Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 955: Is the identity exposed?

In the narrow valley between the Little Vichy Mountains and the Osor Mountains, there is a valley formed by stratum erosion. Due to its remote location and tortuous terrain, the snow that falls here never melts. In addition, the cold wind caused by the narrow channel effect never stops all year round. Over time, the frozen cliffs here have become as steep as a knife. Looking up from the bottom of the valley, you will feel like you are sandwiched between two vertical mirrors. The blue and transparent ice walls reflect each other, forming a strange world. If you are not familiar with the terrain, you may even get lost in these illusions and never get out of this valley.

This is the Ice and Snow Valley, which is also called the Blue Valley because the entire valley is surrounded by a dark blue ice wall. The Wusu tribe is stationed here. Standing on the high ground outside the valley and looking down, you can see a circle of log walls standing firmly to resist the wind and snow from the outside. Inside the walls are semicircular tents covered with warm fur, which look like many mushrooms growing on the ice from a distance.

In the middle of the camp, a huge bonfire was built with lots of wood. The bright orange flames were burning, sparks and embers were flying everywhere, illuminating the faces of the people passing by. They were all doing their own things in an orderly manner: carrying fodder, feeding the wildebeests pulling the carts, unloading the supplies from the open carts and distributing them evenly to each tent, or distributing weapons, organizing patrols, and guarding the perimeter of the camp. Although it was a temporary camp, it looked very orderly.

In addition, there were some people who hurried through the crowd and rushed to the big tent in the center of the camp. Their anxious and anxious expressions formed a sharp contrast with the others around them. Linger noticed that those people were dressed as hunters, strong and sturdy, and their heads and bodies were covered with gray and white snow, as if they had just returned from outside.

"Well, it seems that the other hunters sent out for reconnaissance have returned to the tribe. If they hadn't brought back the news, the elders and the chief wouldn't have easily moved camp and moved forward." Songtaya stopped, scratched her cheek, and whispered to herself, "I'm the only one who didn't go back. I wonder if Dad will be worried. Oh, if he knew that I was captured so easily, he would definitely be very angry."

If he gets angry, she will have to accept more rigorous training; if the training takes too long, she will have no time to do other things. When she thought of this, Songtaya felt that her life was bleak, and she even didn't want to go back for a moment.

However, running away would not solve the problem, so the idea only occurred to the girl for a moment and was quickly dispelled. She turned around and said to Ling Ge and the others, "Wait here for a while. I will go back and report the situation to the elders and the leader. They will decide whether to meet with you. Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting too long!"

Linger nodded slightly. This request was reasonable and he had no reason to object. Besides, the young man knew what was going on in Songtaya's mind. Reporting the situation was only one aspect. He might also take this opportunity to remind her tribesmen to prepare emergency measures, such as ambushing 800 swordsmen at the meeting place. If these outsiders had any improper intentions, they would smash the cups as a signal and rush forward to chop them into pieces.

Although Songtaya was willing to believe that the owner of the Snow Mountain Divine Horse Sun Snow and his friends came to visit her tribe with friendly purposes, she could not drop the necessary vigilance. If she really trusted these strangers completely just because of a horse, it would not be called simplicity, but stupidity.

Songtaya was not a simple-minded girl. On the contrary, she was a little cunning, or clever under a simple appearance. So she said this to the elders and the leader after returning to the tribe. As expected, she was severely reprimanded. After all, as a hunter of the tribe, she was responsible for the safety of all the tribe members. She was captured so easily. Even if the opponent was so strong that you could not resist, don't you have one percent of the responsibility?

Because the person who scolded her was the leader of the tribe, who was also Songtaya's father, and was blameless in both legal and moral terms, the other tribesmen were embarrassed to persuade her. Finally, the elder mentioned that there were a group of guests waiting for a reply outside, which temporarily calmed the leader's anger and rescued the poor girl.

Afterwards, the tribal leaders represented by the chief and elders held an urgent discussion for about ten minutes, and finally decided to agree to the request of these outsiders, meet with them, and listen to what important matters they wanted to discuss with them.

