Plantation, study on the second floor of the mayor's mansion.

At this moment, the night was deep, and outside the house was filled with a cold and darkness rendered by snow. The mayor's study was as warm as spring, and the candlelight was bright. The burning wood in the fireplace exuded a faint smell of charcoal fire, and occasionally crackled, which was the sound of wood bursting in the scorching flames. The candlelight of more than a dozen anteloise candles illuminated every corner of the study.

Maine sat leisurely on the chair with soft animal skins with a cup of pine nut tea, watching the barbarian boy Yogh leaned down at the desk to practice copying with a quill.

The rustling sound of the pen tip passing through the cotton tree bark paper is like a string of endless notes. The Jog who focuses on writing is like an outstanding musician, playing wonderful music with pen and paper.

Maien likes writing sounds more than all music. He only listens to it with his ears and knows that Jog is in excellent learning state. Some people never forget it at a glance, and some people feel sleepy when they grab books. If a person is talented, diligent and studious, his future academic achievements will be limitless.

Yog was born like this.

Meen sighed secretly that among his half-elf disciples, those who love to study were not as smart as Jog, and those who were talented were not as diligent as Jog. In the past month of his time with Jog, Meen had the idea of ​​accepting him as a disciple.

...It's a pity that he is a barbarian.

"Teacher, I have copied this "Goddess Cult and the Politics of Famous Family"." Yog put down his quill, lowered his head, and respectfully handed the newly copied manuscript to Maien.

Mayor Maien picked up the manuscript and flipped through it casually. While stroking his long beard, he nodded and praised: "It's good writing. Yog, you have made great progress. Now, you can help me copy the manuscript, which saves me a lot of trouble... throw that old manuscript into the fireplace and burn it."

Even if the cotton paper is kept carefully, it will become crispy after two or three years, and it may break if you touch it gently. In recent years, the manuscripts written with cotton paper filled a wall of bookshelf. Some of the manuscripts have to be changed to copy.

Maine was old and was a little overwhelmed with the help of doing things by herself. She found those half-elf guards who knew how to copy it for him. They all complained, or they would have copied randomly and wrote the words that were terrible.

Fortunately, Yogge was willing to do the job, and the fruits of his labor were very satisfied with Meen. Although the barbarian boy obviously wanted to please him, Meen recognized Yogge's talent and quality was better than his most proud disciples.

The barbarian boy burned the old manuscript page by page. Seeing the regret on his face, Maien couldn't help but smile kindly and said kindly: "Yoge, thank you for your hard work these days. What reward do you want?"

Yog said in panic: "Teacher, this is what I should do. I... also like to do these things. I can't ask for rewards."

With abundant food and a warm residence, Yogge grew rapidly in more than a month here. Although his body was not as thick as the adult barbarians, he was also stronger than most semi-elves. The tall barbarian boy rubbed his hands, looked uneasy, and looked very well-behaved and sensible, even making Maine feel a bit pity for him.

"The great sage Malf pioneered monster science. He divided animals into two categories: wisdom species and wild beast species. Wisdom species also include human-like wisdom species and non-human wisdom species. Rock elves, half-elves, barbarians, and half-orcs all belong to human-like wisdom species. He said that human-like creatures are naturally similar. In the past, present, and future cooperation, differences, coexist, and hostile, because the wisdom species can make different choices, produce different results, and form a wonderful line of destiny."

Yog said uneasyly: "Teacher, I don't quite understand what you said."

Meyn smiled slightly and sighed, "I just feel a little emotional...Wiltok gave you an alloy dagger, but you accepted it without thinking too much. I want to give you a reward, but you dare not accept it. Isn't this a different choice you made?"

There was a warning in Yog's heart, and he didn't know how to answer Lord Sage's question. He suddenly turned around and looked at the door of the study.

Outside the study door, a figure appeared. He was wearing a black professional suit, a round hood and a mask, and lowered his head, making it impossible to see his face and eyes at all. The man in black naturally drooped his hands, standing there motionlessly, and Yog could feel a certain terrifying atmosphere. His keen intuition told him that as long as he dared to shout, the man in black would kill him before he made a sound!

Despite the body's trembling unstoppable due to fear, the barbarian boy still protected Mayor Maien behind him.

Maine was also frightened and uneasy. Joseph, a fourth-level bow warrior, lived in this house with three professional guards, responsible for protecting his safety. In addition to the four professionals, there were eleven smart and well-behaved barbarian slaves in the house. They had to take turns to stay at night and would not all fall asleep.

