From the beginning of our story until now, the regions mentioned in the countries we have visited have mostly been in the category of the west coast of Mobigas, but we have never made a general picture of the general appearance of the entire continent. narrative. ⊥,
Part of the reason for this has a lot to do with the fact that humans in the world of Rigar have not yet explored all the land, but more importantly, it is due to space considerations, and I don’t want to prematurely introduce things that have nothing to do with the two protagonists’ travels. elements. And now that they have completely left the scope of the West Coast, we can finally go one step further and give a rough overview of the entire world at the beginning of this chapter.
The first thing to mention is that among the three sides of the Rigal continent adjacent to the huge Mobigas inland sea, the usable land area on the west coast is actually the smallest.
Because of the existence of the Tamboul Mountains and the Ansisibi Strait, the northern part of the west coast is barren cliffs and straits that are beaten by big waves all year round. Due to the many reefs and the man-eating water dragons that can reach a maximum size of more than 30 meters, there are even merchant ships here. They refused to approach the warships, let alone any of the residents.
In contrast, the east coast on the other side of the horizon has even more vast land. Where the northern part of the west coast has been submerged in the sea, the vast land on the east coast is still extending upward to the extreme north. Even in the permafrost, which is in a state of ice and snow all year round, there are still traces of civilization.
Since there is no barrier of mountains, the available land area on the east coast is much larger than that on the west coast. Although the coastline is more irregular than this side, it is filled with lakes and wetlands filled with sea water and there is even a very vast trumpet. In the inland sea, it is easier for civilization to sprout here.
In addition to the two coastlines we have been mentioning before, the area where the inner sea of Morbigas connects to the southern interior is actually not inferior to these two places. The people living here are the same as the Thoradins on the west coast. It has a similar appearance. Although it is located in the tropics, it is not as barren as the desert areas further south.
There is no king among the city-states in the south, and the highest level is nobility. Their camel caravans and horse-drawn carriages, as well as the merchant ships on the sea and canals, are world-renowned. If the Padrosi Empire inherited the great engineering achievements of the Laman Empire and has the most elite warship fleet in the world, and the Otolo Empire, which ranks first in wealth and population in the world, has the largest navy, then the southern The city-state alliance has the best and most ports in the entire Rigal area, as well as various merchant ships with the largest carrying capacity in the world.
They sell everything, but it's not a shopping paradise.
The most criticized thing about the Southern Alliance, which is often scorned by the citizens of major empires that claim to be a civilized society, is that these businessmen have torn apart all appearances and nakedly demonstrated the nature of pursuing profit.
In a southern city-state, when you first arrive here, you will feel that they are very welcoming, with delicious food and drink, and soft-spoken beauties accompanying you - but this is only limited to if you have enough With so much money, many people, including citizens and nobles of major empires, could not stand the many temptations here and emptied their wallets and incurred a lot of debt. What happened next was that they had not yet When they reacted, they were handcuffed and became slaves for life.
The sweet trap, the paradise of entertainment, once you fall into it, you cannot escape.
No one can escape the clutches of the merchants in the South until all their value is squeezed out, or they die - or both.
This is far more cruel than other places. Even in many countries on the chaotic west coast, slaves still have the option of regaining their freedom. In these city-states in the south, as long as they accidentally owe a debt and cannot pay it off, they will become If you become a slave, you will be a slave for the rest of your life.
The Southern Alliance is mainly about commerce. On the west coast and many other places, most people make a living through agriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry. Even if a few countries export war, all of the above civilizations are still traditional. Within the category of the more moderate "settled peoples".
Just as there are differences in the survival styles of the two forms of survival in human society: hunters and farmers. From ancient times to the present, people do not like to settle down to plant and raise livestock. Instead, they use the sky as a cover and travel under the stars, relying on herding and hunting. And the nomads who make a living by raiding have never been absent in human history.
