Starfall 831, November 2, winter, the northern plains were covered with heavy snow.
"We're here." In the desolate wind, Joshua took off his hood and looked into the distance on horseback. He patted the head of the poor beast under him, who was about to foam at the top, and then looked at the head hidden in the wind. The Great Ajax Mountains in the snow lamented: "Seventeen days."
After hearing about the death of Earl Winter, he set out from the northwest plains. After seventeen days of traveling alone, Joshua finally crossed the vast and sparsely populated northern territory of the empire and returned to his hometown.
This vast wilderness covered with frost and snow.
Turning over and dismounting, Joshua let the horse, which was almost exhausted, rest for a while. He squatted down and grabbed a handful of ice and snow: "It looks like it's the first snow. The snow layer is not thick enough and will not affect movement."
"You can go back soon." He stood up slowly and took a deep breath.
What rushes into the lungs is the breath of the biting north wind. It comes from the far north ice field and passes through the vast sea covered with broken ice, bringing the taste of winter. The cold feeling slowly calms the restless heart.
Bello de Radcliffe, his father, was a tough, stubborn and stone-like middle-aged man. He did not occupy much place in Joshua's memory, compared to the majestic lord. Sir, the people he gets along with most are the old housekeeper and the family knights at home. As for his mother, she passed away many years ago. The cause of death was an irreversible cold.
Although he was a not very competent father, when he heard the news of his death, Joshua still felt extremely angry in his heart, but then he calmed down.
revenge
No.
There is no need for this word in a man's dictionary, and since the day he learned about the change in the guarded place, this possibility has been lingering in Joshua's mind. This time it was just the worst outcome that happened.
Dying to fulfill one's duty is the most glorious end for a warrior. For that stubborn man like stone, perhaps such a death is what he dreams of, right
But I still feel uncomfortable.
Very unhappy.
Joshua thought of that cloudy day, the fierce battle on Naya Fortress and the mercury blade stabbed from behind. The most vicious curse poured into his body, disintegrating his power from the source.
This is an unforgivable betrayal.
And the uncle who jumped out immediately after the death of the old earl and couldn't wait to grab the title while Joshua was away was undoubtedly a traitor. Both were equally disgusting.
As a time traveler, Joshua has 10,000 ways to make himself stronger. For the former legendary warrior, territory is not something that must be inherited. Compared to being a lord, being an adventurer traveling alone may be more in line with him. character.
However, this is not a question of need or need, but a question of whether he is happy or not. He just wants to kill this cheap uncle.
"It's almost time to go." Patting the horse's head, Joshua stuffed a large handful of wine-soaked feed into its mouth, and the war horse chewed it happily. As a war horse with the blood of an earthly dragon, , it not only drank alcohol but also ate meat. Joshua often caught game and came back to feed it, and the horse did not disappoint him. It recovered its strength very quickly, otherwise, his return would have been slower.
After getting on his horse, Joshua was still a little dissatisfied: "At level 28 Silver Peak, my strength is still too weak. If I can advance to Gold, I will be back in a few days."
The levels in Strife Continent are clear and simple, mortal 0~5, black iron 6~15, silver 16~30, gold 31~50, elements 51~75, legend 76~105, gold is a dividing line.
Generally speaking, adult men generally have level five strength. If they are trained militiamen, they are probably black iron. Elite soldiers and officers are basically silver level. In the first version, the limit of strength that players can reach is peak silver. As the version is updated, the upper limit is gradually unlocked. In the fourth era, powerful players can even become legends and truly affect the progress of the game.
Now he only has the strength of Level 28 Silver Peak, which is still in the human category. He has not jumped beyond the extraordinary boundary. Under the limit of strength, the normal running speed is only slightly faster than a horse. Counting rest time, even the so-called slowest speed All mobile tools are inferior to dragons and carts. At least the Earthly Dragon can move around day and night, and will not take detours due to certain terrains, but Joshua has to dismount and walk in some places, leading the horse to walk slowly.
"Time is running out." Recalling this, Joshua shook his head: "It is now the end of the first edition, and it is still peaceful. But when the second edition begins, the great demon tide comes, and several gods from the evil camp are bombarded. The world will be filled with strife that will follow, and wars and killings will never stop."
This is only second edition, let alone third or even fourth edition Chaos Daemons. Before traveling through time, Qiao Xiu was fighting against them. They were the most terrifying race he had ever seen.
