The sound of horses' hooves came from the far side of the road, and under the scorching sun, a piece of dust was raised in the distance from the road, and it was obvious that the original horse was in a hurry.
Pedestrians, who were originally sparse on the road, heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance, and immediately turned to the side of the road to avoid them.
In this season of chaos and chaos, most of the people who are galloping so fast on this road from south to north are mostly people in the army, not scouts, or those military envoys who send dispatches. These people are waiting for the horses to gallop. If you trample on civilians, you will not be compensated. If you annoy others, you may be charged with a felony for delaying the military flight.
Xia Ya headed north from the imperial capital all the way, and sighed inwardly as he looked at the civilians on both sides of the road who flinched and avoided.
In this world, I still don't know when it will be messed up.
The situation in the imperial capital is getting more and more tense. Adrick was preparing his army, and almost every day, news of the imperial army going north to suppress the rebellion would be heard, and the news was almost the same every day.
The people all know that the war is coming, and everyone who has some connections will leave the villages and towns in the countryside and hide in the nearby cities. Although for civilians, once the war breaks out, it may not be safe to hide in the cities, but at least those cities Possessing a tall city wall may bring some psychological comfort.
There are also some civilians who can only blindly migrate south, hoping to be as far away from the imperial capital as possible.
Xia Ya came out of the imperial capital and headed north, and along the way, he saw many refugees fleeing on the road, dragging their children and daughters, and their families to escape.
The sphere of influence in the Armenian Military Region is already like this, and Armenia is the most powerful feudal lord among the rebels. It is conceivable that other rebel forces are also like this.
The imperial capital is preparing, and the rebels are also preparing here. I don’t know when this battle will start.
※※※
It has been the fourth day since he came out of the imperial capital, and he runs around day and night every day. Even if Xiaya can eat, the horses can't. When he came out of the imperial capital, Xiaya originally brought a prepared horse, but unfortunately, the night before yesterday, he should have been unlucky. When crossing the river, a horse's hoof was injured by the dark stone at the bottom of the river. Trapped in a crevice, he was crippled. Xia Ya didn't expect that he would encounter such unfortunate things, losing a horse for no reason. There was only one horse left on the road, so after a day of running, the horse almost foamed at the mouth.
At noon, Xiaya looked at the sky and the surrounding environment.
He has gone south and north many times, and he is familiar with the journey on this road. Looking at the surrounding terrain, he remembered that it was only about seven or eight miles ahead, and it was a town. I have the heart to go to the town to buy a horse.
As expected, the town was exactly where Xia Ya expected, and it was almost out of the Armenian Military Region. It's just that the army in the Armenian military region has been mobilized recently. It is said that Governor Hughes has assembled all the troops to Merika City, preparing to deal with the counter-offensive of the imperial army, so the troops in the rear are insufficient, and even the checkpoints have been withdrawn in many places. It was originally heard that a battalion was stationed in this town, but now when Xi Ya arrived, he didn't even see half of the soldiers of the Armenian Army.
The town is still the same town, but it looks a lot more dilapidated. Originally, a circle of earth walls was built on the periphery of this town, but after all, it is not a real city. The man can turn over with a single jump.
There were a few peasants and soldiers in the town. They were probably auxiliary soldiers and militiamen who were pulled up by the original garrison. The rebels in military uniforms sat lazily under the earthen wall at the entrance of the town to avoid the sun, and held some tattered and rusted swords, or sharpened wooden sticks and other weapons in their hands, but I heard Xi Yayi from a distance. The sound of horses' hooves coming from a gallop immediately disappeared, thinking that some army was coming.
Xia Ya came to the mouth of the town and saw these guys fleeing far away, she just shook her head and smiled, and slowly rode into the town.
A tavern in the town's memory has grown, but that tavern has long ceased to do business. In this chaotic world, the trade routes from the south to the north have been cut off, and the taverns in this small town will naturally lose their business. If the owner of the tavern is not a local, the homes and gardens are all here, I am afraid that they would have been running with the refugees long ago. Lost.
Xia Ya got off the horse directly in front of the tavern, tied the horse to the pillar at the door, looked at the few guys in the street who were timid and hid in the distance and peeked at him, sneered, forgive these local scumbags He didn't dare to steal his own horse, so he strode into the tavern.
The floor of the tavern is full of dust, and I don't know how many days it has not been cleaned. Xiaya pushed open the door and came in, and the boss ran out immediately, and said with a smile: "Sir, our shop is closed, please..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiaya had already put a silver coin into his hand. The tavern owner looked down and swallowed the second half of the sentence.
