"Thud, thud, thud..."
The sound of hooves echoed continuously, as several horses pulled ice sleds across the frozen Riverden River.
Ice sleds, on the other side of the world, are generally used for transportation and recreation. Lucas was using a transport-style low-foot ice sled, which is a ground-based sled. It has two short wooden planks of equal length for the feet, and steel plates are nailed to the bottom of the sled to reduce friction with the ice, allowing for faster speed, making it much easier for the horses to pull.
The ice sled Lucas was using was an extended version that he had designed, though it still needed to carry some food and supplies, so space for each person was limited. The members of the War Wolves team took turns sitting on the sled, running alongside it for a while.
"Ah..." Lucas exhaled a long breath of hot air, stretching his legs that had been bent for a long time. He was sitting on the ice sled, with Cat-Ear Girl and Nicole sitting beside him.
Today marked the fourth day since they left Pentos City. Lucas was on his way to Riverden City to gather some information, and if possible, to talk business, specifically regarding purchasing sheep from the Sahara Grasslands. After all, taking the Riverden River route could save him four days of travel time.
Nicole, whose beautiful eyes happened to catch this moment, softly spoke, "Young master, let me massage your legs?"
As she tried to stand up, Lucas immediately held her waist and shook his head, saying, "Don't move around, you'll fall and scrape your face."
"Ah?" Nicole gasped, not daring to move. No girl would be unconcerned about her appearance, and if her face were scratched, it could lead to depression.
After a long while, Nicole realized what had happened and scolded, "Young master, you scared me."
"We should be arriving soon, just bear with it a little longer," Lucas replied calmly. Originally, he hadn't planned to go to Riverden City, but he had suddenly decided to.
Now, there was very little space left on the ship for the horses, so only Lucas, the three of them, and seven members of the War Wolves team were traveling. The rest were staying behind by the Whispering River, guarding the ship.
"Young master, look, is that little black spot Riverden City?" Mina asked, pointing to a distant black speck. She stood up skillfully, balancing herself perfectly on the sled, unaffected by its movement, her sense of balance was quite impressive.
"Let me see," Lucas said as he took out a pair of binoculars from the back. After looking through, he could vaguely make out the outline of a city. He nodded and said, "It should be Riverden City."
"Great, we're finally almost there." Nicole's eyes curved with a smile. Sitting on the sled all day had made her body quite uncomfortable.
"Young master, let me have a look," Mina said gently, her eyes fixated on the binoculars. She really liked this tool that allowed her to see such far distances.
"Here," Lucas handed it to her with a light smile. "It's yours now."
He would eventually equip the War Wolves team or special department personnel with binoculars, but the crucial technology of preventing dismantling had yet to be mastered.
The principle of the binoculars was simple: they worked by refracting light through concave lenses. As long as one understood the principle, people in this era could replicate them. They didn't have glass, but could use transparent crystals to slowly grind lenses.
That's why the anti-dismantling technology was necessary. Or rather, the self-destruct feature. If someone accidentally got their hands on the binoculars and tried to dismantle them, a spring inside would pop out and destroy the lenses.
"Really?" Mina's eyes widened in surprise. "Young master, you're really giving me this binocular?"
"Really," Lucas replied with a light smile. This was a small, hand-sized binocular, perfect for carrying around and ideal for Cat-Ear Girl.
Actually, Lucas had already planned to order a batch of night-vision goggles from Earth. They would be a useful tool for nighttime operations, and combined with silent crossbows, they could make it possible for one person to take on dozens.
The night-vision goggles would become another trump card for him, or at least something useful for special circumstances.
"Young master, this is wonderful!" Mina bent down and lightly kissed Lucas on the cheek, then happily began scanning her surroundings with the binoculars.
"Eh? There's someone on the ice?" Mina exclaimed.
"Oh? Let me take a look." Lucas took the binoculars, and indeed, there was a person on the ice, but they were too far away to make out their face.
"Young master, should we go over and take a look?" Mina asked softly.
"Let's go, we can gather some information about Riverden City," Lucas nodded.
On another sled, Chris, hearing this, immediately shouted, "Increase speed!"
"Yes," The War Wolves team immediately urged their horses to run faster.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
The horses pulling the ice sleds sped up, racing across the frozen river. The ice-covered river was the best natural road, much faster than on land, and with the ice sled, the speed doubled.
What would take a full day on land now only took six or seven hours. If they had fewer supplies and two horses pulling the sled, they could probably make a round trip in a day.
Soon, the team was close enough to see the figure on the ice clearly. It was a tall and beautiful woman, with short black hair and brown eyes full of caution. She was holding a spear, pointing it at them.
"Who are you?" The woman asked sharply, watching the fully armed team warily. She had lowered her body into a half-bow stance, tightly gripping her spear. She regretted not leaving sooner.
The armor and weapons of the group were more advanced than hers, and even though she could usually take on two Riverden City knights at once, she was now feeling somewhat helpless.
"We mean no harm," Lucas said, standing up and getting off the sled, speaking gently. "We are just heading to Riverden City for something important."
"What are you going to Riverden City for?" The woman asked, her suspicion deepening. Even though the man was handsome, she couldn't afford to let her guard down.
Her father had taught her that the more attractive a man was, the more scheming and deceitful he was, capable of sweet-talking girls.
"This..." Lucas was momentarily stunned. Why did her eyes look like she was looking at a pervert?
"My young master wants to meet the Lord of Riverden City to discuss some important matters," Nicole gently explained, offering support. "We really mean no harm."
Looking for her father? Was it for food? The woman thought to herself. After all, Riverden City was only valuable for its grain.
"We don't have any extra food to sell to you," She said, her brown eyes widening as she stepped forward with her spear.
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