Iron Powder and Spellcaster

On May 1st, it rained in the wasteland with small hailstones.

This is the first rainfall after a long dry season, announcing the arrival of the rainy season.

From this day on, Herd herdsmen will gradually bring their animals to higher ground where it is cooler.

When the dry season comes, they will lead the animals back to low-lying winter pastures.

Winters just moved with the camp.

The little lion often comes to talk to him.

"When it comes to differences, the difference between our Boya clan and the Jinren clan is greater than the difference between the Venetians and the Platoans. They worship the stone piles, and we worship the ancestors. The deer herders who go further west The tribe doesn’t speak the same language as us.”

The little lion said one thing after another: "Hey, only people outside the grassland call all the tribes Hede people. There is no pronunciation of 'Hede' in the tribes' words."

Winters sharpened the wooden awl quietly, practice makes perfect, and his control of the knife has become more and more precise.

After setting up camp, he would set up a pulley to hang his knees, and do simple rehabilitation exercises with Erlun's help.

While traveling with the camp in an ox cart, he kept whittling wooden cones.

There was a lot of grass and few trees in the wasteland. When people in the camp learned that he was whittling wood, they took the initiative to collect wood for him.

Thick, thin, branches, trunks, regardless of their quality, are all sent to Erlun.

The little lion saw him whittling wooden cones all day long, so he brought him a set of iron tools.

Winters started doing some simple carpentry work, and despite the lack of nails, he was able to make several folding stools.

As if the little lion only needed an audience, he bit the sweet grass stalk and said casually: "Did you know? Most people on the grassland have never seen the sea, not even my brother. I don't even know what to do." Describe it to them."

"Even if they imagine as hard as they can, the sea is just a large lake. For everyone, the mountains to the south and north, the snowfields to the west, the Platos to the east, and this grassland are the world of all.”

"Sometimes I can't help but think that it is ridiculous and funny that tribes and tribes, tribes and Platoans, fight each other from birth to death for such a small area."

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder, why do you and I kill each other? For food and clothing? But the grasslands have been having good weather over the past few years, and everyone can at least have enough to eat and keep warm."

"Is it because of hatred? Plato captured people from various tribes and sold them as slaves across the sea. Tribes also captured Plato people and made them 'tutichars', wearing them in chains. They were worse than the owners of Red Pine Manor. vicious."

"The tribes and the Platuan people hate each other, but they don't hate each other, because everyone is used to it. My brother also served as a personal guard for the big leader of Platuan, didn't you know? The man who killed my father After the tribe.”

"The tribes are also fighting each other. We fought with you once, but then we have to be prepared for the tribes to attack us."

"Even outside the grasslands, aren't you 'civilized people' killing each other? The war between your Veneta and the Islands is more tragic than the war between the tribes and Plato."

"Or is it because of greed? I don't know. I can't figure it out, and I don't want to live in ignorance. Beyond the grassland, there is an endless sea!"

The little lion spit out the grass residue and pretended to be relaxed: "You are the only one on the vast grassland who will listen to what I say. If I tell others, they may think I am crazy."

"Yes, you know? I heard the singer say that to the west of the west, through the tundra and snow, on the west side of the mountains, there is another land and sea! Our ancestors came from They migrated here. If there is a chance, I really want to see it, or we can go together."

Winters stopped what he was doing, looked at the little lion, and said softly: "You have grown up, and you have made much progress compared to when you were on Red Sulfur Island."

"What do you mean by this?" The little lion feigned anger: "Aren't you saying that I was a fool when I was at Red Pine Manor?"

"I want to see your brother."

"I also want him to see you." The little lion sighed: "He has been busy recently. During the previous war, the Zhuerqin people looted our old camp. They stripped off more than fifty pieces of clothing and killed ten A few people robbed a lot of livestock. My brother led the troops to conquer the Zhuerqin people."

"Aren't you going to follow?"

"I guard the stove." The little lion remembered something again: "By the way, the great shaman wants to see you. To be precise, he wants to see Hestas. Don't worry, he is a very good person."

"You call me Hestace." Winters didn't look surprised at all: "It's probably because of the ceremony."

The little lion nodded and explained distressedly: "Yes, the Kurshitaxi ceremony is a... It's hard for me to explain, but it is a very important ceremony anyway. Hestas chose you as his successor - although I I don’t know why, but I understand a little bit now.”

"You not only inherit the name and title of Hestas, but you also inherit the spirits of Hestas and every previous generation of Hestas. They accompany you and protect you." Little Lion He continued: "So to us, you are Hestas, our bridge to communicate with our ancestors and all spirits - even though you don't look like it now."

