With the help of magic, the three of them walked out of the mountains in the afternoon of the next day and traveled to the side of the mountains closer to the kingdom.
The three of them traveled a short distance, but they had to cross mountains and rivers without getting any sleep, and they all looked exhausted.
Since there were no reference signs in sight, they had no idea where Blackwood Pass was. The three of them found a clearing in the woods. Roger opened the map and pondered for a long time. He drew a big circle with his hand and said, "We are most likely in this area now, but we can't tell the exact location. The only way now is to go south. It would be best if we can find a road. If there is a road, we can find the town. We can ask the people in the town to determine the location."
Unfortunately, there was no scroll of the Mage's Eye in the ring, so Xiao Chen could not learn this magic. Therefore, they could only walk and look, looking for roads or towns that might be nearby.
"We found the way! It's in the west." The three walked south for more than an hour, and the first to discover something was Evelyn, who had the sharpest eyes. That road was not the main road to the south of Heimu Pass. According to Roger's judgment, they should be somewhere east of Heimu Pass. But with a road, there is a direction. As long as you follow the road, you can always reach a town or village.
The three of them walked through the sparse forest and came to the road. Roger and Evelyn frowned when they saw the ground.
"There are a lot of footprints, horse hooves and wheel tracks." Xiao Chen said. The marks on the ground were densely packed, covering the entire road from back to front. Xiao Chen couldn't help yawning, "It seems that a large group of people passed by. Is it the imperial army or our own people?"
"Imperials." Roger judged without hesitation, "From the footprints, we can tell that they are not the standard shoes of the guards. In addition, after the defeat at Heimu Pass, the guards retreated and would not retreat along this road."
"That means if we follow this road, we are likely to run into the Imperials?" Xiao Chen asked.
Roger said: "Judging from the marks here, this is not a large army. It is very likely just a mopping-up force."
"You mean the Imperials sent a small group of men to plunder the surrounding villages and towns?" Xiao Chen said.
"That's right. Their main force needs to guard Heibuguan and guard against our counterattack, so the ones sent out to loot and burn must be the weaker legions," Roger explained when he saw Xiao Chen's surprised look. "This is the most common practice for enemy territories that cannot be occupied. It not only hits the enemy's economy, but also replenishes a considerable amount of food, military supplies and slaves. I believe the Kingdom's people will do the same if they break into the Empire."
Xiao Chen said: "I want to go see what's happening in the town ahead."
Roger nodded without saying anything and led the two forward.
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The town ahead was about ten kilometers away from where they found the road. In order to maintain their combat effectiveness, Xiao Chen and the other two did not walk too fast. When they arrived at the outskirts of the town, the sun had just begun to set and the sky was a little dim.
That town was one of the many ordinary towns in the north. In the past, because of the protection of Heimu Pass, the town had been relatively peaceful and tranquil for hundreds of years, at least it had never been harassed by the imperial people. Therefore, this town built on the flat land by the river did not have very high walls, and there were not many guards.
The army that arrived today took it down without much effort. The little effort they put in was just killing the baron and his dozen guards who tried to defend the town, and scaring away the militiamen who had climbed the city walls.
The imperial army conquered this small town of several hundred people at the cost of less than ten men. Then the army began to loosen its grip on the town and plundered it wantonly.
When Xiao Chen and the other two were hiding behind a hillock and watching the city, they found that the town was filled with screams and crying.
Xiao Chen stared at the town with a frown on his face. From their perspective, everything in the city was blocked by the wall, and they could not see any specific events. However, those shrill cries and cries for help still penetrated the wall and reached his ears. He did not need to see them. He could tell what kind of horrific things had happened inside just by imagining those sounds.
Although these residents cannot be considered as people of the Tower of China and cannot be said to have much connection with them, but as modern people, how can they remain indifferent to such unscrupulous things
He asked, "Roger, what kind of team is this? How many people are there? How strong are they? Can you tell?"
Roger observed some imperial soldiers carrying looted supplies outside the town and said, "This seems to be a detachment of the Imperial Second Line Corps. According to the Imperial military system, a detachment consists of about 15 people.
Such a team may have one or two low-ranking knights as leaders. But most of the soldiers should be ordinary people. "
Xiao Chen asked: "Based on the strength of the three of us, can we deal with them?"
Roger glanced at him, nodded and said, "If it is a standard squad, I and Evelyn can't say we can wipe them out in such a complex environment, but we can definitely defeat them. Do you want to rescue them? This will delay our evacuation time and make us more likely to run into other imperial armies."
Xiao Chen stared at the top of the city wall and saw a young woman running away on the top of the city wall in dishevel. Several shouting imperial soldiers were chasing her. The woman had nowhere to escape and finally jumped off the city wall and fell to the ground motionless. The soldiers chasing her ran to the top of the city wall and looked down. They were so angry, like hunters whose prey had escaped. Two of them cursed loudly and spitted down, and one simply unbuttoned his pants and urinated down. Xiao Chen closed his eyes, and Roger could see his eyebrows and eyelids trembling slightly. After a moment, his eyes suddenly opened again: "Do you think I in this world will order them to be rescued?"
Roger said, "He was you before, and I think he would make the same choice as you. But now he has realized the cruelty of the world and the ruthlessness of the battlefield, and has become more mature. I think maybe not."
Xiao Chen shook his head and said, "I don't think it's maturity, but helplessness? Maybe the world has put too much pressure on him. But I believe that there are some places in his heart that still retain the original emotions. Even if reality prevents him from taking action, he must want to save these people very much in his heart." (To be continued)