Because of the existence of the Tambur Mountains, the overall terrain of the west coast of Morbigas shows an irregular rise and fall.
In the cold wilderness where only a few barbarian bandits live in the far north, the land area there is even narrower than that of Avenella. It is like the gradually shrinking tip of an aristocratic piercing sword. At the end, it is self-tanking. A huge gap extending out of the Bull Mountains, what sailors call the Great Strait of Ansisibis.
This is a paradise for seabirds and small flying dragons. There are abundant sea dragon-like creatures in the trench that stretches for thousands of miles below the sea surface. The craziest adventurers in human history once risked their lives to penetrate deep into the above-ground part of the strait, and then successfully emerged from it. Among them, stealing the dragon eggs of the sea dragon became a great feat that many people praised for a while.
Going south along the Tambur Mountains, you need to walk a distance as long as the entire land area of West Valliers on the east side of the Ansisibi Strait before you can see the land. If you walk a long distance deep into this uninhabited forest, you will come Arriving at the border of the Otolo Empire.
The land on the west side appears earlier than on the east side. As we said before, it will become wider and wider as it goes south. It passes through several areas similar to the Five Kingdoms in the south, but there are a total of seven large and small kingdoms in this cold and barren land that are constantly fighting. At the junction of the north and the south, there is Siwa, the strongest kingdom on the west coast in the past. Liye, and several other kingdoms that were eyeing her.
Summer has arrived, and the grain harvest season has arrived. Many farmers on the vast Inznil Plain are busy, but unlike previous years, a long border wall separates them from Yawen on the other side. Between the two, Sivalier soldiers patrolled back and forth one after another. Summer is the season of war, and abundant food and grass are usually spent on this kind of "movement", but this year's Sivalier is obviously unable to launch an attack on Avenella - because in this short period of time In half a year, Avenella has made great progress in every sense.
Transiting from gentle and broad plains to narrow mountainous terrain, Avenella, which occupies the entire northern protrusion of the Tambur Mountains, is prosperous. With a large empire as an ally and various preferential policies for merchants, all roads are open. was established. Merchants' carriages came in an endless stream, bringing all kinds of food, spices, luxury goods and a steady stream of wealth.
My eyes continued to move, and the protruding part ended in Dange Canyon. Starting from the Ridela region, the entire landmass sinks downwards, where plains and basins merge. Dense rainforests, clay, and ferocious large reptiles are local specialties. The bright sun is a common sight here. It is also chaotic here. Even after crossing the five countries that have been fighting each other all year round, the remaining three or four countries are also in this way.
But when we got out of the basin area. As the terrain began to climb again, not only that, but the residents also began to become peaceful.
The reason may have something to do with the white churches that exist in larger towns and even most villages. The branch of the Lamanites who were defeated in the civil war and fled to the west not only brought their culture and Technology, and with it, their part of religion and belief.
The disintegration of the Lamanite Empire itself was related to the royal family of the empire, but it could not be summarized by a simple reason. History will always be more complicated than what is described by future generations. It will not be a simple black and white, with a direct cause leading to the result. Instead, it spreads like a handful of stones into water, with many ripples interacting with each other.
Generally speaking, the reasons for the division of the Lamani Empire that can be agreed upon by most people, in the final analysis, are believed to be inseparable from religious differences.
Differences in perceptions about beliefs are the fundamental origin of irresolvable conflicts between the common people, the citizen class, and the aristocracy throughout the country. The part that survived the civil war became the Yetina sect, the state religion of the Padrosi Empire, while the part that was defeated and moved westward became the self-proclaimed White Church.
When people refer to the entire religion, they usually use the common name White Church to summarize it. However, when specific reference is made, the Yetinah sect and the White Church are used to distinguish each other.
All in all, this part of the Lamanites who migrated westward disappeared from the southern basin area due to wars, but they left some culture or descendants in places. Whether it is Avenella or Sivalier, or the area currently close to Thoradin's highlands, churches are rising from the ground.
Although some of the religious beliefs are foolish and incomprehensible to ordinary people. For example, when they encounter dangerous robbers or wild beasts, they will kneel down and start praying to ask for God's protection instead of turning around and running away; or when fighting in a duel, they will hold up various divine emblems and shout: "God bless me." Your power” rather than shoving that thing made of wood or wrought iron into the other person’s face.
