Brando and Freya walked in the moonlight of the forest, the shadows of the pine trees like a long and narrow tunnel, the soft steps rustling, the pine needles with a full moon, the night owl howling in the silence, the sharp cries piercing far and near through the woodland. Brando walked so fast that Freya could barely keep up, holding the hem of her dress with one hand to prevent it from being caught by the jagged bushes, but her mind was already on the hands of the two of them, and her mind was in turmoil. She vaguely remembered that she hadn't had ever been alone with Brando since they parted at Pragues, and that the last time she had walked with him so much in the night was in the Stag Forest, which was also in the forest.

"Brando, where are we going?"

"Wait a minute, you'll understand."

Freya was silent, a little shy, but allowed Brando to clench her hand. The two of them walked forward through the forest one after the other, it was a long, short journey, and gradually the branches parted in front of them, and the woodland became thinned and faintly shone, and Freya realized that they had passed through the forest from the other side, but she was full of doubts about what was ahead.

When he arrived, he was still here, but Brando thought to himself.

The forest opened a gate in front of the two of them, and behind the gate there seemed to be a lively and prosperous market, which was located on the edge of the forest, and the lights of the market were dotted with stars, as if the fairies of the forest held a feast, lit clusters of torches, and gathered here. But Freya saw the crooked shacks and wooden houses in the bazaar from afar, and she suddenly pressed her left hand to her heart, and she opened her mouth slightly, realizing what kind of place it was.

Since the War of the Black Roses, refugees from Reedenburg and the Butch region have gathered near Pragues. Some of them left this sad place and went with their families to the north to Manoville, or to the Kurk and Majitan areas, but there were always people who were nostalgic for their homeland and old and weak women and children who could not move and who could not compete with the natives for land, so they could only build scattered settlements along the edge of the forest and reclaim the wasteland in the forest. Some of the refugees who fled with Brando from Richenburg were grateful for Brando's kindness. Under his arrangement, he went to Tonigel with Leto's mercenary group, but after all, there were only a few people who were willing to leave their homes, and many more chose to stay, especially in Buchi or the refugees in the northern regions.

"Look, Freya, these are the people who hope in you, they are not in a good situation, go and ask them. Ask everyone who survived the Holocaust if they respected you and cared for you because of your origins. Brando said with some emotion that in his previous life, he knew these places very well, and the establishment of these settlements throughout his novice years. He knew very well what kind of people lived in these huts.

Freya has completely lost her feelings at this moment. She held Brando's hand tightly and couldn't help but shed tears, this is the hometown of her dreams, her neighbors, the roots of her ideals and beliefs.

Aunt Siel, uncle, Captain Madden, little Phoenix, everyone, all of them trusted her. Is it because of her origins?

This is a question that does not need to be answered.

"Remember the oath you made, Freya."

"Brando...... Brando......" Freya muttered to herself, as if she was torturing herself.

"Freya, you're Everton's daughter, but you're also Butch's daughter. This will not change no matter what you achieve in the future. Brando, standing in the night wind, replied quietly.

"I understand...... I should have understood...... Freya closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, "I was wrong, Brando, I'm sorry. ”

Brando patted her on the shoulder and brought Freya back to see the villagers left behind by Butch, which was also his purpose, but he didn't expect it so much in advance. "Would you like to go in and have a look?" He asked softly. Freya took a deep breath, glanced at Brando apologetically, and nodded vigorously.

Since the years of flowers and summer leaves, the influx of refugees has become the most troublesome problem for the nobles of Pragues, who have no power or heart to settle these homeless people, and the local and military are blaming each other, and the refugees' livelihood is lost day by day, and after the kingdom finally chooses to give in to Madara, they have no hope of returning to their homeland. And in that gray-and-white castle, the nobles were busy fighting for power and profit, as if the kingdom's defeat in war had turned into the sharpest spears and swords in their hands, which were used to pierce the chests of the opponents, and a group of unfortunate people fell after the war and went to the gallows, but the other group of people who sang triumphant songs were not necessarily sincere for the sake of this ancient kingdom.

