Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Chapter 150 Four: The Way Home

Finally, the day came to send off the southerners.

On this day, in order to avoid accidents, Haiwen brought all the capable men around him. Smiley Cat also recruited two friends and a few idle mercenaries from the local Ranger Guild.There were about thirty of them, all dressed up and leading the team to set off.After all, this is escorting a group of vicious robbers, they should be careful.

Most of the people went with him. They needed men to escort the team and women to take care of their daily affairs.Except for Ramon, Little Hammer and Laya, everyone else followed Haiwen—Ramon was working in Mustang Town, and said he wanted to get a batch of farm tools from the farmers association to sell here, and then earn some money. Divided into; Little Hammer has to take care of the store, so he really can’t leave. By the way, he can also take care of Mirsalu; Laya asked to stay, she and Hai Wen said:

"Bear Castle needs someone to stay here. My lord, you are not escorting civilians this time, but sending more than 100 robbers. This matter is far more dangerous than it seems. For some reason, I have a... bad feeling. So I want to stay with the earl and adapt to the circumstances."

It was useless for Raya to follow, so Haven agreed with him to stay.

Haiwen and his party left the city early in the morning and headed southeast.This morning, General Wen Kai had a rare drill of soldiers. The roar of the Xiongshan army and the sound of orderly footsteps came from outside the city in the west; there were more farmers going to the market and small businessmen running away on the road in the east; the only constant was fleeing. Refugees in the Reach——The civil war in the Reach is still going on. In winter, the river freezes, and longboats and speedboats cannot go. Therefore, the Reach has been peaceful for a while. Now that the river thaws, the war in the Reach has resumed.

The River Bend is the core area of ​​the Gulf, with a large population, so there is an endless stream of refugees. The Bears cannot accommodate so many people. Last year, the Earl issued a decree to expel the refugees.These people either continue northward to the barren graystone salt fields, or cross the Antler Pass to seek life in other duchies.But no matter which one is difficult and dangerous, Haiwen has walked all the way from Mustang Town and knows how painful it is to travel far away from home.

They went all the way south and camped at night in Pinewood Castle.Now that the weather is getting warmer, camping in the wild can be enough for one night.The next day they came to the forest to meet the southerners.Hollanger waited for them outside the forest with more than 100 people. They used simple wooden carts to push the old, weak, sick and disabled.Haiwen prepared a carriage here, and hurriedly moved these people up.Others rode horses and walked on foot.The druid Sean Lee is friends with the slave warrior Holanger, so he also wants to give him a ride.So the druid turned into a giant white pigeon, and walked with Haiwen and the others—he seemed to have reached some secret consensus with Haiwen's pigeons, chirping and cooing, and seemed to get along very well.

Shuren 0032 stayed in the mountains, thinking about life alone.

In the evening, they returned to the previous camp of Haven and the others. Isrit and Hyacinth had already prepared to meet them. She led the women and the chefs to prepare dinner in advance, waiting for these people to come back.Everyone ate some hot food and then rested on the spot.During dinner, the southerners came to thank Haiwen, saying that thanks to him, these people who would have died in other places had the opportunity to return to their homeland.

Through Violet's translation, Hollander and Haven said: "Even if they die on the way home, the bones of southerners should be buried in the land of their ancestors, not in this cold and wet place."

Haiwen looked at the old people and asked, "Why do slave ships catch old people and children?"

Hollanger said: "Children are our children; the elderly are mostly tribal priests and elders, these people have knowledge and fame; these people serve as hostages, and children can also become slaves when they grow up. Most importantly, People with them in the tribe will unite and won't run away." Having said this, Hollanger sneered, "Obviously the slave owners look down on us! Not only do we have to run away by ourselves, we also have to run away with the old people! Everyone in the Lun Tribe is like this, everyone treats fellow tribe members like brothers, and none of us will give up."

"Well done." Haven patted him on the shoulder, "You are all great warriors, your god, your... Valkyrie Vallos, she will definitely bless you to return to your hometown."

"No matter how great we are, we are not as great as you, Lord Haven." The slave soldier said and bowed to him.

