In fact, the convoy had spent the whole morning fighting the Lakeside Avenue on the west bank of Lake Vallenden, which had been in disrepair for many years. This prosperous trade route about thirty years ago had become a mess after Oberg the Seventh ascended to the throne. But it had been fine recently because they had lost track of the caravans. At least there were no bandits around.
All in all, the convoy had been busy the whole morning. Everyone did not even have time to eat lunch. They only arrived at Shallow Water Town in the afternoon.
At around three o 'clock, Brando could see the outline of a town sitting by the lake through the reflection of the lake. It shone under the sun.
That was Shallow Water Town.
Shallow Water Town had a long history in Aouine. Ever since Count Hatinger bought this land from the mountain people in the last century, the immigrants had started to settle down here permanently. At first, it was mainly provided as a place for adventurers to settle down in the Falling Needle Hills. Later, it gradually became a transportation route connecting Viero, Grinoires, and Lantonilan.
Therefore, the town had maintained many historic inns for thousands of years. For example, Brando was familiar with Nyssa's Butterfly Flower and Trout Pond.
But in the game, Shallow Water Town's position was not important. One important reason was that it was the gateway to Lantonilan, and Lantonilan was rarely opened to ordinary players. Secondly, the only high-level area nearby was the Falling Needle Hills. From this direction, one had to pass through the northern section of the Ansera Forest. The mountain path was very difficult, so players would rather go through Vallenden than this direction.
After all, players could still use the teleportation circle, so the distance was not too big of a problem.
This situation continued until Veston's castle dungeon was opened. The Nine Phoenix Sword's Golden Ice Flame appeared, and a large number of players flocked to this place. But the good times did not last long. Not long after that was the third War of the Black Roses, and what happened after that was known to everyone.
Thinking of this, Brando could not help but look up at the mountains. The Golden Sparrow Mountains and Ansera's Sapphire Mountains intersected here. The two largest mountains in the east were their respective main peaks. Below the mountains was the Bochenier Pass, and north from there, Veston's castle was hidden in the forest.
The legendary Golden Ice Flame Holy Sword was hidden under the castle.
That was one of Brando's targets, but he didn't plan to touch it for the time being. Speaking of which, there were so many advanced areas near the Falling Needle Hills. Who knew what the designer was thinking? He knew that a real adult dragon was guarding the Golden Ice Flame in Veston's castle.
He didn't know what the relationship between the Winter Dragon named Katina and the one in the Falling Needle Hills was, but her strength was several orders of magnitude stronger than that of the young dragon. If Brando went to find trouble with her now, it was basically the same concept as courting death.
Fortunately, Weiss' castle had been sealed for a long time, so no one would touch it for the time being.
Brando looked in the direction of Shallow Water Town. This place was the frontline of the resistance against Madara for a long time, and it left a deep impression on him. He and his senior sister's exploration team had once fought and bled here. Many places still retained fragments of memories of him fighting side by side with those familiar companions.
They could see familiar scenes and locations in every street and alley they passed through, and they couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
The carriage passed through the nearest road to Shallow Water Town and entered the town. As the nearby area was relatively peaceful, they were not interrogated. Shallow Water Town was under the jurisdiction of Duke Anthony. The Duke's rule was very strict. Even in such a remote place, it was rare to see a scene similar to Grinoires where the private army of the nobles was as fierce as bandits.
Finally, the carriage stopped in the middle of the commercial area in the north of the town. Brando specifically chose an inn far away from the docks. The name of the inn was not outstanding. It was called The House of Carriages. In Erouine and Wohnde, you could find similar inns with the same name. There was no connection between them. The only connection was probably that the owners were equally lazy when it came to naming things.
This inn was also unknown in the game. Even Brando had never heard of it. But he chose this place for two reasons. First, to avoid the noise of the docks. Second, to avoid the familiar residence that reminded him of the past. Those fragmented memories that were like broken mirrors were like scars to him. Every time they were uncovered, it was like opening a scar.
After arranging the carriage, they walked into the inn. The business of this inn, called The House of Carriages, was as quiet as Brando imagined.
Even the owner of the inn probably did not expect to have a big customer. The bald, middle-aged man, who was immersed in wiping a plate with a dirty rag on the bar, was stunned for a moment when the light at the door dimmed slightly.
He looked up and narrowed his eyes to see Brando walking into the inn first, followed by Firas and the female Knight, Laurenna. Then Metisha and The Shire followed behind. Freya followed with a slate in her hand. Next to her was Hipamira in a linen robe. The priestess was bare-armed, but she did not seem to have any problem in such cold weather. He did not know if it was the blessing of the Mountain Spirit from Himilude that had taken effect, or if the life of an ascetic had made her accustomed to such harsh conditions.
