ps: Fix typos. ⊙ top novel,

Over time, Elros, the Frost Daughter, has slowed down her dance steps. After a winter's rest, the sun god Pero seems to have returned to his original job of gently soothing the winter-stricken earth.

The kingdom of Aetasia in the south, although it was also attacked by the north wind. But Blizzard, another great player who had been following Ellos's side, did not come here. This makes their spring come exceptionally early and the sun becomes extraordinarily warm.

Under the light of the spring sun, the sky, the earth, and the sea seem to gradually recover from the cold and lonely slumber. At his urging, she awoke from the dream with a dazzling light. The goddess of the earth, who opened her eyes, began to take care of her abandoned back garden.

Only then did she realize that the courtyard that she hadn't seen for a long time was no longer the golden color of the past. After sleeping in winter, the wind and frost have faded its color. The dry fallen leaves were densely covered with mud, and that spring showed some of her shy green in the cracks.

The rising temperature caused Barrett to crawl out of his sleeping bag earlier than usual. The moment he lifted the curtain, he almost felt like he was hallucinating.

The thousands of little lives on both sides of the road. Driven by the power of Sarya, it was only overnight. From the seeds in the frozen soil, sprouted into tender green sprouts.

They stood tenaciously in the cold morning breeze and decorated a layer of emerald green gauze in the glade between the trees. Moving slightly in the wind, they seem to be stretching their waists triumphantly, stretching their bodies that have rested for a winter.

The only thing that makes people feel depressed is that the frozen earth suddenly becomes sticky with tides. Although it is not as muddy as in the rainy season. But the sluggishness brought by the way forward is still very obvious.

But on the other hand. This awakened earthy fragrance. Let people bathe in the spring at the same time. It also gives people a sense of vitality.

"Spring!" Barrett, wielding the whip in his hand, squinted his eyes lazily and made such a sound.

"It's a pity it's still cold!" Rielly, still clasped her cloak, stuck her head out of the carriage at this moment. It's a pity that her words have made her a big character.

Releasing the long whip in his hand, Barrett reached out and pressed Rielly's head back from the curtain: "Since you feel cold, stay in the carriage for me." ”

This spring in front of me is full of greenery, warm and cold. Barrett couldn't help but think of the spring scene in Boreham's collar. Because of the temperature, there is still a little unmelted spring snow on the jagged roof tiles.

And from the tower, there are distant mountains wearing white hats, and the two rows of trees that draw new branches on the banks of the mountains and rivers. Together with the river flowing back to the east and west of the territory, it constitutes a picture of early spring.

Rielly who drilled her head out again. He seemed to be aware of the loss of concentration in Barrett's pupils. Immediately stretched out his hand and waved it in front of his eyes: "Hey! Feed! Feed! Barrett, you're looking at the road ahead! ”

"Mage, don't worry! I don't want to let that affect my driving safety. Barrett, reminiscing about his past memories, responded to Rieli's movements.

Before you know it, the trees on both sides of the road become sparse. Occasionally, on the edge of a few wooden mounds that had obviously been cut down, the "rising stars" of the forest that were no more than five years old were standing straight in the cold wind.

Towards noon, the players find a reddish furrow on top in the wilderness. On either side of the ditch were scarlet and maroon soils.

Barrett could even hear the cry of hunger in this wet land. She was waiting for people to turn her over and sow all kinds of seeds. It's good to dress yourself in a beautiful floral dress before the summer arrives.

In this era, this qiē is the best landmark. Barrett immediately understood that the second stop of his trip was close at hand: "Ridges! That means there's a crowd nearby? Looks like we're already in the Viscounty of Ebel White. ”

Compared to Viscount Christol, who was successfully calculated by the Etasia royal family before. Known as the "Woodland Shark Lizard", Viscount Ablewhite has a strong control over his territory far above the former.

Thanks to the fact that the confrontation between the local faction and the royal family was not strict. Developments within the Viscounty of Ebble White were not greatly affected. The city, surrounded by a circle of manors, is like a pearl on a silver filament formed by the water of a stream.

