After a large number of refugees finally escaped from the north gate of Fortress Riedon, the congested crowd spread out and moved towards the valley plains north of Pine River. Under the moonlight, they looked like a dense swarm of ants.
The hazy undulations in front of them was the southernmost part of Deer Hunting Hills, a small hill known as Silver Sparrow Hill. It was filled with beautiful Grinoires Abies. These tall trees had the shape of a tower, and their tips pierced into the sky. The forest was where level 10 bears and maned wolves roamed. In the game, players often had to travel in groups to deal with sudden dangers.
Brando believed that their first step was to enter Silver Sparrow Hill, so that they could reduce the threat from the valley plains. Madara's army was fully deployed. They had been absorbing nutrients from the earth for days, and their scale had expanded like a sponge. Brando was afraid that he would see an endless sea of skeletons on the plains.
Fortunately, his fantasy did not become reality.
However, under the night fog, there was a skeleton rider looming on the highlands, which was not a good sign. The skeletons riding the skeleton horses should have come from Madara's core territory. In this era, creating skeleton riders was still a difficult magic art.
It was not as common as in the future, where history was soaked in blood, and the art of killing was quickly matured due to the war.
Brando stared at the agile figures that appeared in the fog and looked at them from afar. Then they disappeared and reappeared in a closer place after a while. He was worried that the refugees behind them would be dispersed, so he let Freya lead the mercenaries to the side to protect the civilians, and he quickly followed.
Freya's suggestion to steal the horses from the nobles won the hearts of the people. At least she proved that she was willing to fight alongside the mercenaries. This was something that could cost her her life, and she would not have done it before Brando taught her those things. Moreover, this girl with a long ponytail performed very well. She took the lead and braved the arrows to rush into the market, and cleanly cut the cable of the suspension bridge to let the others pass.
From that moment on, she established her status among the mercenaries, which made Retto, Mano and the others decide to take a gamble.
In comparison, the young man whom the young lady had been praising seemed a little obscure in the eyes of the crowd. The young man's carriage had been moving side by side with Freya's horse. He sat on the coachman's side, with one hand on his sword and a pensive look on his face. The Shire, who was wearing a long robe, was resting his chin on his hand and taking a nap.
The carriage was missing a door, and from time to time, a head popped out and looked outside curiously. Roman was taking care of the children in the carriage, but she didn't feel tired at all. She only felt that her heart was pounding. Escaping from the pursuit of the undead on such a mysterious night was really exciting and exciting. This was the adventurous life she wanted.
The mercenary Mano couldn't help but twitch his mouth at the back. In his eyes, Brando who didn't know how to ride a horse was marked as a woman. He used his elbow to nudge his companion beside him, thinking that this kind of noble young man was mostly an armchair strategist. He didn't want to let a simple girl like Freya be deceived by his sweet words.
He gestured to his companion and asked him to take two horses to test the guy. They had robbed more than fifty horses in total, half of which were draft horses, and the other half were the best Arreck horses. Besides the food, the wounded, and the horses for their own use, there were still a lot of horses left.
His companion glanced at him and immediately understood what he meant. To be honest, the group now had the same feeling, not to mention that Brando also asked Freya to order them to protect these refugees. Although they didn't say it out loud, they were dissatisfied. What was the point of bringing a group of burdens? Now that everyone had a horse, they could leave the danger behind as long as they ran at full speed.
In fact, some people had already suggested this to Retto, but the bar owner sent them to see Freya. Mercenaries were trustworthy. If their reputation was ruined, they wouldn't be able to continue in this line of work. The idea of robbing horses was proposed by Freya, and she was also the one who took the lead. There was an agreement between them, and they couldn't just leave like this.
But there was a prerequisite to the agreement.
This time, the skeleton cavalry appeared about thirty seconds later than the last time, and then quietly disappeared into the fog. The huge second moon was lying in the mountains in the east, and the white moon reflected the sharp fangs of the mountains. The hazy fog in the east and the dark walls of Fortress Riedon formed a mysterious picture.
