Chapter 243: Unknown Malice
It’s easier to do things with a map.
Especially the map of the Snover Clan, which also details most of the gathering points and dangerous areas of earth-line creatures in this area.
As for Gothe, what he has to do is to follow the instructions on the map, bypass the red points or areas, and rush to the location circled by Baruch that represents the Snowfield Guardian branch.
Of course, he still doesn’t know what happened to the Snover clan after he left.
Gillette Snover's direction in the end also caused the pursuers pursuing Baruch's trace to miss Gothe perfectly.
With the blessing of [Skating Skill], Gothe strode across the snowfield at a speed of forty kilometers a day.
Gaode, who set out on the 4th of the Awakening Month, took only ten days to complete the journey that was expected to take less than half a month and arrived at the lake point marked on the map, called Xiaoyan Lake.
The name is probably because the edge of the lake is somewhat similar to a swallow.
The lake is not big and has long been frozen.
Like most places, there are always many creatures living near water sources, especially humans, who like to live around water sources.
Even if this is a frozen lake, the same is true.
The branch of the Snowfield Guardians was established on a hill next to the lake.
It is a group of low buildings located in an open area, backed by hills and facing the lake. It has an excellent location.
Since the Snowfield Guardian branch does not need to move as often as the northern tribes do, their buildings are real buildings, not tents similar to yurts.
The exterior walls of these buildings are made of light gray patterned stones unique to the snowfields.
The patterned stones are closely spliced together, leaving almost no gaps, which can effectively resist the cold and wind and snow.
The overall style of the building is simple and practical, without excessive decoration. There are several narrow windows on the wall, and heavy curtains made of animal skins are hung inside the windows to block the cold wind.
Gothe came to the gate of the Snowfield Guardian branch.
Due to the lack of large trees in the snowfield, that is, the lack of high-quality wood, the door here is different from common doors and is not made of wood.
Instead, the frame of the gate is made of solid animal bones, and the main body of the gate is made of tough animal leather and reinforced with animal bones. It can be said to be very exotic.
Gothe slowed down, shouted inside and asked, "Is there anyone there?"
Soon, a middle-aged woman wearing a rough-made blue robe walked out, There are some strange patterns on the robe, which is a symbol of the guardian of the snowfield.
Blue is the color loved by the guardians of the snowfield.
In fact, just as the forest people like green, most people in the snowfield like blue or white.
Different from the sect's clothing in the outside world, the middle-aged woman's robe is rough and practical, and there are also some objects that are too practical to be simple, such as small bone knives and amulets.
The face and skin of middle-aged women are rough, but they still maintain a certain degree of elasticity and do not look old.
She looked at Gao De, with a trace of vigilance in her eyes, "Outlander, who are you looking for? What's the matter?"
Gao De kept smiling, "Hello, I'm here. Looking for Guardian Damon."
"Looking for Lord Damon?" The middle-aged woman looked at Gothe, still a little doubtful, with a questioning look.
"I was entrusted by Guardian Baruch, and there is an important message that needs to be conveyed to Guardian Damon." Gothe explained.
The middle-aged woman thought for a while, then nodded and said: "Come in with me first. Lord Damon is not in the church now, and it may take a few days to come back."
The middle-aged woman led Gaode into the church.
As soon as he entered it, Gao De discovered that there were many young children inside, who were exercising under the guidance of teachers from the Snowfield Guardian Church.
In the snowfield, a strong body is very important.
Perhaps sensing Gothe's surprise, the middle-aged woman named Ona casually introduced two details to Gothe.
Through Ona's introduction, Gothe gained a deeper understanding of the Snowfield Guardian.
The so-called Snowfield Guardian Branch is actually more like an "orphanage".
The reason why the Snowfield Guardians established a branch here is to facilitate contact with the members who are "fighting independently" in the snowfield.
More importantly, it is used to house orphans who have had their families taken away from them due to the cold, or who have lost their families due to earth-line creatures.
If no one takes them in, these children will soon starve to death or be frozen into an ice sculpture.
The guardians of the snowfield take in these orphans, provide them with shelter and food, and also teach them.
However, this protection is time-limited.
When these orphans reach adulthood, they have to leave and learn from the guardians of the snowfield to make a living on their own, just like eagles on the snowfield.
Of course, there are a few talented children or children who have awakened the Ice blood.
