The Amber Sword

“Josh, Josh. ”

Old Baird cried in the next room, lying on the wooden table, the 13-4-year-old girl answered and moved her gaze away from the dark candles of the hour. Not far away, the sky was gloomy and heavy outside the window, and the sky was dark and cloudy, always staggering with purple lightning. She looked up at the bad weather and sighed and went out to ask:

“Father, what's wrong? ”

“Go get my cloak, pull the wagon out, the weather won't work, I'll send the farm tools to the city for Betos to fix.” Old Baird was wearing shoes on his bench and replied.

Josh stood by the door of his room looking at the bad weather outside the living room door and frowned a little worried, his raw arms stacked in front of the apron under his raised sleeve. “Are we going out this weather too?” She said somewhat reluctantly. Old Baird heard his daughter's concerns and looked at the weather outside and smiled: “It's just the wind and rain, it's just the wind and rain. After a while, the weather will get worse. It won't be easy to go out then. ”

Josh sighed, wiping his hands on the apron, walking through the living room and removing the cape from the shelf for old Baird to put on, "Go and soothe Anse and Arlo, they're small, and the lightning must have spooked them.” Old Baird closed his eyes and let his daughter wrap her hands around her neck and tie a cape for herself, enjoying this silent tenderness as she spoke. “The road is slippery and the carriage must be hard to walk.” Josh whispered.

“It's okay, my good boy, those bad things don't come out in this weather either.” Old Beadhaha smiled.

Josh knew his father's statement was to reassure herself that since the beginning of the summer the little lord had begun to rule the peace, there had been very little trace of the goblins and the bandits in the countryside, and she lay her lips in silence. “Okay, go.” Old Beardwen looked at his daughter's face, which looked more and more like that of his late wife, and commanded.

Jose nodded, turning around and passing through the yard in the rain. The stables were just behind the farm, and she pushed open the wooden door, and the light in the short shed was dark, and the two little mares were really restless in the weather. Jose stepped on the floor to the hay named Anse first, patted her neck gently with his hands, softly soothed, so as to calm the horse down, but today was a bit unusual, this gray-fured mare stomped her feet vigorously, her wet eyes were particularly bright in the dark, and her inner glow of anxiety was strong.

“What's the matter?” Jose frowned and acutely felt Anse's fear was not from the bright lightning in the sky, but from underground.

She squatted slightly, staring at the haystack stacked on the ground with bright eyes, and in her gaze, the straw trembled slightly - just momentarily the girl understood: the ground was moving! A very bad hunch surfaced into Joseph's head, and she immediately stood up and rushed to the wooden fence of Guan Ma, biting her teeth and pulling it off the lock with an iron bolt in her hands and throwing it to the floor, then opened the wooden fence, releasing the two horses in turn and rushing them out of the stables. With only a moment of delay, the ground had vibrated visibly, and the water in the pit depths outside had rippled in a circle. Josh had just run outside the shed and heard a strange buzz coming from the north.

She stopped and turned back unconsciously, looking north into the ever-expanding Alasser Forest, at the top of the forest, like raising a giant light sphere that penetrated the clouds, because it was too bright and dazzling, as if to make the world around it slightly darker. Then the deafening sound of a burst like tearing air swept past like a shock wave, carrying a few strands of hair —— the buzzing sound in the ear turned into a burgeoning sound, gradually connected to one another, forming a tsunami of high ears, as if the tide was connected to another wave, but gradually, the sound became buzzing in the ear as if it were a murmur, then a wave of higher waves, drowning everything, the tree crown was still flipping, the branches were flying, the lightning thunderbolts, the storm interwoven, but it was like a silent world around.

In this silent and silent world, Joseph saw with horror that the light sphere was getting bigger, swallowing the sky a little bit, the cloud, its spherical appearance also began to collapse as it expanded, the blanched shell broke in between, the bright flames burst out from it, the flames continued to spread in all directions like clouds, very slowly, like far away from the sky, but suddenly she saw the clouds of fire coming over Arather, swallowing the entire forest for a moment.

The soaring firewall continued to advance, the pointy cedar, the standing black pine, the undulating hills, had long turned into a sea of fire, the scorching breath came to her face, her long hair almost dancing in the air stream, the blinking sight, the stables had broken in front of her, Jose screamed, which turned to want to run.

But unfortunately a little late.

With a loud bang, the flames have swept across the farm like a hurricane, turning everything into ashes.

“Ah--! ”

Jose opened his eyes pale and was already covered in cold sweat. She stood up from the wooden table to realize that she had another nightmare, more than a month after the terrible explosion, although she later learned that the explosion had occurred in the Dead Frost Forest in the north, reaching only north of Mount Canary, east of the Needle Hill, but in the dream more than once she dreamed of the fire devouring the Alasser Forest and the farm, the whole of Lantoniland a hell of a fire scene.

