The City of Marronligar

"Would you...would you like to come back to Marenliga with me?"

Louis was actually a little surprised to hear Adrian's sincere request.

What kind of mentality should we have for the sentimental and ruthless hometown that almost buried us?In the 16 years he has lived in anonymity, Louis Cormac has been slow to find answers.

In the torrential rain after escaping from the execution ground, while being abandoned by Maren Liga, he also abandoned Maren Liga.Since then, the estrangement from his hometown has gradually turned into a physical resistance, so that although Louis has regained the freedom to wander around, he still avoids talking about the past, and he is unwilling to take a step back to the peninsula.

The steed that carried him out of the rain was old and dead, and the reflection of the Silver Bay Lighthouse was gradually blurred in countless memories.Forgetting is not all a bad thing, which at least makes Louis’ nostalgia for Maren Liga more and more "streamlined", from the random flow of memory without clues to specific people, certain things, and a certain old time worth recalling.

After 16 long years, the person who had sent him away appeared in front of Louis again, and asked him if he would like to return to his hometown again, with an irresistible sadness in his eyes.

For Louis, Adrian was his last attachment to Maren Riga.

While the flames were beating, Adrian calmly explained the current predicament of Marunliga: "It won't be long before the Kurmans will attack the city of Marunliga, and the garrison is powerless. Not surprisingly, this large army It is likely to push across the mouth of the Mount River and plant the flag of the Khanate into the territory of the Kirov Kingdom."

At the beginning of the war, everyone thought that as long as the Kurmans had tasted enough sweetness in the north and met the needs of their own tribe, they would not send troops south again.But they didn't expect that the continuous looting would actually fuel their ambitions, and their desires would snowball in circles, and the momentum towards the southern tip of the mainland was out of control.

Before the internal backlash due to over-expansion, the powerful Kurman tribe may still be invincible.The catastrophe that swept across the entire continent could no longer be attributed to the "catastrophe", but man-made disasters that drove the spread of plague and famine.

Louis stared at the bonfire in front of him, feeling mixed feelings for a moment: "Marenlica is about to end, and we can't change anything." The tongs in his hand smashed a piece of charred firewood, and his grief gathered into a tombstone. "Even if I go back with you... we can only catch up with a tragic funeral and witness the last sunset of this city."

For a moment, Louis wanted to decline Adrian's request, but facing Adrian's earnest expression, he couldn't say the words of rejection calmly.

What's more, Marunliga was his only hometown, the place he would dream of when he went to sleep with pain, and the place where he would mistakenly think he was when he woke up with regret.

"Even if it's just a funeral, I hope you can give it a ride." Adrian's voice was a little more vicissitudes than it was back then. "The Flying Lion Mansion is assisting the people to evacuate Marenliga, and the garrison and underground gangs have also helped a lot. I have seen the tragedy after the siege of Winter Valley, and what happened at that time cannot happen again. Now, I would like to borrow your strength."

Louis pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "I will bring my comrades back with you. Although the situation of the battle cannot be reversed, at least it can help."

He looked at Adrian, and his uneasy mood had calmed down a lot: "It's my last commission as a bounty hunter, and it can be regarded as a belated explanation to Ma Lunliga."

Louis may still hate that city, but time has passed, and the turbulent love and hatred have long settled, leaving only some feelings that cannot be summed up in a few words.As for his distant hometown, it is like an ancient empire buried in the flames of war. The city that has been praised for centuries will eventually lose its glory and will sink naked into the torrent of history, leaving an intriguing stroke for future generations.

Facing the doomed tragedy, Louis chose to witness everything with his own eyes and bid farewell to Maren Liga.

"Do you know why I named this mercenary group 'Greystone'? My subordinates seem to be very curious." Louis put down the tongs in his hand, and suddenly began to ask himself. "Before wandering into the territory of Kirov Kingdom, I lived in the ruins of an ancient city for two months."

It is said to be a "relic", but above the ruins is actually a peaceful but poor small village.The refugees who cannot enter the city are forced by life to find a place of shelter that will not be set foot by the tax collector, and finally stop there.

I don’t know the dilapidated houses left a few centuries ago. Although they can’t be directly used for shelter from wind and rain, the removed bricks, tiles and slates can still come in handy.The stone bricks that have been polished by wind and rain are framed together with the freshly cut timber, which has a strange and rough beauty, as if this ancient city that has been sleeping for a long time has been reborn in the hands of new residents.

And on the edge of the ruins that were still submerged in weeds, Louis found a broken stone tablet.

"It's probably a stone tablet that records history, but the handwriting is so blurred that it's unrecognizable. At first glance, it's just a dusty slate. Of course, even if it's new, I can't recognize the words on it." Louis said slowly. "The moment I saw it, I almost immediately thought of the future of Marunliga - after a few years, will there be another 'me' standing on another ruin, thinking about the same thing?"

