“I really want to eat Sukiyaki”

Lin blew out a breath of hot air on his hands, warming his ten fingers. The clothes distributed by the Spirit Hall were indeed very warm, but the gloves were half-finger gloves.

This is because full-finger gloves will reduce the sensitivity of the warriors' fingers and make it difficult to operate full-screen smartphones, so it is better to only send half-finger gloves, and there is still fabric left.

"Hold on a bit, the shift change will take another half an hour, then we can go to the camp to eat and rest." Uncle Sato next to him glanced at the two watchmen walking in front and curled his lips: "They are not hungry yet, so stop complaining."

At this time, the watchman in front turned around, looked at the setting sun in the distance, and asked in English: "Where are we patrolling?"

"Let me take a look." Lin took out his phone and looked at the map, then said, "This is Lobster Mountain. Follow the mountain path and then walk to County Road 54. The Spirit Hall has already arranged a vehicle on the road and will take us to the camp for a shift change."

The watcher looked around and said, "There are no lobsters here, so why is it called Lobster Hill?"

Another watcher said in a muffled voice, "There's no elephant in that Xiangxiang Mountain just now. It's just a place name. Victor, we're not here for tourism."

"Ok, Neville, of course I remember the real mission that brought me all the way to Fanying." Watcher Victor spread his hands and said, "We are here to defeat the Demon King for justice and peace."

"But speaking of lobsters, I've been craving for some. Once the investigation is finished, I'll have to try some lobsters at Fanying. I heard that Ise lobsters are delicious."

Lin raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this.

Victor touched his chin and asked Lin and Sato, "But, I only came here for the power of the Demon King. If I can get the power of the Demon King, I will be promoted and get a raise immediately. I can even become the second most important person in the Watchers after the Angel Captain. Even the Angel Zack will have to give way to me! If you get the power of the Demon King, what rewards will the Spirit Hall give you?"

The two watchers, plus two Spirit Hall warriors, were the patrol team sent by the joint investigation team to the central part of the Missile Mountains.

The Hida Mountains are actually very large. They are known as the Alps with cherry blossoms. They span several counties from north to south. There are famous mountain climbing trails and ski centers. There are rivers in the north that are used for hydropower development, and even young volcanoes such as Mount Norikura and Mount Ontake. The terrain is rugged, complex and varied, with endless mountains. If someone drove here to commit suicide, they would most likely end up with a missing person certificate. If they died a little further away, no one would find them.

If one really wanted to conduct a thorough search of the Missile Mountains, let alone the Spirit Hall monks, even if one threw nearly 30,000 police officers from the Fanying Metropolitan Police Department in, they would probably only make a splash and then be silent.

Moreover, when there are too many people, it is easy to cause chaos. They want to find the devil, not let the devil take advantage of the chaos and escape.

Therefore, the Metropolitan Police Department in Toyama Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture and other areas was only responsible for thoroughly checking surrounding hotels and investigating information about strangers, and there was no need to go into the mountains to investigate; as for the investigation of the Hida Mountains, because the Watchers had found the followers of the Demon King who created the source of the chaos, the fish-man monster, and found key information from the followers' residences, it was confirmed that the Demon King was in the middle of the Hida Mountains, so the joint investigation team divided their forces into patrols and searches in the mountains.

The Spirit Hall has the largest number of warriors (urgently summoned from all over Fanying), so the patrol team is generally composed of two extraordinary people from each country + two or three Spirit Hall warriors, who patrol the mountains led by the warriors.

Moreover, everyone is equipped with flares. Once the Demon King is spotted, the first thing they have to do is send out a signal. Each patrol team consists of four or five extraordinary people. Even if they cannot defeat the Demon King, there is always a chance to send out a signal.

This is also the reason why ordinary police are not allowed to investigate: in complex terrain like the mountains, the Demon King's advantage over ordinary people is almost overwhelming. A random spell can make ordinary people lose their ability to move. Only extraordinary people can barely resist the Demon King's suppression.

Lin and Sato were originally just ordinary members of the Spirit Hall, with decent qualifications but few connections. If they had followed the normal pace, they would most likely have become logistics instructors of the Spirit Hall.

However, because they witnessed the ghost-running gang and the Crow Tengu of the Fairy Palace God of Food with their own eyes, they received a little attention from their superiors.

And because of this little bit of attention, the two of them got more opportunities to make meritorious deeds in the past few months, and then they rose to the top and successfully became combat warriors of the Spirit Hall.