The grassland in the southern border of Rigar's interior is vast, starting from the Tambor Mountains in the south of Otolo, crossing the Orc Forest, and ending with the Dwarf Mountains in the east. Bordering the desert, it lacks the fertility for tall trees and shrubs to grow. The soil, even the only shrubs and grasses that can grow here, are often lost to hot weather and desert erosion.
Therefore, in order to survive, people here have evolved a unique lifestyle.
The proverb "Life lies in movement" is believed to have been invented by the nomads of the steppe. The land area they occupy is very large, but the territory is very barren and has never been unified, and is filled with all kinds of powerful beasts that even the grassland people are afraid of - but even so, for the city-states in the south and the Thoradin Highlands on the west coast, To the south, these nomads remained formidable enemies.
This is especially true for the Southern Alliance. In fact, almost all the mercenaries who went out to fight in the Core Conrad area of Thoradin Highlands came here to fight with the grassland people. The west coast was too barren for the prairie people to plunder, and the Southern City-State Alliance, which was full of slaves, food, and various assets, naturally became the target every time they were short of money.
Although the people in the South are rich, they are not good at fighting, so they naturally adopt the method they are best at. The mercenaries here are the easiest to find jobs, but they are also more dangerous because the prairie people don't know how to retreat, so once you meet them, you'd better be prepared for a deadly fight.
There is no such thing as autumn and winter in the tropics.
It was already the end of September when Henry and Mira arrived at the southern border. They did not take a boat. Although it took more time to go by land and they might encounter robbers on the way, they were relatively better able to control their whereabouts. .
At this time, the people on Avenella's side had already begun to change into long-sleeved clothes, and the cold wind was probably blowing again on the Ecasta Plain.
It had been more than half a year since she left there. Mira, who had been basking in the tropical sun for several months, had a much darker complexion. In comparison, her white hair looked even more eye-catching. The two of them were eating and drinking along the way. The hotel spent a lot of money to support her needs during the growth period. By the time it was supposed to be the early autumn season, the original appearance of the petite white-haired loli was no longer visible from her body.
Mira, who is already over 1.7 meters tall, has not only grown in height in the past six months. Fortunately or unfortunately, willingly or unwillingly, after experiencing the disaster of losing friends twice in succession, her heart has also grown. A lot has changed.
The concept of death has always been familiar to girls. She, who lived at the bottom of society before meeting Henry, had the possibility of following her parents in death anytime and anywhere. Just like the event where their lives intersected, for her and poor lower-class girls like her on the West Coast, love is a luxury, and being beautiful usually means misfortune.
Death can happen anytime, anywhere, so she is not as resistant to death itself as other people who have lived a better life and have never seen it - but that doesn't mean Mira can accept it easily.
The changes in her mood are also related to changes in her own abilities and experiences. If the petite, powerless and stubborn Lolita in the past seems to have died, it is a sad but helpless thing that she can only get used to. If there is an emergency, then she is now a young mercenary lady who has made great progress in both knowledge and ability. In her opinion, everything has a cause and effect.
Human malice and all kinds of complicated situations are powerless.
Just being powerful in a single aspect is not enough. Even the sage who seemed to her to be omnipotent and the powerful swordsman Joshua who loved Emonica deeply, when everything happened, they realized that the black hands behind the scenes had far more resources than they could. The only option is to leave.
she cried.
Cried a lot.
But she didn't pester Henry to take revenge like a cowardly and coquettish little girl. Although it cannot change the sad fact that it has happened and makes people feel powerless, the girl has more abundant and calm choices on how to deal with it.
She didn't know where she learned the saying that knowledge can change destiny very early on, but it wasn't until now that Mira understood the true meaning of this sentence - it doesn't literally mean that if you learn something, you can change everything. It's just that more knowledge can give you more choices. People who only know how to fight alone may rush to fight the opponent with passion when they choose revenge; while people who are more tolerant and calm try to attract some helpers through wealth or influence; people who are proficient in Machiavellian tactics can Playing with the opponent's family and destroying them is more painful than killing them directly - even if you don't mention things like revenge, having a wider range of knowledge can also give you a wider range of choices for how to survive.
