Fort Collins is across the river from the north of the Elf Forest.

Since the emergence of the Kingdom of God of the World Tree, there have been many more ferrymen in Fort Collins, and they have relied on boats to carry ambitious adventurers to the other side of the river to earn some extra money.

After warrior Atos decided to go to the Elf Forest, he followed the other adventurers onto a boat with the orc Haiglis.

Compared with the wide downstream of the river, the upper reaches of the Vimur River are relatively narrower, and the ferry can travel around within twenty minutes.

On this side of the river is a simple pier, which seems to have been temporarily built.

On the dock, there are more adventurers.

These are people who are attracted by the remains of gods, and they are of all races, but more are humans.

The strengths of these adventurers are uneven, but the weakest ones are also the Black Iron Level. There are also many silver professions rarely seen in towns on weekdays.

It can be seen that the attraction of the ruins of gods is quite attractive to adventurers.

Not only that, these adventurers even built a simple Muzhai stronghold on this bank of the river, and even saw high village walls and some parade mercenaries.

After the boat in front docked, an arrogant mercenary immediately walked up and charged gold pounds from the people on the boat.

"That is the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group. This stronghold was established by them, and it is also for the convenience of all those who want to enter the ruins of gods. However... all adventurers entering this stronghold need to pay five gold pounds per person as protection fee."

The boatman who pulled the boat explained to his guests.

Many new adventurers suddenly became turbulent.

"Why don't you grab five gold pounds?"

Someone couldn't help but say.

Perhaps for veteran adventurers, five gold pounds are not enough for them to squander once in the casino, but this price is equivalent to the income of the imperial civilian family for more than half a year.

"There is no way. This is the rule of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group. All those entering the stronghold must obey. They are the largest mercenary group in the northern part of the empire. There are several mercenaries in the golden rank alone. Unless you can show your enough strength, otherwise... you can only listen to them honestly."

The boatman shook his head.

"Then we won't get out of here, change the place!"

Someone said angrily.

"That's it!"

Other adventurers also followed suit.

The boatman answered helplessly:

"My sirs, I would like to advise everyone to pay the pounds honestly, this is also for everyone's good."

The adventurers were even more angry:

"What? Is the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group so arrogant? Isn't it just something that has something to do with the candidates in the North?"

"If we don't enter the stronghold, will the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group force us?"

"That's it! If we don't enter their stronghold, we can still go to the ruins of the gods!"

The adventurers were indignant, and the boatman sighed and explained:

"It's ok, but if you don't have the protection of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group's stronghold, you may not be able to escape the pursuit of the elves..."

"Elf's...chasing?"

The adventurers looked at each other.

"That's right, since everyone is coming for the ruins of gods, they should also know which fallen god this ruin belongs to... it is the main god that the elves once served. So... these elves will never be ruthless to the adventurers who come to this nearby..."

The boatman said.

"Is the elves of the Elf Forest... that scary?"

Some adventurer asked in disbelief.

The boatman nodded:

"Of course, you guys don't know that adventurers who often travel to and from the ruins of gods have even reached a consensus that in ruins and forests, it is not scary to encounter demons, nor to encounter high-level monsters, but if you encounter elves... you have to be careful."

"If you hit the elves and can't kill them all at once, then wait to welcome them to chase them crazy..."

"Everyone must have vaguely heard about the origin of these elves. These guys... when they chase people, they really don't stop. They're crazy."

"If you can't arrive at the stronghold in time, unless you have the strength of the golden rank, you will definitely regret it..."

After hearing the boatman's words, the new adventurers on the boat looked at each other, while the boatman pointed to the adventurer's stronghold in front of him and continued:

"Hey, adults, don't think this stronghold is so well built, it is actually the fifth stronghold of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group. The first four were originally located in the forest closer to the ruins of the gods, but in the end they were destroyed by the elves."

"Fortunately, the elves don't know the location of this stronghold yet. Moreover, it is close to the riverside. The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group also has many spare ships. If they are really besieged by the elves, it will be convenient to evacuate."

The adventurers' expressions became more and more serious as they heard this.

"Elf, are they strong?"

Someone asked with a serious expression.

"They are not a question of whether they are strong or not, but... how to say it, you will know if you really meet adults, that is a group of lunatics..."

The boatman said.

"Okay, it's time to the shore. I wish the adults can successfully obtain treasures in the ruins of the gods!"

The ship docked, and the mercenaries from the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group also came up.

The adventurers were in a state of turmoil for a while, but in the end they paid the pounds one by one honestly.

There was no way, they found that the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group even had silver mercenaries who collected gold pounds, and their ship had no silver mercenary...

At least… that’s what most adventurers on board think.

The people on the boat went down one by one, and it was Athos and Heglis' turn soon.

When it was their turn to pay the fee, Orc Haiglis sneered, illuminating the breath on his body.

The mercenary's face changed drastically.

Fortunately, Heglis closed it just after lit up.

The mercenary immediately stood respectfully, not saying that the fees were charged, but allowed the two to get off the boat.

Heglis sneered and then accompanied Atos into the stronghold.

The strong are privileged everywhere.

There are more adventurers in the stronghold.

Not only that, the two even saw many stalls of chambers of commerce selling various materials for exploration of god relics.

Many of these chambers of commerce come from all over the empire, but there are also other races and forces.

Athos even saw a dark dwarf's stall named Amway Store or something...

I don’t know how these underground guys ran so far to come here to trade.

Of course, the two of them stopped paying attention after just a few glances. They just passed by this stronghold, and their ultimate goal was to go to the nearby elf city of Winterfell.

Heglis has already obtained the map drawn by the adventurer from the black market in advance, and the approximate location of Winterfell has been marked on it. The two of them just need to go directly.

However, just as the two left through the stronghold of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, they were stopped by a mercenary soldier who rushed over:

"Your Excellency, please wait. Are you two planning to go to the ruins of the gods?"

He was a warrior wearing heavy armor, and his strength reached the top of gold.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Athos did not answer directly.

The warrior hesitated for a moment and first performed a less standard imperial etiquette:

"I am Hans, the deputy commander of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group. The two should be high-level professionals, right? I don't know what to call them?"

“Atos.”

Athos said.

"Hey."

Heglis just sneered and didn't answer.

Hans didn't care about Heglis' attitude...

In fact, the relationship between orcs and humans has never been very good, and he also saw that the two people in front of him were obviously led by this human warrior.

Just when he heard the name Atos, he raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Atos? Good name! The same name as the founding god of the Empire..."

Hearing the words "The Founding God of the Empire", Athos's mouth raised slightly, and a trace of imperceptible remembrance flashed through his expression.

That was his identity when he was still a mortal.

In the distant past, he was once the founding father of the Holy Mannian Empire, but because of the conflict of faith, he finally gave up everything he had.

Commander Hans, who didn't know that his casual compliment happened to scratch the other party's itchy place, paused and continued:
To be continued...