The next morning, they set off for Baishuiwan.If you go to Baishuiwan from here, you have to go north on Maple Road and then go east through a shrub land.There are lush bushes and the road has been in disrepair for a long time, so it is not easy to walk.But everyone has no complaints, because they will be able to embark on the journey home soon.These southerners have suffered too much here, and the cold wind and rain in the Gulf are tormenting these people from the midsummer land all the time. To a warm and rich hometown.

In the morning, the sun was shining brightly, as if the sunshine from home had also reached the Bayland; it was also March in the Bayland at this moment, no different from the warm south.The cheerful crowd sang songs. Although Haiwen couldn't understand their language, he knew that they were very happy.Therefore, his mood also became happier.Haiwen is a very strange person. He won't feel very excited about earning a lot of money and living in a big house, but he will be very happy to see others become happy—especially with his help.

It was the same in the previous life, and it is the same in this life.

Haven rode in front on a horse, and Gerrit walked beside him in a carriage.Hyacinth was sitting outside the carriage, dangling her calves. She asked Haiwen, "My lord, will we go to the south in the future?"

"Maybe." Haven said, "Do you want to go south?"

Hyacinth nodded and said, "Although I have forgotten everything about my hometown, it is the place where I grew up. I still remember my mother's songs." She sang the song while talking, and she sang in the language of her hometown. :

"In that far, unreachable land,

Where the rhododendrons and hyacinths bloom.

The quiet valley hugs the trickling river,

The wanderer who has forgotten his hometown is looking at the mountains.

The melody is carved on the boat,

Songs flutter along the green water.

Watermelon, mango and peach, bursting in midsummer,

The boy's sweat swayed on the ridge, and the girl became his bride.

Thank you, the God of Midsummer, for caring about my hometown..." She stopped singing at this point, and hummed softly, with a troubled expression on her face, as if she was thinking about the forgotten lyrics. Suddenly an old man continued to sing: "

My sons and daughters, there is a time to return;

My parents ah, meet sometimes.

Even if the relatives are blurred, even if the memory has become a ballad,

My soul will return to its old place,

Sing this song, it will take you home.

I will go back to my hometown one day.

I will return to the hometown of my dreams one day. "

"Yes, yes!" Hyacinth yelled excitedly, "This is it, this is the one behind it! How could you remember, how could you remember?" However, after shouting a few words, she realized that she was using the common language of the Gulf. shouted, but the old man couldn't understand, so she repeated it in southern dialect, and the old man replied to her.

Then Hyacinth choked with a sob, and then howled loudly.Violet leaned over and hugged her sister into her arms.He translated to Haiwen and said: "The old man said that he had heard this song before, and everyone in Caiyundi in the south could sing it. He said that hyacinth must be the daughter of Caiyundi."

"Colorful Cloud Land?" Haiwen murmured to himself.It was far south, he had never heard of it.But having this direction is better than catching the blind. When there is a chance in the future, I must let the two girls go to the south to find their hometown.Haven also considered letting Hyacinth and Violet go back to the south with the ship, but it was too dangerous.It was a long way along the way, and the sea was turbulent. Moreover, it was very difficult for them to find their hometown by their own strength, or they might be caught and brought back as slaves.

It's so hard.

At this time, Fasnat suddenly said, "My lord, look ahead!"

Haiwen looked in the direction of his finger, and vaguely saw many people in front of him.But he couldn't see it clearly from a distance, but what he could be sure of was that those people were coming in front of them, because the figures were getting bigger and bigger.He couldn't see the attire of those people clearly, but the team was lined up in a square formation, very neatly—is it a soldier?How come here?

The phalanx moved forward step by step, and dust was raised under the soldiers' feet.At this time, Haiwen heard footsteps behind him.He and Fassnut looked at each other, not knowing what happened.Suddenly, Haiwen heard a sad cry from the horse in front, and then a scream from the rider, who turned his back on his back.An arrow was seen piercing the horse's throat.Immediately, the sound of running and shouting came from both sides, and many armored soldiers were seen killing out of the forest.

Then the smiling cat yelled loudly: "My lord, there is an ambush!"

Chapter 150 Five: The Choice of the Mustang King

Chapter 150 Five: The Choice of the Mustang King

Haiwen calmed down after a brief shock. He was mentally prepared today, and this journey will not be peaceful.He loudly ordered his troops to maintain formation, protecting the old, weak, women and children in the middle.Smiley Cat and Fassnut protected the left and right sides of the team, while Hollanger and the slave warrior faced the enemy directly in front of them.

