Plantation, study room on the second floor of the mayor's residence.
At this moment, the night was deep, and the outside of the house fell into a cold darkness rendered by snow. The mayor's study was as warm as spring, and the candles were brightly lit. The wood burning in the fireplace exuded a faint smell of charcoal fire, and occasionally crackled, which was the sound of the wood burning in the fireplace.
The sound of crackling in the scorching flame. The candlelight of more than a dozen antelope candles illuminated every corner of the study.
Main held a cup of pine nut tea, sat leisurely on a chair covered with soft animal skins, and watched the barbarian boy Yog bend over the desk to practice copying with a quill.
The rustling sound of the pen tip across the cotton bark paper is like a never-ending string of notes. Yog, who concentrates on writing, is like an outstanding musician, playing beautiful music with pen and paper.
Main likes the sound of writing more than all music. He knows that Yog is in an excellent learning state just by listening with his ears. Some people have a photographic memory and can read ten lines at a glance; some people fall asleep when they pick up a book. If a person is talented
If he is smart, diligent and eager to learn, his future academic achievements will be limitless.
Yog was born to be this kind of person.
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, Myn has considered accepting him as a disciple.
thoughts.
...It's a pity that 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.”
No matter how carefully you keep cotton vellum paper, after two or three years of storage, the paper will become brittle and may break if touched lightly. In the past few years, Myne has written manuscripts on cotton vellum paper that fill a wall.
Bookshelf. Some manuscripts have reached the point where they need to be replaced with paper and copied.
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 they just copied and scribbled randomly, and the words they wrote were simply terrible.
Fortunately, Yog was willing to do this job, and the results of his labor made Myen very satisfied. Although the barbarian boy obviously wanted to please him, Myen recognized Yog's talent and quality as 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 up very quickly 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
, with an awkward look on his face, he appeared to be 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. In the past, present, and future, they have cooperated and had disagreements. They can coexist and also be hostile. This is because intelligent species can make different choices and produce different consequences.
As a result, a wonderful line of fate is formed.”
Yog said uneasily: "Teacher, I don't quite understand what you are saying."
Main smiled slightly and sighed: "I'm just feeling a little emotional... Wiltok gave you an alloy dagger, and you accepted it without much thought. 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 turned back and looked 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. The man in black lowered his hands naturally, and
Standing there motionlessly, 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 Myne behind him.
Myne was equally frightened. The fourth-level archer Joseph lived in this house with three professional guards, responsible for protecting his safety. In addition to the four professionals, there were eleven smart and well-behaved people in the house.
Pretty female slaves. They have to take turns to watch the night, and not all of them will fall asleep.
This man in black appeared quietly in the study on the second floor without alerting 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 is far beyond
Level 4 Archer Joseph.
When Main was thinking, he could overcome all fears. He calmly said softly: "Yog, this is my old friend coming to see me. Go back to your room to sleep quietly, close the door, and don't mention it to anyone."
"oh".
Yog looked warily at the man in black blocking the door. He stepped into the study, turned sideways, and got out of the way.
The barbarian boy carefully passed by the man in black, then quietly closed the door, and walked unhurriedly 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, took off his hood and mask, and revealed his true face. He looked about twenty-seven or eight years old, with a handsome appearance, a full forehead, a high nose, thin lips and a pair of hidden
The green eyes with vertical stripes exude a cold and stern temperament, and there are strange black stripes on both sides of the cheeks that extend to the bottom of the 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: "On Miss Victoria's order, I will pick you up to 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."
"You are worthy of being the Nightingale with the longest history in the Zhuming Clan." Myen 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, 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 and fought a battle with a group of orcs, and then I was targeted by the elite orcs. After I tried to get rid of the pursuers, I came here to pick up the adults and leave. I guess 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, Myen has been thinking about the issue of the Orcs from the Outland. There are more than a dozen small barbarian tribes living near the Lake Braun basin, with a total population of about five or six thousand. There is no doubt that the Orcs who migrated from the Outland to the north shore of Lake Braun
It is 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 their 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 robbed the barbarians of their remaining winter supplies, it would inevitably lead to desperate resistance from the barbarians. But this did not happen.
, indicating that the orcs in the outer lands have food for the winter. They have experienced a long migration and are in urgent need of rest rather than starting a war.
Precisely because the orcs in the outer realm 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 be taken advantage of by the half-elves in Braun Town in the end. If the half-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 is good if it can defend its territory.
Now, there is no way 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 then, it will be a different situation.
Thousands of Outland Orcs are a piece of fat, and the Blackfire Chief will definitely eat them in one bite. Therefore, they either leave the Braun Lake Basin and continue to migrate; or according to the tradition of the Orcs, the tribal leader accepts the Blackfire Butcher's offer.
challenge.
Of course, all this has nothing to do with Braun Town. It is basically impossible for Luoye City to expand its sphere of influence to the other side of Braun Lake.
Mine never thought that Hulant 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 lands, they would not dare to assemble their main force, come to take revenge on the half-elves in Braun Town, and then hand over their backs to the local barbarians.
Sage Myen 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 is only one situation in which the Orc tribe will mobilize in full force and destroy the Braun Town stronghold. That is, the Orc tribe
The orc tribe first made peace with the barbarians on the north shore of Lake Braun.
This situation is entirely possible. If the Outland tribes want to stay in the Braun Lake Basin with rich water, grass, and fertile land, they must first face the annexation of the Blackfire Tribe. The butchers in the tribe are doomed! However, if the Orc leader
As an outsider, if you first unite with the local barbarians, then capture the town of Braun, and take all the land on the south bank of Lake Braun into your pocket, the situation will be different.
