-- Some time ago.

Stopping on the left side of the crowded crossroads, the silver-haired girl looked around a little blankly, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her green eyes like fireflies turned with light, as if she was identifying directions.

The snow on the road has been cleared, and although there is still a little snow and dust falling in the air, it is no longer in the way of movement.

Probably because the designer was born in the military, all the buildings in this fortress where the girl is located are roughly the same, more inclined to simple geometric forms - square houses, curved roofs, and chimneys and windows that are all identical......

In addition, the roof is covered with white snow, which makes it even more difficult to distinguish.

"Where am I ......"

Muttered in a confused voice, Hotaru blinked in confusion, and beside her, stern-faced armored soldiers and hurried passers-by shuttled non-stop, and in the hours after the Kuroshio stopped invading, these people did not relax to celebrate the victory, but devoted their greatest energy to repairing the city walls and preparing them.

Although everyone knows that with a golden powerhouse in the city, it is impossible for the beasts that have lost their leader of the same rank to gather together again to attack the city, and they will even kill each other in the Black Forest due to hunger or other reasons.

But reality is one thing, attitude is another.

Probably because of her height, Hotaru is not conspicuous in the crowd, although passers-by will take a curious look at this petite figure, with a slightly curly silver long hair, but they will not stop because of this, and Miss Shenji, who lacks common sense, does not know at all, there is a thing called asking for directions in this world, so time passes, but the situation has not improved at all.

This embarrassing scene ends with a warrior wearing a masked helmet and an old mage in white robes appearing on the same side of the intersection.

After sending their seriously injured comrades into the dedicated infirmary, the two fortress commanders also treated their wounds a little, but compared to the white-haired mage's mental backlash that only needed to recover after a period of meditation, the internal organs of the half-elf warrior were a real problem.

"Keeley, if you feel that your body can't support it, you don't need to force it."

Although Feng is a mage, he is also a part-time berserker, plus age, in terms of combat experience, this mage group instructor with Northland characteristics is not much worse than a half-elf warrior, of course, he can see that the actions of his comrades in front of him have been a little sluggish, and it is obvious that the physical discomfort has worsened.

"It's okay, the injury is getting better, it's just a little itchy because of the speed of self-healing......"

Killy didn't lie, as a unique specialty of the half-elf [Blood Hunter], he was able to get some of the abilities of the Demonic Beast by drawing the Beast Blood Tattoo on his body, and as a warrior at the peak level of Silver, his body could withstand three Demonic Patterns, and his abilities were [Thundering Blood], [High-speed Self-healing] and [Eagle Eye], which had been used on the battlefield before.

In order to divert attention and ignore the numb and itchy feeling of internal organs, Keeli went against the norm and took the initiative to provoke the conversation: "Do you think that Young Master Joshua looks a little different from before. ”

"Indeed."

Nodding approvingly, Feng seemed to feel the same way: "The young master used to be a gentle and cheerful person, even if he has been polished in the army for so many years, his temperament has not sharpened, and the last time he returned to the main city, I happened to report to the master......"

Joshua!

The silver-haired girl, who was standing alone on the side of the road, almost giving up her position, suddenly had a glint in her eyes when she heard her master's name, and she immediately turned her head to look in the direction from which the voice came.

An old mage and masked warrior...... The strength seems to be stronger than his own, and the momentum is also very different, and the soldiers around him will salute slightly after encountering them, and it seems that they should be big people like the fortress chief.

"Call the master young master...... Well, it looks like they're going to report to their master. ”

Following behind each other from a distance, Hotaru whispered to herself: "This should be able to find the way, and after getting a little closer, I can sense the specific location of the master by myself!" ”

There is some kind of inexplicable sensing ability between the god machine and the contractor, but this sensing power can only be used to the greatest effect when the two sides are equal in level, since Joshua has advanced to the gold level, unless he takes the initiative to contact himself, otherwise Hotaru can't sense the location of his master, he can't be too far away, and now, at most, he can sense that Joshua is in this city, that's all.

And the conversation between Keely and Feng continues.

"The current young master is not so much majestic as terrifying."

The voice of the half-elf warrior passed through the helmet, a little dull: "I've been on the battlefield for so many years, how can I not smell the smell of blood that has killed an unknown number of people?" Sharp temperament? Hahaha, not to mention sharp, the original shepherd dog has completely grown into a flesh-devouring wolf. ”

The white-haired mage also shook his head slightly, and his expression couldn't tell whether he was relieved or worried: "Before the old man died, he was always worried that the young master's personality was too gentle, but I didn't expect that after his death, the young master would become like this, and the fate of people is indeed unpredictable." ”

Hey? The host was originally gentle and cheerful?

Hotaru, who had been eavesdropping behind her, was stunned for a moment, and the memory core in the depths of her body began to rotate rapidly, but no matter how she recalled and thought about it, this Miss Shenji couldn't imagine her master's gentle smile...... No, this description itself is completely in conflict with the inherent impression in memory!

However, before starting the battle, Hotaru could occasionally see the corners of the black-haired warrior's mouth curled up slightly, and there was also an excited look in his red eyes, maybe he didn't notice it himself, but the silver-haired girl had been following Joshua's side, and she could see it clearly from beginning to end.

How can such a person who naturally feels joy in fighting, bloodshed, and fighting be a 'cheerful and gentle' person? No kidding, Hotaru shook her head, thinking that the white-haired mage was probably too old and confused.

Walking all the way, passing through several streets, the silver-haired girl found that her sense of Joshua was getting stronger and stronger, and it seemed that the direction was indeed correct.

It wasn't long before she saw the central tower that towered over the walls of the Black Forest.

In front of the entrance to the central tower, two tall knights stood, dressed in gray-silver metallic armor, armed with spears and rhombic shields, painted with the wolfbeast's mouth open to reveal fang-like patterns, their faces obscured by full-coverage helmets, and the expression behind them was invisible, and at their sides, with gold edges on a black background, the banner representing the sword hand of the Radcliffe family fluttered in the wind.

"Looks like this is it."

Hotaru finally breathed a sigh of relief, and she subconsciously wiped her snow-white forehead, which was not sweaty, and felt relieved.

"That silver-haired lady in the back, why are you following us?"

Suddenly, a dull voice sounded, and the half-elf warrior turned his head, his eyes behind the helmet staring directly at the girl with a relaxed face: "Although you have no malicious intent, please explain the reason...... Also, I never seem to have seen you in the fortress, where are you from? ”