Brando glanced at his pocket watch, and a cold light reflected off the edge of the watch.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" He turned his head and saw Freya on the horse. She kept her head down and didn't say a word. She looked hesitant. He wanted to praise her this time, but Freya's sudden decision to find these people and the horses had helped him a lot. He didn't expect to meet so many refugees, and there were so many people who were willing to follow him.
He looked back, and the number of refugees behind him had increased from a few dozen to two to three hundred. People had a herd mentality, and the more people there were, the more people there would be.
Freya was afraid that her decision would make Brando unhappy, but she was too embarrassed to say it out loud. She originally wanted to surpass Brando, but now she wanted to perform better in front of Brando, and this change in mentality was almost unnoticeable.
"You, you don't blame me?" Hearing that Brando's tone was normal, the future Goddess of War widened her eyes and raised her head. Her light brown eyes reflected the moonlight, and the surprise in her eyes was very obvious.
"Why would I blame you, you did well."
"But I was late."
"There is a limit to the plan, as long as it doesn't exceed the limit, I was also late."
"That, I …"
The two of them suddenly stopped talking, because the mercenary had walked up from behind. He first bowed to the young man on the horse, like a commoner bowing to a noble. Then he raised the reins of the two horses and said: "Sir, get on the horse, it will be easier to fight later."
Brando looked at the mercenary and knew what he was going to do. He jumped off the horse carriage lightly and took the reins of the horse carriage. He raised his head and asked: "What are the key points of riding a horse?"
The mercenary was startled, and a mocking look appeared in his eyes. He thought to himself: If you don't know how to ride a horse, then so be it. Why do you have to act so confident? Do you think riding is something that can be learned overnight? In fact, in Wohnde, there were very few nobles who didn't know how to ride a horse, especially in the eyes of the soldiers, who didn't know how to ride a horse was a very embarrassing thing.
But in order to make the mercenary look bad in front of Freya, he still said: "Get on the horse from the side first. Do you see the stirrups? If it's your first time, slow down a little. " The mercenary purposely said it in detail, because he didn't believe that anyone could learn how to ride a horse just by listening to a few words. If that was the case, then they might as well kill themselves.
But as soon as the mercenary opened his mouth, Brando received a notification asking him if he needed to spend 15 EXP to learn how to ride a horse. When he put one foot on the stirrups, his movements were still unfamiliar, but when he grabbed the reins and got on the horse, his movements were smooth as if he had been practicing for many years.
Level 3 Riding was enough for him to be able to fight on horseback, and it cost 45 EXP. In fact, Brando had wanted to learn how to ride a horse for a long time, but he didn't know that Freya knew how to ride a horse as well. Now, he couldn't help but miss the [Inspect] skill.
He turned around and saw the mercenary looking at him with a face full of shame and anger.
*****
"Wait," the princess interrupted Oberbeck's description: "You said that he was a novice before he got on the horse?"
"That's right, Your Highness. If I didn't see wrongly, his movements when he stepped on the stirrups were very irregular, just like many novice riders. "Oberbeck replied respectfully.
"But can a person learn a skill in such a short time?" The girl was in disbelief. She prided herself on being smart, but it still took her almost half a month to learn how to ride a horse. But once she learned it, she was already as proficient as the best rider.
"Unless he was lying on purpose, that is the truth." Oberbeck was also in disbelief, but he didn't believe that the young man could fool his eyes.
"He must have done it on purpose. This person is really a master at playing with people's minds." The princess muttered to herself.
That might not be the case. Oberbeck replied in his heart, but he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he continued to speak.
*****
On the other side, The Shire also jumped down from the carriage. He glanced at the mercenary, took the reins from him, and lightly got on the horse. He was a mage's squire, and riding was one of his compulsory classes. Although he wasn't a master, he was quite skilled.
Freya looked at the two of them and thought that Brando was good at everything, but he liked to lie. The last time he asked her to learn first aid was also the same. Thinking about that time, the girl's face flushed red.
The mercenary looked at the master and servant, and his first reaction was that he was tricked. He couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry. At this time, Mano, who was behind them, also noticed that his companion was tricked. He quickly rode up to them and came to their side.