And these children will be actively recruited as members by the Snowfield Guardians.
In fact, most of the members of the Snowfield Guardians have this background.
It is precisely because they have received the teachings of the Snowfield Guardian since childhood that they can understand and accept the teachings of the Snowfield Guardian, and then devote themselves.
Otherwise, it is generally impossible to find so many people with selfless dedication among mages who have matured their three views.
Ona brought Gothe all the way to an empty room.
"Foreigners, there have been frequent beast tides in the southwest recently. Lord Damon left the church last month and went there to investigate the details."
"However, as the leader of this branch, Guardian Damon According to regulations, you cannot leave the church for a long time. You should be back within a week."
"If you have nothing to do and are not in a hurry, you can wait here for the guardian of Damon to come back."
"If you still have something urgent to do and can't wait so long, you can tell me the important news first. I will convey it to Guardian Damon immediately after he returns."
Gothe listened to Ona's words silently, but his eyes became a little strange at this moment, as if he had discovered something.
"Mage, she is a bad person, but not that bad."
A bad person, but not that bad. That is, she is malicious only for herself, and she has not reached the point of wanting to kill herself?
Gothe quickly understood Flora’s description.
"Lord Flora, are you sure?" He communicated with Flora hidden in his pocket through spiritual communication.
"Of course." Flora affirmed.
Where does the malice come from?
Gaode was puzzled.
He has already reported Baruch’s name.
As for Baruch, as a powerful mage among the guardians of the snowfield, Ona should have respect for Baruch, so why would she be malicious towards him?
Could it be that you doubt your origin?
That should also be to question him in detail, instead of just bringing him here and letting himself wait for Lord Damon's return.
This is more like "asking you to enter the urn".
Many thoughts flashed through Gothe's mind in an instant, but on the surface, he calmly replied:
"It's okay, I have nothing important to do, I'd better wait here for Damon. Guardian, come back. The message that Guardian Baruch wants me to convey is more important. It would be better for me to convey it to Guardian Damon in person."
Ona nodded, "As it should be."
"However, since it is important news, why didn't Guardian Baruch come in person, but entrusted it to you?" She asked in confusion.
"He has more important things at hand and can't leave for the time being." Now that he knew that the other party had malicious intentions, Gothe stopped telling the truth and hid the news of Baruch's injury.
"So that's it," Ona didn't doubt Gothe's words, and said: "You sit down first, and I'll get you some food. You must be hungry after running all the way here."
"Indeed! Then I'll trouble you." Gothe immediately laughed heartily.
"It's okay." Ona smiled and nodded, and then left the room.
As for whether he actually went to get food or something else, it was hard to say.
What to do now?
He thought quickly in his mind. A gentleman does not stand under dangerous walls, and this is definitely not a place to stay for a long time.
But to leave, definitely not now.
This is their territory. If he runs away now, Ona will soon discover that if they mobilize all their efforts to find him, there is a high probability that they will be able to track him soon.
The only option is to run away at night.
Everyone was asleep by then, and it must have been several hours by the time Ona discovered that he had run away.
The snowfield is so vast that it has not been easy to find him for the past few hours.
Thinking of this, Gaode quickly made up his mind.
If the other party really wanted to capture him, they wouldn't wait until now. They should have called for action as soon as they saw him.
After all, he has already delivered it to your door automatically.
Obviously, Ona's decision was to stabilize him temporarily, which was in line with what Flora perceived as "bad, but not that bad."
Just sending a letter, why did it go so wrong? After analyzing everything in his mind, Gothe couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
I thought it was just a simple letter delivery task, but it turned out to be what it is now.
If it weren't for Flora's innate wisdom and ability to detect malicious intentions, he might have become a piece of meat on the chopping board without even realizing it. Who could he ask to reason with?
After a while, Ona came back holding a clay pot.
The earthen pot contained fish soup, with a piece of fish floating in it, still emitting steam.
The biggest advantage of being close to Xiaoyan Lake is the "fishery" resources.
This is also their confidence in taking in orphans.
The fishery resources of Xiaoyan Lake, combined with the income from hunting, mean that the food supply in the branch will not be interrupted.
Gaode's heart moved, and he had quietly cast [Detect Poison] to check whether there was poison in the fish soup.
Fortunately, not really.
