The rich night can't be erased in the air.

In the sky, the moon was obscured, only a few stars shone brightly, and in the woods outside the Emerald City, a caravan was struggling to move.

At the very center of the caravan were several wagons drawn by horses, carrying goods of great value. One of them is a piece of goods that is even more valuable.

In order to protect these goods, there are many guards around the traveling carriage, with vigilant expressions, and at the end of the line, there are many mercenaries to prevent attacks.

This caravan came from a city called "Newburgh" and was responsible for transporting goods to Cuijin City. For maximum safety and speed, the first is to take the waterway. However, at the end of the trip, he was attacked by the enemy from the waterway, and lost a lot of manpower. Duncan, the caravan's superintendent and a man in his forties, made the decision to switch from water to land.

However, it did not become safe to go up to land, and just now, the caravan was attacked on a small scale. Although the attack was quickly resolved by the caravan, it also cast a shadow over Duncan's heart. Looking at the woods ahead, Duncan didn't know how many ill-intentioned people were waiting.

"Damn, you shouldn't take this business, although the profits are indeed terrible, but it is possible to put your life into it. And he clearly said that he would keep it absolutely confidential, but now the news has leaked. Damn!" Duncan scolded inwardly, but didn't show it. He knew that he was the backbone of the entire caravan, and if he panicked, the entire caravan would be unimaginable.

Taking a deep breath, Duncan struggled to compose himself and turned his head to look to the side.

Next to him was a young man from the caravan, and one of his favorite fellows, eighteen years old today, named Luther. Although the other party came out of the slums, he was very smart, and under his teaching, he knew a lot of words and could calculate some simple accounts. In a few years, you will be able to take charge of it on your own. The most important thing is that the other party is hard-working, principled, and polite to everyone in the caravan, so that everyone is very convinced of him.

Duncan has the heart to train the other party to be a successor, and every time he goes out, he tries to take the other party with him, so that the other party can have more experience and gain a long insight, which will help the other party grow. The other party also understands this, and is grateful and works hard.

At this time, Duncan looked at Luther and said loudly: "Luther, you command to go down and let everyone continue to be vigilant and not relax." ”

"What's the matter, Uncle Duncan, is there anything wrong?" asked Luther, the man, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it right now, but I've always felt a little worried. You should also see that this time is different, the things we are transporting are too valuable, so precious that they can be related to those mysterious wizards, and it is inevitable that many people will covet them. So, you can't be too careful. What happened on the ship, and the attack just now, is an example of this, and we must not make any mistakes. ”

"Understood, Uncle Duncan, I'm going to tell everyone, and they'll understand what you're saying. ”

"Hmm. ”

"By the way, Uncle Duncan, do you want to turn the crossbow out, wind it up, and be on guard?" asked Luther again.

"This ......," Duncan hesitated. There are organic crossbows in the caravan, there are a lot of them, and they are also good goods, mainly in case of emergency. But...... This kind of thing, unlike bows and arrows, especially in terms of a certain quantity and quality, is expressly forbidden by the Emerald Kingdom, after all, it may threaten the official rule.

If you are caught breaking the law, you will not be sent to the gallows, but you will be fined a large sum of money, for sure. If the caravan is full of his own people, naturally there is nothing to worry about. But this time, because he took over a big business temporarily, he was afraid of lack of manpower, so he hired several mercenary squads. There are a lot of people, and the mercenaries are all money-eyed guys, if you take out a large number of machine crossbows now, it will inevitably be passed on by drunk mercenaries later, or the mercenaries will report directly for the bounty, then it will be bad.

After thinking for a moment, Duncan looked at Luther, shook his head, and said, "Don't do this yet, just let all the guards check the bows and arrows." As for the machine crossbow, it is really dangerous, and if you take it out again, you shouldn't be able to delay anything. ”

"Okay. Luther said no more, turned and was about to leave.

Duncan suddenly thought of something and called out to Luther, "Wait a minute." ”

"What's the matter, Uncle Duncan?" Luther paused, slightly confused.

"Hmm-" Duncan said in a long tone, the gaze in his eyes sharpened a little, "Luther, you can help me go and tell the captains of the mercenary squads, and tell them that they are hired for a lot of silver, not to accompany them on the caravan, but to let them keep the caravan safe."

