return to edgar

Along with the rustling sound, there was the sound of stones falling from time to time.

Link and Linde looked at each other, and quietly untied the thin blanket on their bodies.

Not long after, a round head poked up from the sharp vertical mountain wall, it was furry, it was an orc!Climbing up one by one, there were not many of them, all of them were armed. They didn't speak, and they lined up and headed eastward.

When the orcs walked away, Linde let out the breath he had held for a long time: "What do you think?"

"I don't know much about Longyan Castle, but to the east is the boundary of Hohenheim, so it's impossible for those dozens of people to attack Nax City?" Nax is the nearest town to Longyan Castle in Hohenheim, stationed There are more than five hundred mages and mercenaries in China, which already account for half of the population.Those orcs with even a little IQ would not die.

"I reckon that they are going to plunder the refugees." Linde squinted at the direction the orcs left.

"Refugee?"

"The area bordering Belfast and Hohenheim is often harassed by orcs. Some homeless people build houses and farm on the land abandoned by farmers."

Live near Longyan Castle?It's too dangerous. Although there is a natural barrier, Sword Edge Mountain, which is not suitable for large-scale marches, it doesn't mean that there won't be a small group of orcs climbing the mountain to make a detour and sneak attack. .It's fine for them to live, and they still farm. Isn't this tantamount to telling the orcs that there is food that can be obtained without any effort?

Link knew the purpose of these orcs, and went to rob the food grown by the refugees.

It was just a small group of orcs with a dozen or twenty people. Even if Longyan Castle was willing to send troops, these orcs would have already fled after the scouts sent back the information and sent people to arrive.Hohenheim doesn't even care about it, the mages will never interfere with the towns attached to them unless they are at the level of war.Maybe it was the same with the orc army we met last time. They only ran to Aiden if they went in the wrong direction.

"I'll follow and have a look." Linde folded the blanket and put it in his backpack. He held the pendant hidden under his clothes, and immediately dived into the shadows.

The expert-level assassin's tracking skills are no worse than that of a ranger, and with the support of silent steps and shadow lurking, he can quickly catch up with the orcs.

After the assassin had gone far enough, Link asked Feng Falcon if he could have the night market ability.Birds have poor night vision, and he's not sure if magical creatures in the fantasy world can see at night.Fortunately, although the night vision of wind falcons is not much better than that of humans, they can sense the flow of wind, judge the direction, and even track the prey.

"Ney, if I prevent the orcs from killing unarmed peasants, will I violate the iron law that the children of nature must not interfere with the balance?"

Feng Falcon's answer once or twice is of course nothing. If things go on like this, the balance of the faction will tilt, and Link will become a punisher.

"Isn't killing humans the punishment?"

"Cuckoo." It has nothing to do with what life is killed, and failure to abide by the rules is punishment.

"I see." Link took off the longbow and hung the quiver on his waist.

I somewhat understand why Belfast fell in the first place.If the orcs are allowed to slaughter refugees in order to observe discipline, what is the point of such a guardian?Even if it's just a virtual game, Link doesn't want to stand by cold-bloodedly.

"Follow the trail of the orcs!"

Feng Falcon flew straight into the air, guiding Link in the direction of the orcs.

After walking west for about an hour, the orcs changed their route and went straight north, and the landform changed from bare stalagmites to hills.The orc went straight to a small village next to the farmland.Screams broke the tranquility of the night, and when Link quickened his pace to arrive, the orcs had already entered the house majestically, searching for any food they could find, and killing the humans who had little resistance by the way.

Not finding Linde, and ignoring that he was a spy sent by Malik, Link activated Hawkeye and Accuracy, drew his bow and shot down the two orcs who were closest to him.

"Hey~ what are you doing?" Linde, who was lurking outside the village, couldn't help but make a sound.

"Do what I want."

"Those are just npcs, it doesn't make any sense for you to do this!"

"As long as it makes sense to me." While speaking, Link shot two more shots.

"you……"

"Ugh-"

The screams startled the orcs, and they all hid in the wooden houses and fired back with crossbow arrows. Lin De hurriedly distanced himself from Link.The number of orcs is not many, but there are only two of them, and there is no chance of winning.

Thanks to Link for drawing the attention of all the orcs, the remaining refugees were able to escape.The goal was achieved, and he withdrew.

Perhaps because they were afraid of an ambush, the orcs only returned a few symbolic arrows and did not pursue them.

Linde caught up and accused him angrily: "We are scouts, not pioneers. It is our task to pass back the information we discover."

"You can go back and report the situation here, I can complete the rest of the journey alone."

Of course, it was impossible for Linde to just go back like this. Maybe this patrol was also one of the ways to assess recruits. He didn't want to be relegated to the logistics force because he turned back halfway.

The wind falcons following the orcs returned to report, and they retreated along the same path after searching for food.