Sato glanced at the two watchers and gave a polite smile like a social person: "There are rewards. The Spirit Hall will not ignore anyone's contribution. But we warriors are here to enforce justice, and we don't care about the amount of the reward."

Victor and Newt can basically represent the two typical foreigners in the joint investigation team: those who come for justice and revenge, like Newt, most of them have relatives and friends who died at the hands of the devil's followers, or were affected by the source of chaos; those who come for interests, like Victor, he just wants to obtain the devil's powerful ability, and then use this power to strive for a higher status.

On the contrary, most of the warriors of the Spirit Hall came here only for missions. For example, Lin and Sato had no intention of snatching the power of the Demon King. They knew that they were weak and not qualified to participate in the extraordinary war. They just planned to do their job of leading the way honestly. It would be best if they didn't encounter the Demon King and patrolled safely until the shift change time.

It’s not surprising that they have such thoughts, mainly because there are no weaklings among the extraordinary people sent by other countries. Each one of them is at least a Sanyun-level Onmyoji or samurai.

How can Lin and Sato, two warriors who only know a little bit of combat magic, compete with them for the Demon King's head?

Victor muttered "The people of Fanying are so boring" and continued patrolling.

Because it was already dark, they turned on their tactical flashlights to illuminate the mountain road, occasionally scanning the grass on the mountain and below. Victor was quiet for a while, then he started to get restless again: "Can we really find the Demon King if we look like this?"

Compared to the lifeless Newt, Victor was easy to get along with except that he talked more. So Sato thought about it and decided to chat with him:

"If the information is correct, the Demon King stayed in Shirakawa-go yesterday and will move northwest. She will most likely pass by Ozozo Mountain (Elephant Mountain), Takanbo Mountain (Lobster Mountain), Akamugumu Mountain, and Ogasa Mountain."

Sato, who had studied the map, said, "The patrol route covers the entire mountainous area. If she really moves in this direction, she will definitely be discovered."

"What if she doesn't go to the mountains?" Victor asked.

"Highways, avenues, and railways are all strictly checked. Even people walking on the street, regardless of gender, must undergo identity verification. If she were to walk on the street buying food and drinks, she would definitely be discovered," Sato said patiently.

Lin interrupted and asked, "Master Sakura seems to be sure that the Demon King will definitely enter the mountain. I don't know where they are on duty. By the way, the information about the Demon King comes from you watchers. Why are you asking us?"

"It comes from the Watchers. What does it have to do with me?" Victor rubbed his stiff neck and said, "Only God knows why Brett is always so lucky. He can find key clues and evidence just by walking around. He came to Fanying to relax early and happened to encounter the clue of the fish-man giant monster. He kept it to himself and didn't tell us."

Victor thought for a moment and said, "But anyway, just listen to him and do what he says, and there will be no problem. Several of my colleagues have been promoted and given salary increases because of working with Brett, and they are rarely injured. Brett always protects them."

Lin's tone was full of envy, and he said longingly: "As expected of 'Prince' Leopold, I wish I could follow him and do things."

Sato slapped Lin on the back of his head. "Have you forgotten that you are a warrior of the Spirit Hall? Are you so disloyal?"

Lin touched the back of his head and said, "Hey, Uncle Sato, even though I say I'm envious, I really am.

You see, Mr. Leopold is just like the protagonist in an RPG game. Following him will get you a promotion, a raise, and a safe place. This kind of good thing is rare. This time, we will capture the demon king under his leadership, and it will definitely go smoothly."

Victor followed suit, "Yes, yes, and Brett is easy to get along with and has good relationships with people. I plan to hang out with him after this operation is over."

Lin raised his eyebrows.

Sato sighed helplessly: "I hope so."

Chatting and patrolling, they soon walked out of Lobster Hill and headed straight for the highway along the mountain road. Victor, who had good eyesight, could even see a car parked on the road. He stretched and said with a smile on his face, "Okay, as long as we finish this section of the road, we can rest!"

Lin's eyebrows jumped wildly when he heard this!

Lin smacked his lips and said, "Well, Victor"

"Huh?" Victor turned his head and looked at him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm actually quite superstitious. When I'm on a mission, if I say things like 'this will happen after this' or 'this will happen as long as this is done', I'm likely to..."

"What could it be?"

“It may not be safe to go.”

