"If you knew how earthworms enrich the soil, you wouldn't laugh at me."
“…” Frick gradually stopped laughing.
Of course he knew about earthworms, after all, he liked fishing and dealt with these soft little worms almost every week. He also vaguely heard that earthworms were good for the land because they could loosen the soil by burrowing in it, and their feces contained rich nutrients that could feed plants.
"The reason why the red soil turned red is because a lot of worm feces were mixed in. The red soil was fine before because the worms didn't change. The reason why the red soil was recently stained with the worm curse is that they rioted. The riot may be caused by unknown factors, which made their feces problematic. It happened that the caravan that went out to dig the soil last time brought back the problematic feces - do I understand what you mean?"
He spoke out what he was thinking and looked back at the girl.
So weird.
But it seems to make sense.
"It is indeed possible." Xia Yibing thought about it and nodded.
Otherwise it is difficult to explain the changes in the red soil. There must be something mixed in it, and insect feces may be the best result.
Because it was an unintentional act - shitting can't be intentional, which means that subjectively there is no enemy watching them.
"Then go and tell Padom." Frick sighed, "If I tell him, he'll kill me."
"Isn't he very easy to talk to?"
"Oh, then how do you think he could suppress Walker and Smail? How could he make a dozen gold ranks obey his orders?"
Chatting along the way, the little beetle seemed to have left the city and turned into a country dirt road at the junction of Shein Town and Ongsein.
"Where is this?"
After getting off the car, Hitzfeld raised the brim of his hat and saw a church-like building sitting on the ridge of the field.
There are spires and walls.
It's just not very large, so it's more appropriate to call it a monastery.
"Cemetery." Frick got out of the car and looked up at the building.
"The spirits of the ancient knights are buried here."
Under his leadership, the three entered the "monastery" together.
When he got closer, Hitzfeld felt that what he said was true, this place really looked more like a cemetery.
Too broken.
The wall is broken.
The pillars are surrounded by lush vines.
There are weeds growing wildly in the cracks between the rocks.
Even when climbing the stairs, you have to be very careful, otherwise you will slip on the moss.
In the place where the prayer hall should have been, there are countless stone tablets densely arranged, in square, cross-shaped...all kinds of shapes, and the inscriptions on them have long been blurred.
It was a shell of a monastery, a corpse.
Its core is the cemetery.
"Before Onsain, it was difficult for humans to fight them with physical strength."
Frick stood in front of a cross-shaped tombstone and spoke in a low voice.
"Some things cannot be solved by guns. We still have to wear armor, use swords, or even use our bodies to stop them."
"'Ancient Knights' is a general term for this kind of people."
"They were the strongest warriors that humans could choose at that time. Far stronger than my generation."
"…but they can't even have a real cemetery."
“These so-called memorial stones have been around for hundreds of years, and even the names carved on them are almost gone.”
As he spoke, he half-knelt down and bowed solemnly to the tombstone.
Then he stood up, his tone and expression relaxed: "Every time I go into clay, I come here... On the one hand, I hope to gain courage from them, and on the other hand, I remind myself that this strength is not easy to come by."
Hitzfeld and Xia Yibing fell into a brief silence.
What Frick said was not very clear, but they certainly understood... The lack of even a tombstone meant that the body had not been preserved.
Considering what the 'ancient knights' were fighting against, those bones most likely became food for the worms.
They are indeed a group of people worthy of respect.
"Flick."
After reminiscing about history, Hitzfeld looked at his companions, "So, Onsain is not only the first Gold Rank, but also the first Flint Knight?"
"You can say that."
"What did he invent, then? He dug up flint here?"
"Well..."
"It's fine if we can't tell you." Xia Yibing glanced at him, "Anyway, it's probably related to flint."
After standing here for a while, Frick decided to leave.
There are more than ten gold-level people on the plain, but there are not many if they are spread out among so many towns, and he still has a lot of things to do.
As he left, Hitzfeld saw a tombstone at the door.
There was a faint trace of a name on it.
It seems to be 'Gini-Armand'.
Chapter 32 Red Earth Patrol
After getting up and washing up the next day, Hitzfeld continued to sit on the windowsill and look at the scenery on the street.
After a day's buffer, it can be seen that people's emotions have gradually stabilized.
After all, Wengsayn is not an ordinary fortress. If even here is at risk of being invaded by evil spirits, it will be useless for them to escape to anywhere.
Logically, Hitzfeld shouldn't be so leisurely, because just three minutes ago she received a notice from Padom - the Red Earth Patrol's departure time was advanced by one day, and they had to set off this morning.
She has changed her clothes now, and so has Xia Yibing, who is packing boxes behind the bed.
The big box was not convenient to carry, so she could only pick out some necessary clothes, water and survival tools and put them in two different backpacks. The big box itself was temporarily stored at Padom, as she was worried about the tavern.
"What are you looking at?"
