"It turns out to be a man with a wolf head. No wonder I said there are so many wolves on the road."
Zeref muttered. He had heard before that wolf-headed men had the ability to summon wolves, and now it seemed that it was indeed true.
Zeref knelt down and pulled out the other two crossbow arrows from the heads of the two wolf-headed men.
Although these crossbow arrows stained with brains and pieces of flesh look disgusting, the number of crossbow arrows they have is actually limited.
If the crossbow arrow itself is not damaged, it is natural to recycle it as much as possible.
"As expected of the guy who was favored by the general, this is the first time I've seen your 'little wild boy' skills."
Zeref shook the two crossbow arrows, letting the flesh and blood on them splash to the ground, and then wiped them dry with a rag.
Zeref saw that there was nothing wrong with the restored arrowhead, so he put it back into the quiver.
Heimer and his party were attacked by wolves on the way and were forced to change their route.
They chose to take the mountain road to Camode City, where the Northern Army was stationed. During this period, the boy who had been sleepy also woke up.
This young man, whom Zeref called a "little wild boy," didn't speak much after he woke up, as if he had not yet recovered from the shadow of the battlefield.
The boy holding the crossbow sighed. He thought Zeref was just making a fuss at the moment.
Of course, the young man has returned to normal now. The original sadness and hesitation in his eyes are no longer visible, and he even smiles occasionally.
Although compared to the noisy kid in Zeref's memory, this young man is obviously much quieter now.
Zeref thought to himself: Sure enough, after experiencing a big event, a person's personality will change to some extent.
At the same time, I felt a little bit distressed at the change in this child.
"In this dense jungle, you shot three arrows, and each arrow was accurately hit at the most useful place. It was like the arrows had eyes. This skill is what some of the gods I knew in the army
Even the shooters are afraid they can’t compare to you.”
Heimer was telling the truth. He admired the young man's archery skills very much.
Although I have not used military crossbows much due to the different types of arms, I have had some exposure to them.
The improved military crossbow in the hands of the young man has greatly improved its rate of fire, range and lethality, but in terms of accuracy, it still cannot get rid of the problem of large deviations in the crossbow's long-range aim.
It is not easy to hit a target far away.
Almost only those veterans who are proficient in archery and can accurately judge the firing arc of crossbow arrows on site can achieve "eight out of ten shots".
"This kind of thing should be considered a talent."
The young man didn't know how to explain his ability to these two people, so he vaguely covered it with the word "talent".
"Talent...what an enviable thing."
Heimer took the rag handed over by Zeref, wiped the bloody sword body dry, and put it back into the scabbard. He sighed:
"If I had been more 'talented' in some things and learned more things, maybe I wouldn't have had to leave my hometown and come here."
"Ha! Lord Heimer, is it the rich lady who made you regret it?"
Zeref, who was already acquainted with him, had already become familiar with Heimer after these days of "sharing weal and woe". Even joking about personal matters with Heimel seemed natural.
"Yes, her name is Freya. She has beautiful blond hair and is a very beautiful girl."
However, Zeref did not expect that the upright Heimer would actually take the conversation, and also tell the other person's name and characteristics, so he must indeed be the person.
"Oh?! So what happened between you and that lady?"
Zeref's appetite was whetted. He was always a gossip.
Zeref was naturally very interested in the life experience of this knight who looked like the protagonist of a love story in the words of the bard.
"Let's talk about it next time! Boy, what are you doing?"
But this time, Heimer did not continue Zeref's words, but suddenly turned his attention to the boy who had been silent.
Regardless of whether it was Zeref or Heimel, they both called the child "little wild boy" or "boy", titles that were not considered names.
This is because this young man with black hair and black eyes has no name.
The family that this unknown boy originally belonged to seems to have strangely not given the boy a name.
General Wenacodo, who took the boy in, did not name him, nor did he plan to give him a name.
Therefore, this boy has never had what ordinary people should have at birth.
"Come here quickly!!"
That was the call of the young man. The young man now put aside the crossbow in his hand and lay on the edge of the cliff.
This is not a safe behavior. If the boy moves out even a few inches, he will probably turn over and fall off the cliff.
"What's wrong?!"
When Heimer and Zeref saw the boy's condition, they immediately understood that there must be something under the cliff.
The reason they came here wasn't just because they found traces of wolf-headed men here.
After all, Heimer had already decided that one less thing would be better than one more thing on the road, so naturally he would not get involved in this muddy water.