If they are attacked, they will not go up again, but will just shout in disguise, let the people of the caravan fight, then they will not want to get any of the final payment, and the deposit will be spit out for me. Our business group, although we pay attention to harmony, are not really easy to bully. ”

"Yes. When Luther heard Duncan's words, his expression was also a little serious, he nodded vigorously, turned around and walked to the back of the caravan.

"Da Da Da ......"

......

After a while, Luther returned, looked at Duncan and said, "Uncle Duncan, everything is done, everyone in the caravan understands what you mean, and they promise to be careful." And the mercenary squads also said that they didn't react before they let us fight. If we encounter an enemy again, they will definitely take the initiative to go up and do their best to protect the safety of each of us. ”

"Heh, the mercenary's assurance?" Duncan shook his head, "Just listen to what they say, don't trust them too much, let's see when the time comes." ”

"Well, that's what I thought. Luther echoed.

"That's good. Duncan said, not saying anything more.

"Squeak Squeak Squeak ......"

The horses pulled the wagons forward, and the crowd followed, and the whole caravan made its way through the woods with difficulty and care.

"Squeak Squeak Squeak ......"

......

The whole convoy was in silence, and after about half an hour, the silence was suddenly broken, and someone shouted: "Be careful!"

The whole caravan immediately stopped, and all of a sudden, the caravan guards pulled out their weapons and looked around vigilantly, some of them even picked up bows and arrows, but ...... And there was no attack.

Duncan frowned and shouted, "Who's yelling?!"

"Duncan is in charge, it's me. Walking in front of the caravan, a man spoke up, pointed to the road ahead, and said, "Duncan is in charge, the road is blocked, I am afraid that there may be an ambush, so I shouted to be careful." ”

"Huh?"

Duncan's eyes flashed, and he looked ahead, and sure enough, he saw that not far away, a dry tree trunk had fallen, blocking the entire caravan from moving forward.

This......

Luther leaned into Duncan's ear at this time and whispered, "Uncle Duncan, let me go and see how it goes." After saying that, he walked away, but was pulled by Duncan.

Luther turned his head to look at Duncan, a little confused. At this time, Duncan's face was expressionless, and the gaze in his eyes didn't know whether it was because of fear or vigilance, and he looked a little cold.

Turning his head, Duncan shouted to the side and named the two guys: "Rick, Sba, you two go to the front to see the situation, and if there is no problem, move the trunk away." ”

After a pause, Duncan added, "Both of you are doing well this time, and when you get to Emerald City, I'll give you a salary." Also, be careful. ”

"Well, Uncle Duncan, we'll be careful. The two guys who were named spoke up, not much fear, more happy, I don't know if it was because they were cared for, or because of the raise.

The two men stepped out of the caravan and walked briskly towards the trunk of the tree that blocked the way.

Walking in front of the tree trunk, the two were not stupid, first looked around carefully, and found that there was nothing abnormal, and then reached out to lift the trunk.

The trunk of the tree was very heavy, and it took a lot of effort for the two of them to reluctantly move, but they were just halfway through the movement, when they suddenly heard Duncan's voice warn: "Be careful!"

"How......" Before the two of them could react, the sound of "Xiu Xiu Xiu" sounded, and many arrows flew out from both sides of the woods, shooting the two directly into hedgehogs.

The two of them fell down with a "plop".

Duncan didn't have time to be sad, and continued to shout: "There is an ambush!

The people of the entire caravan moved quickly, trying to find a way to defend. After killing the two men who were carrying tree trunks, the arrows were fired quickly towards the caravan from both sides of the woods.

Some of them were unable to dodge in time and collapsed amid screams.

Duncan ducked his head to the side of the carriage, pressing Luther's head under him while shouting an order: "Shoot back!"

Listening to Duncan's words, the guards in the caravan who were in charge of security stood up one after another, holding bows and arrows and shooting in the direction of the attacks on both sides. However, under the attack from both sides, he was obviously at a disadvantage, and after a moment of counterattack, he did not kill many enemies, but suffered a small half of his own casualties. It seems that if you continue to stay here, it is only a matter of time before everyone dies.

