Plantation, study room on the second floor of the mayor's residence.
At this moment, the night was dark, and the outside of the house fell into a cold darkness rendered by snow. The mayor's study is as warm as spring, with candles brightly lit. The wood burning in the fireplace exudes a faint smell of charcoal fire, and occasionally crackles, which is the sound of wood bursting in the hot flames. The light of more than a dozen antelope candles illuminated every corner of the study.
Main held a cup of pine nut tea and sat leisurely on a chair covered with soft animal skins. He watched the barbarian boy Yog practice copying while leaning over the desk with a quill.
The rustling sound of the pen tip across the cotton bark paper is like an endless string of notes. Yog, who concentrates on writing, is like an outstanding musician, playing beautiful music with pen and paper.
Myne liked the sound of writing more than any music. He knew that Yog was in excellent learning condition just by listening with his ears. Some people have a photographic memory and can read ten lines at a glance; some people fall asleep as soon as they grab a book. If a person is talented and diligent, his future academic achievements will be limitless.
Yog was born that way.
Myen secretly lamented that among his half-elf disciples, those who love learning are not as smart as Yog, and those who are talented are not as diligent as Yog. After spending more than a month with Yog, Myen had considered accepting him as his disciple.
...Unfortunately, he is a barbarian.
"Teacher, I have already copied the article "The Goddess Sect and the Politics of Famous Families." Yog put down his quill, lowered his head, and respectfully handed the newly copied manuscript to Myen.
Mayor Main picked up the manuscript, flipped through it, stroking his long beard, and nodded in praise: "Well written. Yog, you have made great progress. Now, you can help me copy the manuscript, which saves me a lot of trouble." …Throw that old manuscript into the fireplace and burn it.”
Even if you keep the cotton paper carefully, after two or three years, the paper will become brittle and may break if touched lightly. Myne’s manuscripts written on cotton vellum over the past few years fill a wall of bookshelves. Some manuscripts have reached the point where they need to be replaced with paper and transcribed.
Myne was getting older and was a little incapable of doing it himself, so he asked the literate half-elf guards to copy for him. They all complained a lot, or else they just copied and scribbled, and the words they wrote were terrible.
Fortunately, Yog was willing to do the job, and Myne was very pleased with the results of his labor. Although the barbarian boy obviously wanted to please him, Myne recognized that Yog's talent and quality were better than his most proud disciple.
The barbarian boy burned the old manuscript page by page. Seeing the regret on his face, Myen couldn't help but show a kind smile and said kindly: "Yog, you have worked hard these days. What reward do you want?"
Yog said in fear: "Teacher, this is what I should do. I... also like to do these things. I can't ask for rewards."
With plenty of food and a warm place to live, Yog grew rapidly during the more than a month he spent here. Although his body is not as thick as an adult barbarian, he is still bigger and stronger than most half-elves. The tall barbarian boy rubbed his hands and looked embarrassed. He looked very well-behaved and sensible, which even made Mine feel some pity for him.
"The great sage Marv created monstrosities. He divided animals into two categories: intelligent species and beast species. Intelligent species also include human-like intelligent species and non-human intelligent species. Such as rock elves, half-elves, barbarians, and half-orcs They all belong to humanoid intelligent species. He said that humanoid creatures are naturally similar. They cooperate and have differences in the past, present and future. They can coexist and be hostile. This is because intelligent species can make different choices and produce different consequences. The result is a wonderful line of fate.”
Yog said uneasily: "Teacher, I don't quite understand what you said."
Main smiled slightly and sighed: "I'm just feeling a little emotional... Wiltok gave you an alloy dagger, and you accepted it without thinking much. I wanted to give you a reward, but you didn't dare to accept it. Isn't this The different choices you made?”
There was a warning sign in Yog's heart, and he didn't know how to answer the sage's question. He suddenly looked back at the door of the study.
A figure appeared outside the study door. He wore a black professional suit, a round hood and a mask, and lowered his head so that no one could see his face and eyes at all. The man in black lowered his hands naturally and stood there motionless. Yog could feel some kind of terrifying aura. His keen intuition told him that as long as he dared to shout, the man in black would kill him before he could make a sound!
Although his body was shaking uncontrollably due to fear, the barbarian boy still protected Mayor Mine behind him.
Mine was equally frightened. Joseph, a fourth-level archer, lives in this house with three professional guards, responsible for protecting his safety. In addition to the four professionals, there are eleven smart and well-behaved barbarian female slaves in the room. They have to take turns on duty, and not all of them will fall asleep.