At first Haiwen thought he had encountered a robber again, but then he thought about it, he had never heard of a robber in this place, and the robber should not be like this.These people are well-disciplined, the team is neat, and they all wear uniform blue-striped armor. They... are the army!It's the regular army!

Then he saw the enemy's flag flying high.

It was Lord Bear Mountain's battle bear banner.

Then, he saw Wen Kai walking towards them on a horse.

What?Is it the Bear Mountain Army?Is it Wen Kai?A very bad thought rose in Hai Wen's mind.

In a blink of an eye, General Wenkai had already arrived in front of him. On his left was the tall and long-legged Frante, and on his right was a middle-aged man with tawny messy hair. Also known as Lightning Baker, Hai Wen once met him when he was drinking with Wen Kai, and he was also one of Wen Kai's cadres.

They kept a distance of more than ten meters and started talking like this.

"Master Hai Wen, you did a good job." Wen Kai said to him, "You know what? I really didn't expect you to be able to gain the trust of a group of robbers and trick them out of the mountain."

"I didn't expect that the young master of Xiongshan would play such a despicable trick with me." Hai Wen looked at the Xiongshan garrison gradually surrounded from all sides.This is an army composed of a mix of cavalry and infantry, with at least 500 soldiers. There are only more than 100 slave soldiers and mercenaries in Haven.The enemy was five times their size, the properly trained garrison of Bear Mountain; they were bandits, and had no armor or sharp weapons.

"My lord, soldiers never mind using intrigues and tricks. The upright knights only exist in novels." He sneered, "Why do you spend money on bandits that can be wiped out? If the world knows, my dignified Lord Xiongshan will send gold to kill them." Bandit, where do I put this face? Right!"

At this moment Holanger roared angrily, Violet translated and said: "My lord, Holanger asked you, did you betray them?"

Haiwen turned his head and shouted: "Tell him, I was the one who was betrayed—Haven? Ambside would rather die than betray a friend."

Violet delivered the message, Hollanger nodded, and then yelled at the southerner behind him.The slave fighters moved closer together consciously, ready to fight.Wen Kai let out a burst of laughter, and questioned Hai Wen:

"Lord Haiwen, look around, you are facing the Thousand Bear Mountain garrison!"

1000 people?Haiwen looked around, he thought there were only more than 500 people, but he didn't know if the enemy had a reserve team.Generally speaking, there will be a reserve team in the war.But it's also possible... Wen Kai was lying to him, and he didn't know whether to believe it or not.

"And you, do you have 100 people?" Wen Kai asked him with a smile, "A hundred old men? Or a hundred nursing children?" After he finished speaking, the people beside him laughed.Wen Kai said loudly: "This is your only chance. If you bring your people to my side, you will be my hero. I will tell my father that you perfectly helped me complete the bandit suppression Task, I will use you again after I inherit the title; otherwise, I will let you die without a place to bury you."

Hai Wen compared the strengths of the two parties, and found that he was indeed more dangerous than good.

So, how to choose?

If he betrayed the southerners, turned around and slaughtered them all, then he would be able to save his life, and maybe even get a title; on the contrary, if he insisted on his justice, then he would usher in a bloody battle of near death.

Same as last time, at this time Dreyer came to persuade him again, "My lord, you can't fight!"

Haven knew that Delaire was right, indeed, he couldn't fight.

He turned to look at his friends and asked, "Master Cat, what do you say?"

Master Mao smiled and said, "Your Excellency, whatever you decide, the smiling ranger will do."

"Fasnet, what about you?"

"I trust you, and I obey you." The boy bowed to him.

He looked at the southerner.Those were ragged slave warriors, as well as old and weak women and children.Logically speaking, they should be timid and cowardly, they should be passive, they should be slaughtered - they are slaves.

However, Haiwen saw the unwavering belief in those people's eyes, and saw the burning flame in their eyes.The flame seemed to burn everything into ashes—the enemy, himself, and Haven, everything.

The sun made him sweat all over his face, and the wind blew sand and dust, which stuck to his sweat, making him feel ashamed.Countless people looked at him expectantly again, but for him, a person in power, every decision was a tragic battle.It's not easy.