She raised her head and looked out the window at the avenue leading to Kukus, the forest by the road was lush , the silence was deep, the forest crown was blue as the sea, the silk cotton flock formed a white trail, the weather had been better than a day since the explosion. From time to time there are riders passing on the avenue, three, three, two, some under the banner of nobility, mostly nearby knights, and some simply adventurers walking with them.

These people have been showing up since half a month ago, and while it's been a day of adventurers gathering every year to this month, they rarely see this sight in small places like Bernichel, especially as they head north.

“Josh!” At this time someone shouted.

Josh sees the man who says hello to himself, the hunter who lives next door, and he seems to have gone to town a while ago, “Uncle Bechet, you're back from town. Have you seen my father?” She asked hastily. “Old Baird, I met him at the blacksmith's. Why?” The hunter replied.

“Nothing, just worried, Uncle Bechet, you know what's going on?” She glanced at the passing knights and whispered.

“Those knights, sir?” The hunter stood by the fence and looked at the aristocratic knights on the road, who were furious horses. He shook his head: “They must be looking for someone. ”

“Looking for someone? ”

“Yeah, find someone. ”

……

Wallendenburg.

Much more than five weeks after the explosion, Ike, Yura, Makaro and Count Odin could see that Her Royal Highness, though still calm on her face, had secretly become anxious day after day. Fortunately, the negotiations with the Duke himself were smooth. Obviously, the Duke of Vieiro was supposed to let Count Denel die. The two of them came on and off the stage and fought unknowingly many times, and now they have the opportunity to destroy their enemies together. Naturally, this opportunity will not be easily missed.

But even a hairy boy like Ike could see that Lord Vieiro was reading the old love of the first king. The daughter of the Duke was the mother of Her Royal Highness. When she saw the competent Duke of Griffin calling Grandpa, even the oldest royal parties, such as Makaro and Ouverwell, were present. Almost everyone expected it, as if it were a reminder. The Duke was also young and fashionable, married a Pokémon as his wife, but no one had ever seen the Duchess, and did not know that there was a Duchess of the Silver Pokémon in the kingdom of Eruin.

But Macaro and others were shocked, and slowly realized that the little girl who had obeyed them did not seem as good as she had imagined, and in fact, from the outset, Her Royal Highness had retained such a backhand.

Obergu VII's marriage was the result of a royal manipulation. Although the king's marriage to a half elf would inevitably lead to rhetoric, the old king continued to show his stubbornness in the matter. Not to mention that the queen of the kingdom is at least a human being, and the royal parties are reluctant to touch the mold of Obergrug VII on this little matter.

But I didn't expect that today, Macaro and others understood that what the stubborn old king was pursuing was not a vain love.

And the highland knights didn't know what they were up to. They were so enthusiastic that they couldn't understand it. They had nothing to do with the next war, but not only sent official missions, including the Black Tower Wizard, but also pledged to join the Princess as long as Her Royal Highness fought against Jeannel. This gesture is no longer like an alliance, as if it were a subordination to allegiance.

In this way, the Royal Party is also a little confused. You know, the highland knights have never been outnumbered in the political ecology of Eruin, and even in the strongest days of kingship, these knights and wizards simply maintain a respectful relationship with the royal family. When did you show such a low profile?

At this time, theoretically, they were the powerful ones. Her Royal Highness settled the situation in Ambethel, but relying on her own little territory and the help of the incorrect Count Tonigle, she barely made it this far. In fact, if the Duke of Vieiro hadn't been willing to reverse to their side, the situation would have seemed more likely for His Royal Highness the Prince of the North.

But things are moving forward in such an untouchable development, because with the precedent of the Highland Knight, even the presence of Grand Duke Goran-Elson's envoy to show loyalty is not so surprising, because everyone understands that the Grand Duke already has little ambition, rather than nobility, he is a hermit, and does not care about the outside world at all. In fact, before the arrival of Grand Duke Goran-Elson's envoys, it was maliciously speculated that the Grand Duke's news could not have been so well-informed, and that most of those envoys had been arranged by his staff and ministers.

This speculation turned out to be true, and of course, all of us can remain silent on these details and remain silent on each other.

But the details, at least, make people understand a little.

The king of Eruin will be uplifted...

The success of diplomacy does not mask the uneasiness of Princess Griffin more than a day.

Buga, Ovewell has returned to Lantoniland from the same path, after all the explosion took place at the border between Lanto and Vieiro, and everyone wants to know what happened in the Big Bang a month ago. And the news coming back from the front is mostly disturbing. In the scourge report, it appears that the entire frost forest has completely disappeared. East of the Gorn Mountains, south of Fort Violet, a whole new magical area of death has emerged, and the residual energy proves that there was an alarming explosion there before.