Even at the local level, the natives, under the leadership of the gentry of the manor, excluded these outsiders, and although the people at the bottom were naturally compassionate, this sympathy was only based on the premise that their own interests were not shaken, and the selfishness of human nature seemed to have pushed the situation of these poor people to a worse situation; They are powerless to compete with the locals for the resources of their lives, so they can only go into the forest to huddle each other for warmth, but even so, they have to face the discrimination and suspicion of the locals, and the situation of these refugees from the Buchi region can be imagined.

In fact, the refugees also have to deal with uncertainty about the future, because even the last place on which they live is nominally the domain of a certain count in Pragues. In order not to force a riot, the nobles had to pretend that they did not see the actions of these poor people, but the Earl may not be satisfied with this disposition, he does not care about this loss, but this must not be his own loss, otherwise he will not become a fool in the eyes of others? In fact, the Lord Count had already made a request to the Council of Nobles to drive out the 'robbers' who had seized his land.

This kind of thing sounds strange to ordinary people, but the noble council has to carefully consider the earl's request to protect the legitimate property of the nobles, which is a strict proposition.

Old Madden sat by a campfire, dressed in the uniform of a straight garrison, but the corners were already a little white. This military uniform seems to symbolize his honor, although it is still meticulous, but it is already in the past. The matter of the council of nobles had more or less reached his ears, and he looked at the dreary night, and let out a long sigh, sorrow seeping into every wrinkle on the old man's forehead. He didn't choose to leave with Brando and Freya that day. Because Buchi is his duty, those young people's affairs, should let the young people give it a go, as for him, his old bones have gone through too many ups and downs, let him bury his bones here.

He can't let go of his feelings for this land, he can't let go of the familiar smell in the Buchi soil, everyone is still here, how can he be separated.

But nowadays. The situation has deteriorated day by day, the poor land has no production, and the Earl has strictly forbidden the refugees to go hunting in the forest, although they can still chop wood for warmth, but many people can no longer open the pot. The point is that everyone lacks hope for tomorrow, as if one day is a day, like the walking dead, they have become numb. Losing the ability to think, hope and long, when did such a day begin? Old Madden remembered the old days. And my heart grew heavier.

The only consolation for him was another rumor he'd heard these days.

A commotion sounded in the distance.

Madden frowned, and the young people in Phoenix really didn't stop at all.

"Essen, Macmie, you go and block their back road!"

"Nibeto, go and call your old brother Vlad and Ike over. Hurry up, don't grind! ”

Pedestrians on the street retreated, as if they were accustomed to the scene, and in the open space they had vacated, two groups of young people were facing each other in a row. On the one hand, they wore all kinds of military uniforms of the militia and the garrison. However, most of the military uniforms look a little old, and some are full of patches, only the sword in the hand is cold and shiny, but most of them are numb with ropes wrapped around the hilt, either the gauntlet has been lost, or the counterweight hammer has been lost; On the other hand, all of them were dressed in the uniforms of the Pragus Patrol Cavalry, well-equipped and high-spirited, and even the riding boots under their feet were shining, and they knew at a glance that they were the children of Pragues.

At this time, it was the little Phoenix who was commanding and dispatching the Buchi militia, who was at least a head taller than a year and a half ago, wearing the uniform of the garrison - after the War of the Black Roses, he was elected by Madden to become the reserve member of the Buchi garrison, but not long after that, the Buchi garrison became a historical formation, and completely lost the sense of existence.

"Phoenix!" The young men who patrolled the cavalry shouted, "Count Nagin is already about to reclaim this land, you illegal outcasts, why don't you hurry up and arrest them?" ”

Little Phoenix spat disdainfully: "It's not too late to talk about the big words after the discussion of the results of the noble council, don't you guys just want to take advantage of this opportunity to make some benefits, and I don't know who was beaten last time and his nose was swollen, it's really good to forget the pain." ”

"What did you say!?"

