Mercenaries and Adventurers

As daylight comes and the sun rises, the dense fog from last night begins to dissipate.

Although the tall mountains on the edge of the forest are still providing a steady stream of fog, as far as Kiel can see from climbing on the treetops, the dissipation of fog in the entire forest is far greater than the input.

The fog drifting in from the edge of the forest, and the fog in the forest being evaporated and dissipated by sunlight, was input and output, which reminded Keir of the classic swimming pool math problem in his previous life.

He scratched his head. He didn't know when the fog in the forest would completely dissipate, but he couldn't waste a few hours during the day just waiting for the fog to dissipate.

Sighing, Kil looked at the direction leading to the interior of the forest. Then, while climbing down along the route he came up, he used a dagger to carve a marked arrow on the bark of the tree that pointed correctly toward the interior of the forest.

The next arrow must be pointing in exactly the same direction as the previous arrow. A slight deviation will cause him to end up in the wrong direction in a series of small deviations.

This job sounds difficult, but after doing it, Keir felt that it was not a big deal. As long as he concentrated a little bit, there would be no problem.

The key point is that this can only be done by oneself. If there are other people present and this work is handed over to others, Keir will probably feel guilty and cannot trust others.

Fortunately, he was alone now, so no matter whether he did a good job in the end or not, he had to admit everything he did.

After slowly climbing down the trunk of the big tree, Kil was plunged into the thick fog in the forest.

The thick fog above the head is white and shiny in some places, and dark and dim in other places. Obviously, not all the sunlight can reach here due to the obstruction of tall and dense trees.

Kil reached out and pulled out the long sword inserted into the tree trunk for illumination. He patted the horse's head soothingly, and then carefully identified and looked at an arrow mark he had just left two meters high on the tree trunk.

"Okay, no matter it's wrong or not, I accept the result."

Kil rubbed his nose, took the reins, held the sword with one hand and put the long sword on his right shoulder.

Just after taking two steps, Kil stepped back again, looking at his own clothes and the clothes on his right shoulder that were accidentally cut open by a sword blade, and showed a wry smile: "I'm nervous, haha, why do you care about such an important thing?" Have you forgotten?"

Shaking his head, Kil disappeared in an instant, and then suddenly appeared on the same spot with Blood Licker's unsurprised expression.

But by this time, he had put on his own full-coverage metal armor.

when--

This time the long sword was placed on the right shoulder for lighting. Apart from a crisp metal collision sound, no scratches were left on the armor's shoulder pads.

He looked at the direction again, then stepped lightly and slowly walked deeper into the forest mist.

-

After walking for a while, Kil tried his best to keep walking in a straight line.

When there was a big tree blocking the road in front of him, Keir swung his sword and slashed a vertical slash on the bark of the big tree in front of him. Then he walked around the big tree, carefully calculated the angle, and then struck the big tree. The other end also slashed a mark.

Then he relied on this trace to continue moving along what he thought was a straight line.

As he walked further, Keir had doubts in his mind whether he was walking in a straight line at this time.

Because he vaguely remembered that in his previous life, people discovered that when they were unconscious or unable to correctly identify reference objects, normal people did not walk in a straight line, but in a huge circle that was offset to the left and right!

This is related to the slight difference in the natural length of the left and right legs of humans, as well as walking habits, wear and tear of shoes, and even the slight shift in the center of gravity of the human body.

The more Keir thought about these things, the more he felt that he had already deviated from the direction he had previously been optimistic about. Perhaps, he is still running in circles at this time?

Then why not look for a big tree again and climb up?

When Kiel planned this, his boots stepped on a piece of hard ground.

"Um?"

Kil stamped his feet and felt that the soles of his feet felt familiar. The white light on the hunting sword became brighter. He brought the sword close to the ground and observed it carefully.

The ground was covered with layers of moist leaves. It looked normal at first glance, but the feeling on the soles of his feet really told Keir that there was something different underneath.

He moved his right foot left and right on the ground a few times, sweeping away the damp, rotten branches and leaves, and then discovered something 'familiar' to him.

The same non-slip road that we found on our way here last night.

I don’t know who built it or why it was built.

Kil took a deep breath, braced himself, and maintained a high degree of caution. Then he stepped around and found that the direction of this unknown road was not consistent with the direction he was heading.

This made Keir a little embarrassed.

He didn't know whether to continue on the possibly off-course course or risk taking this strange path.

Kil thought about it, but he really couldn't make a decision. He felt that both routes had merits, but they also had their own disadvantages.

So he looked at the blood-licking grass following behind him and asked: "Blood-licking grass, tell me, should I continue walking in a straight line in front of me, or should I walk along this road that leads to nowhere?"

Blood Licker was a little confused and didn't know why the owner asked it.

Kil saw the confusion in the eyes of the loyal war horse, so he explained: "If we continue to walk along the straight line that we were optimistic about before, I honestly can't even pat my chest and confidently say: 'We are still walking the same path now. That direction'. Maybe a mistake, we have deviated from the direction a long time ago, after all, the surroundings are full of fog, and the identical big trees cannot be used as a reliable reference at all."

"But here's the thing."

