Realm of Power

Border of Dongting Prairie,

The earth is vast, and the morning light slowly climbs up from the milky white sky in the east,

The white mist on the grassland that is still lingering reflects a faint white light in the morning light. The fiery red sun in the distance rises slowly in this white mist.

This is a morning full of vitality. As the sun rises, everything revives, and the white fog gradually melts, revealing the emerald green fluffy wild grass in the June prairie.

The melted dew condensed into round water droplets among the weeds, hanging precariously on the grass blades, emitting colorful light under the golden morning sun.

"tread"

With a burst of exciting hoofbeats, a fast horse flew past like lightning, passing through the dense woods next to a river flowing through the grassland. The horse's hooves flew, splashing the soil that had not completely dried on the ground from time to time, but did not make the sound it should have. With the sound of hooves, the knight on the horse is wearing a black robe, and the horse under his crotch is also black,

The men and horses seemed to be ghost knights blending into the night and coming to the human world to revive people's souls. If it weren't for the slightly bright sky in the distance, it would be almost difficult to detect the whereabouts of this black-robed knight with just the naked eye.

The war horse ran extremely fast, but the face of the black-robed knight was full of caution. It was not until he saw the protruding hills on the border in the distance that he finally showed a relieved smile.

The borderline so close at hand made the knight forget the fatigue of running for thousands of miles. After crossing this slope, his hometown was in front of him. Thinking of this, the knight couldn't help but feel his blood boiling, and he quickly rode forward.

When the knight rushed to the top of the slope of a small grass hill, the sound of "zheng" bowstrings struck his face.

A powerful arrow cluster was like lightning, shooting out from the camouflaged grass hill next to it. The time and angle were perfectly timed, and it was almost inevitable. The arrow had just left the bowstring, and in the blink of an eye it had been shot into the still. The shoulders of the galloping knight in black robes

"Ah" the knight on the horse groaned in pain, "Pfft" a cloud of blood spattered out from the shoulder of the black-robed knight,

The black-robed knight grunted miserably. The astonishing force of the sharp arrow that pierced his shoulder caused him to fall backwards with a "peng" sound. The black-robed knight on his horse fell heavily to the grass and rolled a few times. Falling waist deep into prairie shrubs

"Damn, I hit this guy." A low cheer came from the woods nearby,

Two figures jumped out of the woods, one rushed towards the black-robed knight very quickly, and the other fiercely pulled the reins of the charging horse.

With a strong and heavy pull, he actually grabbed the reins of the war horse that was still rushing forward, and with the power of the horse's sprint, he flew up and jumped on the horse's back like an ape in the mountains, sitting upright and steady.

The war horse jumped up and neighed in fright, or felt that its master was no longer there. It jumped back and forth violently but could not get rid of the person on the horse. After a while, the war horse was tamed and then turned back to the black-robed knight. next to

"How's it going?" Riding on the war horse was a young man wearing a black ranger's mail. His young and energetic face was shining with a layer of excitement, and he had the unique sideburns of the Kugit people on his head. long bun,

His skin is somewhat dark, but his eyes are bright, and his slender hands and feet give people a sense of agility. From the fact that he can tame a frightened war horse in such a short period of time, we know that this person has a good way of taming horses.

His companion who just ran towards the black-robed knight was an older, middle-aged man wearing light mail and an outer jacket made of antelope skin.

This kind of dress is very common among the Dongting Rangers on the border, but the two crescent moon symbols on his shoulders represent his identity as a scout captain of the border patrol army. Such scouts are often made by members of the tribe. marksman

After taking a closer look at the obviously blackened face of the black-robed knight and the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, he stood up from the bushes with a solemn expression, looked at the body of the black-robed knight lying motionless in the grass, and spat on the ground. saliva,

He cursed, "It's really unlucky. He is already dead. You must know that this guy would be worth at least 4 gold coins if he were alive. Now he can only bring back a corpse. It would be good to exchange for one gold coin."

"No, how could he die?" The face of the young man on the horse changed slightly, and he said in disbelief, "I just shot through his shoulder, and it won't kill him anyway. Did I miss the shot?" , shot directly through his heart

"No, this guy must have taken some kind of extremely powerful poison temporarily, the kind that seals his throat when he sees blood."

The scout captain stood up and said, then turned to look at the war horse under the young man's crotch and said, "This is a well-trained war horse. This guy should be lurking during the day and rushing at night.

It would be difficult for ordinary border guards to notice his presence. The four hooves of the war horse are also wrapped in leather covers using a special method, so they can tread the ground silently.

If he hadn't accidentally left horse hoof prints that exposed himself when he entered here last time, we wouldn't have known that anyone would have passed through here, let alone blocking him here."

"I don't believe it. This guy didn't leave anything useful on his body?"

The young Dongting scout got off his horse, rummaged through the body of the black-robed knight, and threw out the contents of the horse's bag one by one.

