The sun is high

This "black forest" is not much different from other forests near the plateau on the Goddess Plain. The fundamental reason why it got such a name is that snowfall here is more frequent than in other places. After snowfall, these trees take on a strange, deep color.

It's like countless black wooden poles standing on a white background.

The woods are often silent in winter. Whether it is ordinary beasts or those intelligent magical creatures, they often choose to stay in their lairs and have a good rest at this time. However, this war that started in winter has disturbed them. of deep sleep.

From the moment he stepped into this forest, Shuge had already seen the footprints left by many animals. They were most likely awakened by the continuous artillery fire from both sides. Some experienced soldiers even pointed out that in this forest, There are probably some dangerous "walking spiders" active there.

This magical creature about the size of an adult dominates many forests.

The reason why the soldiers made this judgment was because they found many traces of short-tailed wolves in the dense forest. This beast with venomous fangs is the most keen prey of the walking spider. In an area If there are large groups of short-tailed wolves, there must also be nests of walking spiders.

After receiving this information, the Chasseur Regiment immediately retracted, and even the volunteer teams scattered outside slowed down slightly to avoid being separated from the main force.

If during the war, a soldier did not die on the road of charge or under enemy fire, but was preyed on by a magical beast during the march, it would definitely become a lifelong shame. This concept is very popular in the Jaeger Regiment. This special force is even more outstanding.

After all, this kind of team originated from the mountain hunters of the Luowei Plateau.

To this day, there are many people here who are former hunters of the Black Nest Mountains, or descendants of hunters. There are even a small number of mountain elves among them. They are very popular among the hunting groups. For them, entering the dense forest is not the same as returning home. What a difference.

And this kind of march is quite torture for some people.

Xiuge's condition was not bad. Although he didn't have many memories of marching in the woods after snow, he quickly adapted to this kind of situation with his abundant magic power and physical strength, as well as following the example of the soldiers around him. Marching rhythm.

However, many people in the team felt extremely painful due to this high-intensity march.

The current army is in a state of magical silence. At this time, almost all magical mysteries and rituals are completely disabled.

Under such circumstances, mage scholars like Wei Lin were able to use magic power to maintain their own condition. Although they were tired and strenuous, they could still barely keep up with the team.

But for those young alchemy doctors, this process of marching in the snow was very torturous.

They could only rely on the magic potions provided by the Chasseur Regiment to maintain their physical strength and body temperature, and struggled to move forward with the help of the experienced Chasseur Regiment medics.

Shuge saw Meyer. He was like a stone statue moving forward steadily at any time.

As a St. Steele native born in the north, he was no stranger to cold winters and low temperatures, so the intensity of such a march was within an acceptable range for him.

Therefore, he even took the initiative to help two weaker students carry their luggage. The increase in weight made his steps become more steady.

About two hours after entering the woods, the reconnaissance team rotated.

People finally got a chance to rest.

From the map, this black forest is not big at all, and it is not worth mentioning compared with the dense forests in the Black Nest Mountains. However, when people walk into it in person, they can still feel their own insignificance.

In this environment, the power from the "Walking Forest" in Xiuge's body became more active. He even felt that the surrounding trees seemed to be whispering to him, and he tried to combine his meager vitality and magic power with he shared.

This feeling was very strange, as if he had stepped into a strange and huge family and was welcomed by everyone at once.

This strange feeling reminded Xiuge of the amazing "charisma" displayed by the running rats in front of those weak rats.

But now, the power of the "Walking Forest" in his body is obviously not enough to reach that threshold. These plants are just expressing some "friendly" emotions to themselves, and have not risen to the point of obeying the call at all.

In the state of magical silence, if you want to maintain your spirit and body temperature, you must rely on food.

A soldier from the Chasseur Regiment took out a piece of something and handed it to Xiuge.

On his cuffs, Xiuge saw the silver thin line logo belonging to the three-clawed falcon. Obviously, this was one of the members that Old Zeke arranged to "take care of" him in the hunting corps. Faced with the kindness of others, Xiu Ge Ge did not refuse, he nodded and reached out to take it.

This is a very popular snack in the Walter Kingdom. The name is very interesting, called "Goblin Teething Candy". There is also a gnome wearing a huge top hat and an exaggerated smile printed on the wrapping paper.

Its properties are somewhat similar to the "chocolate" Shuge is familiar with.

It's just that this food is made up of nuts, syrups, and several magical plant ingredients used to brew refreshing drinks.

Xiuge had tasted it twice before and felt that this thing was really sweet. Most people would not eat it. Only children who are particularly fond of sweets would be extremely partial to it. However, in the current environment, there is no such thing. People will reject the sweet taste it brings.

Shuge's physical strength didn't need any extra supplement, so he broke the candy into several equal pieces, stuffed one of the small pieces into his mouth, and divided the rest between Mayer and Weilin. .

After the temperature of your mouth softens the cold candy, a sweet and greasy taste will follow.

Wei Lin likes sweets. Stimulated by the taste of candy, her originally knitted eyebrows gradually relaxed. However, looking at the soldiers around her who were trying to relax their limbs and replenish calories, Wei Lin sighed helplessly. Got angry.

As a mage who is used to using magic to bring him various conveniences, this situation is particularly painful.

However, this is a must for any army that needs to perform infiltration missions.

Generally speaking, during the silent march, unless a special accident occurs, any form of spellcasting is a challenge to Walter's strict military discipline.