"Have you made up your mind?" Wen Kai roared.

Hai Wen pondered for a while, and said: "I will ask my wife to persuade these bandits to surrender." Wen Kai nodded with a smile, and said: "This is the best!"

Then Haven said to Violet: "Madam, come here."

Both Violet and Estherite were taken aback for a moment, and then the former met Hewen's eyes, seeming to understand what he meant.Violet came up and asked, "My lord, tell me."

Haiwen attached to Violet's ear and said: "Tell the slave warriors in the southern dialect, when I draw my sword and shout 'King of the Wild Horses', we will storm the south and break out; at the same time tell the druids who have become heaven , Let him surprise the enemy general from the sky in 30 seconds, we need a chance."

Violet's expression froze for an instant, and her lips trembled, obviously extremely nervous.Haiwen ordered her again, and said, "Go to the middle of the team in a while, and nothing will happen."

"Yes, my lord."

Then Violet loudly conveyed what Hai Wen said earlier in southern dialect.Some of the slave fighters were whispering, some were excited, and Hollanger yelled at them to be quiet.Wen Kai finds all this inexplicable.Haiwen and Wenkai confronted each other, counting down the time silently—the Druid had nothing to do with them, but was just a companion who came to see him off, and Haiwen didn't expect much from him.It would be best if He could help, if not, Haiwen would also shout "King of the Wild Horses".

However, at the end of the 30 seconds, a huge firebird appeared in the sky.

Haven didn't expect that druid could turn into a phoenix.

Every feather of the divine bird was burning with raging flames, enough to compete with the scorching sun at noon; it spread its wings in the air, and its wings were ten meters long, covering the sky;Both Wen Kai and the left and right were frightened and dumbfounded, and there was no time to move. Only the general Wen Kai, who yelled, slashed at Phoenix's claws with his sword.Then the bird's claws collided with the iron sword, making a crisp metallic sound.Fenghuang let out a scream of pain, and Wen Kai's sword came out of his hand.

At this time Wen Kai's horse was startled.

The horse turned around and ran away in fright, no matter how much Wen Kai yelled, he couldn't stop it.Just like that, he fled back to the army in a rampage.The main general fled for his life, and the entire Xiongshan army was in chaos.

So Haiwen's chance finally came. He immediately slashed and shouted: "King of wild horses!"

All the soldiers who followed him from the wild horse field were excited by the sound, and they also shouted: "King of the wild horses!" The slave soldiers also shouted after hearing Violet's words: "The king of the wild horses!" Then the two voices merged. Into a stream - the call sign of "King of the Wild Horse" became an indomitable war horse, and became an invincible knight.With smoke and dust rolling under his hooves and hot blood flowing in his veins, he just killed towards the south.

The Xiongshan army in the south was in a panic. At this time, Long-legged Frante killed a retreating deserter with a sword, and raised his blood-stained sword and shouted orders.So the phalanx quickly reorganized and stopped Haiwen.

Haiwen knew that he had no way out, so he took the lead in charging. The "King of Wild Horses" is not a general, and the sword has no eyes. He doesn't know if he can survive this time.

But he knew that he had already bowed his head to the evil once.

This time, he will never compromise!

Chapter 150 Six: No Compromise

Chapter 150 Six: No Compromise

The main general took the lead in charging, and the morale of the soldiers behind him was also high.Painted slave warriors imitated wild animals and shouted loudly, swinging their scimitars at the enemy.

Haiwen's horse crashed into the crowd, and the two soldiers in front were trampled by his horse.Once the horse started to run, it couldn't be stopped, so he rushed into the enemy's formation waving his saber.

He had never done this kind of thing before, and he felt his heart beating so fast that it was about to jump out of his chest, and the blood all over his body was hot; he shouted, and frantically swung the machete, slashing at the person closest to him.Although Wen Kai claimed to have brought 1000 people, the southern phalanx had only a hundred people, and they seemed unprepared to deal with cavalry—they did not form an formation, and there were not many pikemen.

This gave Haven's cavalry a chance to charge.Counting the slave fighters, they have more than 30 cavalry.It is not difficult for thirty cavalry to attack 100 people.What's more, Haiwen's morale is high, and the opponent's heart is lax.

