No matter whether the information provided by Philip is accurate or not, after all, there is a hope, which is much better than letting Dodo Luo run to the Chaos Leader in the east alone to try his luck.
However, according to Philip, the magic kiss taro may exist in the Zaku tribe in the wildfire field, then from the imperial capital Osgilia to the wildfire field on the northwestern border, thousands of kilometers along the way, if according to this If you walk slowly... When Xiaya came to the imperial capital before, he had walked this way for nearly two months!
And this time back, there is no specific deadline for taking office anyway, and there is a pregnant woman like Yulia in the team, who can't stand the bumps. Originally, Xiaya planned to walk slowly, even if it took two or three months, it didn't matter.
But not now.
After all... The magician's trial in Todoro has a deadline for completing the task: 100 days!
It had been ten days since he accepted the mission in the magic guild that day, which meant that there were only three months left. During these three months, I had to rush to the Zaku native tribe of Wildfire, find the magic kiss taro, and then rush back to the Imperial Magic Union to register and complete the task... If I walked at such a slow pace before, it would definitely be too late.
After we discussed it, we simply divided into two teams. Xia took Dodoro and Philip, plus Sharba, a group of four, each equipped with two horses, all the way to the Wildfire Field first. For the rest, Alfrekat took the original wolf-toothed warrior group, as well as the meticulous munitions dealer Cato, and the squire Soit, protecting Yulia along the way, and moved forward slowly. With Alfrekat's force, Cato's meticulousness, and Soit's care, if you want to come here to protect Yulia, there shouldn't be any trouble.
After the separation, Xia Ya and the other four set off on the road first.
On the way, hurry up and hurry, and just go northwest along the road. If you miss a place to stay, you will simply sleep in the wild. Anyway, Xia used to be a hunter in the mountains, and Sharba was a cavalryman of the Rodriguez Cavalry Regiment, and he was used to the days of rushing on the road. Help him, no matter how hard he works, he can only hold on through gritted teeth.
It was that Philip, who kept silent along the way, dined and slept with Xiaya and the others, but did not say a word, did not show off the mountains or waters, woke up early and late at night, but never left behind. He's actually quite skilled in things like that.
Originally, Xiaya remembered that this guy was always dressed up, his beard was neatly trimmed, and he was dressed like a nobleman. In his heart, he somewhat despised this flashy guy, but this time, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised: this guy turned out to be too It's hard to eat, but it's not as sloppy as I thought before.
In fact, Philip's original strength is quite good. If you really think about it, his strength before the injury is even higher than that of Xia Ya. There are quite a few special reasons why Xia Ya defeated him in the Imperial Capital Arena. Philip was preconceived, thinking that he was not Char's opponent, and was attacked by Char Ya's unreasonable onslaught, which overwhelmed Philip with his momentum. The so-called random punches killed the old master, and as a result, Philip was planted in the hands of the turtle.
Otherwise, how could a guy whose strength has reached the level of a high-level warrior be so unbearable
Along the way, Xia Ya was really impressed with Philip. After rushing the road for four days and walking at least more than 2,000 miles, even Sharba, who was used to marching, couldn't bear it. This Philip was silent. , Although his face did not hide his tiredness, his eyes were getting brighter and brighter!
The eyes that used to have a bit of cunning, gradually erased a trace of the former frivolity, and added a bit of toughness.
"Perhaps, after people have nowhere to go, let's break and stand up."
After the fourth day, everyone finally stopped to repair, otherwise, even if people can bear it, the horse can't bear it. Each person has two horses, running non-stop day and night, only resting for a few hours a day, even if Xia Ya's horse is a high-quality war horse, he seems to be a little tired.
This afternoon, everyone stopped at the entrance of a small village and town. Xia Ya took a look at the sky, patted the horse's back, which was already soaked in sweat, and said loudly, "I will stay here today, rest for a night, and then wake up tomorrow. Hurry up!"