"Get something to eat, anything will do, preferably meat." Xia Ya said quickly: "And the horse at the door, also feed it with hay and hay!"
The boss had a bitter look on his face, and said with an apologetic smile: "This... hay is there, but meat..."
Xia Ya sighed and looked at the sallow face of the boss, I'm afraid that he doesn't know how many days he has stopped eating meat, I'm afraid that he really can't come up with meat, so he nodded: "Well, then just get some food. "
After speaking, after thinking for a while, he took out a silver coin from his arms and stuffed it.
The boss's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Xia Ya's eyes up and down, and suddenly his heart moved, and he exclaimed: "I remember, there is meat, there is meat!"
Xia Ya ignored him, walked in directly, and found a place to sit in the corner.
I am afraid there are not many people in this town, and the food is simple, just a few hard flour cakes, and they are made from rye and some miscellaneous grains, black and yellow, dry in the mouth, and a The taste is neither sour nor salty. However, the tavern owner got a plate of bean paste and it tasted good.
Char ate half a piece of cake indiscriminately and was sitting there resting.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I smelled the smell of meat. When I looked up, I saw the boss with a flattering smile. He ran out with a plate and chopped a few pieces of meat that were either black or red or red. , but it was roasted with fire.
Xia Ya was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the owner to actually come up with meat. He was curious and glanced at it. Before he started, he suddenly heard the sound of crying for a while from the back of the tavern.
One cried with a childish voice, and a small figure ran out, rushed behind the tavern owner, hugged his waist, and slapped the tavern owner on the body, shouting: "My dog! My dog!!!"
The boss's expression changed, and he turned around and pushed the child to the ground, angrily saying, "Go back! Why are you crying here, don't disturb the guests to eat!"
Saying that, he got kicked up.
The child on the ground rolled up, clinging to the boss's legs and feet, with tiny eyes sparkling, with anger: "My dog!! My dog! Why did you kill my dog!!"
The boss was in a hurry, grabbed the child, opened his bow from left to right, and slapped him a few times in the face. The child's cheeks were immediately red and swollen, but he still held on to the boss's clothes and didn't let go, crying indistinctly.
The boss looked ugly, and said angrily: "What kind of dog is not a dog! People are dying of starvation, what's the use of holding that dead dog! Sooner or later, you will starve to death, it is better to kill and eat meat! You can also get some money back. ."
Xia Ya saw it in his eyes and sighed in his heart, but felt a little embarrassed. Unexpectedly, his random request to eat meat, but let the boss kill the dog raised by his own child.
He is not very old himself, just over twenty years old, so he naturally understands the feelings of these children. As long as such an old child keeps any pets, they will naturally love them to the extreme, and treat them as their own companions—being killed, cooked and eaten in person is too cruel for a child.
Thinking of this, Xia Ya looked at the meat on the plate in front of her, and couldn't do anything, sighed, stood up and looked at the boss. The boss had already pushed the child aside and watched Xi Ya stand up. He was tall and sturdy. Sensible, you, don't be with him..."
But Xia Ya shook her head: "Forget it, it's my fault, you shouldn't let you kill the child's dog."
He stood up at will, and said, "Is there a place to sell livestock in the town?"
The boss breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied: "There are some in the north side of the mouth, but at this time, I'm afraid there are not many people. You want to buy... "
Xia Ya had originally hoped for the eventuality. Hearing what the boss said, he also understood in his heart how precious horses were in the war years. Even though there were some horses for sale in the livestock market in this town, it would be too early now. gone.
After thinking about it, he went straight out the door.
The horses have been fed hay, and they are in good spirits after resting for so long. Xia Ya didn't want to stay in this town for too long, so he got on his horse and headed north of the town. He ran to the north of the town. Sure enough, he saw that the livestock market that the boss said was already empty, and only three or two idle men were squatting there. The only animal in the market is a thin old cow, and the thin one is probably only a handful of bones left.
Xia Ya sighed, and was about to leave the town on his horse to continue on his way, but suddenly remembered something, he still has to hurry later, why don't he go back to the tavern and bring some noodles and go on the road.
After turning the horse back and running to the door of the tavern, I heard the sound of crying and shouting for a while, the voice was shrill and sharp!
Xia Ya's heart moved, turned over and dismounted and strode in, and saw the scene that made him angry!
