The Road to the North 2

  After advancing slowly for several days, Du Fan and his party finally left the border of Kote Province and set foot in the northern region of the Gawen Empire.

  Du Fan and his party's destination - Shen Gong - was located on the ice fields in the north of the Gawen Empire.

  Although it was already early spring, the northern part of the empire did not have a single day of spring, and after leaving Kotte Province, everything was vast snowy plains. Even if there were occasionally some places that didn't snow, the roads were all covered with ice blocks.

  Under such circumstances, the team's progress is naturally slower.

  Du Fan's Dou Qi was only at the third level and had not reached the point where he could withstand extreme temperatures, so he had long since changed out of his plain white robes and into a thick, heavy cotton garment.

  As for the Knights Templar, due to their strength, they were still wearing a suit of silver armor, as if the cold had no effect on them.

  By Du Fan's side, Alfred let out a long sigh, the breath he exhaled almost freezing into ice crystals in the air. He looked at Du Fan's bundle of clothes and couldn't help but say: "Du Fan, if you can't take it, go hide in the carriage, this weather is really freezing."

  Dufan smiled and said, "I appreciate Lord Alfred's kindness, but the closer we get to the Ice Seal Forest, the more careful we need to be. If we're not careful and miss something, we won't have a chance to enter the divine palace."

  Alfred nodded and said, "Speaking of the Divine Palace, Lord Anthony mentioned that you were also one of the first to receive news about this matter. As for finding out where it is, Mr. Dufan, you would naturally have a better way than me, a rough person. So, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on you again this time."

  Alfred, sir, you are unaware that this information also came from someone else. Although it's relatively detailed, it's still a message from another person's mouth. Even if everything is true, we can't find the place easily. According to my information, the temple is located in a valley of a small mountain on the ice field, but the valley has spring all year round. Logically speaking, this kind of place should be easy to find, but after walking in the north for so long, not only haven't we seen any valleys, but also no big rocks. Moreover, at first, it wasn't far to find several small towns and villages, but now often after walking for half a day, there isn't even a single village in sight. It seems that this time, apart from praying for the guidance of the great Light God, we have no other good way.

  Alfred furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying, "Why don't we go ask Saint Nicholas for help? Maybe he'll have some idea."

  Du Fan thought for a moment and nodded his head, saying: "Alright!"

  Alfred made a few gestures, indicating that the other Temple Knights should guard around, and then he and Dufan came to the front of the carriage together, knocked on the door, and said in a low voice: "Sir Nicholas, I don't know if it's possible to disturb you for a moment."

  After a moment, a soft voice sounded, saying: "Is it Alfred and Dufan? Come in?"

  As he spoke, the door was slowly pushed open a small gap.

  Alfred and Dufan exchanged a glance, both of them opened the car door and climbed in one after another.

  From the outside, the carriage didn't look very big, but once inside, it was discovered that although the carriage wasn't large, all of its space had been utilized very well. As a result, even after Duvan and Alfred squeezed in, the carriage didn't feel overly crowded.

  Tasia's eyes were slightly narrowed, wearing a large cotton coat leaning against the inside of the car compartment. Perhaps due to the fatigue of the journey, there was an inexplicable hint of tiredness on her calm face.

  Nicholas, however, was still wearing a thin cassock, but he squeezed himself to the edge of the stove in the carriage, his clean and slender hands constantly rubbing each other as if that could warm him up.

  Looking at the two of them, Du Fan and Alfred couldn't help but smile wryly in their hearts. These two people who could be said to be the mainstays of this trip were now in such a state, it was really hard for anyone to have any confidence.

  Especially Du Fan, he had made up his mind to use these Sacred Palace guys as cannon fodder for himself to gain benefits in the Temple of Gods, and his heart was even more depressed.

  "Tasia-sama, Nicholas-sama, if you two are feeling tired, we can order the knights to set up camp here and rest for a while. Otherwise..."