"Why me?" Winters pursed his lips.

"I want to know too." The little lion smiled bitterly and said: "If you are really Hestas, you should be able to ask the previous generation of Hestas yourself. It is better to wait for the great shaman to come and let him explain it to you."

As he spoke, the little lion picked up two wooden awls from Winters' lap.

Under the side-by-side comparison, he couldn't help but take a breath: "I originally thought you were whittling wooden sticks for fun, after all, they are too short for barbecue. But now I can see that they are all exactly the same, exactly! Haha, you This is also a unique skill.”

Winters remained noncommittal and continued to sharpen the wooden awl.

"Someone is here to see you! Winters." Erlun happily led a person in.

"Good luck, Champion of Plato, are your injuries better?" The visitor entered the tent and respectfully presented a small package of gifts: "My Lord sent me to visit you."

The visitor actually spoke fluent Common Language. Only three people in this camp could speak Common Language before: Winters, Erlun and Little Lion.

When did the fourth one come?

Winters looked expressionless and did not accept the gift. He remembered who this person was.

The little lion raised his eyebrows high: "Who are you?"

The visitor lowered his eyebrows and answered meekly: "I am the interpreter of the roaster."

The little lion snorted softly, took the gift, opened it and said, "Pepper?"

"It's pepper." The old interpreter's attitude became more and more submissive: "I was afraid that this gentleman would not be used to prairie food, so I brought some spices here."

"What are you here for?"

"Please allow me to talk to this lord alone. The old servant is weak and this lord can kill me with just a finger. Please don't worry."

The little lion wanted to refuse directly, but he still asked Winters with his eyes.

Winters nodded slightly, the little lion glanced at the old interpreter, and walked out of the felt tent with Erlun.

Winters didn't speak, and neither did the old interpreter. The two sides just looked at each other quietly for a while.

"How is your injury?" The old interpreter broke the silence and asked with a smile: "Is there anything we can do?"

Winters said nothing and told the other person with his eyes: "Speak directly if you have anything to say."

The old interpreter coughed lightly, suddenly changed his expression, and asked suddenly, "Where is the golden man who sacrifices to the sky?!"

Winters was unmoved: "It's divided, let Monkey Butt Face fight it out on his own."

"You're lying!" The old interpreter's eyes were sharp, staring at Winters's eyes, face and fingertips, not missing a single movement: "We didn't find any fragments of the golden man at all! The prisoners didn't have any, and there were none in the camp. No! No one knows where it is!"

"Very well, that's your business."

The old interpreter suddenly grabbed Winters' wrist: "Where is the golden man who sacrifices to the sky?!"

Winters smiled half-heartedly, his pulse as steady as a drip.

The next moment, the old interpreter vaguely saw the shadow of a fist appearing in front of him.

Then there was a crisp sound of bones breaking, and he was beaten until he sat on his back with tears, nosebleeds, and saliva flowing.

"Don't seek death." Winters' voice was cold and clear: "You want to sacrifice the monkey butt face to the Golden Man? Let him save money, maybe he can make a trumpet."

Just as the old interpreter was about to have a fit, the little lion and Erlun outside the tent had already heard the sound and barged in.

"What's going on?" The little lion put his hand on the handle of the knife and stared at the old interpreter with an unkind expression.

The old interpreter held the bridge of his nose and straightened it with force. He got up from the ground, saluted several people, and left with a gloomy expression.

"What's going on?" The little lion asked Winters again with concern.

Winters loosened his grip and said, "Let's work together."

"This old slave has some skills." The little lion scratched his hair and said, "It didn't even hurt. He fixed the bridge of his nose and left."

"You may not win against him." Winters recalled the touch of the old interpreter's palm: "The calluses on that guy's hands...are thicker than mine."

Winters' thoughts returned to the north bank of the Confluence River: "It's a pity that I didn't see it at that time and didn't kill him with a sword on the battlefield. Now, even if I want to, I can't."

Erlun threw away the bag of pepper brought by the old interpreter in fear: "We don't want this anymore. What if he poisons us?"

"Don't worry." Winters leaned on the blanket and said slowly: "The thing that worries me most about my life right now is my monkey-butt face. I think the sheep were killed today, let's make haggis soup? Just like in Chi Like Sulfur Island, add a little bit of cracked pepper.”