At this moment, the clear snow water on the high mountains has become a trickle. It is like a small waterfall that flies down into the depression of the foothills. Or inject into the surface of a calm, wave-free lake. or into a clanging stream. These scented stains from the Spring Maiden brought the near-bottomed Mother of Life in Viscount El White's Noble to life once again.

The port, which had been dormant for a long time, immediately became busy. A flat-bottomed barge is pushed into the water from the shore. As the river rose again, the inhabitants of the city began to prepare their fleets for foreign trade once again.

The gentle flow of the river brings great business opportunities to this city, and as the best trading point on land and water within a radius of 100 miles, the prosperity of the city of Berstow is far greater than that of the average small content town.

Gradually, the carriage approached, and the road in front of the north gate was filled with caravans, flatbed trucks, and pedestrians coming and going. It's like rushing to the market, and the city gate is blocked.

This forced Barrett to stop his carriage at a distance, and he jumped out of the carriage to hold the reins before the horses. Embellished with the noisy procession, it waited quietly for the inspection of the guards in front of the city.

Looking up, behind the slender and white breastwork on the city gate, some guards in tan leather armor walked up and down the top of the city wall. Several of the soldiers, carrying half-human compound high bows, were vigilantly watching the movement under the city gate.

And before the gate opened, a thick wooden stake blocked half of the gate. Guards behind the horse rejection pile. He was smiling as he checked the wagons and pedestrians entering and leaving.

The guards turned over the tarpaulins on the flatbed truck piece by piece. Or just board the caravan and rummage through the containers. They were cooperating with the tax collector to examine the contents of the goods, and the owner of the carriage seemed to be looking for an opportunity to deliver the copper in his hands to the pockets of the guards while smiling.

When Barrett led the carriage to the rejection stake, he took out the pre-prepared documents from his pocket—legend has it that Barrett disdained the practice of waiting for the guards to speak out and then taking the opportunity to teach them a lesson.

The certificate stamped with the seal of the Viscount of the "Golden Thorn Bird" gives the players the status of a noble envoy. Although in terms of money, it is a carriage tax that saves a few silver coins, but more importantly, after having this status. Ordinary guards would never dare to come and knock on bamboo poles.

Under the gaze of the merchants and mountain visitors behind them with envy on their faces, the players easily cleared the city gate and officially entered the heart of Viscount Ebbelwhite.

The city built along the river is bisected by the river that crosses it. I don't know if it's a tradition of the Kingdom of Etasia or not. The division between rich and poor in the city of Belstow was also blocked by the trickle of water.

Houses in the north tend to have green lawns, well-tended gardens, and beautiful parks and villas with all kinds of decorations. Statues and ornate bronze lampposts adorn the streets or private courtyards.

From time to time, you can see servants or slaves running errands for their masters. The wide road allows the carriage to flow unimpeded. Many of the mansions are fenced off, and private bodyguards can even be seen patrolling the entrances and exits.

Even the large townhouses and apartments on the edge of the residential complex are more spacious and luxurious than the private homes on the south side of the river. At the same time, the protruding parts of the roof are of different shapes, like the strange ridges of the back of a scaly beast, which also reflects the unique artistic taste of the owner here.

Houses on the south side of the river. The best ones have well-shaped courtyards, while others occupy the next door. The alley between the houses is about 2 feet wide. Even from the outside, the dense windows tell the cramped interior of some of these apartment-style homes.

Compared to the other side of the river, these buildings are often not well maintained. While it is clear that the people here are far from poor, broken fences, broken pebbles, and makeshift wanderers are everywhere. Even at the end of the day, the smell of sweat and horse manure is pungent – practicality takes precedence over fashion in this region.

Before heading out to meet Viscount Ebblewhite, players are prepared to find a tavern or inn to rest for a while. Of course, it is more important to find out how to get some information about Viscount Ebel White, especially the city of Belstowe. to confirm the approximate risk of your next move.

The carriage made its way around the city at a "da-da" pace, and as soon as he passed through a low wall, Barrett tightened the reins in his hand. He waved his whip and let the horses in front of him carefully retreat.