"Little bunny!"

The young patrol cavalry was suddenly poked in the sore spot, and scolded loudly, they thought that by virtue of their identity, they would eat these hillbillies, and last time they came out to earn some extra money, but they didn't expect to be hit by little Phoenix, grabbed a good beating, and beat a blue nose and swollen face. Both sides are young men with strong blood, and they won't use any conspiracy and trickery for a fight, but this time they finally recovered from their injuries, so they naturally had to call their colleagues and make up their minds to take revenge.

Both sides deliberately made a move, and they didn't agree with each other, and they suddenly became a mess. Theoretically, the patrol cavalry side was well-equipped and well-trained, and should have the upper hand, but these young men in Buchi were not easy to mess with, and almost all of the people present were students of Madden, what kind of cunning was Madden, a veteran of the November War, and he also won the Order of the Candle Flame, and none of the apprentices he taught by hand were of a bad breed. Not to mention that the old militia members such as Essen and Macmi have been on the battlefield and fought with Madara head-on, and one person can be used as several people in this kind of conflict.

But the most powerful is little Phoenix, who originally had a superhuman talent in swordsmanship, and learned two moves from Brando, and now he is also taught by Madden himself, and his swordsmanship level is unmatched in the Pragus area; The patrol cavalry obviously knew how powerful he was, and singled out three people to deal with him, and he struggled with them for a moment, then suddenly freed his hand and stabbed one of them in the thigh with a sword. The man screamed and hurriedly threw his sword in surrender. Although the two sides were in a mess, they were still relatively well-behaved, and when little Phoenix saw that the man had abandoned his sword, he stopped bothering him and concentrated on dealing with the other two.

A few more swords. He fought with a sword wounded in the shoulder to pick up another person's saber, and the man looked at his own sword that had been knocked out, shook his head helplessly, and also raised his hand in surrender. The last of the remaining people, knowing that they were no match for little Phoenix, hurriedly fought and retreated, retreated to the side of a large pile of boxes, and suddenly lifted the boxes towards little Phoenix, and at the same time shouted, "Hi, Mr. Eugen." This kid is amazing, come and help me! ”

Little Phoenix blocked those boxes with his hand, and couldn't help but curse secretly, when it was at this time, he suddenly saw a sword light stabbing at his side, he was startled, and only then did he see clearly that the person who sent the sword to him had already handed over several people on his side, "Unlucky." This guy is at least a captain-level figure! Hurriedly raised his sword to block it, and there was a crisp sound. He almost couldn't hold his sword and let it fly out of his hand, he was taken aback, only to realize that he still underestimated the other party: "This guy has the strength of the silver midstream!" ”

But at this time, it was too late to regret it, his sword was opened, and for a moment the door was wide open, and little Phoenix watched the sword stab at him. But he gritted his teeth and was unwilling to give up the sword, and there was only one thought in his heart: "It's over, eldest sister, big brother Brando, I don't know if I can see you in the next life!" ”

However, he didn't have time to close his eyes. He saw a cold and shining sword appear from beside him, and with a loud sound he grabbed the man's sword. Then he saw that the person who came forced back the other party with two consecutive swords, and the speed of the sword made him fascinated, he never thought that the swordsmanship could be so clean and neat, before this thought fell, the captain of the patrol cavalry had already been handed over by the person who came, and then he was held down on the chest, pushed out, and fell heavily on the open ground.

This skill shocked the audience, and both sides of the war invariably stopped and looked in this direction.

At this time, little Phoenix finally saw who the person who suddenly appeared in front of him was, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise and opened his mouth wide: "Big ...... Big sister...... Woo! It's a pity that before she finished speaking, she was knocked out of her ears by Freya with a straight face, "Pain, pain, big sister, let go!" Little Phoenix almost burst into tears, but she didn't dare to resist at all, and she didn't look at all as calm as before, as if she were a child who had done something wrong.