Kil sighed and pointed his sword straight ahead: "Maybe we are walking in a straight line! And looking back at the forest, hum, the priest and others said that for many years, the people who walked in here did not come out, of course I We know that they have settled in the mountains and valleys at the end of the forest, but this is not a reason for them not to return home after entering. There must be some reasons that are not yet understood that make these people can only live in the valleys."

"If I'm not wrong, when ordinary people enter the forest, they will most likely follow this strange road that appears in the forest for unknown reasons. Ah, in a foggy forest where the direction cannot be determined. , if you follow the road, you don’t have to worry about going the wrong way. But what’s the result?”

Kiel raised his right foot, and then stamped heavily on the hard and non-slip corrugated road, making a dull sound.

"They can't come back from this."

Kiel looked at his war horse: "Tell me, should I stick to my previous judgment, or should I follow this path like everyone else? I can't make a decision myself, so it's up to you, buddy, okay Man, make the decision for me!”

After patting the horse's head, Kil stretched out his hand and pointed his finger at the blood-licking grass to move forward.

The war horse seemed to understand what its owner was distressed about, but it didn't seem to understand. After all, it was just a loyal animal companion. Such complicated things and decisions were really too difficult for this several-year-old prairie horse.

However, it saw that its owner had moved out of the way and signaled it to go ahead, so Lilacia proudly moved its hooves and walked forward without hesitation.

Kiel saw that the horse seemed to want to go straight, and was about to nod when he found that after walking a few steps, the horse came to a strange hard and non-slip road. It seemed that it was a little confused about the ground under its feet, so it deliberately stopped and lifted its hoofs again. I stepped on it a few times.

The sound of the shoe on the hoof hitting the ground was loud, but not unpleasant.

This seemed to arouse the interest of the blood-licking grass, so it stepped forward and backward for a while, and finally started to move towards the interior of the forest as if it liked this kind of ground.

After taking two steps, it remembered its master, turned around and neighed at the master who was staying there, urging him to follow.

"Okay, here we come."

Kil was relieved. No matter what, he gave the power of choice to his war horse, and the war horse made a choice, so he would respect this choice and this result.

So, Kil held the blood-licking grass and strode on the solid road in the forest. Although he didn't know where this strange road would take him, and what he encountered in the forest when he turned back, it might be something in the story. Some reclusive hermit, or a terrifying monster that terrorizes children as they sleep.

-

Keir walked for a while on the strange road that was hardened and had friction lines under his feet. He discovered that this road did not go straight to the depths of the forest, but twisted left and right in the forest.

It was like a giant snake that was winding and crawling, and none of the big trees in the forest fell down to block the road or grew onto the road.

Keir felt that this thing was obviously purposefully built in the forest. It was strange, who would specially build such a twisting and turning road in the forest? for what?

Generally speaking, if you want to build a road through a forest, shouldn't it go straight through the forest? Even if we take into account the ups and downs of the terrain, we shouldn't have to make so many bends, right?

However, Keir did not remain doubtful for long. He soon understood the purpose of constructing the road under his feet.

After walking for a while, Kil vaguely heard the sound of water flowing in the white mist. You must know that he had never seen or heard a single animal in this forest. At this time, except for the sound of him and the blood-licking grass walking around, , the only sound left was the sound of the two of them breathing.

Therefore, the faint sound of water flow, even if it is not loud, is very obvious.

"Shh!"

Kil made a gesture to his horse to keep quiet, and then led the horse forward with a gentle step.

Blood Licker also followed Kil's example, carefully lowering his legs and feet, trying not to make a loud collision sound.

Passing through the still thick white mist in the forest, Kil got closer and closer to the sound of water flow. After walking a few steps, he suddenly found that the road ahead suddenly bulged, and the sound of water flow came from the raised road ahead. from.

Keir carefully explored forward, only to discover that a small river appeared in the forest, and a hard and corrugated road crossed the small river.

"It's nothing, just scared me."

Keir curled his lips and was about to see if this small river was the one he saw on the way here, and whether the small river that appeared in the forest now had a strange smell, did not grow plants, and did not support small animals. What.

At this moment, a low black shadow suddenly appeared from behind a tree to his right.

In just an instant, a black shadow rushed out of the white mist, and a dangerous thing swung towards Kil's right leg.

Kil didn't react at all. His attention was all attracted by the river in front and the small bridge over the river. Fortunately, the war horse with a pair of long ears noticed the danger. It neighed briefly, but it was too late, so He lowered his head sharply and faced forward.

Boom——

A loud sound of metal collision came from the impact point. Blood Licker shook his head vigorously, but the huge impact sound and the impact on his head made him dizzy, his four hooves became weak, and he was somewhat unable to stand. .

A whine came out of its mouth, alerting its owner of danger.

"What!"

Kil was also startled by the sudden loud noise. He then swung his sword and slashed at the approaching black figure. However, when the sword fell, the sound of metal friction was loud and a spark was emitted, and the opponent was only pushed back half a step.

This was completely beyond Kiel's expectations.

