Minter and Alex went north along Tulay Mountain. Halfway there, they had disagreements about the rest of the journey.
Alex had never walked this part of the road, but looking at the map, he thought that he could reach the Phantom Town in the Elf Forest more quickly by walking along the Tulei Mountain line to Maicheng, and then crossing the misty wasteland. Minte, on the other hand, had no favorable impressions of the eastern foothills of Tulei Mountain. The mountain roads there were difficult to navigate, and the misty wasteland was even more terrifying. Unless you were an experienced player, you could easily get lost in it and die from the poisonous fog without even realizing it. He's not sure he's ever been there before, let alone Alex? He insisted on taking the God's Blade. Although it was a little further, he would never get lost. Moreover, after entering the Elf Forest, he could see Ludlow and the Elf Queen faster.
Alex retorted: "Time! Time! We don't have much time! In fact, we shouldn't have turned to Noga when we were in Siko. If we had gone to the other end of Cetonmeton, we might have arrived by now We're on the outskirts of the Misty Wasteland! Didn't you say it only takes ** days to walk from there? There's no need for us to take such a big turn and go north!"
Minte glared at him: "Do you know what season it is now?! The fog in the misty wasteland is at its thickest now. Once you enter, you can't tell the difference between east, west, and west, and you can't see the sun. My grandfather didn't even dare to Who do you think you are walking through the wilderness in winter?! It’s a bit far to go north, but you won’t get lost. Those who haven’t walked through it, don’t worry!”
Alex looked angrily, and suddenly glanced at the corner of the map, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at the northeast corner of East: "Then don't go through the wasteland, let's go by sea! The bay here is not directly connected to the Elf Forest. East?!"
Min Te glanced at it and sneered: "Indeed, they are connected there. As long as you can go out to the sea, then go for it. Don't tell me you don't know what Return Bay is."
Alex was speechless. If he hadn't been anxious for a moment, he wouldn't have forgotten this matter. The water in that bay is very turbulent from north to south. Once the boat leaves the shore, it will be carried back by the waves within less than ten meters. Therefore, it is called "Return Bay". No one has ever been able to successfully go out to sea from there, and large areas of the coastline are coral reef. It is also a good barrier to prevent external invasion, so although that area is the border, there is not even a single defender.
Alex lowered his head to put away the map, with a look of reluctance on his face, and shouted angrily to the clerk: "The hot soup isn't ready yet?! We've been sitting there for half an hour!"
At the moment, they were sitting in a tavern having lunch. There were many customers sitting in the tavern, all of them having a few drinks by the fire to keep warm. It was very noisy. The clerk was very busy. Hearing Alex's call, he hurriedly said: "It's coming, it's coming!" Then he ran to the kitchen and fiddled with it for a long time, bringing out two hot soups and a plate of black bread, nodding and bowing to apologize. "I'm really sorry, guest, it's been snowing for several days. There are not enough ingredients, so... there is no broth..."
Alex stared at the dark, unidentified stems in the soup. Silent. Minte smelled it and knew it was just a local specialty, so he smiled at the clerk: "It doesn't matter, as long as you don't overcharge us."
The clerk was stunned, rubbed his hands with a smile, and secretly glanced at the shop owner with a troubled look on his face.
Mint ignored it. Just break the bread and dip it into the soup. He whispered to Alex: "You can eat it. It just looks ugly." He also took a few bites to show him. Alex took courage. Tasted half a spoonful. Found the taste to be pretty good. Then he started eating in small bites.
Just ate a little. He found that the clerk had been standing nearby and hadn't left. Then he frowned: "What else is there?"
The clerk stepped forward. He said with a flattering smile: "Two guests. You...are from the south, right? Do you know...what's going on with the Warcraft?" He suddenly stretched his head over and said, "Have they all been killed?"
The sounds of people around suddenly disappeared. Everyone turned their backs. Stare at them. Waiting for the answer.
Alex pulled back slightly. The frown deepened. Minte smiled and replied: "Not all of them have been killed. But they are under control. But we don't know the situation in the west. When I was in Nomonka last month, the market was relatively calm."