"Okay, I'll cook the sheep's head for you to eat." Hearing the name "Monkey Butt Face", Erlun's willow-leaf eyes smiled crookedly, and he walked out of the felt tent with pepper in hand.

Crush pepper and sift.

Wash and shred sheep tripe, intestines, heart and lungs, blanch them first, then boil them into white soup.

The lamb soup is sprinkled with pepper and a little sauce made from wild leek flowers from the prairie.

Take a big sip and the spring cold will disappear without a trace.

Finally, Erlun served the noodles prepared secretly.

This was the warmest meal Winters had had in the wilderness.

…

Winters ate well, but some people were annoyed.

After the old interpreter left the camp, he rushed south without stopping.

Sixty kilometers away in a mountain col, a fire-warmer was waiting for him.

If the little lion saw this scene, he would be furious.

The pastures of Teltown are south of the river, closer to the Golden Summit Mountains to the south.

The pastures of the Akahebe are north of the river, closer to the shaded mountains to the north.

The "Great River" in the mouths of the tribes of Hed is the Ember River in the mouths of the Platoons, and the Flooding River in the mouths of the Venetians and the United Provinces.

This river flows from west to east, roughly dividing the land sandwiched between two mountains into two.

Even the River Styx will eventually merge into the Great River, so the Great River is called the River of Ten Thousand Rivers and the Father of All Rivers by the Hittites.

However, before converging with the Styx River, the amount of water in the upper reaches of the river is no more than that of the Styx River.

Not long after the Battle of the Styx, the roaster parted ways with the white lion and led the Teldu tribe back to the "Henan pasture".

But in fact, not only did he not leave, he also led five hundred fine cavalry to hide in a mountain col near the Chihe tribe camp.

This is a serious provocation, and there is only a layer of paper between the two.

"How is it?" Seeing the old interpreter come back, the fire-warmer asked impatiently: "What did that guy say?"

"Calm as wood, cold as stone." The old interpreter said with a stern face: "The last time I saw him, he was as shallow as a pond. This time, I can't even see through him."

The fire-warmer was at a loss: "What should we do? Echige, do you still want to rob someone?"

Not to mention people from the Chihe tribe, even the lower-level members of the Terdun tribe would be shocked when their leader called the interpreter "Echige".

Echige is "father" in Khedic.

Considering that the previous leader of the Terdun tribe did not hang the old interpreter from a tree and shoot him to death with arrows, the person who roasts the fire should mean "Yafu".

The fire-warming quiver warriors are accustomed to this. Obviously, this so-called "interpretation" is not just a simple interpretation.

The old interpreter pondered and said: "There is another possibility. That kid really doesn't know anything. That's why I can't see through him."

"Then what should we do?" The fire-warmer panicked: "If he doesn't know, where can we find the golden man to worship the sky?"

"The worst possibility is that the Jin man was taken away by the rebel party." The old interpreter sorted out his thoughts: "The head of the Jin man was cut off, and it is very likely that other parts were also dismantled. It was broken into parts and taken away. Difficult. Another possibility is that it was dismantled and then buried, or even sunk into the water."

"What should I do if I'm really taken away by a man with two legs?!" The fire-warmer was so anxious that his voice broke.

"Why are you panicking?" the old interpreter scolded with a straight face: "The golden man can neither give birth to foals nor kill people, he is just a lump of gold! In this battle, we got fifteen hundred pairs of armor and countless weapons. As long as we can recover Our vitality, even without the Golden Man, who can do anything to us? If we are weak, the Golden Man will be taken away from us."

"Then what should I do? Are you still robbing people?"

"No, now we are at loggerheads with the Red River Tribe. Based on that kid's value, we won't risk a war with the Red River Tribe. It's best to let the White Lion make friends on his own, and be careful not to let the White Lion The lion knows about the news of offering sacrifices to the golden man in heaven."

"Okay." The fire-warmer nodded repeatedly.

"The rebels are so determined to retreat, I'm not sure if they will take the gold with them." The old interpreter clapped his legs: "Let's go! Go to the River Styx! Send people out to find the rebels' retreat route. I I can’t believe there are no clues.”

The five hundred elf cavalrymen of the Fire-warmers took action quickly. They packed up their bags, picked up their horses, and galloped towards the bank of the Styx.

…

At the same time, on the outskirts of Hailan City, Navarre Manor.

Catherine walked into Anna's room happily and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when she saw her sister sitting haggardly in front of the dressing table, flipping through a pile of letters one by one.