The man in black did not disturb the professionals and barbarian slaves in the room, and appeared quietly in the study on the second floor. It can be seen that his stealth ability is very clever, and such a person is either a terrible assassin, or his strength is far beyond that of Joseph, the fourth-level bow warrior.

When Maine thought, he could overcome all fears. He calmly said softly: "Jog, this is my old friend who comes to see me. You quietly go back to your room to sleep, close the door, and don't mention it to anyone."

"oh".

Yog looked vigilantly at the man in black who blocked the door, and saw him step into the study, turn his body sideways, and make the way out.

The barbarian boy carefully passed by the man in black, then closed the door lightly, and walked towards his room slowly.

Seeing that the man in black did not take action to kill the barbarian boy, Mayor Maien secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled calmly and said, "Your Excellency, you must have something important to ask me, the old guy, for a late night visit, right?"

The man in black raised his head, took off his hood and mask, revealing his true face. He looked twenty-seven and eight years old, handsome, full forehead, high nose bridge, thin lips and a pair of green eyes with vertical lines inside, exuding a cold temperament, and strange black lines on both cheeks spread to the bottom of his neck.

"Sir, we're meeting again." He whispered half-kneel on the floor in Mayor Meyen's surprised gaze.

Maine rubbed his eyes in disbelief and said, "Hurant? You...didn't you already brought the Dragoons to capture the Shadow Lurker a few days ago? Why are you back?"

Hulant said in a deep voice: "I will take you out of the Braun Plantation by Miss Victoria's order."

"Victoria?"

Maine was stunned for a moment, let go of the bell rope hidden under the desk, looked at Hellant carefully, and finally said with a smile: "Get up quickly, I am not worthy of being kneeling from a Dragon Vein Venerable... You really surprised me. The dragon cavalry commander of the famous Golden Oaks Sect is actually the Nightingale's man."

"I have always been a servant of Miss Victoria." Hulante stood up and said coldly: "The foundation of the Nightingale's famous family is not something that the rebels can imagine."

"It is worthy of being the oldest nightingale in the Zhumingmen." Maine exclaimed and asked again: "Your appearance makes me more confident in Victoria's plan. Does the Golden Oak Clan know your identity?"

"He doesn't know." Hulant shook his head.

"It's a pity... if the Golden Oak Party also stood on our side, things would be much easier." Meen nodded and reached out to greet Hellant to sit down, "Please sit down, we have time to chat slowly. The guards in this house are all mine."

Hulante smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, we probably don't have time to chat slowly, we must leave immediately!"

Maine put away the smile on her face and asked solemnly, "What happened?"

Hulante said quickly and clearly: "Three days ago, I took the Dragoons to the forest in the north to hunt the shadow lurkers. In order to survey the nearby terrain, we went through the ice and detoured the north bank of the Krill River. We accidentally ran into the outer half-orcs who were mobilizing their troops. I led the Dragoons to fight a battle with a team of orcs, and then were targeted by the elite of the orcs. After I tried to get rid of the pursuers, I came to pick up the masters and leave. I guess that by dawn today, thousands of orcs would attack the plantation and the town of Bolang."

"Sir, it will be too late if we don't leave."

These days, Maien has been considering the issue of orcs in the outer region. There are more than a dozen small barbarian tribes living near the Bolang Lake Basin, with a total population of about five to six thousand. There is no doubt that the orcs migrated from the outer region to the north shore of Bolang Lake are also large tribes with an individual size of more than five thousand. Otherwise, the local barbarians would have united to kill them or expel them from their territory.

Last autumn, the local barbarians were plundered by the black fire orcs, and their food was only enough to fill their stomachs. If the orcs in the outer realm robbed the only remaining winter supplies of the barbarians, it would inevitably cause the barbarians to resist desperately. But this situation did not happen, indicating that the orcs in the outer realm had food for winter. They had undergone a long migration and urgently needed rest and instead of starting a war.

It is precisely because the orcs in the outer realm and the local barbarians restrain each other that the lack of military strength can actually play a balanced role.

The barbarians take the initiative to attack the invaders, and no matter what the result is, they will eventually be picked up by the half-elves of Bolang Town. The orcs in the foreign land will be stabbed in the back by the barbarians. As for the weak Bolang Town, it would be good to be able to defend their territory and have no ability to provoke the half-elf tribe on the other side of the lake.

Maien analyzed that the three parties maintain a delicate balance and should be able to maintain until next spring. By that time, it will be another situation.

