The King of Elden does not die alone!

"This appearance is because of the golden tree." Melina's lips seemed to be pressed against Mia's ear.

The sensitive hairs on the girl's earlobes vibrated with the air vibrations caused by the sound, making Mia feel hot.

"After the Elden Ring was broken, the Golden Tree could no longer recycle nutrients from the Tree Returning Ceremony. So, it began to plunder the nutrients of the land."

"Until now, the roots of the golden tree have spread all over the border area."

"Although there are still enough nutrients in wild plants... the soil fertility is no longer capable of supporting large-scale food production by humans."

So, the wheat here is as messy as weeds.

As the foundation of human civilization in the border area, the Golden Tree has suffered such a serious "disease" that it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a natural disaster.

But amidst such natural disasters, there also emerged man-made disasters such as the Fragmentation War.

Mia said nothing and nodded to show that she understood.

The Storm Checkpoint stands on a narrow road between cliffs. It is a city gate built against a natural city wall.

Of course, the narrowness of the road is only compared with the entire magnificent cliff.

As a major transportation route, the gate of this checkpoint is not narrow at all.

After about half an hour of walking, they arrived at the checkpoint.

The door is not closed.

Just like walking into ruins, Wilden and the other four walked in with a swagger.

After passing through the city gate, there is a more pure barracks behind. There are no messy ruins, only continuous tents, which fill the back of the checkpoint and both sides of the canyon.

Mia even saw a giant troll.

The mountain demon sat cross-legged in the military camp, and his body was obviously not something that could be blocked by the wooden fence.

The girl swallowed nervously.

There are obviously more soldiers here than before the level, and there are also some guys who are about the same height as the Faded Ones, wearing iron helmets and dirty soft armor.

Those were the little soldiers in the king's army.

Wilden said that these were also Faded Ones, but they were different from the Faded Ones who were once exiled. These Faded Ones were born in the border area because the blessing of the golden tree was gradually weakening, but they were still born unblessed.

They do not have the immortality of the people of the Golden Tree, but are still caught up in the war.

The people's livelihood destroyed by the long years of war and the poor apprentices have caused these soldiers to be pale and thin, looking like refugees...

A proper soldier might be able to handle a dozen of these soldiers.

Moreover, the number of minions is far less than that of soldiers.

No wonder I can only do some work operating machinery.

Speaking of which, the fields outside are the work of these soldiers, right?

But they are different from the soldiers of the king's army.

Even though they looked like refugees, with pale faces and thin bodies, they were still much better than the numb and confused soldiers of the King's Army.

Perhaps due to malnutrition, their eyes appear larger than those of ordinary people, and seem brighter against their grayish-yellow skin.

Just like monkeys, they would look at Patch and Mia when the three walked past them.

But I didn't have the courage to get closer.

Perhaps they understood that the usually taciturn soldiers of the King's Army did not like them.

Mia remembered what Wilden had said long ago.

He seemed to envy these soldiers a little, because they could die when it was time to die.

I wonder if the other soldiers of the King’s Army think the same way.

There is a huge gap in status between the soldiers of the King's Army and the minions, just like the huge gap between this Storm Hill and the Hubei grassland.

In the awe-filled looks the soldiers gave Wilden, Mia saw mostly numbness.

The three of them walked along the winding road, heading deeper into the canyon.

When passing through the storm level, just like when passing through the ruins before the level, there were no obstacles.

The journey was incredibly smooth.

After being led for more than half an hour, the barracks behind the Storm Checkpoint were no longer in sight.

Wilden untied the two men, and Mia rode on Torret again, pounding her sore legs.

The road winds its way up the canyon until it reaches the windswept Storm Heights.

-

Chapter 52. Night Talk Before the War

I'll try my best to see if I can finish one more chapter ()

-

Mia had a hood on her head and a rough scarf wrapped around her face.

Plus, she was dressed all in black.

Now he looks like a terrorist.

There is no way around it.

This is Storm Hill, after all.

The power of the storm continued to collide in the air, making deafening roars.

The wind was beating wildly on the ground with its own rhythm. All kinds of objects were unable to resist its force. The sky was gray and dull, without a single ray of light.

There are no golden trees here.

These winds seemed to contain a strange power.

In the wind, the whole world seemed to be covered with a layer of gray gauze, as if it was in the fog, and the visibility could barely reach a thousand meters away.

It was as if the strong wind had torn the dark clouds in the sky into pieces and then scattered them randomly on the ground.

Everything in the world became dark because of this.