Hearing this, Dotolo was really relieved. He was the weakest of the few people. If he continued like this, he would probably fall before the wildfire. Hearing Xia Ya say "rest for a night", Duoduo was so moved that he almost burst into tears, but suddenly he saw Xia Ya glanced at him with mocking eyes, Duo Duo Luo hurriedly laughed and said, "That... lord, I It’s not that we’re afraid of hardship, it’s just that we can persevere. If the horses are exhausted, we can…”
Xia Ya smiled: "Do you also know that you love horses? I don't think this town is small, maybe you can buy horses. We'll find a hotel to rest in a while, you can go to the town to see if there are any horses for sale, I think Both of your horses are a little useless—hmph, your riding is so bad, you don't know how to be considerate of horsepower when you're on the road, everyone is walking the same way, but your horse is the hardest."
Duoduo did not dare to refute on his face, but he was helpless in his heart: I am a magician! After I make a big progress in magic in the future, a wind-based flying technique will fly dozens of miles away! horse riding? snort!
※※※
The town is really not big, but there are only a few hundred families in the two streets. The only hotel in the town is at the east intersection of the town, facing a small square. A few people inquired about it, although there are also some in the town. There are carts and horses, but there are only horses for pulling carts. That kind of horses is not suitable for long-distance running. This saves Dodo Luo, and happily stayed in the hotel with everyone to rest, but they were separated. At that time, Xi Ya hesitated for a while, Dodoro and Sharba shared a room, while he and Philip shared a room.
Hearing this decision, Philip moved his eyebrows and said nothing. After Xiaya returned to the room with him, he made no secret of it, and said straightforwardly and calmly: "I also clearly told you that I'm not too worried about you, you are cunning and changeable, and you have replaced Dodoro and Shar. Ba, I'm not at ease with whoever lives with you. Sharba is simple and straightforward, and I'm afraid he will be deceived by you. Duoduo is a little subtle, but his strength is too far behind you. So, I have to watch you. "
Philip listened, was silent for a while, saluted Xia Ya, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, sir, for frankly, I understand in my heart, and I don't have any other thoughts." After a pause, he smiled bitterly: "I am now Those who are at the end of the road, put it pitifully, with you, I will be safer, if I am alone, if those guys don't give up and catch up, I will die."
Xia Ya listened to this and stared at Philip, but looking at it this way, the guy's face was calm and he didn't look fake at all.
Philip met Xia Ya's eyes, and his tone was a little obscure: "Sir, I know the grievances and grievances before, and you are a little disdainful of me. After I escaped from the imperial capital this time, I was like a bereaved wild dog. In the past two days, my heart Only then did I understand a lot... Well, I have also experienced the days when I was living in the open and sleeping like this. When I started in my early years, I took a group of my brothers as guards for the business group, and worked as a mercenary for a few years. At that time, although living It's a little bit bitter, and it's a little bit poorer, but we don't have any intrigue when we are together. Every day we practice martial arts and go on the road. But later, I gradually became prosperous, and when I had money in my hands, I wanted to have power. The original group of old brothers also had estrangements, and gradually came to the end, and there was not even a true brother by my side... This time something happened to me. The bastard with the white-eyed wolf betrayed me. Except for a few diehard subordinates who have been with me for many years, there are several leaders in the rest of the samurai group, but none of them are on my side—among them There are two or three, but they are old men who have been working together as mercenaries for more than ten years. Hmph... If you say betrayal, you will betray!"
Xia Ya pursed his lips: "Oh, so you are full of resentment?"
Philip smiled bitterly: "The grievances are gone. Your lord, maybe you don't believe it, but these days, I've already figured it out. We Byzantines have an old saying: the eggplants you plant won't produce pumpkins. I plant them myself. The root of the disaster, how I do things on weekdays, the people below will naturally follow suit. After this incident, I have worked hard for more than ten years of business, and it has disappeared, and any reputation and status are completely gone. The good result is just to hide in a place where no one knows me with years of savings, eat and drink and wait to die. Besides, I have done a lot of bad things over the years, and I can't offend many enemies. There are ten or eight people like Alfrekat, if I let those people meet me, I am afraid it will be worse than falling into the hands of those traitors. These two days, I will follow you on the road, anyway, I have fallen At this point, I don’t need to think about it so much anymore, I have to endure hardships every day, although my body suffers a little, but my heart is calm, I think this kind of life is good, at least it ends up being a simple one.”
Xia Ya laughed dryly and squinted at Philip: "You are enough to be a wolf, and occasionally live a scalper life, hum, you are thinking these thoughts now, I believe you are sincere at this moment, but when it comes to long-term , it depends on your performance in the future, people, after the scenery has passed, if you have tasted that taste, I am afraid that you will not be able to bear the loneliness in the future."
Xia naturally would not let this Philip really believe him by saying a few words, and he was still a little wary of this guy in his heart.
The four of them took a good rest in the hotel. In the next room, Sharba and Dodoro fell asleep as soon as they entered the room. They snored and snored in a short while, and even Dodoro slept like a dead pig. Same.
After all, Xia Ya is physically strong and abnormal. He originally wanted to ask the two of them to get up and go down to eat. He heard thunderous snoring outside the door. He smiled and gave up. He took Philip to the hotel to eat together.
The hotel in this small town is not good either. The hotel is very small, and it doesn't even have a staff. Only the owner is busy. Fortunately, the town is too small, and the caravan passengers rarely stay here. Therefore, there is not much business. For example, today, there are only guests like Char in this hotel.
The hotel owner was wearing linen clothes but a leather hood, and his face was wrinkled like a knife. It seemed that he was doing this kind of business and was greeted with a smile on his face, but the hotel owner was not. With a frown, when he stood in front of Xia Ya and waited on him, he was arrogant and looked unhappy.
This dinner was originally simple, crude food in a small place, just a plate of boiled green beans, a few pieces of dry bread, and a plate of bolognese soup. But it turned out that the boss had something on his mind. For this dinner, the beans were half-cooked, but the bread was burnt, and the plate of bolognese soup forgot to add salt. Xi Ya only took a bite, and his face became unhappy. The table, shouted: "Boss, come here!"
The boss was still sitting there with his chin on his hands, staring at the door in a daze. Hearing Xi Ya's angry shout, he was startled, and ran over and smiled: "Master, what are your orders?" He was smiling, but the sadness in the wrinkles could not be concealed.
Xia Ya threw the spoon heavily on the table and said angrily, "What kind of pig food are you making! Are you afraid that I won't give you the money!"
After he finished speaking, he took out a silver coin from his arms and slapped it on the table—in a small town like this, one silver coin would be enough for a family to eat for a month or two.
The boss saw the silver coins on the table, but he didn't look happy. He just bowed down with a frown and said, "I'm sorry, sir, this meal is not ready, I'll go in and redo it."
After he finished speaking, he quickly put away the plate on the table, turned around and walked in, but after taking two steps, he was restless and hit the foot of the table next to him. Two of the plates smashed to the ground, and the dishes were scattered everywhere.
Xia Ya frowned tightly and finally sighed. He lifted the boss up and pressed it on the table next to him, frowning and said, "Sit down! I think you are ridiculous, what business are you doing in such a hurry? . Did something happen to you?"
The boss suddenly panicked, looked outside the door, and then a trace of frustration flashed in his eyes: "No, no, nothing."
"Damn it! Open your eyes and talk nonsense!" Xia was furious, and slapped a table next to it, and immediately slapped the table top off with a single slap, and the wood smashed into a ball!
The boss was startled, raised his head to look at Xiaya, seemed a little surprised, but then still shook his head: "No no... Sir, don't hit my desk."
