Iya Continent: Card God

Shiziyikou was a post station on the main road of Wuhezhuo.

This is a rendezvous point on the kingdom's transport route. Here, the slaves or goods being transported are handed over. The most famous person in charge of this rendezvous point is a man nicknamed "Silver Dog."

This is a guy that none of the escort captains want to deal with.

"It's so slow..."

A man with silver hair and scarred face squatted on a wooden stake, his eyes cold and filled with an indescribable ferocity.

He had planned to complete the handover today, escort the goods overnight, and arrive at the Marquis's banquet the day after tomorrow. He hoped to see Miss Riel at the banquet.

But now, it seems a bit unexpected.

The silver-haired man gritted his teeth, his aura as fierce as a beast.

He was none other than "Silver Dog" Rhodes, a low-ranking Silver Knight. He was the knight that even the Ironclad Bruno dared not offend.

"Hiss!" "Thud!"

At this moment, the sounds of carriages and horses could be heard from the official road ahead.

Silver Dog Rhodes' eyes sharpened as he gazed ahead, following the glow of the night sky.

In his fierce eyes, he saw familiar armored soldiers. They looked dejected and listless, typical of someone who had just finished a long journey.

"Ok?"

Rhodes's eyes darkened as he noticed something amiss.

Bruno Flynn, the team leader, was not among them.

"Greetings, Knight Rhodes!!"

The escorting soldiers bowed respectfully to the silver-ranked knight.

"Where's the iron bucket?" Silver Dog Rodgers asked in an unfriendly tone.

The soldiers panicked, their fear barely concealed. Their eyes darted left and right, and they stammered, "Uh..."

"Speak." The silver dog revealed a fierce glint in its eyes as it stared at the soldiers.

Suddenly, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

“Our carriages transporting prisoners had an accident, and one of the prisoners jumped into the river and ran away with it.”

"Captain Bruno went in pursuit... and finally..."

"Finally, the warhorse brought back the unconscious Captain Bruno..."

The warhorse that Linta and his men had released, an old horse that knew the way, led its master out of the woods and found the escorting convoy. The escorting soldiers were shocked; they never expected that Captain Bruno, a high-level Bronze-rank warrior, would be defeated. Normally, even when they all fought together, they couldn't defeat him by a single point.

But how could the enemy—a group of people bound by magic-suppressing rings, unable to use magic—win? Unbelievable, unbelievable.

In this situation, the group took it upon themselves to lead the convoy on its way and escort the remaining prisoners to their destination. As for the others, they left it to fate.

"Hiss!" "Ah!"

A sharp blade flashed, and a soldier recounting the truth collapsed to the ground, blood splattering from his chest, his armor ripped open, howling in agony.

The silver dog, Rhodes, attacked without warning, ruthlessly and coldly.

"Useless! How am I supposed to explain this when there are fewer people?"

The soldiers present were trembling with fear, heads bowed, completely不敢看大的银犬，怕得相看，如果相可看，如果自己就下被斩斩下。

Silver Dog Rhodes did not draw his sword again, but walked to the empty prison wagon.

His eyes were fierce as he coldly said, "He used the river to get away, but Bruno caught up with him and then ambushed and killed him. Hmph, he's got some cleverness. Right now, he must be starving and freezing, so he'll definitely find a village nearby to rest for the night. In other words, he hasn't gone far."

Suddenly, Rod whistled with two fingers, and a white horse galloped out in the moonlight.

Rhodes leaped onto his horse and headed back the way he had been escorted.

The soldiers swallowed hard, staring in bewilderment at the departing silver dog, Rhodes.

Is this... to bring back the escaped prisoners?

So, what do we do?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Before sunrise, before dawn, the dampness of yesterday's heavy rain still lingered over the entire village.

A gentle breeze blew by, chilling me to the bone.

However, inside the wooden house, the fire in the stove had been burning all night, making it warm and inviting.

Linta, who had a cold and fever, drank some herbal soup made by an old lady in the countryside last night and forced herself to eat a bowl of unpalatable black bread crumb noodle soup. The warmth of the stove fire throughout the night made her feel much better, and her face was no longer pale but had regained some color.

I was sound asleep when someone shook me and I heard a voice saying "Wake up."

"Eh……"

Linta opened his eyes wearily, still sleepy, and through his blurry vision, he saw the ferocious bear's head.

"Forehead!"

Linta was startled and immediately opened her eyes, instinctively shifting her body back.

He quickly came to his senses and remembered that it was his companion, the Pinecone Bearman, and immediately felt relieved.

"What are you doing? It's still early..." Linta muttered.

Speechless, for the first time in my life, I woke up to a bear. If it weren't for this strange world of Iya, it would have been a completely different story.

Pinecone said in a gentle tone, "Shia said we should leave as soon as possible so the villagers can't see us."

Linta frowned, peering through the crack in the wooden window at the brightness outside. The sky was still dim, devoid of light. Leaving at this hour would indeed go unnoticed.

We are all prisoners. If the other side hunts us down and traces us here, and if any extra villagers see this and leak it, the elderly couple who hosted us will indeed be in trouble and suffer.

Linta glanced at the neatly tidied, awakened elven girl.

The elven girl Shia's idea was to leave as soon as possible, the fewer people who saw us, the better, to avoid being exposed. As for the old couple, that wasn't a concern for her.

"call……!"

Linta let out a long sigh and woke up on the makeshift bed. Calling it a bed was a stretch; it was really just a pile of straw laid out together, a makeshift place for the night. Everyone else was in the same boat, since these villagers' wooden huts didn't really have any guest rooms.

“Get up, let’s go. Stop dawdling,” the dwarf Jingon said in a low voice.

To Linta's surprise, Jingon didn't complain at all and seemed quite used to it. She had thought he would be grumpy and yelling when he woke up.

Little Fishman Quack-Quack looked drowsy, his eyes barely open. But this drowsiness didn't seem like exhaustion; it was more like the warmth of a night's sleep in the house. Bearman Pinecone easily picked him up with one hand, draping him over Pinecone's shoulder like a towel.

"Should we tell the two elders?" Linta asked.

At this moment, the elderly gentleman and lady in the bedroom seemed to be fast asleep and were not disturbed.

Shia said, "Why are you calling them? Just leave."

Linta thought about it and agreed that it was a good idea.

Finally, he asked, "Did you pay?"

The group looked at each other, but no one answered.

Linta sighed silently, rummaged in his pocket, and placed the 50-odd copper coins on the table.

Jin Gong quickly said, "No need to give so much."

Linta wasn't clear on the purchase limit of this world currency, but she didn't mind giving so much. If it was too much, that was fine too.

Linta twisted his neck, shook his shoulders, and walked towards the door.

Shia followed indifferently, with the bear-man and the little merman close behind. The dwarf wielding a greatsword muttered a few words and quickly caught up.