It was late at night, and the moon tonight was hidden in the thick clouds, and only the starlight fell on the earth.
In the dark night, the starlight passed through the wooden fence and fell on the side cheeks of the blond child who was lightly asleep.
The child tilted his head, half of his immature face hidden in the shadows, half illuminated by the starlight blond hair. He closed his eyes, put one hand on his abdomen, and dropped the other hand to the ground, breathing evenly, the long eyelashes like butterfly wings cast a light shadow on his creamy white cheeks.
Suddenly, his hand, which was hanging on the ground, jerked.
It wasn't like the child moved by itself, it was more like an external force was shaking it. It's just that the hand just hangs down in the shadows, making it hard to see.
The hand moved slightly again, and the strangeness of his body finally woke up Garlan, who was in a light sleep. He opened his eyes and felt something shaking his hand. He subconsciously raised the hand and lowered his head. look.
As soon as his hand was raised, the thing hidden in the shadow chased out of the shadow.
The starlight shone on the little thing, and the little thing stood upright on the ground, with its two little claws tucked into its chest, and squeaked towards Garlan.
It seemed to recognize Garlan's hand and kept squeaking towards it.
Little black mouse
It was a black rat that was slightly smaller than an ordinary rat, and its hair was like jet-black satin. At first glance, it was known that it was not a wild rat but was raised by humans.
Garlan looked at the little black mouse that squeaked at the hand that was wearing the black cloth wristband, and after taking a closer look, he immediately found that the fur on the little black mouse's neck flashed under the starlight. luster.
He reached out and grabbed the little black mouse, and saw that the little black mouse had an extremely small copper pipe tied around its neck. When he grabbed the little black mouse, the little black mouse seemed to be struggling, but after sniffing at the black cloth wrist guard on his wrist, he became quiet and obediently asked him to take off the small copper on his neck. tube.
Looking at the thin silk book hidden in the small copper tube, Garlan was immediately surprised.
This is the secret code he and brother Wang agreed on!
Brother Camos and the others followed the little black beads he left behind. Looking at this little black mouse, Garlan suddenly understood that this little black mouse was probably trained to sniff that little black bead. found the smell.
I don't have any paper and pen at hand, so I can't answer the letter.
Garlan thought for a while, shook his fingers, put two or three small black beads sewn into the cloth wristbands into the small copper pipe, and then tied the copper pipe to the original place again.
Then, he fed the black mouse a little bit of the food left over from the night, sent it to the door of the prison, and pointed to the outside.
This little black mouse was very smart, and when Garlan pointed into the distance, it ran away in a hurry.
Garlan watched it disappear into the depths of the night, and he was relieved. Now he can finally relax a little, sleep peacefully, and wait for Brother Camos to come over.
He thought that if Brother Camos brought the cavalry, he would be able to arrive here before midnight tomorrow at the latest, and no more children would be sacrificed.
Thinking of this, Garlan couldn't help but think of what happened this evening.
When he was brought back, the guard went back and grabbed another one, just in time for the boy with the vicious eyes who pushed Kerry out.
Although he looked relieved at the time, when he recalled the boy's numb eyes and despairing expression later, Garlan still felt a little uncomfortable.
That selfish boy was at fault, but the biggest sin was this wicked church.
It was its horror and gore that utterly distorted that child.
But that's the end of this wicked church.
By tomorrow, Brother Camos will make this place of sin that has swallowed the blood of many children completely vanished!
…
… … … …
In the middle of the night, there is no moonlight, and the faint starlight cannot penetrate the dense canopy of the jungle, so the forest is dark at the moment, and it is also quiet, only the night wind occasionally swept the canopy above, shaking the branches and leaves and making rustling sounds. .
A few people squatted among the bushes, lurking quietly, without making a sound, as if they were waiting for something.
Among them, the shortest figure is half-squatting in the shadows. In the darkness, he can't see the boy's face, nor the look in his eyes at the moment, but the faint starlight that passes through the gap between the branches and leaves falls on the back of the boy's hand holding the dagger around his waist. , I can see the fingers that clenched the hilt so hard that the knuckles are slightly white.
The degree of tightening of the fingers showed its owner's extremely nervous and urgent mood at the moment.
squeak.
In the silent night, a thin cry suddenly sounded, and a little black mouse emerged from the dense bushes, ran to a tall man who was squatting, stood up, and squeaked at the owner who tamed it. up.
The boy's breathing stopped suddenly, and he turned his head to look. The man quickly grabbed the black mouse and tore off the copper pipe around its neck.
As soon as it was opened, the man's face was instantly filled with joy.
I saw that the thin cloth inside was gone, and a few small black beads that were poured out were spinning around in his palm.
But he didn't come to a conclusion right away. Instead, he cautiously lowered his head and smelled it before confirming that this little black bead was indeed made specially for him, with something that only the talented him and the little black mouse he trained could smell. Special smell.
"how?"
A low voice rang out in the dark night.
The boy's voice sounded calm, but the fingers of the star-lit hand tightened.
