Chapter 24: Rules of Another World
The journey took less than four hours, during which Lu Cheng’s team encountered three waves of Blood Crystal Beast attacks.
Each wave consisted of giant wolf-like creatures, but their enormous size made them easy targets as soon as they appeared from the forest.
After Lu Cheng’s team repelled these Blood Crystal Beasts, General Hubert, who had been on edge the entire way, finally relaxed.
If it weren’t for Lu Cheng’s squad, they would have been wiped out by the first wave of beasts.
During this time, General Hubert handed Lu Cheng a more reliable map.
This map was a magical item reinforced with mana. The borders of Skarre, as well as the surrounding nations, were delineated by lines of different coloured lights on the map.
What was interesting was that these lines changed in real-time.
However, these changes did not appear as fascinating in General Hubert’s eyes.
Because… the borders of their nation were shrinking.
The red glow Lu Cheng had seen in the sky earlier marked the boundary of Skarre. Not just Skarre, but every country in this world defined its territory with such boundaries.
The light came from the Earth Vein Crystal Core beneath the ground of each nation.
The more mana stored within the Earth Vein Crystal Core, the larger the area covered by the light.
And the mana in the Earth Vein Crystal Core came from the people of the nation, though General Hubert couldn’t explain exactly how.
In simple terms, the more people in a country, the more mana the Earth Vein Crystal Core would possess, and consequently, the territory of the nation would expand.
The people living under the light were granted a sort of beneficial “buff.”
That was Lu Cheng’s interpretation. This buff prevented diseases, provided people with greater strength and reflexes, and even increased the likelihood of giving birth to exceptional individuals.
“And how do you distinguish who your citizens are?” Lu Cheng placed the map on the console next to the gear shift, and asked the general.
General Hubert had mentioned that when another nation’s army invaded their territory, they would be afflicted by a debuff, making them tire easily and weakening their bodies.
“Our country’s people receive the blessing of the Earth Vein from birth.” General Hubert revealed the crimson inverted triangle mark on his forehead. “This is the mark that all Skarre citizens bear, though the location of the mark varies from person to person.”
“Has anyone in your nation ever considered immigrating to another country?” Lu Cheng asked a question that struck a sore spot for the general.
“Well…” General Hubert truly didn’t know how to respond to Lu Cheng’s query.
Just as the conversation reached this point, Lu Cheng spotted a collapsed city wall in the distance, with numerous carrion birds circling overhead.
Lu Cheng spoke into the vehicle’s radio, signalling Iron Ring to stop the car, while he himself stepped on the brakes.
The Pioneer came to a halt, and the engine of the vehicle behind them, driven by Iron Ring, also gradually ceased its operation.
They had arrived at Glory Sun City.
“Lord Lu Cheng, we stayed in Glory Sun City for a day. There were only some displaced refugees left in the city,” General Hubert explained.
“You didn’t encounter any Blood Crystal Beasts or bandits?” Lu Cheng asked while pulling up the handbrake.
“Most of the Blood Crystal Beasts in Glory Sun City have been drawn towards the capital, but it’s not impossible that a few are still lingering nearby.”
“That’s good enough.”
Lu Cheng opened the car door and jumped out of the Pioneer No. 2. He glanced at the other vehicle, where the natives were getting out with Poster’s assistance.
As expected, five out of the seven refugees experienced the discomfort of motion sickness.
“Lu Cheng, what’s wrong with them?” Princess Elena looked worriedly at the refugees, who appeared dazed and disoriented.
“Motion sickness. It’s a common condition for people with weaker constitutions when riding in vehicles—symptoms like dizziness and nausea are normal. But these symptoms will pass quickly… Hmm, you can think of it as them not passing the ‘trial’ of this ‘beast,’” Lu Cheng explained in scientific terms.
“So passing the trial is a requirement to tame it? I didn’t experience any dizziness, so does that mean I passed the trial and gained its recognition?” Elena focused on the part of Lu Cheng’s explanation she could understand, completely missing the medical details.
She revered the off-road vehicle as a powerful beast, and despite her reverence, her inner desire to tame such a beast only grew stronger after experiencing its “power.”
“No, if you really want to master it, you’d have to pass a driving test, from the first subject to the fourth. Getting a C1 license would suffice.” Lu Cheng ruthlessly crushed the princess’s hope.
“What happens after passing those tests?” Elena immediately pursued the question.
Oh no… It seemed Princess Elena was determined to tame one of these “beasts.” Although she didn’t fully understand what Lu Cheng was talking about, she grasped the part about needing to pass additional trials.
“You’d also need to prepare about 800,000. This one’s a military vehicle. The civilian version starts at around 500,000. With all the taxes and other fees, it would be about 600,000.” Lu Cheng replied seriously.
“800,000? Are you referring to your country’s currency? That sounds… quite expensive.”
The highest number Elena had ever heard of was 30,000, which was a price quoted many years ago when her mother negotiated a major deal with a neighbouring country.
“For an ordinary family, it’s a lot. But since your family owns mines, it’s not much at all. Anyway, this isn’t the time to be discussing this.”s
“Poster, Iron Ring, stay here and protect the civilians. Kite, you’ll go with me to scout the city ahead.”
Lu Cheng issued orders to his squad. Noyes then walked up beside Lu Cheng, gently tugging at his sleeve.
“Are you leaving?” she wrote in her notebook and showed it to him.
“We’re just going to scout the city ahead. It won’t take long,” Lu Cheng said.
Noyes nodded slightly and wrote another line in her notebook.
“I will behave.”
“Good.”
Lu Cheng patted Noyes on her silvery-gray hair and gently placed her in the passenger seat.
After spending some time together, this obedient young priestess made Lu Cheng feel as if he was raising a daughter.
“We’ve decided to bring along the two soldiers who are still able to fight,” General Hubert said after counting his men. Only two of them still had enough strength to fight.
“We’ll enter the city on foot, maintaining as much stealth as possible… Our goal is to find a building in the city where we can temporarily settle and rest. Understood?”
Lu Cheng relayed the objective of the mission to General Hubert and his soldiers.
“There is a leadstone workshop in Glory Sun City that is still intact. It could serve as a temporary shelter. I can guide you there,” General Hubert offered.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment