In the fifty-sixth year of the double star calendar, spring has arrived for more than a month. The rainy weather of early spring has passed. Although there are occasional light rains, the weather can be said to be refreshing and cool. There is no bitter cold wind. The soft spring breeze on the cheeks makes people happy.
The Bagan Plain is a small piece of land protruding from the southeast of the Oulan continent. To the east is the Yilan continent separated by a narrow and rugged strait. To the east is a continuous mountain range; the south is jokingly called the “big lake” In the Mara Sea, ships sailing in the dark sea can reach the wider sea after sailing through this “big lake” and passing through the straight and narrow strait to the west; the west is a contiguous mountainous area with occasional fragmented plains and hills. Going further west, you can reach the coast of the Yard Sea with a large number of city-states; to the north is the dark sea completely enclosed by land, and further north is the endless plains of Oland.
A small-scale motorcade is walking on the Bagan Plain. The convoy has two carriages with people, three carriages carrying goods and food and drink; there are 20 attendants, 22 mercenaries, and 12 church knights.
This convoy set out from Fort King, the capital of the Double Eagle Empire, and proceeded along the Oran Plain adjacent to the Sea of Darkness, crossed the border, and entered the territory of the Crescent Empire, heading north, and then west. , To go to the Republic of Vis on the far seaside of Yarid. The convoy did not embark on a long journey for trade, but for a marriage. The Murinin family of the Double Eagle Empire sent a young girl to marry the nobles of the Vis Republic. It should have been a good thing for celebration, but when the convoy left King’s Castle, it was silent. There were no family members to see off, and no residents of the capital came to watch the excitement. The convoy set off in the early morning before the sun rose.
Padin Edgar, who rode at the forefront, is the leader of the team and the leader of the church knights. Padin Edgar is tall and strong, with crisp short hair, and a burly body in white and silver half-length chain mail, but he does not wear a golden blouse that represents the status of a church knight-every church knight is like this ——Only the linen undercoat under the chain mail. The strong knight had firm eyes and kept gazing ahead, and nothing seemed to be able to shake his will. The carriage behind him was carrying a girl from the Murining family and her two maids, and he had to be cautious.
Someone rode forward and walked side by side with him, “Knight Edgar.” The man came was an old man with white beard and hair, named Olga Negro, wearing a maroon robe, on his chest , Arms and thighs wear leather armor. Not a knight, but one of the attendants, one of the few warriors among the attendants. Although he is old, he is not as big as Padin, he is full of energy, his eyes are piercing, and he can’t see the slightest senility. “How far we have to go before we go west.”
Olga comes from the Yilan continent and doesn’t know much about the continent.
“Before heading west, we have to pass through the forest of the dead.” Padin replied, “After passing through the forest of the dead, follow the post road to the west until the Yarid Sea. Then along the coast If the city-states go north, they will be able to reach the Republic of Vis safely.”
Olga said, “Can’t we go this route directly around the forest of the dead?” The old man looked a little worried, and he didn’t like to walk through the forest with unknown names ahead.
Padin shook his head, “If you go around, there will be a lot of unnecessary distances. The rugged mountain road may attract a large number of bandits in the mountains.” He obviously saw the unease of the old warrior. Continued: “Olga, you are from the Yilan Continent. It is not surprising that you don’t understand the situation here. The Forest of the Dead sounds unlucky, but it’s just to miss the soldiers of the Double Eagle Empire who fought and died here. , Just came up with this name. Although there are beasts in the forest, they are all weak beasts, and they are not too threatening to us. They are much better than cunning bandits.”
Olga said nothing more to Padin’s confident rhetoric, just nodded slightly. It can be seen that he is not very satisfied with these remarks, but Padin, the leader of the team, has said so, plus he is really not familiar with Oland, so he doesn’t say much. He changed the subject, “The Forest of the Dead, is this the resting place for the soldiers of the Double Eagle Empire?”