Two or three peasants and soldiers in tattered military uniforms were in the store and kicked the boss to the ground. The boss was covered in blood. A guy with a terrified expression was holding the handle of the knife in his hand, and the knife was still piercing. On the boss.
The other two companions each had a silver coin in their hands, but it was exactly what Xia Ya gave to the boss before.
The child was also kicked to the ground, but he was screaming and screaming, his hands tightly clinging to a guy's legs and feet.
The peasant soldier with the knife was obviously panicked. Seeing that his legs were being hugged, a ferocious look flashed in his eyes, so he pulled out the knife that stabbed the boss and slashed the child's neck.
It's just that the knife hadn't been chopped down, and suddenly a slamming sound was heard, and a few people around were stunned for a while.
The guy with the knife had his head dropped to the ground, but his body was still standing there, blood spurting out of his cavity. Xia Ya strode over, and the other two guys were already frightened. Xia Ya kicked a person and directly kicked the person out. When he fell into the corner, blood spurted from his mouth, and it was no longer in his mouth. live.
The other one just came back to his senses, lost the stick in his hand, and ran to the door with a shriek. Xia Ya didn't chase him, and kicked the knife that fell to the ground at will. The knife flew out from the man. The back of the heart stabbed in, the front chest protruded, and with a puff, the man fell directly at the door.
Xia Ya raised his hand to kill three people, but it was only an instant effort.
Looking at the ground in front of him, the tavern owner was out of breath, with a few holes in his waist. Obviously, the idle gangsters in peasant and soldier uniforms in the towns saw that they wanted to make money, and they killed the owner when they committed murder.
The child got up, staring at all this, looking at the corpses around him, and then at the tavern owner on the ground. He was stunned for a while, as if he was about to cry, but he didn't cry. She shivered, and stared at him.
Suddenly, the child jumped up, grabbed a stick on the ground, ran to the corner of the wall, and hit the guy who was kicked away by Xi Ya just now. The other person was weak and weak, and the stick kept looking at the person, making a loud bang. The person had already been kicked by Xia Ya, his internal organs were smashed to death, but the child didn't cry and knocked down hard.
Xia Ya saw it in his eyes, sighed, hesitated for a moment, walked over and grabbed the back of the child, lifted him back and threw him on the ground.
Only then did the child let go of the stick, kneel on the ground, and let out a wow cry.
Xia Ya hesitated a little, and finally did not turn her head away, but sighed, grabbed the child, carried it on her shoulders and strode out of the tavern. He got on the horse and threw the child on the horse behind him, and then he galloped out of town.
Along the way, the child was on the horse's back, but he didn't shout, didn't move, just silently cried and shed tears.
It was not until it was almost dark that he found a forest on the side of the road to stop and rest. This child is a little old, and he has been bumping on horseback for a long time, how can he still have strength? Unable to stand on the ground, he just fell down and sat down.
Xiaya took out the water bag and took a few sips of water, then handed it over.
The child took it silently, and after taking two sips, he suddenly threw away the water bag, threw himself aside, and spit it out with a wow.
He vomited for a long time, until his stomach was emptied, and he was lying on the ground panting.
Xiaya walked over, gave him the water bag again, and asked him to drink a few sips of water. When he was out of breath, Xiaya lifted him up beside the tree and sat down.
"Cry enough?"
The child nodded.
"Have you vomited?"
Still nodding.
"Who is the owner of the tavern?"
The child raised his head and stared at Xia Ya with bright eyes: "Uncle."
Xia Ya sighed: "Where are your parents? Are there any other relatives?"
Shaking his head.
Xiaya frowned, no longer asked, but walked into the woods. After a while, he took out a bird's nest with several eggs inside.
The child was still sitting in the same place, and when Xi Ya came back, he suddenly stood up, glanced at the things in Xi Ya's hand, and ran to the side by himself. After a short while, he actually picked up a lot of dry branches and set up a fire.
The child was quite skilled with his hands, which made Xia Ya couldn't help being a little surprised.
Several bird eggs were thrown into the fire and cooked, Xiaya only ate one, and the rest went into the child's stomach. After eating, Xia Ya looked at the sky and said lightly, "Sleep, I'll be on my way tomorrow."
In the middle of the night, Xiaya heard a low sobbing voice coming from the child beside him, he thought about it, and finally said nothing. Thinking of such a young child, seeing with his own eyes his relatives were killed in front of him, it is rare that he did not collapse.
When the sky was a little bright, Xia Ya got up, but the child had already woken up, and the fire had been put out by him, so he just sat aside and watched Xia Ya.