The man in black appeared quietly in the study on the second floor without disturbing the professionals and barbarian slave girls in the room. It can be seen that his stealth ability is very good, and such a person is either a terrible assassin, or his strength far exceeds the fourth-level archer Joseph.
When Mein thinks, he can overcome all fears. He said calmly and softly: "Yog, this is my old friend coming to see me. Go back to your room quietly to sleep, close the door, and don't mention it to anyone."
"oh".
Yog looked warily at the man in black blocking the door, and saw him step into the study, turn his body sideways, and get out of the way.
The barbarian boy carefully passed by the man in black, then quietly closed the door and walked slowly to his room.
Seeing that the man in black did not take action to kill the barbarian boy, Mayor Maien secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled calmly and said: "Your Excellency, you are here late at night. You must have important matters for me, an old guy, right?"
The man in black raised his head and took off his hood and mask, revealing his true face. He looked to be twenty-seven or eight years old, with handsome appearance, a full forehead, a high nose bridge, thin lips and a pair of green eyes with vertical lines, showing a cold and stern temperament. The cheeks on both sides There are also strange black lines that extend all the way to the bottom of his neck.
"Lord Sage, we meet again." He half-knelt on the floor and whispered under the surprised gaze of Mayor Myne.
Myne rubbed his eyes in disbelief and said, "Hulant? You...didn't you lead the dragoons to capture the shadow lurkers a few days ago? Why are you back again?"
Hurant said in a deep voice: "I am ordered by Miss Victoria to pick you up and leave Braun Plantation."
"Victoria?"
Myen was startled, then let go of the bell rope hidden under the desk, looked at Xiulant carefully, and finally said with a smile: "Get up quickly, this old guy like me is not worthy of the kneeling ceremony of a Dragon Vein Venerable... You guys really surprised me, Hurant, the leader of the dragoons from the famous Golden Oak family, is actually from Nightingale."
"I have always been Miss Victoria's servant." Hulant stood up and said coldly: "The background of the Nightingale family is beyond the imagination of those rebels."
"As expected of the Nightingale with the longest history in the Zhuming Clan." Myne praised aloud, and then asked: "Your appearance makes me more confident in Victoria's plan. Does the Golden Oak Clan Chief know your identity?"
"He doesn't know." Hulant shook his head.
"It's a pity... If the famous Golden Oak family were also on our side, things would be much easier to handle." Myne nodded and stretched out his hand to ask Hulant to sit down, "Please sit down, we have time to chat slowly. This room The guards in the house are all mine.”
Hulant smiled bitterly and said: "Sir Sage, I'm afraid we don't have time to chat slowly. We must leave immediately!"
Myen put away the smile on his face and asked solemnly: "What happened?"
Hurant said quickly and clearly: "Three days ago, I took the dragoons to the northern forest to hunt shadow lurkers. In order to survey the nearby terrain, we passed through the ice and detoured to the north bank of the Krill River, and accidentally ran into the Outland Half The orcs were mobilizing their troops. I led the dragoons to fight a group of orc warriors, and then I was targeted by the elite orcs. After I tried to get rid of the pursuers, I came here specifically to pick up the adults and leave. I estimate that at the latest, Before dawn today, thousands of orc warriors will launch an attack on the plantation and the town of Braun."
"Sir, if we don't leave, it will be too late."
These days, Myne has been thinking about the issue of the orcs in the Outland. There are more than a dozen small barbarian tribes living near the Bolang Lake basin, with a total population of about five to six thousand. There is no doubt that the orcs who migrated from the outside world to the north shore of Lake Braun are also a large tribe with a population of more than 5,000. Otherwise, the local barbarians would have united to kill them or expel them from the territory.
Last autumn, the local barbarians were plundered by the Blackfire Orcs, and their food reserves were only enough to satisfy their hunger. If the orcs from the outside world rob the barbarians of their remaining winter supplies, it will inevitably lead to desperate resistance from the barbarians. But this did not happen, indicating that the orcs in the outer lands had food for the winter. They have gone through a long migration and are in desperate need of rest rather than waging war.
Precisely because the orcs from the outside world and the local barbarians restrained each other, Braun Town, which lacked military strength, could actually play a balancing role.
If the barbarians take the initiative to attack the invaders, no matter what the result is, they will eventually be taken advantage of by the half-elves in Braun Town. If the orcs from the outside world attack Braun Town, they will be stabbed in the back by the barbarians. As for the weak Braun Town, it would be good if it could hold its own territory. It had no ability to provoke the orc tribe on the other side of the lake.