The clerk breathed a huge sigh of relief. Others also started talking about it. The store suddenly became noisy again. The shopkeeper picked up a plate of snacks. Come out from behind the counter. He smiled at Minte and Alex and said: "According to what the guests say, we don't need to worry about Warcraft here? That's great. There is no definite news now. Rumors are flying all over the sky. We are all worried. "
Minte paused and couldn't help but remind them: "No one can say it is safe. You'd better be careful. If there are caves, valleys and other places, if they are remote, you'd better check them and look at the ground. Is there a magic circle drawn on it? It is used to transport monsters. If there is, stay away immediately and report it to the army or lord. Usually prepare some bows, arrows, oil and fire, because monsters are afraid of fire. It is really not possible. , just move to the mountains, of course, first make sure there is no suspicious place nearby."
The shopkeeper's face was full of gratitude: "Thank you, I will tell everyone." After hearing this, the people around him started talking more intensely, and some people immediately checked out and left, planning to move their families to a nearby mountain.
Alex noticed that there was a person in the corner of the room who quietly put down his money and left. He glanced at them secretly before going out, frowned, and quietly pulled Minter's sleeve: "Eat quickly, let's Leave after eating."
"Huh?" Minte was a little confused. She followed his line of sight and found that the man walked to the corner of the street, whispered to a man dressed as a knight for a while, then turned back and pointed at himself and Alex, thinking secretly in his heart. It’s hard to shout: “They don’t want to harm us, right? They’ve all formed an alliance now!”
"I didn't say they would be disadvantageous to us." Alex broke the bread quickly, "They just need to ask a few more questions about Warcraft, and we will be delayed for a long time. Do you think all the lords will care about the situation on the mainland? Is it? It’s already remarkable that they care about the affairs of their own territory.”
Minte hurriedly immersed himself in eating. As soon as they finished eating, the two of them dropped the money and hurriedly went out, mounted their horses and set off, ignoring the owner and clerk chasing after them and shouting. After running a few hundred meters away, I happened to see a fat middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes arriving outside the tavern surrounded by a large group of people. Minte stuck out his tongue when he saw this and smiled at Alex: "Fortunately you are smart. Otherwise, it would really be delayed."
Alex snorted and raised his chin high.
Continuing to travel north, they arrived at Black Mountain Town three days later.
This place has become much depressed, and the quantity and quality of the goods in the market are much worse than before. Minte asked passers-by and found out that the lord here had built a new town and forced all nearby wealthy households to move there. Therefore, all the good things went there, attracting merchants to turn there. Black Mountain Town has completely become a poor people's exchange.
Minte sighed and tried to find the stew shop back then, but couldn't find it. So he had to eat something randomly and then took Alex to sell horses. The latter was startled: "Why are you selling?! We are still on our way!"
"We will arrive at the foot of the snow-capped mountains tomorrow. Do you want to ride a horse across the snow-capped mountains?"
"No? My horse has great endurance."
Minte chuckled: "Don't be ridiculous. You can't ride horses there, otherwise there will be a dead end. We can only walk over cautiously."
Alex touched his horse. He asked softly: "Can't you store it? This horse has been with me for many years." Minte hesitated: "Here? I'm afraid it will be sold when I turn around. We will lose money instead."
Alex didn't speak, and Mint looked at him in embarrassment and gave way: "Okay, I'll find someone to help you raise it." Instead, he only sold his own horse and bought a lot of dried meat from the market. Drinking wine and buying a few more blankets, the two went to the inn to stay for one night, and the next day they led Alex's white horse toward the northeast. After only half a day, we arrived at the small village where we had stayed overnight.
It has almost become a deserted village, with only four or five families still living. Everyone else has moved elsewhere. Fortunately, Rolle was still there, and Minte only gave him five gold coins to convince him to help take care of the horses. In order to prevent him from reselling, Minte also threatened: "If the horse is well taken care of when we come back, I will pay you another twenty gold coins. But if the horse is gone, or is sick or injured, you have to Pay me forty gold coins! Let me tell you. I am not easy to fool! I worked as an attendant in the palace. His Majesty the King knows me, and His Excellency the Duke is still a good friend of mine!"
Rolle swallowed. I almost swore to the sky: "I will take good care of it, feed it the best feed, drink the cleanest water, and let it sleep with me. I will!" Don't say that the identity of this stranger is so scary. He couldn't afford to pay for the forty gold coins alone. Since his son's family moved to a new city, he has been left alone in his hometown, unable to earn even a single silver coin all year round. Now he only needs to help people watch horses for a few days, and he will earn dozens of gold coins. He will not be stupid! You know, the current price of horses outside is at most ten gold coins per horse!
