humid weather made the firewood outside useless. If the soaked people didn't light a fire, they would obviously fall ill before reaching Wawasika. Naturally, the experienced mercenaries would not be so stupid. .
The ground that was still wet after drainage could not be used to build a bonfire. The mustache mercenary in charge of starting the fire seemed a little embarrassed, while Henry on the side took out two black pine branches and layered them to block the moisture, and then moved A stone was dug out and placed on a relatively flat surface.
There was not much moisture remaining on the surface of the smooth stone. Henry took off his dry short cloak that was covered by a waterproof cloak inside and wiped it dry, and then stretched out his hand to the mustached mercenary.
The other party's eyes lit up, the sage's solution was always simple and effective. The idea of using materials that can be found everywhere to make a fire platform that can isolate the moisture from the ground is obviously something that only people who are proficient in wilderness survival can think of. Bernie looked at Henry with a somewhat thoughtful look.
In terms of appearance, Henry is at least 10 years younger than Bernie, but the wisdom and experience shown by the sage make him feel like an elder - this kind of violation always makes the mercenaries feel There's something indescribably weird about it.
"I don't think I would ever want to be your enemy." Bernie seemed to feel this, and Henry, who lit the fire, just smiled faintly in return.
"Crack--" Mira sat on a moisture-proof cushion made of thick pine needles. The white-haired Luo An Loli felt novel and a little nervous about all this. Her silence all the time proved this.
Minna came over with bread and a kettle and sat next to her. The two people with the same eyes looked a bit like sisters, and their behavior was also the same. The girls communicated in a low voice, while Henry took off the food at the side. and his soaked boots.
"Wow -" Like everyone else, the sage poured out a lot of water from his leather boots. He picked up two branches and stuck them diagonally to serve as supports for the leather boots to dry, as did several other mercenaries. More branches that were soaked by the rain were also inserted around the bonfire. The dry firewood they carried was limited after all, so they could be used to burn the fire after the heat dried these branches.
"Dong -" Bjorn walked over silently and opened the cork of the soft leather bag.
The sour smell of malt liquor filled the air, and the tall northern man held the mouth of the bottle and poured it down.
"To Till, our loyal and reliable vanguard." Bernie said, and several other mercenaries also stood up and responded with the same action. Lysa patted Rodney beside her, who was sitting on a pine needle cushion and sipping ale. Seeing this, he stood up in a hurry and poured down the soft leather water bag slightly.
"..." The stingy sight of the pudgy mercenary made Bjorn's thick black eyebrows knitted together. He pursed his thin lips under his big beard and looked unkind.
"Eh hehe -" Rodney smiled, and then fell to the ground with some pain on his face. "Alas -" At this moment, Bernie let out a long sigh and shook his head helplessly. Everyone sat back in their seats again and started eating.
"It's nothing, boss. There are no Sivaliers nearby." The older archer said as Ivan and Jericho came down from the hillock, and Bernie nodded.
"Then just wait here until night falls."
A drop of rain dripped from the tip of the leaf, and the sky where the dark clouds had dispersed once again cast a not particularly bright light.