Main analyzed that the three parties maintain a delicate balance and should be able to maintain it until next spring. By that time, it will be another situation.
Thousands of Outland Orcs are a piece of fat meat, and the Blackfyre Warchief will definitely eat them in one bite. Therefore, they either left the Lake Braun basin and continued migration; or according to the tradition of the orcs, the tribal leader accepted the challenge of the Blackfire Butcher.
Of course, none of this has anything to do with the town of Braun. It is basically impossible for Luoye City to expand its sphere of influence to the other side of Lake Braun.
Myne never expected that Hurant would break this balance. He didn't believe Hulant's rhetoric. Why did he go to the other side of the river to survey the terrain, just when the orcs mobilized their troops... This was to deceive the undead!
Even if the dragoons fought a battle with the orcs from the outer realm, they would not dare to assemble the main force and come to take revenge on the half-elves in Braun Town, and then hand their backs to the local barbarians.
Sage Maien has repeatedly deduced the current situation, and he has repeatedly considered strategies from the perspective of the leader of the orc tribe. He found that there was only one situation in which the orc tribe would mobilize in full force and destroy the stronghold of Braun Town. That is, the Orc tribe first made peace with the barbarians on the north shore of Lake Braun.
This scenario is entirely possible. If the Outland tribes want to stay in the Braun Lake Basin with abundant water, grass, and fertile land, they must first face the annexation of the Blackfire Tribe. The butcher in the tribe is dead! However, if the orc leader, as an outsider, first unites with the local barbarians, then captures the town of Braun, and takes all the land on the south bank of Lake Braun, the situation will be different.
Not only would the Blackfire Chief not stop it, but he would also be happy to see it happen, and would even secretly provide supplies to outsiders. The Orcs from Outland are the thugs of the Blackfire Tribe, bypassing the Peace Covenant and expanding the territory for the Blackfire Warchief. When the time is right, Chief Blackfire will just declare that these outsiders have been absorbed by Blackfire, end the war, and the entire Lake Braun basin will belong to Blackfire's territory from now on.
Mine hopes that the orc leader does not have such strategic vision, but things tend to develop in a bad direction. As the sage of the alliance, he must take precautions. Therefore, Main informed Hulant of his analysis. At that time, he hoped that the dragon cavalry from the famous Golden Oak family could stay to intimidate the orcs so that they would not dare to act rashly.
Hulant agreed very lightly, saying that after hunting the shadow lurkers, they would return to the plantation to garrison. The results of it? The shadow lurker didn't catch it, but it lured the orcs over.
It was not yet easy for Mein to tell whether Hulant was lying, but he became suspicious of his position. He frowned and tried calmly: "A full-scale invasion of orcs? That's troublesome... Last winter, Victoria came to see me quietly. She said there was a very important person and she hoped I could take care of her for a while. After she has taken care of some things, she will send someone to pick him up. Since I have the eyes and ears installed by Fallen Leaf City, I suggested that she put the man in the adventurer's home in Braun Town. Do you know about this? "
Hulant nodded expressionlessly and said: "I know, I am the one who came to pick up Wiltok on the order of the lady. However, the Steel Rock of the Earth Mother Temple intervened, and I failed to bring Wiltok out... ...I have sent my men to pick him up, I hope it will be in time."
Myen sighed secretly, no longer having any doubts in his heart. After all, Victoria is a princess on the run. Although Hulant is loyal to the famous Nightingale family, she has her own ideas. Victoria values Wiltok, but he may not. Since there was no way to get Wiltok out, he simply attracted the orcs to attack Braun Town. Even if Vertok died in the hands of an orc, it would be better than being obtained by another famous family.
Now, Vertok doesn't matter. The important thing is that Xiulant has a cruel and extreme temperament. If he doesn't leave with him, he may become a sage who is killed by the orcs... Myen did not show any emotion and nodded: "Can't save him. There's nothing we can do...Okay, let's leave now. But I still have a few men who want to leave together."
"Sir, the fewer people who know, the better, and the faster we act, the better."
"Joseph and I, plus three guards. We have eland mounts, so we won't delay our trip."
Main first locked the barbarian female slaves in the house into a large room and ordered them to stay inside and rest without making any noise. Then he called Joseph and three guards and left the mayor's mansion through the back door.
It was cold and dark outside, and there were still half-elf guards and barbarian slave girls patrolling the plantation. Joseph, the real captain of the guard, came forward and dismissed them easily. Mayor Mine did not alert anyone else. He walked all the way to the animal pen. He suddenly stopped, turned to look at the blacksmith shop next to him, thought for a moment, and signaled to Joseph: "Go and call Big George out."