Minte smiled and left him an extra jar of wine, a bag of dried meat and some change. He was even more grateful. Minte couldn't stand his flattery and hurriedly pulled Alex out.
Alex turned back frequently, and Minte comforted him: "You can take it with you when we come back. Don't worry about mother-in-law, that person doesn't have the guts to treat your horse badly."
Alex glanced sideways at him and walked forward without saying a word.
They walked very fast, and when night fell, they had already passed the end of the canyon and reached the snow-capped mountains on the opposite side. Alex looked back at the way he came, unable to believe that he actually came to this place, and murmured in his mouth: "It's really the Blade of the Gods..." Minte was a little funny: "I've been saying this for a few days. , where do you think we will go?"
Alex turned back blankly: "This is the God's Blade, the God's Blade! Look at those lights! That's a miracle!"
"Shh!" Minte looked around carefully. Seeing that there was no movement in the snow-capped mountains, he calmed down and glared at Alex, "Keep your voice down! You can't speak loudly here, and you have to walk softly. You'd better use more energy. Suspension! Otherwise, it will be a disaster if it triggers an avalanche!" Alex hurriedly covered his mouth, his face turned red, feeling ashamed of his embarrassing performance just now.
Both of them were wearing thick winter coats, thick felt hats on their heads, large scarves covering their mouths, ears and noses, and black gauze belts tied around their eyes. Under Mint's warning, Alex carefully used the minimum level of levitation and let his feet lightly step on the snow to avoid causing any changes in the snow. Mint's light skills were also more sophisticated than when he was a child. , the two of them successfully entered the hinterland of the snow-capped mountains. With the help of Minte's potion, neither of them suffered frostbite from the cold air.
It was completely dark, and the two used the light of the snow. We found a place leeward and set up a tent. Minte took out his wand and cast several wind-avoiding spells on the outside of the tent, then got in and filled several magic flames into four glass bottles, placing them in the four corners. The tent suddenly became warm.
He threw out a large pile of blankets, leaned on one of them casually, kicked off his boots, and glanced at Alex at the door. He took off his cold and wet socks, put his feet close to the fire in the corner, and sighed: "It's so warm..."
Alex looked out hesitantly, and Minter asked, "Why don't you come in?"
"Don't you need to make a fire? When camping in the wild, you should make a fire, right? Otherwise, wild animals will come."
Minte smiled and said: "How can there be any wild beasts here? My grandfather and I didn't even have a tent back then. If we lit a fire, it would be blown out by the wind. And wouldn't it be worse if the snow melted? Come in!" "
Alex then entered the tent. Turning around to seal the entrance, he remembered one more thing: "By the way! If we don't light a fire, what will we eat?! Could it be cold food?" When he turned around, he saw Minte taking out a strange-shaped stove and asked :"What's this?"
"Magic stove." Minte took out the pot, got out of the tent, knocked two clean pieces of ice nearby, put them in the pot, and started the magic stove. Let the ice melt slowly and then gradually boil. Then cut the dried meat into small pieces and add salt and seasonings. After a while, the fragrant broth will be ready.
Alex moved his index fingers and hurriedly sat down to help ladle the soup. He saw Mint take out some white bread, tear it open and soak it in the soup, so he followed suit. Delicious broth, soft and fluffy bread. It tastes absolutely delicious. He let out a long breath. Feeling more and more clammy and uncomfortable on my feet, I hesitated. Sneaking at the boots, kicking them aside. He resisted taking off his socks and followed Minte's example in stretching his feet to the fire in the corner. After a while, the warmth seeped from the soles of his feet and his whole body warmed up.
After finishing the broth and bread, Minte took out his wand and cast a cleaning spell on the pots and pans, and everything was clean. Then he made milk tea again.
Alex studied the principles of the magic furnace. Although he had heard about it a long time ago, this was the first time he saw the real thing. The magic furnace represented by the Xiao Family Trading Company back then only sold a batch of twenty pieces, and the stock was sold out in less than half a day. Later, the trading company changed drastically and no longer sold alchemy. product, I have only heard that it is occasionally sold in the Magic City, but I have never seen it with my own eyes.
Before he finished studying, Minte put a cup of hot milk tea into his hand. He was stunned and said with a smile: "My friend, if you are a girl, I will definitely propose to you."