But it is undeniable that, unlike the local beliefs that advocate sacrifice and conquest, the White Holy Religion, which preaches purity and self-discipline, pursues asceticism and frugal behavior, does have some advantages for chaotic, barren and troubled areas. Many positive effects.
On their way here, Henry and Mira saw scenes of the church distributing food to the poor from time to time, although it was just soup made of flour paste and some pancakes with nothing added. But for the refugees who have been displaced by the war, this is still a rare meal.
Food is the most important thing for the people. The displaced refugees and poor people who cannot even feed themselves have obtained food. Through this behavior, the church has expanded its religious influence in the local area and everyone has taken what they need.
——Mira didn’t put too much personal emotion into these things.
Firstly, there are many white churches in Avenella, although they are not popular among all the people. Mira has experienced this kind of thing to some extent before meeting Henry. The scene she encountered in the monastery also left a deep impression on the girl. Although she must have been solved by Prince Edward afterwards, coupled with some things she learned later, in short, she is no longer the same as she was back then. Impulsively leaving a good or bad impression simply because of one or two one-sided things.
The world is complicated and always filled with various factors. Even the air you breathe in your mouth and nose will have different flavors depending on the place and season you are in.
Nothing is static, good things or bad things will change with the passage of time.
Sympathy. Still exists.
But unlike that kind of half-hearted person who rushes to help regardless of his ability or not, now she always motivates herself to work harder when she sees similar things.
I remember someone once said. If there is a god of destiny in this world, then he must be a mischievous and evil god.
The Thoradin Highlands, which covers a fairly large area, is where the civilization of the kingdom on the west coast of Morbigas came into contact with the vast grassland nomads in the interior. In fact, the word Thoradin itself obviously has different pronunciations with various languages on the west coast. There is a gap in levels, but it is not what most people in Avenella and Sivalier think. Comes from grassland areas.
The word Thoradin actually comes from the Lamani language and means "a place close to the sky", which can also be translated as "a place close to the gods". It is the first place where a church was built, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the name is worthy of its name.
Before the Lamanites who migrated westward three to five centuries ago finally established the huge Rumanato empire on the western continent, a large number of Lamanites once lived here. They gradually moved away after the establishment of the empire. It is an area, but after all, there are still a few families left behind.
These people have been quite assimilated with the local residents, and most of the remaining families have some connection with the White Church or preside over the church itself - and this is why the scene below happened.
As we mentioned before, Thoradin Highlands is the boundary between the west coast and the vast grassland area in the southern interior, and since it is close to the grassland area. Then there will naturally be prairie people with dark brown skin and red hair.
To be honest, Mira would probably not be able to tell the difference in appearance between the aboriginal people in the tropics and the prairie people, but the girl and Henry had just arrived here and stayed here for only half a day, and she was deeply moved. I can fully appreciate the cultural differences.
——The grassland people have no faith, which may not be correct, because they actually have some totem beliefs similar to those of druids, worship of wild animals or some worship between heaven and earth. But this primitive animistic belief is of course no different to the preachers of the White Church than non-believers, so they take it for granted or take it for granted that they have the obligation to convey the glory of the gods.
The belief in a single god, coupled with various depictions of the past and the afterlife, came to the region in the past. Nothing goes wrong.
However, for the grassland nomads who travel in pastoral songs, use the sky as their cover, and pursue freedom of movement in pursuit of water and grass, this requires abstinence and dedication everywhere. You are not allowed to get into disputes with other people and have to ask the gods to forgive their souls. They are really not cool with it.
The first contact between the two parties was dull and restrained.
However, the missionaries who repeatedly tried to promote the faith but were always rejected by these grassland people, thinking that they had blasphemed the grace of the gods, used another promotion method that the Lamanites and any religious believers were best at. action.
- They started a war.
The historians of the Lamanites who were still here at that time wrote very complacently that this was a "war between civilization and barbarism." It was necessary to "give supreme judgment to these unbelievers in the supreme glory of the gods."
The Lamanites were confident. Their chain mail and ring armor were top-notch in that era, and coupled with their powerful shield phalanx, they were invincible in previous battles.
