More than a dozen carriages lined up in a long line, winding along the mountain road.

Guards on horseback passed by from time to time, looking around warily.

Fang Qiuling and Old Tom analyzed it, and basically confirmed that the guy who delivered the message for the northern caravan had a problem, and the problem was not small. Asking the caravan to go to the Lianhe Shoal to continue trading must have an ulterior motive, and the danger is certain!

The leader of the caravan was a bearded man in the prime of life, whose name was Borell Raymond. He also served in the militia in his early years, and was an old friend of Tom Sr. for many years, and it is said that he was still a lifelong friend.

"I know there's something wrong with that guy. But the letter he sent was genuine, and it had the agreed secret mark. Hadna, as you know, this is the last shipment of the year. It's going to snow soon, and if you miss this deal, the next one will have to wait until the beginning of spring next year! ”

Raymond looks rough on the outside, but he's actually a very attentive guy. The caravan leader is not something that can be done in a big and informal way, all aspects must be considered, and various situations must be dealt with. He is not so much the leader of the caravan as the great steward of the caravan. The members of the caravan came from several villages on the eastern shore of the misty lake, and sold the village's specialties: furs, herbs, wood carvings, lacquer pots, most of which were not of much value. Most of the materials in exchange are wheat and jerky.

The mountains on the eastern shore of the lake are undulating, and the land that can be cultivated is very limited, and even in a good year, there is not enough food to eat. In spring, summer and autumn, mountain people can go to the mountains and forests to rely on hunting to solve some of their food problems. But in the winter when the mountains are covered by heavy snow, not to mention hunting, going out for a walk in the mountains and forests can cost people half a life. Storing as much food as possible to ensure that you don't go hungry when winter arrives is the most important job for the mountain dwellers on the East Coast.

Years of experience as a runner have made Raymond well aware of the dangers of the Ripple River Shoals. The Lianhe Castle has been abandoned for a long time, and it is normal for orcs to take a fancy to this castle as a hiding place. It's not an accident that even a few ogres and trolls pop up inside.

If he could, Raymond would love to go home. But unfortunately, this is not possible. The drought that lasted for more than two months this summer has severely reduced the yield of the fields cultivated by the mountain people, and the harvest is barely half of that of previous years. In previous years, there was one less deal, and tightening the belt was over. But this year, it's not about tightening your belts, it's going to starve to death. So Raymond and the "coolies" from various villages had to bite the bullet and set out.

As for the merchants who sold ironware, jewelry, weapons, etc., which were relatively high-value, they chose to continue to wait and see. A few simply turned around and returned it, ending this year's trade ahead of schedule.

"Okay, I can't stop you if you have to go." Persuasion didn't work, and Old Tom couldn't force Raymond to turn around, "Do you still lack guards?" Can I introduce you to a few. ”

"Of course! The more the merrier! ”

Since it is necessary to set off on the journey, it is necessary to hire a few more guards just in case. But...... Isn't there a lot of guards here?

When Fang Qiuling walked over surrounded by a group of people, not only Raymond was a little stunned, but Old Tom was also dumbfounded.

Fang Qiuling, Xinnuo, plus six attendants, eight people. Yes, that's right, there were eight of them. But now there are more than eight people.

Count it, thirteen, why is there five more?

"Hey! Thulick, where did you get so many people...... Genie! ”

The extra five were all dressed in blue-gray leather armor and carrying dark hunting bows. They were slender and slender, in stark contrast to the attendants in chain mail beside them. The most conspicuous thing is their ears, which are clearly different from the elongated ears of humans.

- Destiny Card Crider Hunter

- Mercenaries

- Creature - Half-Elf/Archer, level 8 creature

- When the Cliedro Hunters enter, 1 serving of food per week.

- Maintenance Cost: When this card appears, a commission of 1 fortune is paid per day.

If you know there's a problem but still need to go, be as prepared as you can and recruit as many people as possible. So Fang Qiuling took out the summoning card and summoned it.

