Brando pushed aside the trees, and the branches and leaves of the shrubs rustled as if a window had been opened in the dense, overlapping branches, revealing the scenery behind. Looking down, there were layers upon layers of terraces, and between the mountains, there was a bright mirror. This was the Brown Bear Lake. Everyone let out a long sigh of satisfaction in unison. In order to avoid encountering Jorgendy Ridge, they had to trudge through the mountains and forests. It was not an easy task, especially after they abandoned their carriages. For these pampered young ladies and nobles, it was simply fatal.
"Brando, I think there's something over there!" The Roman was the only one who did not seem to be tired. She held the hand of the Duke of Grinoires's daughter — the latter's wet nurse had to be supported by others to move forward. She peeked her head out and looked around. Soon, she shouted.
Brando knew that her senses were extraordinary, so he quickly stopped and asked, "Can you see what it is?"
"It looks like people. One, two."
"Are they alive or dead?" Chiyara asked. These days, they had seen the merchant girl's ability more than once. At first, some were doubtful, but gradually, they became envious and amazed. Because of the Roman, the envoy's guards did not even have to risk releasing gargoyles into the sky to investigate. Although the gargoyles had a wide field of vision, they were more likely to be exposed in the sky. Jorgendy Ridge also had harpies and drakes as their air force.
"I don't know. The two of them were sitting back to back under a beech tree."
"Did they move?"
"I don't think so."
"Then they're probably dead. Where are they?"
"By the lake. There's a white rock over there, right under the third tree," the Roman replied.
Everyone gasped. It was at least ten miles from here to the Brown Bear Lake, and they could only see layers upon layers of tree canopies as far as the eye could see. However, the merchant girl could see the two people under the tree by the lake. What kind of eyesight was that? The Duke of Grinoires's daughter looked at the Roman holding her hand with admiration and said crisply, "Sister Roman, you're amazing!"
The Roman was overjoyed, but she pretended to be serious and replied, "Of course, I'm amazing."
Brando looked at her. Although her face was tense, her curved eyes revealed her thoughts. He shook his head and said, "Let's go and take a look."
It was impossible to continue avoiding Jorgendy Ridge when they arrived at the Bear Lake area. there was a town called Graystone, which was the only exit to the west of the Silver Gushing Valley. Brando, and he believed that the people of the Underdark....... So instead of passively fighting, it was better to prepare first. The group walked down the mountain and walked to the place Roman said. Sure enough, they saw two people sitting back to back under a tree. They were two Kirrlutzian soldiers who had been dead for a long time.
The group parted the bushes and approached the corpses. The Roman hurriedly covered the eyes of the Duke's daughter with her hand. The others could see the gray robes on the two corpses and the star-shaped rose emblem on the robes. Brando recognized the emblem as Sauvin's emblem, which was the emblem of the Land Dragon Knight of Caronia. This proved that the two corpses were soldiers of Anzlova's army. "The Land Dragon Knight of Caronia! This is Sir Fister's army!" Some Cruz nobles recognized the corpses and whispered, "Has the North Mountain Outpost been lost?"
"Where's the North Mountain Outpost?" Brando asked.
"It's north of here, on the only way to Buos." Rogers looked at the two corpses and replied.
Brando nodded and squatted down beside the corpses. He carefully examined the wounds. The first corpse had a penetrating wound, but it was not fatal. He had died from excessive blood loss. He compared the wound to the armor under the robes and came to a conclusion. The Land Dragon Knight of Caronia was a grade 3 unit. The one who killed him should be another grade 3 unit from Jorgendy Ridge, the razor boar. The razor boar was a tamed beast of the Subterrane Dwellers. Since the razor boar was here, there should be Subterrane Dwellers around.
The razor boar's special ability was Charge and Death Strike. The ability of Charge was similar to a warrior's Charge. Death Strike allowed it to generate a false life force equivalent to 10% of its total health after receiving enough damage to kill it. It would only die after the false life force was depleted or it lasted for more than ten minutes. Brando thought of the razor boar's ability and suddenly cursed. Why was it so similar to his own ability? However, he was even more puzzled about the razor boar's ability being countered by the Land Dragon Knight's Low Roar. The Low Roar of the Land Dragon Knight could induce fear in most beasts except for monsters. This was the weapon used by the Land Dragon Knights against other cavalry. It was also effective against the razor boar. Logically speaking, if the Land Dragon Knight wanted to run away, the razor boar would not pose a real threat to them.
