The sun is high

As an ordinary girl in Van En, Malena had imagined the possible stories between herself and the mage countless times in the past.

This situation is really common among civilians, and is even popular in some small aristocratic circles.

Ordinary people always have many fantasies about spellcasters who can use the miracle of magic and use invisible magic to create countless tangible wonders and directly change reality.

Although in Vanen, magic has long been firmly bound to the operation of human society, the existence of the Legal Committee and the status and many privileges that the mages had in this world in the past still made them independent. A distinct class outside the nobility and royal family.

The changes in Salem City almost destroyed all of Malena's illusions about spellcasters.

In folklore and fairy tales, there are no spellcasters who can single-handedly quell disasters. There are no spellcasters who stand up to save ordinary people at critical moments. There are no spellcasters who can easily deal with monsters and bring peace to the world. Didn't show up either.

Ever since Malena started living a life of hiding in her old apartment, she had completely despaired of the Legal Committee.

Because these spellcasters can't solve the city's plight at all, they can't even let the outside wizards open the closed doors, and people can only draw one conclusion from this situation, that is, people in the outside world, no matter those powerful Neither the country nor the Legal Committee, which has always controlled the magic resources of Van En, wants to lift the blockade of Salem City.

They just want to completely seal off the people in Salem City and those terrible monsters that they cannot deal with forever.

"We heard that the mages from the Salem City Legal Committee branch... they and the soldiers of the independent government divided all the relief supplies provided to us from outside... weapons, food, warm clothes... everything They were all piled up in the embassy and legal committee buildings.”

The girl just rode on the back of the running rat. While she was adapting to the terrifying speed brought by this strange magic mount, she whispered to the young mage sitting behind her about her journey in this city. of what he saw and heard.

She has gradually believed the other party's words.

This young spellcaster who calls himself "Alfred" does know a little about the current situation in Salem City, but he can also tell some important events that happened in the city before. This is consistent with the identity and identity he explained before. The experience matches.

However, there are still some essential differences between him and the refugees in Salem City.

His body was very clean. Although his clothes looked a little old and stained with dust, his appearance and mental state were very good. Although his face was a little pale, he gave people a very comfortable look.

And this specialness was rightly attributed to Marlena's mastery of magic and magic.

In the past, this would have been a character that young girls would secretly discuss behind their backs.

It's a pity that now, everyone's eyes and brains can no longer tolerate any unnecessary thoughts.

"Have you heard from anyone else about the news about the Legal Committee sending supplies to the city? I mean the people who have actually witnessed the Legal Committee's actions."

"Well……"

Facing Shuge's question, Malena thought about it seriously, and then she whispered: "Mr. Felix has been near the city gate before, and he seems to have seen it... but he is not willing to discuss it with us. These things."

"Felix?"

When Xiuge heard this name, he felt that it seemed familiar, as if he had heard it before.

Soon, Marlena confirmed Shuge's conjecture, and she replied: "Yes! Mr. Felix is ​​a famous person in Salem City! Before the disaster, he had been the head of the Mutual Aid Association. Many people have been helped by him!”

After hearing these words, Xiuge's memory finally became clear.

He recalled that a few days before the incident in Salem City, he had witnessed two conflicts between the Salem Association and the Tricolor Brotherhood, and the "Felix" mentioned by Marlena It seems to be among the conflicting people.

So he asked tentatively: "This Mr. Felix you are talking about, is he... very young?"

"Yes sir, I am as young as you! You are all very good people!"

Malena responded quickly. She was still very worried that the young mage behind her would be detrimental to her companions, so she would not miss any opportunity to praise and praise Shuge. Such small words hidden in her words The thought was funny, but of course Shuge couldn't laugh now.

Because he knew very well that the reason why this girl was willing to lead him now was not because she trusted him, but because she did not have the courage to refuse, and the situation of her companions who depended on her was indeed not optimistic.

"Don't worry, Malena, I won't do anything bad to you and your friends..."

Shuge soothed softly, and in order to make his guarantee more credible, he added another sentence after this sentence: "I can swear to the goddess Mel."

Sure enough, the moment Xiuge said these words, Marlena breathed a sigh of relief.

In her understanding, although the "kindness" of spellcasters is a huge unknown, the mages' belief in the goddess of magic is extremely sincere. This oath is at least more convincing than other forms of guarantees.

…

Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the speed of the running rat.

Although its appearance and running directly alarmed the descendants of the Dark Abyss who were hiding in the surrounding buildings, the blessing of the Mother Goddess contained in Snitch's body now had a very obvious impact on these incomplete creations from the Dark Abyss. deterrence.

As a dependent clan "certified" by the Mother Goddess of the Earth, the status between the Running Rats and these defective products that are barely related to the power of the "Dark Abyss Palace" can be said to be extremely disparate.

Therefore, although Snitch's existence attracted a lot of attention, they did not have the courage to leave the building where they were hiding and attack, and even if they had the idea, they would not be able to catch up with it.

In the process, Shuge inevitably attracted the attention of some other survivors. Among the survivors who had already begun to move, there were many groups of ten to fifteen people, carrying crystal blunderbuss and flamethrowers. and the Alchemy Bomb squad.

Through their clothes and appearance and Elena's attitude, Shuge could probably judge the origins of these people.

They should be members of the Tricolor Fraternity.

