Dark city

Spring，It is a season of joy when people can finally start the new year after a long and cold winter without having to endure the cold, food is more readily available and the variety is slowly becoming more abundant. Therefore, when winter goes to spring, it is the most important festival of the year, and not only humans, but also dwarves, orcs, elves, and even ogres hold the most important celebrations in spring. Of course, the world is so complex that there will always be exceptions, such as the inhabitants who live in the earth's crust, for whom spring means little. Exceptions can go to extremes, such as the Snow Fairies, a race that hates spring the most. In any case, spring is always a joy for most people. When the warm, moist air currents struggled over the Coast Mountains to reach the village of Rutheland, the people knew that spring had arrived again. Nestled at the foot of the Coast Mountains, Russelland is a humble spot in this vast mountain range that stretches for thousands of miles, and is one of the tens of thousands of human settlements. It is part of the Barony of Tucker and is part of the Holy Alliance's Empire. However, even in a straight line, Baron Tucker's castle is nearly three hundred kilometers away. Only at the time of the autumn harvest each year do the people of the village see the baron's tax collector. It was only at this time that the lord had an insignificant presence. The baron's tax was very light, and he only collected some local products unique to the mountains, and had little effect on the daily life of the villagers. However, the output of the village is limited, and if the tax impact is greater, it will involve the problem of survival. Life in the mountains is actually not difficult, as long as you work hard for a year to the end. As soon as spring arrives, the land outside the village needs to be turned over to sow the grain that can be harvested in the summer. The hunters began to enter the forest, and at this time, the monsters in the depths of the forest who had been hungry for a winter gradually woke up and began to forage for food. They become dangerous and aggressive. However, some of the specialties of the monsters, such as some glands that can be used as precious medicinal herbs or spices, can only be sold for the highest price at this time. At this time of year, there are dead and wounded hunters, but every year the hunters go into the mountains as usual. Therefore, in Ruthran Village, the goddess of the forest and the hunt has received the most faith, you know, in addition to the eternal dragon, the gods and beliefs on the Norland continent are as many as the stars above their heads. The Norland Continent is a land of abundant resources, a land of advocating strength, and a land of strict hierarchy. Even a remote and quiet village like Russelland is deeply marked by its age. The villagers are simple and sincere, but they also respect the strong and despise the weak. A small village with only a few dozen households, but it also has a hidden hierarchy. A small figure appeared outside the village, it was a boy, but he was carrying a basket on his back that was almost as tall as he was, filled with breadfruit. In the spring, the winter's reserves had been mostly used up, and the new crops had not yet been harvested, so this not-so-tasty fruit was an important food source. It was easy to get, just pick it from the trees near the village. Behind the boy, three boys appeared, who were a full head taller than him. They were carrying hunting bows and spears, and had knives at their waists, and rabbits and deer on their backs. They were not yet ten years old, but they could already hunt in the mountains. Of course, their prey was not magical creatures, but gentle animals, and their hunting methods mainly involved traps, but that was already quite difficult. Townspeople and noble children of the same age were still learning and training under their parents' wings The leader of the group suddenly shouted out, "Hey, Richard, where's your father? Didn't he teach you to hunt? I was able to set traps and catch rabbits by myself when I was your age!" A boy next to him echoed the smile and said, "Children without fathers only pick fruits!" The three older boys laughed, crossed the little boys, and ran towards the village, walking so easily that it was impossible to see that each of them was carrying dozens of kilograms of prey on their backs. The little boy ignored the ridicule and continued to walk towards the village with the basket on his back. A middle-aged strong man sitting at the entrance of the village had seen everything clearly, he beckoned to the little boy, called over, and then stuffed a piece of air-dried monster jerky into the boy's hand, rubbed his head lovingly, and asked, "Little Richard, aren't you angry that they are bullying you like this？When he went back, uncle went and taught them a lesson that even if he was a child, he couldn't talk like that." Unexpectedly, the little boy shook his head and said, "No, I'm not angry." "But......" The man scratched his hair with his big rough and dark hands, a little puzzled, thinking that he was afraid of the big boy, and couldn't help but want to say a few words. A child in the mountains can have nothing, but not without courage. The little boy smiled and said, "Although I don't have a father, I have the best mother!" When the man heard this, he could only continue to scratch his hair, smiled innocently, and said, "That's, that's." The little boy hummed a song and carried a large basket on his back as he hopped towards the village. At this time, a little darkness in Little Richard's heart had been cleared, and he was happy again. Because his mother told him to make himself happy at all times. This year, Richard Jr. was six years old. At the