Joseph nodded and went to knock on the window of the blacksmith shop. Not long after, a bald, strong man wearing a cloak came out of the blacksmith shop. He followed Joseph to the shadow of the corner, saw Mayor Mine and a few guards, and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Mayor, what are your orders for me to come out?"
Myen said calmly: "The orcs are coming, just before dawn. I tell you to escape quickly and run to the west. Don't make any noise."
Big George was startled and asked nervously: "Master, can you take me and my two apprentices with you?"
Mine shook his head and said: "Big George, it's not convenient for you to follow me. I will leave you a mount and supplies in the stable, but before you leave, do something for me."
Big George also understood that there might be another reason why Myne ran away overnight. It might not be a good thing for him to be wrapped up with him, so he nodded and bowed and said: "Thank you, sir, for informing me. If you want me to do anything, just tell me!"
Main mused: "It's not a big deal... You help me burn all the manuscripts I left in the study... If you don't have time, you can ask Yog for help. He lives on the second floor. Wiltok originally s room."
Big George was still confused at first. When he heard the mayor mention Yog, he frowned and gradually relaxed, grinned, showing his white teeth, and said with a simple expression: "Master, don't worry. I promise to give you your All the manuscripts will be burned... not a single one will be left."
************************
Yog sat on the bed in the room, flustered. Previously, he could hear clearly what happened when Mayor Mine quietly summoned the barbarian female slaves in the house and left with Joseph and others. Yog instinctively knew that something big would happen tonight. He wanted to escape from the plantation at all costs, but he did not dare to act without authorization.
Many people in the plantation had ill intentions towards him, especially Big George in the blacksmith shop, who was full of ill intentions. If he loses the protection of Mayor Mine, he believes that Big George will definitely find an opportunity to kill him.
At this moment, the malice is getting closer and closer. Yog knew intuitively that Big George had entered the house and was heading towards his room. But he still had hope in Mayor Mine and felt that Big George would not dare to mess around in the mayor's mansion.
The solid wooden door was pushed down from the outside, and even the iron door latch was knocked off. The tower-like figure of Big George appeared at the door. He looked around and didn't find Yog in the room, so he touched his bald head and said to himself: "Hey, it's not here. I'll go out and look for it."
Yog, who was hiding under the bed, didn't dare to breathe. It wasn't until Big George's heavy footsteps came downstairs that the sense of danger gradually subsided. After a while, he climbed out from under the bed holding a wooden stick and tiptoed. Go to the door and stick your head out to take a look.
There was no figure on the left, and on the right... Big Georgetown's thick and thick body was leaning against the wall, with a joking smile on his face, and asked: "Yog, you are not sleeping under the bed so late, what are you looking for?"
Yog suddenly felt suffocated and dizzy. He hid the wooden stick behind his back and stammered: "Big, big George, what are you going to do? This is Teacher Mine's house, you, you can't hit me... …”
Big George chuckled and said: "You little bitch, are you surprised that danger prediction doesn't work? That's right, Teacher Myen probably didn't tell you that I am an oak guard, nor did I tell you that the oak guard can Blind the perception of danger. Let me teach you one more thing. Next time you hide under the bed, don’t lock the door...Barbarians are all idiots, and of course the little bitch is also an idiot."
Yog inspired his inner courage in the desperate situation. He took advantage of Big George to mock him and decisively used the laundry hammer to slam into the opponent's chest and abdomen.
Barbarian warriors are born with divine power, and Yog's current strength is not much worse than that of an adult barbarian. The wooden stick that could be used by the barbarian slave girl to hammer wash clothes was hard enough. It hit Big George's stomach hard, and with a click, it was squeezed and broken from the middle by Yog's powerful force.
The bald blacksmith opposite didn't move at all. He patted the sawdust off his clothes and continued to taunt: "A little bitch is a little bitch, and he can also sneak attacks." As he said that, he raised his big rough calloused hands and grabbed the barbarian boy's hand. neck.
Yog slipped and nimbly avoided Big George's grasp, turned around and ran away.
Big George hit Yog's vest with a backhand punch. The heavy force knocked him away and hit the wall with a loud noise.
"Mr. Wiltok's sliding steps, you have learned well." Big George approached Yog, who was leaning against the corner with bleeding from his mouth and nose, and said coldly: "You can fool Mr. Wiltok, but you can't fool me. Look. Look, this fierce and cannibalistic look reveals that you are a despicable barbarian... I don’t have time to play with you anymore, so for the sake of Mr. Wiltok, I will give you a good time now."