The discussion process was quite complicated, and although I won't go into detail here, it still made Alice impatient. In the end, she simply squatted under a big cedar tree and counted the leaves on the branches out of boredom. When she counted the 312th leaf, Ling suddenly looked up in the direction of the camp exit and whispered, "Here they come."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people leaving the camp and walking towards here with torches. The light of the torches reflected the dark blue ice wall, like a striking red line in the dim snow valley, straight and firm. When they walked up the slope and came to the high ground outside the valley, Linger's eyes fell directly on the middle-aged man who was leading the group. He was tall and strong, maybe even two meters tall. His steady steps cast an oppressive shadow in everyone's eyes, which made people think of Mount Osor standing deep in the wind and snow, also standing still, as if it would not be shaken by any external things.

He was wearing the traditional hunting suit of the Xiatoto people, which was stretched to the point of breaking apart by his tough and wiry muscles. His bronze skin, covered with scars, was directly exposed to the biting wind and snow. However, no matter how sharp the ice was, it could not leave a scar on it, because fate had destined that such a warrior's body would only be harmed in battle.

His hair and eyes were the most classic light black of the Xiatoto people, perhaps a little darker, like a long-precipitated black agate. However, unlike other hunters, he did not deliberately cut his hair short to ensure that it would not be disturbed during the battle. Instead, he kept it long, hanging over his neck and chest, even reminiscent of a lion's mane. These hairs were combed neatly, tied into braids at the ends, and tied with ancient copper rings. Each copper ring was engraved with a surname. The surnames on all the copper rings together formed the Wusu tribe in front of us.

In the tradition of the Xiatoto people, only the chief and elders are qualified to bear the surnames of the tribe members with copper rings, which implies a kind of responsibility and right. Seeing Songtaya following the man like a bullied quail, looking very aggrieved but not daring to speak out, Lingge understood the identity of the middle-aged man: the chief of the Wusu tribe and Songtaya's father.

As a guest, he took the initiative to step forward and spoke on behalf of the others: "It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency, the leader of the Wusu tribe, Avalo of the Mountain Guard. We came uninvited, which is impolite. I hope you will forgive us."

While he was saying polite words, Saint Shallia quietly pulled Alice, who was still squatting on the ground, up to avoid embarrassing everyone.

About ten meters away, the middle-aged man stopped, and the team behind him also stopped. Only the orange-red flame was still burning, creating a small warm island on the cold snow.

The leader stood still, and then his eyes fell on the group of uninvited guests in front of him, which instantly brought a strong sense of oppression. He was like a tiger entrenched in his territory, standing upright and tough, giving people a feeling that even if his bones were broken, he would not bend down. His calm and calm eyes gently swept over, replacing the obscure observation with a more direct scrutiny, taking in the expressions and movements of everyone present, but not letting them feel uncomfortable being spied on, because before hunting, the tiger will not show its claws and teeth to let its prey know.

The stronger the person, the more he can feel the oppression he brings. For example, Countess Nevill knew that a dangerous beast was coming from the moment the leader left the camp. Any beast that relies purely on strength is not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Countess, because no one in the world knows more about the experience and skills of fighting than her, who has lived for thousands of years and has personally participated in the founding war of the Metosh Empire. However, the beast in front of him is different. He never relies on strength to defeat the enemy, but relies on the concentration and control of thousands of momentum.

In other words, when facing him, you will feel like you are facing the entire snow-capped mountain standing at his feet, and the will of the mountain people that has been tempered by the mountains and snow for thousands of years. He is not a demigod, but he is the general who guides the direction in the deepest part of the blizzard, commanding his army to be invincible and sweep away all enemies.

He even reminded the Countess of the divine wolf that used to roam the Taguao wilderness. The only difference between him and Neo was that the times had changed. The world was too narrow due to the oppression of the religious orders, and there was no more room for him to do what he wanted. If he had been born a hundred years earlier, before the "Religious Decree" was promulgated, perhaps he would have led the mountain people of the Eastern Alps to another path?

I never thought that such a person could emerge from the unknown mountain guards.

Nevi'er sighed a little, but she still had no doubts about the safety of this operation, because she could see that this man had no hostility towards them. And the fact was indeed so. After Lingge greeted them, he put away his scrutinizing eyes and fell on the young man. He spoke with a voice as heavy and calm as a mountain: "It is our fault for not welcoming a distant guest. I am Wilhelm Dart, the leader of the Wusu tribe. I welcome all the guests and--" He glanced at the girl hiding behind him: "I hope Songtaya didn't cause you any trouble."

Songtaya hung her head and muttered, "No, I'm a very good boy."

Always wipe your mouth after eating!
Lingge was also very considerate and argued for her: "Indeed not. In fact, Songtaya helped us a lot."

Indeed, without her, how could a group of outsiders with no connections get in touch with the Mountain Guards?

Chief Wilhelm nodded slightly, thinking that Lingge's words were not a polite remark, and then said, "The Wusu tribe has not received foreign guests for a long time. I don't know why you are here, but why don't you go back to the camp with me and have a face-to-face talk with the elder? I believe she knows the answers you want."

Although he is a mountain dweller, he speaks quite elegantly.

Alice thought to herself, and then raised both hands in agreement before Lingge could speak: "I have no objection!"

She had long felt that this place was boring, cold and dark. Why not go to the Xiatoto camp, warm herself by a fire, and maybe even taste the local specialties?

Who asked you?

Linger glared at her, implying that she should not speak carelessly in such a formal meeting. What if she left a bad impression on the other party? Then he thought of responding to Chief Wilhelm's invitation, but sadly he found that Alice had already said what he was about to say, so he could only say aggrievedly, "I have no objection either."

It looked as if the young man was agreeing with Alice.

Since everyone agreed, the group set off towards the camp. Linger noticed that when Xino led Brandi over, all the Wusu tribe members who came out to greet the guests couldn't help but linger on the snow-white horse for a few seconds. Others were fine, even the most mature and steady leader Wilhelm was no exception. He could only sigh that the sun snow really had a very special meaning in the legends of the mountain people.

Brandy seemed to be uncomfortable with such enthusiasm and hid behind his owner shyly. He only calmed down after Xino stroked his mane and comforted him.

Chief Wilhelm naturally looked at the young knight and asked, "Are you the owner of the Sun Snow, Miss Shino that Sontaya mentioned?"

Look, he already knew the name of the owner of Sun Snow before he even formally asked the guests' names.

"Yes." Xino smiled and nodded in response. His posture was elegant and natural, and he followed all the etiquette of aristocrats.

"I heard from Songtaya that you and this horse, Sun Snow, grew up together and have a deep relationship."

Wilhelm looked at her and Brandi with deep eyes. "However, a young Sun Snow will only follow its mother and will not look for a master it recognizes until it grows up. The fact that the Sun Snow recognized you at a young age shows that its family trusts you very much - or in other words, trusts the blood flowing in your body. In this world, the only family that is recognized by the Sun Snow as a family rather than an individual is the Gustaf family of the White City-State Republic. Excuse me, Miss Shino, what is your relationship with the pioneer Baron Vince and the white knight Sir Hiberton?"

Seeing him analyze her origins in just a few words, Xino was a little surprised, but this was indeed not something that needed to be concealed, so after being surprised, she admitted it openly: "They are all my ancestors. Please allow me to introduce myself again: I am Xino Qin Gustaf, the son of the white thorn flower from the land of Grangenia."

Sure enough.

Leader Wilhelm was not happy that his judgment was correct. He remained calm. He was about to say something, but Sontaya behind him jumped up as if she had heard something unbelievable. She pointed at Shino with a trembling hand and said, "You, you, what did you say? Are you the descendant of the White Knight Hibden?"

When the girl Chattoto thought about the slanderous words she had said against the White Knight in the Fairy Inn, and she had said them in front of Xino, she felt dizzy and wished she could dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.

However, she did not realize that the real crisis was right beside her.

With the help of the torchlight, everyone could see that after Sontaya behaved so disrespectfully in front of the guests, Chief Wilhelm's bronze face suddenly turned darker than his hair.

Give me some meow