"I am Elros Chengqing, who has come by an ancient contract." The male archer, with a curly beard and apparently the leader, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "Salute you, my lord." ”

Ellos's voice was low and his demeanor was calm, which made Fang Qiuling can't help but look sideways. As Ellos saluted, the four archers behind him also knelt down on one knee and saluted.

After completing the summoning, Qiu Ling was actually a little stunned. Originally, I thought that one card could only recruit one archer, but I didn't expect five archers to come out of the summoning circle at once. Three of them are men and two are women. There are five more companions all at once, how should I explain it to the others? In particular, all five companions have long, pointy ears.

But that's all there is to it. Fang Qiuling could only roughly explain the situation to the five new companions, unify the caliber, and then bring them over.

Old Tom was visibly stunned when he saw the five archers with pointed ears.

"Ahem...... Fang Qiuling coughed lightly, "Let me introduce you, they are Cridero hunters from the Forest of No Return, I just recruited. They are not elves, they are half-elves. ”

"Recruited? Half-elf? ”

Old Tom's eyes were full of suspicion.

- recruited, and half-elf. You recruit another one for me to see!

Half-elves are the product of the union of humans and elves. Half-elves who live with humans will be closer to humans in terms of habits and cognition, and half-elves who live with spirits will be relatively close to elves.

The five half-elves in front of them were dressed in a strong elven style, and all kinds of small ornaments and intricate accessories could be seen everywhere. Obviously not a half-elf who inhabits human society. Fang Qiuling said that he was recruited, but Old Tom didn't believe it at all. The half-elves who live in the elven society, and they basically have the bad temper that the elves have. For example, if you think that humans are rude and barbaric, if you are cruel and aggressive, if you look down on humans...... Just humans want to recruit half-elves, dream about it!

Old Tom was stunned, but nodded quickly, and went on to do other things without saying a word. He didn't intend to delve into it, and he couldn't delve into it.

Fang Qiuling is an out-and-out human being, and he is also a nobleman with a territory. Aristocrats like to keep a hand, and like to complicate simple things in order to make a profit from them. However, as long as he could kill a few more orcs and send a few more immortals on the road, even if Fang Qiuling had any other private plans, Old Tom was not ready to ask, maybe he might even be able to help.

What's more, most of the half-elves belong to the good camp, and the detectives of one camp are basically white light under the spells, and their personalities are generally much better than those of humans. At the same time, the half-elves hate the orcs more than humans, and the dead are the mortal enemies of all the living, which determines that it is impossible for the half-elves to turn their bows and arrows and point their arrows at the caravan.

- There are more guards, so why not.

It's been more than two hours since I stepped on the trail in the mountains and forests. The surrounding trees gradually increased, and the surface of the trail gradually became more and more rugged. The speed of the carriage slowed down imperceptibly.

The Morey Trail is a road carved out of the woodland, and the large horse-drawn carriages have blocked most of the road, and there is no room to make a U-turn. The woodland on either side of the trail is the territory of the elves, and several elven tribes inhabit the forest. As long as it is not orcs, goblins and other evil camp creatures, the elves do not care about individual travelers, and sometimes they will appear in front of the travelers and exchange them for the special products of the forest. It is a relatively friendly group of elves to humans.

But now there were more than a dozen wagons running the path, and the whole procession was nearly a hundred, and half of them were armed with swords and armor. It is obviously impossible to expect that the elves did not see and pay attention.

There was a soft "whoosh" sound, and an emerald green feathered arrow landed on the frame of the leading carriage. The coachman was agitated and hurriedly pulled the reins to stop the carriage.

A slender figure loomed from the trees about two hundred meters in front of you. With a bow in his hand, he was scanning the carriage with a sharp gaze.

Elves are natural archers, and a distance of two hundred meters is a relatively safe distance for elves to exert the power of their bows and arrows.

"Human! This is not where you should be! ”

The voice was cold, with a slightly strange accent.

Elvish "Hello, people of Corellon. We have no ill will, just hope to borrow the road in the forest to get north. ”

Fang Qiuling jumped down from the carriage, untied the long sword at his waist and threw it to the coachman with a slow movement, and then slowly walked forward with his hands raised.