Haiwen felt the strong wind blowing by, and the horse neighed loudly. He saw Smiley Cat and Fasnet riding on the horse, protecting his left and right sides, which gave him a lot of confidence.He yelled, and slashed a soldier on the left side of the face, the blood was all over the scimitar immediately, a bold soldier swung his sword and slashed at his horse, but was hit by the horse and flew away.Haiwen has heard that horses are usually timid, but once they run, they will go crazy.Legend has it that war horses can run themselves to death alive.

Smiley Cat and Fassnut swept thousands of troops on both sides, killing a bloody path for Hai Wen.They are unstoppable.Haiwen saw frightened faces and countless running backs; he heard Frante and Wenkai yelling, but the southern phalanx was already thrown into chaos under the impact.He knocked another soldier into the air, but the man slashed his knife on the back of the horse's neck before dying, and the wound was bleeding profusely.

At this time, he suddenly found that there were no enemies in front of him. It turned out that they had already rushed out of the enemy's formation.Then other riders rushed over after Haiwen, and he saw Fasnat and the smiling cat guarding his sides, the boy's sword flashed with blood, and the cat master was unscathed; a little further away was King Kong and the leader of the slave army, Holanger , there was a bloodstain on King Kong's arm, and the sledgehammer was covered with red, yellow, and white pulp; Hollander was still waving his two knives, yelling.

Then other slave knights also broke through the enemy line, less than 30 people came out, and more than half of them were defeated.

At this time, he finally understood the meaning of the phrase "war depends on courage" - when an army has courage, it is a solid whole; if it loses courage, it will immediately disintegrate into a hundred soldiers just to save their lives soldiers.A hundred independent soldiers are not terrible, because they will only run for their lives.

At this time, the smiling cat shouted: "My lord, charge again!"

Really need another flush.The enemy line to the south was routed, but their large forces had not been able to break through the encirclement.The slave soldiers were fighting bloody battles with the enemy, and the carriages loaded with old people, women and children were stuck in the center, unable to move an inch.He saw Isrit's carriage being blocked in the very center, Gerrit threw poisonous powder with one hand, and fought with a sword in the other; he saw the druid turned into a giant bear and went berserk among the crowd; he heard Drey Er shouted hoarsely: "Run!"

At this moment, the siege from the other three sides had come towards them, and Haiwen realized that even if he broke through the siege for a while, he would not be able to escape.Because they brought carriages, women, old people and children.Once they were surrounded, it was all over.The horse can't run, and the advantage of the cavalry will disappear.

At this moment, Hai Wen saw Wen Kai at a glance.

Wen Kai was originally in the safest place in the army, but after the druid attacked him, his horse was startled and led him to run away.As a result, he is now on the periphery of the encirclement on the north side.Hai Wen saw this opportunity at a glance, he raised his knife and shouted: "Go straight to the leader!"

The Smiley Cat understood immediately, and took the lead to kill Wen Kai, followed by several other knights. However, the battlefield was chaotic, and Wen Kai was surrounded by soldiers blocking him, so the only one who could rush up immediately was the martial arts master Cat.

Wen Kai on the opposite side obviously noticed it too.He is a hot-tempered person, and when he sees the enemy coming straight, he immediately raises his knife to fight.He came with a saber more than one meter long, and rushed straight to the smiling cat.The two knights fought head-on, and Wen Kai shouted: "Go to hell!" Then he slashed down.

Wen Kai's saber was sharp and heavy, and the smiling cat didn't dare to take it hard, but he had nowhere to hide when he was sitting on the horse.The Smiley Cat's swords are too short, which is very handy when fighting with people on foot, but it suffers a big loss when fighting on horseback.The last time he fought against the bandit horse, he relied on his weird body skills to avoid a move, but this time he couldn't. Wen Kai is obviously a seasoned knight. He swung his saber very well. All the gaps that the smiling face cat can move are blocked.At the very moment, Smiley Cat kicked the stirrup and immediately jumped off.Then the saber slashed on the horse's back, spinning off a piece of bloody horse meat, the horse let out a wail, and fell into a pool of blood.

Master Cat rolled three times on the ground in embarrassment, and the surrounding soldiers beat the cat who fell into the water, and greeted him with swords and axes.Master Mao stood up straight with a carp, brandishing a knife and fighting chaotically with the infantry.