After passing Jingbing Lake, not far to the southwest is the Xiwa River.
The river was very narrow, and it took less than a minute to walk across it. This time, the leader of the detachment did not dare to step on the ice easily. He subconsciously wanted to ask the mage "is there any danger in the river", but he held back. He should not have turned to the prisoner for help. The sacrifices of his comrades were the result of his rash actions.
Now there was only one knight left beside him. The boy was only nineteen years old, and his name was Polu. He was a short and fat boy when he was a child, but now he was tall and strong, a ring larger than the average knight. He was the second youngest in the team this time, and the youngest was Manello who had fallen into the frozen lake.
The detachment leader thought of his two daughters. They were nineteen and seventeen, exactly the same age as Polu and Manello. The sisters also have a 20-year-old brother, the eldest son of the detachment leader, whose 21st birthday will be in a few days. He is a young pastor, and he followed his teacher to the southern countries not long ago...
The leader of the detachment turned his head and saw the mage leaning against Polu.
Boris Gershaw was twenty years old, too, but he was nothing like those kids...he was as dangerous as a sharp edge of ice chipped from the White Tower.
The leader of the detachment ordered Polu to guard the prisoners, and he himself carried a lantern and stepped onto the ice. After Nan'an thought everything was normal, he asked Polu to escort Boris over.
The river crossing went smoothly without any accidents. The forest on the south bank of the Xiwa River is different from that on the north bank. The soil here is softer. There is no solid ice on the evergreen trees that lasts all seasons. Even the night wind is softer than that on the north bank. Always kept vigilant.
Burris remained silent. He didn't struggle, he didn't cry out in pain, and he didn't want to beg for mercy. None of this works, it doesn't make sense.
He was very tired, his hands ached like they were being burned, and his whole body seemed to be falling apart. He could hardly tell where the pain was... He couldn't see the road clearly, couldn't hear the voices next to him, his body kept falling, his feet It's like stepping into quicksand...
"Lord Kanter!" Polu called to stop the leader of the detachment walking in front, "Master... it seems that something is wrong, should we stop and take a rest?"
Now Polu wasn't escorting the mage at all, but almost hugging him. The detachment leader came over and touched Burris' forehead: "He's burning worse. You can untie the belt on his hand so that he can be more comfortable. But we can't stop and walk for another hour or two We will be able to reach the border of the North Star City, if we waste time here, I'm afraid something will happen... Even if we are no longer in danger, this mage still needs medical treatment, I'm afraid he won't be able to wait."
"I understand," Polu adjusted his posture, holding the prisoner in his arms more firmly, "but you don't have to worry too much, adults won't die from fever..."
The detachment leader sighed and moved on: "I know he can't die, I mean his hands. I folded his knuckles just in case, he is very dangerous. But after all, he hasn't been convicted yet, I I don't want to leave him with a permanent disability. I'll put his joint back in place when we get back to Northstar City."
After walking in silence for a while, the detachment leader said again: "Polu, we have two purposes for this operation. The first is to execute Yriel, which we did; the second is to bring this apprentice alive. Return to the City of the North Star. He is our prisoner, and we must protect him."
At this moment, Burris snorted softly.
"What? Cold... what?" Polu leaned closer to his face, trying to hear what he was saying, "You have a fever, you must be cold, we have to travel all night... What? What did you say?"
Burris was in a daze, wondering why he was still walking, although of course he wasn't actually walking, it was Polu who was holding him. Originally, he had given up thinking and planned to sink in the pain and stupor, but suddenly for a moment, he felt a dangerous and familiar magic wave.
Other world enchantment, plus undead attributes, mixed with bloodthirsty drugs... The black shadow escaped into the thick clouds, the huge bat wings ride the night wind, and the two pairs of bright green eyes can observe the prey from a long distance body heat...
"Cold Night Owl..."
Burris stumbled the word.