"Aren't you out of luck, why didn't you lose your sword just now?" Freya asked angrily.

"I was wrong, I won't dare next time," little Phoenix grinned, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brando on the side, and still couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Big brother Brando, you're back too, great!" ”

Freya snorted softly and let go of the fellow's ears, who hurried away from the distance, as if the knightess were a dragon that would choose people to devour—little Phoenix rubbed her face and looked at the two who had suddenly appeared, as if she were still dreaming. By this time, the two warring sides had also separated and returned to their previous positions, and most of the young men on Butch's side had already recognized Freya and Brando, except for a few people from the northern region who had not yet seen them. Of course, they saw that Brando and Freya were obviously on the side of this group of hillbillies, but the other party's swordsmanship was really terrifying, and anyone who had seen Freya's shot before could not have the slightest thought of resistance in their hearts at this moment. Most of the others, after listening to their peers' descriptions, will also be skeptical.

But the captain of the knight, who had been knocked to the ground by Freya, noticed more details, and the patrol cavalryman who ran to pick him up was still asking in his ear what to do next, but he couldn't help but glare at the latter fiercely after glancing at Freya's epaulettes.

Royal Knights, Captain of the Knights-

His face turned white, he never dreamed that there would be people from the royal family behind this group of refugees in Buchi, in his mind, these foreigners have no roots in the local area, even if they are bullied, they may not be able to find someone to give them a head. But now not only is someone coming forward, but the other party's origin is not small, the knight captain of the royal knights, Martha, this kind of poor and remote place may not be able to see one in a lifetime.

Brando greeted Essen and Macmy from a distance, then glanced at the patrol cavalry before asking Phoenix, "What's going on?" ”

"What the hell is going on?" Freya also asked at the same time, but she immediately realized that Brando wanted to go with her again, and she couldn't help blushing and subconsciously closed her mouth. Of course, this scene is in full view of little Phoenix, he was still an ignorant teenager at the beginning, but now he has grown up a lot, he can't help but smile secretly in his heart, thinking that the eldest sister really still likes Big Brother Brando, he looked left and right, a little curious about where the witch lady went, everyone in the militia knew the relationship between Brando and Roman, but the residents of Butch have always called Roman and her aunt witches.

"What are you looking at!" Freya saw at a glance what this guy was thinking, and scolded angrily.

Little Finnis was startled, and hurriedly looked at her nose and nose, her nose and heart, Freya used to be the captain of the militia, and when she was still in Butch, little Finnis was most afraid of this big sister, and now she has even more of it. Brando looked at the relationship between the two of them with some amusement, but he was slightly relieved that Freya seemed to have forgotten about her background, at least for the time being, which was what he had intended. For little Phoenix, he was also a little surprised, in the past, when Buchi fled, this young man only showed a little extraordinary talent in swordsmanship, but now this talent has been fully displayed in him, the battle just now was seen by him and Freya from beginning to end, and the strength of Little Phoenix's appearance has faintly touched the edge of the silver level, this growth rate is really terrible, you must know that little Phoenix has been in Buchi for more than a year and a half, accepting Madden's guidance, It's not like Freya and Breson have so many encounters.

And Brando actually noticed another point, that is, the strength level of this group of young people is actually mostly up in the black iron upstream, and many of them have already touched the edge of the silver level, which was unimaginable in the past, and he understood after a little thought, it seems that the influence of the Great Demon Tide has begun to show.

These thoughts went round and round in his mind, and then he returned to the matter at hand, and he smiled at Phoenix, and said, "Tell me, little Phoenix, what the hell is going on. ”

Unlike Freya, little Finnis dared to be in front of her, but he only admired Brando, the eldest brother, and when he saw Brando speak, he hurriedly described the whole thing from beginning to end from the last time the cavalry patrolled to the mention of Count Nagin.

When Freya heard this, her face sank.

…… (To be continued......)