"There's no need to look for it." The older scout captain shook his head and said, "As a seasoned messenger, you won't find anything except ordinary traveling equipment. This is a method unique to the Northlanders.

Relying only on word of mouth, if you encounter an enemy and cannot escape, you will take poison and die. Although I have heard of it before, this is the first time I have actually encountered it. I heard that such a guy is often burdened with extremely secret missions."

"Well, this guy really has nothing."

The young man stopped with some frustration. There was nothing in the war horse's package except some water bags and dried meat for long journeys. If the only thing that was still valuable,

That is, the boots of this black-robed knight are very special. They should have just been purchased.

"Look, I finally got a good harvest." The young man's eyes were bright and he happily raised the boots that he had taken off the corpse. This was a rich trophy.

In the remote Dongting border, due to inconvenient transportation, most Dongting people wear homemade leather felt boots all year round. Like this pair of beautifully decorated high-end leather boots in front of you, few even among the Dongting nobles wear them.

If you take it to the market and sell it, you can get at least ten sheep. This is a very good harvest for the ordinary Dongting herdsmen family.

The middle-aged scout captain's eyes focused on the riding boots in the young man's hands, and he said with some hesitation, "These leather boots are good, even better than the ones I saw last time at Bisudan Market."

If I read it correctly, this should be the favorite decorative pattern of the Dorok people. Those Dorok people like to use clouds, flowers and plants to decorate. At the beginning of the year, I went to Dorok with a caravan.

The war horse is also in good condition, and the boots and shoes are also good. It seems that it has only traveled a few days. Do you think it comes from the Dorok people?"

“I can’t say for sure”

The young man was delighted with his trophy and said casually. He checked every part of the body again, and found a scar that looked like it had just been stitched up in the crook of the messenger's leg.

"Wait a minute." Just when he was helpless and about to give up, the middle-aged scout captain next to him suddenly squatted down with a solemn expression and looked at the wound that had obviously been sutured recently.

He stretched out his hand to the confused young man, "Wu Miao, bring your claw knife. I want to open this wound."

"Uncle Kuzak, what are you?" The young man was startled by the middle-aged scout captain's words. He hesitated and took out the horn knife he used to cut mutton. The exquisite texture and wind-cold blade showed extremely sharp People, such horn knives are always carried with them, which is a symbol of a man's adulthood.

"You idiot." The middle-aged scout captain took the knife and cursed angrily. "You don't think that this Northlander risked such a big risk just for a simple message? From Northland to Dorok , across the entire Dongting Prairie, how can he prove his identity? At least he needs to carry a token to prove his identity, but have you found that token? "

"That's not true, but if it's just a messenger, you shouldn't be so cautious." The young man shook his head indifferently.

"What do you know? Don't forget that Dongting is now part of the Falcon Empire." The middle-aged scout captain said disdainfully. "I heard that the Dorok people are at war with the southerners of the empire. If this is true, this guy It is definitely not easy to travel frequently between the two places at this time. Otherwise, there is no need to commit suicide by taking poison as soon as you find out that we are blocking you."

"So, what we caught is a big fish"

The young man took a deep breath of cold air, and with gleaming eyes, he quickly handed the sharp horn knife to the middle-aged man. As the middle-aged man neatly scratched the wound on the corpse, he discovered the bloody incision. A small wooden tube about 3 cm long,

Seeing this small wooden pipe, the middle-aged scout's face changed slightly, and the young man next to him seemed to have noticed something, and asked with some surprise, "What's wrong?"

"It's a ghost messenger from the North," the middle-aged scout captain responded with a solemn look. "Ghost messengers usually come in groups of three, each taking a different route. We only intercepted one of them, and the other two should have already crossed the border." "

"What's the point? At least we caught one, and we should be able to claim credit from the superiors." The young man breathed a sigh of relief and muttered with some dissatisfaction.

"If you really think they are ordinary messengers, you are wrong. They are secret messengers with a war mission." The middle-aged scout stood up with a heavy face and carefully put the small bamboo tube into his arms.

"Dorok people?" The two people seemed to have thought of something, and they were shocked at the same time, and their eyes met.

"This guy should be from Dorok. He came here quickly from there. If he goes out day and night, it will be about six or seven days. It seems that the smoke of war will cover the prairie again." The middle-aged scout captain said At first, he looked at the grassland in the distance that was still shining golden in the sun, with a stubborn look belonging to Kujit on his face.

Northern Cold Land, Hulanbei City

Although it is June, the strong north wind is still howling outside the city, and the cold dust in the sky has annihilated the fertile black soil plain, and also annihilated the sky outside.

The clouds are thick, the night is as dark as ink, the road ahead is dark, only the snow is shining slightly, amidst the flying snowflakes, it seems lonely as if everything has been banned, in the morning mist, the low The hanging grass stems are all covered with a layer of white frost, like a huge white carpet.