Last was Scarlet and the little prince, who had just come out of the stable. Haruz, after a tiring morning, followed behind the mercenary girl dejectedly, like an abused child laborer.
Brando did not bring too many people with him on this trip, because the place he was going to was too dangerous, and those who lacked strength would go in vain. So in addition to the necessary entourage, Brando only brought his own cards. In addition to these people, Greysword Saint-mephistopheles, Babasha, her witches, and Aloz, who were ready to meet them at the Falling Needle Hills, there were only a little more than ten people in total.
But there was an uninvited presence in this group.
While the owner was still squinting at his group, Brando could not help but look back at the person who had been silently following behind the group. Until now, she had not said a single word to him. She just followed him silently.
But for the sake of the princess, he really could not take the initiative to ask her anything.
After everyone had walked into the inn, the bald innkeeper seemed to finally react and confirmed that such a large group of people did not seem to be here to collect debts from him. He was stunned for a moment before asking, "Are you here to stay?"
"Do you have any other services besides accommodation? Isn't this an inn? "Before Brando could speak, Filas asked somewhat incomprehensibly.
"Ah no, of course it is … No, welcome!" The bald innkeeper jumped up as if the soles of his feet were on fire. "Do you need a room? There are still many empty rooms in my inn, I guarantee you will be satisfied. "
"It's not just rooms." Brando finally spoke, "There's also food, we just came from Kurkel, cold and hungry, do you understand?"
"Yeah, the ground is cold and hard at night in this damned place, tents and sleeping bags won't do! I can finally get a good night's sleep today, and there's food — "Filas could not help but interject excitedly," I want roasted venison, preferably roasted with charcoal from the Alfalfa Fields, roasted until it's oily, and paired with spices — preferably spices from Luke, if not, I can accept Saint-ausol's herbs and salt. Then give me a jar of honey, butter cake, baked herring, a cup of pure black tea from Rushta's House of Gold after dinner, and — "
The Knight from Cruz was talking excitedly, as if he had already drawn up a pie to appease his hunger. But Brando quickly interrupted him before he could say anything more outrageous, and said to the stunned bald innkeeper, "Listen to him, roasted venison — if you don't have it, the Trout Pond Inn should have it for sale at this time of the year, you can buy it. Go out from here and turn left twice until you reach the end of the street, I'm sure you've heard of that place. "
"As for the rest, just pretend you didn't hear it. But you can buy some seafood from Lake Vallenden — for example, the mullet and salmon that are in season, and make us a few passable dishes. I can pay you double for those, and if you can get honey, I'll give you another reward. "
"Also, the ladies will need some fruit wine to warm them up," Brando glanced at the young prince, "and a cup of goat's milk, I don't care what you do. Don't try anything funny with me, I know the rules here better than you do, got it? "
The bald innkeeper shuddered slightly, and then realized that the man in front of him was an old hand, and seemed to know the town better than he did. He could not help but take another look at Brando. Brando's southern aristocratic attire was a little strange to him. Logically speaking, someone who could say something like that should not be a noble, but one of those mercenaries or adventurers who traveled all year round.
But the bald innkeeper did not dare to be rash, and quickly excused himself, instructing the waiter to carry out Brando's request.
Brando turned around, and everyone looked at him with a little surprise. Whether it was Metisha, The Shire, Freya, Scarlet, or even Pahimira, who had just joined the team, everyone more or less knew that this Count was knowledgeable, and was a master swordsman. He had also dabbled in the secrets of wizards and elementalists, and even the secrets of witches. From astronomy and geography to the rumors of nobles, there seemed to be nothing he could not bring to the table.
In private, Brando was even an alchemist, a blacksmith, and a scholar. But even so, they still did not imagine that this Count had such a side to him.
This was not something that could be explained by being knowledgeable —
At least in the eyes of others, this Count acted like a seasoned mercenary or adventurer. This was especially so in Scarlet's opinion. She had only seen this' aura 'from mercenaries who had traveled all over Erouine, and even Cruz.
She could not help but stop and stare at her Count in a daze. But the consequence of this was that the dejected little prince bumped into the package of the Azure Lance on her back and could not help but groan.
Haruz's painful groan seemed to break the silence.
Brando coughed, as if only now realizing that his performance was a little too much. He could not help but glare at Filas angrily. If it were not for this guy who spoke without thinking, he would not have subconsciously shown his previous side in the game.