"Damn!" Duncan cursed and muttered to himself, "I can't go on like this, I have to find a way to leave." Those mercenaries must be allowed to take cover and let the caravan rush out......"

Luther, who was crushed under Duncan, heard this, forcibly got up, and shouted: "Uncle Duncan, I'll go and inform those mercenaries, I ......"

"No, I'll go. Before Luther could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Duncan, who pressed his head down again. Duncan said in a deep voice, "You can't, you can't go.

First, it's too dangerous now, you're still young, you have to find a way to survive, because you're going back to marry Melissa! I only have such a daughter, and she only likes you, you can't take any chances!

Second, those mercenaries are cowards who see money, and at this time, you are a young man, and you can't suppress them. Only if I go can I make them listen to orders honestly. So, I'll go. ”

Duncan bent over and walked to the side after speaking, Luther's eyes were red, and he grabbed Duncan, "Uncle Duncan, let's go......"

"Don't be verbose!"

The two were about to argue, but they heard someone at the back of the convoy shouting angrily: "Duncan is in charge, Duncan is in charge, damn it, those mercenaries have escaped!"

Uh, this ......

The problem was solved immediately, and neither of them had to go.

Duncan's face turned a little pale with anger, and he slammed the ground in anger: "Hell, mercenaries, I know they can't be trusted!"

"That'...... Uncle Duncan, what are we going to do now?" asked Luther, "or do you want to fight the enemy?"

"Fight?" Duncan's eyes flashed, and for a moment, he said, "Yes, fight!"

"But......" Duncan's tone suddenly changed again, looking at Luther, "but it's me, not you." Don't get excited, boy, I'm telling you, it's the only way. I'll take out my crossbow and give it to everyone, and I'll fire a salvo to keep the damned enemy at bay for the time being, while you find a way to get out on horseback. You break out, of course, not to save your life, but more importantly, to do two things. ”

Duncan raised his body, fumbled around the carriage for a while, found a white wooden box, stuffed it into Luther's arms, and said loudly: "This is the most valuable cargo in our business, if we lose it, our entire merchant group cannot afford to lose." So the first thing you need to do when you break out is to protect it and not let it fall into the hands of the enemy.

And the second thing you have to do after breaking out is to rush to Cuijin City as fast as you can, go there to ask for help, and let the official soldiers of Cuijin City rush to save us. Don't give me red eyes, it's not the time to cry. As long as you do well, we can all live, and I will watch you marry Melissa, and you won't die easily. Did you understand what I said?"

"Understood. Luther nodded vigorously.

Duncan took a deep breath: "That's good. ”

The next moment, Duncan rushed out like an old leopard, and opened another compartment with a box containing a metallic crossbow......

......

In the middle of the sound, the shooting from both sides of the woods continued, ready to shoot all the people in the caravan to death, but the caravan suddenly broke out in a storm of arrows to counterattack, which caught the people in ambush on both sides by surprise, and for a while several unlucky ghosts were hit by arrows and screamed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a horse in the caravan galloped out at high speed, and Luther was almost attached to the horse's back with his waist on his back, and a white wooden box in his arms, gritting his teeth and rushing out of the encirclement, out of the woods, and towards the Emerald Gold City in the distance.

"Dada...... Dadada......"

The sound of horses' hooves continued, and on the road outside the woods, Luther whipped his horses desperately to increase their speed.

He's going to be fast, faster, very fast!

If he delays for a second, the caravan will probably lose one more person.

Thinking of this, Luther slapped the horse again, and the next moment his eyes looked ahead, but he was suddenly startled. With a sharp pull on the horse's reins, the horse neighed, raised its front hooves high, and then fell to the ground with a heavy impact, making two dents several centimeters deep in the ground.

On the road ahead, dozens of heavily armed cavalry were galloping towards them, approaching quickly, and then encircling Luther.

Luther was extremely nervous, trembling a little with the box in his arms, swallowed his saliva, and asked out loud to the unknown person, "You...... Who are you?"