What else did Xiaya say, but Philip next to him came up, he pulled Xiaya, then a smile appeared on his face, looked at the boss, and said slowly: "Well, you seem to have some difficulties, right? Don't be afraid, just say it, maybe it will be beneficial. Do you know who this gentleman is standing in front of you?"
The boss shook his head blankly.
Philip gave Xia Ya a "don't worry" look, then raised his chest and said loudly, "This is the fierce general in the army, Master Xia Ya, our master is impatient, but kind-hearted, and he likes to fight injustice the most. However, the famous master in the army fought with the Odins last time. Those fierce Odins were in his hands. There were no one hundred or eighty dead! No matter how fierce the Odin madman, our master would stretch his hand and squeeze it to death. Come on! And our master is a high-ranking official now, if you have any grievances, say it now, as soon as our master is happy, maybe we will help you."
The hotel owner's eyes widened when he heard it, and there was a ray of vitality in his blank eyes. He looked at Xia Ya and scrutinized it for a while, with a look of hope in his eyes, but then , the look in his eyes finally dimmed, he sighed, shook his head and said, "No, no, sir, you seem to be a capable person, but... I'm afraid it still won't work. "
"What?" Xia frowned, glanced at Philip, and suddenly made a deliberately annoyed look, jumped up and pulled out a dagger from his boots, nailed it to the wall next to it with a slam, and shouted. : "You bastard! I kindly ask you, push three and four! If you don't talk about it, I don't care what troubles you have. If you annoy me, I'll kill you, this broken shop first!"
The boss was so frightened that his face turned pale and his whole body was trembling, and he hurriedly fell on the ground, shouting "Ouch" and begging for mercy.
"If you're afraid, just say it!" Xia snorted and sat down with a straight face.
The boss sighed, stood in front of Xia Ya with his hands tied, and said falteringly.
"My lord, although you are an officer, you are only a passerby after all. I'm afraid you can't control our affairs here." When the boss said this, Xia glared at him, causing him to shrink his head. He continued to speak quickly: "Our town is called Jiajiao Town... Well, because our town is, out of the town, go 50 miles to the left is 'Golden Horn City', and 50 miles to the right is 'Silver Horn City'. But Our town is sandwiched between two cities. It is a new town that has only been established in the past 30 years. The division of jurisdiction has been chaotic for many years. The town itself has a small population, and there is no oil or water. If we don’t make money, there is a big trouble nearby, so the garrison commanders of the two cities are not willing to take care of us here. After a long time, this place has become a place where we don’t care, and the local garrison never cares about us here. There are tax officials to collect taxes every month, but later they don’t even collect taxes…”
"Yi? Is there such a thing?" Xia Ya laughed when he heard the game: "The jurisdiction is unknown, and the local garrison doesn't care, it is not uncommon, but it is rare to not even collect taxes. Since taxes are not collected, I think Sooner or later, you will become lively here, and there will definitely be many people willing to relocate here to avoid tax."
"Moving in?" The boss glared, and then complained bitterly: "Is there no one who moved in, but in the past two years, many people have moved in one after another, and all those who have a way out have moved from here."
"why is that?"
The boss grinned bitterly and pointed to the distance outside the door: "Because, we have a scourge here!"
After a pause, he sighed again and said slowly: "Not far from this town, there is a mountain more than ten miles away, called Tongjiao Mountain."
When Xia Ya heard this, she couldn't help but smile: "On your left is Golden Horn City, on your right is Silver Horn City, and there is a Copper Horn Mountain next to it... No wonder your town is called Jiajiao Town."
