On the fifth day after leaving the royal city, more than half of the journey has been covered. If you continue to move forward, you will begin to approach the border of Aaron Landis. The next road is basically close to the border of Aaron Landis.
Although in the memory of previous lives, Xie Muer only mentioned it briefly, and did not clarify the location and time of the killing of the Tasdar mission, but through the information brought by Taal, Garlan vaguely judged the next Three or four days is probably the key point.
Because it can be seen from the map that this road will run through this Gobi desert, and there will be no big cities in the middle. This area is sparsely populated.
If you want to start, this road is the most suitable place.
This evening, the group chose to camp by the lake.
The sky has darkened, and a little bit of starlight can be seen faintly. In the tent, the lights have also been lit.
In Garlan's tent, the blond knight stood in front of a simple wooden table, rubbing his chin, looking down at the map spread out on the table.
"You mean, during the next period of passing through the Gobi Desert, it is very likely that you will be attacked?"
"Yes."
Garlan, who was standing next to him, said, reaching out and clicking on the map.
"It's only about four days' journey before entering Tasda, and in one day, we will enter this piece of Gobi."
The teenager frowned, and swiped his fingertips down to the left and right sides.
"On both sides, there are two robber dens, and the one on the right is closer."
Bad mountains and bad waters produce gangsters.
The environment in this area is too harsh, and it is difficult for the people to be self-sufficient. Therefore, in order to survive, most of them choose to become robbers.
In this Gobi, there are many gangs of robbers, big and small. These robbers are like weeds. They sweep once, and after a long time, they will appear again, and they cannot be eradicated at all. According to the information found by Tal, there are only two or three who are capable enough to attack the mission.
"It's weird."
"Most of these robbers are for money, and they are also robbing caravans. For them, attacking foreign missions is harmful and unprofitable. They have no reason to do so."
He pondered.
"Unless... some force gives them enough money to do this kind of thing."
In fact, there are more or less similar gangs of robbers in various countries, and these robbers will change their bodies and become mercenaries as long as they give them enough money.
"So, the power behind it should be the enemy country of Aaron Landis?"
"Yes, because the relationship between Aaron Landis and Tasda is very strong, and the combination of Aaron Landis' famous cavalry on the mainland and Tasda's strongest hoplites is for our common enemy. It's like a nightmare, so they will try their best to provoke relations between the two countries. For example, our northern Geshu... "
As for Gallan's words, Kaihos didn't have any doubts, let alone think that Gallan was unfounded.
As long as Garlan said it, the knight would unconditionally trust it, and most importantly, Kaijos would never go to the bottom of the source of the news.
Whatever Garland needs him to do, he just does it and never asks any more.
It is precisely because of this that Garlan trusts him very much, and there are few things hidden from him. And this time, he was also summoned.
"I have asked Tarr to send someone to spy on the suspected robber gangs. As soon as there is any movement, there will be news."
Garland said so.
Kaihos nodded, and his eyes continued to slide across the map.
"If it is judged by time and distance..."
Before Kaihos's words were finished, the door curtain was lifted, and a round figure rolled in like a ball.
"Your Highness!"
Tarr came in at a trot, and the flesh on his face moved with his running, making people want to laugh when they looked at him.
After trotting for a short distance, sweat was already oozing from his forehead.
"Just got the news that the Siwari Bandit has dispatched a large number of troops and is moving in our direction-"
"The Sivari Bandits?"
Garland was a little stunned, "How could it be them?"
Kaihos glanced quickly on the map and landed on one place.
"The gang's den is the furthest away from us among the suspected gang of robbers..."
The blond knight touched his chin and muttered to himself.
"Every gang of robbers has a fixed territory, and unless it is necessary, it will not easily cross the line."
He came to a conclusion.
"It seems that there must be some force behind them who is agitating them."
It seems that the death of Opada in the past few lives was not an accident. If he hadn't dreamed about it, I'm afraid he would not escape this time.
From a stack of parchment, Garlan dug out the one that recorded the information about the Sivari bandit and looked at it.
"The horse thieves are the main ones... In this case, the mobility is not bad. Excluding the time error in transmitting information, they will arrive in a day and a half at the latest. There are nearly a thousand in number, and they have bows and crossbows..."
It is no wonder that with the strength of the Tasda soldiers, the entire army was eventually wiped out.
There are more than 100 people in the mission. No matter how strong the Tasda infantry is, it is not so strong that one can fight ten, not to mention that the infantry is inherently insufficient against the cavalry.
Garlan directly handed the paper to Kaihos.
"I don't know much about the military, Kaijos. Would it be dangerous if the Sivari bandits attacked us?"
In previous lives, including this one, he had never been on the battlefield at all. At most, he just listened to Xie Muer's explanation of some classic battles.
