In the afternoon, the sky accumulated dark clouds, like wool blanket, unknown source of smoke in the sky. In front of Shire's eyes he saw a wide expanse of sallow grass spread out, on which were three or four handsome houses, with white walls and grey tiles, and indescribable plants creeping on the windowsills. The three cows in the cattle pen lay on the ground, curled their hooves, their tails swept on the ground, and the drinking tank beside them was empty and had not been replenished for a long time.
A dirt road wound past the houses, and a man opened the door and stood on the doorstep, looking straight at the Shire. This is very impolite in the Loman custom, which means that the owner does not want anyone to enter his house, which has a strong connotation of shutting out.
"Grey Tree Hall." Shire shouted to each other, "Which way?"
The resident, wearing a fine woven hat and a thin gown, pointed in the direction of the Grey Tree Hall without answering a word.
Probably because of the demon raging reason, the alert heart of the suburban residents are very strong, Shire can understand. Demons were very powerful and cunning, and he had heard that some of them could change their appearance, or become smoke, so that people could not be too careful.
But then again, if a demon is really determined to attack a household, what chance do they have of surviving?
Graddius was eager to eat the souls hiding in the houses, and Charles could feel it, so he hurried forward, leaving several houses behind him. In the distance, the grass slope is undulating, as far as the eye can see, the forest of different sizes is distributed on the hillside without regularity, and in some places the trees are very lush, the leaves are gray and yellow, and the whole side of the hill is covered, like a cloak on the mountain, blocking the trace of people. Other places are bare, with long fences lying aimlessly in the countryside.
Over this hill we should be able to see the shore, thought Shire, who had been walking for many days, and the distance from the Hall of Grey Trees was getting shorter and shorter. The Hunter Sanctuary is located in the town of Grey Tree Hall, is a temple like church, in the past glory, there are a number of rich and noble willing to invest in the hunter organization, support their cause. But perhaps because of some curse, the hunters are dying, and a generation ago, they were barely able to manage the sanctuary and survive.
Charles took out the key and rubbed it on his finger. The whole key was heavy and silver, and he remembered the heavy front door of the Chapel, which only Charles could open now. At times he reflected on his young age, his lack of experience and grace, and at other times he felt a strong confidence that he could really revive the church.
Until he arrives at the Grey Tree Hall to see for himself what's going on in the Hunter Sanctuary, Char doesn't know exactly how things are going to go. Maybe he succeeded in rebuilding the Hunter organization and restoring the glory of the Church, or maybe he failed to achieve a good result with his efforts.
He saw a relatively flat terrace on the hillside, which was densely packed with tents of various colors, most of them decorated with two or more colors, and painted with squares and columns, and looking fancy, but all bearing the green hyacinth banner of the Lord of the Grey-tree Hall, indicating that they belonged to the same prince.
Lord of the Grey Tree Hall army? Why are you here? Shire felt rather strange. The Lord of Grey Tree Hall, Rene de Alberta, was known for his stupidity, carelessness and selfishness, and even the peasants of the country knew of Rene's folly.
In memory of his wife, Rene hired several craftsmen to build a statue of her in the square of the Grey Tree Hall. But when construction was over and the statue was about to be completed, Rene faulted and greatly underpaid the craftsmen. The craftsmen were so angry that they made changes to the statue, and within a month after they left, the whole statue collapsed, which naturally became a laughing stock.
Such a stiff and unyielding Lord ruled the vast Hall of Grey Trees, possessed a powerful army and filled the coffers, so that the nobles of the other territories were afraid, and no one knew what Rene would do.
It was the same now. The Shire did not know what the count was up to. I estimated the number of tents in front of me, and estimated that the Lord sent hundreds of armored elite soldiers.
The lords of the Kingdom of Loman, with their financial resources, were able to maintain a somewhat decent standing army, composed of nobles and professional soldiers. These sergeants were important, not only because they carried iron, wore armor, and had expensive equipment, but also because they took a long time to complete their training and could not be easily recruited from the peasants. On the battlefield, these soldiers will become the backbone of the entire army and affect the outcome of a war.
Is there a war going on in the Grey Tree Hall? Who will it be with? Shire was wary of this makeshift camp, the last people he wanted to come into conflict with. Demon hunters walk on the edge of the law, and only the army can impose order and management on them.
He hid the crossbow inside his cloak, kept his knife in his arms, and kept his figure as low as possible. The safest way was to cross the hill by night, but Shire was anxious to get back to the Grey-tree Hall soon, and had to venture on.
Don't find me. Shire murmured. If the soldiers saw and questioned, there would be no end of trouble. Not to mention the arrival of the grey tree Hall, the Shire can not escape is a question.
When Charles reached the top of the grassy slope, he saw a large forest of dense pines, and the sentry standing guard suddenly thrust out his spear from behind the tree, catching Charles off guard.