Padin’s bright eyes dimmed a little, “Yes. In the civil strife a hundred years ago, many loyal fighters died here in order to defend the glory of the Double Eagle Empire.”
“But this is already the territory of the Crescent Empire.” Olga said.
“Yes.” When Padin heard Olga’s words, he squeezed out some words after a while, “It is no longer the domain of the Double Eagle Empire. Those loyal souls stayed in a place that did not belong to him. On the land.”
“I’m sorry, Knight Edgar.” Olga put her hand on her chest and bowed to Padin on horseback to salute, “I have no intention of offending you and reminding you of these unpleasant things…”
“Don’t mind, Olga.” Padin squeezed out a smile, “That was a long time ago, so long as neither you nor I were born. The soldiers who have experienced those battles are now Back to the dust.” Padin was not dissatisfied with Olga’s words. He was not a citizen of the Double Eagle Empire. He was born on the peninsula further west, and he was so emotional when he remembered what happened in this land.
Since Padin is so generous, Olga can’t say anything.
At this time, a church rider on horseback rode up to face him. The knight was sent out by Padin to scout, and now he rushed back, there should be something to discover.
”Edgar Knight.” The church knight reported to Padin, “There is a small village ahead, and there is nothing strange about it. Looking further ahead, you can already see the edge of the forest.” Not affiliated with the church, so although he is the leader, the church knights don’t have a special title for him. The church knight hesitated for a while before continuing: “I observed it a little closer. The faith of the villagers in that village should be the same as ours, and the **** of light should be the only god.”
Padin nodded, “Okay, you can go back to the team.”
The knight saluted Padin and returned to the team.
Padin said to Olga: “The Forest of the Dead is not as ominous as you think. There are even villages on the edge of the forest. There is not much danger.”
Olga nodded, not twisting his brows again. “That’s good.” His answer was succinct and clear, and then he returned to the side of the carriage behind, opened the curtain, and talked to the people inside. The faintly intermittent voice would occasionally reach Padin’s ear.
Padin thought, this old warrior is probably comforting the disturbed girl. It has been half a month since I left King’s Castle. If this trip is not a major problem, then for this girl, there will be no chance to go home again in the future. She will stay in the more affluent Republic of Vis, and become the wife of a certain nobleman, having children until she dies.
If there are no accidents.
At this time, another church knight came to Padin. This is a young man named Leo Pasting. He didn’t wear a helmet, he had blond hair and looked handsome. His eyes are full of young people’s enthusiasm, as well as the pride of being a church knight, and his firm belief in himself, which makes him look like a newly grown lion, full of passion and strength.
“Knight Edgar, I heard that there is a village ahead. Those are our poor believers.” Leo Zema came to Padin and said to Padin.
“Knight Pastin, your compassion and your kindness are commendable.” Padin said, “But they are already citizens of the Crescent Empire, and any reckless behavior of you may provoke the new The Moon Empire will bring unnecessary trouble to you, your family, and your country. So don’t use emotions, okay?”
“Of course, I know what the mission of this trip is, and I will never get out of the way.” Leo said. Padin’s advice calmed the young man’s enthusiasm a little. “Let the Lord bless these poor people who are ruled by paganism.” Leo drew a cross on his chest. “Those robbers also heard the information my brother brought back, saying that it was a defector’s village and needed to be purified.” When Leo said this, his face was full of disgust. The robber he was talking about was not someone else, but the 22 mercenaries. These soldiers and church knights who came for money have never dealt with them. Although both parties believe in the **** of light, the sect was divided into two hundreds of years ago. On one side is the Illuminati, which is far in the west and north, and the other is the Holy Spirit, which is rooted in the easternmost part of Oland. The conflicts between the two churches have a long history, and the believers of each other regard each other as enemies, and hatred has taken root and spread for hundreds of years.
Padin frowned, “Take care of the barbarians from the north, don’t let them make trouble. Go and warn Gris and take care of his men before entering the forest of the dead.”