  Tasia opened her eyes and looked at Du Fan, shaking her head slowly: "I'm fine, just a bit tired. You don't have to delay your journey for me. It's been so many days already, and we still haven't found the location of the Temple of God. We can't afford to waste any more time."

  Du Fan sighed and didn't say anything.

  Alfred nodded and said, "Indeed, we have wasted a lot of time now, but this is also an unavoidable thing. After all, the information that Du Fan got was only very rough. If it could be more detailed, we wouldn't have to work so hard. In this situation, do you two know if there's any other way?"

  Tasia closed her eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "I'm at my wit's end. You all know that although I'm a magician, I'm only skilled in combat. For other matters, it would be better to consult with Nicolas."

  Du Fan and Alfred exchanged a glance, casting their eyes on Nicholas at the same time.

  Nicholas' fingers jumped lightly a few times, and after a moment he said: "I can feel a strong divine power nearby, although it's just a faint feeling. The fact that there is a temple on the ice field doesn't seem to be false. You two don't need to worry so much, I believe that if we persevere for a few more days, we will already be able to reach our destination."

  Du Fan's face lit up with joy: "So, can Your Excellency Nicholas feel the direction of that divine power? Even if it's just a direction, it's much better than us running around randomly."

  Nicholas frowned and said, "The will of God is difficult to fathom. Is this something that we mortals can casually sense? You two should be less anxious and search slowly. These things have been predetermined in the underworld, and we are just following the guidance of God as we move forward. Forcing it won't work."

  Du Fan secretly despised Nicolas in his heart, feeling that he was pretending to be mysterious and intimidating, but didn't know who he was trying to scare.

  Some cult leader has selectively forgotten, unaware that many times he himself is also deceiving people like this.

  At this time, a knock on the door sounded outside the carriage. A knight said: "Everyone, the few people who were sent out earlier have all come back. Now we only know that there is a small mountain valley about ten miles ahead of us. There is a fairly prosperous small town in the valley. Apart from this direction, no other directions have seen any places to rest."

  The few people in the carriage exchanged a look, and Nicholas thought for a moment before saying, "Why don't we rest at that small town ahead today? The knights have been rushing on the road for so many days, their physical strength has reached its limit. Moreover, who knows what information can be gathered within the town."

  "Ah, great idea, sir! I'll go make the arrangements. We've been searching for that temple everywhere and can't seem to find it anyway. Let's just take a good rest in this town for a day instead."

  Nicholas nodded and slowly closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind and was no longer prepared to speak.

  Du Fan and Alfred didn't dare say anything more, they just apologized for their fault and retreated from the carriage.

  As soon as he stepped out of the carriage, Du Fan was blown by the north wind and suddenly felt what it meant to be in heaven one moment and hell the next. He struggled to mobilize all the light energy in his body to run for a while, and after a while, his hands and feet, which had been frozen numb, slowly regained their sensation.

  The team slowly moved forward again, and due to the difficulty of the road, it wasn't until dusk that they finally arrived at the edge of the small town.

  This is a small town nestled in the valley, which is actually just a gap between two mounds of earth on the snowy plain. However, because the two large mounds block most of the cold wind, this place is still quite suitable for human habitation.

  When they arrived at the entrance of the town, Du Fan and his companions looked at the small wooden houses in front of them, but really didn't know where to settle down. In the end, they could only send a few Temple Knights in to explore the situation first.

  Before long, those Knights Templar all investigated and reported back on the situation.

  The name of this small town is quite simple, called Wood Town. It is said that the reason for this name is because the first batch of people who settled in this place made a living by logging. Because although the north is snowy all year round, there are also several months of relatively warm weather every year. At this time, the people inside the town would send the wood cut down during the winter to be sold in the southern part of the empire. These woods were quite valuable in the southern part of the empire, so the people of this small town lived a comfortable life.

  However, due to various reasons, there is no church of the Sacred Court in this place, and even the Gavin Empire does not have a garrison here. For such a small town, I'm afraid that even if there is an inn, it would be impossible to accommodate a team of dozens of people.