At this moment, Newt kicked his legs and rushed towards Victor in front of him, shouting: "Victor!"

维克托也是极快，然而他已经失去了先机，只感觉后脑勺被一股猛力砸中，直接眼冒金星失去意识倒在地上。

身高近两米的纽特如同橄榄球运动员冲过去，喉咙里发出低沉的嘶吼，身上浮现黄褐色的装甲，看来是想直接将袭击者撞飞！

然而一道魅影在手电筒的光线下飘过，宛若惊鸿般避开纽特的扑杀。林和佐藤只听见纽特后脑勺传来核桃破碎般的声音，然后纽特就倒下了。

两个d级超凡者，相当三云阴阳师的强者，兔起鹃落之间就被袭击者击杀了！

佐藤和林马上急速后退，并且拿出枪袋里的信号枪。

但他们的速度完全比不上魅影的速度，哪怕有战术手电的照射，也没能让他们看见魅影的相貌。

佐藤刚拿出信号枪就被魅影击飞了，然后林听见一声惨叫，看见佐藤大叔被击飞到树上，软绵绵地晕了过去。

这时候，林总算是捕捉到魅影使用的武器是一根棒子！

他手忙脚乱地狂奔，连手电筒都丢掉了，花了老大功夫才拿出信号枪。但祸不单行，他匆忙逃跑的时候没看路，脚踢到了地上的粗树根，整个人飞了出去，摔了个狗吃屎。

惨了！

林完全忽视了身体上的疼痛，心里蔓延着无尽的恐慌和埋怨都怪那个维克托，没事立什么flag，这下好了，团灭了！

林翻过身，愣了一下身后方向，并没有人追过来。

难道我成功活下来了？

苦大仇深的纽特、野心颇大的维克托、世事洞明的佐藤大叔都死了，就只有我活下来了？

不等他心里产生活下来的惊喜和独自求活的愧疚，他便听到身后出现树叶被踩碎的声音。

居然跑到我身后面去了？

林昂起僵硬的脑袋，恰好看见那个击杀佐藤大叔的兵器，正从上方砸向他的脑门。

今天的下弦月很明亮，皎洁的月光给予了充足的光线，让林在生命的最后一刻，看见究竟是什么兵器击杀了他们四人。

看啊，那粉红色的棍身、那白色的羽毛造型、以及那宛若鸟嘴的红色尖嘴

林心中泛起不可思议的惊讶：等等，这不就是声名赫赫，连小孩子为之震惊的魔幻武器

木之本樱的封印之杖吗！？

“你也被木之本樱袭击了？”

对讲机里武魂殿武士一愣：“也？”

山道一处大石头上，坐着一名身高约莫只有150的红发少女。她左手拿着苹果在啃，右手拿着对讲机说道：“你是第三批跟我说被封印之杖敲晕的巡逻队了。”

“你们是不是看见信号弹，就往信号弹的方向赶过去？”

对讲机：“是的，佐仓大武士，虽然我们觉得路途有点远，应该要在原地待命，但队内的钢铁烈阳超凡者非要过去，我们也只好跟着一起走。”

红发少女再咬了一口苹果：“然后走到路上，就被人袭击了？”

“是不清对方是什么人，有多少人，只能隐约看见攻击我们的武器是封印之杖。我们大概晕了十几分钟后就清醒过来，钢铁烈阳的人醒了之后就马上发出信号弹”

“懂了。”

切换对讲机频道，等信号接通，红发少女说道：“卡德尔，你在哪？”

“在赶去信号弹发出的方向啊。”这名欧洲孤狼说道：“连续两小时都在那边发生战斗，魔王看来是想在那里跟我们决一死战了。”

红发少女说道：“也许不是魔王，袭击者用的武器太奇怪了。”

“所以我才忍了三个小时，布莱特那家伙猜错了。”

卡德尔挂断了电话，红发少女拨打给戴泽、乌尔萨和游戬，发现戴泽和乌尔萨都已经过去了，游戬正准备动身。

红发少女将吃干净的苹果随手丢落山地，往旁边一伸手，身边的赤甲武士马上递出一个红彤彤的大苹果过去。

她一边吃，一边想为什么是封印之杖？

难道魔王很喜欢看魔卡少女樱？有可能，以她的年龄推算，她小时候很可能看过这部动画

难道魔王的能力得用魔法棒才能用出来？这也有可能

又或者，那根本不是魔王，那个手持封印之杖袭击巡逻队员的人，只是想调虎离山。

但万一，魔王真的在那边，被孤狼他们击杀了怎么办？

魔王那种力量，繁樱是最为急需的繁樱几乎天天地震风暴山泥倾泻，要是有那种掌控祸乱之源的力量

红发少女狠狠咬了一口苹果，打开对讲机，问道：“布莱特，你在哪？”

