Chapter 142: The Northern Kingdoms

"Oh, I'm just joking~"

Half a month had passed since the appearance of the colorful experience orb. Given the gravity of the matter, Zhang Lingyun had long since reported it to Mo Fangyuan. Due to concerns regarding safety, interests, and various other factors, and because the Cube Kingdom currently lacked the military strength to address it, Mo Fangyuan—fearing that "startling the snake" might lead to unforeseen consequences—decided not to act rashly. Instead, he ordered a few individuals to secretly observe the changes in the lava lake and submit reports to him.

During this time, the field army marching northward finally made a discovery. In the vast, snow-covered wilderness, they found a small, inhabited village with about a dozen residents. Through the testimony of the village elder, Iron Nose was able to roughly confirm that while there were no massive metropolises with populations over ten thousand in this region, there were seven separate Cube-person kingdoms. This small village was a dependency of one known as the Water River Kingdom. Later, from the elder of another village affiliated with the Stone Kingdom, they learned that although these seven nations were independent and mutually supportive, for reasons unknown, their cities were all built along the banks of a great river. The only divisions between the cities and the people of these nations were low, short walls. Over time, these had coalesced into a sprawling architectural complex.

"So, this must be the giant city His Majesty spoke of..."

After giving the elder some supplies as a token of gratitude, Iron Nose led the field army toward the location of the seven kingdom cities. Having been away for over two months, the soldiers, long separated from their homes and loved ones, were beginning to show signs of mental fatigue. Iron Nose understood this and intended to head straight to the city cluster to complete his mission for the King as quickly as possible so they could return home.

"Clop! Clop! Clop!"

The sound of hooves striking the snow echoed across the boundless wilderness. The soldiers rode in formation, maintaining a steady pace toward their destination. Not far ahead, they could faintly see patches of green and the hunched figures of people; in the middle of winter, the only green to be found was in the farmlands. As they drew closer, that touch of green revealed itself to be fields of wheat stretching on and on. Confronted with such an expansive area of cultivation, the soldiers knew they had reached the territory of an unknown kingdom.

"Halt!"

Raising his right hand, Iron Nose signaled the soldiers behind him to stop. Within the territory of hostile monsters, the soldiers were free to roam, destroy structures, and slay enemies, but this was the land of a Cube-person kingdom—the territory of their own kin. They could not act in such a way; it would be a sign of disrespect to their fellow people.

The King had once said: "In the face of sibling nations, we must respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity, practice non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful coexistence, and work together to resist the attacks of monsters..."

This was known as the "Six Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and Mutual Aid."

"Xiao Li, go and inform those people ahead that envoys from a sibling nation have traveled thousands of miles to reach their kingdom."

He said this to Xiao Li, a soldier behind him who was still busy eating a hard-boiled egg. As it happened, Xiao Li was the most handsome member of the team; people with good looks were naturally more charismatic, and Xiao Li possessed an approachable aura that made him well-suited for diplomacy.

"Understood!"

Swallowing the roasted egg, Xiao Li removed his iron armor, straightened his attire, and led his horse toward the figures working in the distance.

"Excuse me, elder! Could you tell me where we are?"

Carefully avoiding the wheat growing on the ground, Xiao Li spoke to the farmer, who had his back turned, in a respectful and sincere tone. The farmer was hunched over, draped in a thin, gray robe, his beard white and tangled like a spiderweb.

"Water River Kingdom..."

The old farmer squeezed the three words through his teeth and said no more, burying his head back into his work with a stone hoe.

"Water River Kingdom?"

They had heard this name at the first village they encountered; they hadn't expected to arrive so soon.

"Then, elder, could you tell me the way into the city?"

"Hmph!"

At the mention of "entering the city," the old farmer’s rhythmic labor suddenly faltered, and a cold snort escaped his lips. Seeing this, Xiao Li realized he had asked the wrong thing. He wisely departed and walked toward another farmer working nearby. This farmer was younger; though he wore thin clothing and his face was flushed red from the cold, he appeared far more vibrant than the lifeless old man.

"It's over there..."

Pointing with a pale finger toward a fork in the road, the young farmer kindly warned him. "Friend, if you're heading that way to join the city, I advise you not to. You won't be able to get in anyway, and the King doesn't care about whether we live or die..."

Having said this, the young farmer continued to swing his stone hoe, burying himself in his toil just like the lifeless elder nearby.

"Do not go..."

Upon returning, Xiao Li relayed what he had seen and heard to Iron Nose, leaving the final decision to him. Iron Nose looked at the people bent over in the fields. He had more or less figured it out.

"Since the route is confirmed, let's head in!"

Iron Nose had realized that the combat capability of the Water River Kingdom’s military was pathetic, and their sense of security was truly nonexistent. A group of fully armed, strange combat professionals had been wandering through the kingdom's lifeblood—its farmlands—and not a single person had noticed, let alone come out to stop them or inquire about their presence. Perhaps it was because there were no monsters during the day, leading them to lower their guard. But surely not to this extent? If they continued like this, they would lose their lives before long.

Galloping along the dirt path, the field army soon reached a plain surrounded by small "earthen mounds." If not for the people moving in and out of them, Iron Nose would never have realized that these mounds were actually mud-brick shacks. Not far away stood a four-block-high wall constructed from a mixture of cobblestone and stone bricks. Behind the wall, one could see exquisite wooden houses, two or three stories tall. Sounds of the inhabitants could even be heard faintly from outside the wall.

Outside the wall, there were mud shacks; inside, there were exquisite wooden houses. Within that short wall, the inside and outside seemed like two different worlds: the inside represented civilization and order, while the outside represented barbarism and ignorance.

"This..."

Just then, a young girl, no more than eleven or twelve years old, stumbled out of a small mud hut clutching an infant. Her underdeveloped frame was covered by a thin cloth robe, and her dark green eyes were filled with confusion and despair. People gathered around, and having heard what had happened, they looked at the girl with expressions of pity or unbearable grief.

"Her father died early, and now her mother has passed as well. Only she and her little sister remain."

Based on the environment and the expressions of the onlookers, Iron Nose analyzed the girl's plight.