Mercenaries and Adventurers

Keir walked for a long time in the dark night. Just when he thought tonight was a rare moonless night, half a moon rose in the dark sky.

As if remembering that it was time to go to work, not long after the first half-moon rose, the other two moon ladies also appeared half-hidden from the sky.

With the moonlight shining from their sisters, the dark field was finally not so unrecognizable. Kil raised his head and turned the torch behind him to cover it. In the dark night ahead, we could finally see the tall mountains.

These towering mountains that were previously invisible due to darkness are as tall and silent as prehistoric beasts lying down and resting, giving a strong spiritual shock to everyone who looks up to observe them up close.

The mountains were covered with a layer of faint moonlight. The areas that were too high were bare rocks. Further down, there were meadow areas that appeared dark because of insufficient reflectivity. A little further down, Keir could barely make out. It is a continuous and dense forest, and this dense forest is also surrounded by a light white mist. The forest and white mist extend to a place not far ahead.

"It looks like it's almost here."

Kil said something to the blood-licking grass, and his war horse nodded, seeming to agree with its master's judgment.

Then the huge horse's head pushed against Kiel's back, urging him on.

"Let's go."

Tightening the weapons and equipment on his body, Kil put down the visor of his helmet and continued walking along the strange river on the right.

After walking along the river for half a night, Kiel clearly felt that the terrain was gradually rising, but not much, and far less undulating than the rolling mountains that could barely be discerned in front of him.

After walking for a while, as he got closer to the forest ahead, Keir suddenly felt something was wrong.

It wasn't that there was a sense of danger, but the sound from the soles of my feet became strange when I walked.

In the past, when walking along the river, there was either slightly moist soil or scattered gravel banks. When walking on the former, every step would stain the bottom of the boots with a layer of moist soil, and the walking sound was not loud.

When stepping on the gravel ground, the sound of footsteps will be louder, but it will also be accompanied by the sound of the friction and movement of the stones on the soles of the feet. It is also a clear and unique sound. On such a quiet night in the wild, it is very easy to distinguish. .

But it was different this time. Kil stamped his feet and found that although there was a thin layer of soil on the soles of his feet, there was a whole hard and flat thing underneath. And it was different from the scattered gravel ground by the river. The thing is a whole, and the area is not small.

After all, when the blood-licking shoe next to it stepped on the surface of this thing, there was also the sound of stepping on a solid and flat surface.

Kiel's boots rubbed against the ground, feeling like he was not walking by a river in a deserted wilderness, but rather like a stone floor found in a big town.

Hey, there's a slate floor that even a slightly smaller town can't afford.

Sensing something strange, Kil naturally stopped and looked at him suspiciously. Kil also explained: "Look carefully and listen carefully. There is something wrong with the ground under your feet."

Lowering the torch, Kil squatted down and rubbed his hands left and right on the ground, easily clearing away the layer of floating soil on the ground.

But what was revealed underneath surprised him.

It was not the stone pavement that Kiel had expected, or a whole flat rock appearing under his feet.

In front of him was a neat piece of 'wavy' ground. Each 'wave' was only one centimeter high, and on the 'waves' that continued to extend from back to front, there were even smaller ones. Anti-slip serrations.

Kil raised his eyebrows. Although the thing in front of him appeared very bizarre, he still recognized it at a glance as a specially designed and manufactured non-slip floor.

Thinking of this, Kil quickly lit a torch and pushed away all the loose soil on the ground around him. Sure enough, under his feet, what appeared was a 'road' about four meters wide and an unknown length.

The 'road' stretched forward, seemingly in the same direction as Keir's destination.

"This is not a coincidence, Blood Licker, I believe this is not a coincidence."

Kil looked at his horse and said to it.

Blood Licker nodded, seeming to agree with its master.

This made Keel smile, because no matter what he said, his horse nodded in agreement.

Standing up, Kil held the torch high and stared at his feet, as well as the unknown roads that might still be extending ahead.

Who built this?

And why was it built?

And what was waiting for him in the forest at the foot of the mountain ahead?

Kil stabilized his mind and strode forward with curiosity and caution, courage and fear.

-

The first moon to appear has now climbed above the head and spreads its silvery white light towards the entire night world.

Keir was staying in front of a forest at the moment. The forest was dense, and it was estimated that there wouldn't be much light inside during the day. At night, it was naturally extremely dark.

This kind of dark forest that can scare ordinary people to tears actually feels familiar to Keir. After all, he was active in such a similar place in the lady's dream. It is also a dark, dense and endless forest, but the difference is that the forest in the dream is covered with luminous moss that emits slightly fluorescent light, exuding a peaceful atmosphere. In the forest in front of you, there is a strange white mist falling from the mountain on the side, spreading all the way to the treetops of the forest in front of you, and falling into the forest in strands. Not only does it give people no sense of peace and tranquility, , on the contrary, there is a strange and suffocating silence.

It seems that once you step into this forest, there is no turning back.

Perhaps this is why the locals call this place Huitou Forest.

Unlike the scattered woods and bushes behind him, where the sounds of animals playing at night were constantly heard, not a single sound could be heard in the forest in front of him.

It was obviously a dense forest and should be home to all kinds of animals, but it was as quiet as a cemetery.

This made Keir hesitate.

He rubbed the soles of his feet, and the soles of his feet felt the same as the road that had appeared inexplicably before. Obviously, the final destination of the 'road' that extended from nowhere was here.

No matter how ominous the forest in front of you looks, since there was a road extending here, this forest must be able to be passed by. You must know that at the end of the forest is a wide valley that can accommodate many people. No matter what, it can be accessed, and most of the people who entered this forest before lived in the valley opposite the forest.

If you want to safely resettle a group of hundreds of refugees, there is no place that is safer than a forest that blocks the outside world.

Not Shichui Village, which is located on the open north-south access road in the county. As long as a flesh-and-blood demon parasitic monster goes south, it will inevitably reach Shichui Village.

"Want to go in?"

Kil asked the blood-licking grass, and the horse nodded, supporting its master's decision.

This made Kil smile bitterly and slap the horse's head in the metal armor. Licker of Blood also moved his ears in aggrieved manner, wondering why the owner wanted to take care of it.

"Then let's go!"

Kil mustered up the courage, held the reins, and walked into the strange forest.

-

The surroundings were extremely quiet, and the white mist falling from the treetops made the already trapped sight even more narrow and limited.

The burning torch made a small crackling sound, and the breathing sounds of Kil himself and Blood Licker became the limited sounds and movements here.

Kil swallowed. He felt like he could hear the beating of his heart in his chest. Although he knew that he didn't have a heart, it was just a fantasy, but he couldn't help but think so.

Blood Licking Grass is not a timid prairie horse, but at this time, it has to subconsciously get close to its owner to find a sense of security.

It nudged its owner's helmet with its slender horse face. Although it felt annoying, Kil also felt slightly better under the behavior of the war horse. At least, he was not alone in this strange place.

Well, although he was indeed alone, having a war horse by his side would make him feel much better.

"I regret it a little bit, lick the blood grass."

Keir said so.

"It's not that I regret breaking in here, but, uh, I should have come back during the day. I think this place wouldn't be so scary during the day, right?"

You must know that Kil is already a very courageous kind of person. If he felt scared at this time, most people would have been frightened to the ground or fainted.

After walking in this weird forest for a while, Kil wanted to quit here and come back during the day.

But when he wanted to turn around and go back, he realized that he couldn't find his way back.

"Damn! I forgot to leave a mark on the tree trunk next to me when I came in! How careless, how careless."

Keir was a little annoyed. Recently, he mostly acted in groups. He had almost forgotten the caution he had during his previous solo adventures. He only remembered these things now, but it seemed that it was too late?

He turned around and walked back immediately, but after walking for a while, Kil found that he was lost.

He was surrounded by the gloomy trunks of identical tall trees, and the growing white mist gradually hid the surroundings, making his sight even more restricted.

Even though Kil walked in the direction he thought he came from for a long time, he still couldn't get out of the forest.

He was completely lost.

The man and the horse looked at each other, but they were unable to do anything.

"Ahem, I think we're lost, blood-licking grass."

Keir said this.

The war horse nodded, agreeing with its master.

Kil pulled the reins of his war horse, found a large tree root, and sat on it without ceremony. Then he inserted a torch into the natural bark groove on the ancient trunk nearby to provide lighting.

"But fortunately, although the timing of our coming here is wrong, at least this is not a particularly difficult problem. Relax, I have several ways to solve these problems. Just wait until daylight."

Kil stroked the horse's head, and then untied the rein bit on the horse's mouth to make his horse feel better.

"Wait until daytime to find a way out. Don't panic when you get lost. You know, many people lose the possibility of saving themselves in dangerous environments because they panic. As long as you calm down, Observe the surrounding environment and think of ways to break the situation, and you will most likely be able to get out of the predicament!"

It seemed like he was talking to his war horse, but actually he was talking to himself. While stroking the ears of his war horse, Kil sat on the root of a tree and relaxed and waited.

Waiting for daybreak.

-

Having had the experience of adventuring alone for a long time, Keir sat patiently and waited for dawn.

He didn't make a panicked cry or do anything else to attract unknown things. He just sat there. After the torch was extinguished, he took out his long sword to hunt and stuck it upside down on a nearby tree trunk to provide a visual observation point for the surroundings. environment of.

Otherwise, in this dark forest, Keir didn't know if it would attract some things that like to move in the dark when it gets completely dark.

Although this forest seems relatively safe, there are no signs of large beast activity in the thick layer of humus on the tree trunks and on the ground. But Kil still kept his mind and kept himself sitting in the light.

