The mage arrives

After marching in the swamp area for three days, Gordon finally came to the largest settlement of the Aikan people: Qingmai Town.This is a small town with a permanent population of about [-]. It faces the sea in the east and is surrounded by swamp forests in the south.Only to the west and north is the cultivated plain of Yimapingchuan.

Going all the way, when you enter Qingmai Town, you can see the fields on both sides of the road, full of hard-working farmers.When autumn comes, the outside of the whole town must be a sea of ​​gold.The autumn wind is blowing, the wheat waves are rolling, and the air is filled with the aroma of fresh wheat...

Gordon seemed to be able to imagine the joyful harvest scene.

Except for Qingmai Town, other Aikan people live in scattered villages within a radius of [-] kilometers around Qingmai Town.Most of them are also farming, but there are also a few people who live in the swamp forest and gather herbs or hunt for a living.

Gordon took a closer look and found that the fortifications in Qingmai Town were nothing more than simple wooden walls about three meters high.This kind of defensive measure is useless except to prevent beasts like the swamp wolf from scurrying into the town and taking away the chickens and ducks raised by the townspeople.In the face of a slightly decent attack, it can't last a day.

After the army entered Qingmai Town, they planned to rest for three days.Marching in swampy areas is very exhausting both physically and mentally.And nearly 20 people in the team fell ill.

The sick person is not the Freeman's private army who has been trained for the first time, but the Redstone Guard who has experienced many battles.These soldiers from the north were still in the process of adapting to the climate of the peninsula, and now they spent three days in the swamp, a place with a humid environment and ravaged by snakes and insects.Definitely going to go wrong.

The Redstone Guard is the backbone of Gordon's army.Originally, the number of enemies he faced was several times that of his own side. In case the battle situation was temporarily unfavorable, it would be without the support of these senior fighters.Relying on those private troops who entered the battlefield for the first time alone may easily lead to collapse.

However, the enemy's movement speed is not very fast anyway.Led by the ferocious Salo people, the enemy army burned, killed and looted all the way. It seemed aggressive, but in fact it was slowly approaching Qingmai Town in a mess.According to Gordon's idea, it only needs to be west of Qingmai Town, about [-] kilometers away.At the junction of the farmland plain and the swamp forest, just stop the enemy.

Although the surrender has not been officially announced, it is in Gordon's eyes.The fields cultivated by the Aikan people and the villages and towns established by the Aikan people are already their property as the lord of Haiwen.He can't allow too much loss of these properties to those barbarians.

With the help of the herbal medicine made by Vinia, Gordon believes that his army will soon be free from the disease.Restore combat effectiveness.And he.It also happened to take the opportunity to take a break to inquire about the magic fountain.

There are two magical springs on the Haiwen Peninsula, which is the main reason why Gordon chose this wild land as his fiefdom.The two magic springs are located at the north and south ends of the peninsula.The magic fountain in the north is in the forest area not far from the Isthmus of Cork.

However, the magic fountain in the southern peninsula is located in the Blackwater Swamp.Judging from the location marked on the map, this magic fountain is more than 200 kilometers southwest of Qingmai Town, which happens to be the deepest part of the swamp.

The Lord Earl of Haven led the "tough, invincible and invincible" imperial army.The female druid has long publicized the matter of coming to help the Aikan people resist the attack of the evil tribe.Therefore, the residents of Qingmai Town are very concerned about Gordon's arrival.Still very welcome.The Aichans, who have no military tradition and martial spirit, are counting on these outsiders.

So even if they wanted to give up their residences as a temporary garrison for the earl's army, the residents had no complaints, and even spontaneously held a grand welcome banquet.

"Lord Earl! I have long been looking forward to the arrival of your invincible army. Your powerful warriors will definitely be able to deal a devastating blow to those villains who want to destroy our homeland." An old man held a clay bowl The turquoise liquid came to Gordon.

"An invincible army... My private army has never been defeated since its establishment. Because they have not even experienced a single battle. From a certain point of view, they can indeed be called invincible for the time being..." Gordon Laughing at himself, he glanced at Vinia next to him, as if he was a little dissatisfied with the matriarch's excessive propaganda.

The female druid smiled at Gordon as if nothing happened, still full of mature style.

The old man in front of Gordon is said to be the former patriarch of the Aican people before Vinia took office.He doesn't know magic or magic, and he doesn't know how to wield a sword.Being able to ascend to the throne of the patriarch depends entirely on his rich experience in life.However, judging from the fact that he resisted all opinions and abdicated the position of patriarch to the young and outsider Vinia, this old man named Pensa was not simple.

Although Pensa was stooped, his height only reached his shoulders, and he swayed as he walked, as if he would fall in the wind, but Gordon did not despise the old man, and took the clay bowl in his hand.

A fresh scent of wine immediately floated into his nose.

"My lord, please be sure to drink this bowl of wine. According to the custom of the Aikan people, the first pot of green ale wine brewed from new autumn wheat is only dedicated to the most honored guests. If you refuse, it will be a penalty to all Aikan Human insult." The female druid leaned close to Gordon's ear and whispered.

