"… The legend of the green people in the forest has a long history. The mountain people of Manowar and Lantonilan call them the people of the trees. Some people say that they are the descendants of the Miirnas. After the War of the Holy Saints, there were indeed some Miirnas who took the route we took today and hid in the Stained Frost Forest. They crossed the Falling Needle Mountains and went to sea from the area of the Silverpine Coast. They went north and disappeared. "
"No one knows where they went in the end, but some people say that the Miirnas in the forest were divided into two. The leader of the team was unwilling to give up secular power and coaxed a group of people to stay. The result of these descendants is conceivable. The group of people who stayed became the green people later; but they have been assimilated by the forest. Their cheeks are like the texture of wood, their dull eyes are sunken in, and their bodies are covered with roots. They have been wandering in the forest, day after day, regretting the decision they made. "
"The dark magic turned this regret into resentment. They are like ghosts without hearts, lost in the forest, killing all the creatures they meet. Most of these Miirnas who stayed are nobles among the Miirnas. They are good at using language to confuse people, especially when this language contains the magic of the forest. Many people who have seen them never return. "
The flames calcined the branches in the bonfire. The small branches turned golden red in the fire, and sparks burst out from time to time. Brendel's voice was sometimes high and sometimes low, telling the legend of the man in the tree that was widely spread in Manowar's area, but most of the locals only knew this legend and could not tell the origin of the story in such detail as he did, so everyone in the firelight could hear it in a trance.
Only the little prince curled up in the corner, shivering as he listened. He wanted to go away and not listen, but he could not resist his curiosity.
"What about the Miirnas who left?" Metisha was a little curious. She put a dead branch into the bonfire, and the bright light of the fire made her face look much rosier.
Brando picked up the grilled fish from the bonfire and threw it to Haruz. The little prince was stunned and instinctively reached out to catch it. It was so hot that he threw the grilled fish away. Only then did he react. He hurriedly grabbed the wooden skewer and picked it up. However, he stared at the mud and snow on the grilled fish, not knowing what to do.
Brando sighed and shook his head. He handed the other grilled fish to Maynild beside him, and Maynild understood tacitly. She reached out and took the grilled fish from the little prince's hand, then gave him the grilled fish she had just received.
"Thank you …" Haruze whispered, his face as red as an apple.
"Your Highness, if you want to take responsibility, you must first learn how to overcome your fear." Maynild reminded him, "There are all kinds of legends in this world, but Your Highness has long passed the age of believing in bedtime stories."
"… I, I'm not afraid." Haruz stared at the grilled fish in his hand, feeling a little wronged. "Because my sister said that Lady Martha will protect every one of her people …"
Laurenna couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this reason to comfort herself. "Your Highness, you're so cute." She replied with some amusement.
Brando shook his head. He really couldn't expect more from this prince. At least he had become more independent these days. Before this, he didn't dare to speak his mind in front of so many people. This was at least an improvement. So he continued to answer Metisha's question. "Those Miirnas crossed the Falling Needle Mountains. Some people saw them go out to sea from the area of today's Silverpine Coast, but it was too long ago. However, the souls of the dead Miirnas ancestors still wander in the Ancient Gorge north of the Falling Needle Mountains. Pieces of sunken ships are often salvaged from the seabed in that area. "
"What about the Lost Knight? I've heard similar legends, "Laurenna said. These days, Brando had told them a lot of legends about the forest every day. In her opinion, there seemed to be nothing that the Count of Tónigel didn't know.
"A knight who lost his mind? That's another story. "Brando was about to speak when he was interrupted by a sorrowful wail from the forest in the distance. The sound was undulating under the silver moon and under the forest, similar to a wolf's howl. But Brando could tell that it was a human voice, a woman's voice.
The young prince trembled in fear, and everyone turned their heads in that direction at the same time. The sound came from the south of the camp, in the direction of the hunters' original camp.
With a crash, a person suddenly rushed out of the bushes. It was Scarlet with a long spear on her back. She looked at Brando, somewhat at a loss, but the latter had already understood. "What happened?"
"She ran out …" the mountain girl replied in a low voice.
"Ran out?" Brando was slightly startled. "You didn't stop her?"
"But she said she was going to find her brother."
"Her brother? Her brother was among those hunters? "
Scarlet shook her head slightly, indicating that she didn't know.
…
The second time Brando saw the female hunter was in the hunter's camp during the day. She was kneeling in the snow and sobbing softly. The girl had thick, dark brown hair that fell over her shoulders, slightly curly, and was very beautiful. She was wearing a thick hunter's coat, but the longbow and quiver hanging from her belt were long gone when she was found. The exposed skin on her hands and neck was a little tanned, a little like Sue's skin. She looked at most 16 or 17 years old, but she was much more mature than Maynild and even Freya.
The female hunter was lying on the edge of the hole dug in the snow, her hands clutching the frozen ground tightly. She was whimpering like a beast, and her whimpers gradually turned into low whines. Freya, who was beside Brando, couldn't bear to see her like this. She walked over to help her up, but Brando was one step ahead of her. He looked at the hunter's body in the hole and asked, "Is her brother in there?"
Maynild, who was beside him, shook her head slightly. "She identified the bodies that were buried earlier. Her brother's body wasn't among them. We've also searched the surrounding forest and found no trace of him. "
"That means her brother is still alive?"
"Not necessarily. It's also possible that the body was taken away by the beasts in the forest. Or maybe it was like the corpse we found before, and escaped to a farther place to die. "The female Knight wasn't optimistic.
