At the same time (?), on a coastal peninsula in southern Greenland.
The King of France's dedicated amphibious warship [Leo] landed on a flat terrain on the shore of the peninsula. The concealment system was kept on along the way, and the entire landing process was silent.
"Ah, there seems to be a village in the distance." In the bridge, Bailey observed the scene on the holographic image screen and said. He originally thought that there would be no other settlements inhabited deep in this desolate frozen soil. Unexpectedly,
There are still people here.
"Well, yes, yes." Elaine replied: "Well, that's where the exiles live."
"Exile?" Daniel asked curiously.
"Even the Viking immigrants at Cape Fawell cannot accept them, they are the exiles among the exiles." The White Lion boy replied, "Because I can't live in Cape Fawell, so I moved here."
I came to the peninsula. There is a retroactive warm current on the seaside here, which is slightly warmer than other places. It is more suitable for living."
Although "livable" is relative, it's just a slightly less harsh area in a very short and harsh environment.
"Originally, we were going to rent a boat here to go to Atlantis. But now, there is no need to rent a boat. We parked the [Leo] here and did not bother the villagers. We went to Atlantis by ourselves.
Let's go to Lantis."
"Why don't you go and have a look?" Bailey stared at Elaine with big watery eyes: "You don't need to prepare some supplies and the like, and then explore the Lost City?"
"Come on, I've brought enough supplies already." A drop of sweat broke out on Elaine's forehead. Although he knew what Bailey had planned, he really didn't want to have anything to do with the people from that small village if possible.
Although the villagers of the Exiles' Village cannot be said to be extremely vicious, they are also extremely xenophobic.
It was originally a group of isolated and exclusive Vikings, and the heretics who were excluded from this group of Vikings settled here to form a settlement. It can be imagined that the villagers are some troublesome people.
"Big brother hates the villagers there?" Bailey noticed Elaine's thoughts and asked.
"Well... So, I came here with my father before and wanted to seek help from the villagers. In the end, it took a lot of effort to borrow a boat from them. I also paid a lot of money to buy supplies." Elaine
Thinking back to those unpleasant memories from the past.
"I understand. They are all a bunch of bastards." Bailey nodded.
"Well, it's not considered a jerk." Elaine said depressedly: "By the way, who taught you to say the word jerk? This, this is a curse word, you are not allowed to say it."
"Okay." The little fox stuck out his tongue.
"Is bastard considered a curse word..." Daniel asked depressedly.
Elaine glanced at Daniel a little unhappily, her look telling Daniel not to hinder him from teaching the children.
"Forget it, just pretend I didn't say it." A drop of sweat appeared on the forehead of the Silver Knight boy, and he flinched.
"It would be better to at least go and say hello?" However, Queeg said: "There's no harm in it, right? Go out and rely on friends?"
Elaine frowned.
"I also think it would be better to at least say hello to the local residents. Although we are just passing by, we are considered intruders for the time being." Daniel also nodded in agreement: "It seems inappropriate to go to Atlantis without saying a word."
"Yeah, Atlantis doesn't belong to them." Elaine said unconvinced: "How do you say it? It seems like we have to ask the locals for permission to go to Atlantis?"
And those exiles are not locals, they are just immigrants who have settled here. I am afraid they have not taken root here for more than a hundred years. The gangsters who have been here for more than a hundred years have suddenly become landlords? Why?
joke.
But Bailey looked at Elaine expectantly. So did the smelly leopard and the white-haired young knight. Elaine was a little uncomfortable.
"Okay, go, just go." He compromised: "It's just that we can't sue and tell them that we plan to go to Atlantis. Just say we are travelers. No, otherwise we will definitely be accused by that group of people."
The despicable guy extorted a fortune."
A blackmail. Was what he just said a blackmail? He couldn't believe that he would say such a thing. If it were Elaine, the stupid white bear man from before, he would definitely not even know that he was blackmailed. Now
Elaine, the white lion, is so shrewd that she has anticipated that she will be blackmailed.
(Is it because the size of the brain has improved, or is it because the IQ has become higher...)
"But there is nothing in this ghost place except ice and snow." Daniel asked doubtfully: "We suddenly visited that village. Even fools know that we are going to Atlantis, right?"