Xiuge's rest time did not last long, because not long after, someone came towards their direction.

"Um?"

Xiuge raised his eyebrows because he saw that there were several people tied up.

They looked like prisoners caught by the advance team in the forest. These people were wearing heavy coats and hunter felt hats, with a long bird feather stuck in the felt hat. This was Habits of plains hunters.

They believe that colorful bird feathers on hats can bring good luck.

Under the escort of the soldiers of the Jäger Regiment, these Delan hunters were brought in front of Weilin and others. The officer saluted, and then he specifically explained in Votel language: "We captured several Delans. They look like hunters who live near this forest...but these plainsmen don't seem to know a few words of common language, so we can only bring them here."

Wei Lin swallowed the candy in her mouth, and then said doubtfully: "But we are marching silently, and spiritual interrogation is also not allowed."

"Ah, we know this."

The officer smiled, and then he said to Meyer: "The major said, professor, you speak multiple languages, so we hope you can help translate."

"Can."

Meyer nodded, then stood up and came to these timid Delan hunters, and soon started communicating with them in fluent Delan.

During this process, Xiuge had been closely observing the expressions of these hunters.

He noticed that these Delan people looked extremely frightened and panicked, but the objects of their fear were not the soldiers who were standing ready around them. During the conversation, Shuge even saw one of them looking around nervously. The trees, as if they were worried about something jumping out.

Soon, Professor Meyer obtained the information the Chasseur Regiment needed from their mouths.

"They are hunters from Black Forest Town. They come here every winter for special hunting... They mainly hunt walking spiders."

"them?"

The people around were a little surprised, because the traveling spider has always been a dangerous magical creature marked by the Legal Committee. According to ordinary people's perception, it is definitely not something that a few or a dozen hunters can kill.

"Yes, they know the habits of the walking spider very well, so they usually choose to hunt in winter... After finding the nest of the walking spider, they use the domesticated short-tailed wolf as bait to lure it into the trap, and then use alchemy to Killed by a bomb.”

Meyer said: "These hunters said that they have been doing this for decades, and the Legal Committee will often come to them to purchase these magic materials and pay high prices."

Xiuge raised his chin: "So, they had an accident this time?"

"Yes, there was an accident."

Meyer nodded: "These hunters said that they originally planned to complete this year's hunting before the war completely spread here, but after entering the forest, they found that the nest of the forest spider was empty, and When they were about to leave, they were attacked by spiders and several of them died."

Meyer frowned and said, "They said it wasn't a spider anymore. They didn't know what it was."

Hearing these words, Xiuge and Weilin looked at each other.

Both of them are now very sensitive to this description, so they immediately thought of the Black Sun Society and the descendants of the Dark Abyss who might have escaped from Salem City.

No one knows whether that monster will incorporate other magical creatures or ordinary animals into its diet.

Wei Lin turned her head and whispered in Xiuge's ear: "Although this place is far away from Salem City, do you think it is possible..."

"It's less likely, but not impossible."

"Perhaps it was the sound of gunfire that woke the Spider from hibernation early?"

"hope so."

While observing the hunters, Xiuge said: "They all seemed to be frightened and were in a very wrong state. What they said was probably true. As people who have hunted forest spiders so many times, they would definitely not be wrong. "

Different from the two people who focus on the destination of Shuge, the officer is more concerned about the garrison and alert situation in Black Forest Town, so under his questioning, these hunters can only timidly tell what they know - —The town’s garrison has not changed much in the recent past. It has always been the Black Forest Infantry Regiment of the Kingdom of Deland.

The hunters also mentioned that there was a temporary branch set up by the Law Committee in the nearby fortress. They also emphasized that there were many mages there and crystal cannons!

It sounds like these simple Delan people want to use this to intimidate and warn the enemies from the plateau in front of them, so that they give up their attack plan on the town.

However, the Fifth Chasseur Regiment certainly didn't care about this. After getting the exact information, the members of the Chasseur Regiment were more confident. As soldiers of the Kingdom of Walter, they were very confident that they could achieve absolute victory in a battle of this scale. Upside.

As for the "terrible beasts" mentioned by the hunters, they were ignored by the officers. In their eyes, no beast was worth the revolver rifle in their hands.

Of course, this news was still learned by Master Krauts, so he immediately responded to Alfred, further shrinking the team, and at the same time released several additional reconnaissance teams including mountain elf soldiers to ensure that Search and alert nearby without missing a beat.

Votel's soldiers were proud. They did not kill these unlucky Deland hunters, but directly classified them as prisoners. Professor Meyer found an opportunity, so he relied on his language advantage , while trying to comfort these hunters, while constantly asking them about the views and opinions of the Delan people facing this war.

The Black Forest still seemed extremely silent.

The howls of short-tailed wolves in the jungle could be vaguely heard in the distance. Their calls sounded very short, giving people an inexplicable sense of panic.

The cold wind blew between the trees, carrying the howling of wolves into the distance.

In the metal disc, the Dark Abyss Hound, which had been resting on the ground, slightly raised its body. It opened its mouth, and its sharp fangs and weird tentacles twisted gently, as if tasting the flow of magic power, and those long On both sides of its head, the red pupils that had been closed suddenly emitted a dark light.

At the same time, the running rat, which had been sleeping all this time, suddenly turned over.

It didn't wake up, but its nose twitched instinctively.

They all smelled a smell.

A scent between the hunter and the prey.