The boss shook his head: "How many years has this name been called? On that Copper Horn Mountain, there was a black tribe. A group of mercenary warriors came here many years ago, and they occupied the mountain. At first we thought they were a mercenary tribe. , I later found out that it was a gang of horse thieves, and I don’t know where they came from. The group was led by an old guy who was very capable. I heard that the garrison commanders of Golden Horn City and Silver Horn City used to be both He led troops to encircle and suppress them, but they were all beaten by the leader of the horse thief. The guard officers in these places were afraid of being blamed by the superior, so they deliberately covered up the incident. I heard that the leader of the horse thief was also a powerful guy. Legend has it that Many years ago, the garrison commander of the two cities went to bed at night, and when he woke up in the morning, he found a box of gold coins next to his pillow, and there was a letter in it! The letter was written by the head of the horse thief! Think about it, this, that The two commanders were so frightened that they could silently run to your bedside in the middle of the night to deliver gold. If they didn't deliver gold, they would give them a knife while they were sleeping... Hey! From now on those two The garrison commander of the city did not dare to provoke that group of people. Every year, he received a sum of money from the horse thieves, so he ignored this group of people and even helped to cover up when they asked.
As a result, our small town has almost become the back garden of this group of horse thieves. However, these guys came to the town every other day to buy some daily necessities, as well as some food, poultry and other things. At that time, several wealthy families in the town made their fortunes by selling food and daily necessities to these horse thieves. Later, this group of people simply expelled the tax officer who came here every month to collect taxes. I heard that there was a sum of money for the guards of the two cities. Therefore, our small town has not paid taxes for many years. La. "
When Xia Ya heard this, she couldn't help but laugh: "So, these horse thieves are good people. They don't bully you, they do business for you, and finally help you get rid of the tax."
"Alas!" The innkeeper sighed: "If it was back then, it would have been like this. But what I said earlier was the old leader of this group. I heard that the old leader passed away a few years ago and died of illness, and now he is in charge of this group of horse thieves. It's the little leader, but this little leader is not as good as his father in doing things and people. It's too far behind. As a result, he has only been the leader for three years, and he has done dozens of bad things, which have caused chickens in our town. Flying dog jumps, everyone is terrified, the past three years have been really bad! The old leader was not bad for us, but this little leader is much more arrogant and domineering."
Speaking of this, the boss seems to be full of bitterness: "When the little leader was in the position the year before last, he built a water barrier on the river in front of the town in the spring, and started talking about storing water and swimming in the pool, but the weather was less rainy. The farmland was short of water, so our town sent someone to plead for it. The little chief agreed and ordered the water barrier to be dug up. As a result, the excavation was too large. That year, the grain harvest was cut in half, but our grain harvest failed here, but the little chief ordered us to continue selling the grain to them—you think, we have nothing to eat ourselves, how can we sell it to these people What? As a result, the little leader personally brought people into the town and went door to door to collect food. As a result, more than 20 families in our town moved out that year.
The next year, Xiaotoutie led people to the town, saying that he had found a way to make money for everyone, and he did not know where to get more than a hundred saplings, saying that it was a kind of fruit tree obtained from the south and planted After that, the fruit can be harvested in autumn, and the fruit can be sold for a lot of money. But this sapling is so expensive, we can't do it if we don't buy it! The little leader said that if a tree is planted, half of the money will be paid to them when the fruit is sold in the future. We have never seen anyone here, and no one dares to plant them, so the money for buying saplings is considered as a contribution to this group of people to buy peace, but this little leader quit, actually brought people to the town, house-to-house showdown, forcibly We were ordered to fill the fields and plant those trees. As a result, in less than two months, all the saplings withered, and the farming time was delayed. That year, the grain was again owed, and our town lost one-third of the family.
The third year, which is this year... even worse. In the past, when the little chiefs did things, at most, they harmed the fields. In the end, we lost a few money, gritted our teeth, and could still live. But this year, the little leader came out and said that he wanted to get married, not only the little leader himself, but also the men and women of the gang of horse thieves. All the houses in our town, the young men and women in the family are all lining up for them to choose... This is simply a population grab! This matter was so turbulent that almost half of the people in the town were left, but everyone who had a way out moved their whole family and ran away. "
Having said this, the innkeeper cried and said: "It's just someone else's family. At most, the little leader of the horse thief fell in love with his own girl, or married the daughter of a horse thief to enter the door... But I am miserable! That little leader, I don't know how I fell in love with my child! Under the compulsion, I must marry my family! Poor my child, he is only eighteen years old this year! I woke up crying from my dream night after night. But the wedding date has been set, and today... just tonight, the little leader will bring someone over to pick him up!"