"Twenty-four years, there are still 24 years before the invasion of the Chaos Demon. This time seems very long, but in fact it is very short." Joshua thought about the countermeasures: "In half a year, the demonic wave is coming, and then the whole world will usher in a During the period of explosive strength, when we have completely entered a world of strife, one person is not enough."
Indeed, although Joshua believes that he will definitely be stronger this time than in his previous life, no matter how strong a person is, he will feel invincible when faced with an army of demons coming like a tide. What he needs is a group of strong comrades. Share the pressure for him.
Whether to form a war group as before or to create a private army. Moldavia, his territory, is undoubtedly his initial capital. Now Joshua is no longer the leader of the largest war group in the far south, nor Many like-minded friends helped him, and now he was alone. But even so, whether it was a fallen god or an invader from another world, Joshua would not allow the other party to hinder his life or destroy the world he lived in.
Of course, the first step is to kill the cheap uncle first.
Not far ahead is a guiding sign that looks like a sentinel tower. If you follow the sign soon, you will see a brick avenue that leads directly to the main city of the Moldavia Territory.
"Let's go!" After hearing this urging, the war horse began to run quickly, even if there was a layer of ice and snow on the ground, it did not slow down at all.
Snow clouds cover the sky, and shadows cover the wilderness mountains. Palm-sized snowflakes float in the air, flying wildly. In the heavy snow that blocks the view, several caravans are walking slowly on the road, and some are heading, Some are leaving. These dragon-cart merchants who drive docile dragons are an important channel for the four territories of the North to trade with the outside world. Before the popularity of airships, this was the only way to transport materials on a large scale in a harsh environment.
"Finally I met someone."
Seeing this scene, Joshua couldn't help but sigh. It was not that he had not seen other travelers during these seventeen days of traveling alone, but since he entered the Northland, he had really never seen other humans.
In fact, except for adventurers and explorers, most humans will not leave the city too far. It is important to know that there are countless monsters living in the wilderness, forests, and caves. If you are not careful, you will be killed by the beasts, not to mention that there are monsters every year. Then there were one or two "black tides" caused by the "black forest".
The Black Forest and the Black Tide have always been the biggest problems for all races and forces on the Mycroft Continent. Just like the Empire, the empire has an extremely vast territory and occupies the entire northern part of the Mycroft Continent. Its northern territory directly falls into the sea, while the southern part The border extends all the way to the center of the continent. If it weren't for the intrusion of the black tide in the black forest in the center of the continent, with the empire's expansion speed, it would have been bordering the Far Southern Alliance long ago.
"Hey, the one in front is riding a horse alone."
Suddenly, Joshua heard someone greeting him.
Looking sideways, he saw that a caravan that was about to leave had stopped. A middle-aged man who looked a little tired walked out of the car and said loudly: "Are you going to Moldavia?"
"Yes." Joshua asked the horse to slow down and approach the convoy, and replied: "What's wrong?"
"It's very dangerous, don't go!" The middle-aged businessman's voice was a little hoarse.
"Why?" Joshua asked curiously.
There was a scar on the middle-aged businessman's throat, which seemed to be a knife wound. He frowned and said: "It's going to be a snowy day soon, and the black tide is about to start. Most of the knights in the main city have gone to the fortress to strengthen the guards, but most of them Months ago, a large group of knights I had never seen came from nowhere and declared martial law."
"I'm not bragging. He is indeed an old businessman who has been running this business for more than ten years. He has even met the lord once. If those knights say they haven't seen it before, then they haven't seen it... People in the city are panicking now. I guess there must be something. If something big happens, leave quickly."
He looked very serious: "I see that it is not easy for you to walk alone, so I would like to remind you, if there is nothing urgent, don't go there. The atmosphere in the main city is very strange now, and several famous wandering warriors have also been recruited by them. I started patrolling the streets, and all my old acquaintances are gone. I’m afraid there will be big changes in a few days.”
This man has good judgment and is a nice person.
Joshua thought about it briefly and understood what was going on. More than half a month ago, it was the day his father died. Most of the senior officials knew about the news, but it had not yet spread among the civilians. In addition, it is indeed the time when the black tide is about to start recently, so it is normal for some of the city guard knights to withdraw, so the main city's defense is empty.
That large group of knights must have been brought here by his uncle at the right time to occupy a good position in preparation for seizing the title. Now the city must be full of their people.
But one thing is strange - although Joshua doesn't understand his cheap uncle, he also knows that he doesn't have much strength at all. How can he afford to raise a knight or a large group of knights? Based on his status as a businessman? Do not make jokes.
