November has come to an end. After entering December, the storm activity on the west coast and the south has finally entered a dormant period. Except for light rain, there is no need to worry until the following summer. But further south, where it takes more time to reach the Abu Sera Prairie, the rainy season has just arrived.
The heavy rain that hit the prairie that could not be seen was a sight that many people had never seen before.
Rich plains like Ecasta and Inznil are also quite vast, but the countries along the Tambor Mountains are surrounded by rolling mountains on one side and deep forests on the other. You can see this endless landscape. It is extremely rare to see the arc-shaped horizon and the white sky in the distance.
As the most famous poet among a group that fled from the defeat of the Laman Empire, the scholar Gavino Gumesindo hundreds of years ago came to this exotic place full of rain, locusts, predators, robbers and When I was in a poetic place, I couldn't help but become poetic and wrote a sentence like this: "If you look to the east, it's all grassland; if you look to the south, it's all grassland."
Well, whether this poem is more appropriately called a complaint will be discussed later. All in all, it describes the scene of this place appropriately. Except for the forest in the south that can still be vaguely seen after walking a long distance behind you, the entire Abu Serra prairie is like an infinite universe with no distinction between front, back, left, right, and up and down. It makes people wonder which direction they should move in. Is good.
Although the terrain is not complicated, it is common to get lost here without a guide or coordinates.
During the several days of continuous advancement, many people in the team who came to Abu Sera for the first time felt that they did not know what they should do at all. They almost did not know where they were heading until this moment. When dark rain clouds appear from the distant skyline, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding environment, you can finally identify your approximate location.
And clearly aware of how small human beings are in this vast world.
When you encounter a heavy rain in the jungle, the scene you see when you look up is narrow. Looking up from the dense canopy of trees, you can only see the black sky. This terrifying scenery is shocking but not majestic - but when you stand on the prairie, standing on the knee-high golden yellow mixed with green Among the weeds, you can see them being blown down by the strong wind, with their heads bowed. People are hurriedly tightening all their supplies to prevent accidents. The dead leaves of the weeds and even your own hair in the wind will hurt your cheeks. Turning my head in the direction of the wind - looking at the violent tide sweeping in from the far western sea -
Looking at that, the overwhelming gray-black clouds are approaching from the other end of the horizon like some terrifying giant beast waving its tail slowly but firmly towards your direction - thousands of words, Raman Even the best scholars and poets in the history of the world cannot fully describe this extraordinary situation.
Only by personal experience can we know that the power of nature is not something that humans can control, let alone how to fight and conquer it.
The aristocratic ladies on the West Coast who have lived in purdah for a long time are fond of third-rate chivalry novels about arrogant and heroic men who can conquer thunder and lightning. In reality, they may only be regarded as having brain problems and should be kept at a distance. The irony is that they advocate and practice The source of the culture I am trying to imitate is the once glorious Laman Empire. Those women who now only exist in poetry and paintings will not believe in this story of weak women who need to be saved.
After the Lamanites gradually developed into an empire a thousand years ago, various cultural trends also blossomed. The improvement of people's spiritual cultivation has caused rapid changes in many things. Although women are still disadvantaged in society, during the empire's heyday, there were many examples of women of noble origin who dared to resist the injustices that were done to them, and there are still recorded documents to this day.
The Lamanites of that era were pessimistic but courageous in resisting. Although their stories were as good at telling the concepts of fate and reincarnation as the northerners, they were not like the superficial attempts of later West Coast imitators. I put on a gorgeous coat to tell a story that is still very cliché, but one that truly has thoughts and connotations.
Putting aside the sense of national crisis caused by the continuous expansion of the empire's territory and the influx of a large number of foreigners, as well as the "fatalism" caused by the various turmoils at the end of the empire and the white church belief that began to rise during this period, La Many of the stories and historical records of the early heyday of the empire that the Man people still have left to this day actually want to tell stories about progress and hard work.
As a civilization that has made the most significant mark in human history, they are naturally proud, but they also have the right to be proud.
In the past, the Lamanites did not need to pray to the gods for salvation when encountering problems, nor did they need any heroic knights to accomplish unparalleled feats - because ordinary Lamanites did this kind of thing every day.
If a tsunami swept across the country's coast, then build a dike to block it. If any foreign race dared to offend, then send an army to encircle and suppress it. In the heyday of the empire, everyone in the empire was full of this way of thinking. People were proud of voluntary service. Be proud of your contribution to the country, and be sincerely proud of yourself as a citizen of the empire.
Even women who are always looked down upon and even slaves in society have never prayed for the existence of angels. Instead, they do everything seriously and try to change their destiny with the work of their own hands.
The imprint on people of every era is deeply rooted in their bones, and at its peak, the empire was worthy of its name as a tribute to human civilization, truly ranking first in every aspect.
But good times do not last long. Perhaps it is this kind of thinking that was carried by the group that was defeated in the civil war at the end of the empire and was accompanied by the White Church. "It is powerless to rely on others to save ourselves in everything." What is causing trouble is that thousands of years have passed and the countries on the west coast, which have been influenced by a large amount of Lamanite culture and should have progressed as a result, have now begun to believe in legends such as great men and invincible brave men descended from heaven that the Lamanites once dismissed.