"Hmm..." Elaine touched her chin and fell into deep thought. There really was no better excuse to make the villagers believe that they were just here for sightseeing.
"The legendary pure land, the Golden Land (El-Dorado)." Bailey suddenly said an unfamiliar word.
"What?"
"According to legend, there is a pure land hidden in the American continent, a paradise full of gold, fertile land, and warm as spring all year round." The little fox replied: "The Vikings traveled and searched desperately in the American continent, and even painted pictures.
The purpose of publishing [Map of Vinland] is to find the legendary land of gold. I have seen many legends about it in adventure stories. I don’t know if it really exists, but the Vikings must still be there.
Be superstitious about its existence. If big brother mentions this to those Vikings, maybe they will buy it."
Of course, Elaine and the others were not looking for the Golden Land at all, and how could a paradise-like pure land be hidden in such a world of ice and snow. But using this reason to frighten those greedy Viking exiles seemed to be enough.
If the exiles thought that Elaine had the clue to go to the Golden Land, they might even receive courtesy.
...Forget it, who needs the courtesy of those poor people? It's already good enough that they don't blackmail Elaine.
"Why are you so insistent on going to that village, Bailey?" The white lion boy looked at the little fox intently and asked, "Is it just because it looks very novel there?"
"No. It's because big brother needs to relax first." Bailey grinned and said, "You are too tight."
I really can't say enough about him.
"Ming, I understand. Then let's go." Elaine sighed: "But, I just went to say hello, and I can't stay long."
"Hehe, of course." The little fox showed a proud smile.
(However, how could an adventurer who came to explore the Golden Land take a child with him? Wouldn’t it be illegal to take Bailey with him?)
(…But people who explore Atlantis are even less likely to take children with them.)
A drop of sweat broke out on Elaine's forehead.
(No matter what you do, it’s against the law...Oh, never mind!)
(Maybe those Viking exiles are idiots and won’t notice this detail at all?)
With some luck, Elaine put on travel clothes and took Bailey and others to the machinery warehouse.
The Iron Cavalry has an excellent cold protection system, so there should be no problems in this icy and snowy environment.
——There is no problem with the machine, but there is a problem with the human being, because he is afraid of the cold. Elaine himself is extremely afraid of the cold, because the transformation of this white lion man is just like a real lion, which exists to adapt to the tropical climate.
They are all short-haired, so it’s strange that they are not afraid of the cold. His White Bear transformation does have dense, soft down with excellent thermal insulation properties, which is suitable for survival in the polar regions. But Elaine didn’t want to show off his fur in front of the group of Vikings.
The white bear man will be recognized by his appearance.
Bailey is also afraid of the cold because he has asthma. If the little fox is allowed to move in the ice and snow like this, the lung disease will definitely relapse.
So Elaine asked Bailey to put on a thick cold-proof down jacket, and let the little fox wear the velvet shawl she bought for him before. Then she put a small dagger with flame rosin in its sheath that could continue to heat up.
Also let Bailey equip it and hang it on his chest like a necklace.
Just inhaling the cold air outside will freeze the lungs. Without strong enough lungs, it can't bear it. So facial protection is naturally indispensable. Cold-proof face masks are already prepared, and Elaine even added an extra one for Bailey.
A scarf made from fragments of the holy cloth. The little fox looked very happy. Although he was very bulky, the red scarf he wore made a pair with Elaine's red scarf.
"Here we go, hold on to me."
"Of course, hehe." Bailey hugged Elaine's waist tightly from the back seat of the cavalry.
Elaine and Bailey rode on one cavalry, and Daniel and Queeg rode on another. The two cavalry left the battleship and flew out, landing in front of the village.
The exiles' village was incredibly simple, and the outer wall was made of stone. But the Vikings used their strange power to embed huge stones deeply into the ground, and the huge stones acted as a barrier like an iron wall.
Despite the wind and snow, it is even quite sturdy. Under the protection of this "Stonehenge", although the villages inside are also stone houses, they use ice cubes to fill the stone gaps, giving the houses good thermal insulation performance. There seem to be wooden boards inside the stone houses.