Surrounded by the remains of the ancient city, Louis suddenly felt a vast sense of loneliness that could engulf anyone, and had a strange "empathy" with a stone tablet.Since then, the mottled broken stele engraved with ancient characters has become the fourth frequent visitor to Louis' dreamland—after Adrian, Annis Cormac, and the lighthouse of Silver Bay.

Coincidentally, Adrian, who witnessed the situation after the fall of Winterdale, had similar feelings: "The city itself may not be able to speak, but there are always people who will remember its life and death, such as you and me."

Louis smiled faintly: "What a surprise, I thought you only regarded Heshan Manor as your real home."

"Malenliga is more than a foreign land to me."

They all know why.

Just as Louis regards Adrian as his last concern in Marenlica, Adrian's nostalgia for Marenlica is not concentrated on Louis.

"Having said that, we passed Heshan Manor not long ago." Louis thought for a while, but still didn't elaborate on what the manor looks like now.It's not that I'm worried about arousing Adrian's homesickness, but I feel that this long-lost reunion has been made very bleak by a series of heavy topics.

Adrian, who is delicate and thoughtful, sees it very openly: "It was probably the same situation in Logmar a few centuries ago, and now it is just another repetition of history."

Two days later, according to the prior arrangement, the mercenaries sent the caravan to the mouth of the Mount River.Where the great rivers meet, passing ships are less affected by dry seasons and wars.Everyone watched the caravan go down the river in a boat, and the undulating sail shadows gradually floated out of the edge of vision.

To go to Marunliga, you need to go further north along the river and take a ferry to the opposite bank where the current is calm.The mercenaries under Louis' banner plus Adrian and Oshim have a total of about [-] people, and the rented boat is a bit big and seems empty.

If it was in the past, the mercenaries might yearn for Maren Liga, and there would be excitement in their eyes.But now, they all know what the legendary "City of Flowing Gold" will look like.

Even if the sky is clear on the river, and the peninsula is ushering in flawless good weather, no one can be happy.

The mercenaries were either leaning against the wooden railings on the edge of the deck, or sitting under the mast in a daze, and even chatting about the future was exhausted.The inhuman birds sing like bards inspired by a night of carnival—at least they're safe from war.

Except for Adrian, Oshim and no one were interested in talking.He sat alone in a leeward corner, throwing a dagger engraved with snake patterns with one hand, and the focus of his sight moved up and down with the light of the knife.

After the night in the sand dunes, Oshim seemed to be angry with Louis all the time, so that before boarding the boat, the father and son basically didn't say a word normally.But his attitude towards Adrian hasn't changed much, it's just that compared with the past, Oshim has learned not to put all his thoughts on his face, and he actually has the meaning of keeping a low profile.

Obviously not the "only way" to find Adrian, Louis deliberately walked past Oshim, pretending to be casual and said: "When you throw the knife, you should control your strength and don't tense your muscles. You can hold it looser. That night, the dagger you threw at me was too high, if you don’t block it, it will probably fly past my head.”

Oshim caught the handle of the knife and didn't throw it up for a while, just staring at Louis coldly, with an expression of looking at the enemy.

"Adrian taught you this craft?" Louis pretended not to see Oshim's expression.

Although he would not interfere with the problems between father and son, Adrian still tried his best to create opportunities for Louis and Oshim to talk, but the effect was not ideal.

Oshim reluctantly responded: "...so what."

Louis knew that he might not be able to get along with his son in the short term, so he sighed softly: "It will be beneficial to learn more from him."

Oshim poked his neck, and the words he spit out were clearly provocative: "Are you familiar with him?"

——That is more than just "familiarity".But if he really wanted to say it, the child would definitely be even angrier.

Louis felt that it was better not to irritate his paranoid son, so he turned and left without saying anything.

During the half day on the boat, apart from watching the river, everyone had no other entertainment.But this only "pastime" did not make them feel at ease: the floating corpses floating down the upper reaches of the Utrus River indirectly explained the progress of the raiders' invasion, and urged everyone to rush to the precarious city as soon as possible.

When the ferry docked, everyone got off the boat and mounted their horses, continuing to march towards their destination under the lifeless clear sky.Louis, who had been away from Maren Liga for more than sixteen years, held the reins tightly, and Adrian, who was on the side, saw the complicated look in his eyes.

"Almost home," he whispered to himself and Louis at the same time.

The closer you get to the edge of the suburbs of Marenliga, the more clearly you can feel the depression on the eve of the fall.The civilians with their families were in a hurry, driving old horse-drawn carts and donkey carts, or relying on only two legs, trying to escape to the south where the war had not yet spread before the Kurmans approached the city.

The nobles and merchants were well-informed and ran earlier.They used to live in the central seat of the city hall, and their every move was related to the lifeblood of the city-state, but at the most critical moment, they took their private property or even part of the public property and flew away, leaving the high-sounding oath of "giving everything for the city-state" behind them.

But not everyone chooses to abandon the city.