She still has a lot to learn.
Call it blind faith, after experiencing all this, Mira became more and more convinced and followed Henry's existence. The sage took her there, and she didn't ask why. All Henry's actions had his own meaning. Even if he didn't explain it to her, it was just because Mira couldn't understand it at the moment. That’s all.
All she had to do now was to move forward without any distractions.
…
The population of the southern city-state is very diverse. It has trade with the four northern islands as far away as the equally tall Otolo and northerners are not uncommon here. Tall mercenaries walk around the streets with weapons hanging. It is the most lively street scene - not just war mercenaries, because the various rare and exotic animals in the south and near the grasslands are very suitable for sale as commodities, there are also many hunting mercenaries here. .
You can always easily tell the difference between hunting mercenaries and ordinary mercenaries, even if they are not carrying the iconic large weapons or pulling heavy tools such as ballistae, those are obviously made to resist collisions. The thick but not very flexible armor and the general height of more than 1.8 meters also appear to be unique. As soon as Henry and Mira arrived here, the sage, who was also tall and carried a big sword, immediately jumped up. Several people came over to chat with me.
Of course, these people were declined by him one by one. In addition to the fact that they felt that Mira was not qualified to participate in the hunting of large creatures, another very important reason was that they had another thing to do at the moment.
The long trip consumed a lot of their funds for food and accommodation. Their savings were now close to being sold out. In addition, in order to reduce their burden, Mira, as a high-value commodity, had already read several books. Henry plans to find a store to sell them all first.
Mercenaries wearing various types of armor shuttled through this small border town. There are no villages here in the Southern City-State Alliance. All inhabited places are trading stations that have turned into lively towns, filled with people of all colors. Riding horses or walking through here, the leaves are hidden in the forest and mixed among these people. Henry and Mira are no longer as eye-catching as they were in the Thoradin area.
The types of houses here are quite different from those on Thoradin's side. Perhaps it is because the easternmost part of the Southern Alliance is very closely connected with the Dwarven Mountains. Although the houses here are made of limestone like the west coast, in The design and layout of the city walls and various houses have reached a level of uncanny craftsmanship that is difficult for humans to achieve.
The Wavasika Fortress in Avenella was proudly called the Holy White City by the craftsmen of Sivalier because the walls were polished and reflective. The outer walls of the town are also made of stones that have been polished to an astonishing degree and fit perfectly. The dwarves' innate research spirit in tools and production is as famous as their stubborn temper, and perhaps it is Because of this temper, they are able to create so many masterpieces that are astonishing to all human craftsmen.
Works and personality are always inseparable. A person who cannot settle down to study something tenaciously and who is more enthusiastic about various performances and conversations often does not have real talent and learning - but the opposite is true. , when you meet a craftsman who has achieved relatively high achievements in a certain aspect, it is usually impossible to calmly explain a certain issue to him.
——When Henry and Mira followed the wrought iron signboards that were obviously made by dwarf craftsmen and found the entrance to the relatively high-end commercial street here, they saw two rare characters standing in front of a group of humans. They kept arguing in a language that others couldn't understand.
Standing on the left is an elf woman with blond hair, pointed ears, and a very young face who cannot tell her age. She is wearing a white costume with a decorative thin sword hanging from her waist. The one on the right is A dwarf male of the same age whose age cannot be determined, with a ball of dark-blond hair and a beard - why use a ball because it is just a messy mess.
Their quarrel attracted the surprise of a lot of tourists and mercenaries. After all, dwarves and elves are relatively rare races, so such a large group of people blocked the way of Henry and Mira. And there is a tendency for the number of onlookers to increase.
"What a headache."
The sage shook his head, then turned over and dismounted. (To be continued.)