Isn't it dead? The instructor thought it was a failure, so he decided to drain it and disassemble it... Could it be that the instructor didn't have time to do it? Has it been kept under the tower? Han Yexiao can only adapt to the low temperature environment, and is especially afraid of flames. Even if it is still alive, it should not be able to escape the fire of the White Tower...
Anyway, it looks like it really isn't dead.
Yriel summoned this creature from the Underworld, and then modified it with various spells, trying to make it more powerful and at the same time make it docile... Yriel succeeded, but the success did not last long. I developed resistance, and finally went mad with pain in the spell of transforming the soul, and completely lost my mind...
It was once an intelligent creature. Then it forgot all but hatred: Yriel and his apprentices, each must die.
it comes. It's coming to kill me.
Burris trembled even more, and his whole body curled up and stiffened.
Soon, the knights also felt the imminent pressure. Polu put the mage under a stout old tree, the detachment leader put down the lantern, and the two knights carefully drew their swords together.
Boris could neither open his eyes nor move his body, he could only feel the breath getting closer in fear.
The huge wind pressure smashed towards the trees, and the sound of branches breaking was mixed with terrifying howling.
Burris heard the shouts of the knights, the clanking of metal, the sound of sharp weapons tearing flesh... He also heard a terrifying roar. It's like a human voice, and it's not like... No one can make that sound.
He only felt that the world was spinning, and he couldn't tell whether it was a few seconds or a few hours. He then struggled to concentrate, trying to keep his consciousness focused on all the painful areas in an attempt to stay awake.
Suddenly someone picked him up by the waist. The man staggered, as if he had no strength left.
Finally, he opened his eyes with difficulty. Poru carried him on his shoulders, and he faced back, just in time to see the outsider the size of a dragonling.
Han Yexiao swept away the branches, roaring and chasing after them. It couldn't fly anymore, and a long sword was inserted at the root of its right wing, which was the sword of the detachment leader.
Polu's steps were chaotic and he nearly fell several times. Boris' hand fell behind him, touching the damp, lukewarm blood on the woolen cloak.
The mage raised his head and moved his lips a few times, trying to conjure up a spell... a spell that didn't use his hands, and could be cast even with two broken fingers on each. For a young apprentice like Boris, it is difficult to cast this kind of spell, let alone in the current situation.
Even if the spellcasting is successful, they just die a little slower. The spell can only temporarily restrain the alien creatures, and Han Yexiao will probably be able to break free soon.
On the third attempt, the spell succeeded. An invisible net gathered towards Han Yexiao. It didn't touch the trees, and it didn't even affect the direction in which the leaves fell. It only blocked Han Yexiao's actions.
Burris had no time to observe the effects of the spell. Casting spells drained his energy even further, his vision blurred and his mind buzzing.
At this time, Polu suddenly fell down, and Boris was also thrown to the ground.
Polu inhaled shallowly, exhaled heavily. There was a horrible wound on his abdomen that penetrated all the way to his back.
He held the sword tightly in his right hand, and grasped Boris with his left hand, murmuring indistinct pronunciation in his mouth, as if he was reciting the prayers of the temple.
After a brief silence, Han Yexiao started roaring again. Boris didn't have the courage to look. He closed his eyes, curled up as much as possible, and waited quietly for the darkness to fall.
===============
After regaining consciousness, Boris was hugged in a cool embrace, and a strange voice whispered in his ear: "It seems that I am late."
Burris said nothing. The man asked again: "Next, where are you going?"
He wasn't the Commander, not Poru, not Manello, not Willa or Asha, not anyone Burris knew... and, of course, not Yriel.
Boris didn't bother to think about who this was, he just muttered in a daze: "I don't want to go to the city of North Star... I don't want to go..."
"Okay." The voice was deep and firm, "Where do you want to go?"
"Sandonia..."
Boris didn't understand why he said Sandonia, he had never been there. After answering, he fell asleep again.