You know, the sudden attack made Kil subconsciously use his strength. Although it was only 30% of his strength, coupled with the sharp edge and weight of the long sword for hunting, it still had the power to split a person in half with one sword.

The opponent only took half a step back and didn't look like he was injured.

The next moment, Kil held his sword with both hands and charged a horizontal slash. He used all his strength in this move. The black shadow grunted, and then raised a black shadow, as if it wanted to use this thing to resist Kil's move.

But the opponent misjudged the force of the blow, and sparks flew from the impact point. Kil judged that he had hit a piece of metal just from the reaction force of the slash. The black figure fell down amidst the huge slashing and impact sounds, rolling on the ground where it came from and where it rolled back.

Kil was about to pursue, but he heard the low whine of the war horse behind him. He immediately took a deep breath, cautiously did not pursue, and carefully lowered his body and retreated to the horse.

"Blood-licking grass! How are you?"

While waving his long sword in front of him, Kil used his left hand to calm the horse.

But the loyal war horse was swaying and unsteady, looking very dangerous. Not only that, a lot of saliva flowed out of its mouth uncontrollably, which made the whole war horse look bad.

"Lu..."

The blood-licking grass whined and moved its tall and heavy body closer to its owner, but its entire body pushed Kil to move to one side due to its staggering steps. Kiel's boots left two traces of movement on the hardened road covered with leaves. Even so, Kiel tried his best to stand firm.

Not only was it important to stand firm and maintain the center of gravity in battle, but he also saw that the situation of the horse that had protected him from the sudden attack was not good. Keir had to hold on to the blood-licking grass. As for falling down.

Kil was wary of dangers that might strike again around him. He turned to look at the war horse and found that the blood-licking grass seemed to be weak at this time, and the whole horse was swaying as if it was drunk. My legs and feet cannot support the weight on my body.

Therefore, Kil increased the release of the white light of the sun god's power on his long sword for hunting, illuminating the surrounding white fog of seven to eight meters. Then he unloaded the large luggage on the horse's back in vigilance, and then took it out with one hand. The heavy metal double-edged spear was dismounted from the horse's armed frame, as well as the entire armed frame.

After these things were removed, although the whole set of horse armor covered by Blood Licker was still very heavy, it seemed to be able to stand still while swaying.

"How's it going? Can you still hold on now?"

Kil held the spear in one hand and made a throwing gesture. Although the spear was not conducive to throwing attacks, he didn't care about anything at this time. If something attacked again, he would let the opponent have a taste of thirty The feeling of a kilogram-weight spear penetrating the body and piercing the tree trunk.

"Law...Law..."

The blood-licking grass seemed to be getting better, and as it staggered, it moved its horse's head towards Kiel. Kiel thought it was asking for comfort, but unexpectedly, when he turned around quickly, he found the metal surface on the front of the horse's head. On the armor, there is a square impact dent.

It was obviously caused by being hit hard by the opponent in the previous attack.

This made Keir angry and scared.

On the one hand, he was angry that his loyal war horse had been hurt in such a way, and he would not let him go. On the other hand, the metal horse armor is quite thick and strong, at least much stronger than the armor on Kil's body.

If Blood Licker hadn't discovered the attack in advance and blocked it with his horse's head, the attacker's attack would have hit Kil, and the result would have been hard to say.

Looking at the appearance of the blood-licking grass at this time, one can tell that if Kil was hit, at least one of his legs would be wasted here.

Keir gritted his teeth and looked at the thick fog in the surrounding white forest and the thick trunks of the surrounding trees, and his heart surged with anger. But his experience along the way allowed him to suppress his anger and face the situation in front of him with a clearer and calmer attitude.

"come out!"

Keir suppressed his anger in his mind, but he was rude on his lips.

"Despicable attacker!"

Keir saw the impact marks on the head of the blood-licking grass, and at that time ruled out that the attacker was a ferocious beast hidden in this forest, or a natural monster.

After all, the traces were square, and the several collisions made the sound of metal clashing.

Beasts don't use blunt metal objects to hunt. Well, at least Kiel has not found such beasts now. Whether he will encounter them in the future, he can't say.

Naturally born wild monsters do not use blunt weapons that are not highly lethal to attack. Which of them does not have metal-like sharp claws and horns? Are these naturally threatening fangs and claws better than square blunt weapons?

Therefore, the attacker must be an intelligent creature using metal weapons and an enemy.

"Don't think it's okay to hide it. I'm very patient. How about you?"

Keir calmed down and paid careful attention to the movements around him, but because he was close to the creek in the forest next to him, the sound of the flowing water kept disturbing him.

His fighting instinct made him suddenly realize that the opponent might have been targeting him, but launching the attack here was obviously to use the noise generated by the flow of the river to hide the attacker's movements.

If you think about it more deeply, in this quiet and strange forest mist environment, the sudden appearance of rivers and bridges in the originally unchanging environment will obviously attract most of the attention of those who come here.

This attack on the attackers is even more powerful. As long as they use the noise of the river to launch a sudden attack from the mist, there must be many people who will not fall here, right?

Wanting to understand this, while comforting the injured war horse, Kil glanced at the place where they had just fought.

Although it was just a glance, Kil still discovered something.