Brando nodded slightly, agreeing with this guess. But he also added, "We can't rule out the possibility that he was taken away. Arreck still needs a guide."
Maynild didn't comment.
"Brando?" Freya looked at the girl kneeling in the snow with some worry. She was worried about the injuries on her body, and the hunter was also having a high fever. Even though they had Pahimira, the priest of Chong Shan, in the team, only Fanzin's priests were good at curing diseases. In this environment, infection of the wound was a very dangerous thing.
But Brando looked at the girl and said softly, "Let her vent for a while. Her brother may not be dead, but a normal person wouldn't be able to take such a big blow. At least let her calm down first. "
Freya pursed her lips slightly. Her sympathy for Freya was largely due to her own experience. That night in Bucce, she had to watch the family she had been with all day long get caught in a sea of fire, and her former home burned to the ground. That kind of humiliation and helplessness was something that ordinary people who had never experienced would not be able to understand.
But she remembered her experience in the Royal Knight Academy. Some things could only be solved by relying on oneself. It was Brando who taught her this. So she stopped and looked at the girl silently.
Fortunately, the hunter girl was much stronger than everyone thought. She suppressed her voice and cried in the snow for a while. Then, she fell silent. After a while, she raised her head and wiped away her tears. Everyone was stunned when they saw the huntress who had regained control of her emotions. She didn't have the kind of breathtaking beauty, but her dark eyes were like those of a female beast, filled with a wild and untamed light.
"Thank you for saving me, Lord Knight." Her voice was a little hoarse. It wasn't just her voice that was hoarse from crying, but it was her original voice. But just like Brendel said, the hunter maiden had calmed down a little after she finished speaking. She asked softly in a hoarse voice, "Excuse me, sir knights, are you going to enter the Stained Frost Forest?"
Everyone looked at Brando.
"I want to know what kind of thoughts you have that made you ask this question." Brendel asked in return.
"If I say that I can be your guide, can you take me with you, Lord Knight?" The hunter girl immediately stared at him and asked, her eyes full of hope. Although she tried to keep calm, she couldn't help but reveal a trace of nervousness as if she was afraid that Brando would refuse.
Brando was slightly startled, although he had expected this. But he had heard Maynild and the others pass on the hunter girl's original words. She said that it was because the hunters were unwilling to enter the Stained Frost Forest that caused Arreck to want to kill them. He didn't expect that she would take the initiative to make such a request.
"Although you said that, you want to enter the forest to find your brother's body, right?" He asked.
The hunter girl hesitated, but finally nodded, "Yes, I don't want to hide it from you, Lord. Dead or alive, at least I want to see my brother's body. " Brando was very satisfied with her honesty, but still asked, "But we don't have much time. You are injured, can you keep up with us?"
"I can! This little injury is nothing to us hunters! "The hunter girl immediately replied loudly, but it made her cough.
"Have you entered the Stained Frost Forest?"
"I haven't, Lord Knight, but my father entered the Stained Frost Forest three times before he died. He was the only hunter in the area of Shallow Water Town who came back alive from the forest, but his companions who entered the forest with him stayed there. "The hunter girl paused, as if she had remembered something unpleasant. "Because of this, he was secretly called the cursed man by those people. After my father died, Yaruta and I were also ostracized by the hunters in town."
She sighed faintly, "Before entering the forest this time, the nobles offered a high price, and many hunters were tempted. But the client needed someone who was familiar enough with the north of the Anserra Forest, and in Shallow Water Town, only my brother and I. "
"I thought that with this money, I could leave here with my brother and go to Karsuk. But I didn't expect … "The hunter girl's eyes turned red, and she quickly wiped them with her hand.
"Your brother may not be dead. Don't be sad, Arreck is unlikely to kill everyone. By the way, you should be familiar with the hunters in town. Have you counted the corpses, are there any missing people? "
"Arreck?" The girl was slightly startled, and then she understood what Brando meant, "I counted, and there are three missing people."
"Two people, plus your brother." Brando hesitated, this number was a little too much. If Arreck needed a guide, two people were more than enough. But he didn't say these words, and he looked at the hunter girl, "What's your name?"
"My name is Peya, my lord. My father's name is Tyke, and he's a famous hunter in Shallow Water Town. My brother's name is Yaruta, and he's only fifteen years old. "The hunter girl immediately introduced herself humbly.
But Brando didn't care about her self-introduction, and he asked seriously, "Have you thought about it, Peya? You're with us, and even if you might meet your brother, I may not allow you to move freely at that time. " In the eyes of the others, Brando seemed to be a different person at this moment, but they didn't know that this was Brando's habit as a captain — the Stained Frost Forest was not an entry-level instance in the game, and players could start over in the game, but they didn't have another chance here — so he would never allow an unstable factor in the team. "Remember, you're joining our team as a guide, not for us to take you to save your brother."
Peya showed a struggling look, but Brando's words made her feel a little relieved, at least if it was just to trick her into being a guide, there was no need for her to make such a promise. Finally, she nodded, raised her hand, and swore, "I know, my lord Knight. I swear on my dead father's honor that I will keep my promise at this moment. "
Brando nodded.
Freya on the side seemed relieved, and hurried over to help the hunter girl up from the snow. Brando turned around, he didn't need a guide, but he didn't want to hurt Freya's heart.
Moreover, if he left the huntress alone, his conscience might not be able to live with it. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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