She knew that for mages, in order to keep their minds clear, they generally would not drink alcohol, so she was worried that Gordon would refuse.

"Okay..." Gordon nodded, and drank the turquoise wine in one gulp.

The degree is not high, the entrance is smooth, and there is a feeling of fragrance flowing down the throat and into the stomach.This uniquely colored ale is indeed very good.

Seeing that Gordon had a good impression of the special green ale, the female druid explained to Gordon: "This kind of wine is the most important commodity for our Aichan people to trade with the outside world. Every autumn, the newly brewed ale will attract Come a lot of buyers."

"Purchaser?" Gordon felt a little strange.He originally thought that this kind of ale was just a local specialty enjoyed by the Aichan people, but he didn't expect it to be a commodity that was in short supply.But this green wheat town is located at the southern tip of the peninsula.The location is too remote, and because of Viniya herself, the entire tribe has long had a tense relationship with the King of Haven.How are they going to sell the wine?

Venia said: "Our customers are actually smugglers and pirates on the steam sea. Aikan people are not good at sailing, and they don't even dare to go too far to go fishing. But we built Qingmai Town in It is near the sea, and there is also a port that can accommodate ten thousand-ton ships. When you saw it just now, didn’t you think it was strange?”

Accompanied by Vinia, Gordon walked around the whole town just now.inspect the situation.He did see an empty port without even a ship, and he was still puzzled at that time.

It turns out that the Aikan built the port.It is for pirates and smugglers who come to buy wine.

During the long-term voyage, the clear water is easy to stink and deteriorate, so the main drink of the voyagers on board is a low-alcohol drink.This kind of delicious wine with unique flavor is produced in Qingmai Town.Sure to be a hit.

Pirates are risking their lives to burn, kill and loot.Naturally, the money obtained has to be used for pleasure and consumption.

Relying on the wealth brought by the sale of green ale wine, the people of Aikan are developing more and more rapidly.

"Strange, those pirates are willing to obediently pay you to buy wine?" Gordon asked.

Pirates neither understand the scientific concept of sustainable development, nor do they know the allusion of fishing in a dry marsh.Most of them are a group of short-sighted guys who only know how to rob, rob, and kill.According to common sense, they would only drive a pirate ship ashore and come to Qingmai Town to rob when they were addicted to alcohol.Then return triumphantly.When I want to drink green ale next time, I will come to rob again.

As for whether it will be because of this atrocity.As a result, the Aikan people gave up making wine and fled to the depths of the swamp. They would no longer be able to drink delicious green ale wine. The pirates certainly would not think about this kind of problem.

The female druid said: "Because we have some relationship with the mage on Jiuyao Island."

As soon as Jiuyao Island was mentioned, Gordon immediately knew what was going on.

The headquarters of the Austrian Federation is located on this island in the Sea of ​​Stars.

"You Aikan people actually have a relationship with the Austrian Union?" Gordon wondered, "Since this is the case, then facing the attack launched by the Salois and other tribes this time, those mages should help?"

"Things are not as simple as you imagine." Vinia began to explain to Gordon patiently.

She had met a druid on the peninsula before, who was her teacher in exploring the way of nature.That druid also has some connections with Jiuyao Island.

One year, because of an accident with a businessman who had been supplying food for the headquarters of the Arcane Federation for a long time, the group of master mages on Jiuyao Island who were buried in arcane experiments all day were almost starving.In order to solve this problem urgently, under the recommendation of Viniya's teacher, the mages decided to buy food from the nearby Aikan people.

After all, in the past, Jiuyao Island traded with merchants from the empire.The fleet transporting food departed from the port along the coast of Changxia Province, and had to go through the dangerous sea of ​​steam before reaching its destination.As for the Aikan people on the Haiwen Peninsula, the distance from Jiuyao Island is much shorter and safer.

When I first started the ale business, there were indeed many pirates with the idea of ​​eating for nothing.However, relying on the relationship of the Austrian Law Federation, after some unbelieving pirates were taught a lesson, these outlaws who ran amok in the steam sea became model customers in Qingmai Town.

But to deal with pirates, you only need to show the name of the Austrian Law Federation, and then sink a few disobedient pirate ships, which can have the effect of killing chickens and monkeys.But this time, the Aikan people faced a group of aborigines who believed in various evil gods, and the army was assembled in full force, so the problem was not so easy to solve.

The female druid actually sent a message to the Austrian Federation for help, but the other party did not respond proactively.Her teacher is indifferent and has limited influence in the Austrian Law Federation.Moreover, the organizational structure of the Austrian Law Federation itself is also very complicated. The nine towers on the island are each led by nine grand masters.Even the president of the Austrian Law Federation, it is impossible to say what is right in the meeting.

Scaring a few pirates and dealing with thousands of menacing, ferocious natives who believe in evil gods are definitely two different difficulties.Since I have been busy with various things recently, the Austrian and French Federation is even more unable to spare manpower.Come help a bunch of Aichans.