Decorating the entire earth into a vast white scene, the sun is surrounded by pale white mist, leaving only a wisp of beautiful aurora on the distant horizon, as if embroidered on the huge carpet of heaven and earth. The northern aurora is a very interesting optical phenomenon, but in the eyes of northerners, the aurora represents not only a kind of beauty, but also represents the revelation of the gods.

"Auroras in June are not a good sign"

Dicasti, known as one of the three masters of Hulanbei, opened the window curtains with some frowning eyes and saw a group of Northland reindeer cavalry wearing flying eagle armor walking solemnly through the street in the dark morning light. , the heavy deer hooves trampled on the hard thousand-year-old frozen soil road in the city, and the fluffy mane was shiny and fluttering in the wind.

Among these majestic reindeer cavalry, a middle-aged man in red armor came slowly with an oppressive aura, his contemptuous eyes as if everything was trampled under his feet. These The reindeer cavalry escorted him slowly through the corridor of the city gate.

"Salute" followed the command of the city guard officer, "Pa". The soldiers standing on both sides of the city gate stood up straight in uniform, placing their right hands on their left chests, watching with envy, admiration and adoration. This group of reindeer cavalry is coming on horseback. To be precise, it is the admirable figure in the center of the reindeer cavalry.

"Huh!" The cold wind blowing in from the city gate rolled up the bear head hat on his head, like a large ball of red flames. Even the dark sky could not hide this powerful color.

He is the current head of the Asu'o Department, Asu'o, who is known as the overlord of the North.

Di Casti's pupils shrank unnaturally. The scene outside made Di Casti's face become colder and colder. He threw down the curtains angrily and let out a heavy groan from the corner of his mouth, "Humph, the villain is successful." "

The scene just now made him too stimulated. You must know that he is the three masters recognized by the tribes in Hulanbei area. A year ago, this arrogant figure was the one he used to pretend to be a snake with the people of Dongting. It was a chess piece, but in just over half a year, this chess piece turned around strongly. Not only did it get rid of the control of the people in Dongting, but it also had the potential to bully its master.

In the current Hulanbei area, there are far more people who know him as Asu'o than himself, an orthodox master of the three tribes, and more and more tribes obey his orders overtly and covertly.

As if aware of Di Casti's displeasure, one of the three figures illuminated by the flickering candlelight in the room behind Di Casti said in a gloomy voice.

"Master Sanbu, why bother with that traitorous guy? Ever since he plotted against the Dongting people, he has long been so complacent that he has forgotten who he is. He really regards himself as the person in charge of Hulanbei. He I don’t even think about it, if we hadn’t been willing to take him in, he would still be a stray dog ​​driven away by Dongting people.”

"You say he is a dog, which is too insulting to a dog. Dogs will not bite their owners, but he stabbed the Dongting people deeply in the back." Another figure said angrily

"But if he is allowed to continue to be so rampant, I'm afraid we will be the ones who get stabbed in the head. It won't be a day or two for him Asu'o to want Hulanbei."

"Hulanbei is too small to accommodate a polar bear like him. His appetite is too big and he will eat us one day." Another figure said with a lot of dissatisfaction in his tone.

These three people are all three powerful clan leaders in the Hulanbei area, and they are also the three people Dicasti trusts the most.

The Hulanbei area is the most important population gathering area in Northland. Because it is located in a concave basin that is rare in cold regions, and the surrounding peaks block most of the cold current, there are more than 40 Northlanders gathered here. Ten thousand people, except for the Austin people near the coast, this area has the largest population. In the Hulanbei area, in order to resolve disputes between tribes, a prestigious tribal chief was elected to preside over it. This chief was called the Sanbu grown ups

The current three masters are Dicasti, the leader of the Dika tribe. The Dika tribe has a population of 110,000, mainly concentrated in the Hulanbei area, second only to the 170,000 Audidin tribe in the coastal areas, and is respected as Dicasti, who has served in this position for 13 years,

Dicasti snorted with a cold face.

"I heard that he has been mobilizing troops frequently and sending out envoys recently. He seems to be interested in reconciling with the Austinites along the coast. If he really pulls out his hand, it will really be the end of us. Everyone can see that this This guy is not willing to succumb to Sanbu-sama forever, now it’s just a question of when to take action.”

"The Asu'u tribe's army is originally small in number, only about 20,000 at most, but if you include the helpless tribes, they can gather about 40,000.

This is almost equal to the strength of our three tribes, but they still need to stay behind to defend the camp, but we have the advantage of occupying Hulanbei City. In addition, the three tribes have accumulated power for many years, so those tribes will only deploy half of their troops at most. Fight, because if they fail, they will face cruel punishment, so as long as we dare to take the initiative, I can guarantee that in the face of betrayal and separation, the Asuo tribe will never dare to step out of the camp."

"It's a good idea to take the initiative to defeat each one."

Dicasti nodded solemnly, the sadness on his face dissipated, replaced by a murderous look, and said, "I don't believe that our Dika tribe's hundreds of years of status in the Hulanbei region can be replaced by a person." The little Asoube was shaken (To be continued)

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