Not only will the Blackfire Chief not stop it, but he is also happy to see it happen, and even secretly provides supplies to outsiders. The Outland Orcs are equal to the Blackfire tribe's thugs, bypassing the peace covenant, and expanding the Blackfire Chief's territory. Wait until the opportunity arises.
When the time comes, Chief Blackfire can 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.
Myne hoped that the orc leader did not have such a strategic vision, but things tend to develop in a bad direction. As a sage of the alliance, he must take precautions. Therefore, Myne informed Hurant of his analysis. He was then
I hope that the dragon cavalry from the famous Golden Oak family can stay and intimidate the orcs so that they will not dare to act rashly.
Hurant promised lightly, saying that after hunting the shadow lurkers, they would return to the plantation to garrison. The result? The shadow lurkers were not caught, but they attracted the orcs.
It was still difficult for Myen to tell whether Huland was lying, but he became suspicious of his position. He frowned and calmly tried: "A full-scale invasion of orcs? That's troublesome... Last winter, Victoria quietly
When she came to see me, she said that there was a very important person and she hoped that I could take care of her for a while. After she had taken care of some things, she would send someone to pick him up. Since I had the eyes and ears of Luoye City around me, I suggested to her at that time
Put that man in the Adventurer's House 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, Steel Rock from the Earth Mother Temple intervened, and I failed to bring Wiltok out...
…I have already sent my men to pick him up, I hope I can make it in time.”
Myne sighed secretly and had no more doubts in his heart. After all, Victoria was a princess who was on the run. Although Hurant was loyal to the famous Nightingale family, he had his own ideas. Victoria valued Vertok, but he might not. Since there was no way to
When Wiltok took it out, he simply attracted the orcs to attack Braun Town. Even if Wiltok died in the hands of the orcs, it would be better than being obtained by another famous family.
Now, Vertok is no longer important. What is important is that Hulant has a cruel and extreme temperament. If he does not leave with him, I am afraid he will become a sage who is killed by orcs... Myen is not revealed.
With no emotion at all, he nodded and said: "There is nothing we can do if we can't save him... Okay, let's leave now. But I still have a few subordinates 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 guard captain, came forward and easily sent them away. Mayor Mine walked all the way to the animal pen without alerting anyone else.
, 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 man wearing a cloak walked out of the blacksmith shop. He followed Joseph to the shadow of the corner and saw Mayor Mine and several guards.
He asked in a low voice: "Mr. Mayor, what are your orders when you come out to me?"
Myen said calmly: "The orcs are about to attack, 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, and 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 muttered: "It's not a big deal... 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, and 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 your
All the manuscripts will be burned... not a single one will be left."
**********************
Yog sat on the bed in the room, flustered. Earlier, he could clearly hear Mayor Myne quietly summoning the barbarian slave girls in the house, and leaving with Joseph and others. Yog instinctively knew that there would be something going on tonight.
When something big happened, he wanted to escape from the plantation at all costs, but he didn't dare to act without permission.
Many people in the plantation were malicious towards him, especially Big George in the blacksmith shop, who was full of malice. If he lost the protection of Mayor Mine, he believed that Big George would definitely find an opportunity to kill him.
At this moment, the malice was 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 did not dare to stay in the town.
Chaos in the long mansion.
The solid wooden door was pushed down from the outside, and even the iron door latch was knocked off. A figure like a large George Tower appeared at the door. He looked around, but did not find Yog in the room, so he touched his bald head,
He 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, but 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, why are you running out to find me?"
Yog suddenly felt a suffocating dizziness. He hid the wooden stick behind his back and stammered: "Big, big George, what are you going to do? This is Teacher Myen'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 Mine 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 hit the opponent's chest and abdomen with a laundry hammer.
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 can be used by the barbarian female slaves to hammer washing clothes is hard enough, and it hits Big George's stomach hard, with a click, and Yog's powerful blow
The force squeezed and broke it from the middle.
The bald blacksmith opposite did not 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, nimbly avoiding Big George's grasp, and turned around to run 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 quite well." Big George approached Yog, who was leaning against the wall 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 exposes you to be a despicable barbarian... I don’t have time to play with you anymore. 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 had no time to dodge, and his body shook non-stop amidst the sound of electric current. When the electric light disappeared, the bald blacksmith, whose body was black and smoking, fell to the ground.
Yog exhausted 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 blurred vision gradually allowed him to see the surrounding scene clearly.
But he was horrified to find that 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 more difficult than he imagined. 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 staggered up before Yog and walked towards Yog step by step. He let out 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 again. This time, he could not get up again. Ingrid, the leader of the barbarian female slaves in the plantation
He 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..."
"Stop talking." Ingrid, who was plump and beautiful, bent down and picked 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, Yinggri 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 gaze of the barbarian slave girl, and said: "When the teacher comes back and sees me killing Big George...I will cause trouble for you, please leave quickly."
Ingrid raised the corners of his mouth, showed a gentle smile, shook his head and said: "You said you wanted to marry me as your queen, have you forgotten it?"
"That's...I, Ingrid, thank you for saving me. Please leave quickly." Yog anxiously urged Ingrid to leave as soon as possible.
Yinggri'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 go quickly!"
"Don't you understand yet? Mayor Mine abandoned us, and he 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 their 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 of Big George when he leaves... What, you don't believe what I said?
"
Yog shook his head with a sad expression and said: "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 that Myen left behind. 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 grown up. It is a kind of recognition from their fathers or elder brothers. But Ingrid asked doubtfully: "Wiltok is also a half-elf, is it any different from Myne?
"
Yog didn't speak, just shook his head. But he repeated in his heart: Wiltok looked at me the same way he looked at anyone else. He also gave me the dagger he made by himself... He is mine.