Arcane splendor begins with the throne

Chapter 19 Encounter in the Wilderness
On a cold morning with a strong north wind, Brian rode upright on a bouncing chestnut-colored light horse and set off along the Gramri River towards Thornburg at the junction of the Griffin Mountains.

"Why do you have to go in such a hurry?" the half-faun Mario, who drove the horse and walked side by side with Brian, tightened the lynx fur cloak on his body, and complained:

"We ate and slept for a little while on the hard, cold rock every night before we set off in the early dawn. Brian, it's day five, damn it, I See only the gods in the sky know when the end is reached."

"You are the one who insisted on following. No one forced you to get on the horse." Brian controlled the horse over a rugged rock and reminded: "Boy, before entering the deep mountains, there is still time to return the same way."

He looked at Mario's weather-beaten and haggard face, and solemnly warned:

"I declare in advance that if I encounter danger on the road, my first consideration must be my own safety. As for you, if you insist on going to Thorn Castle with me, I advise you to practice in advance how to use the two hard holes on your forehead. horns against the evil race."

After Brian finished speaking, he looked solemnly at the narrow stone road in front of him.

As the two gradually moved forward, the surrounding hills became more and more steep and treacherous.

When he noticed the jagged snow-covered peaks on the distant horizon, he knew they were about to reach the most dangerous deep mountain regions.

Having experienced it once, he knows that the ferocious beasts there will treat all intruders as snacks, and the jackals, kobolds, ogres, etc. living in the mountains are all cruel races that kill and rob. Only then can they be made to surrender.

It is hard to imagine how the Duke of Silver Griffon of the Kingdom of West erected a military fortress, Fort Thorn, in the deep mountains.

Brian speculates that in addition to guarding against elves, Thorn Fort is likely to face various evil creatures in the mountains most of the enemies.

It can be seen from this that the Kingdom of West really intends to conquer the Griffin Mountains and develop the rich mineral deposits and other resources here for its own use.

This is why they formed a special human ranger force, because the regular army relying on formations simply cannot fight the evil creatures in this rugged mountainous area.

The cavalry is even more useless here. Although Brian has deliberately slowed down, but on this rugged and difficult road, after only five days of driving, he felt a little sore in his legs and his buttocks were also worn out. .

He even planned to throw away the horses directly after entering the mountainous area and choose to go on foot, which might increase the speed a little bit.

As for whether the half-goat man who insists on being with him is willing to do so, it is up to him, unless the other party plans to return the same way now.

"Please, this is the fifth time you have reminded me along the way. Well, Brian, I appreciate your kindness, but you must understand that I am a poet."

Facing Brian's serious warning, Mario didn't care. He said with a smile:
"In my opinion, the ranger troops of Thorn Castle are commendable. They defended against the monsters and humanoid hordes from the wilderness, so as not to ravage human civilization. They must hone their speed and stealth in the difficult and dangerous situation of defending the frontier. And the fighting skills of hunting. Therefore, I want more people to know about these wilderness warriors who specialize in hunting dangerous things on the edge of civilization."

They're not that great, they're just paying three times more than ordinary soldiers, Brian thought to himself.

Because of this, he wanted to go to Thornburg to see what this so-called special force looked like.

What is their purpose?Is it to develop the natural resources of the Griffin Mountains?Or is it to fight Blackman's elves?
Otherwise, Brian would have gone along the Grimri River to the Elven Holy Land.

Mario took out his harp and asked him for advice: "Hey! Brian, please give me a reference. What kind of vocabulary should be used to describe the ranger warrior in the wilderness to make it more rhyming? What do you think of 'Deadly Hunter'?" ? Or a master of the bow and the blade?"

"Please, don't always act like you don't care about me." Seeing that Brian was too lazy to talk to him, Mario said helplessly:

"You have to understand that this kind of thing is worthy of great praise. As a poet, of course I am obliged to do so. So, I began to look forward to the outcome of our wonderful adventure."

Wonderful adventure?
Bryan snorted, thinking: When the evil humanoids show up in front of you, you boy will know whether this adventure is going to be good or not.

At this time, a damp cold wind hit, and Mario hurriedly put the harp he took out back into an animal skin bag on the saddle, and complained that the moisture would affect the strings of the oak harp.

In this way, the two chatted to pass the time while walking, and they finally arrived at the mountain when it was close to noon.

Brian found that the terrain was as rugged as the last time he had seen it, and the so-called roads were just stone paths.

At this moment, Brian suddenly realized that he was being watched by a pair of cold eyes on the hillside, which made him subconsciously touch the hilt at his waist.

"It's you." Immediately afterwards, a vigilant voice came out from behind a rock on the hillside, wrapped in the sound of the biting wind.

This voice is not a question, but a statement, which means that this person hiding in the dark can recognize their identities at a glance.

Hearing a familiar voice, Brian did not relax his vigilance at all. He slowly raised his head and looked up the hillside.

He found that the person shouting was a knight in silver light armor, with silver griffins embroidered on his shoulders. A longbow in the opponent's hand had already been drawn, and the cold arrow pointing at him was blinking in the pale sunlight.

"We don't have any malicious intentions, we are just passing by here." When meeting an acquaintance, Brian calmly stated his purpose regardless of being surprised.

"Stay where you are and don't move rashly. Let me go back and report." The knight put away his bow and arrow expressionlessly, turned around and disappeared on the hillside.

"By the way, this group of people should be the last thing you want to see, but why do you look so excited." Brian noticed Mario's expression and couldn't help asking questions.

"Do you know why I insist on following you?" Mario said bluntly, "Because I have calculated in advance that we will meet them halfway, so don't worry, I don't need your protection at all, and I don't need your protection at all. Can reach Thorn Castle safe and sound."

"Really?" Brian said with a smile, "Don't you know? The future heir to the duke has been very drunk since you played that sad ballad in front of the young duke.

That night, I also overheard him muttering 'my love for her is pure and flawless, I want to hold her hand and marry her as a wife,' I think he should hate you in his heart Alright. "

"Oh, that's right." As he spoke, Brian suddenly realized something, so he asked curiously, "What song did you play in front of Artes, and why did he react so strongly?"

"This is the ballad of the elves, called 'My Season of Love'. If you know the lyrics, you will understand how sweet and sad it is written." Mario said proudly facing the sun: "I translated this song , I also polished it according to the wizard score."

(End of this chapter)