Minte was stunned for a moment, his face turned red, and he slapped him casually: "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Alex was startled, and half the cup of milk tea spilled out: "What are you doing? I was just kidding!"
Minte gritted her teeth and stared at him. After a while, she snorted loudly, turned around and fell asleep, ignoring him.
Alex touched his nose inexplicably and murmured in a low voice: "I thought you were a brave and straightforward man. How come the longer we know you, the more you become a mother-in-law, stingy and cheating like a girl..."
After complaining for a while, seeing that Minte never responded, he felt that he was too bored, so he hurriedly drank the milk tea and fell asleep.
When he got up early the next morning, he saw that Minte had his head and face covered tightly and his clothes were extremely thick. He couldn't help but want to laugh. When he saw the other person glaring at him, he felt that he had gone too far. Last night, Minte only meant well, but he made fun of others. In fact, he made the mistake first. Feeling ashamed, he took the initiative to help clean up the breakfast utensils and tent. When he saw that the cup for drinking milk tea last night had not been washed yet, he hurriedly cleaned it up.
Minte looked at her coldly and tugged at the corner of his mouth: "I can't tell, you are pretty good at doing these chores. If you are a woman..." After a pause, he put aside his words and did not continue.
Alex did not feel dissatisfied and said with a smile: "Do you think I am one of those aristocratic young masters? In the first year I entered Vana, like other magic apprentices, not only did I have to take care of myself in my daily life, but I also had to act as a Here’s the teacher’s attendant! I’ve also done these jobs.”
Minte was a little surprised: "Really or not?"
"Of course it's true." Alex stretched out his hand to let him see his cocoon, "At that time, we had to chop wood in the winter, by hand! No magic allowed."
"No way? Why would your teacher do this?" Minte looked at those thick calluses and didn't expect them to come from this way.
"To exercise our willpower! In fact, I live the same life as the monks. It is very simple. We go to bed early and get up early every day. Except for eating, praying, sleeping and working, we spend almost all our time studying. The teacher hopes that we Don’t be fooled by foreign things. During those years, even meat and wine were not allowed.”
Minte opened his eyes wide, and suddenly felt unbelievable: "Stop lying! Although you are dressed simply, you are doing it to conceal your identity! I don't believe that people who live a simple life will still sprinkle perfume on their bodies, and You’re still picky about food! You won’t even eat anything even close!”
Alex muttered: "Who is a picky eater? I just developed a habit of not eating unfamiliar things for fear of having a strange smell. Do you know? Monks must keep their bodies and minds clean. Not only can they not eat food with strange smells , can't you let the smell of sweat smell? I had to take a shower three times a day, and I didn't dare to eat anything except milk and white bread. Perfume must be sprayed on the floor, and the fragrance must be light, otherwise it will be disrespectful to the gods. ”
Minte was speechless and felt sympathy for Alex in his heart: "It sounds really not easy."
Alex raised his eyebrows: "It's not bad, I'm adapting well."
Minte resisted the urge to roll his eyes: "Let's go!"
They walked all the way east, carefully climbing over snow-capped mountains, and stayed in a tent at night. They talked endlessly. Although there were vomiting and sneers in the middle, they still got along peacefully. Finally, they finished walking through the snow-capped mountains and set foot on green land.
Alex kept turning his head to look at Minte: "Hey, we've passed the snowy mountain, and you're still covering your head and face so tightly. Isn't it uncomfortable?"
"Shut up!" Minte found a muffled voice in his mouth. Alex felt that it was different from his usual, so he became suspicious: "Are you sick?"
"No! Just walk, stop talking!" Minte continued to talk dully, and was relieved when Alex stopped asking questions. But "he" found it interesting when he thought about how he would be surprised later.
As soon as they arrived at the edge of the forest, a dozen elves riding silver wolves stood in front with frosty faces. The leader of the elf shouted coldly: "Humans! Get out of here quickly!"
Alex swallowed nervously, and was about to step forward to explain his purpose when he saw Mint pull back her turban, revealing her long shawl hair. She took a few steps forward and shouted happily: "Lucien! Do you remember? Me? I'm Ming Na!"
Alex's eyes widened and he stared blankly at his friend who was obviously a girl, his mind going blank.
(It was even less in the past few days, so I will make up for it today)