Leo held his fist and knocked on his chest, “I won’t let those heretics hurt the believers of the Holy Spirit, otherwise, I don’t mind letting them bleed on this land.”
“If Gris has any dissatisfaction, report it to me immediately.” Padin continued, “I will never condone or condone people who don’t cooperate.”
Leo nodded, his heart settled because of Padin’s words, and the eyes looking at Padin became hot. Padin is not a believer of the Holy Spirit, but his knighthood and unquestionable strength have made this young man admire him. When Leo looked at Padin, he fantasized more than once that he could one day reach the height of this powerful knight.
Paddine could of course feel the hot gaze, but he turned his head as if he hadn’t seen it.
Leo turned his horse’s head, returned to the rear queue, rushed to the mercenaries who walked in groups in twos and threes, and then had some little disputes.
Leo did not look back to Padin. Padin knew that these unpleasant mercenaries would probably settle down temporarily and would not cause trouble in the village in front.
Paddin doesn’t like these savage mercenaries who are indistinguishable from bandits. They will only plunder and cruel everything in the name of faith, but never confess their crimes to the God of Light, thinking that all of them are It is a privilege given to them by the God of Light. But no matter how much Padin dislikes these undisciplined mercenaries, for the purpose of this trip, he must get along with these mercenaries temporarily. Not only he was patient, but the knights of the church, and the attendants who were accompanying him, were patient with these rude and rude fellows.
At this time, Olga returned to Padin, “I heard the movement behind, your knight and mercenaries have a dispute. What happened?” Olga asked.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a small matter.” Padin said, “Just let the mercenaries rest a bit, don’t mess things up.”
Olga turned her head and looked at the carriage with the noble girl in her eyes, with worry in her eyes, “Before I left the imperial capital, I had always opposed hiring such mercenaries to protect Miss Romeona. They acted. Rude, and the reviews were not very good in the imperial capital. Residents are full of complaints against these mercenaries.”
“I also hate these savage northerners.” Padin said, “They have no faith at all, they only care about money… but we have to take them. The journey is so long and you can see Yari Before Dehai, I don’t know what difficulties are waiting for us. Bandits, monsters, underground residents, and even wild elves… may attack us. Therefore, we can only tolerate these well-trained mercenaries temporarily , At least their combat effectiveness can be guaranteed. And they got a small bag of heavy gold coins~IndoMTL.com~ These money will at least keep them from rebellious.”
“I hope so.” Hearing what Padin said, Olga could only nod slightly. He still doesn’t trust those mercenaries, but he believes in the noble and powerful knight in front of him.
“How is Miss Romeona? Is there anything wrong with it?” Padin asked.
Olga shook her head and sighed, “I was driven to that distant and unfamiliar country before I was an adult, and I had to endure the bumps on the road. Where can I get better? Oh, poor girl.”
“When she arrives in the Republic of Vis, she won’t think of her hometown again.” Padin said, “The city-state on the water does not have the solemnity of the King’s Castle, but it is prosperous and prosperous. It is suitable for a girl to live in. Romantic place.”
“No matter what that remote floating republic is like, it is undoubtedly better than King Castle.” Olga said. It was probably that these words touched his sadness and made his expression look a little sad, “As long as Miss Romiuona doesn’t need to be angry in that dilapidated place, it’s a good thing wherever she goes.”
Padin was silent and did not answer. The dilapidated place Olga said was naturally the king’s fort of the Double Eagle Empire. Padin’s words have the feeling of being scrupulous about residents like Olga, but Olga is not a native in the true sense of the Double Eagle Empire, and he is not at all polite when talking about King’s Castle.
And Olga made no mistake, the so-called solemn castle of the king is now nothing more than a dead city. The so-called Double Eagle Empire is now just a sunset country surrounded by the Crescent Empire, leaving only the King’s Fort alone.
The flag of the double eagle hangs alone on the continuous mottled walls of the King’s Fort. There is still sunlight shining on the flag, but the double-headed eagle is dying, and is already a dying bird in its cage.