Yog let out the roar of a dying beast, as if hoping that this would trigger the barbarian's blood-rage talent. The strange scars burned by lightning on his face shone with blue light. He instinctively raised his hands and shot a thick bolt of lightning at the bald blacksmith.
Big George didn't have time to dodge, and his body was shaking amidst the sound of "bah" electricity. When the electric light disappeared, the bald blacksmith, covered in black smoke and black smoke, fell to the ground.
Yog used up all his strength and knelt on the broken floor. He didn't even have the strength to raise his head. He breathed hard to refill his shrunken lungs with air. His blurry vision gradually allowed him to see the surrounding scene clearly, but he was horrified to find that Big George, who was badly burned and should have been dead, was squirming on the floor.
He's not dead? !
Yog was so frightened that he desperately wanted to stand up and defeat the opponent first. But it was harder than he thought. No matter how anxious he was, he still couldn't make a move to raise his head.
The vitality of the oak guard was terrifying. The seriously injured blacksmith climbed up unsteadily before Yog, and walked towards Yog step by step, making a hoarse but proud "ho, ho" sound from his mouth.
I'm done...Yog, who had just raised his head, closed his eyes in despair, but heard a thud, and the bald blacksmith fell down again. This time, he couldn't get up again. Ingrid, the slave girl leader of the plantation, took an iron drill and gave the blacksmith a fatal blow from behind.
Yog opened his eyes again and said in a weak voice: "Ingrid..."
"Don't talk." Ingrid, who was plump and beautiful, bent down to pick up Yog, returned to the room, put him on the bed first, then brought him a water jug, held his head, and carefully fed him water.
After drinking some water, Yog regained some energy and felt the warm embrace of Ingrid. He said a little embarrassedly: "I'm fine, you...let me go."
Instead, Ingrid hugged her even tighter, and even brought her face closer, looked into Yog's eyes at close range, and asked with a half-smile: "Are you sure?"
Yog unnaturally avoided the fiery sight of the barbarian slave girl, and said: "When the teacher comes back and sees me killing Big George...I will implicate you, please leave quickly."
Ingrid raised the corners of his mouth, showing a gentle smile, shook his head and said, "You said you wanted to marry me as your queen, have you forgotten it?"
"That's... me, Ingrid, thank you for saving me. Please leave quickly." Yog anxiously urged Ingrid to leave as soon as possible.
Ingrid's eyes flashed and he continued to ask: "You haven't forgotten what you said back then, right? Or do you think I'm ugly?"
Yog shook his head and said: "No, you are very beautiful, very beautiful. As long as I can survive, I will definitely marry you. But, Big George is dead! The teacher will never let me go. You hurry up!"
"Don't you understand yet? Mayor Main abandoned us, and it was he who sent Big George to kill you. Otherwise, Big George wouldn't have come to you just after the mayor left." Ingrid sighed, softly He said in a loud voice: "My barbarian female slaves discovered that Mayor Mine had left the plantation. I received the news, and when I went to the door again, I saw that they had disappeared on the eland. I came to the mayor's house and wanted to ask What happened to the barbarian slave girl here? You see Big George coming up to trouble you alone. If the mayor doesn't want you to die, he will remind you to be careful about Big George when he leaves... What, you don't believe what I said? "
Yog shook his head with a bleak expression: "I know, I have always known that the teacher also wants to kill me. I don't understand, what did I do wrong?"
"It's just because he is a half-elf and you are a barbarian and you have learned his knowledge." Ingrid said lightly: "But it is different now. The plantation will usher in a new owner. We must be prepared. I will go and take care of him. Burn the manuscripts left by Myen. In this way, the knowledge you learn can help us gain a higher status. Also, you must not tell others that you can use the power of lightning. There has never been a male shaman among the barbarians. Yog, you are the favored one of the great heavenly spirit, and you are destined to be the king of our barbarians. The premise is that you must not let the orcs know!"
Yog was silent for a moment and said dullly: "Where is the dagger that Wiltok gave me? You have to return it to me."
Giving weapons made by one's own hands has a special meaning to the barbarians who have just come of age. It is a kind of recognition from their fathers or elder brothers. Ingrid asked in confusion: "Vertok is also a half-elf, is it any different from Myne?"
Yog didn't speak, just shook his head. But he kept repeating in his mind: Wiltok looked at me the same way he looked at anyone else. He also gave me a dagger he made with his own hands... He is my brother.
