25: Chapter 25 Return to Territory, New Mission

April 7th, 6120, Nuoer Main Plane calendar.

A convoy loaded with grain, cloth, and various daily supplies slowly headed out of the city, escorted by over a hundred Barbarians, clad in armor and as sturdy as calves.

The luxurious carriage in the center of the convoy was pulled by three pure white, high-quality warhorses. On both sides were carriage doors, engraved with exquisite patterns that exuded elegance and nobility.

The carriage was spacious enough to accommodate several people lying down to sleep.

What caught the crowd's attention most was the flag issued by the aristocratic Council of Elders on the carriage—a silver crescent moon.

Only nobles with a title above Count were permitted to use the exclusive flag of the Silver Moon Kingdom.

Noble and rare.

Loren lay half-reclined on the soft cotton cushions of the carriage, looking out at the street through the glass window, his eyes filled with anticipation.

After successfully subduing the Barbarians yesterday afternoon, the five members of the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce quickly equipped him with all the supplies he wanted—one set of armor per Barbarian and a large amount of daily necessities.

After resting for a night at the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce, he did not continue to stay in this city and left directly with his army and supplies.

The Grey Eagle Territory was waiting for its master to return...

Outside the glass window, the appearance of this great northern city was reflected in those deep, dark pupils as the carriage moved.

The streets of Decker City, with its three-hundred-year history, were ancient and rugged. The towering pointed structures on both sides were carved with religious reliefs, majestic and sacred.

At the intersection stood a bronze sculpture of a sky knight riding a Griffin, full of power.

His gaze shifted to the pedestrians on both sides.

The streets were almost entirely filled with adventurers wearing leather armor or plate armor; there were not many civilians.

City guards in sturdy armor patrolled the streets, occasionally stopping to enter a shop for inspection.

Some adventurers returning from outside the city held magical beasts in their hands, discussing excitedly with rather high spirits. Some merchants, upon seeing the magical beasts, immediately had their eyes light up and came out of their shops to inquire about prices.

Some were covered in blood, with gloomy expressions, their hands empty and having gained nothing.

Even worse, some carried their own companions who had lost arms or legs, their faces filled with grief...

The beggars begging humbly on both sides of the street looked at the adventurers who had captured magical beasts with eyes filled with numbness, fear, and pleading, wanting to beg for some coins or food as charity.

But those adventurers walked in a hurry and paid no attention to giving alms to the beggars. Only a few young ladies, seeing some young beggars, couldn't bear it and took out a few pieces of currency to place before them.

Nobles, adventurers, beggars, merchants, city guards...

Seeing these scenes, Loren was inexplicably stunned...

This familiar yet strange world seemed to have only just unveiled its curtain to him at this moment.

Clop, clop~

The iron-shod hooves stepped on the bluestone ground, making a crisp sound. The convoy, escorted by Barbarians in front and behind, passed through the long street and slowly drove out of the towering city gate.

The moment Loren saw the city walls of Decker City, he instantly raised his head.

As the largest city in the north, the walls of Decker City, built of giant stones, were over forty meters high, which could be called a natural chasm in this world.

Above the city wall, an arrow tower more than ten meters higher than the wall was erected at intervals.

Ferocious siege crossbows emitted a cold, deep chill from the shooting ports, ready to hunt down invading enemies at any time.

Even more eye-catching were the massive magical beasts in the sky—Griffins.

Those terrifying existences with the wings of a falcon and the body of a lion were currently soaring, casting shadows one after another on the ground, blotting out the sky and sun.

Sky cavalry had always been the sharp blade in war. The Griffin Legion of Decker City and the Gold Knights were the biggest reasons this city had stood for hundreds of years.

It was hard to imagine what kind of power would be needed to conquer such a towering city.

These scenes filled Loren with longing.

The Grey Eagle Territory would one day be more magnificent than this city!

The convoy drove out of the city gate, leaving the walls behind.

But not long after the convoy left the gate, a breeze blew, and the breeze that should have been very comfortable made him frown.

The smell of blood, a rich smell of blood.

Loren had a premonition and suddenly turned his head to look at the city wall behind him.

He saw that the outside of this wall, which was like a natural chasm, was coated with a thick layer of blood, even exaggeratedly blackened.

And the claw marks on the wall, as if bitten by wild beasts, were also extremely dense, as if carved on a wooden board tens of thousands of times with a chisel.

This scene gave him a strong sense of shock.

The Bloody Corruptor.

Those terrifying monsters hidden in the dimensional planes attacked human cities whenever the Day of Blood arrived.

As the largest city in the north, the pressure of the attacks by the Bloody Corruptor that Decker City endured every month was unimaginable to outsiders.

Soldiers in sturdy armor, towering arrow towers, flying Griffins—all of this was prepared for those terrifying things...

"Fiana, you have participated in the war against the Lizardman Empire. Compared to the Lizardman and the Bloody Corruptor attacking the city, which is more terrifying?"

Loren looked at the cold-tempered girl beside him.

The Lizardman Empire bordered the Silver Moon Kingdom. The two sides had an unprecedented war a few years ago, and the parents of his predecessor died in that war.

"Lizardman..."