“在关口驻守呢。”布莱特声音里的亲切爽朗，哪怕经过对讲机的劣质复读都无法掩盖：“杏子，有什么吩咐？”

红发少女：“他们都去d区找魔王了，我们也去吧！你猜错了，魔王根本没打算重温故地，只是想临死前大闹一场。”

“也许吧。那好吧，杏子，我也动身了。”布莱特似乎有点遗憾，但很快就说道：“到时候，各凭本事。”

“各凭本事！”

红发少女跳了下来，旁边一名赤备武士拿着一柄长达三米的长枪，走过来弯下腰，温柔说道：“杏子，你的”

红发少女拿过来长枪，反手用枪杆戳了一下赤备武士的膝盖，戳的他哎哟一声单膝跪下。

“你也配喊我的名字？等你实力追上我再说吧。”红发少女哼了一声：“还要，在我面前不要弯腰，我没那么矮！”

另外一边，穿着白色风衣的布莱特在守望者的簇拥下，沿着山路往信号弹频发的地区前进。

一道剑芒越过布莱特的肩膀，将布莱特前方一根倒悬的树枝砍下来，布莱特笑了一下：“谢了，赛丽斯。”

被称赞的女守望者没有高兴，反而是厉声喝问：“贾维尔，你怎么开路的？刚才树枝差点就擦到布莱特了！”

前方开路的壮汉贾维尔发出羞愧的声音：“抱歉，我刚才走神了”

“贾维尔，你不能开路就让我来”

“好了好了。”布莱特轻声说道：“那根树枝伤不到我的，赛丽斯你别反应过度，还有贾维尔，你一直以来都做得很好，有点小失误很正常，没事的。”

“哼好吧，布莱特。”

“我会继续努力的，布莱特。”

一个小插曲就这么过去了，不过这时候布莱特忽然停下脚步，环视一周，身边四位守望者神色不变，马上以布莱特为中心展开守护阵型。

山林里非常静谧，左边是陡峭的山坡，右侧是茂密的树丛，耳中只有风吹动树叶的飒飒声，远处鸟鸣虫叫起伏不息。皎月已被雪云遮蔽，细小的雪花乘着并不明亮的月光，拒绝了风的挽留，散落到大地之上，结束了短暂又纯洁美丽的一生。

过了四秒钟，布莱特忽然噗嗤一声笑了：“我只是觉得这里风景挺漂亮，没事发生，你们太敏感了。”

守望者们松了口气，赛丽斯说道：“那这次行动结束，布莱特你好好放个假吧。你也好久没放假了。”

“是啊是啊，布莱特你太拼了。”

“老大，你做的够多了，可以稍微休息一下。”

布莱特笑道：“说到休息，你们也没有休息啊。你们想放假就放假，不用顾虑我。”

“不要。”赛丽斯摇摇头：“你放假的话，我就陪着你一起放假；你不放假，我也陪着你一起工作。”

“我也是，跟着你就会有很多好处，我可不想错过什么大好事。”

“老大，只要你不赶走我，我就会一直跟着你。”

布莱特摊摊手：“好啦好啦，有你们这群可靠队友，我真是开心得想连续加几个月班”

“不要吧，放一天假总得要啊！”

“老大”

守望者的欢声笑语逐渐远去，而刚才布莱特他们所站位置旁边的树丛里，正躺着两个相拥的男女。

任索躺在地上，乔木依整个人骑在任索身上，两人身体完全贴紧，不留一丝缝隙。四眼相对，眼波流转之间，仿佛能清晰知晓对方心里的想法。

任索一只手按住乔木依的腰，让她贴紧自己；一只手拿着口罩捂住乔木依的口鼻，乔木依的如兰吐气，让他手掌心有点痒。

“没事了。”他轻声说道：“他发现不了你，不用紧张。”

乔木依身体一僵，闻言身体非但没有放松，反而继续紧紧抱住任索。

刚才乔木依，的确是因为感觉自己被布莱特发现而紧张，不过当任索忽然脱下口罩抱住她后

嗯，反正我很紧张就对了。