When passing through the outer suburbs, Louis unexpectedly discovered that there was a guard post on the abandoned watchtower, which was the first time he saw it.A torch stand was set up behind the sentinel. Once the enemy was found, a beacon would be ignited on the watchtower to report to the city from afar.

The two city guards stood at the top of the tower, the strings in their hearts tensed.Seeing a group of pedestrians dressed as mercenaries suddenly appear on the southwest road, fearing that they were the advance team sent by the Kurmans to infiltrate the city defense, one of them raised his crossbow vigilantly and asked sharply, "Who are you?"

Another guard also kept an eye on the people under the tower, ready to light the beacon at any time.

Adrian took two steps forward and looked up at the extremely nervous guard so that he could see his face clearly: "It's me. These mercenaries are from the Kirov Kingdom, and I hired them to assist the civilians in evacuating."

The guard recognized the current patriarch of the Torresso family, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and the crossbow in his hand dropped: "Sorry, the situation is critical now, and we must strictly investigate the people who passed by. Can you guarantee the identity of these people Is there no problem?"

Adrian and Louis looked at each other.Louis nodded and said loudly to the guard: "We have nothing to do with the Kurmans, and we will submit the roster to the garrison after entering the city."

The middle-aged guard on the watchtower suddenly felt that the speaker looked familiar, but he didn't remember where he had seen it before.He turned his eyes back to Adrian: "Since you are the guarantor, there should be no problem. By the way, there may be some chaos in the city... You have to hurry up."

Adrian's eyes darkened: "I see." He gestured for everyone to move on.

Walking past the watchtower, they could already see the walls of Marenliga.A strong north wind blew, and the commercial city-state living between the blue sea and the blue sky clearly showed an irreversible decline.

Several wooden frames were erected outside the wall, and guards and craftsmen were busy reinforcing the arrow towers and repairing the ballista that had not been used for many years.But in front of Kullman's army, how effective these city defense fortifications can be, it really can't stand careful consideration.Most of the mercenaries of the Greystone Comrades in Arms Group had seen wars, and Louis knew the situation in Maren Liganeri very well, so there was no need to think about many problems.

Just like the sentries on the watchtower, the guards guarding the city gates also look like they are facing an enemy.Even through the helmets, you can guess their general expressions.

As for the desolation behind the city gate, whether it is Adrian, who has lived here for a long time, or Louis, who has just set foot on his homeland, the scene in front of him mercilessly coincides with the situation in the heyday of Maren Liga in his mind.

The people who took refuge either went to the harbor area or flocked to the city gate.The citizens didn't bother to pack up all their belongings, and they didn't have any expectations of returning to their homeland after the war ended—they didn't know when the war would end, and after being cleaned by the Kurmans' butcher knives and fire, there was probably nothing here. could not survive.

The streets are in a mess, the harsh cries of children are mixed with the noise of cars and footsteps, and there are a lot of temporarily discarded debris on the once clear Pearl River, and there is no trace of rafting along the river during the Spring Festival celebration.

Looking at the spire of the City Hall in the center of the city, Louis murmured to himself: "In the final analysis, Maren Riga collapsed from the inside."

Not only did Adrian not refute, but he also agreed with Louis' argument from the bottom of his heart.He grabbed the guard who was passing by and asked, "Where is Captain Cynthia?"

The guard quickly replied: "A military camp. She is interrogating those merchants who drive up food prices."

After the death of General Lucien, the garrison has been led by several senior officers including Cynthia.Naturally, they wanted to defend the city-state, but when the dignitaries in the city fled and most of the material reserves were taken away, these loyal defenders were ultimately unable to do what they wanted.

The guard trotted hurriedly to the west again, it seemed that the city wall was short of manpower.

Adrian whispered to the people around him: "Oshim, go back to the mansion first and ask Chloe if she needs help. By the way, see how many ships are still available at the port."

Oshim glanced at Louis and left reluctantly.

Adrian said to Louis again: "Master, let's go to the barracks first, and then go to the Silver Bay Tower later. Your old friend is also there."

A face always flushed with alcohol came to Louis's mind immediately.

But he suddenly wanted to know the answer to another matter.Louis grabbed Adrian's wrist and asked in a low voice, "What are your plans after the fall of Marenliga?"

After being tempered by reality, Adrian has already learned to keep calm most of the time: "You know why I can't let Maren Liga go. Now, you have returned here, and the Torresso family has also found a new home."

"But you can't abandon these people." Louis looked around at the citizens of Marenliga who were busy fleeing for their lives, feeling that he was in a raging wave.

Adrian nodded slightly: "I will accompany you to witness the last sunset of this city. The Beacon will be the last ship to leave Marenliga, and we will take it to another continent. After that, I don't mind Travel with you—anywhere."

At the same moment, beacon smoke rose from the watchtower on the outskirts of the city.

The Kurmans are coming.

The author has something to say: Rebuild, Renew-InonZur (Radiation 4)