You cheated me twice.

  Just now a lightning strike smashed through my computer, luckily it came back online after a while, so I can get online again... what a tragedy...

  For my tragic life, vote red...

  Tragic dividing line

  "How can this be?" Casimir said, "In any case, we Snow Fox Mercenaries will remember this kindness for a lifetime. If Lord Alfred is too polite, I'll get angry."

  Du Fan sneered inwardly, but his smile grew even more awkward on his face.

  The eyes of the two people collided across the bonfire, and a polite smile appeared on each other's face. In this situation, it was unclear who regarded whom as a fool.

  Du Fan intended to probe Kasimir, but didn't want to be detected, so he signaled the Temple Knights waiting on the side to serve several bowls of meat soup that were being cooked, to the people opposite him. Only then did he ask: "By the way, Lord Kasimir, I think your Snow Fox Mercenary Group should be familiar with this northern ice plain, but how did you end up suffering such a great loss this time? If we hadn't intervened in time earlier, I'm afraid you would have..."

  As the saying goes, don't hit people in the face and don't smash their heads. Du Fan's questioning not only slapped him in the face but also smashed his head, it's a typical case of mentioning one pot while opening another.

  However, his words only made Kasimir think that he was inexperienced in the ways of the world and was just a rookie in this northern ice field. He glanced at Dufan's storage ring on his hand, and a flash of fire passed through Kasimir's eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "To be honest with you, Lord Alfred, we wouldn't have been in any danger this time either, because we were only planning to make a quick profit on the edge of the northern ice field and leave. But last night, we encountered that magical beast..."

  "That monster, we've never seen it before on the outskirts of this northern ice field. This time, we're in big trouble," Kasimierz's face showed a hint of fear. "However, I see that Lord Alfred's skills are indeed extraordinary. Something that we couldn't handle even with our full strength was taken down by him with just one move... He truly is a young hero."

  As Casimir spoke, the El'gorin mage on one side also stared at Dufan, her eyes filled not only with admiration but also a hint of flirtatiousness.

  Du Fan seemed to be extremely comfortable with the flattery and was excited by the gaze, so he became excited and started bragging about his heroic deeds in the past. However, what Du Fan said was reasonable and most of the events had actually happened, except that the main character of these stories was Alfred. When there was nothing more to say, Du Fan began to make up anecdotes, boasting himself to be a rare talent in the world.

  A few Snow Fox Mercenary Group members also chimed in, shouting out phrases like "Ah!", "Really?!", and "Lord Alfred is indeed a genius!" one after another, making Dufan increasingly excited.

  The voices grew louder and louder, and the sound that came faintly after the cold wind made several Temple Knights guarding the outer camp look at each other in dismay, but listening to the joyful atmosphere of the guests inside the camp, they couldn't help but smile without making a sound.

  Finally, Du Fan spoke until his mouth was dry and his tongue was parched, and he barely managed to stop.

  Although Casimir felt annoyed, he became more and more certain that this so-called Alfred, who initially seemed extremely clever but was actually a useless pretty boy. He had wasted his worries for half a day, and now he knew the truth after just one probe. Indeed, it would be easy to deal with the weak-minded if he wanted to take advantage of him, as long as he could handle those few knights who looked quite strong. As for this useless Alfred, Casimir didn't believe he had any real abilities. If he could get rid of him, even if there was nothing in his storage ring, just selling the ring itself would give his Snow Fox Mercenary Group a chance to turn things around.

  However, this Casimir is also a very insightful person, and he didn't dare to take action against Dufan rashly. Instead, he smiled and said: "Excuse my impertinence, Lord Alfred. With your youthful heroism, why would you come to the northern ice fields, a place where even birds don't shit? This is not a good place for sightseeing!"

  Du Fan seemed to hesitate for a moment, and his face showed a few sad expressions. He said, "This matter is quite long-winded... but if Kasimier is interested in listening, I'll say it anyway."

  A look of puzzlement appeared on Casimir's face, and he said: "Lord Alfred, please speak up if there's anything we can help with. I, Casimir, am also a person who repays kindness, and I will definitely do my best."

