Chapter 68

"So the three apprentices of Eagle wing are likely to be alive and taken hostage?" After hearing Zhao Mai's story, Joseph frowned deeply. He turned to the other druids and said, "besides them, are there any apprentices outside the community who have not come back?"

"No, elder Joseph. The four men that the Dale brothers took away were the only apprentices out there before. "

"Well, I'm relieved." Joseph asked Zhao Mai, "is there anything else to add?"

Zhao Mai shakes his head. He has reported to the Druid Presbyterian group the attack of kotou man, the rope being cut off and falling into the water, and everything later discovered. "Because of this unexpected situation, can I finish my cruise task?"

"Yes, your apprenticeship is done. Now you can follow the team to the north and take refuge in the city of the elves. "

"I don't want to go north, I want to go south." Zhao Mai shook his head: "I need to go back to neibo town."

"Why?" Joseph was a little strange: "there are some changes in the forests of the south. They are not safe. You're just an apprentice. There's no guarantee of your safety, and we can't afford to escort you. "

"You Yan River can take me all the way south. When I get to Langer Town, I'll find a boat or go by land. I can always get there."

Joseph and the other elders exchanged their views with eyes and telepathy, then nodded and agreed: "since this is the direction you choose, we respect you. Calves who leave the group may lose their lives, but tigers are bound to be self reliant. You go to miss Celine to report that she is still counting the number of people going north. If you need anything, let Celine prepare it for you. "

Zhao Mai said goodbye with a smile. After he left, the elders had a dialogue in Joseph's thinking space.

"Are you sure of his loyalty? He's just an apprentice. He can't see his character from the heart of nature. Can you trust him to give that thing? "

Joseph shook his head: "I'm not 100% sure, just as none of us can predict the weather for tomorrow exactly. But my feelings tell me that Mike is a person to be entrusted with

Master Duncan seldom spoke on such matters, but this time he said: "Mike is not the only way for us to go back. It's OK to give it to him. We can't place all our expectations on the north and the West. It's a good sign that someone is taking the initiative to go south now. "

Several Druid masters discussed it and finally agreed to Joseph's proposal by a narrow margin.

Zhao Mai was eager to return. He first went back to the place where he was sleeping. He dug out the medicine buried in the ground and put it in his backpack. After that, he found teacher Celine and explained to her where he was going.

Not surprisingly, although Mr. spirit opposed Zhao Mai's plan, he respected his choice. "You are no longer a teenager. You are older and more mature than Lucius and others. I can't change what you decide. I just want you to be careful

"Thank you for your teaching, Miss Celine. I will come back to you to learn."

"Well, I'm either here or in the Elven city of Severian, depending on when the storm will pass." There was a trace of sadness in Celine's eyebrows, which seemed to worry about the future of the Druid community. However, she saw that there were many Druid apprentices ready to go on the road nearby, so she quickly hid this sadness. "Well, everyone's time is very tight, so I won't say more. You have completed an apprenticeship mission and are able to cast a level 1 spell. According to tradition, I should give you an apprenticeship gift. "

With that, she turned back to her treehouse and came back after a long time. She held a branch about one meter long in her hand, straight and straight, without any bifurcation. The elf Celine said with an embarrassed smile: "I was going to give you my Vajra walking stick, but suddenly I remembered that it was a reward for a certain task. I didn't have a second one if I gave it to you. This is a staff that has not yet grown. After you settle down, you can find a place to insert it into fertile soil and water it from time to time, and it can grow into a forest staff - although it may take a long time. The force is with you. "

"Thank you." Zhao Mai felt something was wrong, but he took it. After a gentle hug with the elf teacher, he said goodbye to the community of infernal beings.

Zhao Mai went out with the grain reserve, but he didn't expect that the dog took him to the tree where Dale lived, and barked at him. Zhao Mai patted his head and secretly scolded himself for being too anxious and excited to forget such an important thing. Dale is dead, his box full of potions is still in the tree, and some of the equipment he used to use. I'm about the same size as Dale, so I need to find a new piece of armor.

The vines rolled them up and soon sent them down. Zhao Mai also changed his full set of equipment, but his backpack was only half full - so as not to sink him into the water again. Adjust the leather shoulder, rib and waist belt, tighten the leather helmet, and then adapt to the new exquisite wood shield. He also tied a jungle machete to his thigh, which can be used as a chopper when necessary. However, the biggest harvest is the various potions in the backpack.

A team of about 30 people left the community north, while Zhao Mai was alone. He learned the lesson of the last time and couldn't let the weight of his backpack get in the way of his mobility. During the apprenticeship tour, some people can slow down and accompany themselves. This time, it's not so good. They can only take care of themselves. Grain reserves are busy determining the surrounding environment with their noses. They have not yet grown up and are unable to share the burden for themselves. Maybe even if he grows up, he is not willing to.Zhao Mai used the stick given to him by teacher Xilin as a crutch to help him walk. He didn't believe it would grow into a staff at all. All wands are made, which requires a lot of energy from the maker. If a branch can grow into a forest staff by itself, it will be a divine power to break the rules. But then again, this wooden stick is surprisingly strong, and it feels very good. Even if the palm is sweating, it won't slip. It's just right to use it as a crutch.

Along the way, he could often see animal guards on guard. Sometimes it's a tiger lurking behind the Bush, sometimes it's a python hiding among the branches. These are the Druid's animal companions. They may not be around for a while, but they still obey the Druid's orders. Grain reserves seem to be able to distinguish between the enemy and ourselves by nose, probably by smelling the smell of boundless community on them? In a word, Zhao Mai was often startled by these hidden sentinels, but when he saw that the animals ignored him, he gradually settled down.

This time, with a clear purpose, he went to battle with light weight. It took him half the time to come to the Bank of the lampblack river. After that, he spent more than half a day intercepting six relatively straight branches, four of which were side by side, two ends of which were tied tightly with ropes as far as possible, and then the remaining two were cut off and tied at both ends of the raft to provide transverse pulling force and prevent the raft from rolling left and right and overturning. The raft can't stand people, so it can only straddle on it, but it is enough to provide Zhao Mai with the buoyancy he needs, and to keep the gun away from the water and keep it dry.

Reserve grain sitting in the bow, Zhao Mai sitting in the middle. A flat piece of bark is a paddle, which helps adjust the direction of the raft. With the aid of such simple tools, one person and one dog drifted all the way south.