Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 241: Wolf Howl

“Hey, my name is Claude. Field, from White Deer City in the Kingdom of Orvillas, is now ordered to stay in Squirrel Village. Nice to meet you. Can you tell me your name?” Claude had the decency to introduce himself and then ask the young wizard's name.

The Junior Mage gave him only one back head.

“I have no malice, and you know I'm actually a magician, and I don't even know my mother's identity. I used to be scared when I was practicing and worried that people would come after me when they found out who my wizard was, so I also imagined a lot of possibilities. Once I was found out, I had to run away from home, or I would have to live in the old woods alone, like you. I'm not trying to get anything from you, I'm just helping one sorcerer to another...”

The young wizard raised her ears to listen to Claude, but she still didn't talk.

But Claude remembered how he became a magician. Starting with an occasional magic recipe in the grocery store, he got a diary and magic notes from a regular scribe. Based on this scribe's diary, he practiced meditation and embarked on the path to becoming a magician...

He talked a lot to the young wizard, for example, from Mrs. Maria about the reality of magic on the mainland, and how she escaped when she went to that underground acquisition point to purchase magic bullet materials and ran into another wild wizard's robbery. Of course, he didn't say what the seven basic spells he practiced, and he had to guard against anything.

Instead of telling the young wizard about his experience as a magician, Claude looked back at what he had been through when he had crossed into the other world. In just two years, from the age of sixteen to eighteen years of age, so many changes took place that forced him into the path of enlistment. And now, he's almost 21 years old. Almost three years into the army, the time has passed so fast...

After telling his story, Claude lay on the grass, feeling relaxed and happy, as if he had dropped the heaviest package in his heart. Sometimes it does bring a sense of relaxation to tell a stranger the secrets of his heart. Although the name of the Teenage Mage is unknown and neither of them is familiar, Claude's intuition tells him that the Teenage Mage poses no threat to him.

“So, are you still practicing meditation?” After a long time, the Junior Mage finally broke the silence between the two.

“Now there is,” Claude nodded, wondering if the young wizard had seen the move on her back: "When I first joined the army, I had not practiced, because I was a recruit at that time, living in a large tent, where a small group of twelve people lived together. One is a lot of people snoring at night, can't get quiet. Second, I fear that there will be actions or orders in the middle of the night, I do not know anything when practicing meditation, so it is easy to be disturbed or exposed, so I can only practice once every once in a while, and I have to find a time when it is convenient to be alone.

It was not until last year that I stayed in a tent alone after I was promoted to Ensign that I began my training, which resulted in a long delay and had not yet been promoted to a second-ring grammar. When I first joined the army, I had practiced a little and a half. As a result, for two and a half years, I didn't even reach half of my schedule. If I don't go in, I retreat. Training is about insisting that I can't relax... ”

“But, but I don't understand, you, you're a magician, why are you enlisting in the army, you can just walk away, or, like us, hide in the mountains and nobody will catch you...” The young wizard finally turned his head and stared at Claude, and those big eyes made Claude nervous.

Claude looked at her with a bitter smile: “You don't understand, you're in the Principality of Eskirin, and this is the rule. As you are now in the territory of what is called the Baron, without the permission of the Baron Lord, no one can enter the territory to capture you magicians hidden in the mountain forest. Generally, as long as you don't clog your lords, most territorial nobles won't get into trouble with you, and maybe they'll need you to make them some magical things to trade.

I am in the kingdom of Orvillas, with noble titles, with no private noble territory, and the whole kingdom under royal control. Being a magician, hiding in the mountain forest is fine, but you can't reveal your identity. If someone finds out you're a magician, and you're not registered, you're considered a threat to the kingdom. They have a special department that specializes in hunting down and arresting people who reveal their magician identity.

And the whole kingdom has strict control over civilian status, and if you don't have a permit and proper justification, you can't leave your hometown for 30 or 40 miles. All town guards will check your arrival and identity at any time, and as soon as they find out you don't have a pass and a road map, you may be arrested and thrown into a labour camp in the name of evasion of military service, hard labour to the death. Compared to that, I'd rather be a soldier and blog for myself, and I'm doing pretty well now.

Besides, if I escape military service, my mother, sister and brother will all be involved. Even if I hadn't been caught fleeing to another country to live in seclusion, my family would have taken my place in the labour camps. So I'd rather be a soldier on the battlefield than see my family suffer for me... ”

“So this is it," summed up the maiden magician's microjaw head: "Your kingdom is horrible, there is no freedom at all, no wonder you carry a musket as a magician. ”

Claude couldn't help but laugh: "It's not horrible. The kingdom of Orvillas is just a little stricter. If you adapt to its rules, you'll feel fair, at least the civilian life isn't as impoverished as the villagers of Squirrel Village, so long as you do, eating and wearing warmth is fine. The only inconvenience is the lack of freedom of movement, and the other is the need for military service.

In some ways, the restrictions and harshness imposed on magicians by the Kingdom of Orvilas also preserve a large part of the civilian population without fear of being attacked and violated by magicians. Although there is now a firearm as an instrument to deal with magicians, magicians who know magic are still the highest among the civilian population. They regard the civilian population as the big character of ants. If they accidentally offend the magician, they are in trouble to escape, and they do not know how to die... ”

Claude's words were somewhat difficult for her to understand in the teenage sorcerer's meditation, perhaps simplistic for a long time in the hidden mountains, or perhaps cognitive since childhood, which made her wonder why Claude regarded the sorcerer as a threat to civilians and the two fell into silence. At this point, the sheepshoe inserted on the iron fork was almost roasted, and the maiden magician sprinkled a little salt on it and placed it on the ground for the big black wolf called Black Wind to eat.