age of six, he learned to be happy. The middle-aged man's name is Bobby, he is a blacksmith in the village, and the boy's mother is said to be a magic apprentice. When she arrived alone in Russelan, little Richard was still in swaddling clothes. It was a woman who was not very beautiful in appearance, but she was as gentle as water. Her arrival brought a whole new atmosphere to the small village of Russelan, and for the first time there was a doctor in the village, there was no need to run to the town dozens of kilometers away to see a doctor for a minor illness, or simply endure it and wait for it to heal naturally. Her name is Elaine, and she runs a small pharmacy on the edge of the village, and although she can only make the most basic potions, she has saved the lives of more than one villager in the first year. The village chief and elders decided to give Elaine a piece of land and officially accept her as one of Russelan s ranks. In the small village of Russelan, there are the most hunters, with only three professions, namely hunter, blacksmith Elaine, who doubles as a doctor, and the village chief, who is a retired non-commissioned officer. These three men support the operation of the entire village. Life in the village of Russelan is calm and slow, time passes imperceptibly, and in the blink of an eye, it is a new spring. Little Richard has grown more than a dozen centimeters taller and looks about the same as an eight- or nine-year-old child. According to Rutherland's tradition, he was supposed to learn how to craft and lay traps to hunt rabbits and other herbivore monsters. In a forest not far from the village of Ruseran, there are many such small monsters, and the big ones are almost nowhere to be found. This is a reservation for the training of children in the village. Hunters never hunt small animals there, but they patrol regularly, clearing the deep forests of dangerous large monsters that occasionally trespass. But every few days, little Richard still carried the basket up the mountain. The basket on his back doesn't look so disproportionate, but he's still picking fruit. Breadfruit is not delicious, it is everywhere in the mountains, and the people in the village prefer delicious Warcraft meat. Even if you don't think about the taste, eating it can make you stronger. However, Richard still had to pick up fruit at the age when he started hunting, which was his mother's request. Not only that, but he also collects four herbs for each season, and then processes them according to a predetermined and complicated process. Half of the process is done when the herbs are harvested, while the other half is done after returning home. What he didn't understand was that breadfruit had to be processed in a similar way, and the process and time were much more time-consuming. No one in the village has ever done this, and breadfruit is the easiest food to obtain, and when ripe, it will fall to the ground naturally in one night and can be picked up and eaten directly. However, my mother requested that breadfruit should not be picked up on the ground, but should be picked from the main trunk, and the size and color of the selection have fixed requirements, and the picking technique is also special. Richard didn't understand why, and he didn't feel any difference in the taste of the breadfruit he brought back in a special way, but as long as he didn't pick the breadfruit as requested, his mother would pick it out. After a few reprimands, little Richard no longer played tricks, but took every tedious step seriously. It wasn't until winter, when he could no longer pick breadfruit, that his mother told him that it was to train his perseverance. This year, Richard Jr. was seven years old. At the age of seven, he remembered to be persistent in doing things. If there's anything unpleasant in the memory of the seven-year-old, it's breadfruit every dinner. This little thing eventually became one of the lingering nightmares of his childhood. When a new spring arrives, the village of Russelan is still the same. Bobby the blacksmith is still single, Elaine's apothecary business is not improving, and the village chief is still strong, rushing to the forefront every time a difficult monster appears. Richard could finally learn to set traps. At this time, Piru and his friend had already begun to take up their short bows and follow the hunters in the village into the mountains to hunt. Beyond the threshold of ten years old, they can already be called teenagers, and their height if they were in the city, would be mistaken for fifteen or sixteen years old. Trap laying is a science that requires a lot of experience, an observant eye, a dexterous hand, and a certain amount of luck. With only rudimentary tools, novices are likely to injure themselves when creating traps, except for experienced hunters. Little Richard was gifted in learning, showing for the first time an advantage over the boys of his village, and the trap laid on the first day was a great success, and was praised by the adults of the whole village. Bobby, the blacksmith, even said that he was as happy as if Richard were his own son. However, almost everyone in the village knew that if Richard could call him father, he would probably be willing to close the his shop. A few days passed, and Richard had mastered several traps. He began to venture deeper into the reservation, setting up several large compound traps. There were occasional large monsters here, and he wanted to try his luck. Richard's luck was that a wild boar came into view and ran headfirst into a trap. A clamp made of thorns, rattans, and nails held its front legs firmly. Although the boar was very powerful, Richard's trap was finely worked, and the balance of force in all aspects was handled very well, and after a period of crazy