Angrily, Linde stared at Link for a while, then suddenly turned and walked in the opposite direction of the village. Link, who followed behind, said nothing, all he could think about was the current situation.

Kaogo is not a desert where not a single blade of grass grows. Compared with the fertile inland land, the climate is indeed much harsher. In addition, the orcs still continue their nomadic habits. If there is no rain for years, those who have nothing to eat will definitely fight.Dante also said that this kind of situation has to be repeated every few years, but if a war breaks out when most of the elite are transferred to the north, Longyan Castle will definitely not be able to bear it. No matter which side of them invades the inland, it has been maintained since the Silver Age. The balance of the world will be broken, wouldn't there be a reason for me to make a move...

It wasn't until the sky gradually turned gray that Link and Linde realized that they had gone astray, and they couldn't see the iconic stalagmites of Blade Mountain no matter which direction they were.It may be that I made a mistake in judgment after leaving the village yesterday, and walked northward, reaching the border close to Hohenheim.

"Unlucky..." Linde cursed, it was his own direction, and he couldn't blame anyone.

"Have you ever learned how to identify directions in the wild?" Link asked suddenly.

"It's not easy, look at the sun."

Moments later, Linde burst into tears.The hills were covered in thick fog, and he couldn't even see the big trees a few meters away, let alone the sun.

"Something's wrong." Link looked around.

"What's wrong?" Linde didn't notice anything wrong except that the fog was a bit choking.

"The fog is too thick..."

"What's so strange about this." Linde felt that Link was making a fuss.

"It's summer now, how could there be such a big..." Link's voice stopped abruptly.

Yes, why didn't I think of it!Not only is it difficult to form a thick fog in summer, but there are not many mature crops in summer, even if the orcs want to grab food, they should wait until autumn.The meaningless harassment is very likely to cause them to encounter the army of Longyan Fort, which obviously has other purposes.

Linde felt that what he said made sense, "What is the purpose of the orc?"

"Obviously it can't be those grains that haven't been harvested yet, and they won't be refugees who don't pose any threat to them." Link first ruled out the possibility of grains. Such people no one will care about their life or death.Even if the orcs want to attract the attention of Longyan Castle, there is no need to use refugees...

"Lord Lu, the building is crooked." Lin De suddenly said something inexplicable.

"what?"

"I'm reminding you that it was the mist that was wrong, not the orcs."

These words were like a flash of lightning, piercing through the fog that shrouded Link's heart.

"I know their purpose!"

"what?"

"The orcs infested this area to attract the attention of Longyan Castle. The fog can interfere with the sight of intruders. There must be hidden secrets hidden here!"

Seeing Link's swearing, Linde took out the pendant he was wearing around his neck, and the pendant glowed red, Linde's complexion changed drastically.

"Malik's holy emblem responds. Not only is this place extremely dangerous, but there is also a terrible conspiracy hidden."

Malik, the god of shadows, is mainly responsible for conspiracy and assassination, and his followers can perceive danger with the holy emblem.

Linde's words convinced Link that there was something wrong with the area he had strayed into. What should he do next?Should the two work together to investigate, or return to Longyan Fort to report first.

Hmm... The holy emblem has already been used, even if he wears the karma ball aimed at the child of nature, it is impossible for me to work.Taking advantage of the fact that the sky is not completely bright yet, use the divine revelation to decide whether to stay or not before the spell slot is reset.

Link activated the tree skin first before using the divine revelation. The bright red that caught the eye was blood?

The revelation was too short and clueless, and Link decided to use up his oracle too.

As soon as the skill was activated, his eyes fell into darkness.Immediately afterwards, the torches were lit, one after another, illuminating the surroundings, and Link gasped.

A group of dwarfs were digging hard underground, and those who moved a little slowly would be whipped and cursed by the orc guards immediately.An orc who looked like a chieftain was surrounded by his own race to see the fruits of the dwarves' labor. Link was about to lean over to listen to what they had to say, when the picture suddenly shook, as if a pool of stones had been thrown into it, causing waves of ripples.

Breaking away from divine knowledge, Link helplessly looked at Linde who patted him on the shoulder.Almost knew what the orcs were digging, and it was all due to this big idiot.

"Why are you in a daze?"

"I'm just thinking whether to go back and report or find out."

"Nonsense, of course I'm withdrawing. I don't want to spend my life on such a boring task." The morning dew made the ground soft and wet, and Linde walked back step by step on the footprints he left before. After walking a few steps, he stopped, and he turned his head slowly, with a terrified expression on his face.

"Disappeared……"

"What?" Link leaned forward.

"The footprints we came here." Linde pointed to the ground, and the fresh footprints disappeared one by one.

ps: I am addicted to games. I just wanted to play casually for a while, but I couldn't help playing all afternoon. m(__)m The tiger landed, and there is only one chapter today.