'cold. '
'so cold--'
The breeze blows through the open space between the trees in the Bao forest, but it cannot blow away the thick fog condensed by the cold winter air.
The female voice is ethereal but seems to be close at hand, like a whisper in a dream, making people feel trance-like and unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.
"Cheer up!" Constantine shouted loudly and powerfully from the front to make the knights refocus their energy. He is a natural leader, and he firmly sets up a benchmark through his own actions, so that his subordinates have a guiding light when they are confused. .
But even so, the tired look on the knights' faces could not be dispelled.
No matter how disciplined the iron-blooded soldiers and the tough men of the empire are, they cannot be completely bloodless and tearless.
Everyone has their own soft place in their heart, some are family members, some are lovers. It is precisely because of the existence of these beautiful things that people can make up their minds to fight. People with beliefs have the most extraordinary fighting power, but to a certain extent, they are also the most vulnerable.
If the thing you firmly believe in and want to protect has been violated or even ceased to exist, then what is the point of continuing to fight?
Although people usually have dreams, especially some nightmares, people will feel a little depressed when they wake up. But the dream effect can always make them forget all this quickly and continue to return to normal life.
Forgetting is a bad thing most of the time, but in this case, many people really wish they could forget.
Compared with long-lived races such as elves, human emotions are more delicate and passionate. And precisely because of this, humans are not suitable to survive as a long-lived race.
"If a person has really lived a long, long time, then he is either very emotionally indifferent or."
"He just has a bad memory."
"The things you have loved will cease to exist one day, and everything you are familiar with will undergo vicissitudes of life. If you remember it all bit by bit with enthusiasm and a superb memory, those incompatible places will only become It makes you feel like a stranger who cannot integrate into this entire era and can't find a place for yourself anywhere."
"A person standing in this torrent of time can't find even a confidant."
"the forgotten."
"Thus memory is painful."
"And it is a relief to forget."
The dream the witch gave them was too profound.
What is lost is the warmth that can never be returned, the time in the past, and someone who has been lost.
When we finally met again, we were rudely interrupted and told that this was a dream from which there was no way to go back.
So why don't you let me forget all this?
The more I think about it, the more profound those memory fragments become. As a result, almost everyone had insomnia throughout last night.
We were already in the jungle, the weather was cold and gloomy, and the ground still smelled of blood, rust, and all kinds of dirt, mold, and smell. In addition, the disgusting stench from the twenty-odd ghouls who died at the entrance of the camp came with the breeze. Not many people could sleep well in the first place, but they even fell asleep instantly due to the sudden influence. I couldn't even eat dinner well.
Then after waking up from what they saw in the dream, no one had the appetite to eat again.
The dampness and coldness invaded the bone marrow, and blankets and cloaks and even campfires could not completely dispel it.
The combination of physical discomfort and inner discomfort caused most of the knights in the empire to begin to show signs of decadence.
They fear sleep but somewhat look forward to it.
What if you dream again after falling asleep? But after dreaming, you have to wake up and face reality again.
So why don't you let me forget all this?
Let those things that have been buried by time return to the deepest part of your heart and be sealed in dust.
Fatigue, pain, confusion. In this case, some of the supplies left by the highlanders were only enough for a team of about 60 people to use for about two days.
If that’s not bad enough, then you can also add the threat lurking in the forest——
And the fact that they were lost in the forest.
How to do?
What can be done?
Most people are confused in their hearts. Although this ancient road in the Bao Forest has several forks, originally they should have been close to the small town of Scotti. But after walking all morning today, people who had walked on this road quickly discovered something strange.
They went down a completely different path.
Not only the vegetation, but also the paved floor is very strange - the original trail was probably built in the Classical Raman era, using the best-processed limestone. Because of the particularity of the local stone and the surrounding environment, it presents a blue-grey texture.
However, the stones paved on the road here are beige, and judging from the degree of weathering, they are obviously products of an earlier period.
Judging from the region, the only local civilization that had the ability to pave roads before the Laman era was obviously the Morbigas.
Although anything can happen in this thick fog, walking on the ancient roads paved by people thousands of years ago gives people a more or less wonderful feeling of traveling through time and space.
"It's the Baka Ancient Road." When Constantine and the others stopped to check the map to look for traces, Henry next to them said this.
"Is the city of Kadigali ahead?" Constantine looked back at the sage, then turned the map around and focused on a location that was not marked with a name.
If a diagonal line connects their current location on the map with the small town of Scotti, the place they are at now is a fork perpendicular to the diagonal line. If you continue to move forward, you must go to the ancient city ahead that has been abandoned for many years and then turn back to the main road, and this process will add several days to your travel time.
Soldiers who have been marching and fighting all year round know the importance of preserving food.
It is common for them to divide a piece of bread that can only satisfy one person for two days for two people to eat for two days, but now the entire team adds up to more than 60 people - and this does not include more than 40 people. Horse.
Padrosi's knight's armor is more mature than that of the West Coast. The slim design, the shape to withstand weapon attacks, the reduced armor pieces on the back buttocks and inner thighs, and the excellent smelting process allow its total weight to be controlled at twenty-five. Kilograms up and down. But coupled with the fact that the knight himself weighs no less than 70 kilograms, as well as various weapons and supplies, as well as the horse plate armor covered by the horse itself, even a war horse with a good bloodline will be very tired after a day's march.
There was a lack of food and grass supplies, and only the berries and shrub leaves picked nearby could satisfy their hunger. Many imperial knights who felt sorry for their comrades were even unwilling to ride on them. Since they could not move at high speed due to the heavy fog, they simply came down and walked. Try to lighten the load on your horse as much as possible.
Procrastinating is not the same thing. People and horses will only become increasingly tired. Coupled with the encounter with the witch last night, the morale of the entire team is very low.
