On the northeast border of the Kingdom of Dawn, in the Cage Mountain area.
The higher they went, the more difficult it became. There were intertwined vines and giant trees everywhere. The thick canopies overlapped each other, and they could only see a little gray sky through the gaps.
The only thing that comforted Azima was that at least they did not have to fight against knee-deep snow. This place was less affected by the Months of Demons, so the mountain would not be blocked by heavy snow. If it was like the Impassable Mountain Range, they could come again at the turn of spring and summer.
However, this did not mean that it was easy to go through the deep mountains.
When they stood at the foot of the mountain, the Cage Mountain was just a gentle slope, not even steep. But when they went in, they found that there was not even a small path, which was not suitable for a large group of people to climb. On the first day, they had climbed less than two miles, and three of them were injured. Sean, the king's personal guard, had no choice but to station the army in the small town at the foot of the mountain, and only select a few elites to continue with her.
Knaff, a local guide, Rother, a God's Punishment Witch, and Mar, a liaison from the Tokat Family, together with Sean and Azima, formed the whole team of this strange exploration team.
It would be strange if it was not strange!
The God's Punishment Witch said that she was entrusted by His Majesty to take care of her. After all, it was inconvenient for her to travel with men all day long. But Azima was sure that if she tried to escape, the God's Punishment Witch would break her legs immediately.
Although Mar Tokat was a liaison sent by the king of the Kingdom of Dawn, what was there to contact in the deep mountains and forests? Instead of staying in the town, he insisted on going up the mountain with them. Obviously, he had a purpose. If he had not been under the name of the Tokat Family and helped a lot along the way, Sean would have thrown him back with a burlap bag.
There was no need to even mention the prospecting team. This "harmless" prospecting team was armed to the teeth. Even their shovels could be used to cut people. When faced with the knights of certain lords, they looked like they would annihilate all of them with a single command. They did not look like a group of ordinary miners living at the bottom of society at all.
None of them knew what they were looking for, including Azima. They were not looking for gold, silver, or copper. The only guide was the coin in her hand, which was made of an unknown material.
"Wait … wait." The guide in front suddenly raised his hand and signaled for them to stop. "Be careful, there's a trap here!"
Azima heard a series of clicking sounds behind her. She knew it was the sound of firearms being loaded. Over the past month or so, Sean had often talked to her about His Majesty's legendary achievements, and she had a basic understanding of the combat ability of this army. In fact, compared to Rother, who used to be a witch, she found that she preferred to stay with ordinary people.
Rother, on the other hand, was much calmer. She did not even draw her sword as she slowly walked to the guide. "Oh? Is this … a spear-throwing tripwire? "
"Yes." Knaff pointed to the top of a tree trunk. "See? The spears are hidden there. If we accidentally touch the trap, those things will shoot us into sieves!"
Azima followed his finger and saw several sharpened wooden sticks sticking out of the branches and leaves. They seemed to be looking down at them coldly from a high place. If they fell on their bodies, they would definitely hurt their heads, necks, and other important parts. This was not a trap set by hunters, but more like a trap for people.
"Where's the trap?" Sean asked in a low voice.
"You won't find them," said Knaff, shaking his head. "Every vine and twig under our feet could be part of a tripwire, and it would be difficult to destroy it completely unless we set the whole place ablaze."
"Then what should we do?" Marl muttered.
"We have to take a detour, my lord."
"No, all of you step back," Rother suddenly said. "Let me have a try."
"What … did you say?" Knaff looked at the God's Punishment Witch in surprise. "Hey, this is not a joke —"
However, before he finished speaking, the God's Punishment Witch had slowly walked into the dangerous area.
The weeds were so dense that it was impossible to see what was under their feet without cutting them down. Before they went far, Azima heard a bang as if something had been pulled off. Then there was a rustling sound in the treetops, like the hissing of a viper!
The rope, which was hidden somewhere, was suddenly pulled taut, and the wooden stick on top of the tree shot out in one breath! At the same time, Rother also pulled out her long sword!
"It's over …" The guide immediately closed his eyes as if he could not bear to see the woman die on the spot.
However, Azima witnessed everything that happened next.
The God's Punishment Witch held the hilt of her sword with both hands and swatted the sticks back one by one as if she were swatting flies! Most of the sticks were smashed by the huge force, but she did it with ease as if it did not take much effort at all!
When the noise subsided, the grass around her was in a mess.
"So the trap is solved." Rother sheathed her sword and shrugged to the others. "Let's go."
After realizing what had happened, Knaff was so scared that he fell to the ground.
…
"Aha … I knew you were all very capable and extraordinary. No wonder you're the big shots from the king's city!" After the guide recovered from the shock, he immediately changed his story. "Especially this warrior, his swordsmanship can be described as superb!"
"Cut the crap," Rother interrupted. "You'd better explain why there are such traps in the mountain. Those wooden sticks and spears are hardly effective against wild beasts, aren't they? "
This was also the question that Azima wanted to ask.
"It's indeed used to deal with people," Knaff replied honestly. "The higher we go up the mountain, the more traps there are. Therefore, Cage Mountain has another name, Trap Mountain. These things were left by the previous lords with the sole purpose of guarding against the Kingdom of Wolfheart."
"The Kingdom of Wolfheart?" Sean repeated.
"Yes, this mountain extends almost from the seaside to the old Holy City. It's a natural boundary between the two kingdoms. Because the terrain of the Kingdom of Dawn is lower, it's like being trapped in a cage. That's how Cage Mountain got its name," Knaff explained. "But the problem lies in the shape of the mountain. You should have noticed when you were at the foot of the mountain. The south side of Cage Mountain is like a gentle slope. It looks very high, but it's very easy to walk down. As a result, bandits, hunters, and refugees from neighboring countries often invade the border territory of the Kingdom of Dawn through Cage Mountain. At first, they just plunder resources in the mountain. Later, they simply ran into the villages to steal and rob, which made the people panic. The lord also had a headache, so he simply thought of a way to solve the problem once and for all, which was to give up Cage Mountain. "
"I see …" Marl Tokat suddenly understood. "Such a thing actually happened on the border."
"The lord naturally didn't want to attract the king's attention," Knaff continued. "Besides, we're not like the poor people on the other side. They can't live without the mountain. We just need to change our way of living. After the mountain was sealed, the lord sent people to plant fast-growing weeds and vines in it and set a lot of traps. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation, and Cage Mountain has become what it is today. "
"So you turned it into a real cage. Although it blocked the other side, it also imprisoned you," Azima thought. If it were His Majesty Roland Wimbledon, he would definitely not choose to do this. Roland always looked into the distance. Even when he was giving her the task, he never focused on her.
"No, why should I think of him at this time?"
Azima shook her head repeatedly.
"His Majesty is just the employer.
I should finish the task quickly and try to return to Doris and the others as soon as possible. "
…
As the guide said, they encountered several more traps later, but they basically did not work on the God's Punishment Witches. Just as night was about to fall, Azima suddenly saw the green light on the coin suddenly flourish!
Behind a dense forest, there was also a dazzling light source. There seemed to be countless light spots running back and forth between the two, forming a bright light bridge.
This was the reaction of the source!
She had finally found another source!
However, when the exploration team followed Azima's instructions and passed through the dense forest, they could not help but be stunned.
It turned out to be an abandoned building half-hidden in the mountainside. The dilapidated stone gate was so deep that they could not see the bottom. The pillars on both sides were engraved with strange symbols, which obviously proved that it was not natural.
Azima also widened her eyes in surprise.
"Didn't His Majesty say that she was looking for a strange ore?"
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