In addition to the soldiers of the independent government and the Legal Committee, the Tricolor Brotherhood should be regarded as the third force that can continue to be active in Salem City. After all, there are many "capable people and strangers" among the members of the Brotherhood. ".

Today's Salem City has become a paradise for them to fully display their talents and abilities.

The members of the Three Color Brotherhood were extremely frightened by the passing of the Running Rat. And when they discovered that there was a person riding on the back of this magical creature, they showed extreme vigilance. Of course, there might be something in it. There is some greed and covetousness.

It can be said that Shuge didn't have a good attitude towards these guys. When he was passing by on a running rat, he snapped his fingers, and the hand of the mage immediately appeared next to these three-color brotherhood members. , and punched one of the guys who dared to aim with the crystal gun.

Although Xiuge did not inject corrosive poison into the mage's hand, judging from the magic feedback produced when hitting the target, the guy's nose bone was probably broken on the spot.

The reaction of these three-color brotherhood members also sounded the alarm for Shuge.

In today's Salem City, I am afraid that there is no longer any identity that can be used as a "universal pass". Everyone's status has been pulled to the same level by this disaster. Only practical force and survival materials can be A real premise for conversation.

Perhaps because of Felix, Marlena also had a bad attitude towards the Three-Color Brotherhood. After seeing the warning given by Shuge, she even couldn't help but let out a weak exclamation and cheer.

Not long after, Shuge arrived at the destination of his trip under the guidance of Marlena.

This is a somewhat old apartment building. It is located in the west part of the central axis of Salem City. Therefore, it is a very typical Walter-style building, with deep gray and black colors throughout and sharp spires. Although the style is old, overall it is still very solid.

At least the terrible earthquake did not destroy it, but only left some scary cracks on its walls.

Along the way, Xiuge has seen too many collapsed houses.

According to Malena, they originally lived in another apartment not far away. After the earthquake, that apartment was already crumbling. For safety reasons, they finally moved here.

Shuge noticed that except for some higher floors, the windows in almost all rooms in this apartment had been completely nailed. This should be a response to avoid the "death wave" of the descendants of An Yuan. .

The two entered the apartment building one after another. After being accompanied by Shuge, a trustworthy mage, Malena obviously relaxed a lot, but she still observed carefully when entering the apartment building. After confirming that there were no dangerous people or descendants of An Yuan hidden in the building, they boldly led Xiuge up.

"Mr. Alfred, please come with me... The people living here are actually good people, but everyone has been frightened by the situation in the city, so they are all very..."

"I see."

In Xiuge's magic perception, he realized that someone was observing and spying on him through the gaps and holes in the door. When he cast his eyes over, these eyes would quickly avoid it. Obviously, the "residents" here were They were very nervous about strangers like Shuge.

In this way, Marlena brought Shuge to the room where she and her "companions" lived. This was the third floor. It was not high enough to avoid the "death tide". There were also many waste piles outside the door. Items, Xiuge saw a lot of empty shells from cans here, and every empty shell was licked clean.

Obviously in this environment, wasting food is the most shameful behavior.

Marlena raised her hand and knocked rhythmically on the door, first once, then three times, and then twice.

So the door opened quickly, and what appeared in front of Xiuge were two extremely young faces - they looked like they were only seven or eight years old. Their hair was messy and their faces were dirty. They couldn't see at all. Find out if it's a boy or a girl.

"Sister Marlena!"

One of the children shouted in surprise, but then he saw Xiuge standing behind Marlena, carrying the heavy backpack for her, so nervousness and fear immediately took over his face.

Seeing this, Marlena quickly comforted her, while Xiuge could only stand there quietly with a smile on her face, watching the girl who was leading the way introduce her origins and identity.

After the little residents calmed down a little, Shuge said: "I know some healing magic. Maybe I can cure Mr. Felix... But only if you trust me and let me in."

As he spoke, he gently moved his fingers to create simple magic patterns, and the children were surprised to find that clean water slowly appeared in the empty cups placed on the table beside them, while water appeared out of thin air in the saucers. There were a few extra slices of rough bread.

Sometimes, winning children's trust is so easy.

The appearance of food out of thin air attracted everyone's attention, and it was only then that Xiuge discovered that there were eight children gathered in this room. Each of them was more immature than Marlena, and the youngest among them She was probably just four years old, a girl. At this moment, she was looking at the bread on the table eagerly, as if hoping to get some of it.

This purest and most primitive desire made Xiuge's mood fluctuate a little, so he sighed and performed the magic trick again, doubling the amount of magic bread in the plate, and then these hungry children ended Overcoming their dullness, they looked at Xiuge with admiration and vigilance, while making way for this strange young mage to enter the room.

"The bread is delicious! The water is also sweet!"

The eldest child who tasted water and bread in the name of "testing poison" happily announced the results of his "experiment", which made Xiuge even more unhappy.

As a spell caster, he knows exactly what the drinking water and food he creates taste like. Weilin even commented on it before. Her original words were "tears mixed with toothpaste" and "sawdust mixed with grass leaves."

While the children were busy sharing the rare food, Shuge was led by Malena to the innermost room. On the only bed with an old mattress, he saw an unconscious person with a face on his face. A wounded man with brown hair.

This is Felix.

Shuge guessed correctly. This was the young man who led the members of the Mutual Aid Association to protest in front of the Peace Newspaper Office before the incident in Salem City, and was eventually taken away by the police.