"Thank you so much."
Nodding sincerely to the middle-aged man in the caravan, Joshua said with a smile: "Actually, you don't have to leave in a hurry now. It's not difficult to find out by looking at the snow marks that your dragon cart has a very high load capacity. There are many None of the goods were sold, right? If we go back like this this time, we will definitely suffer a big loss."
The soldier looked very indifferent: "Wait a few days, and you will definitely get unexpected news and unexpected gains."
"Let's go!" After saying that, without waiting for the middle-aged man to react, Joshua galloped towards the main city on his horse.
"Oh... the young people today." The middle-aged caravan couldn't help but sigh, "I told you that the place is very dangerous now, why don't you listen to others' advice... That's not right!"
He suddenly frowned and touched his chin trying to remember something: "This guy looks so familiar... Hiss, could it be?!"
After being stunned for a while, the middle-aged man looked into the distance in shock: "It's him?!"
And Joshua is now far away from the caravan.
"Is there a black tide in the Black Forest? After careful calculation, it is indeed about this time. My father and uncle are very good at seizing the opportunity. One is killed and the other is snatched. What a coincidence."
The so-called black forest is a forest blessed by magic and nature. They grow extremely fast and have extremely tenacious vitality. Even if only a tree stump is cut down, it will sprout branches and sprouts to regenerate seedlings within a few days. Relying on the black forest, The number of living beasts and monsters in the community is also amazing.
The black tide is caused by the black forest temporarily stopping its growth for some reasons, and a large number of wild beasts and monsters plundering because there is no food. They attack human cities and fortresses, are not afraid of death, and do not hesitate to be broken into pieces. If a single traveler bumps into him, it will be difficult to escape without gold-level strength.
A white-robed wizard from the Sky-piercing Tower once speculated that the Black Tide was actually a means of expansion of the Black Forest. The dead monsters carried plant seeds, and the blood, bones and internal organs would become nutrients for the land and repel them. After the Black Tide, as long as it is not purified with fire, a new black forest will appear in the same place within a few years, which in turn will give birth to a new generation of various types of monsters.
If Joshua inherits the title of Earl of Winter, he will have the obligation to lead the knights and private troops to fight against the black tide, protect his people, and even break into the beast herds to kill powerful monsters that can threaten the fortress walls.
"Now the knights who originally belonged to me in the city should have gone to the fortress on the edge of the Black Forest. The ones left behind should not be the opponents of the group of people led by my uncle. They must have retreated long ago."
Joshua thought on the horseback: "So, I should have to deal with a group of knights on the opposite side by myself."
As he thought about it, he laughed.
He, Joshua, was never afraid of fighting.
Of course, another world is completely different from a game. Even if Strife Continent claims that you can do it in the game, if there is magic fighting spirit in reality, you can also do it in reality by immersing yourself into the game. But Experience cannot be copied completely.
But one thing is that he is completely incomparable to this group of people from other worlds, and he will not change too much because of time travel.
That is the experience of combat.
A warrior, even if he lives on the battlefield, will never have more than a hundred battles in his life. If he can behead more than fifty people, he can be called a warrior among warriors. The same is true for adventurers. A real adventure requires countless plans. Months, including the time on the way, it takes several years to count a round trip, and there are only seven or eight big adventures in a lifetime before retirement.
But this is not the case for players. From the moment they start the game, they have to fight for experience, tasks, equipment, etc. Every bit of their experience and every level is soaked in the blood of battle. Every skill, Every piece of equipment is chosen to practice for better combat.
Especially Joshua. He was a martial arts gym leader in his previous life. He only played this kind of game because almost no one practiced martial arts in the world of Datong. His purpose of entering the Continent of Disputes was to experience fighting that could not be carried out in reality. And fighting, if other people occasionally travel and see the scenery in the game, then it is pure fighting, challenging stronger and more difficult monsters.
In the list of player achievements recorded in the game, the highest one is usually the platinum level trophy, which is already a very difficult achievement to achieve.
But Joshua has a diamond-level trophy that is unique in the world.
[Diamond Trophy-Number of enemies engraved: 3197481]
Three hundred and ninety-seven thousand four hundred and eighty-one.
This is the number of enemies he has killed.
"How many of my uncle's knights are there?" The eyes of the once legendary warrior were burning with fire: "How long can you make me happy?"
No one answered these questions. Joshua laughed and drove his horse forward.