Of course, [detecting toxicity] is not necessarily safe.
There are many ways to hide from the detection of [Detect Poison], but those are all high-level spells and require a high-level mage to do it.
Since there is a high-level mage who wants to frame him, why go through such a big circle and poison him? Just take him down.
Thinking of this, Gothe made a grateful expression, took the jar, took a sip of the hot soup, and let out a pleasant groan.
"Comfortable! I've been traveling for so many days and haven't had a sip of hot soup," he lamented while complaining: "And it's fish soup. I haven't had anything like this for a long time since entering the northern border. "
Ona saw that Gothe was so straightforward and forthright, and the smile on her face became even more obvious.
“Thank you for your hard work,” she said.
In her opinion, Gothe's behavior was that he didn't realize anything was wrong at all.
Just as she wants to stabilize Gaode, Gaode also needs to stabilize Ona first and lower her vigilance to facilitate her escape plan at night.
Gothe maintains the persona of a "simple and ignorant foreigner" and remains in this branch of the Snowfield Guardians.
It was already afternoon when he came, so it got dark not long after.
In the evening, Gothe had another hot dinner with the orphans who were taken in by the guardians of the snowfield and a few teachers.
It was obvious that the orphans were very curious about him, a foreigner.
There were even a few bolder children who took the initiative to ask about the situation in other places.
Because in the eyes of northerners, although most outsiders are not good people, the rich resources and good conditions in foreign countries cannot be denied.
The children are also very curious about the legendary rich foreign land.
Gaode didn’t hold it in his hands, so he casually introduced them to a few words about the outside world.
"Food. It would be great if we could grow food here." Among the children, a somewhat thin girl couldn't help but sigh.
The main reason why food is so scarce in the north is that crops cannot be grown on the permafrost tundra, including the most important staple food, barley.
Without such a predictable and fixed harvest, the people of the North could only make a living by hunting and herding.
Obviously, these two methods have natural instability and great limitations.
“You are wishful thinking again, Pearl!” Immediately, other children “laughed” and said, “Little Pearl just wanted to grow food, but she never succeeded in growing anything!”
Suddenly, everyone else burst into laughter.
Of course, this kind of smile is a smile without malice.
The little girl named Pearl faced everyone’s laughter, but she persisted, “If one day we can really grow food in the north, there won’t be so many people starving to death. !”
“You have a good intention, but there is absolutely no way to grow food in the land in the north.” One of the instructors touched Pearl’s head and said softly: “Little Pearl. You'd better work hard, you have ice blood, and you will become a powerful guardian to protect the snowfield."
"I will definitely do it," Pearl waved her fist and vowed.
The teacher's words made Gaude take another look at the little girl. He didn't expect that this guy who looked so lonely actually had ice blood.
After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
Gothe also returned to his temporary guest room.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and began to practice the "Aoki Sutra of Immortality".
At this time, nearly four months have passed since Gaode was promoted to a first-level mage. In these four months, he had hardly interrupted his practice for a day.
But his total amount of mana is still stuck at 20 drops of liquid mana, and there has been no new breakthrough.
According to current estimates, it will take at least a year to condense a drop of new liquid mana.
It can be seen that it is difficult to improve the mage.
When he finished today's practice, there was almost no sound in the entire Snowfield Guardian branch, only the sound of the never-ending howling of the cold wind in the snowfield.
Obviously, most people have gone to sleep.
Gothe no longer hesitated and stood up immediately.
He first used charcoal to leave a sentence on the floor of the room:
“There are members within the Snowfield Guardian who practice taboo necromancy and control the beast tide to attack the northern tribes. Launch an attack to support your own necromancy practice."
No matter what, the task assigned to him by Baruch still had to be completed.
Then Gothe used the [Switch Technique] to quietly open the door.
There is no moon tonight.
The moon is dark and the wind is high.
Under the cover of night, Gaode, who had the ability to see in the dark, felt like a fish in water. He chose a direction and quickly touched it.
He didn't go through the main entrance, it was too conspicuous.
Soon, Gothe came to the corner closest to his residence.
With the help of [Cat Claw Technique], he easily climbed out of the wall, then used [Skating Technique] and ran towards the west.
That is the direction of the coastline.
The message has been sent and the map has been obtained.
Next, Gothe will concentrate on finding a tree planting spot.
(End of this chapter)