Thousands of orcs in the outer realm were fat pieces, and the chief of the Black Fire must eat them in one bite. Therefore, they either left the Bolang Lake Basin and continued to migrate; or according to the orc tradition, the tribe leader accepted the challenge of the Black Fire Butcher.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with Bolang Town. It is basically impossible for Luoye City to expand its sphere of influence to the other side of Bolang Lake.

Meyn never expected that Hulant would break this balance. He didn't believe Hulant's rhetoric, why did he run to the other side of the river to survey the terrain, and just happened to encounter a half-man mobilized troops... This is a deceiving the undead!

Even if the dragon cavalry fought a battle with the orcs from the foreign land, they did not dare to gather the main force and came to retaliate against the half-elves in Bolang Town, and then handed their backs to the local barbarians.

The Sage of Maien repeatedly deduced the current situation. He repeatedly thought about his strategy from the perspective of the leader of the Orc Tribe. He found that there was only one situation where the Orc Tribe would go all out and level the stronghold in Bolang Town. That is, the Orc Tribe first made peace with the barbarians on the north shore of Bolang Lake.

This situation is entirely possible. If the outer tribes want to stay in the Bolang Lake Basin with abundant water and grass and fertile land, they must first face the annexation of the Black Fire Tribe. The butcher in the tribe is dead! However, if the orc leader as an outsider first joins the local barbarians, then conquers Bolang Town, and acquires all the land on the south bank of Bolang Lake, then takes over the situation.

The Black Fire Chief not only did not stop it, but was also happy to see it happening, and even secretly provided supplies to outsiders. The orcs in the outer realm were equal to the thugs of the Black Fire Tribe, who bypassed the peace and covenant and expanded their territory for the Black Fire Chief. When the time was right, the Black Fire Chief would declare that these outsiders had been incorporated by Black Fire and end the war, and the entire Bolang Lake Basin would belong to the Black Fire territory from then on.

Meen hoped that the orcs would not have such strategic vision, but things would often develop in a bad direction. As the sage of the alliance, he had to be prepared. Therefore, Meen informed Hellant of his analysis. He hoped that the dragon cavalry of the famous Golden Oaks would stay and intimidate the orcs so that they would not dare to act rashly.

Hulante agreed very lightly, saying that after hunting the Shadow Lurkers, they went back to the plantation to garrison. What happened? The Shadow Lurkers did not catch it, but led the orcs over.

It is difficult for Meen to tell whether Hulant was lying or not, but he became suspicious of his position. He frowned and tentatively tentatively: "The orcs are invading in full? That's trouble... Last winter, Victoria came to see me quietly. She said there was a very important person who hoped that I could take care of her for a while. When she handled some things well, she would send someone to pick him up. Because I had the eyes and ears of the fallen leaves city around me, I suggested that she put that person in the Adventurer's House in Bolang Town. Do you know this?"

Hulant nodded expressionlessly and said, "I know that I am the one who came to pick up Veltok by the order of the lady. However, the steel rock of the Temple of Earth Mother came out to interfere, and I was unable to bring Veltok out...I have sent my men to pick him up, hoping that it will be too late."

Maine sighed secretly, without any doubt in his heart. After all, Victoria is a princess who is in danger of escape. Although Hulant is loyal to the Nightingale family, he has his own ideas. Victoria values ​​Veltok, so he may not be worthy of it. Since he cannot take Veltok out, he simply attracts the orcs to attack Bolang Town. Even if Veltok dies at the hands of the orcs, it will be better than being obtained by other famous families.

Now, Virtok is no longer important. What’s important is that Hellant is cruel and extreme. If he doesn’t leave him, he may become a sage killed by the orcs….Myen showed no emotion and nodded and said, “There is no way to save him… OK, let’s leave now. But I still have a few subordinates to leave together.”

"Sir, the fewer people you know, the better, and the faster you move, the better."

"Joseph and I, plus three guards. We have antelope mounts and will not delay the trip."

Maine first locked the barbarian slaves in the house in a large room and ordered them to stay in and rest, not to make noise, and then called Joseph and three guards to leave the mayor's residence through the back door.

It was cold and dark outside the house, and there were still half-elf guards and barbarian slaves patrolling the plantation. Joseph, the authentic guard captain, came forward and easily sent them away. Mayor Maine did not alarm the others, and walked all the way to the beast bar. He suddenly stopped, turned to look at the blacksmith shop next to him, thought for a while, and signaled to Joseph: "Go and call out the Great George."

Joseph nodded and walked to knock on the window of the blacksmith shop. Not long after, a strong bald man walked out of the blacksmith shop in a cloak. He followed Joseph to the shadow in the corner, saw Mayor Maine and several guards, and asked in a low voice: "Master, what are your instructions to come out for me?"