The woman's face suddenly came up from the side, startling Hitzfeld so much that he blinked violently.
"I'm looking at the earth veins." She said softly, "I can analyze the fortune of the city from the earth veins."
"So impressive." Xia Yibing almost laughed out loud, "This is the field of astrology. I didn't expect you to have such a secondary job."
She knew Hitzfeld was talking nonsense to her.
She wasn't angry at all, in fact she wished the girl had more time like this.
Only at this time, Hitzfeld would appear like a normal person. Unlike usual times, he always looked calm and composed, and only when he encountered a case would he be somewhat energetic.
"I have packed everything, don't you want to take a look?"
"I'll see."
He returned to his calm tone again.
Xia Yibing was unwilling to give in, so she suddenly moved forward and hugged the girl tightly in her arms.
"Ah!" Hitzfeld was startled and twisted violently, "What are you doing...?"
She wanted to struggle more violently, but the woman didn't give her the chance. She just hugged her tightly for a while and let go when she was about to struggle.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
Then he was suddenly hugged again, this time the hug was longer and stronger than the last time.
"I'm really angry." Hitzfeld lowered his voice, "You've gone too far after becoming director... Do you treat your female subordinates the same way?"
"Before leaving, Frick has to go to commemorate his ancestors and relieve his emotions." No matter what she said, Xia Yibing just held on tightly, and even buried his head in her neck, greedily sniffing her scent, "And the way I relieve my emotions is this... hug you more."
“…How childish.”
"I just feel good."
“Then I have to bring it back too!”
Hitzfeld also hugged the woman's waist tightly, trying hard to strangle her.
But Xia Yibing's expression told her that she was bringing shame upon herself.
So she gave up, and was held in his arms obediently, sighing, "I think Frick has changed a lot."
"He's a seasoned veteran." Xia Yibing was noncommittal. "Relatively speaking, he's more suitable to be a politician... There's no room for him to develop in a place like Wengsayn."
More than half a year ago, Kangana-Flick was a very rigorous, rigid person who seemed very reliable at first glance.
But the impression he gave them these days was very different. He was a lot more decadent, but also more "relaxed" than before.
At the very least, Frick of Crystal Sea would not laugh out loud in front of the two ladies.
The specific reason is easy to guess. It's nothing more than that he found that this damn place is full of more rigorous, more rigid, and more reliable-looking people, and his so-called political talent is of no use against a group of vulgar warriors and soldiers, so he is probably depressed.
Depressed.
Look away.
That's all.
"It's almost time."
After looking over the contents of his backpack, adding and removing a few items to suit his taste, Hitzfeld put on his hat and said, "Should we... eh?"
She was pushed onto the bed.
But she didn't fall completely - she used her hands to support herself from falling, staring as she saw the woman take out a pair of light brown deerskin boots like a magician and reach for her ankle.
Ten minutes later, Darent saw them coming down the stairs carrying bags and boxes, and was puzzled by Hitzfeld's slightly red cheeks.
"It's cool this morning." He looked at the sky. "You're so tired just packing things. You can't do it, Aisuen."
Hitzfeld said nothing, but just stared at him blankly with his one eye.
Darent thought his taunting was successful, so he came over humming a little tune and swaying his hips to help them carry the big boxes to the church car.
He didn't notice that the girl punched the woman hard when he turned around.
The car to the church drove away.
They took another carriage and walked along the main road to the gate of the fortress city, where they finally saw the patrol team ready to go.
Hitzfeld counted the number with his naked eyes and felt that the number was much smaller than previously stated.
Hughes' caravan was originally said to have more than forty people, but now there are only twenty-two standing with him.
Including Kak himself, there were four people, as well as Weilencel and Leah. Together with the three people here, there were only thirty-two people in the team.
"How many guards are there?"
She approached Frick and turned her gaze to a group of lightly-armored knights riding horses nearby. "Are there not so many people here together?"
It's no wonder she asked that, there were simply too many knights, almost a hundred of them.
Not only were they all riding horses, but they were also holding empty horses in their hands. The gates of the city were filled with the sound of horses' hooves and neighing, making it quite lively.
There were three carriages in front, and she suspected that one of them was prepared for her.
"Watch your words!"
Frick was also astride the horse, pulling the reins and teasing: "You are the ones who go with us, not us who escort you!"
"As for the number of people... Padom attaches great importance to this operation. He has sent twice as many people as planned. They are all Silver Rank. Smail, Hart, and I are all participating in the operation."
"Hart?"
"He's also at the Gold level, the one with the shaved beard over there, the ascetic of the ascetic sect. Don't mess with him."
Hitzfeld looked over there and saw a young knight who was too young, with not only his beard but also his hair shaved down to a thin layer. He was riding a horse and reading a small notebook intently.
"Don't you wear armor?" Xia Yibing continued to ask questions from behind.
"Red soil is not suitable for armor to function, but the three of us have brought armor... in boxes at the back of the carriages. One of them is yours."