“Don't you want some honey bread?” Claude said, "Next time I'll bring you some fresh meat, but this may be until after the rainy season, you know it's hard to get up on a rainy day... by the way, haven't you told me your name? ”

The young wizard just grunted and picked up the bag of honey bread beside him and went into the den. Probably because she felt embarrassed eating the honey bread he brought in front of Claude, or because she deliberately avoided Claude's reluctance to say her name...

Claude laughed and got up and patted the dirt on his clothes. He didn't mean to go into the den, he just said to the big black wolf who was chewing on his hooves, "Black wind, I'm leaving. You tell your master, do you hear me? ”

The big black wolf pumped his nose towards Claude, then turned to the other side with his sheepshoe, his tail and ass facing Claude, seemingly worried that Claude would jump over and grab the sheepshoe from his mouth.

Claude laughed dumbly, and he shouted at the den: "I'm gone, you're alone in the mountains, watch yourself. If you need anything, just go to the cantonment camp next to Squirrel Village and say my name. ”

Claude looked back as he walked out of the woods and saw the young wizard standing at the shack and looking at his departure. Claude smiled and waved at her and left.

Back at the camp, McJackie told Claude what he had exchanged with the villagers. Hearing that the village elder had taken two 30-40 years of wild wood, that is, a case of ginseng wine and some other supplies, Claude said, "Don't look at the village elder who has been poor, I didn't expect he still has stocks in private."

So he told McJackie to take two wild wood huats to him, and if he had time to take one to Dr. Lempede, who had previously used two hidden wood huats to cure himself, and now would be happy to give him a wild wood huat. The other one stands by, it is wild but also hard to buy, most of it was stolen by pharmacists to make precious muhua medicine, such as a wild 30 to 40 years of muhua can at least configure four or five tubes of ordinary muhua medicine.

Claude was busy for the next two days, and Sergeant Markzi was locked up and everything in the squadron fell on him. Inspect the drains in the camp for clearance and arrange for soldiers to place powder packs to remove poisonous insects in all corners of the house. The rainy season is approaching, and the hibernating snakes and centipedes, scorpions, these poisonous insects, will crawl towards dry places because of the rainy season. This is a mountainous area with a lot of these poisons, so make arrangements early to avoid accidental damage to your soldiers.

McJackie, who could help, couldn't get away either, as Claude told McKee the other day when he exchanged supplies for mountain goods in the hands of the villagers of Squirrel Village. After being spread out by the villagers of Squirrel Village, the villagers of Kamen Village behind Black Stone Village and further afield in the mountains ran to the cantonment camp with large bags of mountain goods to exchange supplies. These two villages are related to the villagers of Squirrel Village, so this cheap can be exchanged over the road.

The first rains of the March 7 rainy season have finally arrived, and the rainy season in the Farea mainland has not been brisk, more heavy and heavy, or described as pouring rain and ice, with lightning and thunderstorms from time to time. Roads are muddy, rivers surge and floods can easily occur. In this weather, people can only stay in the house, and if they want to go out and string doors, they have to find a time when it's not raining, which also requires the roads to be submerged.

Good thing enough dry wood and charcoal were prepared in the cantonment camp, and the flames burning in the fireplace kept the whole room warm as spring. Marquette finally got lucky, playing cards with Claude and winning a case of Gandhi, coupled with a poor amount of wine, made him drunk in half a bottle of Gandhi. It's the rainy season anyway, don't say war in this weather, marching is a problem. Claude didn't have to worry about being attacked by the enemy, so let him go.

Instead, the soldiers in the stone warehouse stayed together all day and fought several times, and Claude had to rain down to settle these minor disputes and punish the soldiers who started the incident. Then let those squad leaders lead their own team every day through push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and other indoor workouts to consume the soldiers' extra strength.

A week went by, and finally everything was on track, Claudette was relieved, and after more than a dozen rainy seasons, she had to arrange for the soldiers to dig trenches, build defensive installations and expand their cantonment sites. It would be nice to stay here until the end of the war, at least it would be more comfortable here, not to risk your life in battle.

It was late at night, and Mike and Big Grimes in the next room were asleep, and Claude could clearly hear the slightest snoring in their sleep. Because he had just practiced meditation, Claude was not sleepy enough to get up to the window, open the window, and look at the dark heavens and places bathed in the rain.

“Ow...”

Suddenly, a familiar wolf howled in the mountain forest behind Squirrel Village, and the howl was so sharp. Claude was shocked, and there seemed to be a bad feeling in his heart. Did he say something had happened to the young wizard? The big black wolf was here for help?

“Ow...” The wolf howled again, as if it was a rush.

Claude rushed down the stairs, took a rainstorm and covered himself. He spoke to the guard and ran to the mountain behind Squirrel Village. The ground was slippery and muddy, as well as the water flow formed by the rain, Claude fell and crashed into the mountain. At a glance, he saw the big black wolf called Black Wind standing on the big green stone under the cherry tree, shouting at Squirrel Village...