However, it doesn't matter if he doesn't understand the military, just let someone who understands do it. That's why he summoned Cayhors.
Kaihos glanced at the strength of the bandit group, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"If the Tasda Mission is on the road alone, it will be miserable, waiting for the robbers to rob them of their pants."
"But the robbers weren't looking for money, were they?"
Tarr interjected.
"Indeed, if there is a force behind it, in order to provoke relations between the two countries, and if you don't expose yourself, you won't be left alive at all."
Garland said.
This was the case in the previous life. Not a single member of the Tasda mission died, and the death was tragic, which made the Tasda country furious.
"If you have the courage to do such a thing, you should be a vicious person."
Kaihos smiled.
"My prince, the cavalry of Aaron Landis is famous all over the world, and the guard of King Camos is even more elite."
He said, an understatement.
"Don't look at only five hundred cavalry, but to deal with crooked melons like horse thieves, let alone one thousand, it's no problem to double it."
The knight of the scorching sun who walked out of the battlefield countless times casually pressed the paper in his hand onto the map.
"It's very easy to defeat them."
With great confidence, he said, and the righteous arrogance of being the commander of the Aaron Landis cavalry.
"More likely, there is no need to fight at all. As long as those guys have self-knowledge and see the king's guards here, I'm afraid they won't even have the guts to attack us. When the time comes, how will they run over? Run back in despair."
"Huh? Is that so?"
When Kaihos said this, Tarr next to him became happy.
He had never been on the battlefield once. He heard that there was going to be a war soon, and he was trembling with fear. When he heard that he couldn't fight, he was immediately happy.
"Then we won't have to fight, will we?"
However, instead of showing a happy expression, Garlan showed a thoughtful expression.
After a long time, he shook his head.
"No," he said. "They must be allowed to attack us."
"Otherwise, the force behind the ghosts is unsuccessful this time, and they will definitely plan the next time."
This time, he was lucky and had the memories of previous lives, but next time he would not have the ability to predict, which would be even more dangerous.
"We can't passively wait for the venomous snake squatting in the shadows to jump out and bite," Garland said. "We have to find a way to find the venomous snake."
When Garlan said this, Kaihos also pondered.
After a long while, he opened his mouth slowly.
"In that case..."
…
…
At noon on the second day, just as the Tasda Mission and the hundreds of guards of Aaron Landis were preparing for lunch, a loud eagle chirped suddenly in the sky.
Some people looked up curiously, and saw a pitch-black eagle with its huge black wings hovering in the endless sky, making a loud chirping.
Then, the black eagle swooped towards the camp on the ground. Under the nervous eyes of everyone, it suddenly retracted its wings and landed on Heimos, who had raised his right arm.
Heimos took off a small copper tube tied to its left foot, opened it directly, took out the thin roll of paper inside and looked at it.
Seeing this, he frowned and his face became a little colder.
He stretched out his hand to send the black eagle into the sky, then turned around and walked quickly towards the guards behind.
Opada, who was next to him, looked suspiciously at the back of Heimos who left quickly. He had just disliked Heimos and interfered with him again, but he did not expect Heimos to leave voluntarily.
"Did something happen?"
He asked Garland a little curiously.
Garland shook his head.
"do not know."
Then, Garlan shouted at the black eagle that was circling at a low altitude following Heimos.
"Annu!"
As soon as the black eagle, who was following Heimos, heard the sound, he turned around and flew towards Garlan.
Garlan raised his hand, the black eagle folded its wings and landed on his forearm, staring at him with sharp small eyes, chirped a few times briefly, and flapped its wings a few times, it could be seen that it was very happy now .
The boy laughed and teased it a few times, and it also pecked Garlan's finger lightly.
When Anu was a young bird, Heimos sent it to the royal city from the north as a gift to Garlan.
He kept it for a while, and later felt that it was too wasteful for this kind of raptor to stay with him in the peaceful Wangcheng all day long to eat and drink. He raised a fat duck, and the wildness was about to degenerate, so he sent someone back to him. Heimos.
Of course, it can't be said to go back, but to tell Heimos, let him help himself to be more fierce.
Anu was named after him.
He just tried calling.
Now it seems that, after so long, Anu still remembers him and is as close to him as before.
Opada next to him looked at such a vigorous eagle and couldn't help it for a while, reaching out to touch it. But as soon as he stretched out his hand, Anu made a sharp cry, all the feathers exploded, those sharp eyes stared at Opada fiercely, and he was about to peck him down.
Garlan hurriedly stretched out his hand to appease it, so that its erected feathers eased.
Anu's reaction was so big, of course Opada couldn't touch it again.
He said, "Garlan, you are so good at domesticating these ferocious things..."