Fiana's eyes narrowed slightly, some sealed memories surfaced in her mind, and her voice was low.

"Fighting the Lizardman is to defend the interests of the Silver Moon Kingdom, while fighting the Bloody Corruptor is for survival. The two are incomparable."

After speaking, she said nothing more.

That was not a memory worth delving into...

Loren looked at the girl's expression, thoughtful, sensing the other party's emotions, and did not pursue the question.

His gaze turned to the burly Barbarian Chieftain Yas Frost at the front of the team.

"Can you train this army within half a month if I hand it over to you?"

After Fiana's emotions calmed down, she shook her head.

"I am not good at training troops, and these Barbarians submit to you. Even if I am Platinum Rank, with the personality of the Barbarians, they would never simply obey my orders. Their pride is engraved in their bones. Only by truly conquering these arrogant warriors who do not fear death can they be made to obey."

Loren understood.

The strength of the Barbarians was unquestionable, but it would take some effort to use these people well.

The convoy moved at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour, which was not fast.

The human physique in the Nuoer Main Plane was much stronger than that of Earth humans, so this marching speed could only be considered average.

After leaving Decker City, large stretches of wasteland began to appear.

The Endless Wasteland had a very harsh living environment.

The reason it could attract so many Frontier Lords to come and develop territories was that there were a large number of rare mineral veins hidden in this land.

This was an indispensable precious resource. Forging weapons, casting armor, and daily life were inseparable from items made of various gold, silver, copper, and iron.

Therefore, this was a place that every empire and tribe fought for.

The desolate scene did not last long.

More than ten minutes later, fields of crops appeared next to a small river, where green crops were blooming with pure white flowers.

Even just looking from afar, it could make people feel relaxed, as if they were in a sea of flowers.

"Is that blue heart fruit?"

Loren asked the only girl he could talk to beside him.

Fiana, with her cold face, originally didn't want to pay attention to such a boring question, but seeing those curious eyes, she couldn't help but speak.

"As a lord, you should learn the essential knowledge of a lord. Because of the existence of the Bloody Corruptor, the main food crop of the Nuoer Main Plane is the blue heart fruit. The roots of the blue heart fruit are buried about one meter underground. Planting requires a lot of water resources. When immature, even if the flowers and leaves are removed, it can still grow. This is why the Bloody Corruptor attacks human cities every month, but has not caused a total crop failure."

After Loren's curiosity was satisfied, he smiled and said nothing more.

His predecessor was a standard aristocratic child, very proficient in some knowledge that required artistic attainments, such as elf painting appreciation... but he was very ignorant about things that only farmers needed to understand.

The rest of the journey was silent.

About a hundred kilometers around Decker City belonged to the actual control area of Decker City. You could often see troops patrolling, and you could also see convoys dragging a large amount of goods on the road.

Territories and villages built along rivers were not rare, and you could often see the flower sea of blue heart fruit.

But after the team left the control area of Decker City, they could immediately feel that the surrounding environment had become harsh.

Not only was the road becoming more difficult to walk, but even many robbers appeared around, eyeing the convoy covetously.

However, most people were sensible. After seeing more than a hundred Barbarians as strong as calves, they immediately retreated.

No one was willing to conflict with the Mountain Barbarian—unless they were prepared to die in battle.

Not to mention that this was the convoy of a noble lord.

Loren originally planned to let the Barbarians kill these robbers to upgrade, but these guys who retreated as he advanced, following from afar, were slippery and had no desire to fight.

The Barbarians ran away before they could get close. After several times, he had no interest in continuing to tangle with these robbers.

After sending the Barbarian Chief to patrol with a dozen Barbarians, he accelerated and rushed to the territory.

Although ordinary human robbers dared not touch Loren's convoy, other races did not think so.

In the Endless Wasteland, besides humans, many other races lived.

The most numerous among them were orcs. Orc is not a single race, but a collective term for all intelligent life with beast characteristics.

Kobold, Ratman, Boarman, Werewolf, Tiger-man... and so on, these were all orcs.

Large and small orc tribes were scattered in various parts of the Endless Wasteland.

These barbaric races usually relied on hunting for a living. On the Day of Blood, they would return to their territories or hide in some bottomless caves to take refuge.

And if any outsiders dared to step into their territory, they would not mind guest-starring as hunters and robbers.

The mighty convoy drove on the wasteland after leaving the main human road, which was very eye-catching.

Because of this, an accident soon occurred.

After the convoy passed a small stream, Barbarian Chieftain Yas reported with a serious face—a large number of Kobolds had appeared around, at least more than two hundred.

And among these Kobolds, there seemed to be a Bloodline Mage.

Hearing this, Loren immediately became vigilant.

Kobolds were not scary, but no matter how lousy a Spellcaster was, they could not be underestimated.

Just as he was about to make arrangements, the system prompt suddenly sounded.

"Ding~ Mission triggered: The Kobold's Peeping. On the Endless Wasteland, there are large and small orc tribes, and the Kobold is one of them. These greedy and cowardly lives will become bloodthirsty and murderous after their numbers accumulate to a certain degree. Please defeat the Kobold within three hours. Mission reward: Loyalty of the Kobold Bloodline Mage."