Even if you wrap yourself tightly, the wind will still blow in through the gaps in the fabric and damage your eardrums.

Mia faced the wind, and with the blindfold covering her eyes, she was not afraid of the dazzle from the strong wind, but Patch could only squint to see the road ahead clearly.

The three of them walked with great difficulty.

After leaving the path in the canyon, they ran into the howling north wind.

As luck would have it, if they wanted to go to Stonewell, they had to head north against the north wind.

"How could anyone live here?!"

If Storm Hill existed on Earth in Mia's previous life, it would definitely top the list of 'the most uninhabitable places in the world'.

Although it is called Storm Hill, it is actually a highland.

Everywhere you look, the vegetation growing on Storm Hill presents a very magical posture.

Except for the low-lying grass.

The trees swaying in the wind were all leaning to one side, with branches and leaves on one side and no branches and leaves on the other.

It's like a bunch of combs stuck in the ground.

Apparently it was because of the never-ending strong wind that all the branches and leaves of the trees were gathered to one side.

In Mia's understanding, unless it was a sandstorm, or a typhoon or hurricane accompanied by heavy rain, no wind could block people's vision like fog.

Obviously, the wind on Storm Hill was not a typhoon or hurricane. Then a dust storm was even less likely. The wild vegetation here was almost the same as the grassland below the hill, except that it was deformed due to the wind.

"If it's morning or noon, the wind will be less!"

Amid the whirring wind, Mia heard Wilden raise his voice and answer.

But Mia had no idea what time it was.

They walked for several hours, against the wind, and felt every step was extremely difficult.

The overcast sky over Storm Hill made it difficult for the girl to tell.

Let’s find a way to set up camp first.

There is a cliff not far ahead.

I didn't have a good rest that night.

The sound of the wind lingers in anyone's ears all the time, making it difficult for anyone to fall asleep peacefully in the middle of the night.

But fortunately, the next morning, just as Wilden had said, the wind slowed down a lot.

The wind on Storm Hill would only slow down occasionally, but it would never stop. Mia took advantage of the fact that the wind was not strong during the day and hurried on her way despite her tiredness.

When the wind gets stronger, you'll need to seek shelter.

In Storm Hill, the time available for traveling in a day was reduced by almost one-third.

One morning a few weeks later, the veil of wind that had been hanging over the Storm Hills gradually dissipated, and as the wind blew against her face, Mia saw a towering mountain in the north.

The city of Stonewell is on that mountain, sitting at the top of it.

Looking down at the storm-shrouded highlands.

A huge bridge with no end in sight, starting from that mountain peak, with huge bridge piers that are unknown how many kilometers high, spanning the sky. From this distance, it looks like a thin white line connecting the eastern sky.

If the estimate is correct.

Then in another day and a half, we will reach the city of Stonewell.

After all, it seems close, but it is very far away when you walk to the mountain.

By the afternoon, the wind picked up again and the mountain peaks were once again hidden in the veil of wind.

"There seems to be a house ahead!" Mia was riding Torret, with the highest sight. She saw a blessed light in the gray veil, just a few hundred meters ahead.

Next to the blessing, a dilapidated house stood alone.

I wonder if this dilapidated house is the one where you meet Little Red Riding Hood Roderica in the game.

"Let's spend the night there!" Wilden also saw it.

The soldier leaned forward and walked at the front against the wind.

The shabby house was soon approached.

It was not until I got closer that I realized that this was not just one dilapidated house, but a complex of two or three dilapidated houses surrounded by each other.

It seems to have been a post station.

But there was no one in the dilapidated house.

It seems that Roderica is not here.

This is not a game world, and the people living here are not cold NPCs.

Mia never expected to meet a fixed person in a fixed place.

Because these characters, which have become vivid, all have their own destinies.

Mia took the time to touch the blessing.

Fortunately, among these dilapidated houses, there are still some relatively intact rooms that can shelter from the wind.

The bonfire is lit in the house and will not be blown out.

Mia finally breathed a sigh of relief after sitting back under the wind-blocking wall and lifting her hood.

The three wolves and three people hid in the dilapidated house to avoid the violent wind outside.

The bonfire was stirred by the wind that occasionally blew into the house, and the swaying seemed quite crazy.

midnight.

Mia, who was not sleeping deeply, was awakened by a sudden movement. She sat up from the sleeping mat and turned over the blanket.

The Storm Hill, which was already obscured by the veil of wind and where no golden trees could be seen, became even darker at night, with the sound of the howling wind constantly heard in the ears.