When he woke up again, it was already daylight. Boris is still in the forest, but the surrounding atmosphere is different... The branches and leaves are rustling, and there are occasional birdsong in the distance. This forest is more alive, more like a place where living things can live.
The sound of gurgling water came from not far behind. Boris moved his body with difficulty, and found that in addition to his own cloak, he was wrapped with two blood-stained cloaks. It belonged to the detachment leader and Poru.
He finally turned over and saw a man in heavy black clothes with his back facing him, washing something by a stream formed by melting snow.
Boris vaguely saw a pair of long black horns...but when he looked closely, the horns were gone again.
The man's cloak was disturbingly dark. It wasn't a mage's robe, or woolen fabric, or any cloth Boris had ever seen, and it was like a starless night sky fell on the man, swallowing up all the light that fell upon it.
The man in black stood up and looked straight at the mage curled up on the fallen leaves. Burris was taken aback and subconsciously held his breath.
The man was bleeding on his hands and sleeves. His black clothes were soaked with blood and there was no trace of them, but Boris could smell the terrifying smell on them.
The man in black walked over slowly, walked around behind the mage, half-kneeled on the ground, helped his limp body up, and let him lean against his chest.
what are you up to? Boris was so tense that his whole body was stiff, but he couldn't speak a word. The man hugged him from behind, holding his right hand with cold fingers.
With a "click", the twisted index finger was straightened back into place.
Burris' hand hurt all night, almost numb, and now the sharper pain made him unable to help but scream out.
The person behind paused, fumbled for a belt from nowhere, and took out a crumpled strip of cloth. He wrapped the folded belt in a strip of cloth and handed it to the mage.
"Bite it."
The straps were Polu's, with which he bound Boris' hands; the strips were Manello's, fragments of his cloak that he stuffed between the shackles.
Burris obediently bit the belt and closed his eyes tightly. Strange to say, there was unavoidable pain everywhere along the way. He had obviously endured it until now, but he was still very afraid of pain.
The action of the man in black was quite neat. He twisted Burris' injured joints back to their original positions, and the whole process didn't take much time. When this was done, he took some strong wooden strips and fastened them to Burris' fingers with rags.
Burris' face was full of tears and his shoulders were shaking as he spat out the belt in his mouth. Probably seeing that he was uncomfortable and cold, the black-robed man tightened the cloak on him, and put his arms around him again.
It was a strange feeling to lean against the man, like being embraced by death and night.
"Can you walk?" After a while, the man in black asked.
Boris didn't answer, but asked: "The two people with me...how are they? And Han Yexiao..."
"They're all dead."
The two knights and a cold night owl were all dead. In fact, Burris had already noticed it.
The leader of the detachment was the first one. He caused huge damage to the monster at the cost of his life. Then there's Poru, who tries to lead the prisoner away, but he's so wounded that he eventually collapses.
Han Yexiao quickly broke free. When it wanted to continue chasing its prey, it had to be quiet... because the real hunter appeared. Han Yexiao had no choice but to hold his breath and become a prey.
The man in black walked around, as if he was observing the situation in the forest. I don't know where they are now, probably either in Erde territory or in the gem forest.
Burris remembered that he said he was going to Shandonia, and it seemed that the man in black really took him a long way east along the river. Sandonia has no contact with the City of the North Star, if you want to hide your identity and start over, it will be a good start...
Thinking of this, Burris realized that it was impossible for him to be acquitted. He will always be a necromancer who committed a murder. Strangely enough, he didn't resent the Knights, and even felt a little sad for them.
At this time, the man in black came back to him and stretched out his hand: "Let's go, little mage."
Standing up holding that hand, Boris suddenly understood why he felt sad for those knights.
Someday I'll stand in the sun again and laugh at the pain I'm suffering right now. I can shake hands and talk to knights like you in a friendly way, and you won't be afraid of me or people like me... there will be a day.
I will definitely see that day, but you will never see it.