She lay down on Anna's bed, looked at the embroidered patterns on the curtains, and teased her sister: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, are you still thinking about your lover? You are singing a sad drama here, maybe people have completely forgotten you, and you are talking to some pa Latu's little coquettish hoof is filled with honey and oil!"

These are Anna’s two biggest taboos:

First, lying on her bed without permission - which, of course, she never allowed;

Second, malicious attacks on the mysterious Mr. W.M. There are no attacks that are not malicious.

Whenever Catherine wanted to anger her sister, she would resort to these two tricks, which worked repeatedly.

But Anna didn't know what happened today. She was obviously fine with it in the past, but today she was unmoved at all.

She was still sitting blankly in front of the dressing table, flipping through the letter.

Catherine was almost beside herself with rage.

She jumped out of bed, grabbed the letter from Anna's hand without any explanation, and angrily lectured her sister: "Isn't it just first love? What's the big deal! Is it worth it for you to be so sad?"

"Okay." Anna's voice was very tired: "Stop making trouble and give it back to me."

"Look at me burning them all!"

Anna stopped talking. She lay on the dressing table and sobbed softly.

"The more you give, the more hurt you will be." Catherine became angrier as she spoke: "Only if you don't give your sincerity, you will never be hurt. Do you really think you, Olivia and I can get married for love? Are you a five-year-old child? We are the heiress of the Navarre family. Our marriage must be carefully considered. If you are not careful, it will be abyss. Mom also said that you are more mature than me, but how can you meet everyone? Throw away your heart. Oh my god! Why are you so simple!"

Anna's crying became louder and louder, and Catherine also became sad.

She sat next to Anna and hugged her sister's shoulders: "Okay, okay, don't cry. It's all my fault. I am the evil witch and you are the pure princess. Do you want to dance with me, Princess?" ? Mrs. Moluc just sent someone to deliver the invitation, and she wants both of us to go."

Catherine brushed her fingers through Anna's disheveled hair, pressed it against her sister's body, and said coquettishly: "We dress up today and we must outdo those three stupid girls from the Moluc family. At worst, I will restrain myself a little today and let you be the most popular, okay?" I will withdraw from the competition for one day and let you be the most dazzling lady in Hailan. If you meet a handsome boy at the dance, you will soon forget about Mr. M."

"I'm not going!" Anna cried and kicked the dressing table.

Catherine had no choice but to say, "Okay, okay, it's all my fault. You are a good person, Mr. M is also a good person, and I am the only bad guy. Mr. M must be thinking about you day and night. He is obsessed with you every day and just wants to fly." Come back to you. And he is so loyal that even if a dozen little Platos are singing and dancing around him, he will remain calm and refuse to obey."

"You are really annoying to death!" Anna burst into tears and laughed: "Where did you learn this little...little coquettish...where did you learn such words?!"

"All men say that." Catherine snorted softly: "Do you think they are all good people?"

"These letters were written by Mr. M in Tanilia." Anna is still shy when mentioning her lover's name, so she always uses Mr. M instead: "He was taken to Plato before he could be handed over to me. "

"Really?" Catherine's fox eyes smiled: "Then I have to appreciate it."

Anna's face was red with embarrassment, and she reached out to grab the letter, but Catherine refused to give it to her.

The two of them scrambled from the dresser to the bed.

"Oh, it would be nice to have Mr. M." Catherine exhaled like a blue breath. She leaned against Anna's ear and gently bit her sister's earlobe: "Before you met him, I thought you liked women!"

Anna screamed and punched her, pushing her out of the bed.

Catherine screamed in a low voice. Although she tried her best to hold on to the bed cover, she was still pushed out of the bed.

The next second, she climbed up unyieldingly, laughing and throwing herself at her sister: "Let me see, who is so innocent?"

The two sisters quarreled for a while, but reconciled again.

"Are you going to the ball at Moluc's house?" Catherine nudged her sister's waist with her elbow.

"Not going."

"Go, go, go..." Catherine hugged her sister and began to rub her.

Ana shook her head gently: "I'm not in the mood."

"Oh, that's good." Catherine gave up completely and sighed: "I won't go either."

"Why don't you go?"

"If you don't want to go, I don't want to go either." Catherine said with a straight face: "You have to give other ladies a little space to express themselves."

Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from the corridor.

The owner of the footsteps stumbled, containing great sadness and urgency.

Anna and Catherine looked at each other and hurriedly got up from the bed.

Elizabeth burst through the door, holding a pile of blood-stained letterheads and almost unsteady on her feet.

Anna's heart felt like it was being tightened by vines.

