The chilly river wind blew from the south to the north. The Nature, with its sails, quickly sailed on the Vimur River.
Under the influence of the Elven Forest's higher temperature than other regions, the monsoon would blow from the Fertile Plains to the Elven Forest every winter. On the Vimur River, there would be a rare southerly wind that was rarely seen in winter.
Sophia stood at the bow of the ship with a relaxed and expectant expression. Sometimes, she would look at the glittering silver river surface. Sometimes, she would close her eyes and feel the cool wind blowing on her body. She was as happy as a bird that had just flown out of its cage.
Then, a familiar voice pulled her attention back to the present.
"You seem to be in a good mood, Viscount Missy."
It was Demacia.
Seeing that annoying handsome face, the half-elf girl's expression immediately turned dull.
However, just as she was about to start her sarcastic mode, Demacia hurriedly waved his hand.
"Don't... don't scold me, I'm here to give you something."
After saying that, he took out a scroll from his bosom and handed it to the other party.
"What is this?"
Sophia frowned.
Perhaps because she was in a good mood, she did not reject him.
"It records a powerful disguise technique. It can help you change your appearance and become an ordinary human."
Demacia said.
"Change my appearance?"
Sophia was stunned.
"That's right, we will reach our destination in a while. The appearance of a half-elf is too conspicuous, so it's better to disguise yourself. Not only you, we will all disguise ourselves. This time, we will disguise ourselves as human mercenaries."
Demacia explained.
Hearing his words, Sophia frowned slightly.
She glanced at her appearance in the river and hesitated for a moment. In the end, she still accepted the scroll.
"Oh right."
At this moment, Demacia spoke again.
"Is there anything else?"
Sophia asked in an unfriendly tone.
"Nothing else, I just want to say that River Bend Town might be different from what you imagined, so don't hold too much hope."
Demacia scratched his head and said.
Sophia's brows furrowed slightly when she heard his words that came out of nowhere.
She was about to say something, but Demacia turned around and left. She did not know if he was afraid of being ridiculed by the girl if he stayed too long.
"What a weirdo."
The girl snorted and said.
After Demacia's interruption, her mood to enjoy the scenery dissipated a lot.
Looking at the blue sky, the girl put away the scroll and went to the cabin to rest...
The ship continued to sail and half a day passed by quickly.
When it was almost noon, a small harbor town finally appeared in their field of vision.
"We are about to reach River Bend Town! Prepare your disguise, we are about to disembark! "
The Nature Ship, the voices of the Elves.
Sophia's attention was also attracted by the voices of the elves. Her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly crawled out of the cabin and looked toward the shore.
However, when she saw the town on the shore, her excited expression quickly turned into shock.
It was a harbor town that was less than half the size of Gray Harbor. It was located in a U-shaped river bend. The buildings on the shore were short and shabby, and it was unknown how long it had been since they were last renovated.
There were a few merchant ships docked at the harbor, and they were loading their goods. There were people coming and going on the shore, and it was rather lively.
However, other than a few merchants who came down from the merchant ships and were dressed decently, most of the people's clothes were dirty and tattered, and they were as thin as a match. She could even see some children begging around the merchants. They were as thin as saplings, and their clothes were ragged.
This dilapidated and impoverished scene was a stark contrast to the prosperous and rich scene of Gray Harbor, to the point that the girl was slightly absent-minded for a moment.
"This... is River Bend Town?"
She muttered in disbelief.
"That's right, this is our destination, River Bend Town."
Demacia, who appeared out of nowhere, said.
Sophia did not mock Demacia because of his sudden interruption. She seemed to be stunned by the scene in front of her.
She stared at the dilapidated harbor in front of her and shook her head.
"No... Impossible, according to the records in the castle, River Bend Town is a pearl on the Vimur River, and it is an important harbor town in the western region. How could it be like this?"
"Miss Sophia, don't compare Gray Harbor with this place. The Elven cities are incomparable, and don't compare it with Zeloran. Zeloran's riverfront is a rich area."
Demacia shook his head.
He took out a scroll to disguise himself as a mercenary and said:
"What you see now is a real harbor for human civilians."
"Let's go, prepare to disembark."
...
The Nature Ship slowly sailed into the harbor. Sophia, who had disguised herself as a mercenary, followed the other disguised Elves to the harbor.
Their arrival immediately attracted the attention of the harbor's residents. Everyone looked at them with curiosity and vigilance.