The dilapidated cottages, the townhouses, the cramped apartments all looked so dilapidated. This is where most of the city's poor people live, and the poorest of the poor live here.

Many of the people who live here can't even afford to rent a room in a cheap hotel. Some of them live in small and poor rooms, but they are relatively clean. Others, however, live in dilapidated slums, infested with rats and cockroaches, and the surrounding buildings seem to be ready to collapse at any moment.

These losers or disadvantaged people are doing their best to huddle in dilapidated buildings or build a small hut next to an overcrowded apartment, just struggling to get through each day.

Rich people don't come here unless they come in search of cheap labor, or take a shortcut to other parts of the city. The filthy streets were crowded with ordinary laborers, beggars, and others who could barely make ends meet. Wrapped in collected rags, they looked numbly at the corner of the street, as if waiting for the mercenary to appear.

Barrett knew that the street in front of him had no shops except for the occasional street vendor passing by. The road surface has fallen into disrepair, and the sewage-laden city is filled with the stench of waste, filthy bodies, and even rotting flesh. provoked several female compatriots in the carriage to take out handkerchiefs to block their mouths and noses.

Barrett didn't know if he needed to enter the area in front of him. But for now, even if he wants to enter, it's not now—so he shamefully flinched in the face of the strong smell.

Finally the manipulator carriage retreated back to the original street. Barrett gave up his previous tipping of wandering around. Directly on their own. Drive the carriage in the direction of the previous caravans and flatbeds.

Although many cities will be located near the city gate or at the main entrance. There are rows of hotels that cater to the needs of travelers. Even some city governments have the foresight to keep areas clean and have a low crime rate to make a good impression on travelers. But the city of Berstow in front of him seems to have failed to do so because of planning problems.

However, in Barrett's memory, there are many cities on the mainland that have similar planning failures. The pace of life, the delivery of consultations, and the constraints of productivity have made the metabolism of cities on the mainland extremely slow.

Antiquity is the norm in this world, and some cities can even do it for decades and a half, and nothing remains the same except for the people who live - the tavern is still the tavern. The bakery is still the bakery; It's just that the business owner has inherited his father's business, or has been fully accepted by other competitors.

So for the situation in front of him, he naturally knew what to do - follow those business trucks. Even if there is no specially planned horse fleet area in the city, there must be a chassis to transfer goods to the market or to reload heavy wagons.

There must be more than just small traders who have seen in that kind of place. Although Baelstow City is one size smaller than Boreham's Poitou City. However, the convenient transportation by water and transportation also makes it a transit point for many caravans.

In order to meet the needs of passing caravans, the places where the goods were loaded and unloaded must have been close to inns, bars, and some semi-legal and illegal services, which facilitated the travel and provided the lord with rich taxes.

Accompanied by the clattering hooves of horses. Walk through this sunny afternoon. Going around a corner, Barrett saw seven or eight little Lori and little Zhengtai, who were only four or five years old. is laughing and running under an uncle who has just sprouted.

The cheerful voice immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the carriage. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the five heads drilled out of the curtain one after another, and the companions used their own eyes to feel the innocent and carefree childlike fun.

Under the influence of the children's laughter, most of the players' hard work in the past few days flew away like wings. During this period of time, the slightest irritability caused by fighting for the death and intrigue with others gradually dissipated in this laughter.

Among them, Rielly only felt as if she had just finished steaming the sauna, and her whole body felt extremely happy. Claudia. Auditore and Clematis. Bot was even more lazy, as if he had returned to his leisurely time in Repulse City.

Lalu's cat's ears shook happily, did he stretch his neck and make a pleasant "meow" sound. Even the pupils of the noodles at this time shone with a smart light.

The only one among the players who is not affected is probably Barrett, who has achieved "not to be happy with things, not to be sad with himself". He has long been accustomed to this kind of life, and knows how to eliminate the negative feelings he has accumulated in time. Naturally, he will not be lightly touched by foreign objects like the remaining companions.

"Drive!" Barrett, who had whipped his whip again, steered the carriage into another passage at the T-junction. After a while, as he had expected, he found a busy warehouse.