But he sighed slightly in his heart, in fact, he knew that it was not all the other party's fault. He could not help but glance at the scenery outside through the window of the inn. The scenery here was a little too familiar to him.
"As you know, I had an experience of studying abroad in my early years," he smiled awkwardly and replied, "During that time, I had dealings with adventurers and mercenaries, and also went out to sea —"
"I see." Filas suddenly realized, "Count, you really had a bit of Lady Veronica's demeanor just now. As far as I know, the Legion Commander's early experience was similar to yours. I heard that she had joined a mercenary group alone. "
The young Knight from Cruz seemed to believe Brando's explanation without thinking at all, but that did not mean that everyone was as simple-minded as him. Brando more or less saw a trace of doubt in the other people's eyes. He knew in his heart that his explanation might not be able to convince everyone.
The first obvious doubt was that he was too young.
But now was obviously not the time to talk about this, and Brando could only brace himself and arrange for everyone to sit down. Fortunately, except for Laurenna, Scarlet, Metisha, and Freya all had a blind trust in him. Seeing that Brando did not say much, they did not want to ask more and took their seats in turn.
But it was at this moment, when he thought he had successfully escaped the disaster, a cold voice interrupted. "Brando, you said you went out to sea?" Brando froze slightly. He looked up and saw the last female Knight who sat down next to the little prince, Haruz.
She seemed to be from the north, with a more common nose bridge, taller and straighter than a southerner with mountain ancestry. Her lips were a little thick, but it did not ruin the delicate beauty of her facial features. Instead, it showed a hint of sexiness.
But this sexiness did not make Maynild appear charming. On the contrary, she looked at him calmly with her slightly purple eyes, like a she-wolf staring at her prey.
She placed one hand on the sword and swept the black hair on her forehead behind her back.
Brando also stared at her. This woman was the only uninvited guest in his team this time. At first, he thought that the princess was worried about the little prince and had ordered her to accompany and protect him. But he had tentatively asked Haruz to take on the more dangerous guard work in the convoy, and the other party did not seem to stop him.
This made him very suspicious. Not to mention, with the princess's character, since she had expressed her complete trust in him, she would not be so indecisive.
In fact, after a few days of probing, Brando was almost certain that the female Knight seemed to be coming for him.
But what exactly her goal was, he couldn't say for the time being.
But just as Maynild opened her mouth, Brendel seemed to hear his heart skip a beat. "Here it comes!" He thought to himself, then hesitated for a moment before replying, "What?"
"I just want to ask where you came from?" Maynild replied quietly, her tone seemed to have softened again. This made Brando slightly startled, because he did not hear the tit-for-tat in her tone.
On the contrary, because of that familiar face, there was a touch of kindness.
"What's the point of asking this?"
"No." The female Knight shook her head. "I'm just interested. Brando, can you answer me?"
Brando suddenly felt very awkward. He did not know why Maynild suddenly did not call him Mr. Brando like the princess did, but called him by his name. This seemed to have suddenly shortened the distance between them made him feel as if he was being stared at.
But he looked at the serious expression on her face, and he really did not know where to start. Could he say no to his senior sister? Brando first shook his head in his heart. Obviously, he could not. At this moment, he suddenly realized where his uneasiness came from. At this moment, Maynild was too similar to the impression he had in his heart.
"I used to study in the Karsuk Plateau under a Black Tower wizard, and I also had the identity of an apprentice. Later, I went out to sea with some people from today's Sebens to Saint-ausol and some places further east … … "
He hesitated for a moment and carefully made up a story. Fortunately, he had rich experience. Even if it was a lie, he felt that there would be no problem. And in the other side of history, he had indeed been to these places. Even if she asked, he was confident that he could handle it.
But he did not expect that the female Knight just looked at him with a strange and regretful expression. She sighed and said, "I see. I thought you had been to the Shining Sea. Set off from Port Gris by ship, and a few days later, you can see the Kalanga Mountain Range piercing through the clouds shining on the surface of the sea … … "
"That kind of scene must be very beautiful."
Hearing this sentence, Brando's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, it was as if he was frozen in place.
At that moment, it was as if he could no longer hear anything. There was only one sentence echoing in his head: Set off from Port Gris by boat, and in a few days, you will be able to see the Kalanga Mountains that pierced through the clouds and sparkled on the surface of the sea …
That kind of scene must be very beautiful, right?
Yes, beautiful, majestic, and breathtaking.
… …
(PS: I'm not stuck today. I can't afford to play. Qidian is inhumane. It forced me to become a baboon who writes 20,000 chapters a day. Baboon the Baboon, begging for monthly votes, begging for cute service in the book review section … …) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