"Don't say..." She stepped back in fear, waved her hands repeatedly, and said in a crying voice, "Don't..."

Elizabeth hugged Anna and cried bitterly: "My brother, he is gone..."

Anna's vision went dark, she fainted and fell heavily to the ground.

Similar scenes are happening everywhere in Hailan.

The sad news was conveyed back by Pegasus, Veneta's chief advisor in the castles of the kings, and spread rapidly through the channels of military relatives.

Everyone is eager to know how their children are doing.

The unfortunate family cried loudly, and the lucky family also felt sad.

Kesa fell into Aunt Marita's arms and burst into tears.

Antonio is still in the islands and does not know the bad news yet.

Aunt Marita, who had taken care of the da Granasi family for three generations, patted Kesa's back gently as if she were a baby.

"My poor young master." Grandma's tears couldn't stop flowing: "My poor young lady."

…

The King's Castle had just experienced a bloodbath, and the smell of blood on the streets had not yet dissipated.

The massacre started with an accidental assassination.

The reason why it was called an accident is that no one thought about taking Arpad's life on the spot.

Initially, they just wanted to catch Arpad and the Blue Bloods leadership in one fell swoop - by arresting them.

There is a better way to kill someone as a state weapon, so why assassinate him?

But the situation got out of hand and three people died, including [Arpad Kleinheisler]. And the real target [Arpad Duyaum] escaped.

Starting with this failed assassination, the violence quickly escalated beyond control.

The Blue Blood Faction's counterattack was extremely fierce. Before the Kings Castle Faction could catch them, they had already come to the door with swords and private soldiers.

Thirty years of accumulated hatred exploded, unleashing a destructive power far beyond the initiator's most terrifying imagination.

The Grand Council Hall almost turned into a slaughterhouse. The two factions who wanted to kill each other searched for each other in the city, going from house to house looking for "rebels".

There are those who fear that the world will not be in chaos and fish in troubled waters; local ruffians take the opportunity to rob, set fires, commit adultery, and commit evil.

The King's Castle was shrouded in thick smoke, but the fire defense team did not dare to go out to put out the fire.

Innocent citizens were hiding in their homes and shivering, desperately praying that this would end soon.

It was all thanks to Szekely's decisive action, leading the garrison to suppress the riots, and implementing martial law and military control in the castles of the kings that the situation gradually calmed down.

But in the melee, Army Headquarters stood firmly on the side of the Blue Bloods.

In the eyes of the officer class, Sackler's behavior was tantamount to betraying the army to the Grand Council.

Most of the officers in the army headquarters, together with the remaining members of the Blue Bloods, counterattacked out of the city and went to join General Arpad.

The officers left behind were a mixed bag, each with their own reasons.

Either because they have always been at odds with the blue-blood faction, or because they are ambitious, or because they are loyal to Szekely, or simply because their children are all in the castles of the kings.

At Shuangqiao Camp, Arpad, shouting "We have been betrayed", rode into the camp gate and regained command of the army in an instant.

The "Envoy of the Grand Council" was immediately publicly executed, and Arpad sent someone to deliver the envoy's head and a letter.

That was a letter of challenge.

…

In addition to the death notice of Veneta's young officer, Veneta's chief advisor in the Castle of Kings [Turanio] has just received even worse news.

Ignoring the guards' obstruction, Turano angrily broke into the speaker's office and slammed a piece of official document on the table.

"What does this mean?" The chief consultant suppressed his anger: "Mr. Grove!"

The previous Speaker, Arpad Kleinheisler, was dead, and the new Speaker [Groff Magnus] turned around, smiled and replied: "That's what it means."

"I'm asking you literally!" Turanio yelled: "What do you mean by not paying back? Do you want to provoke Venetta at this time?"

"The Grand Council has declared the Republic's financial bankruptcy. Existing assets will give priority to repaying domestic debts, and Veneta's debts will be restructured. This Grand Council will not recognize any of the illegal loans signed by the last Grand Council. "Grove stopped smiling little by little, stared into the eyes of the chief consultant, and answered word by word: "If I don't pay it back, I won't pay it back!"

Thank you book friends for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments. Thank you all.

Catherine is an absolute realist and can see through half the compromisers. But she really cared about her sister, and there was a mix of family love and a little bit of jealousy.

When Catherine attacked Mr. M with all her strength, how could we know that she was not jealous?

[Currently, I owe two chapters. If the mortgage is allowed, today’s chapter will be 6800+, which means I still owe one and a half Orz]