Imperial Crown

In the darkness, the wind was howling.

A blurry figure was slowly approaching the camp.

Otto immediately set up a crossbow and aimed at the figure: "Stop, don't move!"

"I, I have no ill intentions..." The figure stopped, and a voice came, soft and beautiful.

It turned out to be a woman!

"Come closer and talk." Nancy ordered first.

Otto turned to look at Raven.

"Why are you looking at him? Can't I make the decision?" Nancy said with dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the baron did not object, Otto followed Nancy's instructions and shouted loudly: "Come over slowly, put your hands where I can see!"

The woman raised her hands and walked forward step by step.

Otto held the crossbow, and just when she walked to the edge of the firelight, he shouted: "Stop!"

Nancy looked at the woman: "Take off the hood."

"Yes..." The woman took off the hood as he was told, and her long black hair like satin spread out.

Otto was distracted for a moment, and Nancy showed a surprised expression.

This woman is so beautiful.

Her skin is a healthy black, not the dark night, but with a hint of oily, delicate black, which looks silky against the firelight.

Her eyes are as charming as black pearls, her nose is high, and her lips are plump.

Although she is wrapped in a heavy robe, with her hands raised high, the strong wind blows the robe to her body, showing her proud figure completely, giving people an impression of vitality and wild beauty.

"What's your name?" Nancy's voice became softer.

"My name is Mary, and I'm a bounty hunter." The woman's voice was nervous and hurried: "My horse is lost and I'm lost, so I hope to stay here for one night. I only need a small place and will never disturb you!"

Otto hesitated: "Boss, how to deal with it..."

Raven smiled in his heart, and he was a little smart. At this time, he knew not to call himself a baron.

Nancy had already made up her mind: "It's just a place to stay, why not let her in? Let her sleep next to me tonight."

"She's so beautiful, she must not be a bad person!"

Mary looked happy, and Raven chuckled.

Hearing Raven's ridicule, Nancy also realized that she was wrong.

She just made the mistake of the nobles who were good at judging people by appearance.

Nancy's little brain became active again, and she looked up and down at Mary: "No, on such a cold night, you, a woman, lost your horse and supplies. Your mental and physical state is a little too good, isn't it?"

Mary hurriedly explained: "My horse was lost not long ago, and this is my usual resting point, so I didn't stay outside for too long."

Hearing her say this, Nancy still felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't think of what was wrong for a while.

She looked at Raven with a look of help, but found that he had leaned against the wall and was dozing, obviously not intending to intervene in this matter.

Nancy felt a sense of pride in her heart.

Don't think that I can't do anything without your help!

Her eyes rolled around, looking at the crossbow in Otto's hand, the horses huddled aside, and then at Mary, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "No, you're not telling the truth!"

"Uh... what?" Mary blinked in confusion: "I don't understand what you mean."

"There are no large bounty hunter groups on the Bloody Highlands." Nancy smiled proudly: "Our horses are tied outside, and we don't have carriages, so it's impossible to be considered a caravan. If it's not a caravan, people's first instinct is that it can only be a group of horse thieves."

"But you just say that you are the natural enemy of horse thieves, bounty hunters!"

"Either you are stupid, but stupid people can't live so long on the Bloody Highlands; or you already knew that we are not horse thieves-you know we are people who came up from below, right!?"

After this analysis, Otto's hand immediately became more stable, and his fingers were already on the crossbow.

At the same time, the guards rushed out of the house and surrounded the woman.

Glancing at Raven with pride, Nancy crossed her arms and looked at the woman: "Tell me, who are you and what is your purpose?"

"Don't do it, I'll tell you!" Mary panted nervously, her chest rising and falling: "I'm not a bounty hunter, but my real name is Mary! I'm not a horse thief, just an ordinary person living on the bloody highlands. Everyone calls me 'Black Pearl'."

"An ordinary person with a nickname?" Nancy asked with doubt.

"Not that ordinary... I have fighting spirit, a first-level dark warrior." Mary swallowed her saliva: "But I'm neither a horse thief nor a bounty hunter, so it's not wrong to say I'm an ordinary person, right?"

Nancy didn't dwell on this point, but asked the most critical question: "How did you catch up with us?"

"I have a little pet." Mary whistled, and then a fluttering sound came, and a sleek crow got in from the gap in the felt carpet on the roof and stood on her shoulder.