pulling and shaking, it still did not break free from it. Richard, who was hiding from the side to observe, was so nervous that his palms were covered with sweat, and the hunting knife in his hand did not seem so reliable for the first time. The injured boar is very dangerous, and although the boar is small in size and guts, he is only a child. Just when Richard was sure that his prey could not break free for a while and was about to rush out, suddenly a strong force came from behind and pushed him out fiercely. Richard fell heavily to the ground, only to feel that the world was spinning, and there was a wisp of fishy breath in his mouth and nose. He heard the sound of a bowstring, followed by the screams of a wild boar. A few cheers rang out beside him, and the sound was very familiar. Richard slowly got up and saw Piru with three teenagers appear at some point, and one of them had just pushed him out. Piru, with the hunting bow in his hand, was looking triumphantly at the poor Kamchatka boar. An arrow is stuck in the neck of a wild boar. It's not easy to hit the point with an arrow, even if you're trapped in a trap. The boar had been bouncing around. "You rob my prey!" Richard suddenly understood what they were going to do, and cried out angrily. "Everyone here can attest to the fact that I shot this wild boar. How do you call robbery? Just because you set a trap, good hunters know that this kind of trap is only used to catch rabbits. Piru said slowly, looking at Richard with disdain. He was nearly a head taller than Richard and had a noticeably stronger physique. And his strength is actually greater than that of his peers, almost like an adult. This is because Piru is the son of the village chief, and as a retired non-commissioned officer, the village chief can often hunt some powerful magical beasts from the mountains to come back. The meat of this monster is very useful for strengthening the body. "Then how did you come here to shoot wild boars?" Richard's rhetorical question made Piru speechless. They looked down on Richard's thinness, but they had to admit that Richard was indeed very smart, and it was said that he could write a lot. However, Piru's group did not respect Richard for this, others thought that writing could not get prey, so why did they need to know so many words? But Richard's rhetorical question made Piru feel very annoyed, and he waved his hand hard, and a teenager next to him walked around behind Richard and pushed Richard to the ground. Richard got up, his little face flushed, his hand tightly grasped the hunting knife, and the momentum that burst out at that moment made several teenagers feel a deep chill inexplicably! The hunting knife was not aimed at them, and in a moment of hesitation, Piru kicked him in the stomach, and the boys rushed up and snatched the hunting knife, and then there was a beating of punches and kicks. Piru even stepped on Richard's head and crushed his face deep into the dirt! The young man in the mountain has strength in his bones, and this blow is really not light. Richard didn't struggle to resist, nor did he beg for mercy, just silently endured. The more Piru hit, the angrier he became, the harder he struck, and all he felt in Richard's silent reaction was contempt. "Still not surrendered? Defy?" The teenagers also pushed harder and harder, and Richard was like his body was not his own at all, but he was just allowed to be beaten by them. It didn't take long for Piru to get scared. He was afraid that he would really seriously injure Richard, and he would definitely be beaten when he returned home. The village chief's temper is as fiery as his strength, and Elaine has always had a good reputation in the village. The boys also gradually stopped, and it took Richard a while to get up slowly. Piru threw down a few harsh words, and then left with the boar and the others. When they were completely gone, little Richard sat down under the tree, rested for a long time, and struggled to get up and go home. In the evening, Elaine looked at little Richard, who was covered in bruises, and tears flowed out very uncontrollably, but the boy comforted her and said that it was fine, just a little painful. After taking the medicine, the boy looked at his mother and asked, "Still can't fight back?" ” "Hmm!" Elaine gritted her teeth and nodded vigorously. "Okay, I'm not going to fight back, but I'm not going to give in." In the days that followed, Piru made trouble with Richard several more times, and the process was nothing more than a severe beating. But the heaviest time, until everyone was tired, Richard could not get up at all, and Piru did not wait for the boy to give in and beg for mercy, and did not even hear the swear words. And every time they were tired and ready to leave, Richard would slowly get up and quietly look at Piru. That calm and calm gaze suddenly made Piru feel a chill in the deepest part of his heart. That gaze is like looking at a dead man. From this year onwards, Piru began to have nightmares. Later, every time he beat Richard, he would have nightmares for days. Richard never resisted and struggled, and Piru grew stronger and stronger, and the size gap between the two men was even widening. But every time he saw Richard, Piru would see the boy's calm gaze, and then it would be a nightmare for days. Piru still doesn't understand why Richard didn't go to his father to complain. If the boy had done so, Piru would have to be whipped a few times. But from the beginning to the end, Richard never mentioned the beating to anyone in the village. The teenagers were getting Richard into trouble less, and when the boy looked at them with a smile instead of blood on their lips, the boys scattered. That was the last time they had trouble with Richard. At the age of eight, Richard learned tenacity.