Whether it is a ferocious lion or an eagle, he is always docile in front of this young man.
"Probably because they were raised from childhood."
"No, many raptors can't be raised even from a young age. Like this kind of eagle, even if it's a young bird, it's often unwilling to be raised even if it starves to death, so few people can successfully tame it..."
As Opada spoke, he suddenly remembered a person.
"However, my eldest brother has also managed to tame an eagle before, and he's one of the very few who does."
"Your brother?"
"Well, my elder brother is very good. I can't beat him in a fight, and my brain is much better than mine..."
Opada said halfway through, and suddenly stopped again.
Because he suddenly saw Heimos coming out of the guards camp and heading in the direction of the Tasda mission again, the pace was very fast, and there seemed to be something very urgent.
"What's the matter with Heimos? Garland, I'll take a look."
When he had finished speaking, he hurried after Heimos.
…
"Prince Heimos, do you mean to leave with the guards?"
The head of the mission of Tasda looked at Heimos, who hurried to find him, and asked.
"Yes." Heimos said, "I just received an urgent summons from King Camos. There is something wrong with the Northern Legion and the Geshu battlefield. I must rush over with the Guards for reinforcements. Therefore, I am very sorry. , I can't go to your country, please forgive me."
"Where, there is no way to do this kind of accident. Prince Heimos, you don't have to worry too much. Once the matter is resolved, we, Tasda, welcome you at any time. So, when are you going to leave?"
"The military situation is urgent, I'll leave now." Heimos said, turning to look at Opada aside, "Gallan will continue to travel with you to Tasda on behalf of Aaron Landis as an envoy, please protect Keep him safe."
The golden red eyes stared straight at the brown-haired Tasdar man without blinking.
"Please remember the oath you swore, as long as you are still alive, you will not let anyone hurt Garlan's hair."
"Even if you don't say it, I will keep the oath I made to Ashur, the god of war!"
Opada said categorically.
Soon, there was a problem in the northern battlefield, and the news that Prince Heimos urgently led the Guards to the Northland spread throughout the embassy.
The Guards didn't even have time to cook lunch, so they gathered directly and prepared to set off with dry food and water.
The five hundred cavalry stood in awe under the fiery sun, and Heimos, who led them, rode his reddish-brown horse at the forefront of the cavalry.
Looking at the majestic army that was about to send out, Garlan asked the guardian knight beside him.
"Kaijos, won't you follow?"
"No, it's enough to have the 'Black Knight' in the Northland."
The one-eyed knight replied with a casual smile, "I am your guardian knight, and it is what I should do to stay by your side."
he thought.
Leaving aside the rest, at least, Prince Heimos would never agree to let him leave His Highness Garland.
Feeling a sharp gaze towards him, Garlan, who was talking to Kaihos, turned his head.
The young man in black armor who was standing in front of everyone on horseback stared at him with golden red eyes. Even if they were so far apart, Garlan could feel the deep gaze looking at him.
He and Heimos looked at each other for a moment.
Suddenly, Heimos sent his arm forward, and the black eagle parked on his arm spread its wings and flew towards Garlan.
It passed a long dark shadow between Heimos and Garlan, and then fell on Garlan's shoulders.
Garlan touched Anu's feathers, and when he looked up again, Heimos had turned his horse's head and ran out.
In the dust, the hundreds of knights flew away from the camp amid the shaking of the earth.
The young man stared at the looming figure in the billowing dust, without moving for a long time, the fluffy blond hair half covered his eyes, making it impossible to see the emotions in his eyes at the moment.
Not only was he silent, but the black eagle that was resting on his shoulder was also silent.
"Garlan, you don't have to worry too much."
Opada came over and consoled him.
"Although I don't like that guy Heimos very much... However, he is indeed very powerful. The Geshu people are afraid of him. As long as he goes there, there should be no problems in the Northland."
Perhaps it was the consolation he racked his brains that worked, and Gallan turned to look at him, hummed, and smiled at him.
Seeing that Gallan was no longer so silent, Opada breathed a sigh of relief.
However, just as Garlan turned his head, he glanced at the corner of his eyes, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a trace on the side of the boy's neck.
The clear traces made the Tasda people's brains explode.
Hickey
Is that a hickey
Garland has a hickey on his neck? !
He remembered that Garlan had put an ointment patch on his neck a few days ago, saying that he was bitten by a bug.
Today, I probably forgot to post it all at once, and that's how I let him see it.
How could it be a bug bite! At a glance, you know it's a hickey!
who did it? !
Obviously there was nothing before that night! Why after just one night, suddenly—
Full of anger, Opada froze suddenly.
…
… That evening…
... suddenly appeared that night... A guy very close to Garlan...
Is it...
Could it be that between Garlan and his guardian knight—