Here, 7 or 8 wagons, large and small, are busy unloading and loading. The voices of the employees, caravan leaders, tax collectors, and security officers here come and go.

In this environment, where people come and go, like carp crossing the river, they are mixed together, like a frog field after a rain. Barrett still had a sharp eye to find the wooden signs carved with beds or wine glasses.

After leading the carriage and fighting with the small men, Barrett finally found an inn that offered stables—a fair cost of only one silver a day for the carriage and horses plus forage.

After settling the crowd down, Barrett prepared to sit down in the nearby tavern as usual. However, he found that Noodle seemed to be ready to go out at this time.

Looking at the halfling wanderer following him, Barrett asked suspiciously, "Don't you have to rest now?" ”

"You can't always put Barrett in charge of intelligence every time! This time it made me, a wanderer, feel very shameless! Noodles with his hands on his hips, staring back at Barrett with his head tilted.

"It's easy to talk about other places, but in the Kingdom of Aetasia, it's not easy to mix up with wanderers like you who pass by!" Barrett reminded with a slight concern.

Underground forces with official support can be said to have no scruples when it comes to excluding competitors. Especially noodles, a 'lone ranger' of unknown origin, will become the target of the other party's killing of chickens and monkeys if you are not careful.

The noodles are still quite confident: "Don't worry! I'll be careful in this regard. Besides, according to the information obtained before, Viscount Ebble White is very effective in mastering the territory. Those underground organizations that really have a royal relationship are afraid that they have to be people with their tails between their legs! ”

"Alright! If something happens, try to escape by all means. If necessary, you can directly call for help from the guards in the city. Anyway, even if we are arrested and put in a prison cell, it is not difficult for us to ask any Viscount to open up with our current status. Speaking of which, Barrett patted Noodle on the shoulder hard.

About 10 minutes later, Barrett, who had parted ways with the halfling, appeared in a tavern with good business. As he munched on a plate of thick-sliced sausages, he relied on his excellent listening skills to search for useful information from the conversations of customers.

Less than 10 feet to Barrett's right, a Mediterranean man with a beer belly was waving his glass and chatting with his drinking buddies: "Have you heard, there is another violent person called the "Shadow Thief" in the slum. Those guys are really going to make a fuss out there. I don't know ......."

Most of them are deep in the slums of the city, and there is often a three-way zone. It's very chaotic in it, and you can often see people fighting and killing people from time to time.

Barrett could tell that the reputation of this burgeoning thief union in the ghetto did not seem to be good. They're not just going to be thieves in general. What's more, there are no rules, and they act recklessly according to their own preferences.

The drinking friend beside Mediterranean patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry! Don't look at those guys being so arrogant now. When the 'free' masters are ready, they will definitely disappear in a few days......"

'That's right!' Long live the freedom! Long live your lord," Mediterranean said, pouring himself a large glass of wine.

Standing up, Barrett immediately began to deliberately search for information related to 'freedom'. After a lot of effort, Barrett finally understood that "Liberty" was the name of a thief's guild.

As the most powerful underground guild in Belstol, it was formed more than a decade ago by an alliance of several thieves' guilds. His membership is mostly made up of wanderers, and only those who know the underworld can join.

This traditional guild of thieves takes on a variety of missions: selling everything from magical curiosities to confidential information. However, there are some quests that the guild refuses to accept, because the guild was founded with three principles: not to murder, not to rob the poor, and not to be an enemy of the town hall.

This orderly thief guild is arguably the most popular underground organization among the local lords. At the same time, it also raised doubts in Barrett's heart: "Could it be that the Etacian royal family's control over the underground forces of Viscount Ebourwhite has failed?" Or maybe it's a trick they put out. Of course, it could also be the result of Viscount Ebourwhite's covert support......"

Barrett then learns that the Wolves of the Wood, another group in Viscount Ablewhite, are mainly forest rangers and druids. It's not very strong in the city, but in the forests outside the city, no one is their opponent. They maintain the balance between forests and civilizations. (To be continued......)