"Who are you? Where to?" The sentry threatened Char, in a loud voice. "Speak!"
The sentry looks like a typical Loman, with red hair, dark brown eyes, and a thick beard of the same dark hue, which would fit half of ten adult Loman. He wore a sleeveless grey uniform, with chain armor covering his upper body and arms, an iron helmet, a spear in his hand, and a short sword on his belt, and was fully armed.
"I'm going to the Ash-tree Hall." 'said Shire.
"Why are you so full in your clothes? What are you carrying? Take it out, quickly." The sentry urged badly.
Char exposed the knife, and glancing at the blade, he was surprised at how sharp it was.
"Tell me your name."
"Shire."
"To do what?"
"Traveler."
"Travelers don't carry weapons with them."
"What do you want them to do with robbers, wolves, and other wild animals?" Char answered methodically.
"Lord Rocher's orders are to bring anyone suspicious to him."
"Who is Lord Rocher?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
"What's suspicious about me?" Char frowned.
"From beginning to end. Come with me!" The guard scolded in a strong voice. "Go!" This kind of command Shouting is a powerful deterrent.
'Kill him -- kill him! Graddius screamed in Charles's heart, "Kill him! You're better than him! Kill him! Crush him! Destroy him! Those who stand in your way must be punished!"
Char clenched the handle of the knife, then nodded.
"I'll come with you."
"Come here." The sentry led the Shire in the direction of the march camp.
"You coward, sissy." Graddius whispered a curse. "A real man will draw his knife, cut off his offending head, and warn everyone of the consequences of offending you."
"To kill someone weaker than you out of anger? That's the real coward."
"You are patient and tolerant, so go on putting up with other people's harsh judgments." Gladius sneered, "Sooner or later they will ride on your head and command you to carry out your mission everywhere, turning you into their virtual slave." The result of following the rules, being ordered around, running errands all day long and carrying messages..."
The whole camp was very lively, the noise of the soldiers was everywhere, and Charles saw that every dozen paces there was a fire, around which the soldiers sat down, putting aside their helmets and arm-plates, and were absorbed in the saucepans, preparing dinner, talking, and drinking. There was a makeshift fence outside the camp, and two teams were digging large pits for toilets.
A horsewoman stood at the entrance to the camp, looking up at the sky.
The appearance of the knight impressed the Shire, giving the Shire a very cold feeling.
She has a pair of sharp triple whites, that is, the pupil is placed so that there is a blank space at the bottom of the eye, creating a fierce look of staring at people at any time. The cheeks were white, almost without a trace of blood, the lips were thin and sharp, the hair was carefully combed and tied back in a short ponytail, very neat to the point of being somewhat rigid, and it was clear that it had high demands on its own posture.
The knight was also much better equipped than the other ordinary soldiers, she wore a linen gown bearing the coat of arms of her own family, and a lion held a metal cross and looked straight ahead. Under the burqa is a half of iron armor, which looks very heavy, and on the sides of her body, shoulder and arm armor cast together, very strong.
"Suspicious people have been spotted." The sentry brought the Shire, greeted the knight, and left.
The knight's cold eyes cast a light glance on the Shire.
"What are you doing here?" 'asked Shire.
"We've all got inconvenient news, haven't we?" "Said the Knight coldly, and her voice sounded quite straight, as if she had trained her way of speaking.
She said this is true, the shire had a little vigilance to her, the other party seems to be both experience and means are much richer than the shire.
"If it is convenient, I shall continue on my way. I don't want to be locked out of a city under curfew." 'said Shire.
"What's the harm in staying here for the night? Have you anything particularly pressing? Travelers."
"I have every reason to get back to Ash Hall as soon as possible." Having learned his lesson, Char was a little afraid to say he was a demon hunter,
"Our mission is to maintain peace and security in the territory during this turbulent time, and with all due respect, you seem to be the type to cause trouble." "She said.
"Of course I'm not." Char feels offended.
"Come in, then, and we won't let you go until we know what's happened to you." The knight pronounced the Shire's fate briefly.
Shire was bitterly invited into the camp, and the knight seemed to have a special influence, and wherever she went, the soldiers were consciously silent and silent, even if it was necessary to talk, they would only whisper their voices, lest the knight should notice.
They approached the large tent at the very center of the camp, built entirely of seven or eight wooden stakes, pure white, in sharp contrast to the other small colored tents, and apparently only the most important men in the army could use this tent.
"Is this where Lord Rocher lives? The soldier said he was giving orders." Char remembered what the soldier had said before.
"You said it exactly." She nodded.
When they opened the tent, they found it empty and sparingly furnished, with only a camp bed and a set of tables and chairs on which there were maps, books, and unfinished letters.
"And where is he now?" Char had some surprises.
"I, Rocher of Fort Gloom, salute you." She put her hand to her forehead, saluted Shire, and then went round the table to the chair. "Sit down, please."