After speaking, the innkeeper burst into tears, beat his chest and patted his head, crying so hard that he was out of breath.
When Xia Ya heard this, she was also furious. She stood up and shouted, "Damn bastard! This is occupying the place and molesting the good family... Damn, I haven't had time to do it yet, but this horse thief leader has a better life. I'm still at ease! It's so irritating!"
Speaking of this, I suddenly realized that something was wrong, so I quickly changed my tune, and righteously shouted: "I'm an official of the empire! How can I see this kind of mischief and let it go! Don't worry, the uncle is in charge of this matter! When will that horse thief come to pick up the relatives? Lao Tzu Don't break that bastard's legs, I'm yours!"
The boss grimaced: "It's almost time to count..."
Just after I finished speaking, I suddenly heard a rush of hooves coming from the street outside the gate! Hearing that voice, I'm afraid there are dozens of riders! Coming from a distance, there were wanton shouting and shouting in the wind, which seemed extremely flamboyant.
When the hotel owner heard this, his face suddenly paled, his face full of fear, and he said in a trembling voice: "Ah! Come, come, come!!"
When Xia Ya heard this, he laughed wildly: "Okay! I just happened to be bored for the past two days, so I will use these guys for entertainment!"
After speaking, he pushed the innkeeper: "You go to the back and hide first!"
"You... sire, are you okay?" The innkeeper smiled bitterly: "Although this little leader is not very good, his skills are stronger than the old leader! I heard that even the garrison commander of the two nearby cities, two Everyone together can't beat this one!"
cut!
Xia Ya pouted, how capable can such a small thief leader in the backcountry have? I have even seen Hastings!
He pushed the boss: "Don't talk nonsense, go in and hide!"
After he finished speaking, he strode over, moved a chair and stopped at the gate, where he looked great, Philip frowned next to him, and went over and stood beside Xia Ya.
On the long street outside the gate, a group of people riding horses rushed from the street like wind and clouds, rushed to the door of the hotel and stopped suddenly. For a while, people shouted the horse's neigh, which is really imposing! Seeing these guys, all of them are sturdy and fierce. Among them, a black high-headed horse, jumped from the back of the horse, a burly and majestic figure!
When Xia Ya saw this man, she couldn't help but scream in her heart: What a macho!
This man is majestic, almost one size wider and one taller than Sharba, the bull giant beside Xiaya! !
The shoulders are as broad as mountains! Tiger's back! Turned over and jumped off the horse, with brown curly hair scattered, showing a wild character, square face, wide chin, angular face, two horizontal flesh on each cheek, supporting this face like a tiger's head and a lion's head !
A high-class rhino leather armor, painted blood red, and two large short-handled battle axes crossed behind him! Such a strong man, standing in front of people without speaking, naturally gives people a sense of shock like before the mountain!
I saw this fierce man like a bear and tiger, Long Xing strode to the door of the hotel, saw Xia Ya sitting at the door, a look of anger appeared on his face, and he shouted in a thick and strong voice: "What's going on! Boss! Come out!!"
Xia Ya sneered, put on a good posture, and was about to say a few words in a scene like "thief looking for death"...
As a result, the second sentence of the horse thief leader directly threw our Master Xia from the chair!
"Boss! Bring your son out! I'm here to pick up my new husband!!"
boom!
Xia fell down with one butt!
The boss's son? New husband? !
Xia Ya turned his head and looked at the "huge man" in front of him as if he had seen a ghost.
"My day! You! You! Are you a woman?!"