With such doubts in mind, he checked the second corpse. The injuries on this corpse were very strange. The neck and arms were strangely bent, as if they were broken. Generally speaking, such injuries were caused by blunt force. However, there was no blunt force injury on this corpse. Brando was puzzled. Princess Magadal, accompanied by Dilferi, frowned and looked at the two corpses. She then said, "Count Brando, there is no need to be puzzled. He fell to his death."
"Fell to his death?" Brando suddenly realized. This person must have fallen from the Caronia Land Dragon's back and broken his spine. He must have died on the spot. His body must have been rescued by his companion, but the latter also died from excessive blood loss.
"It can't be that simple. How can a well-trained Land Dragon Knight fall from the back of a dragon? They are fixed to the saddle," Chiara replied. She squatted down beside Brando and was about to poke the two corpses with her hands. However, before she could touch them, her hands were pulled away by Brando. "Child, stay away from these things," Brando replied impatiently.
"I'm not a child!"
Brando stopped and looked at the little one.
Chiyara appeared to be very unhappy. She muttered something to herself, but no one could hear it clearly. Presumably, it wasn't anything good. However, Chiara's words reminded him that the Land Dragon Knight was thrown off the back of the land dragon. The belts on his waist and legs were all broken. Judging from the ends, it was obvious that they were torn and not cut. The Shadrian cavemen obviously did not have the ability to do that. Only a Land Dragon could do that.
However, Caronia Land Dragons were very docile. They rarely went berserk on the battlefield, and they were not easily frightened. They also had a deep affection for their masters. Even if their riders were killed, they would stay beside their dead riders for a long time. Brando really could not figure out why the two Caronia Land Dragon Knights died here alone. There was no sign of their mounts nearby. It was still acceptable if a Caronia Land Dragon went berserk by accident, but this scene was just too bizarre.
He thought for a long time, but he still could not figure it out. At this moment, the Roman suddenly shouted from behind, "Ah! What a big rat!" The Roman shouted again.
Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the sound and saw a giant rat escaping from the forest. Its entire body was grey, and it had a long earthworm-like tail. There were three strange bone spurs on its back, and its head was larger than a normal house rat's. Its mouth was wide open, and other than the large incisors of rodents, there were two rows of sharp teeth. It was hiding under a rock nearby, and it did not expect to be discovered. It jumped in fright and wanted to escape into the bushes. But when Brendel saw it, he picked up the sword beside the corpse and threw it over. A silver light flashed, and the giant rat was nailed to the ground with a thud.
The young daughter of the Duke of Grinoires happened to see this. She let out a low cry and hurriedly hid behind Roman.
"What is this?" Chiyara frowned and looked at the little creature that was struggling on the ground with disgust.
"It's a Demon Rat from the Catacombs, the hunting dog of the Shadr Cavemen," Maynild answered from behind.
"They used this thing to spy on us!?" Avram was so scared that his fat jiggled. The ball-shaped son of the duke looked around in horror as if the forest was full of rats staring at them. "Don't tell me we've already been discovered?"
"But this thing is very conspicuous. As long as it gets close to us, I will notice it," the Roman replied, "Actually, it's not a big deal. Don't worry."
Everyone looked at the merchant lady as if they were looking at a freak.
However, her words more or less calmed everyone down. Some of them were not willing to follow Brando at first, but the experience in the past two days had proven his ability. He knew the Underworld creatures better than anyone else. With his experience and judgment, they were able to walk out of Vargus and avoid all the battles that could be avoided. The Cruz people followed Brando at first because they were captives, but now, they saw him as their savior.
Over the past few days, they had passed by Hemlock Town, Valgus, and several other villages. They had witnessed the scene after the Jorgendy Ridge's army passed by. The villagers who had been turned into statues, the Empire's soldiers, and the Subterrane Dwellers' heads that were impaled on their spears reminded them of the current situation. Now, no one dared to doubt that they were facing an army from the Underworld. Even the most stubborn Count Jean had shut his mouth. The nobles began to panic, and Brendel, who was the only one who remained calm, became their only support.
After all, compared to those ferocious monsters, humans were much more amiable. The only thing that made them complain was that Brendel had converted their servants and guards into reserve troops, and confiscated their rations and changed them into uniform rations.
The sudden appearance of the demonic rats in the catacombs had diverted everyone's attention. Brando did not dwell on the matter of the land dragons. He told Maynild about his suspicions, and the female Knight was equally puzzled. However, she did not have an answer either. After that, the two of them stopped wasting time on it. Obviously, there was no time to bury the corpses, but Brando still asked Rogers and the other three to tidy up the appearance of the two Caronia land dragon Knights after they died. Then, they arranged for them to be placed in a secluded place to ensure at least a basic level of decency. The four internal Knights were very grateful to him. Even the nobles from Cruz had a vague feeling that the Count from Tónigel was not a rude person. The accumulated hatred between them had also been resolved.