There is no time for hesitation.
"Go and cut the rope." Konstantin ordered Mikhail. The young knight was stunned for a while, but finally nodded, followed his captain's instructions, and rushed towards the rear.
"No, my lord, you can't do this!" Ronno, who was hungry, cold, filthy and exuding a stench, begged for mercy in horror. Constantine's so-called cutting of the rope was not to give trust to the dozen highlanders. After being tied up, he was led by a rope at the back of the team like a slave. At this moment, the knight commander wanted to untie the rope.
"Just take care of yourself." Mikhail's expression was a little complicated, but the military orders were overwhelming, and he could only say this short sentence in the end.
"Prepare to turn around -" Constantine said loudly again. After "lightening the burden" for the team, he was ready to turn back and return to the right path. But it was at this time that some rustling sounds came from the surrounding misty bushes.
"What?!" The trance and exhaustion were replaced by nervous sweat in an instant. The Ba'ao Forest is vast, but as far as we know, there are no other friendly forces.
Anyone who comes close to them, whether living or dead, can only be their enemy.
"Heh-ah-"
It was densely packed and crowded.
This number was far greater than anyone expected. There were more than two hundred people on both sides, directly surrounding the back of the team.
"Damn the undead!" "Hurry up, retreat! Withdraw! Withdraw!" "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"" The highlanders, whose hands were still tied, screamed in horror, while the mercenaries and knights in front It was also a mess.
"Breakout!" Henry turned the spear in his hand and accurately hit the throat of an undead highlander with the end without the tip. The condescending posture and the impact of the quick attack made it fall to the ground. land.
"Qiang——" Mira drew her long sword, and due to the attack distance, she stayed beside Margaret and the others.
"Quickly retreat!" Constantine crumpled the sheepskin map into a ball and stuffed it directly under the armpit of the breastplate. Then he took a spear from the knight next to him and flicked it with the tip of the spear. The undead was so beaten that his skull fell apart.
"Drive!" Margaret swung her riding whip. When she set off, the aristocratic lady who looked so fresh even riding in a flat carriage no longer existed. She skillfully controlled the horse and pulled it like a little coachman. The car started to accelerate forward. After the vacancy appeared, Uncle Mario and a mercenary's carriage quickly picked up.
“啊啊啊啊啊滚啊，滚啊！——”罗诺又惊又气，双手被绑起来的他抬起脚不断地把靠近过来的那些行尸给踢倒。 Among these corpses were both imperial soldiers and highlanders. The weapons in their hands had been lost, but they still retained their instincts.
It attacks with its hands and teeth.
"Withdraw! Withdraw! Withdraw!" Quickly, more than a dozen carriages accelerated rapidly and drove towards the distance amid a turbulence.
"I curse you! Damn Laman bastards!!" Since the ropes were tied together, one villager was thrown to the ground by the undead and the others were also pulled down. After being completely beaten by the walking corpse, Before being submerged, Ronno stretched his neck desperately and roared hysterically at the top of his lungs.
"Let's go!" Henry, Mira, Ferruccio, Filippo and a dozen other imperial knights stayed behind to hold down the formation. After the carriage and most other people had evacuated, they controlled the horses and launched a counterattack against the undead group. Charge, then stop sharply, turn around and quickly regain the distance.
"Bang——!" The two lagging knights were surrounded because they went too deep, but they skillfully controlled their horses and knocked down several zombies with a heavy back kick.
Blood splashed everywhere, bones and tooth fragments flew in the air, but the knights who came back to their senses were only covered in cold sweat, because in the place where the fog was thinner, they could clearly see that there were four to five hundred people and they were still there. The number of corpses is increasing.
"What the hell!" Like a gathering of ants, their numerical advantage allows them to almost run rampant on this land. Even if this part of the undead is unarmed, once they fall into it, they will definitely end up with no bones left.
And that doesn't seem to be all.
"Ahhhhhhhhh-"
This frightening and weird cry that Mira was already very familiar with sounded, and then an undead villager with his hands tied and covered in blood rushed out from the group of corpses.
"Crack--" The muscles in both arms tensed up, black body fluid flowed into the blood vessels, and the hemp rope that had been loosened by chewing was directly burst by it.
It made a weird scream and jumped to the knight who had not yet fully accelerated.
"What the hell!" "Whoops -" The Imperial Knight shot it in the abdomen, but this kind of wound that could cause serious damage to ordinary people did not kill the undead. Very strangely, it raised its head, its pale white face stained with blood and its blue eyes looking at the knight through the visor. For a moment, the knight saw unforgettable hatred there.
——As if this thing still retains consciousness.
"Ka-" "What-" It grabbed the spear that pierced its abdomen, and then stood on the ground with two feet.
"Gu——" The knight who was pulled out of balance almost fell off his horse. "Let go!" Henry turned around decisively and shouted while flipping his wrist and holding the spear behind his back.
"Haha——" At the sage's reminder, the knight hurriedly let go of the hand holding the spear, while the other hand held the saddle tightly to prevent it from falling, and when he passed by it In an instant, the sage raised his wrist and threw the spear that shot out like lightning, piercing its head and causing the resurrected highlander to return to dust again.
"Bang!" It fell to the ground and body fluids gradually dispersed. "Thank you!" The knight thanked Henry, who nodded and the two continued to accelerate forward.
And when the horses disappeared into the mist and the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, several skinny hands stretched out from the pile of corpses.
"Hate it——"
"Hate it——"
Hoarse whispers echoed in the air.
"Kill them all——"
The group of corpses suddenly stopped. They were all chaotic and doing their own things driven by instinct. But for a moment, they all froze in place like statues.
"Kill them all."
The undead.
They all turned around.