A cavalryman stepped forward, took off his helmet, revealing a head full of blond hair and a handsome face, glanced at Luther and said, "I am Mill, the captain of the Third Cavalry Escort in Emerald City, who are you?"

Luther's eyes immediately widened when he heard this: "You are a soldier of Emerald City, eh, no, are you an adult?!...... Hello Mistress Mill, I'm ...... My name is Luther, and I am a member of the Bauhinia Merchant Group, escorting things to Emerald Gold City. We were attacked halfway, and I was the only one who broke through and wanted your help. Now please follow me, hurry up and save Uncle Duncan and them from our merchant group, right?"

"Huh?" Mill frowned, not looking to believe Luther easily, and asked in a loud voice, "You can make it clear, what did your Bauhinia Merchants escort to Emerald Gold City, and why was it attacked?"

"What our Bauhinia merchant group is escorting is a very precious thing, and I don't know what it is. However, Uncle Duncan said that it is related to the mysterious wizard, and if it is lost, our entire merchant group cannot afford to pay for it. That's why ...... people are attacking."

"That precious thing is in this wooden box in your hand right now, isn't it?" Mill interrupted Luther abruptly.

"Well, yes. "Luther has no defense.

"Open me and see, I want to confirm what you said. After confirmation, I will follow you to save people. "Mildoor.

"Good. Luther didn't think much of it, and quickly opened the box, revealing the contents of the box.

I saw that inside the box, in the thick black silk, there were three crystal-like creations. The volume is not very large, it is round, and the surface is depicted with cumbersome lines. Inside, a purple glow flickered, and even at night, it could be seen clearly. “

Luther looked at the strange object in the box with some surprise.

Mill's eyes narrowed, and he muttered to himself: "Sure enough, it's a test-free certificate, it's developed now, hehe, it should be my Luolan family lucky." ”

"Huh?"

Luther looked up at Mill, listened to Mill's words, felt a little confused, and then his whole body suddenly cooled.

He was suddenly a little alert, maybe it wasn't the official army of Emerald Gold City in front of him at all.

Otherwise, why is the other party not in the Emerald Gold City, but on the road of the Emerald Gold City? Otherwise, why is the other party more familiar with the goods than him? Otherwise, why does the other party have to look at the contents of his box before saving people?

Luther thought so, and then saw Mill in front of him suddenly smile strangely at him, and unabashedly "brushed" and drew his long sword and slashed at him.

Luther's blood clotted all over his body, his brain went blank, and there was only one thought left: Uncle Duncan, I'm sorry......

Just when Luther felt that he was certain to die, suddenly there were a few "groans", and several arrows flew almost past Luther's ears and landed on Mill's head.

"Bang", Mill's hand loosened, and the sword fell.

"Boom", Mill still maintained a weird smile on his face, but the whole person fell straight off the horse.

Luther felt the blood flow returning, and when he looked into the distance, he saw that dozens of meters away, a larger number of cavalry rushed over and slaughtered the cavalry that had surrounded him.

While slaughtering, the other party said loudly: "The people of the Luo Lan family, you have violated the laws of the kingdom, and I will now purge you according to the king's order." Those who dare to resist will be dead, and those who lay down their arms and surrender can not kill ......"

The new cavalry was evidently very powerful, and it only took a moment to settle the battle, and a tall knight rode up to Luther and exclaimed, "Hey, boy, don't be afraid, I have been ordered by the king to protect the goods that you and your caravan are transporting. Give it to me, I'm going to make sure it's safe. ”

"Is this the official army of the real Emerald Gold City? Luther thought a little, and subconsciously handed over the box.

The next moment, I heard more horses' hooves in the distance, followed by more cavalry rushing madly. One of the leaders shouted urgently: "Philip family, you are bold, dare to attack other families under the pretense of the king's orders. You are trying to start a war with the nobility, you are the real lawbreaker, you all give me death......"

Luther was stunned, completely stunned, and had no idea who to believe.

The night is still very long, and more and more people are gathering under the cover of the night, fighting and fighting for a precious thing......

Richard, on the other hand, was in the study in the courtyard where he lived, writing quietly on papyrus with a quill pen.

"Rustling ......"

The night was chaotic and quiet......