The thermal insulation walls made of bricks further enhance the thermal insulation capacity of the stone house. Without this level of cold protection measures, humans would not even be able to survive in such an extreme environment.
"Stand! Who is that?" Seeing two iron cavalry approaching, the two Viking warriors guarding the entrance to the village shouted.
"I, we are just passing by and want to rest here." Elaine replied, jumping off the iron horse. Bailey also came down with him.
"Passing by?" One of the guards looked at Elaine fiercely, not softening his attitude at all because the White Lion boy had a child: "Why are you passing by? Where do you want to go? What are your intentions in coming here to rest?"
They are indeed rude Vikings. They are really annoying. Elaine even wants to turn around and leave. Dealing with these Viking exiles is a waste of time.
"Our expedition team planned to find the Golden Land, but my companions and I got separated from the team midway." Daniel interjected: "It's very windy and snowy outside, and we need some supplies. We can enter the village to escape the wind and snow.
Do you want to resupply?"
He was just talking. He didn't even think that the other party would agree to his request. They came to the village to announce their arrival purely to let the villagers know their arrival. If the villagers did not let them enter the village, they could just do it like this
Leave and no longer have anything to do with these Vikings who don't understand etiquette.
"Humph, it's another group of idiots who want to find the Golden Land." The guard laughed disdainfully: "You can't find it. That kind of thing never existed from the beginning. Leave this place as soon as possible while you still have your life.
."
"But--"
"But what? We can't let you suspicious guys enter the village, right? No, it's not impossible to go in. Leave your weapons and vehicles at the entrance of the village, pay ten Icelandic gold coins, and you can go in to rest, eat and stay.
There is an additional fee. If you don’t have Icelandic coins, you can also pay the equivalent amount of British gold coins."
Veins appeared on Elaine's forehead. Sure enough, dealing with these greedy exiles was the biggest mistake.
"I, let's go." He said to Daniel: "Just say hello, no, there is no need to go in."
"I think so." The young silver knight nodded and prepared to leave.
Fortunately, there was almost no wind or snow at this time, and the weather in the morning was pretty good. They had better reach Atlantis as soon as possible before the weather worsened.
The guards waved their hands contemptuously, as if they wanted to drive away the plague. Elaine and the others did not want to bring trouble on themselves, and had already launched their iron cavalry, preparing to fly away from this indifferent settlement.
"Wait." A voice stopped them. A particularly tall Viking suddenly appeared at the entrance of the village: "They are distinguished guests, let them in."
"Village chief, this——"
"Didn't you hear me? They are distinguished guests, let them in!" the village chief roared and repeated, and the terrifying roar echoed in the snowy field.
"Yes, yes!" The guards immediately gave way in a panic: "Guests, please come in!"
"What to do with the cavalry?" Daniel asked Elaine.
Elaine would never park the cavalry at the entrance of the village and let these Vikings steal it. But can the cavalry drive into the village? Wouldn't it be easier to steal the cavalry if it was parked in the village?
Although the iron cavalry can be locked up with an electronic lock, these Vikings who rely on brute force might just dismantle the iron cavalry and steal the air...
"Drive in. I won't let anyone touch your cavalry." The village chief ordered: "Then come to my house. I have to talk to you privately, Mr. Elaine."
Does he know Elaine's name?
But, how is that possible?!
The last time Elaine came here was as a White Bear, and he never told the people in this village his name. Not only does Elaine look different now than before, but his name should not have been leaked...
"Anyway, come with me first. I will explain it to you." the village chief emphasized.
Ten minutes later.
Elaine didn't even believe that she could be so stupid and actually follow the village chief's words. Then their group was now at the village chief's home, and it seemed that the village chief alone lived here.
"Well." The burly Viking bolted the door to his house, then turned to Elaine and said, "Long time no see, Your Highness."
……prince?
There is probably only one person in the world who would call Elaine like this. But it’s impossible, right? Meeting him here?
It's that impossibility.
The face of the Viking village chief was changing rapidly, and within a few seconds it turned back into a lion's face. The hair was blood-red.
"Ah, Edmund?!" Elaine exclaimed, but before he could scream, the blood lion Edmund covered his mouth with his hand.