Chapter 179: The View of Mountains and Lakes (Part one)
The morning breeze was a little cold, and the morning glow was red as blood.
Blackstone Fortress was busy again.
After the battle yesterday, nearly four thousand elite soldiers of Blackstone were killed here. Except for the blood and corpses on the ground, there were also a lot of abandoned armor and weapons. Former mine slaves who witnessed what happened yesterday didn't hesitate to pull the armor and weapon off of their enemies' corpses to equip themselves. Then, they took away everything that was valuable and filled up a dozen horse carriages.
Although most of the freed slaves weren't in a good condition due to the long-time suffering, their spirits were lifted since the Saint King of Chambord descended from the sky and saved them. With the new hope, they assembled into formations under Lampard's lead. People on Azeroth Continent valued and emphasized power and strength, so most of the men knew how to ride horses and use weapons. Currently, the men were riding on the war horses stolen from the stables, and the women and kids were riding on the horse carriage for protection purposes. With weapons drawn out and a ton of murderous spirit, this troop looked a little dominating.
The two groups went on separate paths. The three warriors lead by Lampard saluted at Fei then took off.
For a moment, farewells and prayers resonated on the cold square in the fortress during Fall.
At this moment, the thin boy Modric assisted elder Zolasc to walk to Fei.
After saluting to Fei as one of his subjects, the elder single-kneeled down to the ground, "Your majesty, please let me join your expeditionary force. These Burning Sun Mountains is remote, deserted, covered in mist, and dangerous. There are regions of forests and regions of steep mountains. If the expeditionary force doesn't have a guide, it's very easy to get lost in there. I've been taken here and became a slave when I was twenty-six years old. I have lived here for twenty-one years now, and I know every little path, mine pits, and road and ferocious beasts in these mountains. I promise that with my help, Chambord's forces can get thought the Burning Sun Mountains within the least amount of time."
"But your body..." As a high-level idiot when it came to directions, Fei knew the struggle of getting lost. That was why after he heard that his eyes shone. What the old Zolasc said made sense; Fei did need a guide when leading the troop through these mountains that he knew nothing about. But the elder in front of him was still recovering from his injuries and torture. Although the potions from the Diablo World helped him to heal up, his body was still in an exhausted condition. Long-term military traveling would only worsen it.
"Don't worry about me, your majesty. My old bones are still hard..." This elder was very tough. With his white hair fluttering in the wind, he left Modric's assistance and lifted a black rock that was about a hundred pounds beside him with his arms. He said with a bragging tone, "Your majesty, look. This old man can still lift huge rocks. Please let this old Zolasc contribute to Chambord's uprising when I can still walk..." Zolasc got emotional and shouted, "For more than twenty years, I've been waiting for this day for too long!"
Fei was touched by the elder's passion and courage.
"Ok, if this is the case... Oleg, bring a Roaring Flame Beast here and give it to our experienced guide..."
When he said that, Fei looked at Modric who was looking at him and smiled, "Little guy, come and ride with Uncle Zolasc. You will have to take care of him on the way!"
"Ah, really? Thank you, your majesty... Hail your majesty!"
Little Modric almost jumped into the air out of excitement. He wanted to ask the king to let him join the force, but he didn't expect the king to say it first. The scene of Fei smiling and reaching out to him under the sun that Modric saw when he just woke up from fainting was engraved into this thin blonde boy's soul. Being able to follow the king around was the best news he heard in a long time.
Warden Oleg quickly came by with a strong Roaring Flame Beast.
After several generations of cultivation, this level 4 Demon Beast had become obedient and tame. However, the calmer nature did cause their power of a level 4 Demon Beasts to go down as well. That was why they were knocked over by the strong men in heavy knight armor. But after getting fed some [Hulk Potion]that was mixed into their food, they had signs of atavism, just like how the fatty Oleg was showing signs of a second youth. The weight carrying and charging ability of these beasts had increased dramatically, and the light red flame energy surged around their hooves, just like the wild Roaring Flame Beasts. The tusks in their mouth grew out and became sharp, and their wild nature came back. Although they became ferocious and aggressive again, they were obedient to their masters.
Little Modric became excited and ran to the beasts to grab the reins.
Chapter 179: The View of Mountains and Lakes (Part two)
However, this Roaring Flame Beast suddenly got aggressive when it saw a stranger coming close to him. It raised its red front hooves and was about to stomp down forcefully. The big black dog suddenly opened its eyes and barked angrily. A funny scene occurred, as if it was big boss teaching its henchman a lesson, this Roaring Flame Beast took back its hooves embarrassedly. The only thing was that it wouldn't let Modric and Zolasc get close to it.