Human beings are really stupid things. It is precisely because of their narrow knowledge that they often hold on to some ignorant theories, and even stubbornly refuse to believe any other objections. They just believe that their own inherent knowledge is absolute. truth.
If I hadn’t met Henry, if I hadn’t traveled and trained with him, if I hadn’t witnessed and experienced the power of nature, and understood the insignificance of my body and mind; if I hadn’t left that borderland on the Ecasta Plains Small town, if I had chosen to endure it and continue to stay there to have a peaceful life, how different would it be now?
I chose that path, chose to stay there, gradually grew up from a weak and powerless loli to a girl who knew nothing, and finally married someone else in a mediocre way and lived a mediocre life - if I could do that If you choose, will you in the future, after a busy day, start yearning for a hero who descends from the sky to rescue you from this mediocre and boring life?
she does not know.
There is no what if in this world, and Mira is no longer what she used to be.
"Boom--" A flash of light flashed across the distant horizon, and 4 seconds later, earth-shattering thunder sounded. The edge of the huge rain cloud had already touched their area, and the dripping rain began to fall whistlingly, " There was a roar of wind, and the cloaks of the people behind her and the canvas used to cover supplies and horses were all rustling. Mira grabbed the edge of the hood of the wildly swaying raincoat with both hands, and then put it on her head. .
"Crash--" The raindrops, which instantly intensified, hit the waterproof canvas and made a clearly audible sound.
"La——" After the hood was fastened, Mira pulled the extended left side of the southern-only cloak she was wearing to near her right shoulder. Then she passed a fine hemp rope through the copper ring on it and tightened it. . The heavy rain on the grassland is mixed with strong winds. Unlike other areas where it just falls from the sky, if there is no cover from the front, the rain will splash diagonally towards you, so the loose type commonly used on the West Coast is just A cape tied at the collar is of no use here.
Several Thoradin mercenaries, who were obviously coming here for the first time, were carrying the same kind of clothes. At this moment, when the strong wind blew, their hems were lifted up and the clothes and armor they were wearing were soaked. They all cursed and cursed in Thoradin's dialect.
The busy people tried their best to strengthen the temporary camp. The two professional mercenaries serving as scouts were indeed veterans. When they noticed the rain cloud earlier, others thought it would take a lot of time to build it. When the time comes, you can just slowly and directly distance yourself. Fortunately, this opinion was not accepted and the entire team stayed and took precautions, thus more or less avoiding some of the crises and troubles they might encounter while rushing on a rainy day.
"Click -" The decision was made in a timely manner, and the fixing of the last tent was finally completed in a while.
The rain cloud finally floated directly above them, and the endless rain roared down crazily. Standing at the bottom of it, the scenery Mira saw was very different from before. The rain-covered weeds were blowing in the wind. Swaying gently, the surroundings are dark, but further away you can see the light blue sky with a white halo. The light projected in has been refracted by the rain, giving everything under the rain clouds a hazy light. .
The shadows of weeds swayed with the strong wind and made rustling sounds, while the people behind them who had set up camp on higher ground to avoid water accumulation fell into a little confusion due to the reduced visibility.
The strong wind was swaying, and all the debris was firmly fixed to prevent it from flying up and hurting people. Among the animals in the team, only the two horses owned by Henry and Mira looked a little panicked - the other horses came from the grassland after all. Yes, although most of them are not the elite war horses used by the nomads, they are relatively accustomed to the heavy rain that blocks the sky and the sun as they are born and raised here.
As we have been saying, both creatures and weapons have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The rain falls sparsely among the weeds and mud, and the gradually formed puddles of water may attract many wild animals, not only herbivores but also predators. They came to try their luck, so when the heavy rain passed, they had to move on quickly to avoid conflict with these creatures.
The dark rain clouds come and go quickly. As they continue to move towards the east, they are bound to bring a new round of vitality to the land along the way before they are exhausted. We can already see a lot of them on the roads these days. The tender green shoots of the weeds are different from the parts that had turned yellow during the dry season of the previous year. The old trees have new branches. Everything is reborn under the influence of water, which is the source of life.
"..." It seems that this heavy rain will last for a long time. The dark clouds that have gradually lightened after the thickest part have passed have made the sky less dark. It is not a problem to stand outside and continue to rain. It will take a few seconds. The more experienced mercenaries under Lex's command set up a tent with the west windward side straightened and fixed at the two corners on the ground to form a wind-shielding slope, and then made a homemade tent with wooden supports outside for the bonfire. On the roof of the rainproof tent, a group of mercenaries and merchants were there at the moment, gathering in twos and threes, chatting or tasting something.
A large tent like this that can be used as a restaurant and resting place on rainy days is naturally a configuration that only such a caravan can have. Baggage such as carriages is a dream item for individual mercenaries who ride horses or travel on foot. With complete and sufficient logistics, even in such weather, people will not be able to squat in their tents in a daze, chatting with each other. There is even a young businessman who brought out a small pot that is unique to the southern region. The big guitar began to sing a cappella to the sound of wind and rain.
When experienced mercenaries choose employers to escort caravans, they will choose those with sufficient supplies. This is probably the reason.
"Huh..." Mira exhaled, then turned around and walked into the tent used as a hall.
The journey continued as the rain poured down. (To be continued.)