The team left the lakeside and continued north. Brando's goal was to bypass the Brown Bear Lake before dark and reach the vicinity of Graystone Town. However, when he realized that there might be Shadrans in the vicinity, he asked the team to slow down. The team moved slowly along the forest surrounded by mountains. After that, they discovered a few more corpses of the Empire's local legions. One of them was a small group of walking swordsmen, and the other was another Caronia land dragon Knight. However, they did not find his mount either. After that, they began to see signs of a fierce battle and the corpses of the land dwellers. They were a type of Cavemen with purple-red skin and long manes. Their bodies were scattered all over the forest filled with fallen leaves. It was obvious that an army of Jorgendy Ridge that was moving north along the Brown Bear Lake had encountered the local legions of Cruz. Both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the forest.
There were even traces of magic bombardment in the forest. A streak of flame plowed through the nearby beech trees, leaving a scorched land that was dozens of feet wide and hundreds of feet long. The ashes were filled with pieces of melted metal and other things. Brando estimated that at least half a squadron of Empire soldiers had died here. However, he was a little puzzled. This kind of magic was a bit like the Chain of Fire thrown by the evil sorcerers. Elementalists and law-defying wizards did not have similar spells. The Wild Elf sister, Felaern, stood beside the scorched land for a long time, frowning and not saying a word.
"It's not elemental magic." She finally answered.
They crossed the broken battlefield, but more and more of such scenes appeared. It was hard to imagine what had happened in the forest. Some of the places looked like the land left behind by demons. However, Countess Yanbao was very sensitive to demons. Brando asked her a few times, but all he got was a negative answer. Rogers, Trevor, and Nasha were silent. The nobles behind them were also silent. In their minds, the Empire was difficult to defeat, but the scene in front of them had clearly shattered their fragile expectations.
At this time, Brando's position in their hearts had become even more important.
But among all of them, only the black-haired young man named Kui was talking to himself. "Why did they attack Buos? Are they planning to go around Graystone Town?"
Brando heard this sentence and looked back at Maynild. Then, both of them shook their heads gently.
They arrived at the vicinity of Graystone Town a little later than expected. The sun was slowly setting below the mountains, but there were still a few rays of light in the valley. Brendel and the others stood on a nearby mountain and observed the town downstream of the Silver River. The direction of Graystone Town was dark, like a shadow in the valley. The sunset in the sky had a blood-red glow, as if it was a sign of some kind of disaster before it arrived. No one in the group spoke. Everyone obviously understood what had happened. However, there was even worse news. Brando saw a few harpies hovering in the sky, which meant that there were still underground garrisons in the town.
The nobles' faces were a little ugly because this meant that their wishful thinking of easily passing through the exit of the Silver River Valley had failed.
Brando had already expected this. He cautiously led the others from the mountain and slowly retreated to the forest behind. He was ready to discuss what to do, whether to wait for the garrisons of Jorgendy Ridge to leave or to pass through at night. But at this time, the Roman stretched out her small hand and patted Brando's back. She whispered, "Brando, Brando, look over there. There are a few people."
Brando was shocked. He thought to himself, Miss Roman, if you have something to say, can't you say it earlier? But his body's reaction was faster than his brain. He almost subconsciously pulled the merchant girl to hide in the bushes. Although the others did not understand what was going on, they followed suit and found a place to hide. The Roman got up from the bushes and spat out a few mouthfuls of grass. She raised her head and wanted to continue looking around, but Brando pressed her small head down. "Where is it?" Brando looked out through the bushes and asked.
"There is a row of short trees below. There are a few people hiding under there. Do you see it, Brando? They seem to want to go to the other side. Ah, someone ran out. It's that sneaky guy." The Roman kept trying to move Brando's hand away from her head, but it was in vain. In the end, she could only answer with some frustration. Brando looked in the direction she pointed and saw a figure flash and disappear under the dense canopy of a goose-eared stalagmite.
"That's Walton!" Nasha suddenly whispered when she saw the figure.
"Who is Walton?" Brando immediately looked at the Knight of Cruz and asked.
"He is the captain of Sir Cooper's guard. I have seen him once. He is a swordsman from Ludwig." Nasha looked at him with some distrust and hesitated for a moment before replying.
Brando looked back at Rogers, who quickly explained: "Nasha has a special ability. As long as she has seen someone, she will never forget them. If she thinks it is them, then it must be them."
"Why are they here?" Trevor was a little puzzled. "I thought they had been killed on the north side of the Forest Leaf Avenue like the Moore family."
… …
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