In fact, Xia Ya knew the movement of the child long ago. When she sat up at the moment, the child had already handed over a wet towel. Xia Ya looked at the water bag and the towel in the child's hand, smiled lightly, took the towel and wiped his face, before saying, "Don't use the water bag in the future, that's for drinking."
"Well." The child nodded obediently, then looked at Xia Ya with hope, and whispered, "Master, you, you bought me."
"Huh?" Xia Ya was taken aback.
"I'm ten years old, strong, and able to work. I can make a fire, do kitchen work, chop wood, and feed the animals." The child swallowed, thought about it, and added: "I don't eat much."
Xia Ya's expression remained unchanged, and he said lightly, "What's your name?"
The child shook his head: "Master, let's get one."
Xia Ya sighed, stood up, looked at the child, and said sternly: "You don't need to call me master, you can call me uncle. Um... name, use your own name, your name is taken by your family, don't Changed."
But he sighed in his heart, looking at this child, his heart suddenly moved.
Back then... when the old guy met me, probably... probably...
Maybe it's the same mood I'm feeling right now
The child seemed to understand but did not understand. He lowered his head and thought about it. When he raised his head, there was a firm look on his small face.
"I, my name is Lancelot."
Xiaya smiled and touched the boy's head: "Follow me from now on... In the future, um..." Xiaya hesitated for a while, then suddenly smiled: "From now on, you will be called Lancelot Char. Well. , that's the name."
Afterwards, the two of them didn't have any other words to say.
Although this little Lancelot was a child, his temperament was quite determined. He followed Xi Ya on the road and bumped on the horse's back, but he endured it silently and never complained.
We set out in the morning, and in the morning, he walked to an abandoned checkpoint far away, and Xiaya suddenly slowed down.
This checkpoint is obviously also owned by the rebels, but the garrison has obviously been transferred, the checkpoint is abandoned, the original barracks on both sides are vacant, and the fence blocking the road has also been pushed down by the roadside.
But what surprised Xia Ya's face was that, far away, there was a person hanging on the flagpole next to the checkpoint!
On the flagpole, the man's hands were tied and hung on the flagpole, his hair covered his face, and his original white robe was full of mud, so dirty that he could hardly see his original face.
The man was hung from the flagpole, his body swayed with the wind, and he didn't know whether he passed out or died.
Xia Ya frowned. After taking a look, he looked away. He didn't want to pay attention to these gossips on the road.
Just as he was about to re-ride his horse and speed up, he suddenly heard a moan along with the wind!
The moan of this position wafted in the wind, and the voice was slightly hoarse, but when it landed in Xia Ya's ears, it was a shock!
He suddenly raised his head and stared at the man who fell on the flagpole, his face ashen!
Xia Ya jumped up, the man was in the air, and he broke the rope at will, took the man off the flagpole, gently placed it on the ground, grabbed the water bag around his waist and poured it on the man's face, He pushed his hair away and poured a mouthful of water into the other person's mouth.
This man finally slowly opened his eyes, opened his eyelids slightly to see Xiaya's face, and suddenly showed surprise and joy.
"Cough! Wow! Old, Master! Wow! Master, Master is really you! Woohoo woohoo, Master!!"
Xia Ya took a deep breath, her face was ugly: "Why are you here? Who hung you here... Dotara?!"
This poor guy is naturally the number one dog-legged under Xia Ya, our archmage, Lord Dotolo.
It's just that Dodo Luo at this moment doesn't look like the scenery after he set off from Denzel City. The white mage's robes are tattered, full of mud, and his face is unshaven. What's more pitiful is the nose and nose. His eyes were bruised, as if he had been beaten violently.
Not even a single boot.
"Who did it, Todoro." Xia's heart surged with anger—how could it be his own!
"... Hehe, it's me."
Behind him, a voice suddenly came, which made Xiaya suddenly startled!
He turned around abruptly, and saw under a section of the earth wall behind him, a person was halfway lazily, with golden hair, a handsome face that was almost weird, a grass root in the corner of his mouth, his hands on the back of his head, Lazy look.
As soon as he saw this guy, Xia Ya's expression became even more bizarre.
"you?!"
Xiaya took a deep breath, looked around, and then looked at this guy.
With his own strength, when this guy was behind him, he didn't even notice it? !
However, soon, a smile appeared on Xia Ya's face, pretending to be relaxed.
"Long time no see... Ada."
Darwin spit out the grass roots in his mouth, smiled and slumped up, patted the dust on his body: "Oh, I told you earlier, I don't like this name."