"Young man, how long do we have to protect these people?" He was a straightforward person, and asked the question as soon as he came up.
Brando turned his horse around and rode beside Freya. He looked at the refugees and answered, "From here through the Valley of Sharp Stones, we can bring them to the other side and guarantee their safety."
"With so many people, we won't be able to shake off Madara's army." Mano shook his head.
"You can't, but I can."
Mano was stunned at the back. "How are you going to do it?" He couldn't help but ask.
Brando pulled out his Elven sword and pointed at the direction of the high ground, "The skeleton riders are spies in Madara's army. They come from the core territories of Madara. Go and chase them away. It will take more than half an hour to reach Silver Sparrow Mountain from here. I have to make sure that the flanks of the team will not be threatened during this time — "
Mano was stunned. He didn't expect that his words would become an excuse for Brendel to order him around. He couldn't help but look at Freya. Their agreement was with Freya, not Brando.
"Brando?" Freya was willing to believe the young man, but she felt that Brando's attitude was a little too aggressive.
Brando sheathed his sword and answered, "So, you are actually just thinking about how to escape from here safely. You are not willing to help me bring these people out, so there's no point in saying more. You have an agreement with Freya, right? Tell me about it. If you can convince me, I can let each of you leave with a horse. "
Mano became serious. He realized that this' noble young man 'was not simple. He had completely taken control of the conversation with just a few words. He used to be a mercenary leader and had dealt with nobles before, but he had never met one who was so arrogant.
"We are mercenaries. If you can pay us, we are willing to do things for you. But usually, we have to think about ourselves first. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, "the older mercenary answered matter-of-factly.
"Yes, but I still have to remind you that you can escape safely with horses. Madara has an air force. Have you seen ghosts and bone vultures? They are in the sky. Do you know how to avoid the eyes of these necromancers? " Brando put his hand on the hilt of his sword. He didn't believe that these guys knew. These mercenaries who hung around the border didn't really deal with Madara. They didn't understand how terrifying Madara was. Killing a few skeletons and zombies was enough to understand Madara? The necromancers might as well kill themselves by banging their heads against the wall.
Retto and his daughter Sue also rode on horses and caught up with them. He frowned when he heard the young man's words. "So, you have a way?"
"It's hard to say. No one has a perfect grasp of the situation. But in the forest, my chances of winning are much higher. So, my priority is to think about how to get rid of the skeletons. With them on the flanks, the refugees can't move quickly — "
Mano and Retto were silent. They instinctively felt that the young man was right.
Brando suddenly loosened the reins and let the horse gallop to the high ground far away. He looked back at the mercenaries and took out a ruby from his arms. "If you want to have a chance to survive, it's best to be with me. My request is very simple — listen to my command and protect Freya. Lead these refugees safely to the other end of the canyon. You are mercenaries, and this is the reward I promised you. Complete my mission, and there will be more in the future — "
He raised his hand, and the ruby drew an arc in the air and landed at Leto's feet.
Freya pointed at herself and asked loudly, "Me? Brando, how come it's me? " She looked at the refugees behind her and did not understand. These refugees were brought out by Brando. How did she become the one leading them?
It was not that she was unwilling, but could she do it with so many people? Freya could not help but feel a little uneasy. She was just a small militia leader at the start, but now she had to lead more than ten experienced mercenaries, and now she had to lead hundreds or even thousands of people. No matter how she thought about it, it was unimaginable.
Brando smiled. He had his own plans and did not answer. Instead, he turned back and waved at Mano and Retto and said simply, "Go.
"Go, gather your men. I'll wait for you here. At least you can choose how you want to die. Do you want to crash into Madara's army and be turned into undead? Or do you want to take my money and protect the weak like a real mercenary and fight your way out. "
He turned back, and the skeletons once again appeared under the moonlight. This time, they were about ten seconds earlier than the last time.
(P.S. The first update of the new year, great luck, looking for subscriptions and monthly tickets!!!) (To be continued, if you want to know the future, please go to www.qidian.com. There are more chapters, support the author, support the original reading!)
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