Anyway, for those high-ranking mages, even if the Aikan were killed by the hostile tribe, they would lose.It is nothing more than a food supplier.And in the entire continent, there are countless businessmen who want to curry favor with the Austrian Federation.

"Now that you are here, Lord Lord, we don't need the help of the Arcane Union. I believe that as a mage alone, you are better than many people in the Arcane Union." Venia complimented.She was afraid that Gordon would think that the Aikaans had given up on the Austrian and French Federation as a last resort, and instead chose the Earl of Haven as a refugee.So very respectful.

In fact, Gordon did not see himself as a backup tire for the Aikan people.He just felt that the relationship between Vinia and the Austrian Federation was good news for him.I'll be free later.Get in touch with those mages, and there may be unexpected gains.

After the welcome banquet, Gordon came to the cultural center in the small town before it was too late.See if you can find some useful information for yourself.

Speaking up.It is indeed a novelty that the Aikan people with a literacy rate of less than [-]% would build such a venue that stores various classics, legends, original pictures and other tribal cultural products.As a result, after Gordon asked, he found out that the person who built this cultural center was the old patriarch Pensa.

Sighing in his heart, Gordon looked for it in various book manuscripts.

Although most of the aborigines on this peninsula are in a semi-civilized state, after all, they have lived on this land for a long time, and naturally gave birth to their own culture and traditions.Gordon found out by accident.The information reserve in the cultural center is actually very rich.

Soon, he found the record about the magic fountain.

It was in the swamp forest.A pool that radiates blue light for years.Due to the complex terrain nearby, and the source energy emitted by the spring will interfere with the judgment of the human brain, very few people can really reach this place called the "Milan Pool" by the Aikan people without getting lost. few.

It was originally located on the remote Haiwen Peninsula, and in the depths of a sparsely populated swamp, and it also exudes source energy that makes people easily lost. It is no wonder that even if this magic fountain has such distinctive appearance characteristics, so far there are few The mage found out.

After determining the specific location of the magic fountain, Gordon achieved his goal.He was about to leave the cultural center contentedly, but was stopped by the former patriarch Pensa who had been with him all the time.

"My lord, have you heard of the legend of Mount Shen?"

"What?" Gordon didn't know why the other party brought up this topic suddenly.After he entered the Haiwen Peninsula, he had indeed heard people mention Mount Weisula many times, which is a sacred mountain in the minds of the aborigines of the peninsula.

However, those strange and even absurd legends can fool the half-civilized natives, but they cannot fool a mage.Besides, not long ago, he smashed a castle that was also said to be inhabited by the spirit of the island, who could determine the real ruler of this land.

Therefore, he basically held a noncommittal attitude towards the various legends on the Haiwen Peninsula.

Pensa didn't see that Gordon was not interested in the so-called legend of the mountain.He walked a few steps to the pile of old papers, his aging body suddenly burst into astonishing vitality, and he quickly found a notebook and handed it to Gordon.

Out of respect for the elders, Gordon didn't want to dampen the old patriarch's enthusiasm, so he opened the notes that had turned yellow and even the margins were pitted with moths.

As a result, when he saw the first line of words, he knew that maybe among the many information about Weisula Mountain, some of them were not illusory legends, but real events.

In the notebook in his hand who did not know who wrote it, on the first line was written a word that Gordon was already familiar with in the common language: Netherdulan Magic Empire.

While Gordon was flipping through the pages, Pensa explained beside him.

It is said that in Mount Vesula, there is an underground palace built by the great arcanist of the Netherdulan magic empire.The great arcanist hid countless wealth in the palace, and even allowed people to gain great power and become a legend.It is said that the gate of this underground palace will be opened every ten years, and the day of the next opening is coming soon.

The reason why the natives on the peninsula regard Vesula Mountain as a sacred mountain is because a long time ago, various visions often appeared on this mountain.The natives could not explain these visions, so they attributed them all to miracles.

However, if Gordon looked at it with the eyes of a mage, the phenomena like "the coming of heavenly fire, lightning storm, and purple light in the sky" that the natives talked about were all kinds of magical devices hidden in the mountains by the Great Arcanist Nesser. ,produced.

But even if there really was a palace left by a Nesser grand arcanist in Vesula Mountain, Gordon probably didn't have much interest at this time.After all, after experiencing the incidents of the Danzig Ruins, everyone will retain a little skepticism about these so-called treasure relics that are said to be miraculous, as if fishing out something from them can change the fate.

And the reason why Pensa wanted to bring up this matter with Gordon was not to encourage Gordon to explore Mount Vesula.The old patriarch, and even the entire Aikan tribe, maybe the scope can be expanded a little bit. The residents of the entire Haiwen Peninsula who live by farming are now troubled by this Mount Wesula.

"My lord, if we don't solve the problem of Weisula Mountain, I'm afraid that in two years, all the land in the south of the peninsula will be unable to grow crops." Pensa said worriedly. (To be continued..)