"Prince Heimos, it's confirmed, it is indeed His Royal Highness Garland. He used this to tell us that he is inside."
The man answered in a low voice.
"The camp we saw from a distance should be where the group of children was imprisoned."
"… "
There was silence for a few seconds, as if breathing had stopped.
Then, Heimos spoke.
"… Walk."
Simply neat, he said.
"Let's go back."
After speaking, he got up immediately, took the lead, and walked out quickly.
Several cavalrymen next to each other glanced at each other, and immediately got up and followed.
In the dark night, Heimos ran out quickly.
Although when he heard that the cavalryman who tamed the mouse said that Gallan was inside, he really wanted to sneak in now and bring back that daring and self-righteous child immediately.
But once you do, you'll be stunned whether you're successful or not. They are only a few people sneaking in here now, and the number of enemies is far above them, it is impossible for them to rescue all the children safely.
Once the thieves are stunned, no matter whether those 'thieves' want to transfer the children or simply kill them all, then their action is a complete failure.
… He must not waste the opportunity that Garlan had bought with his life.
Now, the only thing he can do is to rush back as soon as possible to find King Camos, and then lead the army to completely destroy this deep valley camp and rescue the child who is always worrying!
…
…
This time, he finally didn't have to wait anxiously anymore. He wanted to sleep but didn't dare to sleep. Gallan slept until dawn.
By the time he opened his eyes, most of the morning had passed, and the sun was shining brightly on his face.
Garlan got up in a hurry, probably because the heart that had been hanging all the time finally fell to the ground. He felt that his whole body was a lot lighter, and even his mood improved.
After getting up, he saw a plate placed at the door of the cell with rich food in it. Apparently the man who brought him the food left the food at the door without waking him from his sleep.
Although I don't quite understand why I was suddenly treated so special, I am very happy to be able to improve the food Gallan. You know, before meeting that fat man, the food given to him was really unbearable.
He took the plate through the gap in the cell door, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to gulp down.
Well, now he doesn't have to do anything, just wait for someone else to save him.
Ah, this kind of feeling that you don't have to think or do anything, you can eat when you wake up, and you can continue to sleep after eating.
Maybe after eating and then going to sleep, when I woke up, Brother Wang called.
Not realizing that he was talking about the life of a pig, Gallan continued to eat happily while sighing.
At this time, a gust of wind blew, and the voice of the conversation not far away came over.
This small cell in Garlan is probably dedicated to detaining special people. It is very close to the guard point, but rather far from the large cells.
So now, the conversation between the puffy man and several guards at the guard point, being blown by the wind, has come to him intermittently.
"What? Tonight?"
"This... will it be too many, fifty people, there are more than one hundred in total here, and half of them are gone at once."
"That... High Priest... said, today is... the Mother Goddess of all things... a special festival, so many sacrifices are required."
"Is that so..."
"So, you see that there are no people today because... the believers are busy preparing for... a large ceremony."
"But fifty... Now those people are very vigilant. They take children very seriously, and it will be very difficult to catch them again."
"It's alright, then... that lord... will create the illusion of a thief attacking the city of Vernal, and let us go into the city to catch it."
"Alright."
"Get ready... Tonight's sacrifice time... ahead of time..."
In the cell, the blond child's mouth stopped chewing food.
He clenched the white bread in his hand tightly, staring straight ahead, speechless for a long time.
After a long time, Garlan raised his eyes and glanced at the large prison holes in the distance.
In the distance, countless figures of children can be seen there. Those young children are moving, talking, and living there. Little did they know, nearly half of them would be bleeding dry on that sinful altar tonight.
His throat twitched, swallowing the food in his mouth. Garlan continued to silently swallow the white bread in his hands one by one, without saying or doing anything.
He lowered his head, soft blonde hair scattered in front of his eyes.
However, even the thick hair could not cover up the light flashing in the child's golden eyes at this moment.
…
The other companions were busy preparing for tonight's important festival, and even the dozen or so guards who usually stayed outside left, leaving only the puffy man and another guard.
Anyway, those weak children are locked in the cell, and they don't worry about what those little ghosts can do. It's almost enough to leave two people here to watch.
The slightly chubby man looked at the sky, the sun had almost completely sunk into the horizon, and the sky had already darkened. He estimated that in another hour or so, someone would come over and escort fifty children to the altar to make sacrifices.
He was sitting there drinking kefir, bored, when the equally bored guard next to him spoke to him.
"I heard that you want a child, what do you want the child to do? You even lock it up specially?"
The fat man glanced at the guard and stood up.
"Come on, brother, I'll show you."
The small cage where Garlan was locked was very close to the guard point, and it was just around the corner. The fat man pointed at Garlan, who was sitting at the entrance, and said, "Look, how's it going?"
"This..." The guard looked at it and smacked his lips, "It looks pretty good, like a porcelain doll, but so what does it look good? Don't you all have to make sacrifices?"
The fat man snorted.
"So you don't understand, some nobles like this kind of beautiful child the most, and it can be sold for a big price to those people. If you sell this child, then you can buy a large number of slave children with the money, wouldn't it be more cost-effective? "
The five-five and three-thick guard scratched his head. He didn't understand these twists and turns, and subconsciously asked the most intuitive question.
"How much money can be sold?"
"At least this number! Gold coins!"
The fat man stretched out five fingers.
The guard was taken aback.
"Five Aarons?! That many?"
Aaron Landis gold coins, referred to as Aaron gold coins, although each country has its own currency, but because Aaron Landis is a country with a long history and is the trade center of the continent, Aaron gold coins are all on this continent. generic.
One Aaron gold coin is enough for a year of living expenses for an ordinary commoner family.
The fat man snorted.
"Five? No kidding, at least five hundred!"
The guard took a breath of air, and suddenly looked at the child like a golden doll.
Coincidentally, the blond child also looked at him, blinked his big eyes, stood up, and stared at them while grasping the wooden bars of the prison door.
The guard followed the child's gaze and found that the child was staring at his hand.
He was holding a cup of kefir in his hand, and he was drinking it when he was talking to the man beside him.
It was a pitch-black drink with a very strong aroma, which made people unable to stop smelling it. It was bitter at first, but after drinking it, it left people with an unforgettable aftertaste, as if it had magical powers.
This is made of some black powder, something unique to the religion of all things. According to the upper-level priests, it was bestowed by the mother god and can elevate people's souls.
After drinking this thing, there is indeed a feeling of invigorating and sobering, so many believers believe that this is indeed a fetish gift given to them by the mother god.
Seeing the child staring at Kefei in his hand, looking so greedy that he was seduced by the fragrance, the guard walked to the door.
The child grabbed the wooden fence and looked up at him. On his milky white face, he looked at him with beautiful big eyes like golden gems. Those eyes were soft, making people feel soft when they looked at him.
"Do you want to drink?"
He couldn't help but want to tease the kid.
The child nodded quickly, stretched out a small hand from the crack of the door, and looked at him expectantly.
The cute little appearance made the guard laugh and hand over the cup.
The greedy child took a sip while holding the cup, but as soon as he took a sip, he spit it out, choking and coughing, apparently choking a little liquid in.
"bitter!"
Thought it was delicious, but the child who suffered too much coughed violently, and a layer of water mist appeared in his big eyes.
That appearance made the guard couldn't help laughing, and the fat man next to him also laughed out loud.
He smiled and said: "Little guy, don't worry, after a while, someone will give you whatever delicious food you want."
That's right, when it is sold, those nobles will definitely 'love' this child, and naturally they will give anything delicious.
They were amused by the child's deflated appearance, but they didn't notice that the choking child shook his fingers while holding the cup, and a few small black beads rolled into the black liquid in the cup and melted in it instantly.
With a deceived and unhappy appearance, the child handed the cup back, as if angry, and turned his back and ignored them.
The guard took back the cup and happily returned to the guard point with the fat man, drinking kefir together, chatting excitedly about the huge sum of five hundred Aaron gold coins, and eating sauce meat.
Suddenly, the fat man glanced out of the corner of his eye, and his face suddenly changed.
He saw that in a small cage not far away, the child was kneeling at the door of the prison with a painful expression on his face, clutching at the wooden bars, his body twitched a few times, and then he fell down.
My five hundred Aarons gold!
With such a cry in his heart, the fat man jumped up and ran over there.
When the guard saw it, he was startled and ran after him.
When they arrived at the door of the prison, they were in a hurry when they saw the child twitching on the ground while holding his body. The guard hurriedly took out the key here from the large bunch of keys on his body and opened the door.
"What are you giving him kefir! Don't you know someone is allergic to this stuff!"
"I-I don't know! Didn't you stop it at the time!"
"Look at the situation first! This is five hundred Aaron gold coins-"
The guard knelt down in a panic, stretched out his hand to pick up the twitching child, and wanted to see the child's condition. But suddenly, his eyes darkened, his face stagnant, he closed his eyes and fell to the ground, no movement.
The fat man next to him who was in a hurry was startled by him. Not knowing what was going on, he quickly knelt down and stretched out his hand to push him.
"Hey, what's the matter with you—hey—"
He patronized the fainted guard, not noticing that the child, who had been twitching in pain, silently rose to his feet.
The next second, a stone slammed heavily on the back of his neck, the most vulnerable cervical vertebra in the human body, knocking him unconscious. The fat man closed his eyes and fell beside the unconscious guard.
Garlan grabbed the stone and gasped violently, then threw the stone, knelt on the ground and tore off the large chain of keys from the guard's waist.
He raised his head and looked at the cells in the distance.
He just pretended to be sick and twitched and rolled on the ground, so now he is covered in dust and his whole body is dirty.
But at this moment, on that little face full of dust, the faint firelight from the stone wall fell into his golden eyes, but his eyes were brighter than the sun at this moment.