Maien said lightly: "The orcs are going to be called, just before dawn. I inform you to run away quickly and run westward, and don't make a sound."

Big George was startled and asked nervously: "Master, can you take me and my two apprentices with you?"

Meyn shook his head and said, "Big George, you are not convenient to follow me. I will leave you mounts and supplies in the beast bar, but do something for me before you leave."

George also understood that there might be another reason for Meen to escape overnight. It might not be a good thing to wrap himself up with him, so he nodded and said, "Thank you, Master, for notifying me. If you have anything to do, just give me instructions!"

Maine pondered, "It's not a big deal... You can help me burn all the manuscripts I left in the study... If you don't have time to do it, you can ask Yog for help. He lives on the second floor, the original room of Veltok."

George was still confused first. When he heard the mayor mention Yorge, he frowned and stretched his eyebrows gradually, grinned, revealing his white teeth, and said honestly: "Master, don't worry. I promise to burn all your manuscripts... None of them will be left behind."

***************************

Yog was sitting on the bed in the room, feeling panicked. Previously, Mayor Maine quietly summoned the barbarian slaves in the house, and heard clearly the movement of leaving with Joseph and others. Yog instinctively knew that something big would happen tonight, and he wanted to escape from the plantation desperately, but he did not dare to act without permission.

Many people in the plantation had malicious intentions towards him, especially the Great George in the blacksmith shop. If he lost Mayor Meyen's protection, he believed that Great George would find an opportunity to kill him.

At this moment, the malice was getting closer and closer. Yog knew by intuition that George Big had entered the house and was touching his room. But he still had hope for Mayor Mien, feeling that George Big had no courage to mess around in the mayor's residence.

The solid wooden door was pushed down from outside, and even the iron-cast latch was shaken off. The big George tower-like figure appeared at the door. He looked around and didn't find Yog in the room, so he touched his bald head and said to himself: "Hey, I'm not here, I'll go out and look for it."

Jog, who was hiding under the bed, did not dare to breathe until the sound of George's heavy footsteps walked downstairs. The feeling of danger gradually faded. After a while, he crawled out from under the bed with a wooden stick, tiptoed to the door, and poked out to watch.

There was no figure on the left, and on the right... Big George's thick and sturdy body leaned against the wall, with a playful smile on his face, and asked, "Yoge, so late, you are not sleeping under the bed, what are you looking for?"

Yog suddenly felt a sense of suffocation, hid the wooden stick behind him, and stammered: "Big, Big George, what are you doing? This is Teacher Maine's house, you, you can't hit me..."

Big George laughed and said, "Little Badman, are you very strange? Why is the danger prediction useless? Yes, Teacher Maien probably never told you that I am the Oak Guard, nor have you told you that the Oak Guard can deceive the perception of danger. I will teach you another thing, hide under the bed next time, don't lock the door... The barbarians are all idiots, and the little bald people are of course idiots."

In a desperate situation, Yogh inspired his inner courage. He took advantage of the big George to mock himself and decisively used a hammer stick to wash clothes to slam the other party's chest and abdomen.

The barbarian warriors are born with divine power, and Yog's current strength is not much worse than that of the adult barbarians. The wooden stick that can be used by barbarian slaves to hammer clothes is hard enough. It hit Big George's stomach with a crack, and was squeezed and broken by Yog's powerful force.

The bald blacksmith on the opposite side did not move at all. He patted the wood chips on his clothes and continued to mock him: "The little bastard is a little bastard, and he will also attack him." As he said that, he raised his big hand covered with rough calluses and grabbed the barbarian boy's neck.

Jog slipped under his feet, and he skillfully avoided Big George's grasp, and turned around and was about to run.

Big George punched Yogge's vest with a backhand, and the heavy force knocked him away, hitting him directly on the wall and making a loud noise.

"You have learned to behave like a decent step by Mr. Veltock." Big George approached Jog, who was close to the corner of the wall and had a bleeding mouth and nose, and said coldly: "You can deceive Mr. Veltock, but you can't deceive me. Look, this fierce and wanting to eat people reveals that you are a humble barbarian... I don't have time to play with you anymore. For Mr. Veltock's affection, I will give you a pleasure now."

Yogh let out a roar of a beast as if he hoped that this would trigger the barbarian's bloody talent. The strange scar burned by lightning on his face shone with blue light. He instinctively raised his hands and shot a thick lightning bolt at the bald blacksmith.
To be continued...