Elvish language: "The people of Corellon. I'm a bard from Serradia, and I'm sorry to disturb your peaceful life. ”

It's a human, but he speaks Elfish language. Fang Qiuling's words made the bow-wielding elf slightly stunned.

【Elven Language】"Stop! Don't come close! ”

The elf glanced at Fang Qiuling, turned over and disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Fang Qiuling shrugged his shoulders and kept his hands up, his movements at the moment looked like he had surrendered.

He understood the elves' concerns, and the caravan made the forest clans feel threatened. In the past, it was only a single traveler hurrying through the path, and even if the traveler carried a weapon, it was impossible to threaten the safety of the elven village. But at the moment, the caravan was large in number, and there were many people with weapons, and the elves had to consider whether it was a slave catcher disguised as a caravan. You must know that female elf slaves are a high-quality "commodity" worth a thousand dollars!

"Shulik! What did you just say? ”

Old Tom jumped out of the second carriage.

"Elven language, meaning we have no ill intentions, we just want to borrow the way through."

"You can speak Elf?"

"Of course!"

Old Tom also followed Fang Qiuling's example, slowly took the two-handed axe behind his back, and then threw it on the carriage casually, and slowly walked towards Fang Qiuling. But before he could take a few more steps, there was another soft sound, and an emerald green feathered arrow was nailed in front of old Tom.

Old Tom's face changed in a flash.

The meaning of the elf's warning is very obvious. Although the elf who took the initiative to appear left and presumably went to report the news, the other elves who were secretly monitoring were obviously still paying attention to the caravan's every move.

Looking in the direction where the arrow was fired, there were only tall trees in sight, and there were no elves. Elves who live in forests usually prefer green and emerald green clothing, and can easily hide in the forest. It's normal to not find them.

"Daddy, don't come here. You don't know Elfish, so it's useless to come. ”

"Stinky boy, don't think I didn't hear it, they can say ordinary things too!"

"You don't have to come here if you can speak ordinary words. Dad, you're a big mouth, you can't say good things, you have a basket of bad things. ”

"you. Stinky boy, I'm afraid you can't do it alone! ”

"Get your head done! Daddy, don't come and join in the fun. You don't understand the etiquette and customs of the elves, and it will only help you when you come! ”

"Stinky boy! It makes you seem to understand! ”

Old Tom was unforgiving, but he still heeded the advice. He didn't back down either, and sat down directly on the spot.

While the two were arguing, the elf who had just given a warning returned. He leapt from the tree and walked lightly towards the caravan. His limbs were slender, a few points thinner than the half-elven hunters known as "Skinny Ribs" in the group. It seemed to be walking slowly, but in the blink of an eye, he was standing a few steps in front of Fang Qiuling.

The elf's slender eyebrows and eyes were slightly raised, and Fang Qiuling looked up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. There was no inner activity on his indifferent expression, but the suspicion in his eyes was not concealed in the slightest.

After a long time, the elf spoke: "Human, report your name. ”

Fang Qiuling didn't know why, but there was nothing to hide, so he honestly reported his name: [Elven language]: "Thurik V. Norn." ”

Elven "Are you a bard from Serradia?" ”

Elf: "Yes. ”

The elf's voice was slightly hoarse, inexplicably magnetic. He is not tall, on par with Fang Qiuling, but his slender figure gives people a feeling of being tall. Coupled with a delicate face, it is easy to be mistaken for a woman.

But Fang Qiuling won't. As a "layman", from the moment the elf walked in, he was quietly guessing the gender of the elf.

The difference between the secondary sexual characteristics of elven men and women is not very obvious, and their facial lines are quite soft, and it is said that men can dress as women as long as they change into skirts, and they don't even need makeup. And because they live in the forest all year round, the traditional costume of the elves is that both men and women wear hunting skirts. It is often seen at a glance that there are beautiful women of all sizes.

The ...... in front of you Fang Qiuling studied it for a while, and was basically sure that it was a man. Because on the wrist of the elf's right hand there is a string of emerald green vines, which is the decoration in the elf's custom and has the meaning of "marriage contract". The male elves are emerald green vine accessories worn on the right hand, and the female elves are light-colored garland accessories worn on the left hand.