And there is a lot of evidence pointing to a huge pit in the center of the explosion, but so far no survivors have been found in the explosion.

In higher circles, especially the princess and those around her, they know better what it means.

The little prince hasn't returned yet.

Count Toniguer is also still missing.

But it is even more disturbing to Macaro and Count Odin that they know that the first successor of the Cruz people also disappeared in the blast, as well as a large noble observer group of them and the leader of their army of the Blue Legion of the Heaven. In fact, Count Makaro and Count Odin have received information from their respective channels - the Cruz mission has departed from the Empire earlier and is en route to Eruin.

This is definitely not a good sign.

But until earlier this day.

An unexpected guest visited Wallendenburg.

There is no doubt that this is a guest Her Royal Highness Princess Griffin has been waiting for a long time.

Outside the windowsill, the vines sway in shade from the walls of the city, and in the distance, still forests and the Gorn Mountains are immersed in the background of the tile blue. Afternoon and sunshine slowly climbed onto the pane, spilling through the veins of the leaves into the room, a golden glow. Inside, behind the prestigious black wood desk, Princess Griffin is sitting quietly on a red fleece mat in a long back chair.

She deliberately calmed herself down, but on several occasions she could not bear to ask for time, "Almost there, she has passed the corridor, Your Highness.” Makes the woman smile a little hard to answer.

Princess Griffin nodded and took a gentle breath. At this time, there was finally a knock from the door, as if the whole house had been quiet for a moment, and she replied softly: "Please come in. ”

The door pushed open, behind the door was Freya, still wearing the uniform of Eruin, but the steady breath of the body was far better than before, besides the face had some red flutters, almost exiting alive is another Nimaisis. She saw Princess Griffin, stunned, thought it would be Macaro or Count Odin to meet her, but soon she had a knight's gift.

“Her Royal Highness. ”

“Don't be polite," Half Elf Girl seemed calm on the surface, but took several breaths to barely speak quietly: “Count... how is he? ”

“His Royal Highness, Brando he... he's not in the way.” Freya whispered with some anxiety.

But Princess Griffin didn't seem to notice this, and she moved anxiously. Although the subtle color of the divine was almost untraceable, she asked somewhat eagerly: "What about my brother? ”

“His Royal Highness Haruze is fine, and he and the Count are fine. ”

Half-Pokémon Girl took a lighter breath, and although she tried to restrain herself from revealing a weak divine color and bandaged her face, her brain was a little confused. She sat there for a while, happy and somewhat lost, especially for Count Tonigle's senses, before she regained her chill: “Why didn't the Count come here himself? ”

“Miss Nimatis and everyone were wounded, and the lord wanted to send them back to Vlada or Cold Fir first. ”

Griffin dropped her eyelids, like thinking, a moment later, and she looked at Freya again, and her silver eyes were already clear: "Freya, that's an excuse, right? ”

Freya was blushing, and that was really an excuse, because Sy was missing, and Brando was doing everything he could to find a clue about that mountain girl. But not only that, there were some deeper reasons, but there were outsiders, and she remembered what Brando had told herself and nodded at the woman next to Her Highness.

Griffin overstepped slightly and said to his envoy: "Go tell the highland knights' gentlemen that the Count cannot come, but he is alive and ask them what they think. ”

She gently turned her head and left immediately.

Then Her Royal Highness turned around and said, “What happened, and the explosion, I want to know what happened? ”

Freya took a breath.

“Here's the thing, Your Highness...”

……

Port Del Tal -

At dusk, a caravan carrying cargo swayed heavily along the crowd slowly towards the port, but the more crowds gathered in front of the carriage, something seemed to have happened on the road to the port. Shortly afterwards, the crowd was crowded to the point where even the wagon could not move forward. The wagon had to stop. The wagon driver turned back and asked what it was, before jumping from the wagon under the cape; the man seemed to have been injured only recently and had some inconvenience in moving around. He limped to the front of the wagon, looked at the situation outside, and then spoke to the wagon for a few words before returning to the wagon.

At this point, there was a voice in the caravan: "What's up, Boymer?” That voice was a little dry, sounding like an old man.

“It's good news, Babain, we're saved.” The former smiled and came to the caravan, whispering: “It was our mission, they had just landed on the shore. ”

There was a silence in the caravan.

Viscount Barbain sat on a pile of hay, pale as if he had some kind of terminal illness. When he heard his companion's words, he finally couldn't help but take a long breath and then climb up and lift the corner of the carriage with his hand and cover it with a black cloth. It was a whole piece of crystal, in the crystal, the girl with the red hair in it held the long gun, the angry god was still alive, she was so beautiful - but this time, Babang was not looking at Sy, but at the silver chandelier in the girl's hand.

He measured it obsessively, like a demon.

……