He didn't rest against an ancient tree trunk. Come on, he had seen an ancient tree that could move freely once. He didn't think that the trees in the forest were safe. The last time he met that thing was still fresh in Kil's memory.

He even lost a horse! That brave companion.

The fog in the forest became heavier in the early morning. Originally, the sight could still see a distance of about ten meters, but as the fog swirled and rose, they gradually dispersed in every corner of the forest. At this time, Keir's sight gradually disappeared. It's over two meters.

Sitting where he was, he couldn't even see clearly the back legs of the blood-licking grass, let alone the surrounding situation.

"This reminds me of that monster. It also had a mist and turned that thing into a formidable weapon."

At this time, Kil took out a piece of fine cloth as big as his palm and carefully wiped it on his body and the armor of Blood Licker. When the fog became thicker, the large amount of water vapor contained in it naturally wetted Kiel and his horses.

Although these small drops of water hanging on the outer layer of the armor were not a problem, Kil had to dry himself and his horse as well.

Although these small water droplets are tiny, if the armor all over the body is covered with dew, the body's body temperature will be lost quickly. Even though Kil's body was supported by life energy at this time, he was gradually less afraid of the cold.

But the loss of body temperature is the loss of body temperature, which is two different things from not being afraid of the cold. Being not afraid of the cold allows Kiel to be active outdoors in winter without wearing thick clothing. However, loss of body temperature will gradually cause the body's organs and tissues to become incapacitated and necrotic, which is life-threatening.

Especially in this place.

-

Looking back, the forest was extremely quiet, but the gradually brightening light above his head still made him realize that it was dawn.

Bloodlicker, who hadn't had much rest all night, shook its big and long horse's head. It obviously realized that it was daytime outside the forest.

The obstruction of mountains and dense forests, as well as the extremely quiet environment, can easily make people in this forest lose their sense of time. Kil didn't realize how long it had been before it was daybreak.

However, the fog in the forest seemed to be the strongest at this time. Kil couldn't even see the saddle and weapon rack on the horse clearly, but it didn't matter, just go to a place where there was no fog.

He tied the reins to the roots of a tree that he had been sitting on all night. When he was about to climb a nearby tree, he felt that it was not secure, so Keir untied the reins.

He said seriously to his horse: "Licking Blood Grass, I am going to climb to the tree next to you to investigate. Please don't move around here, okay?"

The war horse nodded, indicating that he understood.

Worried, Kil repeated again: "Don't move around! If there is danger when I go up, just go around the tree in a circle, or use your hooves to hit something that is dangerous to you." ! How about it? Remember, don’t run away, I’m afraid we’ll get separated.”

The blood-licking grass nodded heavily and raised its front hooves to show its understanding.

Seeing that the smart horse really understood what he meant, Kil smiled and did not bring the long sword responsible for lighting with him. He quickly returned to the lady's dreamland and brought two daggers that had been used before and the captured He took out the dagger, put on clothes that were convenient for climbing, and came to the big tree next to him.

This made Blood Licker look at it for a moment, a little confused, why did the master suddenly change from a suit of metal armor to a suit of ordinary clothes?

But it's just a horse and can't figure out these difficult questions.

So he watched its owner mutter something in a low voice, then used his bow left and right and used his dagger to dig out small grooves on the surface of the big tree that were convenient for climbing and stepping on.

These grooves are neither deep nor big, only half the size of a horse's hoof, but they are obviously suitable for humans of the owner's stature to put their palms or half of their feet in and climb.

Climbing, this is really a magical activity for a horse.

In this way, the loyal war horse watched its owner dig out grooves on the surface of the big tree little by little, and soon climbed into the white mist that it could not see even when it looked up.

-

The fog-rich forest makes the surface bark of every big tree here thick and soft.

Using a dagger to dig out a groove for him to climb and step on was not as difficult as Kil thought. A suitable hole could be made with a few fiddles with the steel dagger, and although this thing dug very quickly, it still had to bear his weight. That's enough.

Because Kil had changed his equipment, he was now wearing a lightweight armor suit obtained from the bandit's lair. Otherwise, he was simply wearing ordinary fine linen clothes.

He chose a pair of soft and strong rabbit skin boots for the soles of his feet. Although these boots had little defense, they were enough to provide sufficient friction for the soles of his feet when climbing.

Soon, because of Kil's sufficient strength and energy, as well as the convenience of climbing, he quickly climbed along the trunk surface of the big tree to the top of the towering tree.

He was swaying back and forth on the treetops, and a few meters below him was filled with milky white mist, which came from the huge mountains next to the forest.

The view became clearer here, and Keir looked around, which made him furious.

Because he found that his position was at the edge of the forest, yes, it was not even fifty meters away from where he entered the forest last night.

"Am I being too cautious?"

Kil gritted his teeth, scratched his head helplessly, and murmured.