When the residents saw their mercenary disguises, many of their expressions changed and they hurriedly left. After a while... the harbor became much more deserted.
Only the caravans that were unloading their goods looked at them with vigilance. Many of the caravans' guards held their weapons tightly and were in a defensive position.
Sophia was slightly stunned when she saw this scene.
"Why are they avoiding us? Is there a problem with our disguises?"
She asked doubtfully.
Looking at this harbor town that was many times worse than what she had expected, the girl wanted to ask a resident why this place was so dilapidated. She did not expect that everyone would avoid them like the plague...
"This is normal. We are now disguised as mercenaries, and mercenaries are synonymous with chaos in the human world. For safety, ordinary people are not willing to get close to us. Of course, this is also our goal. Disguising as mercenaries will save us a lot of trouble."
One of the accompanying elves explained.
Sophia was even more shocked when she heard this.
"Why? Could it be that mercenaries dare to be impudent in the city? Could it be that they are not afraid that the city guards will put them in prison?! "
The Elf who spoke spread out his hands.
"I don't know. I have only been to Maple Leaf Territory once. I only know that the civilians are very afraid of mercenaries. I don't know anything else. However, Demacia has seen a lot. He should know more about the specific situation."
Sophia fell into silence when she heard the Elf's words.
She did not continue to dwell on this topic. Instead, she followed the Elf who got off the boat and rode a Dragon Scale Horse that was disguised as an ordinary horse, heading towards the town.
As they entered the town, a more detailed view of River Bend Town gradually appeared in front of the girl.
Low buildings, dirty and messy streets, poor residents...
This poor and backward scene greatly impacted the girl's worldview.
The faces of the passersby were numb and lifeless. They looked at them with fear in their eyes. That kind of fear... made Sophia's heart feel indescribably sour.
On the way, the girl keenly noticed that she did not see a single city guard along the way.
Riding a Dragon Scale Horse, the group slowly advanced under the respectful gazes of the residents.
Suddenly, a burst of clamor and cursing attracted Sophia's attention.
In front of a dilapidated tavern, a few people dressed as mercenaries were kicking and punching an old woman in ragged clothes.
On the ground, a fruit basket was overturned, and wild fruits were scattered all over the ground. Many of them had already been trampled by the mercenaries. The mercenaries let out a burst of arrogant laughter.
Seeing this scene, a trace of anger flashed across Sophia's face.
She clenched the necklace in front of her chest and was about to chant something when an even faster figure rushed out of the group.
It was a female Elf disguised as a mercenary. Sophia remembered that the other party was called Moonlight Jasmine. She coldly snorted and kicked the mercenaries away.
"Scram."
Moonlight Jasmine coldly said.
Several mercenaries crawled up from the ground. Just as they were about to fly into a rage, they sensed the powerful aura coming from the other party, and their anger instantly turned into fear. Then, without even picking up the equipment on the ground, they scrambled to escape.
Seeing this, Sophia let go of the necklace in her hand and jumped off the horse. She went to the old woman and helped her up, picking up the berries that had fallen on the ground one by one.
Looking at Sophia who suddenly came to greet her, the old woman's eyes flashed a trace of fear, but after the girl began to help her, her fear gradually dissipated.
"Thank you … Thank you … My Lady …"
She wiped away her tears and expressed her gratitude to Sophia.
Looking at the cowering old woman, Sophia's eyes flashed a trace of anger.
She chanted an incantation and, under the surprised gazes of the other players, cast a healing spell on the old woman.
"What the hell, she's actually a mage? I didn't even see it … Could it be that she has some kind of concealment item? "
Seeing this scene, Demacia mumbled as he put away the healing potion in his hand.
"Thank you … Thank you … My Lady … Thank you …"
After receiving the healing spell, the old woman's voice was choked with sobs.
Sophia sighed. She patted the dust off the old woman's body and said, "Don't worry.
"No need to thank me. Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I'm much better … I'm much better … Thank you … Thank you so much …"
The old woman hugged the basket of fruits and said gratefully.
Sophia looked at the messy berries in the basket and could not help but ask:
"Are there no guards in River Bend Town? How could they allow these mercenaries to be so arrogant? "
The old woman sighed and shook her head:
"My Lady, the guards of River Bend Town have already fled with the nobles. Maple Leaf Hill rebelled and they were afraid that it would affect this place, so they fled a few days ago."
