Chapter 1181: Horse Racing and Mounts

"Although I am not a local, I have lived in Randall Valley for more than ten years, so of course I have heard of this urban legend."

"The nun who was rumored to have been canonized by the Sun Church in the Fifth Era, the location of her cemetery is something even the church itself cannot find. In the legend, travelers who get lost or encounter danger in the Eldron Creek area outside the city can receive the protection of that 'Saint.' And in her tomb, there is the secret treasure of the sun and gold. Finding it can rule the entire Randall Valley..."

The blonde witch wearing a red dress revealed a smile and stretched out two slender fingers:

"A very interesting legend. But this legend has two contradictions."

Xia De stated his opinion:

"The Sun Church does not have the habit of building complex underground mausoleums for church members. Even for saints not buried in the Holy See, it is impossible to build mausoleums extravagantly, and it is even more impossible to place secret treasures in the mausoleums."

The witch nodded:

"Second, in the stories circulating locally, the location of the saint's tomb is in the Eldron Creek area in the northeast of the city. Eldron Creek is an area where rivers flowing out of the mountains cross the forest. It has been completely explored by the Sun Church, and no trace of the saint's tomb has been found."

She also picked up her porcelain teacup:

"Why, just based on these stories, you want to find a tomb that even the church cannot find?"

"But I can almost be sure that the tomb of Saint Perry is really in the area."

Xia De said, and the witch looked at him curiously:

"So, you came to find me this morning, hoping that I can go find it with you? I said, I owe you a wish. But I am just very curious, what exactly you can find."

"No, no, how could I bother you? I just want to ask you for a guide who is familiar with the Eldron Creek area. You also know that this is my first time in the area, and I am not familiar with the situation here."

If it were in the city, he could find various destinations with a map. But there were no road signs outside the city, and the places he went to were not around the country roads. Xia De didn't want to waste time finding the road, so he came to the witch for help.

"To celebrate the Golden Dawn's acquisition of the Wang Erde Opera House, the troupe decided to carry out a week of performances next week. Now those girls are all rehearsing. Lassus also has no time; she is busy with moving and redecorating."

The witch made a troubled expression. Just when Xia De thought she couldn't provide help and was thinking of finding Luvia to think of a way, Miss Bernice pointed to herself:

"So, how about I go with you? It's not just fulfilling the promise I made, but I am also very curious about what you can find."

Xia De asked hesitantly:

"Will this delay your business?"

"If it's just one day, it's not a waste of time."

She stood up to prepare to change clothes:

"Galina and Aurora both said in the Council that you are a very capable man. Although I have seen you deal with that puppet, that also had to do with the special venue. It just so happens that there is an opportunity today, Mr. Hamilton, let me see your skills."

Because of the geographical location and suitable climate, the Randall Valley area has been a gathering area for human communities since ancient times. Therefore, there are large and small ancient ruins around Randall Valley, some of which come from the early Fifth Era, but a few come from the more ancient past. Those ruins were the focus of Xia De's exploration today.

Departing from the Wang Erde Opera House, the carriage carried the witch and Xia De through the city to the famous "Grass Farm"... She owned large tracts of land outside the city. The coachman rested at the Grass Farm waiting for the two to return. The witch wore brown low-heeled lace-up boots, led a horse, and walked out of the farm with Xia De, asking Xia De somewhat provocatively:

"Hamilton of Lei Jiede, you should know how to ride a horse, right?"

"Of course."

If it were before winter, Xia De wouldn't have the confidence to answer this, but he had been traveling between Huntington City and the vineyard city of White River Valley, and had long since practiced his horse-riding skills to be quite proficient.

"We are now heading to Eldron Creek, taking this road."

She wore a cold-proof cloak with a hood, a strand of slightly curly golden hair poked out from the side of the hood, fluttering in the winter wind. (Chapter incomplete!)

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The country road pointed to by the witch's slender, fair fingers was flanked by dense pine trees covered with silver frost, and the road itself was covered with snow:

"We set off from here on horseback, and stop at the river valley pier at the end of this road, which is not used in winter. Want to have a horse race with me?"

She flipped onto the horse very skillfully, looking in a good mood because she came out of the city to breathe fresh air:

"Riding a horse on a snow-covered path is different from riding in a professional racecourse or pasture. Knight, are you interested in having a race with me? If I win, I hope you can tell me more about your affairs with other witches."

"Her" laughter came to his ears:

【This can be considered gambling, and the blessing of the god is effective.】

"Of course no problem, but what if I win?"

Xia De patted his brown horse, and the latter stood very obediently without moving.