Nancy nodded slowly: "It turned out to be it. I was wondering why there would be birds in the bloody highlands at this time of year!"

Mary whistled softly to calm the crow down: "It was because of it that I found the team marching ahead of you..."

"You heard their conversation and knew that the real leader was behind, so you came back?" Nancy continued.

"Yes..." Mary admitted: "I heard them mention that there is a baron here!"

Nancy felt a little unhappy and asked another question: "Where is your horse?"

"I really let it go."

"Why?"

"Because I want to gain your trust." Mary's eyes showed a trace of helplessness: "Unexpectedly, you exposed my lies before I even met the baron."

Nancy's eyes showed a little pride: "Then, why did you let go of your horse to gain our trust?"

"This..." Mary's eyes showed a trace of real pain: "I said I was a bounty hunter, but it's not all Lie."

"Because Heleti and I have a blood feud..."

"He killed my father!"

"I have been wandering in the bloody highlands for years, just to find someone to cooperate with and kill him!"

Mary's tone began to become a little excited: "Your plan is very bold, marching in winter and splitting the troops into two groups, both of which will be beyond Heleti's expectations, and the chance of success of the action is very high."

"So, I came to you just to join your team, I want to chop off Heleti's head with my own hands!"

Hearing these words, Nancy hesitated a little, she looked at Raven for advice, but still didn't get any response.

Men are really unreliable!

This forced Nancy to put herself in the position of a team leader and think about the problem: "Why should we trust you?"

"I am just a first-level dark warrior. I can't do anything under your surveillance." Mary looked at Nancy with a hint of determination and pleading in her eyes: "And you have a map in your hands. If I really take you on a detour, you can kill me at any time."

Nancy was still a little hesitant. It was a bit too hasty to let people in just because of her sympathy.

"And you need me too!" Mary seemed to have seen Nancy's concerns and immediately emphasized her role: "According to the time, you have been out of touch with the army in front, at least five days away. If you can't get there as soon as possible, your plan will definitely fail!"

"As a native of the Bloody Highlands, I know a shortcut that can allow you to go directly to the vicinity of Heleti's 'Scorpion Nest', which can save at least three days!"

This sentence immediately made Nancy a little excited. She poked Raven's shoulder and lowered her voice: "How about letting her stay?"

"Aren't you the one who makes the decision on this matter?" Raven asked back.

Nancy snorted and turned to Mary: "You can join us, but if you do anything out of line, I will kill you immediately!"

As she spoke, she uttered a few syllables, and a cluster of flames burned in her palm.

"Magician?" Mary's eyes widened and she nodded repeatedly: "I understand!"

"Okay, that's it!" Nancy clapped her hands and extinguished the flames: "Volaf, go get her a set of bedding."

After saying that, she turned around and went back to her seat in the room. Mary followed carefully.

Not long after, Volaf came back with a set of bedding and threw it directly into Mary's arms: "Yours."

Although Mary was indeed very beautiful and Volaf was very envious, he instinctively felt that this woman who suddenly appeared was not a good bird, and her purpose was definitely not as simple as she said.

Mary didn't care at all and thanked Volaf.

In this way, Mary joined Raven's team, and the number of people in the team increased to 21.

The next morning, Nancy assigned a packhorse to Mary.

The group continued their journey.

Three days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was the fifteenth day since leaving Eagle Town.

On this day, the Bloody Highlands welcomed a rare sunny day. Although there was an occasional breeze, it did not block the view.

Nancy followed Raven, with the corners of her mouth bent down.

She regretted letting Mary join them.

Because this "black pearl" attracted more attention than her, the guards looked at Mary with caution, but everyone could see the appreciation in it.

Only Raven didn't look, but this didn't make her feel much better.

Because Raven was fair enough, not only did he not look at Mary, but he also didn't care about Nancy.

"Hateful guy..." Nancy glanced at Raven's back, and then glanced at Mary, not knowing who she was talking about.

At this moment, a shrill scream suddenly came from behind. It was the wail of the horse before death, and along with it came the panicked neighing of many horses.

Nancy came back to her senses immediately. She pulled the reins and wanted to turn around to see, but Mary was much faster than her, even though she was riding a pack horse!

Raven also turned his horse around at the same time and shouted, "Everyone, stay put!"

As he spoke, he rode his horse to the rear of the team.

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