Fei felt a little embarrassed as well.
He didn't expect this beast to not give him any "face". When he wanted to switch back to Druid Mode and talk to this "little guy", a beautiful figure walked by. Slim, jade like fingers lightly patted this Roaring Flame Beast's head and she smiled as signaled towards Modric and old Zolasc. Something shocking happened. The ferocious Roaring Flame Beast walked to the two people and kneeled down obediently.
"Angela, how did you do it?"
As the troop started to move outside of Blackstone Fortress, Fei asked with a smile on his face. He was riding on the back of Blacky with his fiancée in his arms. With the light body fragrance in his nose, the chilly autumn wind didn't feel that bad anymore.
Although the morning was cold, Angela didn't want to ride in the caravan. She was wearing a thin white dress. The edge of the dress was fluttering in the wind, and it only covered two-thirds of her thigh. Under the dress, she was wearing tight black jeans. She looked fabulous with the white and black contrast. It was her idea to ask Fei to ride with her on Blacky. The girl didn't dare show fast she was falling or mind the kind blessings from the people around her. The smile and the looks others gave them made her blush. She only felt the strong arms around her waist and the big and warm shoulders behind her.
"I don't really know." Angela frowned as she heard Fei's question: "I feel like they can understand me; they are kind, cute, just like little babies..."
It was the same answer.
Fei smiled. He hypothesized that Angela had an unknown power that would make all animals feel intimate towards her for some mysterious reason. When the soldiers were trying to train the Roaring Flame Beasts and war horses before, her ability was utilized to a great degree. It didn't matter how ferocious or aggressive the animal was, it would become calm and cute in front of this girl and her pure smile.
However, it was obvious that Angela herself hadn't discovered where that ability came from.
As the two of them were talking, the team had already marched out of Blackstone Fortress from the back gate.
"I can't leave this fortress to the Blackstone Kingdom and its ambitious devil-like king!"
After everyone got out, Fei used his Barbarian strength and caused multiple defensive walls and buildings in the fortress collapse to the ground. This fortress that was carefully built and maintained by several generations of kings turned into a waste land. If the Blackstone Kingdom wanted to restore its former glory, they would need to spend at least three years repairing this fortress.
...
For the next day, the expeditionary force's march was very smooth.
The deeper the troops went into the Burning Sun Mountains, the more danger there was. Strange terrain and cliffs were everywhere. Hundred-year-old trees blocked the sun, making it hard for the sun to shine on the ground. As noon passed, visibility was already getting dim. When night came, a huge white fog appeared, and the visibility was really bad. Stones and trees were everywhere on the side of the road, and thick layers of leaves and dry moss with a little rotten smell filled the road. Without clear landmarks and reference points, it was really easy to get lost.
At this point, Fei glad that he had Zolasc, the GPS that didn't need a battery to function.
Like the elder said, he actually knew every road in the mountains by heart. Didn't matter if it was a clear road or a path that was abandoned for long, he knew where they were. Every time when it seemed like there was nowhere to go, he was able to point out a way and saved the troop a lot of time and trouble.
The troop did come across a few mine pits owned by Blackstone on the way, and Fei would send out the fatty Warden Oleg to destroy the pits, kill the guards, and released the mine slaves.
Since mine slaves from Chambord were gathered together by Blackstone King, Fei didn't need to send his men to take care of them and guard them back to Chambord. There were quite a few people like old Zolasc who knew the way around the mountain. All the mine slaves couldn't wait to go home, so they kneeled down to thank Fei and cheered as they disappeared into the fog with peers from the same kingdom.
After three more hours of marching, the Burning Sun Mountains were already so dark that it was hard to travel. Although the sun hadn't set, the big trees blocked the light.
"Your majesty, I remember there is lake not too far away. There is also a large area covered by small rocks which is good for setting up camp. How about we just rest here for the night?" Old Zolasc rode the Roaring Flame Beast and suggested.
"Ok!" Fei nodded as he looked at Angela who already fell asleep in his arms.
After about half an hour, a clear small lake appeared. There was grass on the ground, but it was yellow and semi-dried, like a beautiful carpet that was laid on the ground. Not too far away, there was a small forest made out of big stones. The terrain wasn't bad as the stones were flat and dry. It was a great spot to set up the camp.
In the autumn, this view of the mountains and lakes was fascinating.
However, Fei frowned.
There were already fire and lights around the lake, and there was a lot of noise made by humans. There were already people there, and there were a lot of them.