However, they saw the human boy being chased by the wolf-headed man through the telescope, and realized that this matter was related to the life and death of a civilian. Heimer had no intention of sitting idly by.
But before they arrived, they had seen that the child, who might be a nearby villager, had fallen off the cliff, and there were not many wolf-headed murderers. The Heimer Sanbian people decided to teach these orcs a lesson.
"That man is still alive."
The young man who already understood the situation said.
"What!"
Heimer was shocked. He and Zeref were lying on the edge of the cliff, looking in the direction pointed by the boy next to them.
The villager they thought was dead actually stubbornly grabbed a pine tree growing on the cliff.
This pine tree, which was not strong, was swaying in the wind. Obviously, the root system of the tree growing between the rock walls was not strong. And the half-grown child was lying on this precarious tree.
This man's condition is very critical.
"Zerf, please unpack your luggage quickly. We have to get those cloths."
Upon seeing this, Heimer immediately asked Zeref to get the cloth wrapped around the luggage. Although the cloth was not long, if it could be connected together, it might still be able to reach the location of the cliff pine.
"OK!"
Zeref immediately planned to get up and pick up the luggage with Heimer. At the same time, he did not forget to shout to the people below: "Hey! Hold on! We are here to rescue you."
But the young man had no intention of joining them, but seemed to understand the fate of the person in front of him and did not want to work in vain.
Before the villagers below could answer, the young man sighed and said, "No need, he is dying."
"I can't hold it anymore!"
Blainey raised his head and shouted loudly to the people on the edge of the cliff.
He didn't expect that someone would come to save him, but in this situation, he had no hope of being saved.
He fell too far, and although luckily he hung on a tree and did not fall directly to death, he was still more than ten meters away from Heimel and the others, which was beyond the reach of Heimel and the others.
Maybe it would be possible to tear all their cloths into strips and piece them together.
But regardless of whether the rope made of this cloth can support a person's weight, they don't have the time to do it now.
"Are you soldiers?!!"
Blaney could only see three heads from his current position, and he couldn't see the specific faces of those people.
Blainey didn't know exactly how many people came to rescue him, but when he saw Heimer wearing an iron helmet, he guessed their identities.
"Yes!!"
Because of the long distance and the strong wind in the valley, both sides had to shout to make each other understand what they were saying.
Faced with Blainey's question, Heimel responded loudly. They were indeed soldiers, but they were just a broken army.
"Great! Have you defeated those monsters?"
"Yes!!"
Blainey shouted excitedly, ignoring the chirping of the tree under him, and waved vigorously to the people above him.
"Please! Those monsters have entered the village! Go help the village!"
"Hey! Don't move!"
The boy seemed like he couldn't stand it any longer, so he shouted to Blainey below.
"You're about to fall!!"
"I know!"
The pine tree growing between the cliffs had begun to lean, and Blaney had to hold on to the branches near the roots.
The rocks, soil and gravel at the roots of the pine trees are constantly falling out of the rocks, accompanied by the sound of broken roots.
Clearly, he doesn't have much time.
"You guys go help the village!"
He shouted to the teenager and the others, and the branches began to give out their final groans.
"Finally! Thank you!"
Farewell...
Thick tree roots were pulled out of the rock and fell in the howling wind.
This pine tree took root here because a pine cone was accidentally carried to the cliff by strong wind many years ago.
It's not that this pine tree has any special habits, it's just that it was forced by fate.
In such a harsh living environment, it would be difficult for it to survive.
But it just relied on that bit of dew, the occasional sunlight coming from above, and the leftover nutrients from other trees, and relied on its survival instinct to survive.
Although compared to other species of its kind, its life is more difficult and its body is smaller.
But it is still persisting until today.
It's already the limit.
The pine tree finally broke away from the cliff and brought a person's life to its end.
"Hey... Lord Heimer, what should we do next?"
The three of them were silent for a long time, and Zeref broke the dead silence. Facing the unexpected ending, the young man lowered his head and remained silent.
And Heimer gave the answer that everyone was thinking:
"Walk."
"Where to go?"
Zeref confirmed to Heimer that now that the number of invading orcs is not large, it would not be troublesome for them to take a detour directly from the mountains to Camode City, but if they cause more trouble, they may not be able to arrive safely.
"That child's village."
"Which village?"
But Heimer had already made up his mind. He climbed up from the edge of the cliff and walked to the edge of the forest.
The soldier put his bag on his back, picked up his sword, and looked at the human village hidden by trees and located at the foot of the mountain.