"Fled?!"
Sophia was slightly stunned, then her expression turned angry:
"What a disgrace to the nobles!"
She looked at the mess around her and could not help but ask:
"What about the Church? When the Lord fled, did the Church not appear? "
"Church … Church?"
The old woman was stunned.
Then, she shook her head:
"The Church has also retreated. They retreated together with the nobles …"
Sophia was stunned.
Looking at the girl's stunned expression, the old woman said:
"My Lady, are you also a mercenary? Are you going to participate in Duke Rosen's enlistment? "
Sophia hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded her head.
"Then I advise you not to go. The nobles are people who eat people without spitting out the bones. Don't be fooled by the high bounty they offer. Your life in the end is still a question … You are a good person, don't be fooled by them. If it were those fugitives, I would definitely not say this, but you … are a good person."
The old woman shook her head.
Sophia fell into silence.
She slowly sighed and said:
"I understand."
After saying that, she looked at the old woman shivering in the cold wind, then glanced at the crushed berries in the basket. After thinking for a while, she took out a gold pound and stuffed it into the old woman's arms:
"This is some money, take it and buy some clothes and food."
"Gold … Gold pound!"
The old woman widened her eyes, a trace of greed flashed in her eyes.
However, she quickly shook her head and said with a bitter smile:
"Thank you for your kindness, my Lady, but … You should take this gold pound."
"This is just a small token of my appreciation."
Sophia persisted.
The old woman sighed and said:
"My Lady, with such a large sum of money, even if you give it to me, an old woman like me won't be able to keep it …"
Hearing her words, Sophia was slightly taken aback.
Following the old woman's gaze, the young girl looked around. When she saw the vagrants who had gathered around and were greedily looking at the gold pound in her hands, she finally understood.
"I understand now …"
The young girl's expression turned desolate.
She felt sour in her heart. She took off the tattered coat that the elves had given her, disguised as a mercenary, and draped it over the old woman. She then took out some delicious pastries that she had specially kept in Gray Harbor from her storage ring and handed them to the old woman:
"Eat something, I'll leave after you finish eating."
"Thank you … Thank you … My Lady, you are a good person, the Lord of Eternity will definitely protect you."
The old woman said gratefully.
After saying that, she wolfed down the food, not knowing how long it had been since she had eaten properly.
Protect me, huh …
Looking at the dilapidated streets around her, as well as the tightly shut doors of the church further away, Sophia suddenly felt a great sense of irony …
After bidding farewell to the old woman, the young girl's mood became much heavier.
At this moment, she was no longer as excited as she had been when they had first set off.
The group continued to move forward, gradually reaching the heart of the town, and also entering the traditional wealthy district.
This was where the nobles lived. It was luxurious and grand, a stark contrast to the previous district, giving Sophia a sense of familiarity.
But this did not make the young girl happy. On the contrary, her mood seemed to become heavier and heavier.
Along the way, Sophia spoke less and less, and her gaze became more and more gloomy.
Even the players who wanted to talk to her quieted down a lot.
River Bend Town was not big. After passing through the desolate noble district, Sophia's group quickly arrived at the other side of the town.
As they moved forward, the surrounding houses became dilapidated again, a stark contrast to the wealthy district.
On the other side of the town, there were city walls protecting it, and there was a moat outside the city walls.
Of course, there were no more city guards now.
Riding on the Dragon Scale Horse, Sophia and the elves finally left the town and entered the heart of the Western Territory.
However, not long after she walked out of the city gate, Sophia saw a suspicious pedestrian passing by the side of the road.
It was a man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, holding something in his arms. His expression was numb as he walked to the ditch by the side of the road and threw the thing in his hands into it.
But, when he saw Sophia and the others, his expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly ran away in a panic.
"What did he throw away?"
Looking at this scene, Sophia frowned slightly.
"I suggest that you don't look at it."
Demacia, who was traveling with them, suddenly said.
For some reason, his voice was unusually heavy.
Of course, the half-elf girl naturally would not listen to his advice.
She snorted coldly, squeezed the horse's belly, and rode towards the side of the road.
As they neared the ditch, Sophia began to smell a nauseating stench.
It seemed to be the smell of something rotting.
And when she came to the edge of the ditch and saw the situation inside, her gaze suddenly froze …
In the ditch.
There were piles of dead babies.
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