They were proud, even though they were a defeated group, they were also a group of Lamanites who had a huge kingdom that once spanned the entire eastern continent.
Well-equipped, well-trained—and then hit his head and was bloody.
The steppe people used tactics and weapons that the Lamanites had never seen before.
The endless grassland, which seemed like there was nowhere to hide, was actually a perfect place for an ambush. Coupled with the nomads' mounted and archery attacks, the invincible Laman army could only be beaten passively for the first time.
This is how hatred is formed. And why does this have anything to do with our little Mila? As we said before, the God of Fate is a malicious god who likes to play pranks.
This day was not much different from usual. The two took a short break at the hotel on this side because Mira had finished studying most of the books and wanted to find one at the nearby market. Find out if there are new books available for purchase.
And Mira has learned not to blindly show half-hearted kindness when she is incapable of doing so. When she met a group of slaves tied only with hemp ropes passing by at the corner of the street, she just looked at them for a while and then passed them by.
But the girl herself decided this way, with her glance. But it attracted the attention of someone among the slaves.
"Please... help me..." The woman has brown skin, about twenty years old, but is only about the same height as Mira. She grabbed the corner of the passing girl's clothes. Mira turned her head in surprise. The other girl's eyes were filled with desire at first. But then the sound of clanking metal and neat footsteps sounded from the other side of the street, and everything changed in an instant——
"Clang - Crack -" A bright light flashed across, the hemp rope fell in response, the footsteps became louder and louder, and then a large group of people wearing Laman style armor rushed out from the front, holding spears and square shields.
"Kacha——" "Don't come over, or I'll kill her!" The wheat-colored arms were stuck on the girl's soft neck, and the prairie-style machete was placed across the side of her face. The woman, who was about the same size as Mira, shouted to the soldiers in front, and then looked at Henry next to her, with a warning in her eyes.
"Huh..." The sluggishness only lasted less than half a second. The Luoan girl immediately calmed down—this person was a newbie.
A common method is to take a hostage from behind and use one hand to control the other person with a weapon held near the neck. But for novices, their understanding of how to place the hand holding the dagger and where to place it is obviously far less than that of experienced hands.
The correct way to hold someone hostage is to place the blade against the skin on the left side of the opponent's neck. In this way, as long as the opponent dares to act rashly, he can easily cut the artery and cause death - in contrast, the vast majority of people have never done this before. A newcomer to the situation would choose to use her arms to choke the other person's neck in order to strengthen her sense of control over the situation - this was one of the mistakes she made.
Another mistake, one that even Mira could easily read. The soldiers on the opposite side who used Laman-style weapons did not restrain themselves because of the fact that she was a hostage.
Mira, who had gained a lot of knowledge during the journey, could tell that the soldiers in the front row lowered their center of gravity slightly, intending to seize the right opportunity to kill herself and the woman behind her - who was probably from the grassland. The women were stabbed to death.
They would not hesitate, and the woman behind her obviously noticed this, because Mira heard her smacking her tongue like "Tch" - and turned her head. Looking at Henry next to him.
"Hey - this is your important person, when you go up to fight for me -"
Before she finished speaking, she lost her balance.
Mira is a good child, a kind-hearted child, and the other party may have something hidden, but this does not mean that what this woman is doing now is correct.
Involving innocent people and showing no signs of remorse. Mira, who was no longer a weak little lamb who could only wait for Henry to save her, took action on her own.
"Pa-ta-" She raised her white little hand, and Mira grabbed the opponent's knife-holding wrist with one hand and supported the elbow with the other hand. Then with a force and a twist, Mira pulled her behind him directly. The scimitar was removed from the prairie woman's hand.
"Dang Qiang!" It fell to the ground. The woman covered her wrist because of the pain, and then looked at the girl blankly, but as the soldiers started to move, she immediately turned around and started running away.
"Tras (chase!)" the soldier shouted, and then ran over with weapons in hand. Henry and Mira looked at each other, and the white-haired Luoan girl squatted down and picked up the scimitar. ——This seems to be a very sophisticated weapon, but its owner is not good at martial arts.
"Catch up and have a look." The sage said to her, and the girl nodded in agreement. (To be continued.)