  Alfred's expression on his face became increasingly bitter, and after a long time, he sighed: "Actually... if this is said, it would be laughable to Mr. Casimir... Although I, Alfred, am just a small noble who doesn't even have a say in the family, but this matter is still somewhat unspeakable!"

  "Alfred, sir, speak your mind. Do you really think I, Casimir, am an outsider?"

  "Damn it, who's the outsider if not you? Otherwise, that bastard Alfred would have had me test your loyalty, and I wouldn't have to put on this stupid act. But fortunately, if this stupid reputation gets out in the future, it'll be that bastard Alfred who's weak, not me, Young Master. I don't care."

  At this moment, Du Fan's expression became even more sorrowful. He hesitated for a long time before suddenly revealing a hint of shame on his face. In a low voice, he said: "This matter actually started half a year ago. Half a year ago, when I went to the Imperial City to handle some business, I met the top courtesan, Ruhua Miss, at the Lichun Brothel. I was amazed by her beauty and immediately spent all my wealth to help her buy out her contract... Originally, I thought that Alfred and Ruhua Miss could live a happy life together from then on, but... heaven is pitiful... Two months ago, Ruhua Miss suddenly contracted a strange illness. After the medical treatment at the Sacred Church was ineffective, I coincidentally heard from a priest that Ruhua Miss had contracted a rare disease that affects both men and women. Most courtesans would contract this disease, and even the men who were intimate with them would be infected. However, this disease is not incurable. As long as we can find a hot spring in a certain location on the Northern Ice Plains and soak in it for half a day, the disease will be cured. That's why we came to the Northern Ice Plains... Alas, apart from a few personal guards, I have sent everyone else out to search for that hot spring, but so far, there has been no result."

  Kasimir sneered inwardly, this Alfred really had no brains, not only did he contract a venereal disease from messing with prostitutes, but now he actually believed rumors and ran to the northern ice fields to find some hot spring to cure his illness. It was laughable that he had previously consulted with him in a humble manner, his behavior was clearly pretentious!

  This is really brain-dead and has no bottom line!

  Kasimir confirmed this in his heart, and his heart was even more fiery, but he feared that Dufan would see something, so he hesitated for a moment and said: "The hot spring mentioned by Lord Alfred, I haven't heard of it, but about the intelligence on the northern ice field, I can tell you."

  Du Fan looked at himself and finally turned the topic back here, with a deliberate smile on his face, saying: "Then I will have to ask Kasimir for more guidance."

  Cassimir despised Dufan even more in his heart. This intelligence about the northern ice field was clearly one of the conditions they had just agreed upon, but looking at this guy's current state, nine out of ten he had forgotten this point. Only after confirming that Dufan was indeed brainless did Cassimir sigh and say: "This information was originally meant to be told to Lord Alfred anyway, there's no need for any guidance."

  While speaking, Kasimir drew out a dagger from his waist and scratched the ground for a moment, saying: "Sir, please take a look, this is where we are now, but this place can only be considered as the outer area of the Northern Ice Field. I've been thinking, if you want to find hot springs, there's probably only one place, that is, in a valley between the Northern Ice Field and the Ice-Sealed Forest. That place is also a rare land in the North, roughly like this..."

  As he drew, Kasimir explained in detail, although he was now just acting, but he was afraid that Dufan would see through something, the intelligence about the northern ice field was extremely detailed, and under Dufan's guidance, Kasimir also explained the intelligence about the valley between the northern ice field and the frozen forest. Dufan compared it with the information he had obtained from Elwis in his heart, and he was sure that the place was probably the location of the Temple of God.

  After memorizing the route map, Du Fan changed the subject and chatted with Kasimierz about other things. However, after a few attempts to probe him, Du Fan discovered that Kasimierz really thought of himself as an idiot, and later on, his facial expressions almost couldn't hide his thoughts.

  At last, after some conversation, both parties had the intention of resting. Du Fan very generously lent the tent that originally belonged to Alfred to Casimir and returned to his own tent. However, as soon as he walked in, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.