The witch on the horse looked down at him, her head slightly raised, her cheeks somewhat flushed in the cold wind, which was so compatible with the snow scene behind her:

"Then what do you want, Knight?"

"I also want to hear your stories."

Xia De didn't make too excessive demands.

"No problem, let's ride fast."

Xia De also flipped onto the horse, and the two held the reins and moved forward together in the snow until the horses were almost side by side:

"Knight, get ready."

A light ball that radiated seven-colored light like fireworks popped from the witch's fingertip. The light ball flew into the air and then fell freely, as if it had weight itself.

Xia De held the reins with both hands and slightly lowered his body.

With a *pop* sound, the light ball exploded on the snow after falling, and the two horses shot forward like arrows off the string.

"Then I'll see you in front, Knight!"

Miss Bernice rode her jujube-red horse and leaped, crossing a large tree that had fallen due to the storm that swept across the west of the continent last month. By the time Xia De bypassed it on horseback, she had already left him a considerable distance.

Riding in the snow was indeed very different from riding in an ordinary venue. Not only was the snow easy to slip on, but many situations in the forest could not be predicted.

The trees fallen on the road were just one kind of situation. While Xia De was chasing the witch in the cloak, he even encountered squirrels jumping out of the forest and wild wolves chasing the squirrels.

Although Miss Bernice's riding skills were indeed superb, she didn't rely on her familiarity with the terrain to pull too much distance from Xia De. Even shortly after setting off, Xia De once caught up with her, but later had to slow down because of a short uphill road, allowing the witch to overtake him again.

The two figures in the snow galloped forward one after another, and the pine trees covered with snowflakes and silver frost flew past behind them one by one. The sound of horse hooves intertwined, as if forming a wonderful forest movement.

It could be seen that going out for a long time and galloping in the country snow made Miss Bernice's mood even better. Her personality was far less steady than it looked. On the way forward, Xia De could occasionally see the very natural smile on her face.

This horse race, which was not far, was coming to an end. The country dirt road covered with snow turned slightly at the end, which was the pier by the Ailong River. The Ailong River and the Yi River flowed out of the mountains, forming the main rivers of the Randall Valley plain terrain. But in the ice period of winter, the pier had long been out of use.

At the bend, Miss Bernice, who was one step ahead of Xia De, reminded him loudly that the finish line was ahead, so Xia De took a risk and didn't slow down when cornering. Fortunately, the horse was very stable and didn't have any unexpected accidents.

After the turn was a straight road less than twenty meters long, which was only a few seconds for a galloping horse. Xia De took a small turn, and Miss Bernice took a large turn. The two horses rushed out of the bend almost at the same time, but in the end, it was Xia De who entered the pier area first with a very slight advantage.

A few wooden boxes without goods were piled in the snow, and the rabbits living inside were disturbed by the sound of horse hooves and rushed into the forest in a hurry. Xia De jumped off the horse's back and said to Miss Bernice, who jumped off the horse, with a smile:

"It seems my luck is better."

"I am willing to bet and (Chapter incomplete!)

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lose, but as for the story, let's talk about it when we return to the city."

The witch was not troubled, but admitted her loss very generously:

"We continue to move east, along the ice of the river, but it is best to lead the horses, the distance is not long."

The area called "Eldron Creek" was located between the city and the mountains, and its core area was "Eldron Lake." It was a large lake comparable to Lake Pantanal, providing a berthing position for passing ships.

Miss Bernice intended to take Xia De along the river into Eldron Lake, and then go deep into the creek area to investigate the saint's tomb after going ashore.

"Wait a minute, may I ask if Eldron Lake has a lake island?"

Walking side by side with the witch leading the horses, Xia De asked worriedly. He had encountered accidents every time he encountered a lake island some time ago.

"Are you guessing it's in the middle of the lake? No, there is no lake island."

The blonde witch shook her head slightly. She had already taken off the hood of her cloak, and her beautiful face turned toward Xia De while walking:

"However, if we really can't find the target, we can also go into the lake to see. Although it is more troublesome, it is possible that the tomb is underwater."

After speaking, she turned her head to look at the two horses behind her:

"It's a pity that we only have horses as mounts. If there were land-walking birds, we could also ride on the ice."

Land-walking birds were common creatures in the Fifth Era, but in the Sixth Era today, only a small part of the church and academy areas were suitable for breeding. The population was very small. They might be seen in academic cities like Saint Byron, but they were not seen in the civilized world of ordinary people. Witches who had not yet become famous in the Fifth Era liked to ride land-walking birds, while famous witches pursued more beautiful and powerful mounts.

To be continued ===== CHAPTER 1182 =====